With Easter being only 2 weeks away, I thought I would post some of my favorite dresses for Easter. Whether you are going to brunch to see the Easter Bunny or just going to church with your family, these outfits will for sure bring some "spring" to your step (: I personally  always love wearing bright colors on Easter, because Easter means spring! Depending on the weather, I would recommend throwing a sweater around your shoulders... or that's what I will be doing with this nasty weather in Minnesota! (were supposed to get up to 8 inches on Friday!)

With Spring Break over (unfortunately!), I wanted to post one of my favorite casual outfits for spring. Mixing patterns is one of my favorite looks, as you may be able to tell from my past posts! It can make any outfit truly pop, in such a simple way! Why not give it a try! As Kate Spade says, "Be bold. Be bright. Be YOU!"

Outfit Details: 
Sweater:  JcPenney
 Jeans: Jcrew
 { no longer available-similar style here}
Shoes: Steve Madden
Sunnies: Ray Bans

Ready to hit the beach! 

nothing calls for a caribou coffee more than a 6 am flight!

Whether you are going out to dinner with your new beau or grabbing drinks with the girls, these outfits are sure to impress! I took a look around my favorite websites and found these adorable pink/red ensembles... I hope they help you get inspired to find your fabulous valentines day look :)

Due to the cold winters in Minnesota, there are only a few things to do to keep us Minnesotans busy! One of my favorites? Shopping! Today, my mom, sister and I went to the mall to get some last minute bonding time before my sister, Emily and I went back to school! 

January is one of my favorite times to shop because all of the clothes that were fully priced during Christmas time are now on MEGA sale! One of the best stores to shop at during these sales? Jcrew. I ended up buying sweaters that can still be worn throughout the winter... one sweater was only 24.99! What a deal! 

For this day out with the girls, I wore my skiing sweater from Jcrew (on sale, now!) which I've worn in other posts, along with this adorable monogrammed GiGi New York clutch. I received this as a gift for Christmas and absolutely LOVE it! It is the perfect size to throw in some lipstick, credit card and your phone, but is small enough to tote around the mall. 

Oh my goodness. I cannot even begin to describe how cold it has been in Minnesota recently... Not only has it felt like -40 degrees, but it is even worse that Emily (my sister) was in Puerto Rico during the coldest week of winter! Every day I would receive pictures of her lying by the pool in the 80 degree sunshine, while I was piling on layer after layer just to stay warm! For the coldest day of the year, I pulled out this super cozy H&M turtleneck sweater and my new faux fur headband! I opened this headband as one of my gifts Christmas morning and I was more than excited to pull it out this week! Sorry for not posting in a while... it has been to cold to even take pictures!

Christmas is the time when you can wear dressy skirts, wintery sweaters and jewels that sparkle. Today, I am sharing with you what I wore for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. 

For Christmas Eve, my grandparents always take us out to lunch at their country club, which is followed by a fun evening filled with Christmas carols, cousins and lots and lots of yummy food! For this occasion, I wore a cream colored tulle skirt and paired this with a hunter green sweater. For shoes, I found these fabulous Jessica Simpson shoes at Marshalls. They are nude pointed heels with an ankle strap and most importantly.. they were marked down from 79.00 to 17.00! What a steal!

Our Christmas day is very casual... we wake up, open presents from Santa, eat a delicious brunch then open more presents from the cousins/grandparents! Although it is very casual, we still like to get out of our PJS (some years! haha). And this year, was one of those years, so I wore one of my Christmas presents.. this JCREW skier sweater! I fell in love with this sweater the moment I saw it, and it turned out to be perfect for Christmas day!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! xoxo

Every year for Christmas, my family and I travel to Michigan to visit our relatives! Like I have said in recent posts, our family is very tradition oriented! We arrived yesterday and so far it has been a very relaxing day! Tonight, the cousins are headed out for a night on the town followed by a Christmas movie marathon! For this fun night out, I chose to wear this Gap jean dress with gray tights, boots and a zara scarf! Let me just  say, this scarf is fabulous! I have been living in it ever since I bought it in Chicago! It is not only big and comfy, but it also is houndstooth... which I LOVE! 

Finals are FINALLY over and the Christmas festivities can now begin! (and when I say finally... I mean finals week was the worst week of the year so far!) I absolutely hate taking tests, let alone the fact that my only exam was the last day before break and it was an accumulative accounting final! UGH!

But anyways... I don't know if I have mentioned this, but Christmas is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time when everyone can be together with their loved ones laughing, sharing memories and making new ones. Every year, to start off the Christmas season, some of our good family friends and us go out to dinner, and lets just say its a GREAT time! Putting four loud families in one small room... how could it not be fun? 
Here are some photos of the fun night! I can't wait to share more of my holiday extravaganzas! 

Outfit: 
   ~ Sweater: Polo Ralph Lauren
   ~ Skirt: Jcrew Factory
   ~ Heels: Mia 

Adorable Christmas gift idea for anyone on your list!

Today for class, I decided to wear this JCP polka dot turtleneck. First of all, can I please just say how much I love JC Penney now? They recently have remodeled their store and I am in love. I can not stop shopping there... which is good and bad at the same time! Anyways, I paired this turtleneck with this sparkly dot sweater from Old Navy and boyfriend jeans from Gap.

Yesterday, I went home for a winter tradition. If you haven't been able to tell, my family is really into traditions! But anyways... this tradition is about to end and I am more than sad about it :( After 10 years, the Holidazzle parade is shutting down. It is the most magical parade I have ever seen. It is filled with floats decorated full out in lights. After being out in the freezing cold for about an hour, we go to the best restaurant... The Melting Pot. If you have never heard of the Melting Pot it is a fondue restaurant, and it is more than delicious! To work off all of those yummy calories, my mom and I took a stroll through the neighborhood to look at all the fun Christmas decorations~

Outfit: For my walk through the neighborhood, I wore this super casual outfit. This JCrew flannel shirt is PERFECT for layering, along with almost all of JCrews button-ups :) I paired this shirt with a polka dot vest from Gap. And as the boots go, I actually found these in my moms closet! She has had them for MANY years now, but has never decided to wear them... her loss, my gain! :) 

Today was one of the best days! It finally snowed!! I love winter so much because whenever it snows, everything looks so much prettier!! Walking around campus today was so fun, just because you could tell all the students were excited for the first snow. And what makes snowy days even better?? When class is canceled! For my study day in the library :( I wore this super comfy outfit, which put me in the holiday spirit!

Outfit Details: For my outfit today, I wore this oversized, gray and white, patterned Gap sweater and paired it with my new favorite layering shirt. This flannel-like shirt is from Banana Republic! I got it on sale during all the Thanksgiving sales and absolutely LOVE it! And as the leggings go.... these are my all time favorite leggings! I probably have 5 pairs of them. They are so comfy and the best part about them is that they are thick. So, if you are looking for a high-quality yet comfy legging, I recommend the ones from Loft. 

Shirt: http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=5043&vid=1&pid=932119012 

Leggings: http://www.loft.com/ponte-leggings/303852?colorExplode=false&skuId=14476693&catid=catl000020&productPageType=fullPriceProducts&defaultColor=6600 

Today, we finally made it to the big city! Luckily, in the town where we are staying, there is a train that takes us directly downtown! Once arriving downtown, we took 45 minutes out of our busy shopping schedule to eat lunch at a delicious Mexican restaurant. After we ate, we headed to Art Effect, one of my all time favorite stores in Chicago... and because it was Small Store Appreciation day (Saturday after Black Friday), we HAD to stop in :) After shopping, we headed back to the Inn for some delicious Lou Malnati's Pizza by the fireplace. I am so sad this is our last night... but there is always next year! 

Outfit: For my shopping trip in Chicago, I decided to throw on something that would be easy for trying on clothes. So, I threw on my TJ Maxx Cynthia Rowley cashmere sweater with leggings and riding boots. I also added my Banana Republic fur vest to keep warm! and of course.. I can't forget about jewelry! For finishing touches, I put on my gold Michael Kors watch, leather studded Banana Republic bracelet, Jcrew chain bracelet and my new favorite addition to my jewelry collection... this CWonder monogrammed "M" necklace~because what outfit doesn't need something monogrammed? :)

Today, we went shopping in a little town called Geneva! This town honestly has the CUTEST boutiques and food spots. It's hard to resist buying Christmas presents this early, especially when the stores are so cute! Here are a few pictures of my favorite boutiques... there are Christmas stores, clothing boutiques and cupcake shops (my favorite!). 

For my shopping outfit today, I wore these super comfy polka dot leggings from Target, with a simple jean shirts from Jcrew and a black BCBG sweater. Because it is a little chilly in Chicago today, I added a knit hat :) 

HAPPY BLACK Friday SHOPPING :)

Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate everything we are thankful for and of course to eat some yummy food! Six years ago, my family started our own tradition of going to Chicago every year for Thanksgiving. Our whole family lives in Michigan, so since we go to Michigan for Christmas, we have decided to spend some immediate family time in Chicago. Our trip is filled with watching Christmas movies in the hotel room, shopping in Chicago and visiting all of the cute boutiques in town. This is absolutely one of my favorite trips we go on as a family! 

For my outfit today, I wore this fabulous polka dot Gap skirt and gingham Jcrew shirt. I am trying to mix up my wardrobe, and what better way than to add some fun patterns? I hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving with all of your loved ones! 
xoxo,
Madeleine

*ps~ sorry about the blurry picture...my camera died! whoops!