there's too much love to go around these days

belle and sebastian, sing me a song to set me free.

whew. what a long, exhausting, fantastic weekend. i got into chicago thursday morning and got picked up from the airport by my dear friend erika. we met up with my friend linsey and had a quick brunch, and then spent most of the afternoon making about 100 little coconut-infused flans for sam's big birthday party on friday. that night me, sam, and a bunch of friends went out for beer and pizza before heading back to the space to get it ready for the show. friday morning i visited my old office to say hello to everyone then went straight to the space to clean and hang the last of the photos. the party started at 6, and there were many highlights, but too many and too foggy to recount. if you are interested, my friend ben photographed the night, and you can see the photos here.


left to right: my little sister esther, me, my friend erika

i had been saving my birthday outfit for the party, and a friend took some photos of me in it yesterday afternoon. i am a pretty awkward person when there's someone behind the camera but she is incredibly talented and i really love some of the shots she took.





the skirt is from lorick, i bought it on sale at buydefinition.com.

you can see more of her work here. i really think you should.

friday was long, lovely, and champagne-fueled, so saturday we slept in and got brunch at paramount room (their bloody marys feature not only cheese, pickles, and tomatoes on the toothpick, but also a slim jim stirrer,) stopped at a vintage sale some friends were having (for the first time in memory, i was too tired to shop and shuffled home, leaning heavily on sam, for a 3 hour nap.) we had dinner reservations at my favorite sushi restaurant at 8, met some friends to see up at 10:30, then moseyed home and went to bed.

sunday we met a couple of friends at lula (one of my favorite restaurants in chicago, possibly the best brunch in the city) and then sam drove me up to evanston for my birthday present. he kept putting off giving it to me all weekend; i knew that it involved a journey north, but wasn't sure exactly what it would be. well. it is the most stunning, charming, quirky 1960s cruiser you have ever laid eyes upon.



now i just have to wait 3 months until i'm back in chicago to get to ride it. (torture.) it can't come quickly enough.

and that was my weekend! i flew back into laguardia late last night and met a friend from chicago who's in town for the week for a beer near my place, then fell quickly into a fast sleep. and here i am, back to the real world, to work and school and sore ankles. friday, come quickly.



skirt: vintage, from dee, from vanessa, hemmed by me
shirt: gap
shoes: vivienne westwood for melissa
necklace: ebay
belt: thrifted

against my better judgement, i made the journey to chicago without a blowdrier, and my hair is showing the consequences this morning. the insane new york humidity doesn't help.

happy monday everyone, until tomorrow!

xo audrey