Your Looks are Laughable

Sweater: laundry room freebie, remixed * Red blouse: H&M, laundry room freebie, remixed * Jeans: C&A, remixed * Boots: Rockport, remixed * Hat: Forever 21

So I just had the happiest lunch ever! I opened all the blinds in the apartment to let in the gorgeous afternoon sun (by the way, it's been delightfully sunny here lately...very atypical for Chicago winter!), cracked open one of our breakfast stout home brews, and enjoyed a lunch of carrot sticks, pita chips, garlic hummus, and a honey tangerine. Holy Sunday it was good! Oh, yeah. And I followed it up with a handful of Hershey kisses, to keep with the spirit of the holiday. It kind of felt like a summer lunch, which it totally was not, but it reminded me about how much I love summer. I'm way excited for the day that Joe and I can enjoy a lunch of hummus and veggies and cold home brews on the patio, watching Chicago's fabulous summer fireworks. What about you? Any culinary summer favorites? What about your gustatory plans for Valentine's Day? Any Hershey kisses and hummus in your plans?

I had a dear friend in town over the weekend. K. was in town for a conference in the city, and we got the chance to spend most of Saturday and today together. Since Joe works over the weekend, I usually spend that time on my own, occasionally meeting up with people for a little while. But I never get to spend full days with people, so when someone comes to town I'm like a kid in a candy store, dashing around, trying to be a fabulous hostess, enjoying every moment of my new-found company. This weekend's visit was particularly nice. K. is one of my dearest friends from college. We lived together for years, and she quite honestly became a part of my family. I got insanely lucky in college with my circle of friends. The relationships that I forged with those six girls will stay with me for a long time, and I feel so lucky to have had them in my life. I do miss them, a lot, and the dynamic that we had for those years. However, I love the grown-up part of our relationship now, when we meet up in our big metropolitan cities and our big adult lives, doing big grown-up things together.

K. is also probably the supreme creator of my fashion sense. I remember meeting her as a freshman, when I was wearing loose-fitting cargo pants and baby-doll tees (oh, and guess what? This wasn't in the mid-1990s. I carried the baby-doll tee trend far past any acceptable timeline). She had gorgeous sweaters, and introduced me to the wonderful world of scarves, and was (and is!) just so stylish. I think that living with her for so many years somehow subconsciously influenced my own fashion sense. Before K., I didn't dress for myself. I didn't use fashion and style to improve my self-esteem, to accent the parts of me that I love. She definitely opened me up to understanding what style can mean. So I love it when I can see her, because I'm always re-inspired. Just today, for example, she totally rocked an Edie Sedgwick-inspired ensemble while at the same time sporting a fab pair of clogs and a chunky popcorn sweater. Fan-freakin-tastic. Sorry I didn't get any pictures with her so you could witness her fashionability. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!

Title song: Frank Sinatra, "My Funny Valentine"