Fashion Does Double Duty

Before I get started on this post, I wanted to extend a huge thank you to Things That Sparkle for featuring my new chair and living room in her recap on the House Beautiful event. Everyone's comments about our place were so sweet. I also wanted to say thanks to one of my best friend's Ashley for asking me to be a part of her guest post series on her blog, This City Girl. It has been a great week girls!

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Earlier this week Ashley asked me to put together my Favorite Spring Outfit for a guest post series on her blog. I opted for a classic silk blouse with a vibrant skirt. The result was beautiful and I'm dying for my outfit.

Understanding that most pieces in our wardrobe need to be repurposed, I created another look for Spring using many of the same items. While the first time around I found a need to bare my stems {I instantly think skirts and dresses for Spring}, this time I opted for a fun pant option surrounding J. Crew's Artisan Pant. The result is both femme and edgy ... I think I see a Spring style forming for An Urban Cottage!

My Favorite Spring Outfit as Guest Posted on This City Girl

Favorite Spring Outfit by Cara_AnUrbanCottage on Polyvore.com

Zara silk blouse
$80 - zara.com

Silk skirt
$128 - anthropologie.com

Calvin Klein ankle boot
$148 - piperlime.gap.com

Cole Haan leather shoulder bag
$428 - piperlime.gap.com

Daisy Knights twist ring
$230 - net-a-porter.com

Alexis Bittar teardrop earring
$200 - nordstrom.com

essie nail polish - hard to get
essie.com

Double Duty

Double Duty by Cara_AnUrbanCottage on Polyvore.com

J crew pants
$225 - jcrew.com

Kenneth jay lane necklace
$225 - net-a-porter.com

DANNIJO / Kaylee
$198 - dannijo.com

Aren't the pants fabulous? While most of us can't rock full blown leather pants a la Olivia Palermo, we can most certainly handle leather pockets! To round out the look, I opted for edgier jewelry this time around. Watch out as this is just a small taste of what my Spring Wish List would look like. This season I'm looking for the slightly unexpected ... super femme prints with bad girl shoes and leather meets lace!

West Elm Parson's Goes Glam

Yesterday while flipping through the latest and greatest West Elm catalogue, I noticed the Parson's desk now comes in new colors including metal and mirrored. Is this new? Did I not notice this before? I think the mirrored version would be absolutely fabulous in a bedroom as a desk or a vanity ... like the images below! What a great find and an inexpensive way to add some glamour ...

{source: West Elm, Decor Pad, House Beautiful via Designer Insider}

Wedding Stationary Advice

I'm a little behind in all things "wedding". I've yet to nail down a caterer, bridesmaid dresses, cake, invitations and the list goes on ... and on. I guess that's what happens when you start a new job when you are supposed to be planning a wedding. Oh well!

While I'm sure everything will get done, my biggest concern is my save-the-dates. It just so happened that I am getting married on Marathon weekend {hotels are going fast} and Yom Kippur {sorry to my Jewish friends who will be in a church on the highest religious holiday}. I need people to secure a place to stay, etc.!

I'm promising myself I will have save-the-dates and invites figured out by the end of the month. Does anyone have any suggestions on who to use ? I don't want to spend a ton and still want it to be beautiful! Open to stationary pros, paper stores, independent graphic designers, etc. And remember ... I have rights to these engagement photo images!

{source: Pear Tree Greetings}

An Urban Cottage on This City Girl!

Check me out today on This City Girl, where I'm guest posting on Spring Fashion! I absolutely love all of the shoes and fun skirts that are out there for Spring. Can Winter leave us already? I'm ready to bare my legs again!

A New Addition to Our Living Room

Lucky me - after hours of racing around Ravenswood and one trivia contest later, I scored the eco-friendly Arhaus chair courtesy of House Beautiful's Pink Chair Giveaway! Happens to be the I took home one of the few chairs that is not to be pink {I loved all of the chairs, but I'm sure Nate is happy}. I may have to put a pink pillow on it in honor of the event ...

Check out the new addition to our family room and look who has already made herself quite comfortable!

Arhaus Club Accent Chair

I'm heading out to Arhaus today from 6-8 to meet the House Beautiful team and the designer of this chair. Festivities begin at 6! Thanks House Beautiful for a crazy day and a beautiful chair!

Rumor has it they are dropping downtown & in the Loop today ...

Enough to Make Me Tweet

For those of you who know me well, Twitter has always freaked me out. For some reason I have no problem divulging the ins and outs of my personal life on this blog, but the thought of people knowing what I'm doing at any given moment has me running for the hills.

So what's big enough to make me join the tweeting world, you ask? House Beautiful's Pink Chair Giveaway is the culprit. Yesterday, fellow blogger Alex posted of this event that will be taking place in Chicago this weekend. House Beautiful will be dropping PINK chairs all over the city this weekend and finders keepers! My obsession with pink has grown immensely over the last couple of months and I'm determined to come out a winner this weekend. Go to Alex's blog to learn more. The chair selection sounds fabulous!

Thanks House Beautiful for making me put on my big girl panties and sign up for Twitter. By this evening, An Urban Cottage blog will be ready to tweet!

{Source: Things That Sparkle}

Boutique Hotels in Paris

This weekend Nate and I started our registry. Our honeymoon registry that is. We are using Traveler's Joy to help us register for a honeymoon to Paris and the French Riviera. Heaven. If you read the blog, you know I'd pack up and move to France in a heart beat if it weren't for family and friends.

While searching for hotels for our trip, I stumbled upon Tablet, a resource full of luxury, boutique hotels. I figure Nate and I deserve some sexy pads during our stay in France. After all, it is our honeymoon! Here are some of my favorite Parisian hotels ... would love to stay in one of these.

Hotel Le Six- 41 Rooms 

I love the sitting area with the pink and gold chairs. Can I take them home, please?

Madison Hotel - 50 Rooms

Again, adorable sitting areas and fresh pops of colors in the suites!

Le Petit Paris - 20 Rooms

I'll stay in the sea foam green room ...

Artus Hotel - 27 Rooms

What an amazing bathroom?!

How could you not want to stay at one of these adorable places. J'adore! I'll be back with some amazing hotels located in the French Riviera sooner rather than later.

{source: Tablet Hotels}