the gods of styling

I am the farthest thing from a stylist but if I was, I would totally have all my models rock the messy bun and long thick eyelashes. This photograph could have been taken in 1960, 2010, or 2040 and that's what I love about fashion.

photo credit goes to someone far more stylish than me.

polka polka

This fall I went where I have never gone before, POLKA DOTS. I've always been an admirer from afar, like I am with high waisted pants, 5 inch heels, and pin straight hair. Yes those things look just lovely and fierce and all things vogue, just not for me.

To be honest, the older I've gotten the more I care about "my style" not necessarily being "in style." So during my bimonthly trip to H&M I grabbed a polka dot sweater and a polka dot blouse and tried both on with a frown on my face bracing myself for the worst. But they kind of sort of...worked. Both items passed my three check test (versatile? comfortable? cotton?) and while I returned the sweater, I have been LOVING my blouse and even purchased a black and white polka dot cardi from the Targ this weekend. I do believe there can be too much of a good thing, and so my polka dot buying will end after these two purchases. But I am proud of myself for trying something new, for stepping away from my usually black/white/navy/gray pallet and encourage my 2 readers to do the same!

work it girl.

my first food post!

When I first came to Chicago I had to cut a lot out of my budget, and as a result perfected 4 dishes that were on constant rotation. My favorite meal remains brown rice, edamame, and tofu, with red curry. It lasts 3-4 meals, is healthy, and just as good re-heated. However in the past 12 months I have certainly diversified my cooking portfolio. I wok it up on a regular basis, I have things in my pantry that do not have english labels, and I follow food blogs to not only find new recipes but also new techniques that this little brain would have never thought of. (Like adding your dressing to the pan when heating up shrimp/chicken/whatever for a salad - my favorite so far!) I also realized my interest in cooking has gone a little bit past "ok I need food to survive" when I was like a kid on Christmas morning after my mini food processor arrived. I CAN NOT WAIT to try the edamame dip I have been wanting to make.

Last night we had Trader Joe's orange chicken with some fabulous brown rice and rice noodles that my boyyyyfran so expertly stir fried. Tonight it's low fat mac and cheese with BBQ tofu (for me) and some kind of meat (for him.)

This will not turn into a food blog, trust me. But I figure I yip yap about everything else, food might as well be mentioned every so often.

me in my house alone..

"it's been a long night in new york city
it's been a long time since 22
i don't remember you looking any better
but then again, i don't remember you."
j. mayer

to thrift

I am an avid thrifter. And I have no prejudices. I thrift for ball jars, pyrex, vintage pyrex, clothes, clutches, jewelery, pictures, vintage postcards, shoes, scarves, planters, tablecloths, milk glass anything, lamps, etc. Sometimes I leave with $20 worth of treasures I never knew I needed, and other times I will walk out happy as a clam with $1.50 scarf I know will go with everything this fall (seriously, I just found that scarf. It's giant and filled with yellow and corals and blues and browns and it is just perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfection) I realize that not only do my boyfriend and I have a shared love for each other, we also unfortunately love STUFF and so my thrift store ventures have been limited since moving to our small nest. So I've decided to make a list of things that I just absolutely positively must buy if I find, and I will stick to this list. For as long as I can.

1. A vintage scale for our kitchen. It doesn't even have to work, actually I'd prefer it not to so I can balance the Ball Jar that holds my coffee on one side, and maybe our salt and pepper on the other side.
2. An awesome lamp for our kitchen table
3. One very large container for all of our mixing utensils
4. Something to hold all my magazines because cluttering the living room table is so full of anxiety
5. More Ball Jars because let's be honest, a dozen is just not enough.

I said limited people, not eliminated.