The Anatomy of an Airport Outfit

Did I forget to tell you all that I'm going on a mini vacation to Texas tomorrow? I thought so! Anyway, D and I are taking a "long weekend" also known as a 4 day weekend down to Houston Texas for a friends wedding and we are excited because A.) weddings are super fun and I can't wait to see my dear friend Anh get married and B.) neither one of us have ever been to Texas. I know nothing about the state so I'm trying to google some things we should do when we're down there. I do hear everything is bigger and better down there ; )

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Flower print t shirt / American Eagle Outfitters blue jacket / Topshop black legging / New Balance sneaker / Tory Burch tote bag / Bloomingdale's Passport Case - Little Brown / Alex and ani bangle / Tory Burch oversized sunglasses / J Crew scarve / Deborah Lippmann nail polish / Beauty product / Rifle Paper Co whimsical home decor / Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Lip Balm / Tech accessory

Among my must have travel items on airplanes I need comfy stretchy pants (hello leggings) comfortable shoes (not trying to wear heels on a plane), layers to be prepared for bot hot and cold planes, and our ipad to keep us entertained. I also have my trust Tory Burch Ella tote which is my favorite bag (also used as my work bag I wear everyday) to lug all my essentials around.

So what are you on plane travel essentials?

And has anyone ever been to Houston and can you suggest anything to see, do, eat?

xo Steph

also linking up with Because Shanna Said So

Adventures in Chicago | Part 1

So D and I are back from Chicago and we seriously had the best time! Thank you everyone for the recommendations -- I tried to hit up as many as I could, but since we were only there for such a short amount of time, we tried to make it count. First off, I have to say I LOVE CHICAGO. It's such a great city. As a New Jersean/New Yorker at heart, its really hard to compete with the city of all cities, but I have to say --- Chicago is like New York, but cleaner, cool architecture, and amazing food. We were lucky enough to have a tour guide with us for most of our trip (D's best friend has lived in Chicago for 5 years now, so he knows the best places to go) so it made it a lot easier for us. Even though we did run around the city like two little tourists with our cameras, I wouldn't have had it any other way!

 Chicago is known for its architecture, so we went on an architecture/Great Lake boat tour of the city. We learned a lot about it's rich history, the great fire and so much more. Love those "corn on the cob" buildings and the classic "Chicago Tribune" sign.

 Trump Tower seen above.

And with our "tour guide" - D's best friend Ryan.

 Our boat tour took us from the river that ran through downtown Chicago right onto Lake Michigan. It was really cool to have such a great view of the city skyline (I rank it #2 under NYC) but ummmmm, I forgot I was scared of boats. The rocking back and forth, the feeling that I can't escape if I wanted to. 

See my concerned face above.

And D wants to get me on a cruise ship......

 {loaded baked potato soup}

heavenly.

 and we're back safe on land.

 Went up to The Terrace at Trump Tower for a drink, and more importantly, some pretty incredible views of the city....

 We were so blessed to have such gorgeous weather....hello 75 and sunny!

hello, chi-town!

 And did I mention the food? I was happy with every single meal I had in Chicago (so was D) and coming from two food snobs, D in particular having very high standards for Italian food, and both of us living in NJ/NY being the hub of multicultural foods -- I was very impressed. 

 I finally got my Chicago deep dish pizza!

This thing was the BOMB, but it sat in my stomach like a brick. And I only had two pieces. As delicious as this was, it definitely wasn't NY style slices. More like a tomato and cheese quiche.

#werenotinnewyorkanymore

One nice thing about having a friend living in the city (aside from the company) is that you can veer off the path and do non-touristy things. So we ventured off to other neighborhoods in the city including Wicker Park and Old Town for dinner two nights. Had more amazing food (including sushi, a lobster roll for me, and some great seafood) and some vino. While walking down the street to the next stop, Ryan mentioned to us that abandoned bar seen above is the bar serial killer Jeffery Dahmer lured one of his victims in the early 90's. So scary. Apparently the bar closed down ever since that discovery was made and no on has ever wanted to buy the property. They now have plans to demolish the building....rightfully so.

And now after you have that creepy story in you're head, I'll leave you with a happy photo of D and I enjoying drinks at the fabulous Trump Tower:

Stay tuned for part 2 of our Chicago adventures....

Also just realized I accomplished #1 on my Summer Bucket List. Score!

xo Steph

Jet setting & What to pack in a carry on

First of all, I wanted to say thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes and comments I got from you all! They mean the world to me, and this birthday I felt truly loved and blessed by all the wonderful people in my life! 30 will definitely be the best year yet, and I'm so excited to see what I have in store! I took tons of pictures and will be sharing them over the next few days. 

But also amidst all the birthday festivities I think I forgot to tell you all D and I are taking a little mini vacation to Chicago this weekend. I've never been there so I'm super excited! So today I've put together some of my travel essentials you need to pack in your carry on. Check it out:

Carry-on essentials:

Tory Burch navy blue flat shoes // MK Yellow and white tote bag, also in this color // Travel wallet  // heart print infinity scarf // Kate Spade ipad case // Smashbox travel size makeup // Evian spray // Essie blue nail polish 

As I mentioned before, I've never been to Chicago so I have no idea what to expect, what kinds of clothes to pack or really what to do. For anyone who's been there -- I'd love some recommendations for places to see, food etc. All I know is I am getting some deep dish pizza for sure!!

So where should I go when in Chicago?

Again, thanks for all the birthday love and hope you all have a wonderful day!

xo Steph

Back to Jersey in Style

This is the only other outfit I photographed from vacation, and this was back in Jersey after we got back from the airport. Blogger FAIL! Again, I went with the comfort of a maxi dress and threw on a light cardigan (in a neutral color of course) as I used this cardi with pretty much everything on vacay.

 Outfit Details:

Cardigan: New York & Co. // Maxi Dress: Target // Bracelet and Watch: Michael Kors

Snake skin wallet/purse: Nine West (this was perfect for carrying the bare essentials on vacation because it carries your cell phone, money and turns into a purse) 

 Flip Flops: Report

Happy Monday everyone!!

-Pretty Little Things

Vacation Snapshots

I had all intentions of taking daily "outfit of the day" photos on vacation and made detailed efforts to pack my cutest outfits for the day and some going out looks for night. Really I did! But as it turned out, most of our vacation I spent in a bikini, tanks tops, flip flops and cover ups. Honestly, I barely wore shoes! At first I was disappointed that I had an entire LARGE suitcase full of unworn clothes and felt like a fashion failure, but then I realized a 6 day vacation spent entirely in a bathing suit is not a bad thing -- at. all. 

D and I had such an amazing time and the trip as a whole (we went down to St. Pete Beach, FL) was perfect. In fact, we only left the resort once on the last night for a nice dinner downtown -- only to be caught in a serious monsoon! So much for straightening my hair that day! Anyways, here are some of the photos I did take -- my apologies for the lack of outfit photos. But I'm assuming you can only see me in so many bathing suits before it gets repetitive!

Enjoy : )

Pic before takeoff.

My in-flight reading. Anyone else a huge fan of Sky Mall? They seriously have the best little gadgets in there!

Hibiscus flower in the hair.

 As soon as we got to the resort, we hit the pool!

 Salty's Tiki Bar.

Soaking in the sun.

 We stayed poolside until sunset. 

 Florida humidity is so unforgiving for naturally curly hair. Boo!

To me, vacation screams tropical drinks and Coronas : )

 Then we spent a lot of time at the beach.

Trying to not get knocked down by the waves.

 I kept joking around that I felt like I was in a Corona ad lounging on the beach all day!

There's D in the striped shorts!

This is pretty much the most clothes I wore on the whole trip. Lots of tanks and shorts.

Here D and I took a quick pic after having lunch.

 Unfortunately (due to the tropical climate of Florida) it's known to rain scattered throughout the day. While most days it wasn't a problem, one day it rained until 5pm. Boo! But no worries - all that meant was ordering room service (which is always fun) taking naps, and spending quality time in the room : )

When in Rome.....since we were down south, this Jersey girl wanted to try grits for the first time.

Not bad I must say! These grits were even organic too!

 The adult pool where we spent most of our days lounging.....

...and eating Pizza Hut. Yup, the resort had a Pizza Hut right next to the pool. Since D and I have a weakness for this fast food fav, we may have indulged in it's cheesy goodness once or twice ; )

And I got a chance to catch up on my fall fashion issues (my favorite!!)

My InStyle magazine was a whopping 652 pages -- that thing was seriously like lugging around a telephone book!!

 Getting some drinks at the resorts tavern. Casual night listening to live music.

And our last night, D surprised me by having champagne and chocolate covered strawberries delivered to the room. What a doll he is! 

 Pink champagne!

Yummy chocolate & nut covered strawberries.

 Cheers to a fantastic vacation!

And notice D's extra shiny nails? I talked him into getting a men's manicure while I got mine done too!! What a sport he was! Here I'm wearing Essie's Play Date.

At the airport heading back to the dirty Jersey : (

We'll miss you TradeWinds Resort! Until next time!

And now, back to reality....

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

-Pretty Little Things

Airport Style

I'm baaaaack!! I know, you must be so excited haha!

 D and I had such a lovely vacation that I must admit, I am currently suffering from post-vacation depression. I didn't want to leave the palm trees, the laying out by the pools, the beach, the good food and drinks...well you get the deal! So now that I'm back -- it's back to reality. But the one good thing about being back is getting back to blogging (oh how I missed you all in the blogging world!!) Seriously, I didn't realize how hard it is sometimes to disconnect from the cyber world! Anyway, here's some pics of my airport style. When it comes to being stylish while traveling I think you need you need to be both comfortable and cute. Personally I like a lot of neutrals so you can pack less and mix and match what you wear. So for me, that means my black maxi which I've worn about 54820492 times this summer. But let me tell you, it's definitely a vacation staple!!

Outfit Details:

Hat: Gap // Cardigan: New York & Co. // Maxi Dress:  New York & Co.

Watch & Bracelet: Michael Kors // Carryon bag: Louis Vuitton 

 Love Necklace: Tiffany & Co. // Flip Flops: Report // Nail Polish: Essie Case Study

When it comes to travel I like looking nice, but I also like being comfortable. I long for the days when people actually got dressed up in suits, hats and dresses when they traveled (think Mad Men-esque) but I do know that sitting in those tiny airplanes seats are less than idea for getting comfy. So a flowy maxi dress was the way to go. I added a light cardigan (in case the plane got cold) and also included a scarf (that can double as blanket) and a jean jacket in my bag. Lastly, when I travel I like my purse to double as my carry on -- hence my Louis Vuitton Neverfull fits the bill. This bag is durable too so it can also be used for my beach/pool bag!! The key to packing for vacation is everything must have multiple purposes and ways to wear.

And for a few other random pics... 

This was just too hilarious - This guy at the airport got 8, yes 8 different sauces to dip his mcnuggets

in and lined them up like a buffet. I didn't even know McDonald's had that many sauces!! ;-) I had to be sneaky and capture this funny moment. Also, it was 9:00 am.

 Me and D before boarding the plane....

 I'm a little very scared of flying to I was trying to capture the moment here.

So glad to be back and fulfilling my blogging fix!
And stay tuned for more vacation pics to come : )

How do you like to dress when you travel?

-Pretty Little Things