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 Showers

Dress: Anthropologie. Jacket: Michael Kors (via Nordstrom Rack.) Aviators: Urban Outfitters.
Shoes: Cole Hann (via TJ Maxx.) Hair Piece: F21. Bracelet: Renegade Art Fair.

My gosh has there been April Showers here in the Chicagoland. Here's to a past weekend full of sunshine and hopefully tons of May Flowers. 

And speaking of showers, this is what I wore to my future sister-in-law's first bridal shower. I will admit at about 2 PM when it was a breezy 43 degrees, I was second guessing not wearing tights. But I refuse to wear tights anymore, tights are for October, not April. 

Here are some more bridal shower pictures. 

My brother Andrew and me.

Perfect flowers for a perfect Bridal Tea.

Bride and her bridesmaids! (Becca is in white.)

Things I Learned...

... This weekend.

1. I've got the best big brother. I know that it's not something I just learned and I'm totally biased but I've got to say it. My brother is getting married this summer to Becca whom I absolutely adore. This weekend we had the first bridal shower for Becca. Andrew made an appearance and brought the beautiful flowers pictured above. It's been such a cool shift for me to see Andrew as not just a big brother and a son in my family but to a husband. It makes my heart full just thinking about how wonderful of a husband he will be. 
2. There are such things as rain days and for that matter multiple ones. This past weekend (well Thursday & Friday) my little city was underwater. The schools shut down, I couldn't get out of my neighborhood, life seemed to just halt. Who knew that "rain days" or "flood days" could shut down whole cities. 
3. Sometimes life feels like a movie. My roommates and I (on said rain day) watched Zero Dark Thirty. I had seen it already but loved it just as much the second time. It felt surreal sitting in front of my computer Friday night watching the FBI, Boston police department, and other law enforcement literally hunt the second suspect from the Boston marathon bombings. I had such mixed emotions Friday evening. I was grateful that the suspect was in custody but it didn't even begin to subside the heartache I felt for the community of Boston and their families. It didn't feel like the end, but just the beginning... hopefully the beginning of lots and lots of healing.
4. It's just okay to be in bed at 9 PM. Who cares if that happens to be on a Friday night... right?
5. You know you really love a book when you look down at any page and all you see is your green sharpie pen covering the page. As I mentioned here. I'm currently reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown and I am fascinated (and underlining a ton.) My favorite thing I read today was, "We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart."  Are you reading any good books? Any recommendations? 

Fashion Before Comfort

Dress: J.Crew. Shoes: Nine West. Hat: J.Crew. 
Necklace: F21. Earrings: H&M. Sunglasses: F21 

One of my good childhood friends and my brother's best friend Kyle got engaged to a wonderful young woman named Sadie a handful of months ago. This weekend we got to celebrate their engagement at Arlington Race Track here in Chicago. I must admit, I am not much of a horse fan or really a gambling fan. But I will tell you, I am a huge fan of the fashion. You want me to wear a cute dress with a big hat? I am in.

 I really do love this outfit a lot. When I got this dress I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to wear it much but thank goodness for weddings, I've been able to wear it to many bridal showers and engagement parties. 

Although I'm a fan of this dress, it was not the most practical for a day at the track. A 90 degree day in fact. I did not even think to look at the temperature when I got dressed in the morning. Oops? As I was dripping with sweat all day (and complaining,) JJ kept teasing me about my high school motto, "fashion before comfort." I instantly regretted sharing that story with him. And you know what, as ridiculous as it may be, I will still stand by it. Even if I am a hot mess of myself at a race track. 

Lesson learned, I need to check the weather first. 

Truly Madly Deeply

Dress: Covet Boutique in San Francisco.
Necklace: Standard Style Boutique in Kansas City. Shoes: Rampage (DSW). 

Me with my high school girlfriends Kelly, Gwen, & Alex.

The first kiss!

Here it is, the last San Francisco/Napa Valley post and it's the wedding post! For some reason picking out a dress for this wedding was so difficult for me. Thank goodness San Francisco has great shopping and a cute little boutique on Union Street saved me. (Note: Look! Pink Lipstick too!)

The bride Laura has been a close friend of mine since elementary school. I'm not sure if everyone loved Savage Garden in the late 1990's but gosh we did. You may remember them from their hit "I Want You" when they reference cherry cola. Well anyway, they came out with a song called "Truly Madly Deeply" when Laura and I were in 5th grade. And instantly we were obsessed. Like most preadolescent girls do, we dreamt the boys we had huge crushes on were singing those beautiful lyrics straight to us. I remember on sleepover laying in her older sisters bed  playing that song on repeat, not talking to each other, and dreaming of our 5th grade heart throbs. (Shockingly) those relationships didn't work out for either of us, but a girl can dream, right?

Napa Rappa

Blazer: JCrew. Top: Anthropologie. Shorts: Gap.
Shoes: Nine West (Nordstrom Rack) Earrings: Lia Sophia

I think the only appropriate place to wear a sparkly top is Napa Valley. I've had this top for a while now and there's never been quite the right place to wear it but wine tasting seemed like a great option. Pairing it with pair of denim shorts also seemed to made me feel like less of a disco ball. 

The day before Laura's wedding we went to a winery handful of different wineries. Our clear favorite was Peju. It really had nothing to do with the wine and everything to do with our new friend Alan. 

Alan was our sommelier (aka the person who served us wine.) At first Alan seemed like a nice older gentleman and then out of no where he started rapping. Yes, rapping. He even coined a new name for himself, the "nappa rappa." By the end of our time there we were his biggest fans. Alan even free styled for Laura & Radley's video. Hopefully you all got to see his skills at the end of Ben's video here. 

He truly was a delight.  

Here he is, the one and only, Alan.

All You Need is Love

My friend Laura (you should read her blog here.) and her phenomenal new husband Radley are such incredible friends to so many. It was absolutely no surprise to me that their wedding was one of the best celebrations I've ever been to. 

One of my close friends Ben put together a collection of video snapshots and pictures of the weekend to give to Laura and Radley. He was able to capture what the day was all about. 

Obviously wanted to share it with you all. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I must admit, I've watched it 7 times already. Oops?

San Francisco, I adore you.

A close childhood friend of mine, Laura, got married this past weekend in Napa Valley. So instead of just taking a quick trip to California, I spent the week leading up to her wedding in San Francisco. I am obsessed. I seriously cannot get enough of the city. 

Sweater: Francesca's. T-shirt: American Apparel. Denim Shorts: Gap. Shoes: Steve Madden
Earrings: Lia Sophia. Necklace: Anthropolgie 

One thing that was a bit of a surprise about San Francisco was the weather. People had mentioned to me that it's a bit chillier than expected, especially for August. It was actually a wonderful treat. After many hot summer days in Chicago, it was refreshing to wear a sweater and feel completely comfortable. 

Fall, I'm ready for you.

Weekend Update

Thank goodness for iPhones, right? My phone helped me capture some special moments this weekend. The Butters family (& friends) had a lot to celebrate.

On Saturday we had graduation and brunch for my future sister-in-law (she got her masters in secondary education,) a graduation party for my best friend from high school (she's officially a pharmacist!) and an engagement party for the future Mr. & Mrs. Butters all downtown Chicago Saturday. It also was my mom's birthday. Phew, what a day! Although I'm completely exhausted, I'm grateful I was able to celebrate so many wonderful things with so many wonderful people. 

Hope you all had a fun weekend too!