Randi with an i

Fired up for college homecoming!

October 18, 2017 Randi

You guys, I had the most fired up birthday weekend ever.

I’ve made it a point to go back to Mount Pleasant for every single homecoming weekend since I graduated from Central Michigan University in the spring of 2012.

Granted, I was living in town for two of them while I was attending grad school and working for the local paper, but for the past three years I’ve been living in Chicago, I made it a point to make the trek back to Mount Pleasant every fall to spend time on campus and celebrate with friends.

So, when I saw that homecoming was literally on my birthday this year, my annual visit was absolutely non-negotiable.

Happy 28 to me… and the countdown to 30 begins!

October 14, 2017 Randi1 comment

I turn 28 today and the countdown to 30 is starting to tick.

Dijon maple grain bowls for fall

October 6, 2017 Randi1 comment

Grain bowls are my go-to weeknight dinner. They’re easy to make in advance and throw together, and they’re actually pretty healthy, depending on what you put in them.

Plus, it’s fun to switch out the ingredients for the season. I decided to mess around the other day and try something fall-themed, and I ended up with this farro veggie bowl topped with dijon maple sauce.

I was actually surprised at how good it ended up being!

I tried personalized shampoo and conditioner: My Function of Beauty review

October 2, 2017 Randi

So, last month, I did something I swore I would never do.

I bought a product from a Facebook ad.

In my defense, it was really hard not to! I’d been seeing ads for Function of Beauty forever, and had been on the fence for about three months before a friend excitedly Facebook messaged me to let me know that she had just bought a customized shampoo and conditioner set.

I immediately knew what she was talking about (thanks, Facebook ads!) and pestered the living hell out of her until she received her set and could give me an honest review.

Her review was glowing, so I took the plunge and ordered a Function of Beauty set for my own.

I joined a book club!

September 23, 2017 Randi1 comment

I’ve talked about it before, but one of my goals this year has been to read more. I’ve been so busy with my full-time job and freelance projects that I just kind of stopped reading, which probably hasn’t been the best for my mental health. Books are one of my favorite ways to relax. There are few feelings I love as much as that of finishing a book, when you flip the final page and can be left alone with your thoughts. Especially if the ending is really good!

Anyway, I knew I wanted to prioritize reading this year and I knew a little push might be what I needed, so I joined a book club!

Fall wardrobe staples and a wish list

September 20, 2017 Randi

We were teased with some serious fall-like weather over the past few weeks, which is a huge bummer because temperatures will be creeping up to 90 this week, and I really just want to break out my fall wardrobe!

I guess I can settle for happy hour iced cocktails and afternoon oysters while I wait, but still, I’m ready to trade those oysters for apple pie!

You know what else I’m ready to trade? Sundresses for sweaters.

I put serious effort into cultivating my wardrobe last fall, and I’m really glad that I did. I’m planning on putting every single purchase from last fall back into my rotation again this season. And — like true staples — so many of them are still available to purchase this year, and will wear well into the coming decade, even.

So, let’s look forward to fall fashion!

A bucket list for fall

September 18, 2017 Randi

I’ve been in a complete fall mode since Labor Day thanks to the early chilly temperatures (which have sadly already skyrocketed back up to the 80-plus degrees), but the first *official* day of Autumn is this week, so I’ve started seriously thinking about how I’m going to make the most of this season this year. I always grew up looking forward to everything that fall would bring: leaf piles and Halloween candy as a kid, and then tailgates and spiked cider in college.

This part of the calendar always feels like a fresh start. I think that’s something that’s been ingrained in my mind after years and years of a “back-to-school” mentality, but F. Scott Fitzerald was right when he said “life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

My AncestryDNA experience… and results!

September 16, 2017 Randi

Big news, you guys. Are you ready for this?

…

I’M WHITE.

OK, jokes aside. I recently took an AncestryDNA test after reading a mindblowing Washington Post story about a woman who had her entire life flipped upside down and her family history rewritten after she sent a vial of spit in for genetic testing.

I’m already a little bit of a hobby genealogist, so when I discovered the story it piqued a curiosity I already had. I started formulating question after question.

Could I possibly have a huge family secret? Do I have long-lost relatives that were switched at birth? Is there any possible way I have a a faint trail of lineage that can be traced back to somewhere really cool… like Africa or Asia or South America?! (A giant HAH! to the last question.)

Curiosity got the better of me, so I ordered my kit, spit profusely into a little plastic tube and shipped it away to the Ancestry headquarters for analysis.

Coastal Michigan: A Labor Day wedding weekend in Holland and Saugatuck

September 9, 2017 Randi

I’m totally biased, but Michigan is probably the most underrated state in the union.

I could wax poetic about the mitten state for hours on end, I truly love it that much. There are an endless number of cities available for weekend trips, whether you’re looking for sporting events, casinos and urban culture (Detroit), winery tours (Traverse City), brewery tours (Grand Rapids), hiking and kayaking (Pictured Rocks), skiing (Boyne Mountain), dune buggying (Silver Lake), beach lounging (Grand Haven), Christmas celebrations (Frankenmuth), an old-fashioned resort weekend (Mackinac Island) … my list could go on, and on, and on.

I swear, the Pure Michigan campaign isn’t paying me to say any of this, either.

If you hadn’t heard, my college friend Caitlin got married (yay!) this past Labor Day weekend back in Michigan, where we both grew up.

Her wedding was held at the gorgeous Felt estate, located about halfway between Holland and Saugatuck, and since it was scheduled during Labor Day weekend, Mando and I ended up turning the entire affair into a mini-vacation of sorts by exploring as much of both towns as we could after celebrating Caitlin and Sean‘s nuptials.

Life lately

August 31, 2017 Randi1 comment

I cannot believe summer is almost over! There’s still a ton of warm weather left this year — and you better believe I’ll keep wearing white long after this holiday weekend — but school supplies are on store shelves, nightly temperatures are dropping down to the ’50s and pumpkin products are starting to make their appearances. Fall is coming, and the basic bitch in me loves it.