Hot Mama: a Stylish and Cool Third-Trimester Dress

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the year you buy an air conditioner is the year you'll get a ridiculously mild summer. To anyone out there in Chicago that's reading this: you're welcome. Remember that one week of 90+ degree heat and humidity in early June? Yeah, that ended the day before we had our ACs installed.

Review: Retrospec'd Flamenco Elizabeth Dress

Every time I see a new dress from Retrospec'd, my heart squeezes a little at the amazing painterly prints and gorgeously executed vintage styles. After seeing how lovely and well-made my first Retrospec'd dress was, it wasn't hard to convince myself to splurge on another. And when I saw the Elizabeth dress in Flamenco on the lovely Bristol, as well as all over my Insta feed, I absolutely fell in love with the print. Once I realized this dress was available from a US stockist, it was only a matter of time before it appeared in my closet.

A Day in My Life

Routines are how I calibrate my life. I find comfort in familiar things and adapt fairly slowly to change, so I enjoy having daily and weekly rhythms that I can rely on. (I also don't get tired of the things I like, which is why I often order the same things at the restaurants we go to, and why I've seen Star Wars literally hundreds of times.) My little routines also help me to stay on track and be productive; without any concrete plans, I tend to just sort of relax and lose track of time.

Today, I figured I'd give you a peek into my daily routine. Since I'm such a creature of habit, it won't be too hard to remember what I do each day ;). I'm going to stick with the weekday routine, since it's a bit more fixed and definitely less embarrassing: the weekend edition involves far too much 'read the internet' and 'put feet up on the arm of the couch' for my ego to comfortably share.

Review: House of Foxy

While the 1950s will always have my heart, sometimes I just can't resist the siren song of a 1940s silhouette. Case in point: this lovely red floral tea dress from the House of Foxy. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it, and had almost worked myself up to paying for international delivery when I discovered it on Unique Vintage's site during a sitewide sale!

The Bus is Back

You may have seen me mention that I lived in LA for eight years before moving to Chicago. Well, I might not be an Angeleno by birth, but as a lifelong gearhead (or petrolhead, for my British readers), I certainly appreciated living in a place that showed so much love to the automobile.

Barefaced and Fancy-Free

This is my face.

Review: Pretty Dress Company Priscilla

Like seemingly everyone who's put on a Pretty Dress Company frock, I'm a massive fan! Ever since I saw the yellow gingham Priscilla swing dress on the lovely Miss Amy May, I've been longing for one of my very own. So when the Pretty Dress Co. offered worldwide free shipping in May, I jumped at the chance to grab one for my own without paying close to $40 in shipping fees, and today I'm finally sharing a long-overdue review of this gorgeous sundress!

Maternity Photo Shoot!

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to spend a leisurely morning with my friend Devinne, strolling around the University of Chicago campus for a maternity photo shoot (!!!) before eating all the brunch. I'm beyond excited to share some of the photos from our shoot with you today! Brace yourself for a zillion exclamation points (and photos)...

What I've Learned From My Parents

One thing you might not know about me is that I'm quite close with my dad. I've written quite a bit about the women in my family before, but recently I realized that surprisingly, I haven't really shared too much about my dad.

Babymoon: Lincoln Park Zoo

Every once in a while, I realize that for all my efforts to see major landmarks and local attractions, I've been missing out on a major one. (This is why I went to the Bronx Zoo for the first time at twenty years old, despite living forty-five minutes away, and why I still haven't seen the Statue of Liberty up close.) Recently, our Chicago staycation adventures took us to one of the most glorious places I've yet seen out here: Lincoln Park and its famous zoo!

Red, White, and Hearts and Found

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I've honestly felt more conflicted than usual about celebrating the Fourth this year, and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to mark the holiday with a post. As I said last year, I'm not much of a flag-waver.

Babymoon: A Walk in the Park

I'm still playing catch-up in the ongoing quest to document all my Chicago adventures, so it's time for another installment of food-and-sightseeing Stuff We Did. Jeff and I enjoyed last year's staycation so much that we decided to revisit the idea for a mini-babymoon last month. Needless to say, our babymoon itinerary was all about good food and interesting local destinations, and we started off on a high note: with Frontera Grill and some relaxed sightseeing around downtown Chicago.