Monday, July 30, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things


Nordstrom's Anniversary sale is in full swing.  I had a chance to pop in ours and pick up a few things before I left for vacation.

I glossed over this pleated leather skirt in the catalogue but when I saw it hanging on the rack I knew it would be the perfect staple for my fall wardrobe.


This sheer polka dot blouse not only caught my eye in the catalogue but I absolutely loved it in real life.  I actually had this in my fitting room with the above leather skirt and these 2 pieces paired together made for one great outfit.  I am already planing a date night with the hubby in October when I can wear this.


I missed out on the Tory Burch boots last year, but this year I lucked out.  The first place I went at the sale was the shoe department, and I left with the last pair of boots in a size 7.  The shoe Gods were smiling down on me!!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Girl Friday, Travel Edition


Tonight in Chicago, dinner and good times here...


Tomorrow we are off to my in-law's place in Holland, Michigan where I will drop my daughter off at camp for the week...



On Sunday I am taking my other 2 kids and driving up north...


where I will drop my son off at overnight golf camp (the hubby is so jealous)


then Scarlett and I are off to see my sister in the motor city...


Have a beautiful and hopefully a lot less driving than me weekend!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

My Kind of Town





And we are off to the windy city, we have so much to do while in Chicago.  First up, I must stop in and say hi to some of my old friends like....

and...


 My brother and sister in law just moved to a new townhouse, I can't wait to see it...







An exciting day here for the kids, this place should seriously be on everyone's "places to visit" list, it is amazing...



my kids also have a few other requests...







We can't be in Chicago without indulging in some Chicago style deep dish pizza...



I am SO EXCITED to see my sweet friend Heather.  Dinner at her house with all her kids and mine,


so we will definitely need this....


Then I get to have an adult only, girls night out with Heather to a restaurant that has been on my list for quite some time..



Yeah!



Monday, July 23, 2012

Life's a Beach


For most mid-westerners when we talk about going to the beach we mean the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan.  This is where I have spent part of my summer for the last 17 years...



My beach bag is packed with all the essentials for a perfect vacation.  John Frieda go blonder shampoo, conditioner and lightening spray, basically an updated version of sun-in.  If I am going to be spending my days in the sun I might as well lighten my hair while doing it...


Bain de Soleil orange gelee sunscreen, this is hands down the best smelling sunscreen in town.  I am not sure why they don't make this with any higher SPF than 4 so I usually put this on after 3 pm.  They just need to bottle this scent into a perfume and call it a day...







A little reading about Ernest Hemingway and the love of his life...




and then onto my absolute fluff, beach reading...





last, but not least some new sunglasses.  I have been wearing my aviators for years and thought it was time for a change...




these are all tucked neatly into my new bag I found at Target...


Friday, July 20, 2012

Girl Friday

Hello ladies, another weekend is upon us!  Summer is going way too fast for me, I am not ready for July to be almost over.

Tonight we are going back again to our favorite restaurant with some friends, I know we really need to venture out and try something new.  My hubby is a creature of habit, when he finds something he loves he is very faithful, he knows for sure he will have an incredible meal tonight and has been talking about this all week...


Saturday I plan on clocking some hours at the pool...


then I am forcing myself to pack for my Chicago/Michigan adventure that starts next week...


I am thinking Saturday night we will take the kids to see this...



Sunday afternoon we have a birthday party at Busch Stadium.  My friend's hubby is from Chicago, its' his birthday,  and it just so happens that the Cubs are in town playing the Cardinals so of course she had to have party...

Now I am not a huge baseball fan, and I am not a fan at all when I have to sit in 110 degree weather so lucky for me I will be in a party suite...



where I can watch the game from my air conditioned spot right next to the open bar.
Have a beautiful weekend ladies!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Little Obsession


I came across this and again was instantly obsessed....



I just love the floral print with the pink jeans combo.  I found this on ZARA's website.  Hmmm there is no ZARA in STL but I will be in Chicago next week where there is ZARA a-plently.   This outfit is calling my name, "Jill, come buy me next week"

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Rocky Mountain High


Last week was the first time I had been to Colorado during the summer.  We are all ski bunnies over here so typically we go during ski season.  I have to admit Vail is just as fun in the summer as in the winter.  We never ran out of things to do and there is just something about being in the mountains on a beautiful summer day that makes you crave the outdoors and all it has to offer.  In STL it is usually 95 degrees by 10 am so they only thing you can do outside is go to the pool, in Vail the high was 80 degrees, perfect for spending your days outdoors.

Of course we did hit up the pool at few times at our resort.  I loved seeing the ski runs right past the pool...


Every morning I would run along the bike path following Gore Creek...



The morning of the wedding I took the kids to the Vail Village while the hubs was off doing best man duties, we found a volvo made entirely of legos, it was really cool...


We took a horse back trail ride that went through a cattle range then up and back down a mountain...


We spent a day zip lining and white water rafting, for obvious reasons I did not have my camera or phone...


And our last day we biked all over Vail...

skipped some rocks...


and enjoyed the beautiful scenery...

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ring Around the Collar


I officially started a new obsession over the weekend.  I actually know when it started, Sunday morning about 9:30 AM.  The hubs and I went out for coffee and croissants at our favorite sidewalk cafe.  Dr Beautiful was reading the Wall Street Journal and I was scouring my new LUCKY magazine.  That was when I saw a blouse with a sequined peter pan collar.  I have actually seen these before but for some reason, yesterday I was on a mission to find a blouse like this...


or this...


or this...



I did find one at ZARA, not my favorite so I will keep on looking