Siena: week 2

Wearing: jcrew headband, tory burch sunglasses, jcrew dress, uniqlo slip, ysl bag, matt berson sandals

This weekend we met up with a friend in Rome. The highlights were definitely a dinner at Taverna Romana (here's a really good article about the neighborhood it is in) and trekking up to the cupola of Saint Peter's while a mass was going on. We were planning on not shopping until a chance encounter with a woman on the street (she literally leaned out of her shop to tell us it was only open from 10pm until 2am) meant a 20 minute detour and the purchase of a bikini from the 1950's (unworn) and a cacharel cardigan decorated with cherries.

Returning to Siena really felt like coming home, and our sleepy little city is quickly transforming into a medieval town as preparations for the Palio are well under way. If you have never heard of the Palio I highly recommend a visit to wikipedia trip. I have decided to route for the chiocciola contrada, their mascot is a snail! (R. thinks I'm crazy but there is something wonderfully ironic about having a snail as your mascot for a race.)


A flag thrower from chiocciola in traditional medieval costume

We also ended up back at Aloe & Wolf today where I finally decided to buy a bowler hat. I also found some very nice vintage Italian ties for my dad, happy late father's day!

Speaking of which, I forgot to give a birthday shout-out to my sister (and sometimes co-blogger) Leah. Happy birthday Wintergreen, you're an adult now but I'm still going to tell you what to do because that's what big sisters are for.

Sono arrivato a Siena!

So far Siena has been amazing. Our host parents are wonderful, they always correct our Italian. Learning a new language is hard, but hugely rewarding. We had our first class at our new school today (which is housed in an old psychiatric hospital). R. and I ate lunch at a very good restaurant close to the Duomo, Taverna del Capitano. We also managed to find the only vintage store (I think) in Siena, Aloe & Wolf Vintage and art gallery.

The owners are a really cool woman, Alessandra Aloe and her boyfriend who I didn't get to meet. Her store is stuffed with the coolest italian vintage, R. and I spent an hour just looking through everything. She has an amazing designer selection which I mostly just ogled. I did try on a Moschino jacket from the 80's, but it was a little out of my price range. In the end I bought a dress and a belt and R. got a tie. I am still debating a bowler hat. I love when Rachel Weitz wears one in the Brother's Bloom but I don't know if I can pull it off!


I was too excited to stand still! Wearing: aritzia shirt, zara skirt, ysl bag

shopping ban update

Alrighty, so I finally have internet in my new apartment though getting it was a nightmare and a half. Comcast, we are in an enormous fight if you didn't already know.

In my last post I promised home improvement and cooking. The apartment is slowly starting to look like a home, but there are still areas that need work. My shoe collection desperately needs a home. At the moment its sitting in a yellow crate that I bought at the elephant trunk flea market. Yup, I finally made it and on the only sunday I could go this summer there was a hurricane warning so there weren't that many vendors or shoppers. I did manage to get a lamp ($5), the aforementioned crate ($7), some glass bottles ($4) and a book on the Palio ($20).

My cheat day has come and gone. I managed to restrain myself at Madewell and got one t-shirt.


So soft and I wear my other three all the time.

Jcrew seduced me into buying a very adorable shirt-dress. Since I am not a giant as this model appear to be the dress is a perfectly respectable length on me.



I resisted the lures of this one. (Indigo-stripe Schuyler dress, $168)


I am still debating the pros and cons of a fedora from jcrew which is not online yet. All in all I think I did very well. I am definitely avoiding urban outfitters at all costs, though I had to walk by on the way to the bookstore today and was almost won over by a sale rack.

A trip to target for household items was a challenge but I made it through.

Summah Posting

So obviously I'm slacking a little bit since it's summer. But soon I'll be back in New Haven to start my Italian class and I'm hoping with a little more routine in my life I'll be blogging more regularly.

I'm also planning on going on a shopping hiatus for these next three weeks, similar to the one that Rachel over at Heart of Light does. After reading her thoughts on last years hiatus (here) I decided to undertake my own with a few modifications. Mine will be 3 rather than 12 weeks and I will be still allowing furniture and thrift store purchases since I am trying to outfit a new apartment. The main thing I want to cut back on is new clothes. As I've been moving from dorm to new apartment and home I've come to realize how many clothes I have that I just don't wear.

I have built in one cheat day because I know R. and I are going to the mall one day soon ostensibly to return get him a new iphone but there is also a Madewell there and I doubt I will be able to resist.

So for the next three weeks I will be focusing more on home improvement and the adventures of learning how to cook. See you soon!

Ready for Siena

It's really nice to be home, even if the weather in Chicago is less than ideal. I've still managed to eat at most of my favorite restaurants (Penny's Noodle Shop, Riccardo Trattoria, and CBA to name a few) and shop a lot.

After a little research on weather.com I am preparing for a hot summer in Italy. So number one on my list was a hat. I have extremely pale skin and I burn red like a tomato with just a few hours in the sun. I found a few good options at urban but went with a cheaper alternative from forever 21 because I know it will probably get shmooshed quite a bit.

Next up on the list of must-haves: a white dress. I live in white in the summer, no matter how many pretty prints I buy I always reach for a clean white dress. I usually choose a simply shift style, but I couldn't resist a slightly more elaborate version from Anthropologie.


Wearing: forever 21 hat, anthropologie dress

I'll be sharing more summer essentials throughout the week, including but not limited to the heart sunglasses I finally found!

It's been a while!

Since the last time I posted I have:

1. Taken 2 finals
2. Wrote a combined 25 pages
3. Created a web exhibition
4. Packed and moved from my dorm into my new apartment (!)
5. Made it back to Chicago in one piece

I can't believe how long it's been since I blogged, but I was so overwhelmed with everything that I definitely needed the break.

For now I'm in Chicago, hanging out with family before we head back to New Haven to see my brother graduate from Yale. Then I'll be in New Haven for three weeks where I'll be furnishing my new apartment (expect lots of posts about flea markets in CT and DIY projects) and starting to learn Italian! That's right, this summer I am taking an intensive summer course with R. We have three weeks in New Haven and then five in Siena Italy. I can't wait.

Daily Ensemble: spring fling

Per my own suggestion I am wearing a romper for our annual music festival, spring fling. However, it is neither sunny or warm so I am wearing tights layered with plush thigh highs and boots. Ah well, at least the music will be good, I can hear Matt and Kim's sound check from my room!



Wearing: diy headband, fp beach romper, vintage bralette, wilfred belt, assets tights, plush thigh highs, opening ceremony boots

I made a few new headbands last night when I was procrastinating. This one is inspired by this adorable little fille headband.