The Best Burger of My Life

Last week was Jeff's spring break, so we did more than the usual amount of Chicago adventuring. We went back to Navy Pier (post coming soon!), tried out a Chinese restaurant I'd been interested in for a while, went out for dinner in our neighborhood, and had the best burgers I've ever had in my entire life. I'm a hyperbole-prone person, but for once, this is not an exaggeration.

I'll get to the food in a minute, but first, here's what I wore:

One Skirt Three Ways: Aqua Circle Skirt

It is good to be home! I've been having a lovely time seeing everyone, playing with my godchildren, and generally running around.

Today's installment in my "One Piece Three Ways" series features my aqua circle skirt from Le Bomb Shop. I've written about Le Bomb Shop before, and this skirt is one of my favorite things I've bought from them. 

A bonus outfit, from the days before I learned to take better photos of myself. This top is actually a dress!

Mom's Birthday Bash!

I'm writing this post sitting next to my sister Ronnie, which is possibly the most exciting event of my admittedly-short blogging journey! In fact, she helped me find the exact word I wanted ('journey') to conclude the previous sentence. We've had a super busy and eventful weekend, and I have a zillion pics of fun outfits and food to share with you. Friday was my mother's birthday, and we spent the whole day celebrating together! My dad took the day off, and we took my grandma to run a few errands and come out to lunch with us. 

Since I spent eight years in graduate school/working as an adjunct in LA, I've typically come home to visit for long stretches at Christmas and in the summertime, so I have plenty of clothing that lives in New York. I was actually pretty happy to come home and wear this Lindy Bop skirt for the first time in ages.

The Apple of my Eye

Greetings from the great state of New York! I'm here for a visit because today is my mother's birthday. It's really so much nicer to come East from Chicago, as there's no real jet lag from a one-hour time difference. The flight is only a little longer than the drive from the airport to my parents' house, too! I'm looking forward to sharing my New York doings with all of you, but today's post is a tale of Chicago-based gluttony and amazing food!

My cousin introduced me to Red Apple Polish buffet a few years back, when he and his partner were living in Logan Square and I was in town for a conference. It was so amazing that I dreamed of going back for years. When Jeff and I moved to Chicago and started making our list of restaurants to try, Red Apple was my sole solo contribution. We went there shortly after the move, but back then, this blog didn't exist. However, we recently went back for round two. It was just as good as the previous two times, and I can't wait to go again!

Since Red Apple is a buffet, I picked my outfit with extra care: I needed something especially forgiving and comfortable, but still cute enough to make me happy!

Sometimes my photographer takes photos while I'm getting my hair out of my face and they come out better than the ones I posed for properly.

Gorgeous Gingham

I'm going to New York today, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm dressed for maximum comfort, which doesn't make for a very fun blog post, so here are some photos of a more exciting outfit that I wore recently.

It's been a long, dreary winter, which I am so not used to anymore, so as soon as the sun peeked out, I jumped on the chance to go bare-legged and dress like a picnic. This winter is the first time I've consciously decided to keep the doldrums at bay by dressing brightly, and so far, I think it's been a success! In the past, I tended to default to muted tones and monochromatic (read: black) outfits when the weather turned chilly. This year, though, I've embraced the idea of wearing the change I want to see in the weather. While I can't definitely say that this is why Chicago had such a mild winter, I also can't say that it isn't.

There is something so classic, cheerful, and irresistible about red gingham. Well, all gingham is good gingham, but for me, a bold red pattern is sort of transcendent. It matches 90% of what I own and makes me think of wine-and-cheese picnics at the Hollywood Bowl. Winner!

Wishlist Wednesday #10

It's getting a lot harder for me to make these wish lists, since all I can think about is Pinup Girl Clothing's as-yet unreleased new collection. Every time they preview it on Instagram, I get a little more excited about the new Mary Blair prints! I don't think it would be possible for me to get more excited about the rerelease of the Paris-print Jennys. Nonetheless, there's a great big world of fun clothing out there, and I spend an embarrassing amount of time trawling it for fun things. Here are this week's finds!

$25 and Under

Ok. I know button-up shirts are usually a major disaster on me, which is why I hardly ever wear them. But when I see the cutest little peach gingham top, I'm tempted to forget everything I ever knew and just go for it!

These heart-shaped sunglasses have more than a slight Lolita vibe, but they're also super kitschy and fun. That movie came out forever ago, anyway. No one would think of it in 2016 if I wore these, right?

Working the Kinks Out

Today's post is a quick one, since I have to get ready for my upcoming trip home! My mother is having a significant birthday this week, and since I need to get my wedding dress altered, I figured I may as well take the excuse to visit. Who am I kidding? I just want to see everyone! It's so much easier to visit now that I live in Chicago, and the flights are about 1/3 as expensive as the flights from LA to New York were.

Whenever I visit my family, I'm so busy seeing people and going places that I need a day or two to rest after I get back. My family all lives fairly close to my parents, and my godbabies are right across the street, so I get to pack a lot of visiting into even a short trip. My little sister is sort of an astrology buff, but in a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek kind of way, and she always tells me that I'm basically a textbook Cancer. I love my family, like to be at home, and have all the feelings all the time. It's good to know that my sign fits!

Today's outfit photos feature a new-to-me skirt that I picked up from the Pinup Girl Clothing Swap/Sell group on Facebook. It's an older design, so it hasn't been available on the store's site for a while. I was pretty excited to find it for a really great price!

A Unicorn for My Sartorial Stable: Pink Lemonade Nancy

Ok, confession time: I completely failed at my buy-nothing-in-February pledge. I made it about two weeks, which isn’t particularly impressive. BUT! There’s a very good reason that I failed, and here it is!!

Why I Stopped Wearing Babydoll Dresses

Happy day-after-St.-Patty's, everyone! I hope everyone had a safe night and enjoyed themselves. I'm feeling much better than I did as a college student/young grad students on the day after St. Patrick's Day. Maturity FTW!

In college, I went crazy for babydoll dresses. For the first time in my life, the entire fashion world was at my fingertips, by which I mean that I had a brand-new debit card and high-speed internet. I ordered babydolls from Urban Outfitters and Forever 21, and tromped all over campus in knee-high boots, tights, and my array of short jersey dresses. This was definitely a step up for me, fashion-wise: for the first few months of college, I went to class in running shoes and workout clothes, so as to not waste any time between class and the gym. My undergrad advisor actually came out of his office one day during my senior year, while I was working in the student lounge, specifically to tell me that when he first knew me, I dressed like a dork. So babydolls were a major improvement.

This black dress, for example, was a staple from around 2005 or so until I finally retired it in 2008.

Me and Socrates, down by the schoolyard...

Review: Heart of Haute Sweetie Dress

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! As I confessed in Tuesday's post, I'm not Irish, but I love corned beef, Irish sausages, green, and beer, so all things considered, this is a pretty good holiday for me!

I had three solid contenders for my St. Patty's Day outfit, but a dark-horse contender arrived with Tuesday afternoon's mail and completely changed the game. I had ordered the Heart of Haute Sweetie Dress in Meadow Daisy a while back, along with a cut-to-order twirl skirt, and they arrived just in time!