Proper Attire

Everyone, even the most selfless of us, likes to receive a gift every now and then.  And enjoyment of the gift begins before we even open it.  Just looking at it, prettily wrapped, hinting at possibilities but giving away nothing, we become excited, anticipations running wild.  Many gifts are easily thrown into a gift bag, no wrapping required.  This is fine and sometimes the only real solution.  Other times, there is wrapping but no bow, ribbon, or other accoutrements.  Again, just fine.  Nothing wrong with simple.  But admittedly I think that adding just a ribbon at least accessorizes and emphasizes the gift to just the right degree.  It really completes the package.  A really good belt can do the exact same thing for an outfit.  Often times jeans and a top look just fine the way they are but can lack a final touch that brings everything together.  Or sometimes there is just that dress that always hangs in your closet and rarely gets worn because it looks more like a muumuu than a real dress - shapeless to a fault.  Enter the belt again, this time to cinch the waist and emphasize a wonderful figure.

The belt - not always necessary, but rarely wrong.

Find your HERE.

Linea Pelle "Pyramid Stud Skinny Belt" - Buy it Here

Down But Not Out

We rallied in Game Four and so we are still in it.  And the Bulls are definitely still in it, at a very nice 2 - 0 series lead.  Chicago may not be known as the city of comebacks, but it is known as the city with a pretty good repertoire of serious sports wins - NBA Championships, World Series, Stanley Cup - within the the past 20 or so years of memory.  And no matter what, we always have faith.
Whether its "Go Team One" or "Go Team Two", either way we are always behind you.

Shop Blackhawks Here

Shop Bulls Here

Sometimes It Helps

Since jeans became a wardrobe standard, we have constantly been on the hunt for new ways to reinterpret them each season.  Invariably this means reinventing the wheel at times, resurfacing styles we donated to Goodwill  years ago only to wish we had stored them under the bed instead.  Right now?  Amongst others, the flare.  The funny thing about the flare is that it just cannot stay away for long.  Sure, the waistlines fluctuate from high to low at a pretty rapid pace, but overall, the flare is the steadiest denim investment you could hope for.  All anyone could talk about three years ago was flares.  And then boyfriend fits came along and we forgot a little bit about the flare.  And before that, no one can forget in the early two-thousands the True Religion craze, with its more modest flare leg Joey.  Before that?  Silver Jeans anyone?  My point is, you can buy this style of jean and feel comfortable knowing that even if you are sick of them by July they will be fresh again in another three years from now. 

There are two pretty good denim guides out there right now that can help you figure out just what to do with any kind of denim at all.  It doesn't have to be the flare.  Check them out at InStyle (this one is for new ideas besides the flare) and Lucky.

And then shop here for the most solid denim investment you can make.

Sunrise. Sunset?

Always with fresh expectations and hopes do we rise and begin our day.  As the day ensues, for better or for worse, our perspectives usually change.  A day can be made better in an instant.  Or not.  What has the power to influence our moods at the drop of a hat, besides finding out that a tax refund is NOT coming? Sports.    Elation upon winning, sourness upon losing.  Irrational either way.  But there is always hope.  And there is always a new day. 

Begin your day expectantly here.

Almost There

Though it definitely doesn't always feel like it, Spring is technically here.  It's when ice thaws, birds chirp, and hope for summer surges.  Often there is also the commonplace "Spring Cleaning", whether it be the emptying out of old knickknacks in the home or old knickknacks in the closet.  A clearing out of sins.  Past mistakes that at one time seemed like wise choices.  Funny how past choices we have made in clothes are symbolic of past regrets in life.  But Spring! It is here, life begins anew.  And so should you.  Make new choices.  Shop.

Bomb Top

Ella Moss "Prima Donna" Top - Buy it Here

Remember hearing the jingling bells of the ice cream truck when you were a kid?  The mad dash to coax money out of your mom  or to empty a piggy bank of its last three quarters.  And then running madcap down the street to catch up with the truck, winded, wheezing and all of a sudden deliriously hungry for everything cold.  My favorite was always the bomb pop.  It was kind of citrus-y (especially that middle white) and so totally refreshing in the midst of a hot Chicago summer. And I would be really upset with myself any time my childish hunger would give way to the charms of some new pop featured on the side of the truck.  Mad that each and every time it wouldn't live up to the bomb pop.   It just couldn't be beat.  It was the bomb...pop.

And this top reminds me of it - in a really good and totally not lame way.  The colors are very similar other than the substitution of blue for grey.  But it is just as refreshing.  Light.  Perfect in the middle of summer.  And something I know I could put on time and time again without ever being disappointed.

Up To Your Ears In It

Ever have those days, those weeks, those years where you feel overwhelmed?  When it seems as if the obligations will never be fulfilled, and that only more will pile on?  Is this what it means to grow up?  More responsibilities?  That's what our parents always taught us anyways.

I don't know how I feel about maturing just yet, but I like these Bermuda shorts because they can help me to breathe a bit.  Not so confined feeling as pants, these help me to feel as if I am not so overwhelmed all of the time.  A casual, soft, breathable no brainer. An oasis of relaxation amidst a whirl of chaos. 

Marrakech Raven Clark Shorts - Buy Them Here

Don't get lost in the wild seas of life. You just need a good pair of Bermudas!