In Baltimore, I wish we'd had more time to explore, but we had a nightcap at our hotel's rooftop restaurant, Bygone. I am so glad we did because it was such a cool place and the views of Baltimore were gorgeous.
Always down for a Henry snuggle and
red light session. My code is SUMMERWIND10 for 10% off.
Trying to get a good photo is a lot harder than it seems! I think Del Frisco's has the best martini and shrimp cocktail in Pittsburgh.
A little something special for the good boy!
Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Had a slow morning before we drove back to Pittsburgh!
I feel like I've fit in a whole month of things since last week's post! We had such a fun night out with my parents at Del Frisco's for Restaurant Week. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, as it is a chain steakhouse, but I love it, and we always have such a great experience. Before dinner, we popped into a new Pittsburgh bar/restaurant, Spork Island, which I'll share more about below, but it was so much fun!
Then we were up bright and early to drive down to Baltimore. Our friends invited us to a special suite section at the Ravens stadium, and it was so much fun. I'm obviously a Steelers fan, but I was happy to be in good company with friends, and on top of that, this suite experience was unlike anything I'd ever been to before. There was a full bar, a raw bar, and a whole section outside of the suite that basically looked like a luxury hotel lobby. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm so thankful our friends included us. What a treat!!!
Then earlier this week, my mom came over and is truly my hero because she helped me clean out my house. I try to do some form of this every season, and this time, it was our guest bedroom and all of the upstairs closets. We basically spent from sun up to sun down tackling it, and everything is organized in a way that makes me so happy! It was a much bigger project than I anticipated!
This weekend I am looking forward to trying a new workout class with a girlfriend, and we have a big group getting together to play a 9-and-dine scramble!
I'm starting to feel autumn creep in in small ways, though I'm still team summer. So many new arrivals from my favorite brands, all in fall tones. I love seeing it! Going to the football game this weekend felt very 'fall' as I associate football with the autumn season. The sun is setting noticeably earlier; many of the schools in the area are starting back up. The weather has been mild, which is welcome. Honestly, I don't particularly love August, but this August has not been sweltering like in years past, so I've been loving it this year.
Skipping over fall and talking Christmas, ha!! We actually took our Christmas card photos at the lake this year, and I didn't love how they turned out. We never really got a great sunset while we were there, and I really wanted that kind of 'golden hour glow,' so it's just not what I was hoping for. They'll do if that's what we have to use, but I am going to give it another go next month here in Pittsburgh. I love sending out a Christmas card and even more so, receiving them, but I have been SO BAD the past two years about getting a photo of the three of us. The issue is that Henry isn't with us in many photos, so we have great photos of just the two of us, but few of the three of us. So to get a photo with Henry, we need to orchestrate it. I'm going *very* Pittsburgh with our next set of photos, so I hope they turn out well! I have to do this early, or else there will never be a Christmas card because October/November get too busy, plus the much more limited daylight. All that to say, if you are thinking about it, it's not too early! Also, as Henry gets older, it has never been more important to me to get great photos with him!
Wearing: Hill House gifted me two dresses from their new arrivals that launched this week, and I was so thrilled. I think this is one of their best launches yet. They have been coming out with so many classic but unique and interesting styles lately. As much as I love a good nap dress, some of the pieces were overly frilly for my personal taste (though so many look amazing with the ruffles and puffed sleeves!!), and many of their shorter dresses and skirts are far too short for me, so I am glad to see them offering so many new styles to choose from. I love their prints and colors. I will definitely be packing these two in my suitcase for Italy!
Eating: This olive oil from Aldi is so good, and the price is unbeatable for the quality! My husband had read about it, so we grabbed a bottle a while ago and have loved it for cooking and for things like dressings and marinades.
Sale: This brand changed my discount code from SYDNEY15 to SYD20. I'm not trying to be sneaky by saying 'this brand,' but websites can scrape other websites for discount codes, and it gets leaked onto code sites, and I don't want that to happen! Anyway, the code was for 15% off, and now it's for 20% off, so that's nice for all of us! They're one of my very favorite brands.
SS makes one of my
favorite body lotions. It is so hydrating. It's currently on sale! The best part, though, is that as part of their sale, you can buy the
mini travel size individually.
Watching: My current list of shows I'm considering downloading for my long flight (let me know if you have watched any of these and would recommend!!): 5 Star Weekend (Peacock), Sterling Point (Amazon), Love Story (Hulu), Furious (Disney+), Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix). Anything else I should add to the list?!
Loving: My go-to nail polish brand launched three new colors, plus a base coat. The red is my new favorite and such a good, classic, cool-toned red. I like this nail polish brand because it self-levels, so it never gets clumpy, and the application looks even every time, even when you're painting your non-dominant hand. It dries quickly, too, and lasts decently long for regular nail polish standards. This nail polish is pricey, but it comes beautifully wrapped. It is definitely something you will see on this year's holiday gift guides (my brain is already there, fortunately and unfortunately!!)
I am not a big eyeshadow gal. I don't have much talent when it comes to applying it, and I definitely don't want to spend time every day doing some elaborate eyeshadow look. I used to never wear eyeshadow, but as I've gotten older, I've found that my eyes benefit from a little color to add dimension to my face.
I've tried so many neutral eyeshadow shades from different brands, and this eyeshadow, specifically the top right shade, is the best I've ever used. I can messily and quickly swipe it all over my eyelid, and somehow it just works. Makeup artists and beauty brands are always describing foundation as 'your skin but better' or a lip product as 'your lips but better,' and this is basically the eyeshadow equivalent: "your eyelids but better," ha!!
Unfortunately, this particular shade isn't sold individually. I do like the other colors in the quad and use them all when I'm getting fully made up for a special occasion, but for everyday makeup, the top right shade is a winner!
Wanting: Have you all seen the
new Spode Woodland accent pieces? They are gorgeous. A
beautiful set of wood cutting boards under $200. My mom texted me a photo of
this moisturizer she got, and she is raving about it, so now I am intrigued! Such a
gorgeous silk dress.
These boots are so good. I love anything textured, and these are sleek and will pop with an all-black outfit this fall.
New skincare products are launched around the clock, and it's rare I see one that is completely new, but this brand and their ingredients/research have me fully intrigued. This is the coolest, most fun dress, maybe ever! This coat is pricey, but it's very Samantha Stevens! I'm a big fan of all black outfits in the fall and winter, and
this top is so fabulous and can be dressed up or down. I love the print on
these pants. Some
new colors in my favorite classic crewneck sweater style. Quite a few cute
new J.Crew Arrivals, I love: this cute little
red handbag, this
suede jacket, this
classic cream shirtdress, and these
suede boots. I think
this dress would be way too short on me, but the color, the cut, everything about it is otherwise perfect! If I had a cute cottage or cabin, I'd use this
gorgeous rug. I love the colors and pattern.
This bandana scarf is a good GIR look for less! Another look for less,
this casual dress looks like Varley but is under $25! Now this is a
WOW dress!!! For my fellow Steelers fans,
this is such a fun clear stadium bag!
Pittsburgh: Before we headed over to Del Frisco's for our Restaurant Week reservation, my husband, parents, and I popped into Spork Island. It's a very newly opened bar and restaurant right on Penn Ave, just down from Bridges and Bourbon.
To be quite frank, I walked in expecting it would be my first and last time because I assumed it would be a cheesy novelty, poorly done, or that the drinks would be sickeningly sweet. I'm glad to say I definitely judged the book by its cover, and I was wrong!
The decor is so fun. It kind of feels like an Epcot bar. It's very casual, but truly, everything is on theme. There are a million and one drinks to choose from, and I got the 'Pain Management,' which is basically their version of a Painkiller.
Tiki drinks are, by nature, sugary and filled with juices and syrups, and I personally find that many of them just taste like pure sugar. These were done well! Mine was sweet, as it should be, but balanced with liquor and tart flavors, so it wasn't syrupy or overly sweet. It was a strong drink!! I don't mean that as a bad thing. It tasted 'right,' but I couldn't even finish mine!
Anyway, all that to say, I think this place is pure fun, unique, and something Downtown lacked. A few of you messaged me saying the food is good, too. I will definitely be back.
Amazon: Eyeing
these gold sandals as they are simple and cute but look so comfortable. I realize we are approaching fall, but I love wearing sandals and will wear sandals for as long as the weather allows!
You can find more of my
Amazon favorites, here on my Amazon page where I am constantly updating it with all of my finds and top picks from home, beauty, fashion, and more!
Traveling: You all have heard me wax poetic about this
Tote (the one on the left) for years now. It's the BEST. It's huge and has so many pockets for organization. I could not recommend it more! This has plenty of room for a quick weekend getaway (and I'm a habitual overpacker).
Quoting: '
Growth is stepping over the things you used to trip on.'
// See more of
my favorites, here.
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