Just a Chi Town Girl’s Favorite Things 2014

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Lindsay Letters Christmas

I still miss Oprah’s Favorite Things episode. Since it always aired right before Thanksgiving, I would be home from college so my mom and I would watch it together and it was so much fun to see Oprah scream “You get a robe, you get a robe, everyyyybody gets a robe!” and googling things we had never heard of. To this day, we love Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbet because of Oprah.

So this is Just a Chi Town Girl’s Favorite Things…except you won’t magically find a cashmere bodysuit or car delivered to you by my elves or under your seat. Sorry about that. However, these are the things I will be gifting and love myself this holiday season (avert your eyes, BFF) so I hope that it will inspire your own wish list or end up under the tree for someone who has been extra good this year.

1. Lindsay Letters (image above): I am so in love with this shop of lettered goodness. I have been lusting over the “Oh Holy Night” canvas for years and treated myself to it this summer…I am so happy to finally be able to put it up! This Love Is The Only Gold print hangs in my office and her new art prints are so pretty too. Art with an inspiring message- such a great gift.

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2. BaubleBar’s As Good As Gold Collection: In 5 Questions With…Megan Runser, I told you all about my sweet, wildly talented friend who designed a collaboration with BaubleBar but I don’t think I went on enough about how insanely stunning this line is…or how I got serious FOMO when it came out and practically bought everything. And beyond being gorgeous, all proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I think all of our lives have been touched by cancer way too much and I love that I can support that fight while gifting friends and family with such pretty little baubles. The Draped Niagara Chain Bib, Draped Niagara Studs and As Good As Gold (Megan’s recovery mantra) bracelet are my favorites but every single piece is amazing. And with the As Good As Gold bracelet being only $10, it is showing up in every stocking I am stuffing.

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3. K.Hall Designs Candles: I was gifted a K.Hall candle by a co-worker in St. Louis last year who loved this local company for their soft scents and pretty design. The day I burned the last of it, I found out that K.Hall has set up shop in Chicago and ran down to check it out. So many lovely scents to choose from and many have matching body products. Pictured is Fern, my favorite.

 

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4. RMS Raw Coconut Cream: Speaking of Megan, she sent me this little jar o’awesome for my birthday and it has changed my skin in the period of a month. As pure as it gets, this coconut oil is moisturizing, can act as a makeup remover and just all around awesome. It just feels so luxurious which is such a welcome addition to a daily routine.

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5. Cuyana Totes: this is the softest leather in the world and such a staple piece. I love their motto of filling your life with fewer, better things. Yes. Their post about the holidays is really beautiful too. Quality over quantity, all around.

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6. Nike Roshe Run Sneakerboots: Because winter.

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Wedding Week: Little Touches

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You know those dinner parties you go to or when you’re a house guest and your hosts just make you feel so at home and thought of? That’s how I wanted our wedding to feel like, with little touches that were a nod to our city, our relationship and our guests…without going overboard (Like the day I came home and told Ryan I was going to make — on our back porch, mind you — champagne buckets out of ice for our wedding.). Here are some things I did that I think fit the bill and were super easy.

Signage: I am in love with everything Lindsay Letters and her lettering is such a nice touch to wedding decor. It felt tailored to our day but without the finding an artist/deciding what to say hassle/being super expensive aspect. The above print is sold out but I love the “love never fails” print and of course, the vows print would be perfect too. We put the “Toast!” print on the bar and will absolutely be bringing it out for when we host parties at our house!

Place cards: Chicago was obviously a huge part of our wedding aesthetic (the view from the reception was absolutely the star of the show!) and we wanted it to pop up in subtle ways. Etsy can be a rabbit hole of wedding everything but I found place cards with the skyline on them that I loved and were just a little nod to our hometown. They have tons of other city options too- the cable cars would be the cutest for a San Francisco wedding!

Cake: We were going to have cake anyways so we thought incorporating the skyline would be a good way to continue our Chicago-style wedding vibe. Elysia, of Elysia Root Cakes, is a sugar genius and the second I mentioned maybe, could we, would it be possible…she was saying yes and adding the skyline to her sketch of our cake.

Candles: Since we didn’t use a wedding planner, anything we were adding to the reception space needed to be done by us the day-of and I got a little overwhelmed whenever I would look at wedding blogs with so.many.things. decorating a reception. One word for you: candles. There is nothing more romantic or mood setting or easier than candles. Mix and match glass containers, we stuck to clear glass because we were anti-color for our wedding, but just get as many votives, tapers, and pillar candles as you can and light them. Boom. Done.

Flip Flops: For as much thought and money goes into wedding favors, when was the last time you went to a wedding and 1) remembered to take the favor home with you, 2) ever used it? Right. I have, however, been to a million weddings where I have refused to bring a change of shoes because I am determined to dance the night away in my stilettos and then am in massive foot pain by 9pm. So instead of favors, I picked up flip flops for our guests and put them in a basket to be passed out as soon as the dancing began. Old Navy always has online sales so they ended up being super cheap- way less than I would have spent on an ornament or wine stopper with our faces on it.

Mints: Okay, this one is a bit ridiculous but a majority of our guests have mentioned loving them so I have to…Mr & Mrs mints. It was my sole cheesy Amazon wedding purchase but they were oddly good and we set them on the bar and the bowl was empty by the end of the night. Best 8 bucks I have ever spent. Update: FedEx came while I was writing this and my husband ordered more of these mints. We are going to be eating Mr & Mrs mints forever…

 

 

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