Randi with an i

Summer blouses WITHOUT exposed shoulders and ruffles

April 23, 2017 Randi1 comment

I’m just going to go ahead and say it. I absolutely loathe the everything-off-the-shoulder-and-covered-in-ruffles trend that seems to be going on for this spring and summer season. I hate it. Despise it. Want it doused in fire and scourged from the earth.

OK, so I’m being a little dramatic. But, every time I check any of my favorite stores, it seems like everything is either completely off-the-shoulder, one-shouldered or cold-shouldered. Or, it’s covered in ruffles. Or, it’s a combination of both trends.

I have a day job. It has a dress code. I like to be taken seriously. I like to wear my comfy bra, which has thick, sturdy straps. I already look half a decade younger than I actually am, and the frilly tiered bell sleeves and ruffled layers across the chest are just not gonna fly in my wardrobe.

Am I alone in this hatred? Maybe I’m just getting old. I’m definitely getting old.

Anyway, I’m trying to do some quick shopping to update my wardrobe a bit for the spring and summer, and finding work-appropriate blouses (with sleeves and minimal ruffling) is proving to be quite the challenge.

I figured I’d take a quick second to share a few of my finds. Yunno, just in case you’re in the same boat.

Or maybe you’re loving exposed shoulders and ruffles and you think I’m a total fun sucker. Either way.

Pst, affiliate links.

I (finally) upgraded to Spotify Premium!

April 3, 2017 Randi

You guys, I took a biiiig plunge this year: I finally subscribed to Spotify Premium!

That means no more commercials, which means you all can stop judging me when you hand me the aux cord or ask me to DJ the pregame.

When I was in high school, I was really big into music. I spent hours listening to the best up-and-coming artists on Purevolume, changed the song on my MySpace out on a weekly basis and carried my totally hip fifth generation iPod Video everywhere. That thing was stocked with 32 gigs worth of pure Fueled by Ramen goodness.

But then, as high school ended and the interest in MySpace faded, things kind of changed. The local band bowling alley concerts were replaced with DJ-fueled nightclubs and music festivals stacked with headliners. I still enjoyed listening to music, but I wasn’t really passionate about discovering new artists or attending indie shows. I focused on attending classes over concerts, and on growing my career over my playlists.

It wasn’t until I moved to Chicago that I started listening to music a little bit more: While cleaning my apartment, while commuting on the L, etc. And, after being moved to a new desk in a foot-traffic-heavy part of the newsroom next to a noisy TV, I finally decided to go for the Spotify Premium subscription. As it turns out, a great playlist and a giant pair of closed-backs are a great way of deterring chatty coworkers who stroll past your desk when you’re in the middle of your workflow.

Weird weather + a gray thrifted sweater

March 21, 2017 Randi

I know this is the 16th time I’ve said it and the 300th time you’ve heard it, but how freaking weird has this winter been here in Chicago?

We had a full blanket of snow for Christmas, a clear ground on Dec. 26, rain through January, sunny skies and 70-degree temperatures for February and now, midway through March, we’re down to 20- to 30-degree temperatures and inches of snowfall.

I was ready to ditch my parka and break out the sundresses last week, but then we ended up with two full-out blizzards and 20-degree temperatures.

Luckily, we’ll be back to 60-degree weather this weekend? I honestly don’t know how to dress most days. Thanks, Chicago.

But, anyway. I digress. Let’s stop talking about things that make us miserable (winter weather in the Midwest) and start talking about things that make us happy (successful resale store shopping trips).

Farewell to the Joe + A weekend in Detroit

March 15, 2017 Randi2 comments

Hello Chicago! I’m back from my weekend trip to Detroit and settling back into my work week here. I was switched to a Sunday through Wednesday 6 a.m. shift, so “settling” is a pretty strong word… especially since my new schedule started right along with Daylight Saving Time. I guess I wouldn’t say “settling” so much as “reluctantly getting pushed into.” But, it’s good to be back home, and hey! It’s my Friday.

My trip to Detroit was a whole big bag of emotions. I was pretty happy, because, well, I absolutely adore the Motor City, and it was so good to hang out with both Chicago friends and Metro Detroit friends for the weekend. But I was also pretty sad because the whole reason we went this time around was to say goodbye to an old friend: Joe, aka: the Joe Louis Arena.

Cute passport covers + how to replace a stolen passport

March 6, 2017 Randi2 comments

After my prayers regarding my stolen passport went unanswered (unsurprisingly, it seems like God’s got quite a bit of other stuff he’s working on), I finally sucked it up and replaced my stolen passport.

I’d held off for the longest time on reporting my little blue book and it’s beautiful collection of stamps and airline stickers as stolen. I was really holding out that someone would return it to me after pilfering the collection of dollars, pounds and euros inside of it.

Sadly, that never happened. Apparently someone really, really wanted to hold on to that super unflattering photo of me that was taken by a 2010-era webcam. And, yunno, my entire international travel history and some potentially compromising personal information.

Since I didn’t want to run the risk of identity theft, I finally sucked it up, reported the document as stolen and corralled my documents together in order to get a replacement.

Life lately

February 27, 2017 Randi2 comments

Hey hey!

I figured it was due time for another update. I try to do these every other month or so since I have family that keeps up with my life here (hi Mom!), but it’s winter… so life lately has been incredibly slow, and there hasn’t been too much going on. Except, yunno, watching Netflix and working. Regardless…

Surprisingly warm February plaidurdays

February 22, 2017 Randi

It’s February, and I’m still wearing my fall outfits while waiting for winter to hit here in Chicago. This is definitely a very new conundrum.

Talk about Midwest probs. Bare legs in February? Southern residents, is this what your life is like?

Celebrations in a green lace dress

February 11, 2017 Randi4 comments

Nothing like dressing up for a semi-formal event in February, right?

Really though, one of my favorite nights of every year is my company’s annual awards banquet and ceremony: The Jones-Beck Awards, or “the Becks” for short.

At the beginning of every year, the entire editorial department of the Tribune gets together to celebrate our accomplishments from the year before. I’m really lucky to have amazing coworkers that are not only great to work with, but also great to hang out with outside of work.

And of course, I always love a good excuse to get dressed up.

Netflix picks (for winter 2017)

January 16, 2017 Randi

I know this winter has been milder than most so far and I probably shouldn’t complain, but, still. It’s January and I live in the Midwest, so here we are.

I usually start getting a little bit lethargic at this point in the year. While I do really love winter, the dark and the chill just start getting to me after the new year starts. Am I alone in this? December isn’t so bad because everyone is in a good mood anticipating the holidays, but once New Year’s is over, there isn’t really much to look forward to. Everything is just cold and dark, and life slows down. I find myself dreading the thought of going out in the cold. Stilettos and black ice? Curled hair and fleece-lined beanies? Lip liner and runny noses? Yikes. No thank you.

From January to March — and let’s be real, most of April — I am honestly content burying myself in a pile of throw blankets and bingeing on Netflix. Plus, my bank account loves this decision.

I never really got into watching TV when I was in college. My undergrad roommates loved bad reality TV. We actually had our house tagged as “Bad Girls Club 1018” on Instagram, no joke. So while I was more than willing to listen to my roommates talk about the Bachelor during wine Wednesdays or thirsty Thursdays at the bar, I never really joined in on the actual couch binge-athons.

It wasn’t until I finished up grad school that I had time to actually sit down and start really getting into TV shows. My grad school roommate Elise was a huge Netflix fan, and as soon as I ditched my cap and gown, her habits immediately transferred over. Our Netflixing actually ended up being one of my favorite memories from living together. We would pour glasses of wine, make giant bowls of queso and just binge out and laugh together from my graduation up until we moved out.

Sadly, Elise and I live in totally different parts of the country now (boo), but I still keep the cold-weather Netflix habits she instilled in me. Here’s what I’ve been watching lately, and here’s what’s on my list.