Movie Moments

Do you ever have moments where you feel like your life is a movie? Not in a “my life is so important there should be a movie about me” kind of way but in a “wow, that was a really funny/romantic/beautiful moment that would have been a great movie scene” kind of way. 

I love losing myself in a good movie, especially a romantic one, and enjoy the way movies and real life relate to one another. Sometimes movies seem completely unrealistic or even just plain silly, but then a moment similar to a movie happens in real life and suddenly you realize...wait, life sometimes really is like that. 

The last time I went to London, I flew in to Heathrow and couldn’t help but think about my favorite movie, Love Actually. I didn't have a romantic, drawn out hello or goodbye at the airport, but walking through the arrivals gate made me think of all the beautiful greetings featured in the movie. It also reminded me of my own romantically tragic, movie worthy, goodbye at Heathrow just a few months before that. 

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Another great movie that has been “recreating” itself in my life lately is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Instead of breakfast at Tiffany’s, however, I have lately been enjoying dinner at Nordstrom. It may sound silly, but often after work I’ll walk down to Nordstrom to stroll around the many departments. Purses, shoes, jewelry, clothing. Often times I will browse items I can’t afford, but it’s still fun to enjoy my after work snack/dinner at the tables just outside the store then saunter through the many lovely departments.

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My last, and funniest movie moment happened today while walking down State Street with my friend after work. We were walking around enjoying the end of summer Chicago weather and window shopping when I suddenly felt my skirt fly up. Yes, I had walked over an air vent. I walk over so many of them each a day that I hardly even think about it, but this time the air was actually blowing out. All I could do was burst in to laughter and shout “woah, Marilyn Monroe moment!” My friend didn’t even notice, but I couldn’t help but think of who, if anyone else, saw my funny, movie moment and store the memory in the back of my mind for whenever I need a good chuckle. 

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Lord Byron once said, “For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.” I agree with the classic English poet, but I also believe that ‘funny’ and ‘romantic’ are two other adjectives easily swapped with ‘strange’ in this statement. 

Maybe it is just the way I choose to view life, but I believe truth is not only stranger than fiction but also funnier and more romantic. Movies are great stories and escapes from the stresses of life, but real life is stranger, funnier and more romantic because it is just that...real.

Morning Me Time

My view each morning on my yoga mat

While going back through past posts, it's funny to remember my love/hate relationship with yoga (mostly hate at the beginning). I have always liked the idea of yoga, but that idea hadn't quite translated in to a reality until this summer.

When I moved to Chicago at the beginning of the summer, I bought a YouSwoop deal for a month of yoga at a studio just a few blocks away for just $32. Real classes at a real studio helped me learn the proper positions and body alignment while also showing me how relaxing and fun yoga can be. Once my month was up though, I felt like I couldn't really afford to continue going to the studio. Every week I look up the schedule and contemplate going to a class, but sadly, I haven't been back since that first month. This does not mean I haven't been enjoying yoga though.

Eat Live Run is one of my favorite blogs to read. I love Jenna's quirkiness and respect her honesty and way she seems to live her life. At the beginning of August, she posted a 21 day yoga challenge she planned on starting and invited others to join as well. I knew right away I wanted to join.

My 21 days ended last Monday and honestly, those 21 days were some of the most peaceful yet productive and fun days I've had all summer. There were days I was tired and wanted to sleep, but as soon as I remembered how good I felt after my morning practice, I easily slid out of bed and unrolled my mat.

For anyone who thinks they don't have the budget to practice yoga, think again. During those 21 days, I never stepped foot in a "real yoga studio". There are so many free online podcasts and videos to lead you through a yoga flow, and on days I really didn't feel like doing a lot, I did a few sun salutations and any other pose I felt like practicing that day. Some days I did full 90 minute workouts while other days I only did 5 sun salutations. The beauty of yoga is that the whole purpose of it is to listen to your own body and what you need that day.

Yoga may not be your thing or maybe just not your thing right now, but I encourage anyone reading this to find something to do each morning that makes you truly happy. I don't care what it is or how long it takes as long as it's yours. It's amazing what a difference a good start to the day makes.

What does your morning me time look like?

End of an Era

I try not to be too materialistic, but I do have a strange, sentimental attachment to my brown boots. Well, I had one at least. After two years of ownership and extensive wear, I finally had to throw away my beloved boots. Actually, I couldn't even throw them away myself and made my mom do the deed for me.

Two years ago, I bought my Steve Madden boots on a shopping trip with my mom and instantly knew they were a trusty pair of shoes. My original intent for them was for my semester in Italy, but they became my favorite shoes long before I ever set foot on the plane. Once I got to Italy, you literally could not take them off my feet. I wore them anywhere I felt appropriate aka everywhere. My favorite outfit while abroad was a Target v-neck, cotton skirt, black leggings and my boots. I could do anything in that outfit.

Gallivant around Verona? Check.

Via del Bersagliere <3

On the Adige

Enjoy other Italian cities? Possibly getting in trouble from locals in the mean time? Check.

Got in trouble from an Italian woman in Vinci for this one...

Soave

Mantova 

Firenze

A bit of fun in Rome

Explore London on multiple occasions? Check.

Classic tourist

Taking London by storm

Regent park aka my favorite London park :)

Completely fall in love with Scotland? Check.

Hiking around castle ruins

Edinburgh castle 

Favorite door in Scotland

Drink my first pint of Guiness? At of the Guiness factory? Of course.

And you can bet my boots didn't lose their special place in my heart upon returning to the great USA. Nope, we continued making memories despite their extensive amount of scuffs and wear.

They accompanied me to my Senior Barn Dance, Dad's Day weekend, CHWC reunion in Champaign & New Years in Boston/on the Cape.

Needless to say, I have some truly amazing memories of time spent in those boots. Parting with them is truly the end of an era for me, but ends also thankfully mean new beginnings. I fully plan on buying a new pair of brown boots that will hopefully prove to be just as trusty, but for now "So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu..."

**What go-to piece of clothing do you associate a lot of memories with?

Comfy, Cute Outfits

Thanks to a tweet from Kati requesting a new blog post, I finally realized how long it had been since I wrote.  But tada, I'm baaaack!

Some quick things I'm thankful for from my hiatus:
- Random, fun Sundays including: watching the Air & Water show from my friend's boat, swimming in Lake Michigan for the first time on the Illinois side, having a blast hanging out with a softball team I don't even play on and ending the day singing and dancing to karaoke night at a fun, quirky bar
- Taking a free intro to cross fit class at the gym I walk by every day on my way to the train and am pretty much obsessed with (sadly I can't afford to join it right now though...)
- Chatting with my brother on my walk to Trader Joe's today
- Not having to go back to school for the first time in 17 years

On to my main thankfulness item of the day...my comfy outfit I wore to work.

shirt: Target / skirt: H&M / belt: Goodwill / bracelets: garage sales

I bought this skirt at H&M at the beginning of the summer and have been trying to pair it with different items ever since. I wore a similar combo a few weeks ago when I went to visit my grandma, but I think today's is my favorite pairing yet.

A light skirt, one of my favorite v-neck tees from Target (I may or may not have pretty much lived in these while abroad, but more on that later...), a belt I bought for $1 at Goodwill last year, 2 of my favorite wooden bracelets & you can't see them in the pictures but I finally set out to break in a pair of brown patent leather pumps I've had for 2 years.

Overall it was an outfit I felt comfortable in while also feeling sassy, cute and ready to take on the work day.

Also, a quick shout out to Natalie who started grad school this week. Although I'm happy to not be returning to school, I do miss her! Especially taking Asian tourist photos during our travels or just whenever we feel like :)

Best. Week. Ever.

This was by far an amazing week, but I'd rather share about it in pictures than a list of stories. Enjoy!

Beautiful walk around the neighborhood last Saturday

Day 1 of Paul McCartney

Day 2 of Paul McCartney

Out to lunch with Shannon & Natalie

Bottle of Prosecco from Verona at Pops for Champagne
to celebrate my job!

Fun door on the walk home from brunch

Retro on Roscoe. Excited to call Chicago home for a bit longer

Vintage ad I bought at Retro on Roscoe

As you can see, this week has been truly amazing & I'm so thankful to be able to continue calling Chicago home :)