Road trip!

This will be last post for about a week because tomorrow afternoon Matt and I finally leave for vacation!  We’re driving from Chicago to Dayton to visit my family on Saturday and then we’re leaving early on Sunday morning for Hendersonville, North Carolina.  I am so excited to see mountains, do some hiking, and relax with Matt and my parents.  One of the highlights of the trip is definitely going to be when I meet up with my camp friend, Michele, and visit the camp that we used to go to when we were kids.  I am so excited to hit the road that I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight!

I asked Matt the other night what he was most excited about and he said that he was really looking forward to the drive through the mountains.  I have to admit that although I hate to drive I’m looking forward to winding around the mountains while listening to some good music.  Here are my essential road trip songs that I plan to play as we drive through the mountains:

1.  “Tangled up in Blue” by Bob Dylan

2.  “Jackson” by Johnny Cash

3.  “Cherry Lane” by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

4.  “Factory Girl” by Whiskeytown

5.  “Wolves” by Josh Ritter

6.  “Magnolia Mountain” by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

7.  “Casino Queen” by Wilco

8.  “Lungs” by Florence and the Machine

9.  “Sweet Carolina” by Ryan Adams

10.  “Open Doors” by Josh Ritter

11.  “Pearls on a String” by Ryan Adams

We’ll probably listen to an audio-book most of the way because it always seems to make trips go by faster, but I will definitely be switching to music when we get into the mountains.  Do you ever coordinate your music according to your road trip?

Shoulder length, or longer

Guess who has two thumbs and got her color done today?  This girl.  I was really lucky to land an appointment with one of the new colorists at Art and Science, Jahnavi.  I had been to see her once before when she was an apprentice and when I saw an ad posted by her on Craigslist offering color services for 35 dollars and highlights for 25 dollars I jumped on the chance to get my color done by her.  She did a wonderful job on my color and did exactly what I asked for.  I’ve been wanting to wear it the way I did when Matt and I got married- my natural color with some blond highlights.  If you are looking for a new person to color your hair I definitely reccomend you go to see Jahnavi.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Francesca’s Collection

Necklace: Francesca’s Collection

Sandals: Clarke’s

Don’t worry- I didn’t wear this dress to school; I changed into it as soon as I got home though since it’s around 90 degrees today.  I know it’s a littly skimpy, but I feel that on days as hot as this it’s appropriate.  As I get older, I find myself gravitating towards pieces with a little more structure and that look a little more grown-up, but I don’t want to make myself old before my time.  A dress like this is a-ok in my book for a girl in her mid-twenties, but I wouldn’t wear it outside the house if I were in mid-twenties.  Do you find yourself struggeling with walking the line between grown-up and old?

So I stayed in the darkness with you

Last night was one of those perfect summer evenings- drinking wine, sitting out on a porch, and laughing until my sides hurt.  We spent the night at my friend, Laura’s, birthday cook-out and had such a fun time.  When I still lived at home Matt and I would sit on my parents’ porch until two in the morning drinking wine and talking and I really miss having nights like that.

One of the little nice surprises from last night was the skirt that Laura gave me.  She told me that she had a skirt that she didn’t like anymore and thought would look good on me.  I tried it on and was in love.  I wasn’t expecting to take a skirt home with me, but I guess it’s one of the added bonuses of having friends that are your same size and body type.  I love it so much that I wore it to work today.

Outfit Details:

Blouse: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: Given to me by Laura

Necklace: Francesca’s

Shades: Target

Sandals: Clarke’s

I wanted to say thank you to those of you who shared your tips for easy the pain of growing out hair.  I’m taking your advice and getting my bangs trimmed tomorrow and getting my color done on Wednesday.  My hair should be looking good by the time I go on vay-ca!

If it’s free, it’s me

Today was one of those days that I woke up and did not want to leave the apartment, even if it was only for three hours.  I just wanted to keep sleeping and spend the day drinking coffee and watching stupid movies.  As much as the siren song of the snooze alarm was calling me I pulled myself out of bed and went to school.  I felt much better once I got some coffee in me and saw the sun, but sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to keep hitting snooze.

I really liked the oufit that I wore today.  It was perfect for a day spent in a humid classroom.

Outfit Details:

Tank dress: hand-me-down from my mom

Sun-dress: hand-me-down from my mom

Sandals: RuffHewn gift from my mom

All of the items in my outfit were either handed down from or given to me by my mom.  This means that the total cost of this outfit was $0.  I always tell Matt, “if it’s free, it’s me” and it’s a motto I live by, even when it comes to my clothes.

Go on and come your hair

Is anybody else as ready for vacation as I am?  I realized today that in two weeks Matt and I will be in Asheville.  I’m so ready for a complete break from reality- no laundry, dishes, papers to fax, or litter boxes to clean for two weeks.  Even though my summer job is fun and stress-free I am still exhausted and I know Matt feels the same way.

I’m really happy with today’s outfit.  I usually think of this skirt as more of a fall and winter piece than a summer piece, but I think pairing it with a light top breathed new life into it.

Outfit Details:

Tank: Urban Outfitters

Tunic: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: Tulle via Penelope’s

Sandals: Clarke’s

I decided to begin growing out my hair this past April.  So far, I’ve had one trim to help it grow, but it’s now starting to reach that awkward, shaggy stage.  It’s so frustrating- it’s not long enough to pull back, but it’s in my face all the time.  I know that I’ll be really happy when it’s at the length I want, but I have to make it past the awkward stage first.  What are some of your tips for combating the awkward, growing out phase?

Those summer nights

Image from A Cup of Jo

It’s been awhile since I’ve counted my blessings and what better time to reflect on what I’m thankful for than at the beginning of a new week.

1.  I’m thankful for my summer job.  I’m having so much fun reading with kids and learning more about how elementary age kids learn to read.

2.  I’m very thankful that my husband loves to cook.  He has made the best elote two nights in a row for dinner.

3.  I’m thankful that we live only a few blocks away from the best gelato in Chicago.

4.  I’m grateful that I had a really great interview followed by an even better follow-up interview.  I’m praying that I hear good news soon.

5.  I’m thankful that vacation is two weeks away and that I get paid from my summer job in time for vacation!

I hope that you get to take some time to relax and reflect tonight before the start of a new week.  Enjoy your Sunday night!

Feel the rain on your skin

One of my guiltiest pleasures is watching “The Hills.”  My friend, Jen, and I used to watch it together in college and now I’m trying to relive how much fun we had in college by watching the series on instant Netflix.  I still really love the show, but it’s not as fun without a partner in crime.

Speaking of my friend, Jen, she and her husband, Rob, spent the night with us in Chicago last night and I had one of the best nights I’ve had so far this summer.  We walked around Wicker Park last night and window shopped at some of the boutiques and then once Matt got off of work we had a delicious dinner at Big Star.  I know I’ve gushed about Big Star before, but last night’s dinner was amazing.  It was so much fun to split a pitcher of margerittas and enjoy a night out without worrying about bills, laundry, or planning for the next day; I felt like I was back in college.

It was hard to find the motivation to go to work today after having such a great night, but I pulled myself out of bed and ended up having a great time with my students.  I was also excited to wear the new skirt I got from Buffalo Exchange for less than ten bucks.

Outfit Details:

Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft via gift

Blouse: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: J. Crew via Buffalo Exchange

Sandals: Clarks

I’m so glad that I bought this skirt yesterday.  It’s pretty much my ideal skirt and I can’t wait to try pairing it with all kinds of different tops.  My only wish is that the Buffalo Exchange would have had it in all different colors because I would have bought them all.

I am so glad that today is Friday.  My only plans are to rest, relax, and reread The Indian in the Cupboard.  It was one of my favorite books and series when I was growing up and I just started reading it to my second graders today.  I was so excited to begin reading it with them and even though we’re only one chapter in I can already see their excitement.  What were some of your favorite books as a kid?

Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

Holy mackeral, Batman!  It is super hot in Chicago; even at 8 o’clock in the morning I find myself getting sweaty.  It’s hard not to let the heat win and stay in and enjoy the air conditioning when the temperature gets above 85 degrees, but on the fourth of July we went out to enjoy the Taste of Chicago for the afternoon.

The Taste of Chicago is a huge festival in Grant Park and we were hoping to go explore it on a weekday night when it would be less crowded.  But, the festival ended on the fourth and we knew that if we didn’t make it out to the Taste then that we might not get another chance to go.

If you missed going to the Taste this year then I definitely recommend that you go next year.  There are so many restaurants from the city that set booths up and offer “taste portions,” which is great if you are as indecisive as I am.  With all that the festival had to offer I think my favorite thing to eat there was the giant slice of watermelon that I got from the Dominick’s booth.  It was so delicious that Matt and I decided to stop on the way home to pick up a watermelon to enjoy at home.  Watermelon is one of my favorite summertime foods and I could much on it all day.  What’s one of your favorite summertime foods?

Good day sunshine

Has this week seemed to drag on and on to anyone else?  It has to me.  I’ve had so much running around to do this week and Matt has been working late, so we didn’t get to spend as much time together this week as we’re used to.  I can’t wait to take some time to get back on track this weekend.

Here are my favorite items from the interwebs this week.

-I’ve been a fan of Kendi Everyday for awhile now.  I also discovered that she has a blog about married life and it is hilarious.

-I love Old Spice man.

-This book is really amazing, especially if you are in the midst of a plan that didn’t work out.

-I love these dos and donts from Glamour.

I hope you have a fabulour fourth of July weekend and get out to see some fireworks.

Conjuction, juntion, what’s your function?

For the past couple days I’ve been playing parts of speech bingo with some of the older kids in summer school and I feel that I have to give a shout out to my favorite part of speech- the conjuction.  The conjunction rocks because it makes it possible to write very eloquent, compound sentences; it’s pretty much the best part of speech out there.  I love all the School House Rock grammar songs, but the conjunction song was always my favorite.  Did you watch School House Rock when you were a kid?  Do you still remember the words to the songs?

Anyway, this week has been really beautiful and I’ve been trying to spend as much time as possible outside.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon walking around with a friend and grabbing some yummy frozen kefir.  Before we went on the walk though I changed into some after school clothes:

Outfit Details:

Dress: Francesca’s Collection

Kicks: Tom’s

I believe that in the summer simplicity is key.  I don’t see a need to complicate my outfits, hair, or makeup in the summer.  In fact, the only make up that I’ve been wearing for the past couple of weeks is some tinted moisturizer and loose powder and I haven’t straigtened my hair since before Memorial day.  I love how simple I can keep my beauty routine and clothing during the summer.  What are some of your tried and true beauty/woredrobe rules for the summer?