Rent the Runway

A friend referred me to a site called Rent the Runway a couple of months back and although I usually hate getting referral emails from sites I'll never use, I found this one to be quite intriguing.

Rent the Runway is a consumer purchasing site dedicated to high-end fashion, but rather than purchasing a dress for that next great event, you rent it. According to their website, "Rent the Runway lets you access your dream wardrobe for all of life's special occasions at 90% off retail prices". You simply choose from their bank of dresses/designers to find the dress/accessory that suits your special occasion needs, pick the date of the event,  your size and the zip code you would like your dress shipped to.

I think RTR is a really great concept, especially for someone at my age/income level who's interested in fashion - I have more events/weddings than ever before, and seemingly less and less disposable income. So, if you have a special occasion coming up and are hoping to make a statement in a new dress rather than retreating to your go-to LBD, I highly recommend checking this site out. :)

Potato Pancakes with Avocado & Egg Mash

I've always been a big fan of having breakfast for dinner. This is due, in part, to the fact that I've never been much of a morning person - I almost always choose to sleep-in, get ready in a panic and rush out the door rather than get up and have breakfast like a sensible person. So since I never manage to eat breakfast, but love breakfast food, having it for dinner has become a staple in my diet.

The other night I decided to experiment a bit with my breakfast food when making this recipe for Potato Pancakes with Avocado Mash & Eggs. I typically steer towards the standard scrambled eggs or omelet options when cooking breakfast for myself but I found this recipe to be surprisingly delightful, filling and beautiful in presentation. I hope you think to include it in your next breakfast (or dinner) menu. Enjoy!

Sprinkles Chicago

Over the holiday break I was lucky enough to get to spend a good chunk of time in Chicago catching up on all of my must-try restaurants. I started my quest at the newly-opened Sprinkles Cupcakes on Walton Street. For anyone that hasn't heard of Sprinkles Cupcakes they are dubbed the original cupcake bakery. They started in Beverly Hills and have since expanded to many of major cities around the country with the latest addition being Chicago. So of course, be a cupcake fanatic, I had to try it.

I went with a friend and we ordered a chocolate-vanilla cupcake and a chocolate-marshmallow cupcake. The cupcakes were very good and I was impressed by the flavor offerings that the menu displayed. The decor was also really neat, although it was hard to appreciate due to buzz of the new opening creating quite a crowd.

I tried my best to document my trip with my new Flip camera (see below) but I have to admit that the camera-work may make you feel a bit sea-sick : / So bare with me as I learn to improve my film skills and I hope you enjoy!

Eat Pray Love

I know this movie didn't exactly do as well as expected in the theaters, but being a Julia Roberts fan, and seeing that it was on sale for $8.00 at the Redbox at the grocery store last night, I decided to purchase it. I took the movie home, and after making what I found to be a delicious meal, (unfortunately, I have to thank Rachel Ray even though I find her show to be increasingly annoying every time I watch it) I decided to pop it in.

Even though the film did have a few weak points, (i.e. character relationship development) I still found myself very connected to the main character, played by Julia. The movie opens with the main character (Julia) living in New York ending her marriage. In order to cope, she throws herself into a relationship with a struggling, guru-obsessed yogi played by James Franco. Obviously, that relationship suffers quickly and Julia finds herself in a state of turmoil. In order to find a way to feel again and learn about herself she decides to take a trip around the world for one year. She travels to Italy to eat, India to pray and Bali to unintentionally fall in love again.

Now, anyone that knows me could guess that this is not exactly a parallel to my own life but there are parts that I felt very connected to when watching. I admired Julia for taking that leap of faith - being a highly-independent control-freak myself I can appreciate the magnitude of picking up her life and moving across the world without a plan. I also sympathized with the need to find oneself in a world that constantly strips us of our balance. But mostly, I connected with the need to feel again - to feel full and satisfied. I think it's something that we all struggle with at times, or perhaps most of the time. Maybe that yearning to feel is what drives us to kill ourselves at jobs we don't love, force relationships that aren't meant to be and try every new Hollywood craze that Us Weekly chirps about. Or, maybe it's just me narcissistically trying to connect to Julia Roberts on some level since I did hear that she really enjoyed making the film :) Whatever it is, it got me thinking of my next step to feeling full and since I can't exactly afford to fly to Italy right now (or India, or Bali) perhaps spaghetti for dinner will serve as a good start. :)

Holiday Travel Must-Haves

Seeing as the holidays are fast-approaching, I've decided that rather than doing my usual last-minute scramble to pack everything for holiday traveling (which always leads to forgotten items and numerous emergency trips to Walgreen's), I'd plan ahead and get a few key items to make my travels easier, better organized and more enjoyable. I've compiled my must-have list of travel items here and thought I'd share them in hopes of inspiring other procrastination-packers like myself. :)

My Holiday Travel Must-Haves:

1. J.Crew jewelry pouch to organize all of the costume jewelry I'll be breaking to add a bit of sparkle to my holiday outfits
2. Kate Spade larabee dot small natalie cosmetic case to avoid the mess made by makeup spills during transit
3. Wishing Fish luggage tags to add some style and attitude to my otherwise boring luggage
4. CHI mini pro collection to reduce the extra bulk of hair tools/products 
5. Etsy shop Kindle sleeve
6. n.a.p travel blanket is the best blanket I have ever used
7. Freedom by Jonathan Frazen is a book I just started reading and I anticipate it being long enough to last me through my holiday travels
8. Bumble & Bumble live fully travel bag