Birthday Tutu and Our New Home

Ahhhh!! It is good to be back! I am so sorry for my hiatus! We moved officially on Saturday, and for a few days at the apartment prior to the move, we didn't have internet, so blogging was nearly impossible. Also, I still needed to pack up my life's possessions, and we were *slightly* behind schedule! LOL! (Nothing a late night Meijer trip Friday before the movers came Saturday morning couldn't fix when we ran out of packing tape. And boxes). SO, I am writing this post from our HOUSE! We have a garage! And a driveway! I actually have not parked in a driveway since I was a mere 18 years old, back home in Ohio. Let me tell you something, it is glorious. (Aside from every morning when I text Mike after I get to work because I'm certain I haven't closed the garage door!!!). Shout out to my coworker, Dave, who tried to punk me about my garage door this am, but couldn't because he was laughing too hard. #failedpunk #Istillgiggled #Genevabuddies :D

Backing up to January 6, though, let's talk FASHION! I wore this tutu (yasssss, girl!) on my 30th birthday that was just so whimsical and fun! Here are some snaps from the eve-- again, my apologies for everything being fuzzy iPhone camera quality. I do have a photoshoot on the books for next weekend!  (This weekend I'm chaperoning Operation Snowball for our school-- did you ever do that retreat in HS? It's going to be so fun!). 

It was very special to have my old teaching pals out to celebrate my birthday at Penrose! We can't wait to spoil Kelly's future baby boy very soon!

Skirt: here. 

Tassel Necklace: here.

Glitter pumps: here. They are currently down to $100! I got mine for free! (Well, sort of haha!). My sweet MIL got me a gift card to J. Crew for Christmas, and I had another return, so my glitter pumps were FREE!

More glittery shoes in all price ranges:

FINN! Anna, Shawn and Finn (and Coop) spent the night on my birthday. It was the highlight of the birthday week to have my family out in Geneva! My darling former student, Brittany, was Finn's babysitter for the eve so Anna and Shawn could join us at the brewery. SO. Much. FUN! I just wish I had some more pictures! haha!

Tulle skirts for all budgets:

This is one of the 5 photos I have from my birthday party, and it makes me smile so big. Gotta fluff the tulle! hahaha! Candid shot of Jenny Lynn and Kel!

The beauty of this fun skirt is that I just needed a plain black shirt and black tights. Done and done. 

Add in Sarah! We missed Mandy so much! Can't wait for all six of us to be together next weekend! 

Aerial shot of the shoes!

Jenny's adorable Toms wedges shined brightly!

Jenny and I can both attest to the major comfort level of the Toms wedge. Here are more options, with a few on sale currently:

Totally excited that my barre belle, Taryn, and her husband could make it out, too! How cute is her choker shirt? 

More tassel necklaces:

Insta-worthy shoe shot hahah

The best part about these pumps is that they are both comfortable and practical (LOL). Practical in the sense that they are coated, so the glitter isn't loose. 

Two of my favorite males, ever!! In matching Patagonia puffers.

Unkie Mike's: here.

Finn's: here. 

Finally, one of the best days of our lives-- closing on our first home together! ^^^

We couldn't have done it without our amazing lawyer, Mary, and incredible realtor, Val. Please let me know if you're in the market to buy in the Chicagoland suburbs. I will get you in touch with our crew!

Holding a key and a garage door opener at the title place. LOL

The family room! 

Mike at the bar! haha

Our dream come true. 

HAPPY!!!!! 

Gettin' comfy at the island. 

We arrived in our new home to this surprise. Val was absolutely fabulous in every way. I couldn't believe my eyes! PS: my friend, Jena, made the sign! I can get you the scoop on those, too! 

HOW IS EVERYONE? I am so happy to be back! 

xxoo

Mary

Faux Leather Pleated Skirt

I admired this skirt all last school year. My friend, Courtney, and I watched it like hawks, until it suddenly disappeared from the ether! We were heartbroken. We both wished we had pounced on it, but it seemed it was too late. WRONG! Fast forward to summertime when I was in downtown Naperville, shopping for back to school clothes. I found the skirt, in store, in this luscious burgundy color.  At that time, I talked myself out of it. "Where would I wear it?" "Is it too risque?" "I don't need another skirt." 

Well, I am pleased to say I was easily able to talk myself back into it when it went on sale for 30% off! hahaha!! I am not too hard to convince to buy clothes, as you can probably tell. LOL.

The length is NOT "lady-of-the-night" style; I will be wearing this skirt to work with black tights and black closed-toe booties come winter. I got a 6 for reference; I am about 5'6, and even with heels, I didn't feel like this made me look inappropriate. 

The fall foliage in downtown Geneva has been ON POINT! I loved the backdrops for these photos. 

I chose to pair the skirt with this shirt. It comes in several different colors; they're all adorable! FYI: it runs pretty large. This is a 4, but I think the next color I'll buy will be a 2. It's now on sale for $39! The back of it and the ruffle make it a 10/10 in my eyes :)

Earrings: old Stella and Dot. Similar here in emerald or here. 

Red lip: Mac Brave Red. 

Toms Booties: here. 

Update your peep-toe booties this winter for closed-toe ones here and here. 

Do you love fall? The colors are just stunning around downtown Geneva. 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." -L.M. Montgomery

xxoo

Mary

Fall Wardrobe Update!

Last week, I brought my hubs some out-of-this-world burritos from Little Donkey (it's the lunch version of Bien Trucha). If you haven't been, you MUST GO. It's only open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am-3 pm, but OMG. The amount of food you get for your money is unreal (prepare to get 2 meals out of one burrito, and that's coming from a girl who LOVES TO EAT). Also, it's SOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Hands down, the best burrito I've ever had in my life. So, after I brought Mike lunch at his office, I went for some back-to-school shopping with coups in hand in downtown Nape. I will apologize in advance for these ridiculous dressing room selfies, but I had to fill you in on the adorable pieces Loft, Ann Taylor and J. Crew are boasting!

^^^He got the Poblano stuffed bureet, and I went for the pork and pineapple one. MMMMM!

Bell sleeves at Loft! OMG! This dress is toooo cute. Belle sleeves are so on trend right now (see what I did there? haha). It comes in a Merlot color, too, which is gorgeous for fall. This is an ideal length for work! The 4 fit me great (I would say this is a little bigger than normal if you're ordering online!). NEVER pay full price for Loft, though. There are constantly 50% off sales every week! Just sign up for emails to be on the insider scoop. Loft also honors your teacher discount! Ann Taylor, too!

I also tried on this bell-sleeved shirt for spirit Fridays (#jeans) at work (I love being a teacher!). This one was a little shorter than I would prefer. So only go for the navy if you're on the shorter side. For reference, I am 5'6, and the small was like a belly tee on me (shout out to my husband and all his midriff tees... hahaha! "I have a long torso" is what Mike always tells me. Love you, babe!).  This is much better option if you're over 5'2 I would say. Also, J. Crew has a 20% teacher discount! They, too, have great 30% off or more sales. So again, I repeat: DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE FOR ANYTHING! Like, ever. Haha!

I bought this blouse from Loft (below), something that I wouldn't have picked out myself, but I fell in love with. It is navy, so it will be perfect with skinny jeans on Fridays to rep my Wildcat pride. But isn't she lovely?!?!?! It's ADORABLE on. It runs BIG-- I went for a XS, and it fits really nicely. The gals at Loft had just received it, and they were steaming it and gushing over it. I'm like, "mind if I try that on!?!" with hearts in my eyes, haha.

I always know when something is REALLY cute because my sister will say she wants it, too- haha! and my friend, Jackie. Jackie and I tend to like the exact same pieces, and she had recently bought this wrap dress, and I didn't even know! Anna said she wanted it, so I knew I really hit the mark; my sister tells me the truth when she doesn't like my outfits. HA! But it's good because I need a true critic. And someone to laugh at me when I wear fully sequined cropped shirts (but it doesn't stop me!). Usually, I shy away from wrap dresses because I hate to be messing around with my top or fiddling with any part of my outfit during class, but this stayed put so well. I went with the 4 because it fit really nicely. I am usually a 4/6, so this was pretty true to size, but maybe size down if you're in between sizes. I also LOVE the other patterned version, too (wayyyy prettier in person). Mine was $49 when I purchased it last week!

Okay, so I think the outfit I was most obsessed with is the above pleated pleather skirt and floral top from J. Crew. I have been drooling over that pleated skirt (in black) since last year when J. Crew released their original version of it. I can't get over how cute it is! It probably wouldn't be a work skirt until the winter when I wear it with tights and booties, but how cute is that for a night out with your girls? Author's note: the skirt fit TTS. A 6 was great for me, and that is how I run in J.Crew bottoms (if you're going to be ordering online). It is currently sitting in my J.Crew online shopping cart. :-O

I put it on, swooned and swooned over it, but ended up returning it to its rightful rack until I could save up some more money or ask for it for Christmas. LOL. I will be watching it like a hawk. Side note: didn't realize that these went together (I just put the skirt on because I didn't have other bottoms in the dressing room), but I see on the website, J. Crew actually paired them together! I would have normally chosen the black skirt with this top, but still, I feel ultra cool to be on the same wave length as J. Crew!

Eeeee!!! 

My first day of school dress (above)! (With a sensible white cardigan, of course!). We begin September 6th with kiddos-- we had an uber long summer thanks to some beautiful renovations to our math and science wings.

This dress runs LARGE. I had to size down to a 2, and I promise you I haven't seen that size in my close since the late 90s. For whatever reason, it just fit very big on top. Going to wear it with my new black perforated Toms booties (just ordered these last Tuesday night from Von Maur-- they were at my door by Thursday morning, not even 48 hours later, with normal shipping). Free shipping for VM; do you know about their interest-free credit card? Free gift-wrap, too! Von Maur is arguably the best place to purchase gifts and have them sent!

 At every store I went into on Tuesday, at least two people stopped me about my gray Toms booties (above). They couldn't believe they were Toms, and everyone was calling other workers over to see them. That convinced me to pull the trigger on the second pair. I've had my gray ones for about 2 years, and though they're still in good condition, I wear them A LOT. I knew I needed an additional pair to take me through the fall. These will even look fabulous with black tights in the winter!

I saw this gorgeous shirt and a version of pink pants together in the J. Crew catalog. The J.Crew in Naperville unfortunately didn't have this shirt in the store, so I'll wait until I can try it on sometime (until then, it is sitting in my online shopping cart-- haha). Also, I found these Winnie pants from J. Crew Factory (currently on major sale) to get instead of the J. Crew ones they paired together. I LOVE the Winnie pant from Factory-- I have two colors already! They're meant to be tighter, so pair them with a flowier top.



Some of my other purchases/what I'm drooling over (below). Please note the ruffle front of that J. Crew jacket! I bought the gray mock-neck lace top; Krista introduced it to me in the cream, which I love! (But they were sold out!).

Tassels and scallops and blazers, oh my! ^^^ And that powder blue peplum below? To die for.

What are you coveting for fall?
xxoo
Mary
Author's note: being a fashion blogger is so dangerous. I just ordered the J. Crew scalloped skirt (it was 50% off!), the raspberry Winnie pants ($39) and the tassel earrings. #ShameSpiralofSpending

Buffalo Plaid Romper!

I had so much fun this past Saturday night with two gals who were my students and dancers I coached 7 years ago! I met Maddy and Stephanie when they were 14 and 15, freshmen and sophomores at my first real job out of college. I was 22, but I was giving teaching my all and trying so hard. I will never forget how sweet they were to me (I was only there originally for a maternity leave, so I just taught them for 3 months), and their patience as I was a bumbling 22 year old new teacher was never forgotten. Fast forward two years, and I made my way back to that school as a full time teacher. I was their dance team coach, and I watched them grow as students and dancers and head into college. I convinced Maddy to check out Saint Mary's College, as I just knew she would love it. Low and behold, she did! She is now going into her senior year at SMC; she is the captain of the Notre Dame Pom Squad (I swear I predicted this!) and will graduate next year. I just happened to send a text to both Steph and Maddy the other day, and I am so glad I did! We decided to catch up because they were both coincidentally in town. Steph was even able to attend our wedding last year (Maddy was actually dancing professionally in LA at the time!). Since they've graduated, we have become real friends. I'm so lucky to know them both!

This romper is my first ever romper! I made a pact with myself that I would *try* a romper this summer, and I found this cute one at the Old Navy outlet for $11! I couldn't believe it when it rang up at the register! For my first foray into the romper world, $11 was a good starting point. 

I just bought this on Thursday, but it looks like it's sold out in many sizes online; act fast! It runs a little large-- if you're in between sizes, I would size down. I bought a small for reference.

 Below are some equally awesome rompers to begin your collection! 

I love this chambray!

You could dress this one up with strappy heels!

The scallop detail on this one is fabulous.

The ruffle bottom on this is sooo cute! 

The off-the-shoulder look is perfect for summer.

These details! OMG!

This one with strappy black sandals= your next night out.

My all-time fave-- those ties in the back!

I was so excited about this little photo shoot. A sweet gal passed by while we were shooting and said, "blog pictures?" and I was like, "YES!" And she said she had just finished hers! I was telling her my blog name when I realized: I have business cards for this very reason! I gave out my FIRST EVER biz card! I was through the roof! Check out her blog here. It was such a cool moment!  

The jewels!

Alex and Ani bracelets (above left): here. They are such a personalized gift, and each one tells such a special story. If you're ever stuck on a gift to buy someone, definitely get an Alex and Ani bracelet!

Bangles, etc. on the right: Kate Spade gold (top), Kate Spade white (second), J. Crew Factory pave chain (third), J. Crew chunky crystals (fourth), Kiel James Patrick bow (fifth), Michael Kors watch. 

We had such a fun night catching up! 

SMC Belle #ringpic with Maddy!

We tried to go out, but it was monsooning! So we settled for Papa John's instead-- yum! 

Toms wedges: old, but updated versions here.

I was always so hesitant to try a romper. All my friends who wore them looked so darling, but I had some pressing inquiries: would I look like a baby in a onesie?! What if it was too short on my body?! I am here to tell you that all my questions were answered, and everything turned out just fine. Give it a try! 

What's a fashion risk you've taken lately?

xxoo

Mary

Courtney's Visit to Chicago: Blazer Styles!

I had the absolute best weekend with Courtney and her husband, Mark, during their visit to Chicago for Mark's work conference. Courtney was one of my bridesmaids and has been one of my best friends since our sophomore year at Saint Mary's. We danced together on Troop ND and lived across the hall from each other for the majority of our time at Smick! She lives in the adorable area of Mount Washington in Pittsburgh. I sadly don't get to see her as often as I want to, so I really cherish the time we do have together. I was lucky enough to spend Friday and Saturday in the city with her! 

We met for brunch on Friday at Summer House in Lincoln Park. It's AMAZING! It's extremely airy and open-- I had a fabulous Cobb salad and the rest of the gals ordered the fish tacos. We were so happy with our choices! Everything was fresh and delish. Our waitress, Alison, was phenomenal and accommodating with our bundles of joy at our table! OMG-- and you have to try the Rice Krispie Treat chocolate chip cookie. Anna had a hankering for it, but I ended up eating a lot of it-- haha! It's HUGE! They warm it up and add ice cream to it. It was EPIC! 

Courtney got to meet Finn! Anna and Finn met us for brunch, too. Courtney is going to be an Auntie herself in August!

We were so happy to see Jackie, baby Milly and Jackie's youngest sister, Jenny! Milly and Finn are future husband and wife (just sayin').

Totally in love with Jackie's yellow cardigan. It's from Banana Republic during their Mad Men inspired line. Here is a similarly gorgeous option. Also, love this with these whimsical lemons! Cute! 

My sister and my nephew! 

Courtney is not only one of the smartest gals I've ever known, but she is also one of the most well-dressed! This civil engineer knows how to work a look.

Gingham blazer: J. Crew.

White jeans: Gap. 

Navy silk tank: similar here.

Navy flats: Tory Burch, similar here and here. 

Purse: Kate Spade, similar here, here and here. 

Watch: Kate Spade, similar here.  Additional navy options: here, here, here-- soooo cute! and here.

Green blazer: old Nordstroms, but similar here and here. 

Glasses shirt: old Banana Republic, similar printed tops here, here and here. 

Jeans: Banana Republic.

Booties: Toms (the most comfortable heels ever! I walked miles in them Friday!), similar here and here.

Tote bag: Tory Burch. 

Walking around Michigan Ave. together! 

Okay, I'll be the first to admit this: I am a doting aunt. I just can't get enough of Finn Patrick! Doesn't he look like he's dancing a little in the above pics? He is 1 month old! 

SO happy-- I have my bestie and my nephew! All together!

Courtney and I hit up the Saks on Michigan Avenue. We drooled over the designer shoes and picked out our faves; we also stopped for some mirror selfies. I am sure the employees loved us-- haha!

The Manolo flats were calling my name. A girl can certainly dream!

#notonateachersalary

LOL! 

But then, we saw the creme de la creme of ALL shoes: these Jimmy Choo stunners! OMG! 

A mere $3,850... hahahaha! 

Courtney is so stylish and classy with her wardrobe. I totally copied her style with the blazer in my above looks. Below are some additional blazers to peruse. They are a staple year-round. 

This blush blazer is perfectly lightweight for summer!

I am loving the mint color of this one! 

Seersucker is always summer-ready! 

Linen is also another lightweight option for work in the summer months. 

Try this one as a collarless option.

This yellow blazer is by far my favorite!

Another J. Crew option with several great color choices. 

This mint! I can't get over the color. Pair it with white shorts for a cooler night this summer.

Which blazer is your favorite?

xxoo

Mary

PS: many thanks to Court for allowing me to photograph her! :) Best model ever!