Curry Chicken

So the one good thing about being new to a town and single is my cooking has certainly improved. I made a Thai curry chicken, sort of like panang curry tonight, and it was really good. It was so easy to make, with a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, curry paste, and curry powder. And voila! (or poof! I should say) I added a little saffron to white rice for color too.Can you tell I'm enjoying having my camera back? :)

Bridesmaid Dressing

I'm trying to help my sister with colors and bridesmaid dresses for her wedding. I have a question for those of you who are color-inclined :) She wants orange flowers, and her dress is...well, I'm not allowed to say anything about it. But it's classic, and pretty. We were thinking along the lines of navy bridesmaid dresses. I came up with this drawing. Does navy work for a June wedding if the flowers are bright and contrasting?

Weekend Fun: Chicago's Rooftops Rival NY's...sort of

This weekend I went to a fun party at a friend of a friend's new condo. Besides there being about 35 sorority sisters, and maybe 10 (frat) guys, the rooftop view was amazing. The Chicago skyline is so different than New York's, and so glittery!

Site Design

While I was in New York, I finally got a chance to visit Site Design. I actually get a lot of people on my blog through an old post I did about shops in Astoria Queens, so I am happy to do a little review of this store.

It was a lot smaller than I expected but crammed with some really great stuff. They even had some of my favorite Dkim prints on the wall. I would have loved to be able to bring back this orange chair to Chicago for my desk. The woman working there was extremely helpful and put me in touch with the owner about possibly finding this chair in Chicago. It didn't quite work out, turns out the chair is just a really cool vintage school chair, and she recommended Ebay. So, overall there are a few pieces of well-priced (under $100 range) vintage furniture, beautiful cards and prints, some fun coasters and other kitchen items, a good variety of pillows covered in scarf material, and beautiful display windows.

Fixer Uppers

Awhile ago I got some great stuff to spruce up my room from all over the place: Ikea, Anthropologie and my parent's house. I'm feeling pretty good about the state of things and am happy to finally have my camera back from New York so I can share.

Office/Closet with new Ikea Snille Chair. I hung up some vintage Puerto Rico postcards, and a Chicago map for some color.My antique dresser with some drawer pulls from Anthropologie. Makes for a good dressing station, though it's kind of cramped at the foot of my bed.This fake velvet lampshade added some plushness (is that a word?) to the room. I also got a fluffy white rug that makes things softer.Oh, and I finally brought back the vintage stepstool from my parent's house. It is too cute. It looks good with our turquoisey pitcher.

Lucky Magazine's Handbag Guide

How perfect! I'm in the market for a new, large, leather bag, and Lucky has a new fall bag guide online. The front flap bags remind me of grown-up schoolbags which is precisely what I'm in the market for.

Dresser Addiction

This feels strange to say but I am a dresser addict. I ended up buying new drawer pulls for my antique dresser which made it look more modern. (pictures when my camera is returned from New York) But I can't stop perusing Craigslist for vintage dressers! The one above is $50 and comes with legs. If you're in Chicago, it's located in Carol Stream. Maybe I should start some sort of online site specifically for posting my favorite finds after searching for things I don't really need...The one below is only $75.

Charlotte Ronson Sale

I wish I had seen this designer somewhere before the weather was about to get cold. But it's nice that these are now on sale at Pink Mascara.Oh, and how cute are these teal shoes?? Also Charlotte Ronson, but not on sale from Revolve Clothing.

Customizable Shoes

I just realized that Steve Madden has customizable shoes! Everything from their ballet flats, to espadrille pumps can be made to your liking. I made these navy flats with a red stripe in the back. I went with the no bow because I'm kind of over my ballet flats actually looking like little girl ballet shoes. These are much more mature, and only $100.

New blog and Cute Cards

Found Now Home is a newly started blog from a card and party hat (yes party hats!) maker named Leigh. She just finished a batch of cards for Anthropologie which is so cool, and I imagine would make her pretty big in the card world! I just investigated her online shop Notes Ink Dot Com and found some really nice things.