The Ultimate Beauty Queen

T3 curling wand with three barrels // Anastasia Contour Kit // Beauty Blender Sponge // Shampoo // Conditioner // Cupcake Mask // Mascara // Pinch // Chanel Perfume // Too Faced Blush // Melted Lipstick // Powder Puff Brush // Clarisonic // YSL Touche Éclat

Chicago's Best: Le Colonial

Le Colonial is an up-scale French-Vietnamese restaurant on Rush Ave in the Gold Coast. It recaptures French Colonial Vietnam in the 1920s in a two story vintage row house. I absolutely fell in love with it's authentic Vietnamese cuisine with a Parisian twist! If you are in town  or visiting be sure to stop by and enjoy this one-of-a-kind cuisine. 

I am a frequent user of open table which is where I reserved our lunch date. When we arrive to the restruant there was a cute little corner booth reserved just for us. Even though the seating is quite close, the atmosphere is still intamate and enjoyable. A sweet lady was seated next to us. We noticed her appetizer and privately commented to ourselves how good it looked. She quickly joined in our conversation and offered to share her food with us! Of course we accepted! How amazing was that? In this moment I felt so grateful for meeting this woman. In our world where everyone is so selfish, it was refreshing meeting someone so kind and generous. Cha Gio was what she ordered - 4 fried spring rolls filled with shrimp, pork, mushrooms, and chili lime sauce). It was delish! I ordered was Bo Sate which is sautéd diced filet mignon with yams and string beans. All my favorite foods rolled into one perfect entrée!  I also got a side of the Mien Xao which is very similar to Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles). It is stir-fried cellophane noodles with crabmeat, mushrooms, and cilantro. I had to share this decadent side dish with Matthew, it was that good! I can't wait to go back!!!

My Christmas List

Cole Haan Boots 30% OFF // Addiction Eye Pallettes // Kate Spade Wallet // Fujiflim Camera // Lilly Scarf // Tiffany Earrings // iPad Air // Necklace // Pink Pom Pom Beanie 

Holiday Gift Guide: Bestie

Pillow // Earrings // Socks // Travel Mug // Nail Polish // Mascara // Peppermint Stick // Stationary // Coasters // Candle // Pom Pom Key Chain // 

Boo-tiful Halloween

I dressed up as a kitty cat for halloween and as you can see I am wearing my 3-D fiber mascara from Younique. 

This mascara is AMAZING! 

I wanted to test it out for longer then a weekend and ended up using it for an entire 4 weeks so I can give a full and honest review... 

1. I have very sensitive skin and I have to be very careful about what makeup I choose to wear and use. I literally cannot use anything with perfumes, from a drug-store, or fillers and parabens. 
2. I also wear contacts and have a stigmatism so my eyes are senstive. When I wear mascara all day long for 12 hours, the product begins to weigh down on my eyes which is so uncomfortable. 
3. I usually walk home from work which is about a 3 mile walk and usually my old mascara would run, smudge, or become dull. 

This Younique mascara does not do any of these concerns listed above!!! 

It is weightless, waterproof, long-lasting, natural based, not tested on animal, hypo-allergenic, paraben free, talc free, gluten free, and most of all cruelty free!!!!!!!!!! oh em gee! How could you NOT love this mascara??? It lasts ALL DAY LONG and feels completely weightless. And after a long day of fabulous lashes and I remove my make up - this mascara does not pull any of my lashes out.

End Result: Younique mascara is the best ever! I ordered it, fell in love and the rest is history. 

Younique is so much more than the mascara, it is about empowering women and making them feel beautiful! I am proud to say that I am a Younique presenter. I have the opportunity to make a great income, earn vacations, and get free makeup and you do too! If you're a stay at home mom or just looking to make extra income you can join my team! Learn about Younique by clicking the link below!

Click Here to Order 3-D Mascara!!!

Starved Rock

   

I've been going to Starved Rock for as long as I can remember. Growing up as a prairie girl in the great state of Illinois, this is one of the biggest attractions and autumn family traditions. I love nothing more than hiking in the autumn when the leaves are turning gold. 

Columbus Day

Being a teacher, I get a lot of 3 day weekends and it's pretty amazing. So I had Columbus Day off! YAY! And to make things even better, Matthew had his childhood best friend and girlfriend come to visit us this weekend. It was so nice to have our dear North Carolina friends with us in the windy city. They came at the perfect time because the weather was great! It was in the mid 70s all weekend which is warm for this time of year in Illinois. For the weekend we got to play the tourists which never gets old because Chicago's attractions are so timeless.

We went to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium and got in for FREE! As you may or may not know, the Chicago museums offer Illinois Resident Free days where with a valid Illinois license you can receive general admission for free. Since I am an Illinois educator and Matthew works for J.P. Morgan we both can get into any Chicago museum for free any day of the year!

Did I mention we went to Shake Shack? OMG It was the best burger I have ever had. Hands down!

FASHION FORWARD: When picking out my outfit this morning I noticed that it is HARD to be comfortable AND fashionable all at the same time. Especially when you're traveling to a big city you want to be on trend but also with all the walking it is crucial to be comfortable. I ended up choosing gold glitter Kate Spade for Ked's shoes, Victoria Secret yoga pants, a hot pink vest, a striped shirt, and a black/gold cross body Betsey Johnson purse. I was defiantly comfy & chic!