Lovely Eats: Portillo's Hotdogs

(I cannot remember what sandwich is on the left, but the Chicago Dog is on the right. There's tomatoes, mustard, pickles, peppers, relish, and onions in it.)

Four of us went to a conference for work in Schaumburg, Illinois. It's about a 45 minute drive to Chicago, but it was a nice area. We went to Portillo's because we wanted to eat a Chicago dog and someone at the conference recommended it, and it was sooo good! For someone who doesn't like hot dogs, I was amazed that I absolutely loved it.

Lovely Adventures: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

{entering hogsmeade}

{roller coaster}

{fake owls perched on beams inside an open pavillion}

{the butterbeer was delicious! the non-frozen version tasted like sweet cream soda topped with melted ice cream. the frozen version tasted like a cream soda flavored icee}

{hogwarts. there was a cool ride inside the castle. }

{in the hogwarts greenhouse}

{dumbledore's office. he's on the balcony.}

{the people in the pictures were animated and actually spoke; this is the room where the staircases always changed}

Lovely Eats: Texas State Fair

J & I made it a point to visit the Texas State Fair while we were in Dallas. We were dying to sample all the unique and yummy deep fried food that we would never be able to find here in the Islands. Our favorites included the chicken fried bacon, deep fried frito pie, and fried green tomatoes. The deep fried beer was a soggy-cracker-miss, and the deep fried butter was surprisingly yummy - but only in a one bite and you're done sort of way. We even stopped in at an aquarium where we saw an albino crocodile and fed stingrays (super cool but sorry, no pictures for that) and also visited a petting zoo where we had fun feeding all the animals.

{Big Tex - he even talks!}

{tons of animals at the petting zoo}

{deep fried butter with garlic butter sauce}

{caramel apple; fried green tomatoes (top); deep fried beer (bottom)}

{deep fried frito pie}

{chicken fried bacon}

Obsessions: J.Crew Factory Store

{J.Crew Factory Store}

it's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!  I have 7 things in my cart...
prices range from about $15 to $160, most items more like $40 to $100. aaaaagh.

Lovely Home: Organization

{photos via Martha Stewart Home and Garden}

Since my computer got infected with malware yesterday at work, I spent a good amount of time going through my files looking for my darn desktop wallpaper image after it was back up and running (yes, very important stuff), but to no avail. But I did find some images I had saved from the Martha Stewart website that re-motivated me to organize! I am about to go hunting for one of those bamboo wooden organizers for my makeup and hair brush and accessories.  I swear I've seen that exact one at Crate & Barrel...

Which reminds, me, I have to show you all my new mirror!  Got it at West Elm last weekend!

Obsessions: Isabel Marant

{photos via net-a-porter}

...if only i could afford a brand new, more sophisticated wardrobe:
Louboutins, comfy sweaters, leather jackets, blazers, skinny jeans, and silk blouses
would be at the top of my list.  Isabel Marant's designs never really stood out to me,
but seeing these outfits made me realize these are the kinds of clothes I could really wear.  I guess it makes sense since I'm always like, years behind the fashion curve.  Not to mention that I'm usually about two seasons behind in shopping, as I'm currently buying summer's oldies at an "additional 30% off lowest sale price," while the fashion folk are purchasing pre-ordered, straight-from-Vogue winter clothes.