How to: look good and be cozy while flying

In packing for an upcoming vacation, I was planning out what I wanted to wear on the plane and there were some considerations.

• We are going from cold weather to warm weather; so it's got to be layered. No coat.
• And in general, I tend to get cold on the plane.
• Obviously has to be easy to go through security.
• Comfortable for the day of traveling.
•  I think I want to wear jeans, so I don't have to pack them... as well as a top and shoes I can maybe re-use while there.  
• Do not want to buy anything new.

So off to Pinterest I go (of course) for a little inspiration for travel outfits.
   


           


All very similar and fitting my requirements.

From my closet:
Jeans (Tall b/c I am 5'7... no longer selling at Gap, found here on ebay OR similar here)
White tank (Target)
Scarf (Zara) -seriously amazing. I love it. And size wise, can practically become a blanket on the plane!)
Cardigan (Old Navy -in a light grey/oatmeal color or boyfriend cardigan- similar)
Moccasins (Target) OR Sperry boat shoes (Nordstrom or Von Maur) OR even just black flats (similar)
Necklaces (ILY Couture)


We shall see how it all pieces together... mostly the cardigan and shoes are what may evolve more so that I can re-use them on vacation if needed.  Maybe I'll even try and take a picture of the whole look completed... :)

Welp- back to making my packing lists! and one of my favorite shows The Mindy Project is on soon!

xo jess xo

Fall is Fabulous

 Just a little throwback to our engagement pictures taken with some beautiful fall foliage :)

I know that technically fall started last month- September 23rd to be exact... but isn't Fall fabulous? It is definitely my favorite season. Jeans, sweaters,  flannel, boots, cardigans (!!), scarves (!!),  pumpkin spice lattes and hot chocolate, fall scented candles, pie, baking, start of holiday season, and even, just a little bit, football.  Yes I know... I am a basic white girl.

Now that the weather has turned a little cooler, I am definitely soaking up the Fall-ness of it all!
In honor of a little fall festive-ness, I found the first 2 quizzes on buzzfeed and the last one on Seventeen.com (remember that one is technically for younger peeps..) :

1) How much do you love fall?
2) Are you ready for sweater weather?
3) Which fall trend are you?

PLUS- in honor of all this feel-good fall, I am gonna share one of our recent favorite cooler weather dishes to warm ya right up!

 Chicken Taco Chili

Recipe seems like it takes a lot, but it makes 8 good servings... and tastes wonderful reheated! Most likely can even be jarred and frozen for future meals!  AND it is soooooooo easy to make!!! Ingredients + slowcooker = done!

What you will need:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 oz) can chili beans
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans
• 1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 fl oz) can/bottle beer -- can just utilize 1 cup chicken broth... but we used beer
• 2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained 
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 3 whole skiness, boneless chicken breasts 

• shredded cheddar cheese (optional- but amazing)
• sour cream to taste preference (optional- but amazing)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional- but amazing)

 What to do:

1. Add all ingredients -EXCEPT OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS and CHICKEN to slow cooker. Stir to blend it all together. Then place chicken breasts on top of mixture until just covered by all the other ingredients. 
2. Slow-cooker for approximately 5 hours on low heat.
3. After the 5 hours, remove chicken from slow cooker and shred. 
4. Place shredded chicken back in slow cooker and stir to mix.
5. Continue cooking for approximately 2 hours on low heat.
6. Serve and Enjoy!  Definitely recommend with shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips!

**Reviews on original recipe on allrecipes.com did say that they cooked it longer (i.e. were at work or cooked it over night) and had no issue. Just had to shred the chicken and let it all mix together for a bit!

YUMMERS!

Had it for dinner last night and leftovers today! :)

xo jess xo

I WHIP MY HAIR BACK AND FORTH

 

First off, let me start by saying that I STILL love that song... if you don't know what I am talking about, where were you in 2010? watch the video ;)

Anywho... I have been thinking about hair a lot lately. I honestly, and this is terrible to admit, do not get my hair cut and styled that often.. so when I do, I feel immense pressure to not mess it up or something.  So I kind of obsess and pour over pinterest/google images/celeb magazines to see what color and cut.  I do know that everyone does this, but I have had a few BAD experiences. More recently good experiences. But you know how you find a stylist that you just LOVE and listens and knows exactly what you want?.... And then she quits/leaves/moves/etc?  Yea, that has happened the last few times I have found someone. So yet again, I am trying someone new. We shall see how it goes.

At first, I debated trying an ombre... but I just don't know if I am ballsy enough. Although hell, with my grown out roots, I kind of already HAVE been rocking the ombre. ;)

For the cut.. I am thinking long layers a la Jennifer Aniston, Ashley Greene, and Rachel Bilson. LOVE THESE LADIES' HAIR!

 

For the color... I am still mixed. I am for sure liking the ombre... but I am also liking a chesnutty brown..

 

 

Sorry for the picture overload.... stillllllllll trying to narrow it down. Understatement.

:)

feeling un-lucky

UGH! 

If there isn't one, there should be a word for "when you AREN'T looking for something, you will find it everywhere BUT when you ARE, ha-good luck finding it".

gif via mashable via sevanderslice

Yes- That is me right now... I tried to start looking for a dress for an upcoming wedding over a month ago and yet- NO DRESS! I have even bought a few hopefuls online at like Nordstrom & NastyGal, but they sadly didn't fit my big ass just weren't for me. So I am still stuck at the drawing board.

Oh and I also found an amazing dress at Nordstrom that fit and I felt/looked fabulous (obviously personal confidence booster).. about to say "I'LL TAKE IT" and realized that on this particular dress, I forgot to look at the price tag. WAH WAH. $258. WAAAAY out of my price range right now. Thought I would go up and just see if by chance it was marked down and...... it was!!!!!  By $10. Enter multiple curse words here.
Just under 2 weeks left to find one. Bestie lent me 2 options that are viable, but that stinkin dress is still in my head.

Just don't know what I want to do about it all just yet. I'll keep looking, but at least like I said, I have back-ups now. Maybe my luck is about to change! :)

xo jess xo

Is it weird to be in love with a wall?

It's done. And I am in love.

I have finally gotten the gallery wall where I want it to be! Soon will be getting other bedroom accessories up to snuff.. but for now, I will just lay in bed and stare at my pretty wall. :) ahhhhhh

To recap, this is where we TRAGICALLY START... with a terrible "Pinterest fail"(can read about it here) and a stack of frames on my bedroom floor.

So.... off to find INSPIRATION and my favorite was from Style Me Pretty. I liked the combination of colors, looks very classic, and it was easy to imagine around our TV obviously.

IN-PROGRESS included laying out some frames and following a "paper-hanging method". I got my paper method hanging by following these awesome blogs' instructions at Young House Love and A Beautiful Mess. They do an awesome detailed job explaining that I would not even come close to.

And after sitting like that forever, eventually frames came up in the paper's places and nothing went in them.... UNTIL I slowly filled it with meaningful things for Tim and I. :) I made some of the "written" prints and purchased a few printable quotes from Etsy (here, here, and here) and got them printed @ Nations Photo Lab. They were very easy to upload your items, pick your paper/size/etc, printed quickly with good customer service, and overall very reasonably priced. I definitely have a few more things around the house I want to get printed and I will be going back to this company.

Now I am not so great taking pictures of this and our room does not have much natural light (so sorry for the creamy/yellow overhead light look.. it does seem a bit more crisp in person. Eventually I will try to take some better photographs.)

Anywho, without further ado, THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

The overall look from our bed... well technically standing on it so I can prevent some glare ;)

Clockwise from left: The 6 photo frame holds personal things between the husband and I such as our lucky number 13, favorite quote "It's the little things", important dates in our lives/relationship, first dance song lyrics, Mr. & Mrs. ring art I did, and a photograph of the Normal Theater's marquee for "It's A wonderful Life". Next, just another quote we like that translates to "I regret nothing"- very positive outlook we think. Next, a canvas of one of our engagement pictures in "our seat" at Normal Theater.  Lastly, an old school picture of the 2 of us from... 2005?

Clockwise from left: A map of our new home of Chicago <3, a photo from a night out with friends in Milwaukee this year, a picture from our first dance at our wedding, XO (no comment needed right?), the quote "Let's grow old together" (reminds me of "i wanna grow old with you- from the wedding singer" which I LOVE and Tim would always let me know when it was on :) ), and lastly another photo from our wedding. 

AS I SAID- I AM IN LOVE! 

I'm just going to go lay in bed and stare at it!

happy monday!

xo jess xo

Sweet Home Chicago

A little bit of some skyline as seen from an Amtrak trip.

As I was finishing up with grad school and just before my husband and I got married, we had the discussion... where do we want to live? We had of course LOVED where we did undergrad at Illinois State University (Go Redbirds!) in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. We also LOVED Omaha, Nebraska where I did my grad schooling.  PLUS, we were thinking... do we want to try something completely out-there for the next couple years before we settle settle down? Like... Hawaii! Alaska! Seattle! Ultimately, we really didn't want to be too far from our families and we wanted a little "bigger" city life than what we were used to- so 3hrs (more with traffic) from our hometown of Rock Island, Illinois (Quad Cities) was... wait for it... CHICAGO!
We thought maybe the big city for a year or two before deciding if that's what we wanted for the longer run or just for a taste, etc.  The day after we got back from our honeymoon, I had two interviews and within a week had accepted a position in Chicago! Luckily we had friends that let us crash with them for the month-long back and forth process of trying to find a place. BUT in the end, we feel we got a steal of a deal for our place in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. We are walking distance to the grocery store, wonderful restaurants (even one with our fave QC style pizza), 10 minute bus trip to be in the heart of downtown, close to transportation, and near our friends! We love it! Going on year 3 in the same place! We say we will re-evaluate every so often to make sure we are still loving it here- but we are feeling kinship with Chicago that is still going strong!

But even though we are going on year 3...
Ever notice when you live somewhere, you end up not doing some of the cool touristy things? Thank goodness for visitors! Gets us around the city! This weekend and next weekend we have visitors, my parents followed by best friends, Nikki and Nathan, from Omaha! Beyond excited for our visitors and for going out and doing some exploring in this lovely city of ours! Don't know the plans yet but it will definitely be a mix of touristy, museum-ing?, food and drink, shopping, and nice relaxed hanging out time.
In honor of our kinship with our home of Chicago and our upcoming touristy adventures with family and friends... here are 51 reasons Chicago will ruin you for anywhere else! :)

Have a good weekend... I will!

xo jess xo

Sample Sale!

One of my more recent-ish finds is the blog HelloFashion... She has great style, a gorgeous family, travels, etc. etc. :) Seriously check her out! 

She also collaborates with ILY COUTURE- which is an online boutique that I LOVE!! I have gotten my "wifey" shirt, a shrug, and jewelry from this store. I just keep going back.  (the shirts are THE most comfortable tees- currently have 2 shirts with plans for 2 more!)

Currently, they are having a sample sale at ILY COUTURE... stuff that may have a slight defect or is generally left-over stock! (click HERE to check it out directly)

I have got about 7 things in my cart right now!

HURRY!!! ONLY 24 HOURS LEFT!!!

Happy HUMP Day!

xo jess xo