Bondsister: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Inspirational Tuesdays #112

Where Are You Now

Today's song is "Where Are You Now" by Honor Society.
[image source]

I attended an event for the charity WINGS (women in need growing stronger) over the weekend and had an amazing time. It was called Tastes Take Flight: sip, sample, and shop and I did just that!
I decided to break it down into 2 posts. Today: Shopping and Sampling (food and wine), and tomorrow's post: meeting Katie Workman.

Here is what I wore to the event:

Dress: H&M, Lace Vest: Dots, Shoes: Shoemint, Ring: C/O Sole Society, Blue bracelet: Kristin Hassan, Watch: Fossil, Bag: Coach, Earrings: Erin Gallagher's Gem Bar

Outside the ballroom there was the WINGS resale shop, book signing (tomorrow's post), and 1 shopping vendor. Inside the ballroom was were all the other food and shopping vendor's were at. My aunt (Margaret McSweeney) also hosted the event and had cooking demos going on front stage while people were walking around sampling and shopping. So fun!

There was so much food to try (but I got it done! lol). Here are a few of my favorite treats:
Cheesey Bread from Wild Asparagus (Barrington, IL): This stuff way beyond amazing. Melted in my mouth!

Eggplant Bruschetta from Agio Italian Bistro (Palatine, IL): What a lovely twist on bruschetta! I've never thought to make it on top of fried/baked eggplant before, but I now NEED to try to recreate this! ;)

Ratatouille from L'Eiffel Bistro (South Barrington, IL): I loved this one! Perfect bitsized goodness.

Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling: This was one of my favorite wines I sampled. It was sweet, crisp, and I actually bought myself a few bottles.

I did some resale shopping and found 2 great tops! The mint halter I found for $9 and the Talbots cardigan with tags on it (retail $89) I got for $25! AMAZING!
I also got this beautiful brown linen jacket (level 99) from a store called Grass Roots.

Here are some more photos of what they carry over at Grass Roots (205 South Cook St. Barrington, IL 60010). The owner Todd was so cool and he and his wife also supports a lot of local and US brands and vendors. I SUPER love the leather cuffs which are all made of vintage belts! They carry everything from Big Star to Free people and have rock & roll onsies and diaper bags too! I will for sure be hitting this shop up again. Really loved their style!

All and all I had an amazing time. I hope WINGS raised a lot of money and I look forward to their next event!
Check back tomorrow to see my meet and great with Katie Workman!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Sneakpeeq Giveaway!

Sneakpeeq is one of the largest and fastest growing social shopping company on Facebook (It has been fully integrated with Facebook's Open Graph, like Spotify). It's basically online shopping with great deals and short sales. Everything has a fixed price, which you can lower further by being more active and earn badges.

Sneakpeeq offers apparel, housewares, accessories, gourmet food, beverages and many more.They are offering 20% off your next purchase just for entering, plus a chance at the Grand Prize: one winner will receive a $15 gift card to use on your favorite food, style, and home products - that goes a long way in Sneakpeeq's amazingly low-priced boutiques!

To Enter (mandatory entry!):
- Must be a follower of my blog via GFC/Blogger (extra entry for any additional way: Twitter, Bloglovin', Facebook)

- Enter the giveaway by clicking on this link and joining Sneakpeeq!

Contest ends May 18, 11 PM EST. Open to US readers only. Good luck!

Fall Right In

Today's song is "Fall Right In" by Beach Fossils.
[image source]

Saturday, April 28, 2012

CBN Event: Dots

The Chicago Blogger Network teamed with Dots for a night filled with shopping, a styling contest, professional photography, cupcakes, champagne, and candy! I had a blast! Here is what I wore to the event:

Dress: via ThirtySomethingFashion Box Service, Shoes: C/O Just Fabulous, Jacket: C/O Sheinside, Necklace: Windsor, All Braceltes: Kristin Hassan, Ring: J Good, Bag: Coach

Dots just opened a Hillside, IL location (The Hillside Town Center, 120 S. Mannheim Rd. Hillside, IL 60162) and I was blown away! They literally carry anything you could possibly need. Appeal, shoes, belts, under garments, jewelry, bags, and even lip gloss & nail polish! Everything (with the exception of some shoes and outerwear) is under $40!! Score! And to be honest, most items were either $14.80 and $18.80. They have all sizes 0-24 and everything seemed age appropriate for teens through mid 40's. Here are some shots of the store and the amazing treats they had waiting for us:

I like to call this area SHOE HEAVEN! ;) The selection was truly amazing. How did I not know about Dots before this?!

There was a style challenge and this is the outfit I tried on. I had better pictures taken of me by their photographer and will post them when I have them.

It was my first time wearing print pants and I ended up buying them. Kinda LOVE them. They are so light weight and I adore the fit.

In the end, I walked out one happy girl! ;) Lots of new clothes, a $50 gift card (which I used right away), and some other goodies too!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Cameo PR Press Preview 2012

This past week, I attended the Cameo PR Press Preview. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay very long so I didn't get a chance to get good photos personally. Thank goodness, Cameo PR distributed USBs with all the line sheets! Included in this post are my absolute favorite pieces from some of their clients.

I'm loving the pastels and jewel tone colors of these gorgeous rocks in pendant and bracelet forms from Alexandra Beth. Loving the braided details as well.

Definitely seeing an art deco theme with Celeb Boutque's necklaces and cuff below, but they keep it edgy with some fierce jackets.

Colour Me has an amazing array of accessories is various colors, but below I'm loving the more elegant, toned down pieces - especially that white watch!

These artsy clutches from LaLucca are stunning - I'm loving the prints. I want them all!

Raffine always manages to offer such elegant pieces. Adoring that white cocktail ring, collar, and pairs of earrings.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Stay tuned for a giveaway coming up on Monday :)