My Return To The Blogging World

If you haven't noticed, I have been a terrible blogger lately. Since I arrived at school I have only posted one time. ONE. Completely unacceptable. I apologize for my disappearance, but I am back now. Although I may not be able to post everyday and outfit posts are going to be lacking (I don't think my college friends want to go around and take photos of me all of the time), I will be showing you all my life in the city. To begin, here are some photos from Pavement, one of the local coffee shops. As easy as it is to grab a Starbucks, I enjoy the coffee shop atmosphere, and that is exactly what Pavement has. With the mellow music and delicious drinks, it is the perfect place to do homework or hang out with friends. The white brick walls and ridiculously awesome coffee art are definitely an added bonus. I hope all of you are doing well. I've missed you.

Until next time, 

Mandy

Wall of Doors

dress: forever 21. shoes: nordstrom. scarf: vintage.

With only a week left at home, I thought that another trip to the pie shop was necessary. Since the weather has been amazing the past few days, I decided to sit in the backyard of the shop. The wall of doors and pops of red made it the perfect place to take some photos. 

Until next time, Mandy

I Have A Pie Addiction

Welcome to Bang Bang Pie Shop, one of the cutest places on earth. After taking a four week ceramics class at an art studio that has its own pie cafe, I am officially a pie addict. I cannot even tell you how many blueberry hand pies I have eaten. I don't even think I want to know myself. So since my classes are now over, I needed to find a new pie place to attend to my addiction. This is where Bang Bang Pie Shop comes in. Last week, my aunt and I had the brilliant idea to go out to breakfast and then head on over to a pie shop right afterwards. We called it breakfast dessert. I think we are going to start a trend. As soon as I walked in, I was in love. I am a sucker for brick walls and fun chairs. Obviously, Bang Bang has both, along with its amazing blueberry peach pie. Everything was just perfect. We sat there for quite awhile taking pictures and savoring every piece of that pie, but I could have stayed there all day. There was even an outside dining area with hanging lights for nighttime. I believe another trip to Bang Bang Pie Shop is in my near future.

Until next time, Mandy

I Think It's About Time I Get A Bike

shirt: from my friend. skirt: urban outfitters. shoes: target. scarf: vintage.

So I kind of had a red theme going on the other day, so when I saw this adorable bike with the red sign, I just had to take pictures with it. It is little things like this that make me love going into the city. I hope to find more cute places today, because I am headed downtown in a few hours. Erin and I are meeting up with a friend of ours from Indiana for a day of picture taking and hopefully coffee because I am a tad bit exhausted.
Until next time, Mandy

Can I Have The Black Bear?

I love breakfast. Actually, I just love eating breakfast at cute restaurants. When I am home, I rarely eat breakfast. I know, I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well I cannot really help that my house never has food in it. Plus, I would much rather be eating a delicious meal somewhere other than my kitchen table. On one of my city adventures last week, my aunt and I tried somewhere new to eat. Bakin' & Eggs. With brick walls, mason jars, and blue decor, this place quickly became one of my favorites. Once we sat down, it was time to order. That is always my problem. There are so many unique choices, I just don't know what to do with myself. I ended up ordering a veggie fritatta and a black bear. What is a black bear you ask? It is a delicious drink of chocolate milk mixed with iced coffee. As much as I liked the concept of the drink, I would be lying to you if I didn't tell you that I merely ordered it just to say the name. After I asked my waiter for the black bear, he turned around and said "I thought you would order that." I'm still not quite sure what that means, but I'm going to take it as a compliment. I looked cool enough to order the black bear. Do any of you Chicagoans have your own favorite breakfast place? I would love to try them before I leave for Boston. Which brings me to, do any of you Bostonians have a favorite breakfast place? I am in desperate need of some Boston food tips, because let's just say that I cannot handle dorm food all year long.

Until next time, Mandy

Food Trucks And Furniture

The vintage bazaar moved to the Aragon ballroom this month, but half of the bazaar took place outside. I really liked the flea market atmosphere, as opposed to the crowded booths. Another perk of being outside was the mobile shops and food trucks. 

I always enjoy a good food truck, and these were super cute!

I wasn't trying to get a photo of this girl, but I'm glad I did because I am loving her dress. 

I'm not sure if this was an old kitchen cabinet, but the color is fantastic. If I had a house of my own, I would have purchased this piece right away.

It looks like someone else shares my orange obsession. I wish I could have bought all three of these.

Vintage signs and letters are always a good decoration, especially in a brick walled loft, that's where I always picture them.

My retro bike fascination continues. All weekend I've seen the cutest people on the cutest bikes and my jealousy increases. The girl I saw on a pink bike with the pink dress and pink helmet was perfect. Along with my bike obsession, I also have a thing for vespas lately, but I think that I should probably get back to riding bikes first.

As always, the vintage bazaar was an amazing event with creative and fascinating people. It made for an exciting, inspiring afternoon. Does anyone in the Chicago or Boston area know of any vintage events, flea markets, or blog events coming up? I would love to find some new places to visit.
Until next time, Mandy

Tapas For Two

Here are some anniversary pictures. After a stressful day of school, Wil and I had the most delicious tapas dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Meson Sabika. We usually go there on special occasions because it's quite fancy and somewhat expensive because we can't resist ordering everything that sounds good. Whenever we eat there, everyone stares at us strangely because we are the youngest ones, but we don't care because it has the best food. We enjoyed some nonalcoholic sangria, vegetable paella, goat cheese with tomato sauce, and many other tapas dishes. As for today, it seems like I am going to stay home and make college pros and cons lists.

Until next time, Mandy

Best Deal Ever

Early morning Starbucks before the estate sale.

I usually know where I'm going when I'm driving, but I thought I would plug the address of the estate sale in the garmin. Oh boy was that a bad idea. It turns out that the house was only about 10 minutes from where I live, but the gps took me for a half hour drive that ended up on the highway. It's safe to say that I will no longer be trusting directions from the garmin. These crazy directions left me somewhat irritated and pessimistic about the estate sale... but my mood instantly changed when I went inside.

Two rooms full of vintage clothes, what could be better? I immediately started rummaging through the racks and my pile kept growing larger and larger. At first, I just wanted to pull everything that I found interesting so nobody else could take it. I told myself that there was no way that I could buy all of these things. The woman working stored my clothes so I could keep on looking, which was fine because I knew that I was going to minimize my pile later. The sign said that all vintage clothes were $20, but then they were marked down to $10. Even though $10 is a great price, my pile of 11 items would have cost me $110 and I just did not have that much money with me. When I went downstairs to pay, they counted all of my items and said they would make me a deal. $2 a piece! Can you believe that??? I was in shock. Actually, I still am. Dresses, shirts, coats, pants, headbands, and a ring (14 vintage items) all for $28. My grandma took them home to clean, but I can't wait to actually see what I bought since I just grabbed whatever I could find. I know that some of the dresses need hemming, but that's okay because my sewing lessons begin this month. I will be sure to put up pictures when I get my clothes back.

After the sale, we went out to breakfast at Honey Jam cafe. Isn't my yogurt pretty? I couldn't resist taking a picture. Shortly after breakfast, it was off to the movies. I have been talking about The Artist since it first came out, but I finally saw it yesterday and loved it. I loved Jean Dujardin's expressive eyebrows and amazing dance moves (well actually I just love him). I loved Berenice Bejo's effortless beauty. And most of all, I loved the 1920s style. That has always been one of my favorite fashion eras. I was drooling over the clothing the whole movie. If only we could all dress like that today. I would much rather look at a man in tails and a bow tie than look at his boxers because his pants are three sizes too big. I never understood how that became a look. Since today's style is not changing, I will just have to wish that I lived in old movies. Have any of you seen Le Demoiselles de Rochefort? It's the next movie on my list to see. A 1960s french musical with impeccable style sounds perfect to me.

Until next time, Mandy