My Latest Obsessions

Georgie sporting his bow tie at Breakfast w/ Santa

Heading out to a Tea Party at the Art Institute

Happy Friday! It has been a festive week of holiday parties, baking and stuff w/ the kids. And next week is the kids last week of school before their break. I LOVE going to the holiday performances at school - so festive and fun. I'm really looking forward to them.

We had our book club's cookie exchange this week. I forgot how yummy the Oatmeal Carmelitas are - OMG, amazing! And the Cheez It bark turned out to be really yummy too. Perfect combo of salty + sweet. The girls were hovering over the 2 bins of yummy looking cookies that I brought back.

We had a really nice time at the Art Institute's Annual Treasure Hunt Tea Party last Sunday. The girls enjoyed being creative and making their own shadow boxes. And it was fun to be inside the Art Institute surrounded by such amazing art. We stopped to show them Grant Wood's famous piece - American Gothic.

I did not finish the book that was due for book club this week. I just couldn't get into it. However, we had a great discussion on it (Vaddey Ratner's book, In the Shadow of the Banyan). I did check out our next book = Steve Job's biography.

Tonight I'm heading to the Royal George Theatre w/ a few gals to see a parody on 50 Shades of Grey. It should be entertaining! And tomorrow evening we have nothing going on which we are so thrilled about as it will be nice to relax - especially since next week is going to be a whirlwind.

Some of my latest faves:

• I'm happy to report that I have all of our Christmas shopping done. LOVED shopping online this year. That made it really simple and free shipping = FAB. Here are some great gifts for kids. 
• Some New Girl fashion for you. My sister in law was sporting the Suzette Coat by Kate Spade. It is as cute as can be. Adorable! Prettiest shade of blue too. 
• LOVE LOVE LOVE this rustic elegant tabletop for the holidays. So pretty. Very well done. I love the monogrammed Linen Satin Stitch Dinner Napkins. 
• I love Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Here is a peek at their little boy Duke's nursery. What a beautiful nursery. 
• A good friend recommended this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup. It is on my list of items to make SOON! It would be perfect for a cozy night in. 
• A HS friend of mine (the Food Editor at Time Out Chicago) announced his Kickstarter (funding platform for creative endeavors) for his project Middlewest (a new food magazine in the form of modern recipe cards). This looks so amazing. I'm excited to see the first issue. 
• Neiman Marcus + Target collaborated and came up w/ a list of 50 holiday items. Love the Marc Jacobs metallic clutches. And this sweet Marchesa dress would be perfect for a little flower girl.  
• I always have to watch Love Actually at least once during the holidays. The other evening as a family we watched It's a Wonderful Life (and now the girls are quoting George Bailey, "Is this your bad ear? George Bailey...I will love you until the day I die!"). 
• The girls were so in awe of each of their Portable North Pole videos from Santa. I too was pretty impressed. Uploading pics really personalized the videos. Highly recommend it. 
• The New Year is upon us. Time to start thinking about New Year's resolutions. Here is a pretty 2013 calendar with inspiring messages. 
• LOVE this striped Clare Vivier neon striped carryall. And it would be fun to have it monogrammed. 
• Cute needlepoint iphone case - for that one person that you are struggling to find a gift for. 
• I would never have paired a flannel shirt w/ a tulle skirt - but I LOVE the combo. I saw the skirt at Anthro and swooned over it a bit (that part of me that wants to be a ballerina). And here is the checked flannel shirt. I'm torn by the outfit. What do you think? Oh, and check out these DIY Glitter Heels. Cute. 
• We've been talking about manners in our house a lot these days (especially close to the holidays). My dear friend sent me this link about 25 manners every kid should know by age 9. Perfect. My mom was a stickler for good manners and I know I'm not perfect but I really want to instill good manners w/ our kids. 
• Aren't these dot skinny jeans so cute?! Adorable. 
• These Mini Snow Globes would be really fun to make. Next year! 
• I loved watching Jeremiah Brent on Rachel Zoe's show. What a cutie. He is dating Nate Berkus. What a great couple! 
• And lastly, the Golden Globe nominations are out!!