Oh how I wish I were French

Last week before we headed out of town for Thanksgiving the boyfriend and I had a cozy little date at Maude’s Liquor Bar—a French spot in the West Loop with unreal cocktails and the best frites I’ve had in a long time. French food is my favorite.

And actually, our dinner— with its sultry low lighting, the bistro tiles on the wall and mismatched furniture—got me thinking about how anything French is my favorite.

My senior year of high school, while my classmates spent their spring breaks in Mexico, my best friend Erin and I went to Paris for a week and discovered that everything is more romantic there, everything tastes better there and everyone just seems to be more beautiful there. I think we fell in love five hundred times while we were in that city. And not just with the boys. But with the crepes and the handbags and the flowers and architecture and the way it rains in the afternoon and people duck into coffee shops to sip espresso until it stops.

In my next life I want to be French. And I want to live in an apartment that looks like this:

Robert Couturier’s classic and bold designs for a Manhattan couple as featured in Elle Decor

Oatmeal Obsession

When it comes to food I have a tendency to get hooked on certain things. Bonus points if it’s something I can make on my own—because getting hooked on something from a restaurant can become quite the expensive and unhealthy habit.

Oatmeal is my latest obsession and I’ve nailed down what I think is the perfect "recipe." After a brisk commute to work there’s nothing better than a hot bowl of oatmeal to accompany a coffee. And with the right amount of healthy ingredients you can really cut back on the amount of sugar you add and still appease your sweet tooth.

Directions and ingredients are below. Enjoy!

1.      Add 1 cup water to 1/2 cup quick 1 minute Quaker Oats - microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes

2.      Once cooked—add chopped apple pieces, a pinch of light brown sugar, pumpkin spice Milk and Honey granola and dried cranberries (or substitute for your favorite toppings!)

3.      Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap...

Every year it’s hard leaving my family after Thanksgiving break. But this year was especially difficult. We had the loveliest long cozy weekend together—I felt so thankful the entire time I was home.

In a weekend recap of sorts I thought I’d reflect on some my favorite moments of the break—some pictured and some not. I’m already looking forward to Christmas when I’ll be home again with my family! Three weeks to go!

Family Turkey Day run

Snuggling

Monet at the St. Louis Art Museum

An incredible Thanksgiving feast
Singing ‘The Hills are Alive’ at the dinner table
Eating the best banana cream pie in the world—courtesy of my mother

Catching up with old friends

Having Jered celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time with my family

Sharing what we all are most Thankful for

Spending time with relatives from California and Chicago

The techno bubble dance party at the Turkey Day game tailgate

Wishful Wednesday... A light, bright dream home

Someday when I have my own home, it will have floor to ceiling windows and white walls and possibly floors as well. I can hardly breath looking at all of these photos... Give me natural light or give me death. 

all photos via Pinterest

More gifts for everyone on your list... Fab finds for $50 and under

Continuing on with my holiday gift guide, I have included some of my favorite finds from this past weekend’s Christmas shopping, in a list of gifts for $50 and under.

As I started making this list I found myself wanting to tweak my own wish list as well. Who wouldn’t want a fish hotel, or a chalkboard cheese slate? And how warm do those shearling JCrew slippers look? How sparkly are those earrings and that headband?

I want it all…

1. Fish Hotel

2. Bedazzled Headband

3. Penguin Classics ($20 Each)

4. Reclaimed Cheese Slate

5. Retro Handset

6. iPhone Case

7. Shearling Slippers

8. Putting on the Ritz Studs

Weekend Recap...

There's nothing like a weekend filled with holiday-esque activities to get you excited for an upcoming holiday. 

Between the festive Michigan Avenue lighting ceremony, buying the season's-first TJ's Joe Joe cookies and Christmas shopping that I did this weekend (list of gifts for $50 and less to come this week!) I can hardly wait for Wednesday when I'll board a plane for St. Louis to be with my family for Thanksgiving. 

Bring on the two-and-a-half day week! 

How was your weekend?

Fireworks from the 11th floor 

Hands down, favorite store-bought holiday cookie: Trader Joe's Joe Joe's 

Antenna Magazine Party at the River East Art Center 

Chicken & Waffles for brunch... Yum

Weekend To-Dos

Friday is here and I couldn't be more happy about it...

With the holidays just around the corner this is going to one of our last free weekends with very little on the agenda before Christmas.

It seems like things always get crazy around this time of year. Between travel and visitors, holiday parties and plans, calendars fill up quickly and I'm so looking forward to it. 

But in the meantime I'm looking forward to a lazy weekend filled with holiday shopping, sleeping in, a brunch date and hopefully a pedicure. 

Bring on the weekend!  

all images via Pinterest

Something special for everyone on your list... Gifts for less than $20

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is the gift giving of the season. 

Sure it's fun getting things on your wish list, but there's something so satisfying about picking out the perfect present and watching someone get so excited about what you've given them. That's why I put extra effort into those on my special list.  

In a few weeks I'll be attending a Secret Santa party where the spending limit is $20. There are so many fun gifts that you can give for under $20. 

Which gift would you be most excited about getting? 

1. Vintage hedgehog ornament

2. Two Essie Nail Polishes

3. Sula Blackberry Blush

4. Balsam Fir candle 

5. (One of my favorite games) Banagrams

6. Set of really cute stationery

7. Moleskin

8. Floppy winter hat

9. Set of four glass votives

Quick Weeknight Dinners

Sometimes after a long day of work the last thing I want to do when we get home is spend hours cooking dinner in the kitchen.

But rather than running out for Chinese, Thai or pizza we have started to depend on quick and easy meals that are at least a little bit healthy too. 

This pizza took almost no time at all and was so delish! Although, how can anything with bacon, goat cheese and arugula not be incredible?

We used Pilsbury's dough, but I know Trader Joe's has a great pre-made pizza dough as well. Or you can get super crafty and make your own if you have the extra time.

Bacon, Goat Cheese and Arugula Flatbread Pizza

1 Package of pre-made pizza dough (We used Pilsbury thin crust)

A handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 Red onion, sliced thinly

6 Strips of thick cut bacon, fried crumbled

2 cups of organic arugula

¾ cup of shredded mozzarella

1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1  ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette

Freshly ground pepper

Fry and crumble the bacon, set aside.

Follow directions accordingly to prepare the dough- Pilsbury requires a 5 minute pre-cook in the oven without any of the ingredients on the on the dough.

While the dough is being prepared, cut the tomatoes and red onion.

In a separate bowl, toss the arugula with 1 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 Tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette so that the arugula is lightly coated. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste.

Take the dough out of the oven and spread with remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil, the minced garlic and salt to taste.

Next add the bacon, red onion, tomatoes, mozzarella and goat cheese. Put back in the oven to cook according to pizza crust instructions.

Remove from oven, top with arugula and enjoy!

Holiday Dress Hunting

Continuing on the hunt for the perfect holiday dress I stumbled upon a few reoccurring styles that I'm really loving. 

Festive without being overly so, these are the types of frocks that can be worn all season long- and for holiday occasions to come. I can't decide which one I like best... If only I could have them all. 

Lovely Lace 

Left Anthropologie $158

Right Nordstrom $140

Mad Men Metallics 

Left Anthropologie $388

Right Mod Cloth $169

Romantic Reds 

Left Urban Outfitters $79

Right ASOS $62 

Sultry Sequins 

Left Free People $168 

Right Michael Kors $250 

Weekend Recap: Country Comfort

This past weekend we escaped the city and headed to Central, IL. where Jered grew up.

It’s nice to get out of the stressful city every once in awhile, especially for a quiet weekend in the country. Our weekend was filled with great sleep, lots of fresh air, good food and the most beautiful sunset I've seen in a long time. 

And then on Sunday our couch was finally delivered! I took the loveliest nap with it that afternoon and realized how much I’ve missed having a couch.

How was your weekend? 

Country 

The most beautiful sunset I've seen in a long time

Salvaged barn wood for a side table project we're working on

Corn fields

Cozy, fireside

Much-anticipated couch delivery 

The perfect Sunday night dinner, a bowl of turkey chili 

Sister Reunion

In the past few days I’ve been getting letters, Facebook messages and texts from my sisters reminding me that in just about two weeks we will all be together again at our parents’ house in St. Louis for Thanksgiving break.

As I’ve mentioned before—we all live in different states right now, so getting to spend time together is cherished and much looked forward to. My sisters are my best friends and we have come to call these special occasions “sister reunions,” because that’s exactly what they are.

We haven’t all been together since early September so I’m really looking forward to this one. It will be filled with lots of catching up, eating, movie watching and laughing.  

It’s hard to believe that the snapshots below are from Thanksgiving one year ago. Where does the time go?

Black on black on black on black

Every time I go to NYC I feel the urge to invest in a classic black piece that will aid me in outfits to come. No city does the all-black look better than New York. 


From head to toe, layered in soft pieces of differing textures, I see black on black year round in New York, no matter what the season. 


How fab are all these looks? 

all images via Pinterest

Favorite Places: The Ace Hotel

On Monday night I stayed at my most favorite hotel in New York City.

Located in the heart of Midtown, the Ace Hotel is a 12-story boutique hotel that has locations in Portland, Seattle and Palm Springs.

In May of last year the boyfriend and I took a mini vacation to the location in Palm Springs. It's a dream and was the perfect escape when it was still so frigid in Chicago. 

But the New York location is equally lovely. With simple, cool amenities, the rooms have a laid back hipster vibe but with a polished feel. Small quirks like a record player on your bedside table, a guitar near the window or quotes sketched on the bathroom wall make it a place that you want to return to. After a very long day of work on Monday it was such a treat to fall into the flannel-covered bed in my room. 

Here are just a few shots both from the Ace's website and that I snapped during my stay. 

Photos via Acehotel.com and my iPhone