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

Found by Fleet Contest

The lovely people at the Fleet Collection asked me to be a part of their August style contest. I was more than excited when I heard from the company because this online store is beyond cute. I wish I could buy every item. If you enjoyed my thrifted floral outfit, please head on over to their Facebook page to vote. I believe you can also email your vote to FoundbyFleet@fleetcollection.com. Voting continues throughout the month of August, so please get your submission in by August 31st. Since you are all so great, Fleet is offering you a discount to their shop! My lovely readers will receive a 15% discount for unlimited use until August 31st. Use the code: GRACEVIOLA15OFF to receive your discount at Fleet. Thank you so much and don't forget to vote!

Until next time, Mandy

Johnny Cash Is A Friend Of Mine

Hello there beautiful. That's exactly what I said when I walked out of Ina's restaurant and saw this motorcycle. The leather seat, satchel, and wooden handles make this the most stunning bike I've ever seen. Luckily, the owner was eating breakfast so I could snap these photos, but part of me wanted the guy to come out so I could see what kind of fantastic person owns this bike. I was really tempted to slip a love note into his satchel. I know, that would have been a little odd, but I couldn't hide my admiration for this bike. So if somehow any of you know the owner of the motorcycle, please don't inform them of my creepy obsession, but do tell them that I would like to be friends.

Until next time, Mandy

Silver Tin Vintage

While at the vintage bazaar, the most adorable mobile store caught my eye right away. I mean how couldn't you be attracted to those pink and green stripes? After looking through the rack of clothes outside, the girls informed me that there was a whole shop inside. Karyn of Dethrose Vintage and Jen of Jenstyle were the sweetest ladies with the cutest style, and they just opened Silver Tin Vintage. I was so glad to meet them and take photos of their shop because it's just so darn cute. This gave me some inspiration for the airstream that I hope to make into a shop in the future.

Until next time, Mandy

Green Volkswagen

Look how pretty! While driving out to Crystal Lake I saw this green van out of the corner of my eye. I had to see what it was like, so I pulled into someone's driveway to take pictures. Don't worry, it was for sale, I don't normally take pictures with other peoples cars. The green automatically caught my attention and the bus reminded me of Little Miss Sunshine. Even though I love the look, the inside was gutted and full of tools. There weren't even seats anymore. I left disappointed but at least I got some pictures.

Until next time, Mandy

A Day Out With Friends

My lovely friend, Erin

I'm pretty sure this was a dress for ballet or something, but I bought it anyway. I think it will be a good layering piece.

On Sunday, Erin, Wil, and I had a lovely day out. We started with lunch at Naf Naf Grill, a middle eastern restaurant. My first experience with this type of food. I ordered a falafel because I really like saying the word. I've tried a little before at Whole Foods, but not a whole meal of it. It was actually quite good, so I think we will be returning sometime soon. After that we hit a thrift store called Savers. Usually, I just stop by a local Goodwill, but Savers was surprisingly decent. Imagine an Office Depot building, but instead of office supplies, it was filled with racks and racks of clothing and other thriftable items. Scouring for unmarked clothing in my size was a little difficult. I have large hips and ribs, so some items fit very strangely, while others wouldn't even zip. But, I did buy that black dress. It's nothing all that special, but it will be easy to pair with cute tights and a sweater. I plan on visiting the other Savers locations to see what else I can find. From Savers, we decided to take some photos outside. Do we look freezing? I couldn't feel my toes for about an hour after, but it was well worth it because we rarely ever get pictures with each other. So that was my day.

Until next time, Mandy