Allergies and Alleys

So I went on and on about how amazing fall is yesterday but there is actually one major downside. Allergies. How cow, they pretty much knocked me on my pleather clad bum today. I've never really had them before this season and I just want them gone. Any suggestions or meds that work? I may or may not scratch my eyeballs out before winter. Ugh.

On a lighter, not congested note...look at this alley! Doesn't it rule? This might be my new favorite picture taking place. It's called Couch Place Alley named after a couple of brothers that owned an adjacent hotel in the mid 1800's. Apparently, there was a huge fire that destroyed the neighboring Iroquois Theater in 1903. This fire killed 600 people and there are suspicions the alley is now haunted. I definitely did not get a creepy feeling while I was there and now I'm even more excited to go back! 

Fashion blog turned Chicago history lesson, sorry! Back to the real subject. I just got these shoes and I'm in love. They might give me blisters now but that's nothing a couple of band-aids and my high pain tolerance can't deal with! Also, pleather and denim is one of the best combos. Bonus points for leopard print and stripes!

Shirt: H&M 

Skirt: H&M 

Jacket: H&M 

Shoes: Forever 21 

Purse: Aldo (Similar here) 

Necklace: Presence (Similar here)

Watch: Michael Kors

Suddenly...FALL

It's fall! I absolutely love this weather. Lots of people have been calling it "hoodie weather." Well I don't really wear hoodies. Unless I'm rocking my Iowa State hoodie that I have had since 7th grade. But if that's the case I'm sitting on my couch watching Netflix and this said hoodie probably has Cheeto dust on it. I know, super classy. I like to call this wear "layer weather." Boy do I love me some layers. Jackets, blazer, and sweaters OH MY! 

So it's Monday. Which means I woke up late and probably should have washed my hair but I didn't. And I did not plan my outfit the night before. Luckily with this weather I could do a casual go-to fall outfit. Jeans, sweatshirt, booties. Done. I actually always forget I have these booties. Probably cause my closet is what Nick likes to call a "disaster area." Somehow my shoes just never make it to the shoe rack...It's a problem. The first step is admitting right??

LAYERS

Sweatshirt: Old Navy 

Jeans: JCrew (similar here) 

Booties: BC Footwear (on sale!!)

Jacket: Forever 21 (obsessed with this)

Glasses: Warby Parker 

Watch: Michael Kors

Back to School

Summer vacation is over. And boy was it a busy summer. So many weekend road trips, brunching, dog parking, and vacays to Europe(so it was one vacay, but it was AWESOME). So now it's back to school! Or back to blogging in my case...

I have always loved fall. I just had a conversation with Nick about how it has always been my "new beginnings" season. Fresh starts and new perspectives. I'm back to blogging, I renewed my gym membership, and I'm looking for another hobby. Any suggestions? 

See, one not go great thing about this fall is that hubby is starting to travel for work Monday-Thursday every. single. week. for. the. next. six. months. I've googled "recipes for one" and "easy hobbies." Needless to say, I'm a little sad about it. But I shall go on! Maybe I'll come out of this with a killer recipe for chili or ten poorly knitted scarves? The possibilities are endless!

I also named this post because of my outfit. Don't I look a little nerdy? A cool nerd, but a nerd nonetheless. I got my glasses and my tote bag and my ready for school! Or work. Because I am an adult. Kind of.

Photo Cred: Nuhamin

Dress: Kohl's (similar here) 

Shoes: Zara (similar here)

Bag: Francesca's (not online)

Necklace: JCrew Factory 

Watch: Michael Kors 

Glasses: Warby Parker (I also found out I have poor vision this summer-yay)

Hot Neon

Hi Friends! Is anyone else kinda dying in this Midwest heat wave? Holy smokes! Literally. I can't even step outside for a second with out "glistening." You know who I feel the worst for? Dogs. Poor Loki is stuck with this giant fur coat and I get to wear breezy neon dresses. Not fair. Here is a picture of my furball. LOOK AT THAT FACE!

"Mom, why is it so darn hot outside?!"

So this outfit might be one of my favorite summer outfits. It has all my essentials. Black, leopard, and pink. Done, done, and done. This dress was so inexpensive and it fits like a dream. Oh, and it also has pockets. So now that I made you all want to rush out and get a dream dress of your own...I got it last year. Sorry! But, I am almost positive H&M has a version of it this year. Why wouldn't they? It's nearly perfect!

Kissy faces are still cool right??

Dress: H&M-Similar here

Belt: H&M-Similar here

Sandals: Urban Outfitters 

Necklace: Presence-Similar here 

Watch: Michael Kors 

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Photo Cred: Nuhamin

Blue Skies

Could the sky be any bluer?! Gotta love a gorgeous Chicago day! The blue sky is even making the Chicago River not look disgusting. Amazing! This outfit was from yesterday. I initially bought this crochet dress for a 70's theme party. I wore it with my black fringe booties and a black floppy hat. It ruled. I love how versatile clothing is now a days. With a few modern updates I can take this 70's inspired dress right to this beautiful day in 2013. Pretty awesome. Also, I have to try to make myself NOT wear my jean jacket. It goes with EVERYTHING. I used to be partial to my tan cardigan but now it's like cardigan?? What cardigan? Where's my jean jacket??

Nick and I are taking off for Iowa after work tonight. I'm so excited to get there. Not so much excited about the drive. Pandora will push us through like it always does. Until we get to that dead spot on I-80. In the middle of no where. Where people don't have cell phones. I'm going to try to take a couple outfit pictures while camping and maybe even blog around the campfire! I'm not gonna lie. I'm a pretty fashionable camper. Enjoy your weekend friends!

Also, I have to make myself not wear these sandals!

Photo Credit: Nuhamin

Dress: H&M (Similar here)

Jacket:H&M 

Sandals: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: Presence (Similar here) 

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

New Post, New Look

More outfit pictures at the end!

And I'm back! Did you miss me? I most definitely missed you! What do you think of my new look? And yes, my bangs have FINALLY grown out but I mean my blog! My brother worked some magic again and tweaked things a little bit. This feels more me. And I absolutely love it. He is a genius.   

So I took a little breather from blogging. It gets a little exhausting trying to look completely put together all the time and I'll just admit I was in a little bit of a fashion funk. I think I'm starting to hone in on what exactly I want "my look" to be. I've always been WAY across the board with my clothes. I am girly one day, and wearing leather and studs the next, and then I'll be completely preppy! This isn't a bad thing at all but recently I have come to find myself wanting to have just this one uniquely Katie style. Essentially, it's a style that combines all of my favorite elements from every sort of look. 

A sad but true fact is I'm not a fan of wearing much color. I always gravitate towards blacks and neutrals. Always have and always will. We can thank Grandma Judy for that. My mom is wonderful with color. She looks radiant in coral. And her blue eyes POP when she wears that perfect shade of blue. She totally owns it. And I LOVE the way she styles herself. For myself, I just love the chic simplicity of black and white. I will fall in love with a piece of clothing that is colorful and there it will hang in my closet just wanting to be worn. Don't get me wrong. I love me some color. I love how different colors make you feel and how they compliment each other. I'm a big fan of pops of color. You know, to compliment all the black and white I'm wearing. Also, when you wear simple colors all of your clothes go together! It's like Garanimals! You can mix and match everything and have so many outfits. Do you people remember Garanimals or am I way off base with that reference? Whatever, go to the link. You will understand.

So there is a fairly lengthy explanation of what's going on in my head about fashion. I'm trying to go quality over quantity. Simple, chic, Katie. 

New things in my life:

-My dog is better than yours. Seriously. He's the best dog in the word.
-My brother and my friend Megan came to visit me in Chicago within two weeks of each other. It was the absolute best.

-Camping trip in Iowa with my parents is coming up next weekend. Can't wait to get my camp on. 

-Next month, Nick and I will be married for a year. Say what?!

-To celebrate a year of marriage we are taking a European vacation in August! Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. I am BEYOND excited.

Photo Credit: Chrissy Bruzek

Top: LOFT (Similar here)
Skirt: Target 
Cardigan: Forever 21 
Shoes: Zara (love these)
Bag: Zara 
Necklace: Forever 21 (Similar here)
Watch: Michael Kors 
Sunglasses: LOFT ( Similar here)

Bonjour

Hey there! Hope everyone had as lovely of a weekend as I did! We spent so much time outside enjoying the weather. Biking, walking Loki, eating on patios. It was just wonderful. Dare I say it? It might be spring? I'm sure I just jinxed it there will be a snow front coming tomorrow. You just never know in the old Midwest.

I actually had a chance to do laundry this weekend. It's amazing. All of your clothes clean and just ready for you to make outfits! This sweater was inspired by Blair at Atlantic-Pacific. Not even inspired,  it's the exact same sweater. I clicked on her blog and two seconds later I had the sweater in my shopping cart on Asos. I just knew it had to mine. It's one of those pieces that is pretty much seasonless. In other words, you're gonna see a lot of it!

Photo Cred: Nuhamin

Sweater: Asos 

Jeans: Lord & Taylor- Similar here

Jacket: Forever21- Similar here 

Shoes: Zara- Love these 

Necklaces- Forever21 here Presence- Similar here 

Sunglasses: LOFT- Similar here 

Purse: Zara 

Lipstick: Maybelline in Fuchsia Flash