Christmas Eve

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a few short hours away! The past three months or so have completely flown by. It's as if we've been living in our own personal Groundhog Day since the baby was born, and yet it simultaneously feels like she's always been a part of our little family. She's already the gravitational center of my entire universe and a part of my brain is always thinking of her. Is this what parenting is?

Deerly Beloved

PEOPLE. I am so excited right now! As I type this, my parents are up in the air, on their way to Chicago for an indefinite period of time. By the time you read this, they'll be here! And Jeff and I couldn't be happier! It was such a blessing to have them with us when we brought the baby home from the hospital, and since they left, she's grown and changed so dramatically that she hardly seems like the same person.

Memories, Painful and Comforting

Early in my first year of college, I came across two things that have stuck in my mind ever since. The first came up in the course of reading Homer's Iliad, during discussion of Achilles; the second, I believe, in a digressive discussion of language in a novel.

Vintage Handy (Wo)man

Since May, I've been slowly adding to my true-vintage collection, and some of those new-to-me dresses have gotten quite a bit of wear already. But the hunt for true vintage isn't without its challenges. Aside from the inherent difficulty of finding cute, affordable midcentury vintage in larger sizes, when you buy a vintage garment, you're buying something old. And fabric that's been well-loved for 50+ years tends to need mending.

Shelter Island Hallockfest

Last month, I took my last trip to New York until 2018 (sob!), and as usual, it was an absolute whirlwind of a long weekend. I think I slept about twenty-eight hours total from Thursday night to Tuesday morning, which is a far cry from my preferred 8-10 hours per night. But a bit of fatigue is a small price to pay to cram in as much time with the people I love as possible! This trip was no ordinary jaunt home, however: I was there for a long-expected Hallock family reunion on the island where my dad grew up!

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.

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.

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago is filled with breathtaking sights, from Lake Michigan to the historical architecture all over the city, but one of my very favorite things about living here is all of the green space. It's quite a change from Los Angeles to have so many public parks and open space in the very heart of the city, and I'm always so charmed by all the flowers planted along the city's streets.

Baby on Board

It's taken a Herculean effort to keep this news off of the internet, but at last, it's time to spill the beans: we are having a baby in October!

She's Gone to Plaid!

Earlier this month, my mom came to visit Chicago for the very first time! Here are some things you need to know about my mom:

Remembrance of Things Past

My Mom-Mom had a blanket that her sister made for her. Her sister finished it right before she passed away; I'm not quite sure whether her sister gave it to Mom-Mom, or whether it was given to Mom-Mom after her sister's passing. Regardless, Mom-Mom would always tell us about how that blanket sat up on the shelf in her closet ever since. It just made her too sad to use it. I could never quite see why something made with love would make Mom-Mom feel this way.

The other day, while looking for something to wear for a day of very long train rides, I came across this dress and finally understood.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Every time I leave my apartment and see these tulips, they brighten my day immeasurably. I always point them out to Jeff, and insist that he express adequate appreciation of their glory before we continue on our way. (Usually it goes like this: "Jeff, aren't those the most beautiful flowers ever?!?" *silence* "Jeffffffff!" "Yes, they're fine.)

I'm Back

Hey, remember when I updated this blog like three times a week? Yeah, me too. I certainly didn't plan on taking a two-month hiatus from blogging, but 2017 hasn't exactly been kind to my family. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have some idea of what I'm talking about. Some of it isn't my story to tell, and truth be told, I'm not ready to get into the details that are mine to share. Suffice it to say that since my last post, I've either been sad, worried, or sick (or sometimes all three!), and just haven't felt up to photoshoots and upbeat posts.

Ready for Takeoff

Today I've got a hot date with a backscatter X-Ray and a very large machine. In other words, Jeff and I are flying back to Chicago this evening after a wonderful first Christmas together in New York. While I'm bummed to be leaving, I'm still so happy that he was able to be here for Christmas for the first time ever! (Christmas dinner post to follow soon, I promise!)

Heading back to the Land of Always Winter (pictured above)

The Best Christmas Present Ever

Christmas presents are such a magical thing, aren't they? Nowadays, I'm much more excited about giving the gifts I've accumulated over the course of the year to their recipients than getting my own gifts, but it's still an enormous thrill to open my Christmas presents and see what's inside.

Lucky 13

Today, I feel like telling a story that has absolutely nothing to do with the outfit in this post, and no logical connection to a style blog. (Even as I typed that sentence, my brain was busily trying to think of a connection between the outfit and the story. Read on to see whether I succeeded at this...)

Shelter Island

For some reason, my posts on Stuff I Have Done keep getting preempted for posts about Clothing I Love, which means that I'm writing a post with photos from my previous trip to New York while in New York again. In other news, this is my 100th blog post!

I've mentioned before that I never really change my jewelry. I've worn the same necklace and bracelet for nine and ten years, respectively, and I get a lot of comments about my necklace. People often ask if it's a guy on a horse (no), a Wyoming thing (no), a bucking bronco (no), or a degraded coastline (…sort of? To be fair, this only happened once.) While it does look uncannily like the thing in the middle of the Wyoming license plate, it's actually a map of Shelter Island, New York.

Happy Birthday, Roon!

Today is my sister's birthday! Unfortunately, I'm spending this one in Chicago, which means she'll be guilting me about not coming home for at least the next decade, but hopefully I can buy her off with a super birthday present and a blog post. (Spoiler alert: I doubt it. She still brings up the time that I got home 2 minutes after her birth time and she 'had to turn 15 all by herself.')

Oreos and Ginger Ale

My mind is like my own personal TimeHop. Let me explain this by way of an example: I know that today is May 20th. This means that 1) I graduated college exactly NINE years ago, 2) my across-the-street great-grandma, Mom-Mom, would have been 103 years old today, and 3) I'll be spending the day reminiscing and ruminating on both of those facts.

Hi Mom!

A Star-Wars-Themed Wedding Event

Has anyone else planned a wedding? I'm less than two months out from mine, and am just starting to realize that there are actually things I need to be doing. Of course, I'm dealing with that realization by writing a post about the bridal luncheon my sister threw for me while I was in New York a few weeks ago. Technically, this is productive!

I was planning to wear my beloved tomato-print dress, but after realizing that it was going to be a family-style meal at an Italian place, I 86'd the fitted-waistband idea and went with a stretchy ivory dress. Everyone from my bachelorette party wore their fascinators, and tried to limit the number of "…because I'm fascinating!" comments to a reasonable number.

Fun fact: this coat belongs to my sister, but in the past 10 years or so, I'm the only one who has actually worn it.