Just for fun I go through these "no shopping" periods for 2 months or so, and right now I'm in the middle of one of those challenges. Its a great way for me to find other things to do with my spare time when I would normally be walking around Macy's or Nordstrom Rack. I've got a spa day planned tomorrow and I'm looking forward to reading a few new books once work slows down a bit. In the meantime, since I'm not shopping for myself until September, I get my fix shopping for friends when I get the urge to browse around.

A few of my friends are attending their 10 year reunions this year and have approached me about potential looks so I went surfing the net. I attended mine last year and while I was initially a bit hesitant, things worked out and I had a great time. Here's a couple of pics from our 2-day class reunion in Detroit. Beautiful families, food, fun and lots of memories!

So to those of you going to your reunions... here are a few looks to check out. Bluefly has an extra 20% off all dresses, Macy's has the EXTRA Clearance Sale going on, Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale lasts one more week and dozens of stores are having sidewalk sales over the next couple of week (Chicago girls, check out the West Loop shops on Lake or Madison this weekend). I tried to give you plenty of options, as I know not everyone will opt for the mini dress like I did! LOL... Here are some ideas for that big reunion dinner/gala...

The "Remember me? The girl in glasses and braces??" dresses...

The "Most likely to succeed, and my corner office says I did it" dresses....

The "Class Sexy/Legs/Body/Cheer Captain... and I still got it!" dresses....

The "I wanna look classy/sexy but not show too much" dresses....

For those who insist on bringing "dates" (spouses and fiances not included), stick your man in a nice suit like one of these...

or check the fashion pages of GQ magazine or the Style website for a more laid back look, if the event isn't semi-formal or black-tie.

Have fun at your summer events! I just got a text that my cousin is in labor so I gotta run. Need to find some cute baby stuff for my new girl cousin! Watch out Gabbi!! I'm already looking into which purses I'm going to get for us... so on the weekends when I keep her we will be just like Angelina and Zahara.... :-)

I saw something that mentioned my first blog entry being two years ago in June 2006. Wow. I can't believe I've really been running my mouth (fingers) for that long. Its kinda cool. I actually went back and read some of the stuff from back then just to see what was going on in my life. SO much changes in such short periods of time. So to those of you who are still coming back to share in my life's journey - thanks for your support! :-)

I hope everyone had a holiday week as fun as mine. The weekend before the 4th, Sharifa and I met up in Miami for a super fun girls weekend. We started our trip with a spa day at Ugo Di Roma Salon and Day Spa in Coconut Grove. After the weirdest massage on earth (I refuse to believe Carlos is a professional masseuse) we chatted it up with a few patrons and nail techs about Miami nightlife and compiled a list of their recommendations for fun and food. A few hours after we landed, we emerged from the spa with freshly painted nails and toes, hopped into our convertible rental and began our weekend of fun. Over the course of the weekend we managed to see a comedy show at the Miami Improv, spend countless hours catching rays and eating Pineapple Coconut Haagen Dazs on South Beach, eat the worlds best lobster tail at The Chart House (the service was impeccable!), rub shoulders with a few celebrities over dinner at the elite restaurant Prime 112 and "party" (i.e. stand around in amazement) at Mansion until we were yawning our eyes out (which sadly began to happen just after midnight). Our spare time was spent at the resort pool swimming and lounging poolside with tasty Mango Pina Coladas. The Marriott Villas at Doral were nice accommodations and the nearby, world famous Doral Golf Resort and Spa resort (to which full access was given to all Villa guests) was top notch in every way. Pic of me on South Beach and a pic of the view from the Villa balcony...

My other South Beach pics have... uhm... bystanders in the background who are not... shall we say "properly clothed" for web viewing. Welcome to Miami... LOL... and for the record I settled on a Diane von Furstenburg swimsuit I found on sale at Saks Fifth Avenue (same as pictures but in an orange and fuchsia print). It turned out to be perfect! Sorry guys, I'm not posting pics of myself in the bikini so you'll have to settle for the website pic ;-)

For the actual holiday weekend I had a fun Chicago Style 4th of July. Mikyra showed me all over the town... and when I say that I mean ALL over the town. LOL. We checked out the annual Old School House Music Picnic which was WAY more fun than I expected it to be! My parents brought me a bicycle on their visit and my Dad convinced me to bike ride up and down Lake Shore Drive with him. It was a hilariously rough journey as he rides regularly and this was my first time on a bike in over 15 years. But now I'm hooked, I want to ride my bike all the time! We also managed to fit in a Segway tour through the parks and the Taste of Chicago. Some photos I captured on the tour...

Item of the day... I'm so obsessed with the Marc Jacobs Viva la Val hand bags. Then two I like are in the $400-$500 price range... hence, not in my current range... but I'm working on that! I saw this bag in the Miami Nordstrom store and almost lost my mind. Since then I found a reason to stop in the Chicago store and drool some more. Can't find it available for purchase online anywhere but here's a camera phone pic I took of the Medium and Large bags in Chocolate... perfect for a professional woman's handbag that is stylish and yet functional!

Since I moved to Chicago I've slacked a bit on my side-hustle as a personal shopper (I hate to use the word hustle since I usually neglect to charge a fee) but the month of June made up for that with my biggest task yet. While I love the actual sort of shopping (yeah, I called it a "sport") and live for the challenge of finding the "best price" on an item, the hardest part is the gift buying for other people. This means I have to keep my mouth shut about my exciting purchases until the recipient has seen their surprise.... not easy at all when the recipient is my cousin (who's more like a sister) Gabbi and we talk about fashion all the time!!

Gabbi and her oh-so-cool hubby just celebrated 12 years of marital bliss and he wanted to make sure she was pleasantly surprised with her gift so he consulted his personal shopper (me) and laid out the plan....he needed 2 pair of high end designer shoes - one of which HAS to be a pair of Christian Louboutin (a.k.a. CL) pumps. **For those who aren't familiar with this sexy, trendy high end shoe designer here are a few pics of some of the celebrities who swear by these shoes - famous for their very high red inner heel and sole...

Angelina Jolie

Jessica Alba

Thandie Newton

Victoria "Posh" Beckham

Fellow Spice Girl Mel B

Pretty hot shoes huh?? This was like a task from heaven and I took my job very seriously. After surfing the net to get ideas and see what styles were out there, I went to Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan Avenue with my soror Micky and our new friend/sales associate "Anthony" quickly joined in on the fun. I had narrowed my search to the "Rolondo" and the "Ron Ron" but found out just before heading to Saks that the Rolondo was only available as a PRE-order for freakin NOVEMBER. What????? Ok, so that changes things. As soon as I walked into the CL section of the women's shoe department I saw "THE SHOE". It was the "Ron Ron" in a "tortoise" bronze print that I can't even find anywhere online!! Such a SEXY shoe! Since we wear the same size its only right that I try it on to make sure it will fit her, right? :-) After prancing the aisles a few times I was in love and I knew Gabbi would LOVE this shoe... here are some pics I took of it in the store.

One down, one to go... and as I walk past a table of Stuart Weitzman shoes I see what I call the elegant version of a high heeled gladiator sandal called "Zoom" - some of them tend to have too many straps or appear too bulky but this one is gorgeous in black patent with white piping (I'll have to get Gabbi to send me a pic since I don't have a very good one below). This week I opened the July issue of LUCKY magazine last week and saw this same shoe featured! Pretty good, huh??? **brushing my shoulders off**

Now of course I couldn't do all of that shopping and not find things I loved for myself. Right now, money won't allow it but IF it did, I would run to Nordstrom and buy this Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Mini Quinn bag in this hot pink color called Cranberry IMMEDIATELY!!! Maybe it will fall out of the sky or something.... I'm not gonna hold my breath but I will keep my fingers crossed! LOL

This week I will be in MIAMI starting my holiday parties a week early! Have a great time wherever you are and make this holiday a safe one!

Because I know my father is a faithful reader of my blog (Dad, if you're not then keep faking it - it makes me feel special)... I must take a moment to wish him a Happy Father's Day. I gave gift duties to his beloved son this year and my fingers are crossed with the hopes that he actually comes through as he promised (a.k.a. was instructed to do by his big sister). Either way, I want to take a moment to say...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

to the men in my life and in the lives of many others I know. This wish goes out to my own father who taught me everything I know about engineering and always trusted me, from an early age to make good decisions and learn from the ones that weren't so good;

my Papa who knows everything there is to know about anything and gives me a bar to keep reaching for in my quest for more knowledge;

my brother John/Bravo, who is not as father (as far as I know) but for decades has professed his hopes to someday father over 100 children;

the men who helped my dad with the daunting task of raising a daughter in so many ways over the years - Andre, Edgar, Mr Martin, Mickey and a number of other cousins and friends; the young men with no kids who stay in the community working with young men and women who may be headed down the wrong path; friends of mine who are very admirable single fathers and never quit trying despite all they have been up against; all of the men who hope to someday be fathers knowing that its not going to be an easy job; and to anyone else I may have forgotten.... Happy Father's Day!

After surviving what I swore would be a full blown tornado in Chicago an hour ago, I am WIDE awake and hungry at an unreasonably early hour of this Sunday morning. I should have taken pictures too post although I'm sure my shaky hands would have made the pics too difficult to see.

This weekend was all about bucking tradition and breaking rules. As this is the Pan-Hel Weekend here in Chicago I am spending time with my line sisters from TSU who also live here in the Chi (click here to find out what the National Pan-Hellenic Council is if you aren't familiar with the Black Greek frats/sororites or didn't attend a HBCU).

Friday night we hit up the NPHC Black and White party in Bronzeville. I decided I didn't like my black dress or my white dress so I broke out the multi-colored, mosaic patterned French Connection dress I was drooling over last year... let's just say, I stood out and I loved it!

To keep the trend going, I decided to skip the standard "black dress" for the USGBC Emerald Gala black-tie affair on Saturday. As this is the formal event for all of the local "green-ies" like myself, I needed to stand out and spark conversations and what better way than a new dress.

Thus the search began... After some online surfing I had my mine made up. I wanted a yellow strapless floor-length gown. Nothing else. Walked into Macy's and there it was!!!! A BCBG yellow gown with a whopping $320 price tag to match. hmmmm... not gonna work into my budget. So I keep looking but nothing else seemed quite as nice.

At Nordstrom Rack (where I rarely EVER can find a cute dress) I get to the far back clearance rack in the dark corner and... VOILA... standing all by itself is my coveted dress.... with a price tag of.... NO... it can't be... did that really say $79.99???? And is that really a "60% off lowest marked price" sticker on there???? I snatch it off the rack and run to the dressing room so fast you would have thought someone was after me. In the dressing room I am seriously worried because the tag says it a 6 and I know it could be too big. I try the dress on and it turns out, its on clearance because it had been altered (taken in) and the person never came back for it! So aside from a little extra "air" in the boob area (nothing a good push up bra won't cure) it fits great! And the $32 price tag was a lovely bonus!

Next came shoes. SIGH. The hard part. I knew I wanted a gold strappy sandal. I checked everywhere - Nordstrom Rack, Macys, Nordstrom, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess, Saks (yeah, I got a little ambitious on that one) I was up and down Michigan Avenue for hours. ....I even called Bluefly.com to ask if there was any way they could get some shoes to me by Saturday afternoon... Nothing. My line sister Mikyra told me to check out Sensual Steps in Bronzeville so I grab the car Saturday morning and head out. I got there at 10:05 and they didn't open until 11. Dang. I really wanted to check the place out but I didn't have time to wait. Head over to DSW (where I can Never find anything) and lo-and-behold.... there is one shoe in the last aisle in my size that would go perfect!

**Its the Guess "Gaylen" shoe but I can't find it online. If you're looking for a gold sandal the Guess "Orwellian" is very pretty (and on sale) but they didn't have my size at the Guess store.

My overall look was amazing and I was getting compliments all night. I got a little too sure of myself at one point and tripped on the gown causing my hole to tear through the chiffon (SIGH - again). Luckily the yellow color and the flowy skirt hid it very well. I couldn't even find the hole myself once I stood up. Check me out!

**I couldn't get my pose together before the timer on the first one.... and don't talk about my light bulb being blown out!!! LOL... I can't reach it.

For the items of the day I am going to feature some of the eco-friendly companies and products featured in the Emerald Gala Silent Auction yesterday. I would have loved to purchase a number of these items but remember... I'm still on a "budget" ;-)

Whitney Wood Works baby changing station - Made from FSC certified Maple and Veneers. Natural Oil and Beeswax Finish.

Aveda Green Science kit - contains Organic argan oil, one of the key ingredients in Aveda's Green Science^TM Skin Care, comes from the nut of the fruit of the argan tree, which grows in Morocco.

Mohawk Flooring Welcome Mats - made from recycled tires; What does tire recycling mean for the environment? Consider the fact that making four new tires requires 2,072 gallons of water and 88 gallons of crude oil. Discarded tires can also produce dangerous, toxic fires in dumps and old tires retain water where disease-spreading insects thrive. Mohawk now converts more than 30 million pounds of tires into welcome mats each year.

Gilasi recycled glass tabletops - Eco-friendly Gilasi countertops recycle glass in Chicago, Illinois. Gilasi’s unique manufacturing process combines locally sourced green materials with high-end style.

Skyline Design Berry Activity Stool - made from FSC-certified, formaldehyde-free birch plywood and clear zero-VOC finish.

I am looking forward to my first summer as a resident of Chicago! I have visited numerous times over the years during the summer, but this times its just not the same. Instead of a few days, I have MONTHS to attend parties, picnics and shopping events! (Ok, forget the shopping - we're on a budget remember?)

The "cherry on top" for this summer is my first trip to Mexico at the end of August. Most everyone I know has been south of the border, but not me... and I'm truly excited. April and I just bought our tickets and we are ready to lay on the sand, splash in the water (neither of us is a good swimmer), and try every brand of tequila under the sun! I used to be able to put together a collection of "my __ went to __ without me and all I got was this t-shirt" shirts... but this time, my boyfriend went to Mexico without me and brought something much better than a t-shirt... I got a bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila. While it sits near the top of the list for "best vacation gifts", it also, more importantly, provides a great way for me and the girls to get in some "practice" for our GGW August trip! :-)  **I'm sure GGW for me will be more like a good book and a few umbrella drinks... hahaha**

Before we can do all of that, I have to get my gear together. I have room in my budget for one thing... SWIM WEAR! I have been surfing the net for weeks checking out the swimsuits available along with current styles and trends.  Its all about details (ruffles, strings, crystals, ruching, etc), cute patterns, animal prints or bright/bold colors. The high waists are back in, but I'm going to pass on those... not really my thing. I decided to get two swimsuits this summer, since one will be a much deserved gift! Now here comes the hard part - WHICH TWO??? Here are some of the beautiful suits I found online (both in and out of my price range!).....

BIKINIS....

ONE-PIECE SUITS...

TANKINIS.....

I've decided to take some of the ideas I see online and go into the store to try them on. Some places in Chicago (and across the US) that sell swimwear are:

Malia Mills - great for basic suits for women of all ages and sizes

Everything But Water - National chain that usually has tons of suits to choose from

Target - great selection of swimwear - but be prepared to see 5 other people wearing your suite regardless of what state you're in!

If you find any good places (stores or online) to buy your swimwear, please share!

So being here in Chicago is making such a difference! I actually wake up in the morning eager to go to work now - even on the days when I know I will be working a couple of hours later. I love being able to go places by foot, bus or train - and not having to move my car out of its parking space for days... which also saves me money, with this $4.15+ gas!! I love being able to call my girls up and say "hey, lets meet for breakfast" or getting in my car after work on Friday and being at my grandma's house 4 hours and a half a tank later. I love that I can go to a few different neighborhoods in one day - Wicker Park, Downtown, Lincoln Park, West Loop, Bronzeville, Chinatown, etc. - and feel as though I've traveled the world. While my Minnesota apartment was comfortable in its surroundings of large trees and peaceful wildlife - I actually find humor in my new "poor woman's view" that includes a glimpse of the upper deck of Soldier Field, the constant traffic on a stretch of major interstates and a small strip of Lake Michigan off in a very far distance. I feel like I've started over and that life I lived just over a month ago actually happened ages ago!

Some of my new favorite places in Chicago:

The Mo-ji-tea is super sweet, but SOOO good!

The Jubilee burger, with onion rings, a Cranberry Pleasure smoothie and a side of roasted red pepper hummus.

The have a sake version of a Cosmo that is so very good! (Oh, and the sushi is good too!)

The Hilltop and Farmstand Salads are so tasty!

This weekend was kinda low key. I took a trip to the Bolingbrook IKEA and got a new shelving unit for the bathroom, a chair for my computer desk and some other household trinkets. I also got a chance to go see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which turned out to be a constantly funny movie. I laughed out loud much more than I normally do and enjoyed it all the way to the end. This week I've gotta watch the 1st Chronicles of Narnia movie so I can catch the new one in theaters soon.

Its been so long since I did an item of the day! Lately, I've been obsessed with the summer "maxi" dresses that are out. I've got an August wedding to attend in Mexico, so I'm thinking cool and casual... preferably in the bright colors and wild prints of the summer!! Enjoy!

Whew! I feel like I've been gone from my blog for a LONG time. I missed you all as much as I'm sure you missed me :-)

So.... you must be wondering what has happened over the last month. Well, aside from taking an extended trip back home to Detroit and a work-related trip to New York City, I made a HUGE life change. I quit my job, took another one working for a sustainability consultant about 0.001 times the size of my last company, packed up my apartment and moved to.... CHICAGO. Yup - you read it right. No more Minnesota for this city girl. I feel like I'm on Cheers - in a place where everybody knows my name. Well, not everybody. But I do have lots of great family and friends here to keep me company!

It would only seem natural that a move to CHICAGO would mean endless shopping opportunities. Unfortunately, it actually meant a significantly higher cost of living and a need to put a halt to the shopping that kept me entertained and occupied for so long. So this blog I'm skipping the item of the day. I'll try and catch up later with some cool items but for now I am BUSY!!!

Stylin - I finally made it to the Wolfgang Puck Grille in Detroit. It was AMAZING!!! My girls and I went and sat at the bar (service was very quick and the bartender was GREAT!) We had the butternut squash soup (sweet and tasty) and the Split Pea soup (AMAZINGLY GREAT). For dinner, I had the Pan Seared Sea Scallops (no longer on the menu) and the other girls dishes were:

There is no better way to say it.... I now am the proud owner of a $35 wig. So if you see me wandering the streets, and my hair is halfway down my back (and you know I just cut it a month ago), don't fret. It really is me. I just have a new look courtesy of Wigs & Plus in Chicago. Micky, her hubby and I got bored Saturday so we took a journey over to the wig shop to see if we could find some cool alter egos. We laughed hysterically at a few jheri-curl wigs, some Tina Turner circa 1980 styles and a woman who was so hurried to find a good wig she happily passed her little baby to the store owner. This store owner then managed to offer advice to all of her patrons while wandering around with this stranger's child. After a few trials we finally found some hair that looked decent. I think I will curl it and wear it when I go home. We'll see if my family notices... **disclaimer - these pics were taken just before I passed out for the night so the faces are definitely not intentionally "mean looking"**

Since we were going out Saturday to The Bottle Bar and I didn't bring any club clothes, Bobby hooked up my foot game and I found some stuff to go with it. I went with a silver/gray/moss green color palette for the night and I was thoroughly impressed with myself :-) No pics of the night but I put a pic together to show my girls... the shoe is by Marc Fisher (bought it at Macy's but I can't find it anywhere online), the black/gray washed jeans are Birkin low-rise wide leg by Citizens of Humanity and the silver threaded top is the style Tara, by C&C. Turned out really cute!

While I was out shopping I came across a few boutiques that were pretty cool - some I had shopped before, others I had never seen. For my item of the day, I'll list the spots below - if you're looking for cool shops in Chicago, these are the places to try:

Ouest - My favorite designer boutique in Chicago. Lots of hard to find designers. Mix of classic investment pieces and fun c