Kristina does the Internets

Wear to Where: Spring Events

2023-03-23T08:53:00.003-05:00

Have I not posted in 2+ years? Let's not mention it ;)

After a few years of skipping events, keeping things small, and playing it safe, events are back in a big way this spring! Between a couple of bridal showers, weddings, and a fancy Easter brunch, I'm looking for cute dresses, sandals with small block heels that are comfortable all day, and fun accessories. So if you're looking for what to wear to a spring wedding or a spring shower, I've got you covered! These could also work if you're looking for something to wear to a graduation later this spring - the block heels are also perfect for walking on grass. I actually just ordered those coral sandals, unsure if they will fit me as I had to size down a little but I will report back!

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LOFT Sale Top Picks

2021-06-17T19:11:00.001-05:00

Oh heyyyyy did you miss me? I haven't been shopping much lately (in case you were wondering where my May budget post is yeeeeeek) but saw there's a huge 50% off sale at LOFT and did some serious credit card damage. I am LOVING this top in red but they were sold out in my size so I went for white (because I definitely needed another white lacy top) and obviously I couldn't say no to this beautiful swing dress... or these pretty & comfy sandals ;)

Here are all my top picks:

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Currently #8

2021-05-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Mama Needs Her Seltzer Coozie

Good morning!! We are two weeks into our eight week #suburbsojourn living with Jeff's parents while we wait to move into our new house in Roscoe Village, and you know, I have to say, I'm enjoying it a lot more than I expected. What?! I know. But I mean, we're taking turns cooking and cleaning up the kitchen so half the time I don't have to cook or clean for dinner. There's two extra sets of hands to help with Mia (and very willing babysitters if we want to sneak away!). And there are new neighborhoods and restaurants and shops to explore while we're here! The one major downside is that it takes almost double the time to get Mia to and from her preschool pod downtown, but I've been listening to lots of podcasts to get through it - my favorites right now are Smartless, Bachelor Party, and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Here's what else I've been up to:

Buying

Shockingly little over here, partially because I don't want Jeff's mom to judge me too hard when 500 packages arrive at her door, and partially because I currently can't find my Old Navy credit card. I destroyed two pairs of skinny jeans while we were moving, and so I decided to let Gen Z win and bought this pair of demi-crops, and I've basically worn them every day for the past two weeks. They're comfy and relaxed but not too relaxed, and make me feel like I'm not a regular mom, but a cool mom ;) I also got a tall length so they aren't crazy cropped on my long legs. Highly recommend!

I also was sent out on Mother's Day to run an errand with strict instructions to buy myself a present, and I ended up coming home with this adorable hydrangea wine tumbler. It's been perfect for hanging out in the back yard and chasing Mia around on her tricycle.

Cooking

I'm back on the cooking train and I'm very into it! You might remember I basically stopped grocery shopping and cooking and relied completely on Blue Apron and Amazon Fresh for meals while we were getting ready to move. Now that we're settled at the in-laws I'm back baby! I made this Hawaiian grilled chicken to rave reviews over the weekend, and also made my favorite vodka sauce again last week - yum! Jeff's mom asked for the recipe and I told her she'd like the pasta a lot less after she saw the recipe because it is not any semblance of healthy ;)

Reading

I haven't had a ton of time for reading lately, but I just finished We Are All Good People Here and I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it! It opens with two young women going off to a conservative southern all-girls college in the '60s and becoming best friends in the dorms, wearing their matching twin sets off to rush a sorority. I thought it was going to be this fluffy college story, but it ends up being about the two women trying to navigate the politics of the '60s, and figure out how they can help work against racism, sexism, and the war in Vietnam. It follows their friendship through the decades and shows how they evolve as they try to be their definition of good people.

Watching

I started The Baker and The Beauty on Netflix and it's a cute, fluffy romantic comedy - very into it (although it looks like it wasn't renewed for season two - wah wah!). I'm also almost fully caught up on this season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht and I'm so into it - might be the best Below Deck season of all the different spin-offs (besides the original boat's Season 2, of course ;). They managed to get a love triangle, guests with crazy back-stories, and of course some great boat drama.

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April Budget

2021-05-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have absolutely no clue what day or month it is ever anymore. All I know over here is that we're quickly marching down to our move out date (this week - eep!) and there's a thousand things to do and the days are just dripping away into nothing.

I got excited by the couple of days of warm weather and ignored the 25 days of cold weather in April and went all in on summer clothes. Jeff's mom is going to be super confused when I move in this week with 25 summer dresses for seven weeks. Of course, if she doesn't know by now that I'm packing 17 suitcases for our #hotgirlspring at her house, then she might not know me at all.

Here's what I bought in April:

LOFT Puff Sleeve Top - originally $44.50, on sale $22.25, used rewards $12.25. The puff on these sleeves is not messing around, but I'm still into it. This is super cute with light wash denim or shorts to transition to warmer weather. The cut is a little small and short so I suggest sizing up for this one.

J.Crew Tiered Tee Shirt Dress - originally $49.50, on sale $29.70. I bought this in white last summer and loved the easy shape and lightweight fabric - perfect for those hot, hot summer days! The white was a little tricky because every time I wore it I immediately spilled something on it (anyone else with white clothes?! I swear I never spill on other stuff) so I was excited to see a few new colors this year.

J.Crew Eyelet Shirt Dress - originally $158.00, on sale $94.80, used giftcard $44.80. This reminded me of my favorite white shirt dress that I brought on my honeymoon to Italy SIX YEARS AGO that sadly no longer fits because it turns out you don't stay down at your lowest wedding weight for very long so I basically had to have it. It is two different pieces, a slip and the eyelet dress, and the fit is surprisingly cute and flattering. The sleeves are poofy but not too poofy. I'm all in.

J.Crew Factory Eyelet Tiered Shirt - originally $69.50, on sale $33.57. I have this weird thing where I'm obsessed with black eyelet fabric. It's like, take summer but make it night time? I don't know. It's wrong and feels right? Nope let's pretend I didn't say that. I'm always worried that tops with a seam right above the bust will fall weird over my chest, but add a cami underneath to make a cute little uniboob and you're good to go. Yes, uniboobs can be good sometimes. Oh god I'm just going to stop here.

Total Spent: $120.32

God only knows what will happen with my spending in May. Maybe I won't order anything because I'm already embarrassed by how many packages I've sent to my MIL's house? Maybe I'll want to actually SHOP IN STORES because I'll be fully vaccinated and good to go? Maybe I'll forget about how many clothes I own because most of them will be in storage and accidentally purchase a full new wardrobe? Stay tuned!

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Currently #7

2021-04-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

(I had a few friends ask and no, this isn't our new house! I just finally started posting again to my Sweet Homes of Chicago Instagram again :)

Oh hi there! It's been a looooong minute since I was posting regularly, and honestly, I'm not seeing regular posting starting up again any time soon, mainly because... WE'RE MOVING!! Since I stopped posting at the beginning of March, we fixed up our condo to list it, found a buyer, found a new house, and now are engrossed in contract negotiations on both properties and trying to plan for our move. It is freaking exhausting, and I keep singing to Jeff (to the tune of No Sleep Til Brooklyn) "No! Sleep! Til Close Date!" because one or both of us have been up in the middle of the night just about every night stressing for the past month.

BUT I'm so so excited for everything to work out and for us to move into our new single family home!! We ended up finding a place in Roscoe Village (after coming this close to putting in an offer on a place in the North Shore) which I'm so excited about. Mia will be a stone's throw from her neighborhood elementary school, we're right by a playground and the Roscoe Village downtown, and we're moving into what we hear from friends is a vibrant, fun neighborhood that has a small town feel in the middle of the city. I always hoped we'd be able to be city kids for life, and am psyched that we're managing to do it.

Before we get to move in though, we'll be staying with Jeff's parents in the suburbs for two months! It turns out early spring is the perfect time to sell a condo in Chicago (particularly one with a roof deck like ours!) but not the perfect time to buy a house in a neighborhood full of families that send their kids to CPS, because Chicago schools don't let out for the summer until the end of June so no one wants to close before then. It took me a little time to accept that we won't get to move straight from one house to another, but now I'm game for two months of having built-in babysitters for Mia (and potentially some date nights?!) which after a year of quarantining sounds amazing. Hello adult time! His parents are also members of a pool, and Jeff's best friends just bought a house nearby with a pool, so I'm hoping for some warm weather so I can pretend we're on a two month vacation ;) Their house is also close enough to downtown that we can keep Mia in her preschool pod (and have an excuse to come into the city every day).

In case you came here for some of my usual Currently content and not just a 500 word life update, here you go:

READING

I finished Leave The World Behind a couple of weeks ago, and if you were thinking you wanted to read something that's half dreamy vacation and half disturbing dystopian nightmare, than I found the book for you! I don't want to give the story away, but it's about a family vacation in the Hamptons where things all the sudden take a turn. The writing is very poetic and dreamy and almost made me put it down after the first page because I couldn't tell what was happening, but I ended up getting really into it - it makes you wonder if what you're reading is really happening or not.

WATCHING

Jeff and I are two episodes in on The Great on Hulu, and I am loving it so much. It's a satire (very) loosely based on Catherine the Great, and was created by one of the writers of The Favourite and so shares a similar vibe. The show is hilarious and dark as it follows Catherine's attempt to murder her husband and become Empress of Russia.

I also started Ginny & Georgia on Netflix, which I heard described as similar to Gilmore Girls, but only if Lorelei was a criminal. Ginny is a biracial teen who moves to a wealthy white suburb with her hot young mom. She thinks she's studious and conservative, but this new town shows her she might be a lot more like her mom than she thinks. The show has a similar mother-daughter bond to Gilmore Girls, but also lots of sex, drugs, and guns.

PINNING

Lots of pretty white bathrooms! Our new house was built in the '90s and parts of it really feel like they were built in the '90s, so we're planning on redoing the primary bedroom / bathroom ASAP when we move in. I've reached out to a few designers and all of them told me to start with a Pinterest board. I managed to nail down exactly what I want for a bathroom in about 30 minutes (contemporary, white, texture, interesting finishes that don't feel so "now" that it'll feel outdated in a few years) but am seriously struggling with what I want for a bedroom. There are really high, vaulted ceilings so I'm thinking some exposed beams and a four poster bed, but I also don't want it to feel too farmhouse. Although the kitchen leans toward farmhouse, so maybe I should just embrace it and put barn doors everywhere? Send help pls.

EATING

All of the Blue Apron meals! I decided when we started freaking out trying to paint and caulk every surface in our condo that something from my schedule had to give, and that something turned out to be meal planning and grocery shopping. We had done a meal kit boxes a few years ago when I had a really long commute but never really loved it and ended up skipping a lot of weeks because there was nothing on the menu I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Blue Apron has a ton of options to choose from and lets you make swaps in the meals (i.e., chicken instead of shrimp, a better cut of steak, etc.) as well as lets you choose from 2 person or 4 person meals. I don't think we'll be continuing after we move because honestly after 6 weeks I'm starting to miss meal planning, but it's definitely nice for getting out of a cooking rut and for saving time. If you're looking to start Blue Apron, google for promo codes before you sign up. Usually you can get $60 or $80 off your first month.

BUYING

A swimsuit (or two) for Mia! Last year I ended up with four or five swimsuits for her (thanks in part to a few grandmas who wanted to buy her gifts - thanks grandmas!) but ended up putting her in the same one every time because it had long sleeves and didn't expose her stomach, which meant a lot less sunscreen time for a wiggly little toddler. Mia seems a lot more amiable to sunscreen application so far this year, but I still wanted a long sleeve suit. I ended up ordering this cute one that's a rashguard and bottoms, but I'm still on the hunt for a cute long sleeved one piece.

I also am allllllll about the cute spring dresses right now and just ordered this pretty white eyelet dress - hoping it will be similar to a shirtdress I wore on our honeymoon in Italy! I also ordered this dress in mint, I had it in white last summer and loved how comfy and easy it was.

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March Budget

2021-04-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

I share my clothing budget here every month. My budget per month is $350, which may seem like a lot to some people or a little to others, but for me feels just right. I include all of my clothes, coats, shoes, and accessories in that budget, but not athletic gear, pajamas, or intimates.

Better late than never on this post, amiright?! I apparently did one LOFT order in March, and purchased nothing else. This is the time of year when we have one warm day I'm like "GAH NEED ALL THE SPRING CLOTHES" which is exactly what happened here. We had a few days in the 70's and 80's so I got to wear a few of these, and my fav is definitely the black dress - it's so easy and fun to wear!

Here's what I bought in March:

LOFT Peplum Tee (sold out noooo - here are one, two, three similar tops) - originally $59.50, on sale $35.70. It's a little breezy for Chicago weather, but super cute! I somehow got a stain on it immediately when wearing it the first time so I'm currently crossing my fingers it comes out in the wash!

LOFT Black Shirtdress - originally $89.50, on sale $44.75. This is my favorite cut of dress from LOFT from last summer so I was excited to see it again. It's very light and breezy, perfect for hot hot summer days. The only funny thing about it is that the buttons are all functional, and I did look in the mirror while wearing it and realized one of the middle buttons had come undone - whoops!

LOFT Everyday Sweater - originally $49.50, on sale $24.75. Actually I'm not sure why I said the black dress was my favorite because I have definitely been reaching for this sweater every time it comes out of the wash. It's a great lightweight sweater for spring, but the fabric is still really soft, not scratchy like a lot of lightweight sweaters can be. I might need it in another color or two...

LOFT V-Neck Shell - originally $44.50, on sale $22.25. I always want to wear cute little camis under sweaters and blazers, but they look terrible with my bras when I inevitably get too hot and take the top layer off. I love that this has the feel of a cami but with the ability to hide thicker straps.

Total spent: $127.45

In April I'm trying really hard not to buy anything because... we're moving!! More details to come, but we are spending this month packing so I probably don't need to buy anything more to pack up... right? Right. Right?

We'll see in a month ;)

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Friday Finds

2021-03-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday!! This weekend we're celebrating Mia's birthday again, with Jeff's family this time. Nothing like three parties for one little girl! Of course, you don't have to twist my arm to get me to eat another piece of cake ;)

Here are my finds for the week:

one / two / three / four / five

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Mia's 2nd Birthday Party

2021-03-03T06:00:00.004-06:00

My baby girl is TWO today!!! I can barely remember her as a tiny baby anymore - instead I see a boisterous little girl who loves giving big hugs, running fast, reading books, eating any produce she can find, and generally creating chaos. She makes me laugh every day with her elephant impression and when she requests "blueberry tummy" and "strawberry tummy" after I blow raspberries on her tummy. I love that little girl to pieces!

After our giant birthday party for Mia last year (it was the last time we had people to our house!) I tamed it down a little, you know, mainly because of the pandemic. We celebrated over the weekend with just my parents and my sister's family, and a whole lot of balloons. I didn't go for a theme this time, and instead had the theme just be "pink birthday."

For decor, I found this balloon kit on Amazon. I keep complaining about the effort we put into it, but really it probably took Jeff and I an hour and a half to put it together, and that includes manually blowing up all of the balloons because I didn't realize until too late that the package said you should definitely use a pump ;) And the impact is real! It looks so good in photos, and is still looking pretty good several days later because I told Jeff we had to leave it up until Mia's actual birthday. The kit included balloon tape (a long ribbon with holes) that you insert the balloons into, which made things really easy. It also had glue dots for filling in gaps, which worked amazingly well!

I also bought the matching streamer kit off of Etsy. The balloon kit and streamer kit are made in the UK and I don't know what the deal is, but there were a ton of vendors on Etsy from the UK just straight up selling these kits they didn't make. Not sure how that's allowed, but if you see one with pictures that look like this, chances are it's the exact same thing. I bought two of the streamer kits and I definitely recommend that to get a full look if you're covering a space more than six feet wide. The streamer kits were way more frustrating for me to put up than the balloons even though they look simple (partially because Mia was refusing to nap while I was working on them and just screaming into the monitor). The problem is that the string they provide in the kit is stretchy, so it slowly drooped as I added more and more streamers to it. I definitely recommend using regular fishing wire instead!

The only other decoration we had this year was the Happy Birthday sign - I made it on my Cricut! That thing has honestly saved me so much money just in banners that it's going to pay itself off soon ;) I used this paper for it.

The cake was by my friend Laura at Butter Cream Flour. Her cakes are actually the best I've ever tasted and they're so beautiful too! She ends up booked solid some months so definitely reach out a few weeks early if you're interested!

And then I decided to put together a couple of little gift bags for my sister's kids and then for Mia to bring to her preschool pod buddies at school today. I made the little birthday cupcake cutouts on my Cricut (using this free SVG), and also wrote the names on the tags using the Cricut pen (note - the pen tool outlines fonts when it draws them, so I just colored in the insides of the letters by hand).

And now get ready, because here are a few more photos from the day:

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February Budget

2021-03-01T06:00:00.001-06:00

We did a little shopping this month, and for non-pajamas/loungewear/athleisure too! I even shopped IN A STORE. I TRIED THINGS ON IN THE DRESSING ROOM. I mean, I didn't buy those things, but still! It's been literally a whole year since I've been in a dressing room. And then a woman peered in at me through the crack of the door and tried to come in (she somehow thought the room was empty?) and I will not be going into a dressing room again for a while.

I've now swung hard the other way from my pajama rut of January and February. Now that we've seen 50 degree weather in Chicago in the past week, I'm all about getting dressed again, and I want to get dressed in something pretty. Bring me some lacy, frilly, floral spring blouses. I'm all in.

Here's what I bought in February:

J.Crew White Skinny Jeans - originally $110.00, on sale $54.50. I went to put on my white skinny jeans from last year and they looked terrible - all stretched out and covered in stains! So it was definitely time for a new pair. I've tried J.Crew's white toothpick jeans in the past and didn't like the fit around the knee / ankle, but this year they somehow work for me. They're great because they're stretchy enough but aren't skintight and aren't see-through. Win win win.

J.Crew Blue Floral Ruffle Blouse - originally $89.50 on sale $39.50. Love love love this. It's one of those tops that can be dressed up or down really easily. There's really pretty lace detail at the neckline and at the hem, and I love the little ruffle details at the shoulder. I wore it here.

J.Crew Ruffle Button Down - originally $118.00 on sale $82.50 used rewards $72.50. This blouse is so beautiful in person!!! The ruffle details on the sleeves and collar are so fun and well done, and the whole shirt just feels really well put together. I wore it here.

Madewell Light Wash Skinny Jeans - originally $128.00, on sale $77.40. I saw light wash jeans with an 8 inch rise and I pounced! Most jeans on the market these days seem to have a 10 inch rise, and I can't wear them because as a short-torsoed individual, they basically go up to my bra-line. These are thick, don't stretch out, and the talls are the perfect length for me.

Total Spent: $253.90

I also ordered these flats but they did not work on me, the tiny bit of canvas around the top rubbed really bad. I also ordered this pretty blouse and am still waiting for it to show up! Besides the blouse, I'm also on the hunt for some pretty spring dresses!

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Outfits Lately

2021-02-24T06:00:00.001-06:00

Where are you in your pandemic clothing choices? I've mostly been defaulting to loungewear and pajamas since the new year, mainly because pandemic winter is the actual worst. Every now and then I will put in a little more effort, and every time I make it at least two thirds of the way through the day before I switch back to sweatpants. It's the little things, you know.

Sweatshirt / Jeans / Similar Slippers

Sweatshirt / Leggings / Socks (Bombas are the actual best, literally the only socks I wear!)

Fleece / Sherpa Shorts / Sherpa Blanket / Similar Slippers

Top / Similar Jeans / Slippers

Similar Sweater / Similar Jeans / Fleece Socks (also the best but in a very different way - apparently I'm a sock influencer now ;)

Sweatshirt / Leggings / Socks

Shirt / Sweater Blazer / Jeans / Similar Slippers

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Mia's Spring Wardrobe

2021-02-22T06:00:00.001-06:00

Jumper / Tee

As soon as you have your kids figured out, something changes, am I right? Mia's growth had been slow and steady, and she was changing sizes every 6 months or so. She even somehow managed to always change clothing sizes with the seasons to make things easy for me, starting from when she was an infant! And then, since right before Christmas, she somehow went from wearing 18-24 month clothes, to 3T clothes. Someone send help.

(Except, I have to say, for cardigans and vests. What is up with baby cardigans and vests? I can't get her into tee shirts I bought in December, but she still fits into a 6-12 month vest and her cardigans from last fall. Someone, pls let me know what's up with baby vest sizing.)

Dress / Leggings

On the downside, bye money! But on the upside, I am never upset to shop for a whole new toddler wardrobe. I get most of Mia's clothes from H&M kids (I shop in both the toddler and girls sections right now), with stuff from Monica & Andy, Nordstrom, Crew Cuts, Old Navy, and Baby Gap thrown in too. While I went for earthier colors in the fall, for spring I decided to go all in on pink. She just looks so darn cute in it!

Pink Ruffle Sleeve Dress / Leggings 2 Pack / Heart Dress / Ruffle Sweater Jumper / Green Ruffle Cardigan / Blue Ruffle Blouse / Polka Dot Sweater Skirt Set / Grey Sweater Dress / Pink Cowl Neck Fleece Dress / White Button Front Blouse / Cream Sweater Dress / Pink Pointelle Cardigan / Henley 2 Pack / Tulle Dress (Mia saw her cousin's tulle dress and followed her trying to touch it for 10 minutes straight so I decided she needed one too ;)

(I recognize there are only two pairs of pants in this collage. Mia has more than two pairs of pants. They just are mostly these or these basic leggings that aren't very exciting.)

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Friday Finds

2021-02-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday! We once again have nothing going on this weekend (what else is new?!) but I'm in final prep mode for celebrating Mia's second birthday next weekend. Figuring out how to make a birthday special for an (almost) two year old (eeek!) who doesn't really understand birthdays yet and doesn't realize she should be having a party is... weird? She does realize, however, that she wants presents. She even tried to claim my Valentine's Day flowers for herself ("I want pesent!") before she realized that flowers are not a fun toy. So besides presents, I also ordered a cake from Butter Cream Flour (my friend Laura's business, her cakes are seriously the most delicious ever!) and am trying to figure out how to strike a balance between decorating and making our house fun but not going totally overboard (see: Mia's first birthday party).

Anyway, here are my finds for the week:

one / two / three / four / five

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Current Beauty Favorites

2021-02-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

Somehow my beauty routine keeps expanding - I used to be able to take a shower and run out the door, and now I realize I'm spending 15 minutes just washing my face and applying products in the morning. Someone send help.

I have been loving these bronzer drops this winter. You add a drop or two to whatever serum or moisturizer you're already putting on your face, and it gives the perfect glow. It makes me feel presentable even on no-makeup days, and evens and brightens my skin just enough!

I always mix the bronzer drops with this Vitamin C serum, which also helps my skin feel bright and fresh. After having Mia I felt like my skin was looking dull and tired (you know, probably from the drop in sleep and relaxation time ;) and this seriously helps. With any Vitamin C serum, don't try to save it - be sure to use it every day starting as soon as you buy it, because the serum will oxidize after a few months. I had it happen to me with one and it is so sad to see something you spent good money on go bad.

I have been using a lash serum since the fall, and while it hasn't given me dramatic results like I see on some people, it has made my lashes a tiny bit thicker and longer. I'm not linking it here because I wouldn't really recommend it, but because I'm focusing on my lashes I've been going a little crazy with the mascara trying to convince myself that the lash serum is worth what I spent on it. I'm using the combo of this lash primer and this mascara. I've used the primer for years now, but have been trying different mascaras and this one definitely makes a big difference in length and fullness. Be sure to curl your lashes too for extra oomph.

Because of the extra mascara it's a lot harder to wash my face, so I've been using this oil facewash. It helps melt away my mascara and actually gets my lashes fully clean (important if you're using an eyelash serum!) and helps keep my skin moisturized during this crazy winter.

What also helps keep my skin moisturized is this avocado retinol sleeping mask. It feels super thick and luxurious going on, and has kept me from having a flaky forehead like I had last winter! I also love the eye mask.

I'm also obsessed with this lip sleeping mask. I use it whenever I'm in the master bath, not just when I'm getting ready for bed, and it has kept me from getting chapped lips this winter. It feels like a really thick lip gloss, but isn't sticky.

For keeping my body moisturized, I've been loving this body oil. With just lotion my skin tends to get itchy by the end of the day as it dries out, but layering on this body oil afterwards keeps my skin moisturized all day and night.

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Currently #6

2021-02-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday!! I totally forgot that I get the day off today, so yay surprise three day weekend! Mia still has school this morning so I think I'm going to go on a hunt for a chocolate croissant and try to return a few things to Nordstrom that I've been meaning to take back for like four months.

These posts are always fun to put together, hope you're enjoying them too. Are you obsessed with something I should know about? Let me know!

Cooking

I recommended these silicon lids on Instagram and realized I had never shared here! They are heatproof to 550 degrees so you can use them when you're cooking to cover dishes that don't have lids. They can also be used in the microwave to prevent splatter instead of using a paper towel. And they create a full seal, so you can use them to cover dishes in the refrigerator instead of using tin foil or plastic wrap, or to cover serving dishes to keep food hot. I honestly wasn't sure how much I would use them, but Jeff and I use them multiple times per day and have saved so much plastic wrap / aluminum foil / paper towels! They also are dishwasher safe so we just toss them in at the end of the day and have a full set clean and ready to go the next morning.

I went a little crazy cooking for the Super Bowl - anyone else forget they were just cooking for their quarantine pod? I planned the menu thinking it would be just me, Jeff, and Mia, and honestly I don't know what I was thinking besides that of course we needed dip but of course we couldn't just have one app for the game and of course we still needed to have dinner too. Luckily Jeff's parents ended up coming over to join us because otherwise my stomach might have actually exploded. We did these sheet pan nachos and oooooooooh my gee. So freaking good. Maybe just plan for these to be your full meal if there are only two of you though, the four of us didn't even finish them off. I also made Chrissy Teigen's onion dip (from Cravings) and knife and fork meatball subs (from Hungry For More) and like honestly I'm drooling thinking about diving into those meatballs again.

I also thought it would be fun to make sugar cookies with Mia which was an exciting experience to say the least. Frosting in her hair and on every surface in the kitchen, sprinkles everywhere, and lots of poke marks on the cookies. Plus she coughed on a bunch of them 🙈Luckily the cookies were just for us! Anyway I followed this three ingredient sugar cookie recipe from Kelly in the City (I did add vanilla per the rec, and had to add a little water to the dough bc it was too crumbly to roll) but they turned out to be the perfect cookie for frosting - not too sweet! I come from a strictly sprinkles-only cookie decorating family so it was exciting for me to put buttercream on a cookie and they turned out so. freaking. good. I think we'll have to make them every year now, but maybe with less cookie coughing. For people who normally frost cookies - how do you store them? I tried stacking in containers and the ones at the bottom fused into a giant cookie cake. Not really complaining about the cookie cake situation, but I'm not sure how to avoid in the future when I might be sharing cookies with other people - lots of wax paper?

Reading

Jeff always makes fun of me for picking the saddest books and honestly, I'm not sure how it always ends up happening. But anyway, I finished reading Betty last week and holy moly it was really good but so so sad and disturbing. The novel follows Betty's half white, half Native American family living in the hills of southern Ohio in the 1960s. Betty just wants to write stories, giggle with her sisters, have friends at school, and spend time with her father, but is continually faced with incredible racism, mental health issues, rape and incest, and "the curse" that must have been put on their family after moving into a house with a dark past. I had a hard time getting through some of the scenes but still had to see it through to the end.

Quarantivitying

I honestly haven't been blogging much lately (read: took almost a month off - whoops!) because I've been spending my blogging time either working on Cricut projects or my paint-by-number kit, and I finally finished my painting last week!! The kit says it's a 12 hour project but honestly it probably took double that, partially because I'm a perfectionist but also partially because some of the paint colors weren't very thick and needed multiple coats to cover the lines and numbers on the canvas. I loved doing it though, it was so relaxing and the perfect little break from work or momming. She definitely is a Monet though, looks cute from far away but don't get too close! I think I'm still going to eventually get her framed though and figure out a place to hang her!

Buying

You might have seen on my instas that I picked up a few new arrivals from J.Crew (currently 30% off with code SPRING) and loooove them. Even if I won't get to wear them for a while because apparently we live in the arctic tundra now. I got this blouse and this blouse and they are so beautiful in person. I also picked up some new white skinny jeans because I pulled mine out of the closet to wear a couple weeks ago and realized they look terrible between being all stretched out and having quite a few stains. I have tried J.Crew's toothpick white skinny jeans in previous years and didn't like the fit (they were always too baggy around the knee/calf), not sure if the cut changed or my body changed but I love them now! And yes, despite what you may have heard on TikTok, you can still wear skinny jeans ;)

I also am in the process of ordering Mia way too many birthday gifts! Will report back on what she actually likes, but we're trying this sensory kit, a couple of new books (I'm personally most excited about the second Escargot book - we got the first Escargot for Christmas and it is hysterical!), a bed for her Bitty Baby since Mia loves putting her baby down to nap, and lots and lots of puffy stickers.

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Friday Finds

2021-02-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday!! What are your plans for the weekend? Anything going on for Valentine's Day? Mia and I already baked Valentine's Day cookies, so I think I'll try making cards with her on Saturday, and then on Sunday night Jeff and I are trying to decide what fancy thing we want to cook. Steak and scallops? Fancy pasta? Whatever it is, I insist on opening a bottle of champagne and actually getting dressed.

Here are my finds for the week! I have an older version of that baseball cap and they couldn't keep it in stock for more than a couple days last time, so if you're eyeing it snap it up quick! I personally am in love with those ballet flats, you know, if it ever becomes acceptable to wear non-snowboot footwear in Chicago.

one / two / three / four / five

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January Budget

2021-02-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

Coming in hot (and by "hot," I mean "late") with the first budget post of the year! I did not shop much in January, in case you couldn't tell. I also didn't get dressed much in January. TBH I'm finally feeling the quarantine blues, between the cold, the lack of holidays to look forward to, and feeling discouraged about how much longer this whole global pandemic thing is going to go on. I'm finally starting to see family get appointments for the vaccine, but it feels a long way off until Jeff and I will be eligible (assuming as healthy young adults who work from home... we're last?). So January saw me in a lot of sweats, leggings, and pajamas. All day erry day.

Anyway, I did buy two things in January. TWO. And I used a giftcard for one. So this is a particularly interesting post. Here's what I bought in January:

Target Leopard Sneakers - originally $24.99, on sale $12.49. Yes, that's really how much I spent on a pair of shoes. Usually I just skip the Target shoe section because they aren't high enough quality for my very picky feet, but I saw a couple people sporting these on las instas and decided to give them a try in store. And woah. So comfortable! They have a memory foam cushion insole, and the (faux) leather around the ankle doesn't rub. So far I've only worn these around the house because right after I bought them Chicago decided it was time for winter, but I'm confident they'll hold up once we leave the house. If leopard isn't your thing, they also come in white. You can see them on my feet here.

Treasure & Bond Cowl Neck Sweatshirt - originally $45.00, used giftcard $0. I also got influenced by a few people to try this one when I was sinking deep into my sweatshirt phase, and I'm v glad to have it in the Kristina's Closet family. The fabric is surprisingly lightweight but it's fleece on the inside, so you get warmth without bulk. Plus, it's so so soft and cozy, and pairs great with leggings. You can see me in it here.

Total Spent: $12.49

I just ordered a couple of things for spring from J.Crew (including this super cute floral blouse) so hopefully my February budget post will be a little more exciting!

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Friday Finds

2021-01-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday!! Not a ton on the docket for this weekend besides packing. We're renting a storage unit to clear out some space (in case you hadn't heard, babies come with a lot of stuff!) and the boxes are getting picked up on Monday so we have to get it alllllll packed up this weekend. See ya next year, Christmas tree!

Here are my finds for the week. Bring on all the soft colors and comfy knits.

one / two / three / four / five

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Where's the first trip you want to take?

2021-01-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

Something Jeff and I have been daydreaming about is the first trip we want to take once it's safe to travel again. We were supposed to travel to Greece for our five year wedding anniversary last June (luckily we were about a week out from booking tickets when we went into lockdown, thank goodness!) so for a while I had Greece on the brain, but now I'm kind of shocking myself in what I want.

I just want to go to a beach. Any beach. A whole week spent lounging with no responsibilities and a lot of sunshine is just calling my name. I'd love to go to Mexico or somewhere in the Caribbean, but it really doesn't matter - I'll take a beach chair anywhere.

It's kind of crazy to me that I'm not daydreaming about visiting old castles in Europe or eating my way through the Mediterranean or exploring South America, because that's usually what Jeff and I are dreaming up. Usually we take our vacation time to dive into a new culture and visit someplace new. But with the stress of the past year and the non-stop working and parenting, I don't want to worry about planning activities or scheduling tours. I just want to lay on a beach chair with a frozen drink in my hand and forget about the world.

Where is the first place you want to visit once you can?

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Currently #5

2021-01-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

Watching

It usually takes Jeff and I a long time to watch a show, mainly because we don't have a lot of time to devote to the binging. We often don't get time together at night outside of dinner because one of us will be working, and when we do have time it's only an hour or two before bed. That's a long winded way of saying, we LOVED Bridgerton and blew through the whole thing in a week. I'm always a fan of period pieces because I get drawn up in the sets and costumes and culture, but I really loved the drama and plot and cheese too. So perfect to binge if you haven't yet! I also am very into the new season of The Bachelor - the resort they're staying at really makes it feel like a fairy tale (as opposed to, you know, all the Spanish tile at the La Quinta where they were for Bachelorette) and I'm loving *most* of the girls so far. Who was your favorite out of the limo? I'm rooting for Kristin, Abigail, and Bri!

Eating

I got the new Ina Garten cookbook for Christmas and have been loving it so far - the short rib beef stew is amazing (and leftovers are on the menu for dinner tonight!!) and I also made her crab risotto for NYE. Everything is a little fancier than I'd normally make, which is fun for low-key quarantine weekends.

Reading

Did you read the first book in the American Royals trilogy? Okay so I'm way behind, but I'm finally reading the second book, Majesty, and if you are not reading this trilogy then you need to get on it. The basic concept of the book is that George Washington decided to be America's first king instead of first president, and follows the teenagers in the royal family in the present-day kingdom of America. There's drama, extreme wealth, and lots of unsupervised teenagers. The series is YA but doesn't feel too young to me - definitely fluffy but fun!

Buying

Allllllllllll of the loungewear from Old Navy. I just got these tie dye leggings, these ribbed leggings, these sherpa shorts, and this tunic sweatshirt in the mail, and I'm basically never taking them off. The legging quality is not super high (read: they are for wearing in your house only) but the fleece shorts are incredible, and the hoodie is great because it covers your butt so you can wear it with said leggings out of the house if you so desire. Like I said on Monday, the whole quarantine thing seems to be just catching up to me now that it's cold out, and I'm in pajamas all day mode.

Quarantivitying

I asked for an adult paint by number kit for Christmas after I saw Jill doing them during quarantine, and I may have found my new favorite hobby. Okay so it sounds weird to do paint by numbers, but here's the thing - I like to paint but it sort of stresses me out. Like having to come up with the concept, making it perfect.. it's a lot of work. But paint by numbers is painting without the stress because you don't have to think about what you're doing at all! I'm only like 1/25th of the way through this thing because it's surprisingly time consuming, but I've been loving turning on a podcast or putting on a show and painting for an hour or two.

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December Budget

2021-01-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

What a weird year for clothes shopping, am I right? And obviously, that was the weirdest part of 2020. Definitely nothing weirder happened.

I was joking with some friends that mentally I just hit the pandemic clothing phase that everyone else reached by the last week of March. I think it's probably because it's been cold so we've been doing a lot less, but I've been living in leggings, matching sets, and sweatshirts lately. Lounge all day. Which my December purchases clearly fall in line with. Two novelty sweatshirts and sequined joggers, what more does a girl need?!

Alice & Wonder Ya Filthy Animal Sweatshirt - originally $46.00, on sale $36.80. Still available in a few sizes and on super sale if you want to get ready for next year! These are unisex sweatshirts so the sizing runs large, I still went with my usual size since I wanted a relaxed fit. This also comes in black.

Alice & Wonder Merry Little Cocktail Sweatshirt - originally $46.00, on sale $36.80. This one is sadly sold out now. If you're looking for fun, Chicago lounge wear though, definitely check out Alice & Wonder as they have the cutest Chicago merch!

LOFT Sequined Joggers - originally $89.50, on sale $44.75. These sold out basically immediately so I'm sorry I couldn't share a link! Really though, they are the ultimate quarantine *fancy* loungewear lolol. I've been wearing them with my novelty sweatshirt collection, but also dressed them up with a black blouse for NYE. This same material is still available in a dress or plus size midi skirt.

Total Spent: $118.35

A look back at my 2020 Budget

What a rollercoaster of a year! It's funny to see my spending and what I bought in terms of what I thought I needed as I thought quarantine would go on longer, when we expanded our bubble slightly, and when Chicago went back into full stay home mode. Here's a breakdown of my spending by month (each linking to that specific post in case you want to take a look):

January - $159.49

February - $133.40

March - $483.54

April - $210.95

May - $331.57

June - $189.08

July - $215.85

August - $155.10

September - $545.20

October - $20.08

November - $230.15

December - $118.35

Total Spent: $2,792.76

Average Per Month: $232.73

And here we are, officially at my lowest annual average spend per month since I started tracking my clothing budget in 2014! In a pandemic it isn't so much of a surprise, but I'm still proud of myself for continuing to rein myself in while still buying (mostly) *nicer* items than I did back in the day when I'd attack the Forever 21 sale racks during my lunch break.

It's hard to say what my spending will look like in 2021, because honestly, who knows what the world will look like moving forward. Will we go back to having work events that I'll need to dress up for? Will we travel? Will we get to go to parties and see all of our friends again? Will I ever work in an office again?

What I do know is that I need some more comfy basics to wear at home so I don't just end up in the same pair of sweatpants day in and day out. I did a little bit of post-Christmas sale shopping, and am excited to get this (slightly) fancier tee and this sweatshirt in the mail soon!

Post-Christmas winter wear for me always means shifting my color palette from the richer shades of fall and Christmas reds and plaid to something softer and lighter. I'm currently on the hunt for sweaters in shades of blush pink, creamy white, and soft grays - I've currently got my eye on this one and this one.

Want to see more? Check out my budget recaps from 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

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Merry Christmas + Our Family Photos

2020-12-25T06:00:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We're planning to spend today at home in our matching pajamas, snuggled up around the tree opening presents, watching Christmas movies, and cooking a (hopefully not too) fancy Christmas dinner.

Prior to the 2020 craziness, Jeff and I always talked about spending Christmas mornings at our house once we had kids, so while this year feels *weird* it's also where we always planned to be. At home with our family, combining our extended family's traditions and making new ones of our own.

I think I mentioned a few times that taking our family photos this year was, well, exciting. Mia was not having it, to the point that our photographer invited us to pop back during another of her sessions to try again. We cajoled, we danced, we tickled, we snuck snacks into her mouth (like, in basically every photo you can see a yogurt bite!) and we even played videos from Frozen and Tangled on our phones, but nothing really worked. We still ended up with a few photos with smiles (or at least what looks like smiles - sometimes Mia's angry screaming face photographs as a smile!) so I'm calling it a win. Here are a few (of the many, many) from our sessions:

P.S. Our photographer was Victoria C, we used her last year too and she's also shot some of our friends and extended family! We did our first session (the green photos) at Winnemac Park, and our second session in the Lincoln Park Nature Walk.

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November Budget

2020-12-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

Oh heeeyyyyyy I haven't written a blog post in two weeks!! Holy moly I've heard moms complain before about how crazy the Christmas season is, and now that I have a toddler running around I fully get it. I have one thousand things on my to-do list to complete before next week. But it's all in the name of making Christmas special for Mia, so I'm happy to do it.

That being said, I'm so sorry for not getting to my November budget earlier, because it's a lot of Christmas clothes, and it's now probably too late for you to get any of them in time. So really, I'm sorry for being such a tease over here. I decided Mia and I were going to match as much as possible this holiday season, and that plus the few pounds more I weigh than I did pre-babies and pre-pandemic, means a few new holiday items.

My absolute favorite thing though are these velvet pants. They are so comfy but make you look dressed up - basically fancy joggers. I wore them for Thanksgiving and have been putting them on for some fancy WFH, and fully plan on pulling them out again for Christmas. I went with my typical dress size, but I'd suggest going down one size for these as they are a little roomy.

Here's the rest of my purchases for November:

LOFT Poncho: originally $59.50, on sale + used rewards $20.46. I bought this durning a November heat wave when I thought a short sleeve sweater would be a good idea. We are now past that part of Chicago winter haha, but I really liked this the two times I wore it!

J.Crew Factory Plaid Ruffle Blouse: originally $64.50, on sale $25.60. I bought this specifically to twin with Mia. I thought it wouldn't be particularly flattering on me, but I was surprised by how cute it is in person! I wore this here.

J.Crew Factory Pearl Bow Earrings: originally $22.50, on sale $8.80. These are my favorite earrings forever and ever. I've been wearing them basically every day. They are so, so cute for the holidays, but I think I'll keep wearing them until the *fun* summer earrings come out to play ;)

J.Crew Factory Plaid Bow Scrunchie (sold out but the J.Crew version is almost identical): originally $16.50, on sale $6.37. I obviously needed this for holiday matching. Worth it.

LOFT Cowl Neck Tunic Sweater: originally $59.50, on sale + used rewards $20.46. Really, I was just looking for more tops to wear with leggings since I've gotten super into quarantine style lately. This isn't anything special, but it fits the "wear with leggings" bill.

J.Crew Velvet Wide-Leg Pants: originally $118, on sale $59.00. Like I said above, these are the perfect holiday pant, because they look classy but are super comfy to wear. Definitely not the most flattering thing in the world, but I'm not letting that stop me!

J.Crew Ribbed Ruffle Neck T-Shirt: originally $49.50, on sale $24.75. I reeeeeeally wanted this and was going crazy waiting for it to go on sale. I had the tank top version of this top in white and black for summer (seen here) and both the tank top and long sleeve versions are perfect for tucking into skirts or higher waisted pants if you, like me, don't like bodysuits. Plus the ruffle detail is so cute! The scoop neck is a little low for me though, I wouldn't wear it for work. Unless I'm not turning on my camera for meetings ;)

LOFT Bobble Sweater: originally $59.50, on sale + used rewards $20.46. I like the texture on this but it is super see-through and not so warm. It worked great during warmer fall weather, but I wouldn't recommend it for true winter.

J.Crew Factory Plaid Button-Down: originally $59.50, on sale $24.65. I bought this specifically to twin with Mia too, and then the top for her ended up getting cancelled. Wah wahhhhhhh. This top is a little more "business" than most of my button-downs and it definitely isn't my favorite because of that, but I still have been wearing it because I cannot stop with the plaid.

J.Crew Factory Plaid Scarf: originally $49.50, on sale $19.60. I kept telling myself not to buy more plaid scarves because I have like five of these plaid scarves from J.Crew Factory from previous years, but then I bought Mia some blackwatch plaid and obviously I needed this scarf to match. Someone please send help.

Total Spent: $230.15

Moving forward, I'll share a budget post for December but I think for next year I'm going to drop the full "budget" post every month and just share my favorites. My guess is, you're less interested in how much I spent and saved on new things in my closet, and more interested in my current finds and favorites. Let me know if I'm wrong!

For December I'm basically not shopping for myself besides a couple of novelty Christmas sweatshirts from Alice & Wonder. The pandemic seems to have finally caught up with me ;)

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Friday Finds

2020-12-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday!! How was your Thanksgiving?? Such a weird year. We were planning to have Thanksgiving at home by ourselves (I even made an overly ambitious meal plan for the day!) but then Jeff's parents quarantined for a full two weeks for us so we ended up at their house. His family usually has pretty small Thanksgivings so it actually felt strangely normal. I'm not a huge Thanksgiving food fan, but I got some mashed potatoes and gravy so I was a happy camper.

I thought I was supposed to have this Friday off work but it got changed to next Friday instead, so I'm in a very confusing place mentally at the moment haha. We don't have much going on this weekend, but we are planning to wander the city to look at Christmas lights. I'm also hoping to wrap a few Christmas gifts, because our bedroom is the current holding place and it's starting to explode! I'm weirdly excited that Mia is at the age now where she's excited to open presents, so I may have gone a little overboard ;)

Here are my finds for the week:

one / two / three / four / five

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Motherhood Monday: Holiday Matching

2020-11-30T06:00:00.015-06:00

Okay, so I always knew I was going to be that mom at some point and make Mia's outfits match mine. But I hadn't fully indulged until this holiday season. Go big or go home, am I right? Here are a few of our matching outfit moments so far (and watch out Mia, because I have an exact match coming up ;):

Mia's jumper / Mia's tee / Mia's bow / My scarf / My dress

Mia's dress / Mia's bow / Similar poncho 1, poncho 2, poncho 3, poncho 4

Mia's dress / Mia's boots / Mia's bow / My belt / Similar poncho 1, poncho 2, poncho 3, poncho 4

Mia's shirt / Mia's jumper / Mia's bow / My scrunchie / My shirt

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Friday Finds

2020-11-20T06:00:00.009-06:00

Happy Friday! Since COVID is currently surging in the Midwest, we're pulling back on social activities and keeping things quiet this weekend (besides the tickets we already had for Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo - hoping it feels safe!). I'm finalizing our Thanksgiving menu since we decided to cancel dinner with my family and are just cooking for the three of us at home - our must-haves are mashed potatoes for me, and sausage stuffing for Jeff. And maybe a festive cocktail or two ;)

Here are my finds for the week:

one / two / three / four / five

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