Chicago Christkindlmarket

One of my favorite discoveries since moving to Chicago is the annual Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza. It's an open-air German market with tons of little shops selling cute traditional ornaments and gifts, amazing/carby/meaty German food vendors, and two biergarten-like tents. Last year, Jeff and I waited to go until right before we left to visit our respective families for the holidays, but this year, I was ready to go on Day 1.

Review: Nando's

In honor of our brand-new baby niece and her London-loving mama Tiffany, I'm finally reviewing a restaurant that Tiffany recommended to us. Tiffany loved spent a year studying abroad in London, so when she heard we were going to England, she had tons of advice, recommendations, and tips for us. I think she was most excited for us to try Nando's, a restaurant that she'd really loved. Once Jeff started planning our trip, he discovered that there's a Nando's right here in Chicago, so off we went to check it out!

Goodbye, Fall

It's been a fairly eventful weekend, what with my trip to the North Side for a long-overdue haircut, a bit of unpleasant drama involving a dead mouse, and the arrival of our newest baby niece! I've been sitting at the computer trying to focus on style-related topics for longer than I'd like to admit, but it's not working. All I can think of is how excited I am to finally meet our three-month-old nephew and newborn niece when we head out for our lightning-quick holiday trip to LA!

Review: Twisted Scissors Chicago

Based on all the responses to my Instagram post this morning, it's safe to say that I'm not the only one who gets rather nervous whenever it's time for a haircut. I've had more than one haircut that ended in tears (which, thankfully, I've been able to hold back till I found some privacy!) I'd found a hairdresser I liked in LA, but after six years of relatively hair-drama-free bliss, we moved to Chicago and the process began all over again. I'm happy to say that after fifteen months in this city, I've finally completed my quest today at Twisted Scissors salon.

Review: Collectif Dolores Bloom Dress

In my continuing quest to embrace body positivity and love the wiggle silhouette, the Collectif Dolores dress has been a major asset. After seeing how amazing one of my Instagram friends always looks in her Doloreses, I picked one up on super-sale over the summer, and was shocked by how confident I felt in it. Thus, when Collectif recently had a free international shipping promotion, I took advantage of the opportunity to order the half-sleeve Bloom pencil dress that I'd been eyeing, rather than one of the Autumn/Winter swing dresses I've also had on my wishlist.

Just in Cases

If my recent trip to England has shown me anything, it's reminded me that I desperately need to make friends in Chicago who will watch Love Actually with me. Jeff is Not a Fan of that movie, to say the least, but it holds a very special place in my heart, and my customary annual viewing in New York is just not enough for me.

Review: Vixen Makeup Swing Skirt

Well, #WiggleWeek has come to a conclusion, and after a week of truly fabulous body positivity from lots of wonderful people, I'm feeling so much more comfortable in fitted dresses! There aren't enough words to express my gratitude to all of the amazing women who participated, but you can expect a wrap-up post where I use a lot of words trying ;). In the meantime, I've missed my petticoats and twirly skirts, and am so excited to debut my new Vixen makeup-print swing skirt today. I'd heard so many good things about the Vixen swings, and am happy to add another positive review to the chorus!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm getting ready to do one of my favorite things in the world: cook a giant, elaborate holiday meal. There's something extra satisfying about holiday cooking: no matter what, the fact that somebody in the distant past arbitrarily decided to celebrate a certain day gets me in the party mood every single time.

6 Reasons to Love the Wiggle Dress

Wiggle Week is off to a great start: I've worn some of my favorite non-cupcakey dresses and have many more to go! It's been so wonderful to see so many gorgeous ladies rocking their wiggles and sharing words of wisdom on Instagram and Facebook. I've said before that immersing myself in a body-positive community has helped me on my own body-acceptance journey, and seeing everyone in their wiggles really drives home the message that all bodies are perfect just the way they are.

#WiggleWeek: Deadly Dames Courtesan Wiggle

While I'll always love a circle skirt with a massive petticoat or two, I'm really starting to get into the wiggle dress. It's taken me a while, since I've spent most of my life feeling self-conscious about my belly, but lately I've really been feeling the fitted look! They have a totally different vibe than my usual giant-skirt-and-novelty-print combo, but it's one I finally feel ready to embrace. Life is just too short to worry about whether strangers can clearly see that you have a stomach: hello, everybody has a stomach. Otherwise, we'd all die of starvation!