Happy Summer

Summer is rocking out to some great 70s classic rock with your giant sunglasses on.

That is all.

Summertime in Chicago

Summertime in Chicago is the time I've been waiting for the most.  There are so many fun things to do in the city when it's warm.

Yesterday was my first night of doubles beach league.  I gotta say... riding my (dad's) bike along the lakefront to the sand courts down in North Avenue beach was about as summer-in-Chicago as you can get.

It makes me excited to be home... and excited about all the fun stuff I will get to do.

The volleyball itself was rocky, but it will get better.  Transitioning from indoor to sand is difficult.  Good thing I will be playing two nights a week pretty soon.  (This better help with my exercise/get in shape plan!)

The only shot of the courts I managed to grab last night.  I was dog-tired.

A little love

Continuing a streak of amazing outfits - Emma Stone.  Hair. Makeup. Outfit.  Awesome.

I heart you Emma.

*2012 MTV Movie Awards - source

Primary Colors

This weekend FLEW by!

It was nice to hang out with the family up in Milwaukee on Saturday for Renata's 8th grade graduation party.  The weather was amazing.  Melissa and Justin left directly from the party to their wedding, so I was left with Kayla.  Overall, she was pretty good.  She was fairly clingy at the party (didn't even notice mom and dad left) and by 5pm, she was dragging.  We got into the car (a half decent drive - meaning she left half of it and the other half she whined for food from the back.  Way to go parents, leaving my snack-less in the car!)

Once we got home, she ate a very tiny bit, took a bath and got ready for bed.  She went to bed fairly easy (waved bye-bye to me and then cried for a second) and really didn't wake up again until 9ish.  I gave her milk (that she refused before bed) and she fell back asleep pretty easily. 

Aside from one wake up around midnight (which M&J tell me she probably was crying in her sleep), she was good.

My sleep, on the other hand, was terrible.  I blame myself because I was mostly worried that any noise she made (and she is a noisy sleeper) that she was going to wake up.

On Sunday,  my dad and I drove around and looked at apartments.  We didn't get to see as many as I hoped with the Chicago Apartment Finders, but I may have a second visit later this week.  We saw a really cute one bedroom in Andersonville that I liked.  I'm emailing with that woman this week but she also has some other interest.  This finding apartments in Chicago right now thing is pretty cut-throat and I'm not feeling very competitive about it.  Maybe it's because I haven't seen a place that I have really wanted.  I liked this place, but I don't really want to fight between two other women for it.  We'll see what happens.

Today I have my first game for the summer beach league.  I'm nervous and excited.  It will be a lot of fun (and some old teammates are playing too - Brooke and Megan) but I haven't played beach in a few years.  I'm going to be rusty.

Since I haven't done a outfit post in a while, here's my "primary colors" outfit for today.  I love this bright yellow cardigan and my cobalt blue skirt. 

*Skirt & Sweater - JCrew Outlet, shoes - Nine west outlet (old)

Summer Plaid

You know what happens when you have Friday afternoon off of work, you just bought some new nail polishes, and you've been browsing pinterest?  This:

Yep, I'm calling it my summer plaid.  Not sure how long it will last, but it's fun for now.

Inspired by this pin.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I'm seeing my Milwaukee family tomorrow and babysitting Kayla for an overnight.  This should be interesting.

Hunger Games

I know this is way late to the game. I wanted these as soon as I saw they were even something I could buy.

Browsing through the Ulta sale rack, I find these gems! Guess who's super excited?!

Skin Care

For as long as I can clearly remember, I've always washed my face regularly.  Almost every day, I end up washing it twice - once in the morning and once before bed.  On occasion, I may only wash it once, but that is not on days that I wear makeup.

Having oily skin (which I HATED as a teen and am growing to appreciate now) make me prone to breakouts and sitting around/sleeping with makeup on was a big no-no!

I by no means use anything special.  I showed you my skincare products in this post earlier.  My drugstore/grocery store face wash is not ground-breaking.

Two weeks ago, my mom and I stopped into Sephora so that I could pick up some hair tonic (love this stuff).  They were having a promotion on the Clarisonic Mia system.  So my mom offered to buy one for me.

I had never really been interested in the cleaning systems.  I didn't really understand the hype.  But how could I pass up such a nice offer!

It's green - of course!

The Clarisonic Mia is apparently the smaller, more travel-friendly version of the famous facial cleaning system.

I have to tell you... I LOVE IT!

For the last two weeks I have used it to wash my face at night - after a day of wearing makeup.  And my skin feels awesome.  It's so soft and feels super clean.

If you are looking for something to help with your skincare routine, I suggest the Mia.  Online it looks like there are still some places offering discounts on the system.

*I feel I should state that I am no way being paid to endorse this product.  It's something new I've been using and wanted to share it with you all.