May Twenty Thirteen

These playlist posts always sneak up on me. It feels like time just moves faster and faster every year. 

Tomorrow is June 1st. Unbelievable. 

May was a wonderful month filled with many celebrations, lots of good books, countless drives with windows down, and many great conversations. 

These songs were great additions to those memories.  

1. Boxcar - Shovels & Rope
2. Lana Del Rey - Young & Beautiful 
3. The Valley- The Oh Hellos
4. Follow Me - Trouvere
5. Falling For You - The 1975
6. Native Son (feat. Brett Denne) - Kate Earl
7. 100$ Bill - Jay-Z
8. Queen of the City - Joshua James
9. Crazy In Love - Emeli Sande
10. Saturday Morning - Rachael Yamagata
11. Beautiful Girl - William Fitzsimmons
12. So I'll Let You Go - Trouvere
13. Bad Things - Meiko
14. Fenway Griffin House
15. Good Bye - Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed

Twenty Six

Dress: Gift from mom (boutique in Breckenridge, CO.) Shoes: Old Navy.
Necklace: Francesca's. Bracelet: Renegade Art Festival. Earrings: Target. 

Well, I'm officially in my late twenties! I turned 26 yesterday and honestly could not have felt more celebrated by my friends and family. Thank you to everybody that made me feel so loved.

My day was filled with sharing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with wonderful friends, spending sometime reading in my back yard, watching a rerun (or two) of mad men, and catching up on some work emails from the Memorial Day weekend. 

All in all, a great day.

I wore this outfit out to dinner with some close friends to a mexican restaurant in town to celebrate. My mom actually bought this dress for herself when she was out in Colorado with some girlfriends but when she got home she realized it didn't fit quite the way she was hoping. Worked out great for me! 

Anyway, here's to another year. 

I have no idea what will happen but I'm trusting it'll be a good one. 

Excited for what's in store! 

Things I Learned...

... This Memorial Day Weekend

1. Weddings are really one of the best celebrations. My brother's best man Kyle (and close friend of mine) got married this weekend in St. Louis to Sadie. It was such a fun weekend of being surrounded by friends and family who adore this couple. It kind of felt like a preview for what's to come June 29th with my family!
2. Sometimes it's actually fun to be the third wheel. I might be singing a different tune on a different occasion but this weekend was great. My whole family went down to Kyle and Sadie's wedding but Andrew and Becca were both in the wedding party so that meant lots of quality time with my parents. Of course there were definitely moments where they drove me a little crazy but overall I'm grateful to be the third wheel to them. They're a great pair.
3. Any sort of animal baby is so adorable. When my parents and I were in St. Louis one of our adventures together was the St. Louis zoo. If you're ever in the area, it's a must. It's free and really wonderful. When we were there we saw this sweet baby elephant who had just been introduced to the public a couple days before. He was just a month old and seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I think we stood and watched him for about 20 minutes. Which is ages in zoo time.
4. The twitter feed @yourawaymessage is absolutely brilliant. If you're not following it, well, that's just seems silly. It's gotten to the point that my best friend Kate and I just screen shot pictures of different posts and send them to each other. Makes me giggle every time. 
5. Everything makes me cry. But seriously, everything makes me cry. Like a lot of these points, these thoughts aren't necessarily new but they're fresh from the weekend. I've always known this about myself, that my emotions manifest themselves in tears but last night felt like an all time low. Last night my roommate Kelly and I were watching the Real Housewives of Orange County and I cried... twice... I guess that's when you know, right? 

Things I Learned...

... This weekend.

1. God gives us such a gift in hearing "me too." I've heard that said many times before but it rang very true for me last night. My close friend Laura from high school is in town for just under a week. You may remember reading about her wedding in Napa here. Anyway, Laura's in town so Gwen and I grabbed dinner with her Sunday evening. We spent most of our meal sharing what life has been like over the last couple months since we all had been together over the holidays. It felt like each time one of us shared, a "gosh, me too" followed. And not in a "I want to point the conversation back to me" way but it in a way truly understanding. Grateful for those moments, grateful for those gifts.
2. I'm a sucker for my hometown (pictured above.) I spent both Friday and Sunday night there. Oops? I know people don't get it, or maybe think it's weird to love where you grew up so much. I just do.   
3. Wedding season is upon us! On Saturday was Becca's "bachelorette" deal in the city. We spent the day at a spa then went to dinner and out for some drinks. For the last couple months there have been many different celebrations but we're now on to the big day. First up, my good friends Sadie & Kyle, this weekend in St. Louis. Cannot believe it's finally summer.
4. Eleanor & Park is a must read. I'm 100 pages in and hooked. So what if it's another young adult novel, right?
5. I'm going to be closer to 30 than 20 in a short nine days. I'm turning 26. What? Yikes, where did this year go??

April Twenty Thirteen

So I realize that it's the middle of may, and I have been in full swing listening to "may twenty thirteen" and totally forgot to post "april twenty thirteen." Do not worry friends, here it is, in all it's glory. And again, sorry that it's almost June.

1. Don't Give Up - The Inlaws
2. Wine We Drink - Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors
3. Go Together - Jillian Edwards
4. Peace Like a River - Andrew Ripp
5. All the Poor and the Powerless - All Sons & Daughters
6. Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
7. From This Valley - The Civil Wars
8. Next to Me - Emeli Sande
9. Youth - Daugther
10. Beautiful Day - Joshua Radin
11. Brave - Sara Bareilles
12. Everything - Ben Howard
13. Pusher Love Girl  - Justin Timberlake 

Heat Wave

Skirt: Old Navy. Tank: Lululemon. Shoes: Nine West via DSW
Earrings: Target. Necklace: F21. Sunnies: Urban Outfitters

My goodness it has been warm here in Chicago the last couple days. 

It's unbelievable to me that on Monday there was frost on the ground and then be 80 and sunny the next three days. 

I don't want to jinx it but I think summer weather has officially arrived.

My roommates and I are pretty cheap and haven't gone the air conditioning route just yet. So that means lots of windows open, an unhappy kitty, and clothes that don't really touch my body. This is my go to "it's so hot" outside outfit. I'm a sucker for a maxi skirt during any season but they really are perfect for days like these when it's just simply hot. 

Things I Learned...

... This weekend.

1. I cannot get enough of The Great Gatsby soundtrack. I think I have spent the last 48 hours listening to it. "Young and Beautiful" has been constantly running through my head. I also loved the movie. Baz Luhrmann did a phenomenal job putting the story on a screen. Not sure I loved Carey Mulligan as Daisy but Leo was casted perfectly.
2. Mother's Day is the best. Since I'm so close to my family we get together pretty frequently. Today felt different though, it was nice to have an intentional day of just celebrating mom. Seriously though, don't know what in the world I'd do without her. 
3. Traffic automatically puts me in a bad mood. It is kind of incredible how my day can be going well and then all of a sudden traffic hits and I'm instantly frustrated. 
4. Homecomings always need to start with deep dish pizza and a visit from your bestie (I'd like to think so at least.) My best friend Gwen from high school has been living out in Washington DC for the last 4 years and she moved back to Chicago today! I was able to stop by her house today and give her a big hug (and eat some deep dish pizza) to welcome her home. I'm excited for what's in store with her back home again, can only imagine lots of fun things.
5. I like to think of myself as a pretty clean person but one thing is for sure, I'm not very good at keeping my room organized. It feels like once I week I take the time to "clean my room" and then somehow within 24 hours its a mess again. Even as I sit here typing I am embarrassed by its current state. A complete mess. Maybe next time...