I'm pretty sure my purse saved my life.

The mayor's office puts out a wind advisory in Chicago, it is no joke. We had 35-50 mph winds today and high/violent waves on the lake.

Unfortunately for me, I work about three blocks away from the lake. So I get the brunt of the Lake Effect on my walk into work. And it is brutal.

The wind was so strong, that I had to pull myself against a fence's bars. And while waiting for my pedestrian light, it took all my might to lean and not blow over. I'm pretty sure my handbag weighed me down and kept me from floating away like the Red Balloon.

Actually, I was wearing my full-length white Burberry down puffy coat... so I moreso would have looked like the Dough Boy from Ghostbusters.

How warm is MA in June?

I'm set in terms of holiday dresses/apparel, so what's next? S/S12 pre-orders, that's what!

I really like French Connection's Nix Nights dress in white. We're planning on vacationing on Martha's Vineyard in June. Is MA still cold then?

I'm completely loving dresses with sleeves this year. It's just refreshing to find something different on the racks... and they are usually work appropriate too! Double duty!

Are you planning on watching the Victoria's Secret fashion show tonight?

The Chicago news stations were buzzing this morning about the Victoria's Secret runway show tonight.

Want to not gain any weight this holiday season? Watch the Victoria's Secret runway show. That should motivate you to only nosh on the crudites and shrimp cocktail at holiday gatherings.

Truthfully, if you are in Chicago there's an even better event at the new PINK boutique in Water Tower Place: meeting model/Angel Elsa and Bears player (and Tulane alumn, holler!) Matt Forte. They will be promoting the local and blingin' Bears merchandise. If you remember, I bought one the last time I went to one of their events. My husband thinks it's adorable when I wear it to watch the game with him.

 The event begins at 6 pm and the first 100 lucky fans will get to have their pictures taken with the extremely fit duo.

I'm planning on interviewing Elsa and Matt about the sexiest pieces to wear this holiday season. Once I get their responses, I'll be sure to share!

I am also going to make sure I'm not lazy with my hair that morning. I mean, no reason to look even more average compared to Elsa:

By the way, while you are at the Pink boutique make sure to check out their yoga panties. They really are invisible under stretchy yoga pants and are incredibly comfortable. That's my recommendation!

Yay, pants!

I received these AG Leggings in a deep brown velvet (shown) and a beautiful teal color today: 

I'm pretty excited to have non-denim pants that fit. I'll remain on the look out for trousers that don't make me look dumpy and stumpy, but in the meantime I can definitely rock these to work with a blazer and tall boots!

I also tried on their leatherette legging jean, but that is going back. They really do have that sexy leather look and they seemed crazy warm, but they lacked the stretch I needed while I'm transitioning back to my pre-wedding figure. I'm the exact same weight, but the steroids/medicines I had to take this fall shifted where my weight is distributed. Let this serve as another reminder: pay NO attention to the size on the label, only the fit of the garment!

Jewelry tree stand!

Finally found the perfect jewelry stand yesterday:

I was picking up a mobile for my sister's nursery yesterday at the MCA Store and saw this by the register for sale/displaying earrings.

Loyal readers might remember that my "branches" one from Urban Outfitters broke in our move. A couple of months ago, my husband brought home a gorgeous one from Anthropologie as a sweet surprise but I returned it because it had a vintage/antique look to it and our home is very, very modern. Right now, it's on a nightstand against the black contrast wall in the master bedroom.

Notice the circular earrings? Those were the ones that I lost this past Thursday night (now I have a spare). How can one of those go unnoticed?!

In other fashion and style news, I should be receiving a shipment from AG Jeans today: a plum eternity scarf, leatherette coated leggings, teal and chocolate velvet leggings. Hopefully some of it fits, so I'll have some fabulous pants to wear for our trip to Nashville!

I cannot be trusted with earrings.

Last week, I posted about how I lost one of my favorite earrings. I really appreciate the nice things I have and so I was just really upset with myself for losing it.

Well, Thursday night I lost another earring! From the pair I picked up at Anthropologie just two weeks ago!

I literally only walked to my car in the garage, pumped gas at the Shell on Jackson, and drove to my in laws' home (I stayed the night so I could avoid rush hour traffic for my talk at New Connections Academy's Career Day). My husband checked our building's hallway and parking garage. He even drove to the gas station and checked around that pump. My in laws helped me search my car. No earring in sight... and it's a dramatic style!

I literally was a hot mess. A hot, crying, and crazy mess. It might have to do with the fact that I'm recovering from surgery.

My mother in law is so wonderful... she asked for the one I had and took it to Anthropologie for replacements. So now I have a "spare."

No more earrings on my wishlist for a while! And I've been too afraid to wear anything but my diamond studs!

I finally made it to Lululemon!

I've only been talking about going to Lululemon for three weeks. Crikey, it took me forever to take care of bidness. On my shopping list: cute workout clothes for winter.

I did get the ballet leggings I posted about last week! The fit on them is fabulous and you can use the folded waistband to cover the crotch. Also, since they are shirred in the ankle it appears that you don't necessarily have to hem them. I'm planning on laundering mine first before taking them into the city for the free alterations.

I also bought two layering pieces. I posted this hoodie in olive about three weeks ago, but I ended up purchasing it in a beautiful plum color (sold out online):

I also purchased this "Run your heart out" thermal in the black and grey combo:

I wanted to look at tanks/sports bras/tops but those racks were mobbed with college girls and their mothers. I forgot that how popular wearing workout wear as real clothes is (and the tanks can be purchased under $50). Reading the reviews for the hoodie I just purchased, quite a few women commented how "cute it looks with skinny jeans tucked into boots!" (fashion shudder). I love how stylish Lululemon workout wear is, because I feel appropriate running errands right before I work out. But that's me literally running errands so I'm in full workout wear and usually athletic shoes (you can do pilates in only socks, so I've been Ugging it to class)...

Do you wear workout wear for other than hitting the gym?

"... But do you have anything to send me?"

I truly miss my friends and former co workers from AG Jeans.

My former boss, Dan, talks to me more than my father does. And my father calls me every time one of his cats does some remarkable achievement like set his mouse toys in a row. Both always ask to video chat on the iPhone. Both ask me when I'm planning to visit.

This is lately my afternoon phone conversations:

"... But I'm at work right now so I'll call you when I'm walking out... Oh wait! Do you have anything that might fit me that I can wear to work?"

"We have velvet leggings in a grey, chocolate, teal, plum and black..."

"Send me the teal and chocolate! Any cashmere sweaters or tops to go with it? I SAW A PONCHO ON THE WEBSITE IN CASHMERE!"

I can't wait to try on the chocolate and teal Legging five pocket pants.

I think the brown velvet skinnies will look inclement-weather fabulous tucked into my color-blocked Tory Burch rain boots!

And there's no AG store in IL... It's like I advised the woman that approached me about my over the knee Stuart Weitzman stretch boots on the El earlier today, if you can order it from out of state. Downtown Chicago sales tax is like 11%! I'm from Tennessee... It's against every fiber of my being to pay taxes like that. Isn't it my constitutional right as a lady to keep myself looking good?

Sip, sup and shop for a great cause!

Fashion designer and friend, Azeeza Desai Khan of AZZA, will be featured Wednesday night as one of the honorees for Michigan Ave Magazine's Cause Celebs event.

Each ticket of $20 goes to the honoree of your choice's charity (Azeeza is raising money to help impoverished women in South Asia) and enters you into a raffle for many fantastic prizes, courtesy of the shops in Water Tower Place.

You know this event will be fabulous, because I'm willing to skip my Wednesday night pilates class to attend!

The basics:

Wednesday, Nov 16, 7 pm-8 pm
Water Tower Place, 2nd floor
$20, includes small bites, wine and a raffle ticket
Additional raffle tickets can be purchased, 10 for $100
And it all goes to a great cause!

I need these.

A quick look at Lululemon's New Arrivals tab on the website quickly reveals the yoga lifestyle brand's eagerness to capitalize on the ballet/barre trend:

That said, I think these pants are perfect for the pilates classes I take at the Lou Conte Studio at Hubbard Street Dance...

I need to make it down to the Rush and Walton St. store!

Does St. Anthony read blogs?

I hope he does!

I'm crushed... Yesterday I lost one of my Jamie Wolf moonstone and 18k gold earrings. There's no worst feeling than losing fine jewelry that you really enjoy wearing, because you want to quickly replace it and losing the piece becomes a costly mistake.

In my case, it involves contacting the designer and asking if she can custom make a replacement. I'm devastated.

Bummerwang.

Diane von Furstenberg Anneli dress

Ordered this Diane von Furstenberg dress this morning, via iPhone:

It's due to arrive at my office on Thursday!

Just last night, I was thinking "Wow, I've been shopping at mass retailers like Banana Republic a lot lately. That's so unlike me." And then I saw Diane von Furstenberg pieces this morning in my email inbox. So, I took it as a sign from God that he wanted me to order a silk dress.

People in Biblical times got burning brush and locusts. I get fab sale emails.

My love can be bought, for a bargain at only $6k.

I want this vintage Louis Vuitton steamer trunk. I want it so bad:

 

At nearly $6k, I'll have to be on Santa's nice list. But let's be honest, I'm on the naughty list this year.

Maybe if I'm bad enough, Santa will leave me this with a lump of coal inside. No elves necessary... it's for sale on Portero.

According to the listing, this steamer trunk, "was previously owned by William King of the famous funk band the Commodores. The Trunk is Personalized with a Brass Nameplate Engraved with King. Additional documentation available upon request."

Double want. Sigh.

Golden girl.

I'll admit that I've been shopping pretty frequently lately, but admittedly I'm shopping for a different lifestyle. For the last four years, my "professional" attire centered around skinny jeans and western snap-button up shirts. And lots of black and grey cashmere.

I'm not only shopping for the Chicago weather, but also for more versatile pieces that I can adapt to my busy lifestyle. On a Friday, I might have work meetings all day, take a cab to meet my husband and in laws for dinner and then meet up at an Old Town pub with friends. Or represent the museum publically at a convention/social/networking event and then meet my husband for a show. Add a cardigan, lose the jacket or change shoes... that's the kind of versatility I need in my closet right now.

What's an easy way to dress up or down a basic sweater? Rock it in metallic!

I purchased this sweater from Banana Republic on Friday:

I'm planning on wearing it with a black Theory pencil skirt and black knee high dress boots for a modern professional look.

I think it will also look great with my AG-ed vintage Premiere cut jeans tucked into knee high brown wedge boots too for a casual dinner date look!

To really finish the look and up the glam factor, I'm planning on wearing it with a teased ponytail and these Marco Bicego hoop earrings from Saks:

...And with this sparkly coral hued lipgloss with golden shimmer to it by Yves Saint Laurent:

In years past, my versatile pieces tended to be high quality basics that I could change up with bold accessories. I still buy high quality basics (because they last longer and you can mix-and-match more often) but I found myself overwhelmed with a sea of black and grey. I definitely needed the pick me up that comes with the fun, trendy pieces too!

The stores are filling their racks with metallics, sequins and feathers for Holiday. Are you feeling glamourous a little early this year?

Sparkle porn.

I took this photo while in the gemology exhibition at the Field Museum this afternoon.

This diamond and ruby necklace and earrings set boasts over 128 carats of rubies. Who wouldn't want to play Lady in Red, with this jewelry set?!

Update: Lush review

Last month, I posted how excited I was to had won a gift certificate to Lush Cosmetics at a silent auction for a charity event we attended. Well, a few days later when I received my item... I was pissed, to put it delicately. I bid on a $200 gift certificate to Lush... what I received were 10 coupons for a foot soak selling demonstration, a hand soap and 10 samples of their Dream Cream.

For tax purposes, only the donating business can claim tax value on auction items... so I wrote to Lush's corporate office that 10 coupons for a service they provide for free for all customers, a small hand soap and 10 samples does not equal $200. I also requested that if they could not provide me with what I was told I was bidding on, if they please would make a donation to the organization instead for the same amount as their tax deduction (I authorize our in-kind donations on behalf of the museum).

Turns out, they never donated to the organization's silent auction. They gave the organization the cream samples and coupons for the "free foot soak" to sprinkle on the tables as freebies/advertising... the volunteers/organizers just decided to create a silent auction item and god bless their hearts, thought it was valued at $200. The store manager at Old Orchard called me and explained what must have happened and offered to not only do their foot soak, hand soak and mini-facial demonstration for me and a friend (I invited my friend Sam and offered to treat her if she liked any of the products) but would give me a goodie bag of travel-sized samples. We travel frequently on weekends, so I never turn down decent travel-sized beauty products!

I popped in yesterday, and the store manager is a total doll!

She gifted me with a Hello Gorgeous gift set, containing the Gorgeous facial moisturizer created for Lady Diana, a marshmellow bath melt, a sakura bath bomb, a body scrub, and a hand cream:

I ended up buying a beauty mask she recommended that has to be kept in our refrigerator, because it contains no preservatives. Before anyone worries how this might impact my husband, I went over with him three times how this beauty mask is not food. It's not food. It probably will not taste good with pretzel chips. Do not eat the thing labeled "BB Seaweed."

I also bought a lemon cuticle cream that she claims can double as a foot cream and an elbow exfoliator.

I'm really impressed with Lush's customer service and outreach. I'm pretty excited to try some new products, since I purchase my husband's bar soaps there but never really tried anything for myself. I am fairly confident I will become a repeat customer for the body scrub (it really makes your skin incredibly smooth, and I hear that boys like that), bath melts and lemon cuticle cream.

I can't wait to try the mask tonight!

I love mail packages!

I had one of the Chicago Anthropologie stores order this blouse for me in an XS and send it to my office:

I never wear prints, so I was ecstatic to find a pattern that I liked that didn't involve stripes or florals.

I'm planning on wearing it draped with skinny jeans or tucked with a pencil skirt or Theory suit.

You've come a long way, baby.

Wow.

I just saw some photos on Facebook of my friend's wedding back in September, when I was literally just diagnosed with my disease. I looked so terrible!

Then again, not eating any vegetables, wheat, fruit, whole grains, dairy, fatty meats, oils, fats, caffeine, alcohol, legumes or spicy foods will do that to you. It's crazy how frail you can become when you live off of vegetable broth, boiled potato, Gatorade/Vitamin Water and Jolly Ranchers (random fact: they count as a clear liquid and towards your daily water intake).

At the time, I was just really disappointed that a certain guest at the wedding decided to become hostile and bring up personal drama instead of celebrating our common friend's happiness. Looking at how just awful I looked at the time and knowing that I had told him about my illness/hospitalization, all I can think now is... how grateful I am that I can reflect on my mistakes and that I possess the desire to become a better person. I've learned that it doesn't matter if someone decides to hurt me or anyone else... I really can only focus on becoming the person that I wish other people were, since I can only control my own behavior.

Anyhow!

I'm happy to say that I am more or less back to normal. Prednisone gave me a bit of a belly, but I have committed myself to pilates twice a week. I got a great hair cut. I started Botox early to prevent getting "Rachel Zoe face" from being so thin. I just bought a new dress and a few fashionable sweaters earlier today at Banana Republic. I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out next weekend (my teeth have shifted thanks to my wisdom teeth coming in after college) and orthodontics soon enough.

Basically, I want no reminders of two months ago. I went through hell this summer and it's allowed me to see how our looks can fade instantly with one bad medical issue... But I'm trying my absolute best to get back to how beautiful I felt on our wedding day, for my husband and for myself. I'm proud of how much healthier I look than I did two months ago!

Are there any spa or beauty treatments that you use to maintain your beauty?

How important are looks to you?

Review for the new PINK boutique in downtown Chicago!

Today I took a break and walked over to Water Tower Place for Victoria's Secret PINK's first Chicago grand opening... and it is a welcome addition to Water Tower Place!

Side note: Water Tower Place has really turned itself around from a few years ago... Now they have the new PINK boutique, Neiman Marcus's CUSP concept store, Henri Bendel (coming soon) and my absolute favorite market-cum-cafeteria Foodease. Don't get me wrong... I love Foodlife, Mity Nice and Wow Bao (Lettuce Entertain You runs that town...) and I just had a soup and sandwich from Macy's Tastebar earlier today. But Foodease is incredibly awesome... hundreds of hot and cold items to choose from and then they just weigh it. From coconut crusted tilapia to quinoa salad to butternut squash bisque to stuffed tomatoes to sushi... they have plenty of options.

So back to the PINK store... today was the perfect day to visit. It was cold, windy and rainy and walking inside the sea of bright candy colors with music blasting was a welcome relief. You can only see grey for so long until you crave bright lemon, lime and watermelon hues.

Generally, the PINK brand markets itself to younger women... namely the college set. I know I'm far removed from this demographic, because well... my 21 year old intern, Lyndsay, told me so. Once you get excited about new vaccuums, you're old. But it is just so cheerful and fun and there's definitely options for almost everyone, since they stocked some pretty nice basics at great price points too.

Here's where the new PINK boutique stores really shine: specialized casual wear for each store's locale. Right when we walked in, we were greeted by both friendly staff and a huge display of  girlified NFL merchandise. My partner in crime today, Alicia, instantly gravitated towards the Chicago Bears hoodies adorned with sequins...

Immediately behind the NFL display, several "I <3 Chicago" pieces filled the racks. Of course, it was all in sparkles. It was all legitamely pretty cute... I thought how the tees would look adorable under a sharp Theory or Alexander Wang blazer, for that polished yet edgy look. And there's nothing wrong with a little hometown pride, especially when home is a city like Chicago!

Here are a few snapshots of the new boutique offerings:

Even the cookies from e.Leaven were glittery! (And they were indeed tasty... I'm placing a catering order with them tomorrow)

I loved this workout look... part Xanadu, part Miami sexpot... and all cheerfulness.

Going into the holiday season, PINK is all about the sparkle. I ended up getting a travel bag with "I <3 Chicago" on it in sequins. I cannot wait to use it when I fly home for Thanksgiving.

Alicia ended up buying this hoodie with faux fur lining... so cute!

I ended up buying this slim-fitting Bears hoodie. It's awesome.

A few of my goodies at home. I love the underwear: "Party With Me" and "Give A Little, Get A Lot"

Victoria's Secret partnering up with the NFL seems like a match made in heaven (kind of like Gisele with Tom Brady...) since it's probably the two things most straight men love the most.

My husband LOVES my sparkly Bears hoodie. He thinks it is just the cutest thing to wear to the local sports bar with the guys. Well done, Victoria's Secret team... keep the local element in the specialty shops, and this new retail strategy will undoubtedly bloom quickly. 

Here's the inside scoop: December 6th, the PINK store will be hosting a party with model Elsa Hosk and Chicago Bears player Matt Forte (Yeah, Tulane!).

This weekend's shopping list

Every first Friday of the month, my department throws a huge after-hours cocktail event at the museum. Last month, we had over 1,500 attendees! It's a very popular social event downtown and it takes a lot of effort before and during the event to effectively pull off. Last month, MSN.com noted us in their Top 10 National Weekend Events!

What I'm getting at, is that I work a much later shift every first Friday of the month. It's awesome, because I can plan my mornings (last month, I had a check-up... before that, a luxe mani/pedi at the Red Door Spa)... and go shopping!

I also really want to go to Old Orchard this weekend (though I have an afternoon date on Sunday!)

On my shopping list:

Aqua cashmere open cardigan available at Bloomingdales. I also really like the skirt, but need to buy pants instead.

This entire outfit at Banana Republic.

Helmut Lang sweater at Bloomingdales. I love the nude color.

This jacket at Lululemon. I have a gift card AND I've committed myself to pilates. Now's the perfect time to pick up some new cute Lululemon pieces!

I have to try this on. Because I'm racked.

Tory Burch "Simone" cardigan available at Bloomingdales. I might want this in a different color than black.

What's on your shopping list?