Pan Am

I've been meaning to do this post forever but....oh well.

Remember when I posted about fall TV shows? Pan Am was at the top of my list. I never really had time to watch it though, and couldn't make time to get it on Hulu before the episodes in my queue expired. Lucky for me, the first nine episodes are free on iTunes right now! I watched the first 5 episodes on my flight back home Tuesday and I am hooked! Everything from the plot to the actors to the clothes is just flawless. Especially the clothes.

I want to be a Pan Am stewardess.

I'm not even kidding. I want to wear pencil skirts and pumps and those little hats and gloves every day. For now, I'll have to be content with a bright blue pencil skirt.

This would be perfect with a white oxford, pumps, and pearls.

Laura (far right) and Maggie (far left) are my favorites.

This show is honestly making me want to wear pencil skirts, cardigans, and heels every day. For the rest of my life.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the show!

And here's a Polyvore set I made inspired by the show!

Are you loving Pan Am as much as I am?


XO

North Shore Prep

Christmas Recap

I'm back!! I hope y'all had a great and very merry Christmas with all your loved ones! I spent the first half of my Christmas break in California with my mom's side of the family. It was so nice to be with them for Christmas, since we are usually apart, and I loved that it was so warm!

I loved being able to run around on a beach, barefoot, in December! It was such a nice change from the cold Chicago winters I'm used to.

For Christmas Eve, we had a Puerto Rican dinner with empanadas, plantains, pasteles, and rice!

Little Sis and I rolling out dough for empanadas.

The whole fam!

We stayed at my grandparents' house the first few days and then moved on over to my aunt and uncle's house.

I'm tan again!! Yay! We spent a few hours Christmas Eve and Christmas day at my aunt's pool just hanging out and taking in the sun.

One of my favorite gifts was this pink Chi and a matching blowdryer from my parents, which I love. I also got a gorgeous mirrored jewelry box, a T&Co. initial necklace, a gorgeous purple scarf from J.Crew, a royal blue infinity scarf with matching gloves, gift cards, clothes from J.Crew and Rugby, a necklace, bangles from J.Crew, and the tweed headband that I'm wearing in my tanning picture!

My room is now in that post-vacation disaster stage. I can hardly see the floor with all the clothes, shoes, presents, etc.

I'm so thankful and blessed that I had such a fantastic Christmas with my family. I love them so much and was so happy that I got to spend time with them this holiday season.

How was your Christmas?

XO

North Shore Prep

Christmas Playlist

Merry (almost!) Christmas!! Tonight I made a huge batch of my special toffee for dessert tomorrow night. It's so hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! This is what we'll be listening to for the next two days:

Santa Baby-Marilyn Monroe

Cold December Night-Michael Bublé

Santa's Got a Brand-New Bag-SheDAISY

Last Christmas-Ashley Tisdale

Kiss Me for Christmas-Jessica Simpson

Silent Night-Christina Aguilera

When Christmas Comes to Town-The Polar Express Soundtrack

Baby, It's Cold Outside-Lady Antebellum

Jingle Bells-Diana Krall

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?-Harry Connick, Jr.

Do You Hear What I Hear?-Carrie Underwood

Happy X-Mas (War is Over)-John Lennon

The Christmas Song-Michael Bublé

Merry Christmas, y'all!! Wishing you a blessed day full of love and cheer with your loved ones!

XO

North Shore Prep

Tasha Hair Accessories

Shopping the other day for Christmas presents for all my friends led me, of course, to the accessories department at Nordstrom. I'm always looking at the headbands and hair accessories there, but have never actually went and gotten one for myself. But seeing all of the adorable things from Tasha pushed me over to the other side.

The headbands and hairpins are glitzy and glamorous–the perfect complement to an LBD for a holiday party.

Possibly the prettiest hairpins I've ever seen. 

 This sweet and simple headband is perfect for pushing your bangs back for school or studying.

 More pretty pins!

 Love the pearls on this one!

 The combination of tweed and chain here is so fun and unexpected! This headband is similar to the tweed and rhinestone one I actually got.

This headband+LBD+nude heels+diamond studs. New Year's/Holiday party outfit done. Red lipstick optional.

XO

North Shore Prep

Christmas Treats

As a follow-up to my post the other day, I'm sharing my favorite Christmas goodies with y'all!

Candy canes are my favorite candy. I would eat candy canes year round if I could. Which is why I eat as many as I can around the holidays. It's really quite unhealthy, the number of candy canes I could eat in any given December.

To spread the candy cane cheer, I walked around with mason jars full of them to give out to friends and classmates the last school day before break.

Me and my candy cane mason jar.

Aside from candy canes, I'm really a huge fan of anything peppermint. I'm really into Peppermint Bark, and would love to try making some this year!

But my all-time holiday favorite is toffee! I'm not talking about any old toffee, I make mine with saltine crackers, with a recipe similar to the one used here. (I omit the nuts, as they get stuck in people's teeth really easily and I don't think they really add too much to the taste. Instead, I sprinkle crushed bits of saltine crackers over the top before the chocolate hardens.) It's always a huge hit with everyone. I've sold it at bake sales, brought it to holiday parties, and given it as a gift. If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present, whip up a batch each of toffee and peppermint bark, and put it in a festive tin. Voila! Instant present, instant smiles.

What are your favorite holiday treats? Do you have any treats you traditionally make?

XO

North Shore Prep

In the Kitchen

Looking at this picture makes me miss summer. And my tan. And that adorable skillet I found at HomeGoods that I didn't buy.

Time for a well-known secret: I really like to cook. I can't wait to have a house just so that I can have my own gorgeous (and well-stocked!) kitchen. I don't have time to cook often, but I do enjoy it. I still remember making Break'n'Bake cookies with my mom when I was little, wearing my tiny little pink and white plaid apron. Now that I'm older, I've graduated not only from Break'n'Bake, but from that itty bitty apron.


I think this apron from Anthropologie is a perfectly wonderful replacement.

And really, how could I say no to this darling pink mixer? I can already picture myself mixing some delicious cupcake batter in this.

I'd like to buy up Le Creuset's entire stock of Caribbean Blue cookware, please.

Monogrammed Carving Board? Thanks, Williams-Sonoma.

I'm such a sucker for things in simple white canisters. My pantry will be stocked with these and I will have no idea where anything is, but it will be adorable, mind you.

I promise you, I would make my own fresh juice every morning if I had this.

Why yes, my blender must match the mixer!

Anthropologie really hits all sorts of kitchen linens right on the head, now don't they?

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing some of my favorite holiday dessert recipes!

XO

North Shore Prep

Go Green

Red is definitely my favorite color for the month of December. Hands down. But I think that since I showed red (and white) so much love last week, green might have gotten a bit jealous. Here's what's making me green with envy!

Bundle up in this adorable cable-knit v-neck. It's perfect with jeans for running errands or a black skirt and statement jewelry for a party.

This satchel is roomy enough for all of your essentials when you're out holiday shopping. The color is a perfect Christmassy green shade.

Brave the snow and slush in these deep green wellies. They're perfect for a romp in the snow at the park or walking to class on a particularly cold snowy day.

"Don't Mess With OPI" is a fun and unexpected pop of green for your nails. It's a refreshing departure from your standard red nail for the holidays.

It's good to make a departure every once in a while from your standard khaki, navy, brown, or denim bottoms. So why not a fun bright green pant? Just keep the rest of the outfit understated (no green pants with a bright red shirt!) and you're good to go.

XO

North Shore Prep

Holiday Sparkle

You know that sequined skirt you have hanging in the back of your closet? Or that adorable spangled dress? Or the studded flats you love? Pull those out. Now is the time for some sparkle and shine!

We're well into December, which means if they haven't started around you yet, all those fabulous holiday parties are just around the corner. You want to look great, have fun, and overindulge in holiday cheer, yes? Well, nothing says festive quite like some sparkle!

This post was definitely inspired by (one of) my favorite skirt(s) ever: The Bowie Skirt from Haute Hippie.

Unfortunately, $685 for a skirt is a bit out of my price range. Lucky for me, Lulu's always has the cutest sequin stuff–year round!–for great prices. I'm obsessed with this sequin mini. It's the perfect length and color, and a total steal.

For those of us who want just a touch of shine, a small crossbody bag or coin purse is the perfect solution. Kate Spade is doing it right.

Having a statement jewelry piece is a great way to make a very sparkly impact. My rule is one statement piece per outfit, keeping the rest of the jewelry understated. For example, I'd style this bracelet from J.Crew with simple diamond or pearl studs. That's. It.

Your sparkle doesn't have to be a "traditional" metallic like gold, silver or platinum, either. I love the rich hues of these tanks at Nordstrom.

The holidays are definitely the time to go a bit overboard on the sparkle front. But don't get to crazy! Limit yourself to one piece that gives an otherwise classic, understated outfit a punch of "wow factor."

While perusing the Nordstrom shoe section...

Enzo Angionlini

Nine West 

Nina

Even your hair deserves some sparkle (Forever 21).

And while we're at it, let's take a look at my favorites from Tory Burch.

And my current favorite item of holiday sparkle, Lilly's Adelson Shift!

It's a fresh twist on an LBD, and you barely need jewelry. Earrings, if that.

How do you sparkle?

XO

North Shore Prep