Back in December, I had the privilege to attend "The Women's Edit," which was an event hosted by Urbane Boutique in partnership with PRSVR here in Chicago. Urbane Boutique, founded by the lovely, multifaceted entrepreneur Carlisha Hartzog, is a lifestyle brand that focuses on women's ready-to-wear, leather goods, and travel accessories. PRSVR is a lifestyle brand that caters to men, with impeccable urban style. The pairing of these two brands at the PRSVR flagship location was a match made in heaven! There were mimosas, manicures, and massages. And the clothes were to DIE for. I snapchatted the entire night there (are you following me on Snapchat? If not, you're missing out!)

I received a few goodies that I could not wait to do an unboxing post for!


First, how adorable is this packaging? Seriously?!


This canteen and makeup bag were right on time, as I was in need of both LOL.


This glossy, sleek canteen is called a "corkcicle" and it has triple insulation and a vacuum seal! It can hold up to 16 oz. and keeps beverages cold for up to 25 hours, and hot for 12. I just LOVE that so much! I drink a lot of water and a lot of coffee. This will be perfect for both! You can pick this baby up in this gloss pink color, or brushed copper, brushed steel, gloss white, gloss turquoise, or brushed spider red.


The makeup bag is the perfect size and included a few travel goodies. Plus there is a pack of static nails, which I've never used before, but I'm excited to try! Apparently these last for up to 18 days, so I'll report back to let you know how I get along with them.

In addition to these lifestyle items, Urbane has a beautiful arrangement of women's clothing items. I'm currently lusting after this dope trench.

Also, as mentioned PRSVR also has some bomb men's clothing. I've been eyeing this jacket for bae.


Once again, a HUGE thanks to Carlisha and the Urbane Boutique team and PRSVR for hosting us. I'm looking forward to seeing more from these dope brands ♥

Back in February, I had the chance to attend the inaugural Chicago Black Restaurant Week here in the Windy City! CBRW was designed to create a platform for African American Owned Eateries (in the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs) to be recognized and patronized.

This is by far one of my favorite places in the Chicagoland area. And so, I thought it would be fitting to include it in my "Places" series.


The Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship in the world, and the only one in the United States. Open all year round, it is a wonderful place to meditate and it is open to people of all religious backgrounds.


I love coming here! I generally fall into a sense of awe when I step onto the winding path surrounding the Temple. Every season the grounds are well-kept and the scenery is breath-taking.


Summertime is my favorite there because of the beautiful deep-blue pools and fountains that explode with beauty along the grounds. I certainly look forward to coming back each year!

But, at any time of the year, Bahá'í offers beauty, serenity, and peace.

Denim Jacket: Thrifted Top: Wet Seal High-Waisted Jeans: Femme Fatale Chucks: Olllld, can't remember where I got them. Watch: Discovery

On to this outfit! I love it because it is casual, yet fashionable. Black & white stripes with pops of red are always a great combination for me!

On this randomly warm day here in Chicago, we decided to play around with different angles that captured both my outfit and the scenery. Hope you enjoy this little photo diary xo


If you want more information about the Bahá'í Temple, click here. You can learn more about their belief in the Oneness of Humanity, prayer and meditation offerings, and hours of availability. And the staff are always friendly and open. Plus there are tours and videos available in the welcome center, so don't skip out on it when you visit!

We also vlogged this day, so be sure to check out our video here <3

Love and Light, friends.

Welcome to Blogmas!!

I am very excited to be doing 5 Days of Blogmas all the way through Christmas Eve. I'm gonna share with you guys some of the things I love, starting with another installment of places!

Places #2 - Christkindl Market

Every year in Chicago, a wonderful open-air market inspired by the Christkindlesmarkt in Germany (which dates back to the 16th century!) takes place in Chicago. The Daley Plaza is set up like a little European village in the winter with international and local food, drinks, trinkets, and more.



We decided to begin our night of festivities by listening to the Christmas Carolers at Millenium Park. They put us right in the mood for Christmas cheer.




We then ventured over to Vapiano for a quick bite to eat. Vapiano is one of my all-time favorite places to grub here in Chi-Town, so perhaps I'll do a full places post on that in the future. Just know that we ate our fill of salad, pasta, and pizza before heading to the main event.

They have the yummiest mulled wine at the market! I made a beeline for this as soon as we got there.

My handsome lover, DeMico.

We love the Christkindl Market!!

Seriously...the best. And only $3 at the Market!!

I absolutely love the Christkindl Market and I've been every year since I've been living in Chicago. If you haven't been yet this year, it closes on Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. Get there!!

Since we were in such good cheer, we decided to see Krampus to end our night of Christmas festivities.

Our before-the-movie scared faces lol

I gotta say - while I'm not into scary movies, this movie was awesome! It was mostly funny rather than terrifying though, so that's why I loved it. DeMico and I plan to show this to our kids someday lol. Go see it!

That's it! Happy Blogmas Day 1!!

xo

Places #1 - "Chill Bubble Tea"

First thing that caught my eye: the decor. The wallpaper was a beautiful pastel color with words serving as the design - "peace" "chill"  "drink"  "think" all added to the atmosphere.

But I was mostly obsessed with their swing seats! Yes, these swings are there for your sitting enjoyment. They don't swing back and forth, but how cool is this? And there are flowers in the handles. I was in love!

I went for a dark blue smoky eye look. I'm no makeup guru, so I was quite pleased with how this turned out.

I also added a slight cat eye to complete the eyes and plum lips. This was a great fall combo!

OOTD: Denim - thrifted Crop Top - Wet Seal Leggings - Local Boutique Purse - Target (super old)

And I just had to add this one in because I look like a 90's dream! lol