My Latest Obsessions

GMC - chilling in his swing - 11.5 months

Happy Friday! It is absolutely gorgeous here in Chicago - finally starting to feel like summer! However, I feel as though summer is now flying by and we'll be back in school before we know it. Saturday PFC/I are off to check out the restaurant Vie (only suburban restaurant to get a Michelin star) for date night and then heading to a party.

Some of my latest faves:

• I saw Horrible Bosses this week. LOVED IT. SO hilarious. Jason Bateman is such a doll. Remember his days as Derek in Silver Spoons?! LOVE him. If you haven't seen it, pls go - you will laugh your a** off!
• Love this series from A Cup of Jo re: Balancing Work/Life/Motherhood.
• I'm kind of digging this party necklace from Cursive Design - very fun!
• Cool Eclipse Dress from local designer - LOVE it.
• Adorable antique bird mirror from Terrain. Cute! Pretty votives from there as well.
• Loving these kelly green jeans - super cute!
• Isn't this a darling little dress (love the cut out heart) - so sweet!
• These little skimmers would kick jeans up a notch!
• Ummm, don't these peanut butter pretzel bites look yummy?!
• My mom has these cute little mouse flats - aren't they adorable?
• Instead of a rocking horse how about a rocking rabbit?
• How about some dip dyed nautical bracelets? FUN!

My Latest Obsessions

Georgie - 11 months

Happy Friday! I cannot believe that our little Georgie is a little over 11 months old. We were totally in countdown this time last year (for the arrival of GMC and to get back into our house). It has FLOWN by!
And this summer is flying by - cannot believe that we are already in July. Nuts!

Some of my latest faves:

• Love this gal's style - a little hampons beauty!
• C + I made these yummy nutella banana muffins. They were a HUGE hit with everyone. The nutella takes them from yummy to FABULOUS!
• What cute flats - LOVE.
• I've been on a reading kick lately...and just finished One Day by David Nicholls. Good read! Last PM I started Room by Emma Donoghue - so far so good. A good friend gave it a thumbs up!
• Sad that we are already starting to see all the summer clothes on sale...as that means fall is around the corner. But isn't this shirt cute (a newbie at J.Crew)?
• Adorable owl belt - my mom would love this one!
• The gal that I do my tennis drills with has a little feather hair extension. It looks super cute on her - however, I'm not sure how I feel about this trend!
• I've always found Kate Moss to be so effortlessly beautiful. Of course, she looked stunning on her wedding day!
• Great post on ettiquette - when it comes to traveling to friends homes and stopping by for a dinner party. Love GP!
• I really want to look into this diary writing app for my ipad. Looks pretty cool!
• I'm a big fan of Marshalls and T.J. Maxx...and I scored (for $16 mind you) this pair of super cute pjs. How fun are they? Love the elephant print!
  
  

My Latest Obsessions



A gal at the pool was getting her 4th of July on EARLY! Cute.

 Fourth of July is right around the corner. I cannot believe that the 4th is upon us - as it is just now starting to feel like SUMMER! We are off to the Lake tomorrow afternoon and then back in town for some fun festivities around here. Have a great long weekend!

Some of my latest faves (all RED, WHITE and BLUE):

• Some fun ideas for the 4th - my fave = Fourth of July Cake! However, I think I may try these yummy looking white chocolate covered strawberries (look a bit easier than the cake!).
• I adore these 4th of July inspired cupcakes in a jar - these would make a cute favor!
• Some blue and red paper decorations - VERY CUTE!
• LOVE this 4th of July Pinwheels party - so festive! Do it yourself with all these printables.
• Here are some decorative flags...to put in cupcakes or attach to favor bags!
• Check out these cute red, white and blue star printed straws - very cute!
• Some yummy looking patriotic pops!
• Some 4th of July Market picks!

My Latest Obsessions

• We took some pics (some of which are above) for a Father's Day card (from Tiny Prints) for all of the grandpas and PFC. Gotta love that you can drop in photos in a card and send them off via Tiny Prints - LOVE that site. It is especially nice when you have 4 Grandpas to be sending cards to! And we are still putting up our Father's Day Banner (early Sunday morning before PFC comes downstairs). But wow, who knew it would be so difficult to find good ole clothespins. But aren't these shabby chic ones adorable!?
• So my sister is pregno (which is so fun by the way!) - and it has been fun checking out all things baby lately. Ummm, how cute are these little clothes from Pink Chicken?! ADORABLE. LOVE this little owl swimsuit. And what a cute little elephant dress!
• C and M LOVE playing tic tac toe - I stumbled across these adorable tic-tac-toe stamps by the folks at Yellow Owl Workshop. What a FAB idea and they would make a really cute gift.
• A friend of mine (who brought over these AMAZING oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies yesterday) recommended this 3-ingredient pulled pork recipe (that she says is a MUST TRY). And OMG, love the fact that the prep time = 5 minutes = simply FAB.
• How pretty are these mexican coverlets? LOVE THEM. More about them here...
• Ode to a Post-it - Father's Day style.
• LOVE THIS = Weekly Greens. These honey-glazed chicken, sweet potato and peach skewers look yummy! I need to take a better look at her prepared pantry list of items to always have on hand.
• The Bixby Clutch = VERY CUTE!
• Gwenyth's GOOP re: Father's Day.
• I was looking for a fun appetizer to bring to a wedding shower last PM. Unfortunately, I needed something I could make super fast as our day was nutty with kid activities, but next time I head somewhere I really want to try these Deviled Strawberries (sent to me via a friend). Don't they look yummy?!

My Latest Obsessions

GMC - 10 months old

Happy Friday! The weather around here has been NUTTY - super HOT and HUMID one day and then dreary and chilly the next. But bottomline, summer is HERE!

Some of my latest faves:

• I LOVE the above pic of GMC. I cannot believe he is 10 plus months old. WOW - time flies.
• Some cute temporary animal tattoos = FUN!
• TOMS just came out with some eyewear. I love their give back concept when you buy a pair of TOMS shoes (every shoe purchase means TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need) and now you can help someone's eyesight w/their one for one program. I like the natural burlap classic TOMS.
• Some fun ideas to display your plates.
• Such a fun necklace!
• I LOVE ikat - here are some great ikat bags from Matt + Nat.
• I wear dresses all summer long - here are some colorful ones!
• We are ordering pizza tonight for dinner - how fun is this pizza cutter!?
• Kate Spade's new arrivals = GOLD GOLD GOLD. FUN FUN FUN.
• I think the gals and I are going to make a banner as such for Father's Day - CUTE!

My Latest Obsessions

Happy Friday! The gals woke up this morning in such a great mood - and they were all about calling today FABULOUS FRIDAY! Their energy was very contagious and I have had this giddy "I'm almost done w/school" thing going on today too! M had her last program this morning and C has two more days of school next week and then SCHOOL IS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

Sadly, JuJu and my youngest sister Carrie left this past Monday. I am still in mourning. Above is a pic of all four of us (my two sisters and JuJu) from last weekend enjoying brunch and chatting. The four of us have not been together as such in a LONG time!

Have a great weekend! Some of my latest faves...

• OMG, this is FAB (and was forwarded to me by a friend that knows my appreciation of stationery)  = Meeble Mail, a stationery touch to email. I haven't signed on yet but will circle back when I do! In the past I have had an account with Iomoi's e-stationery.
• Cheese = LOVE. Gwenyth just did a Goop post on all things cheese. So fun. Speaking of cheese, I was at a picnic gathering for M's class yesterday and one of the mom's put together a FAB tray of adult yumminess = Trader Joe's wasabi arugula (yes, wasabi arugula...it is NEW) with some olive oil / some cracked pepper thin crackers /  Sheep's Milk feta (from Trader Joe's) / cherry tomatoes cut in half (so you assembly all the stuff together and you have a very tasty and fresh treat).
• It is National Doughnut Day - are you a Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts fan?
• My youngest sister sent me the book Clean and I haven't had a moment to read it yet or fully delve into the idea of eating clean. I know another friend who is working the clean program and really likes it. And then I noticed that a friend from high school was featured in an article about eating clean. Maybe it is time for me to look into it...and then of course, there is Gwenyth who has tried it! Anyone out there have any thoughts on it? Yikes...I would have to give up my MAJOR coffee intake. And I'm not sure if that (me giving up coffee) would be beneficial for our family at the moment - ha! Oh, the pros and cons...
• When JuJu and my youngest sister were in town we stopped in Cotelac in Lincoln Park (a fave shop of my two sisters and my mom) = really pretty items! My Mom (thx JuJu!) bought me these adorable ballerina shoes (that have removable cotton laces) - so fun. They also have an e-shop. The french just get it...effortlessly chic.
• Jason Bateman has been popping up lately here and there. He has a little 4 year old named Francesca. Love this interview with him (fave lines = When Francesca grows up, what do you hope she remembers? I hope she remembers the last half hour of each day before she goes to sleep. Talking about the highlights of her day and cuddling up and reading books before bed.I hope that as she gets older she will always be able to keep that feeling of trust with her, knowing she has a mother and father she can always run home to.
• I am so thrilled with our wallpaper choice for our powder room and I just smile when I see it. LOVING wallpaper these days.

My Latest Obsessions

Happy Friday! We have LOVED having my Mom (JuJu) in town all week - so much fun! Yesterday we went and took a tour of the Robie House built by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is inspiring me to read Loving Frank which I have had on my list for a long time! And last night my youngest sister arrived in town!
Some of my latest faves and finds...

• Some fun animal prints from Kate Spade. Loving this iphone case! And how great is this cute elephant basket/purse?! Love it! And some pretty flat sandals.
• It was super HOT last Sunday and we headed to the pool. You gotta love Chicago weather because yesterday it was in the 40s - ugh! The pool made me think of summer and swimsuits and flip flops. LOVE this suit bottom and suit top in navy. Sadly, they are all sold out of the color/size I need.
• Cute ikat swim cover up.
• This week JuJu and I have been making a list of decorating ideas for our house. She showed me a fabric that will be FAB in our living and dining room = LOVE! Speaking of ikat - ummm, how cute are these sheets!?
• Oprah is DONE. 25 years. I have been DVRing all of her last episodes. I haven't had a chance to watch all of them but did see the one with Ralph Lauren. What a great interview! They seem like such a great family.
• Love these little adorable canary tea holders - they would be very cute gifts!
• I cooked a bit this week - 2 real dinners (big feat for me!) - and was inspired this week to look up a few more recipes to add to the rotation. I may be trying this garden lasagna in the next few weeks. I've been craving a burger lately...some burger recipes to try!
• Essie's Spring collection = a French Affair.
• A little tie dye action!
• Last night my sister introduced me to theyskens' theory - pretty cool collection! Carrie and I were trolling around the net and she introduced me to Opening Ceremony. How rad is this handkerchief envelope? = LOVE!

Have a wonderful long weekend!