Drinks at Founders

If you're familiar with Grand Rapids, then you know that it's a great place for a beer! After all, Grand Rapids is the Beer Capital! Eloise and I were thrilled to spend our Tuesday night celebrating our good friend, Becky's 21st birthday at Founder's Brewery. The drinks are so yummy and it was good to have a night getting a little loose! Especially for Eloise; she is so stiff all the time!


 

At Becky's request, we dressed up for the affaire and it was a blast! I personally loved turning the heads at the bar. You know me, flirting is one of my favorite hobbies!


 

I wore this adorable dress by Rachel Zoe and carried this clutch by Kate Spade. I chose not to wear any earrings because I didn't want to take away from my posh buttons. However, I did throw on my new favorite chunky bracelet by Bat-Ami Design.



Eloise rocked this gorgeous and vibrant dress by Bailey44 and also carried a handbag by Kate Spade.



That's Becky in the middle and she is holding her first legal drink! We just loved celebrating with her and it was good to get out and have a fun night on the town. Founder's is such an awesome atmosphere and the staff was incredibly helpful and nice.



The staff even helped Eloise and I pick out some tasty beer for Eloise to take home to her hubby. We will definitely be planning another trip to Founder's soon! If you see Becky around town don't forget to tell her Happy Birthday and make sure to check out Founder's if you get the chance!

Artsy Adventure

Spring has sprung and Lola and I were ready for an afternoon on the town! We always make it a goal to be more cultured and hip, so we decided to spend our afternoon at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (or more known as the UICA). It is an awesome gallery downtown Grand Rapids. It features art from locals as well as international art. It certainly has a little something for everyone! The pictures below are from a current exhibition called "Mercurial Silence" by Caroline Gore showing how grief and loss manifest in society.

For our day out I decided to rock some spring pastels with an eggshell Jackett Jacket, an Echo scarf with a splash of pink, and a little wrist party with Zenzii and Blessings in Disguise bracelets. The whole outfit was pulled together with a Vince top and Vince boyfriend pant (Lola was sure to let me know, though she may not want a boyfriend she definitely wants the pants!)

Lola wanted to break out her summer attire, so she wore a Rachel Zoe python print dress, with a Kenneth Jay Lane necklace and Zenzii cuff. It was the perfect blend of edgy and fun to lure the artsy men in. I think Lola spent more time looking at them than the art!

It was such a cool experience seeing art made by people right here in GR. The exhibitions are always changing and Lola and I can't wait to go back!

Coffee and Collars

Though the sun is starting to pop out and spring is almost sprung we are still fighting these fierce Michigan temps! So, as per usual, Lola and I decided to meet up for our weekly coffee session (which usually involves more gossiping than coffee, oops!) and this week we chose to go to Jam N' Bean. As I walked in, I was shocked to see Lola wearing the EXACT same button up as myself! I mean, I know we are best friends but this was a crazy coincidence.

We sat down with our delicious coffee (which is only 5 cents if you drink it in house with their mugs!) and discussed how we pulled our white button-up outfits together. As a mom, I always keep a nice crisp collared shirt in my closet as it's a fabulous way to layer. Just because you're a soccer mom doesn't mean you have to look like one! I paired my Foxcroft shirting with a 6 by Six vest and a Tribal floral jegging.

I asked Lola how she pulled her outfit together and she said she was so inspired by my layering that she decided to give it a try herself, and might I say we both nailed it! Lola decided to pair her Foxcroft blouse with a Rachel Zoe sweatshirt dress and Soft Joie jacket. She topped it off by transitioning her Theia evening earrings into day with her causal cute ensemble.

After our fashion discussion, we started to get a little hungry so we indulged in some of their delicious food. They have bagels, sandwiches, and much more, along with some delicious soups. And of course we had to have some more of the home ground coffee!

We had a splendid morning enjoying coffee, treats and many laughs about our matching tops. I think someone once said you become like the person you're with the most...sorry Lola but I won't be switching out my flats for heels any time soon!



Golf Outing

The other day, Eloise and I decided to once again visit our friends at Leigh’s. While we were there, we ran into their intern Lauren who told us about this charity golf outing her sorority, Sigma Kappa, was hosting. We learned that she is in the same sorority as Megan (One of the previous interns who we of course adore!).  We attended one of their events a couple of years ago and had a blast! Needless to say we accepted Lauren’s offer and I was secretly hoping to meet some hunky guy golfers in conjunction with attending a fabulous event!

 

Since we were already hanging out with Lauren in the store, she selected some darling outfits for us to wear to the golf outing. We had it in our minds we would have to be all dressed up in plaid (thinking of Caddy Shack) and knickers, but Lauren had a more updated look in mind. She choose for Eloise a comfy Rachel Zoe sweater and popped it with a rockin’ red Magaschoni cashmere scarf and then paired them with a black French Connection contemporary pant. Then for me, she picked a black Rachel Zoe pant with leather accents and a Central Park West sweater with a Barbara Lesser vest. I think we need to hire her as our professional stylist and have her dress us every day…makes our lives so much easier!
 

 

Unfortunately, the weather was not the nicest on Sunday. Since it was so rainy, we hung out and chit chatted with the lovely girls at the check-in table and in the club house and flirted with as many single guys as I could bump into. Lauren was so busy driving the beverage cart we hardly saw her, but when she came in, she was soaking wet! Fortunately, we had declined her offer to assist because Eloise and I worked out the other day and we were feeling a little stiff….and we saw the forecast!  She was so funny telling us all the goofy things people were doing on the golf course. Even though it is a more serious sport, because of the rain, it seemed that most of the participants were just trying to have fun with it! One of the guys wore bright green plaid pants and a bright pink polo… not my favorite ensemble, but darn was he hot! I think I could get past his bad dressing. 

 

Anyways, we had a blast, once again, at one of the Sigma Kappa’s fundraising events. It always feels great to give back and have a wonderful time doing so. We can’t wait for the next event we can attend!

 

 

It's Trend Party Time!

We have been hearing such great things about the Trend parties Leigh’s has been hosting every Thursday this September, so Eloise and I decided to go check it out! We need a little retail therapy and Leigh’s is just the place to go. This week hosted the latest shoe trends for the season and of course as shoes are a girl’s best friend, we thought this would be a good Thursday to attend!

       We are in desperate need of some new shoes!  

 We had to show up stylish as always to Leigh’s because there really is no other way. I went for a more sassy flare as I wore some of my favorite Rachel Zoe pieces from her fall collection. Eloise went a little simpler with her outfit, but added a nice pop with her Love Zoey Blazer.

                      Eloise looking so sophisticated                 Me, looking great...as always :]


All the boots we saw there for this season were to die for! I was in love with some edgy UGG leather boots. Eloise couldn’t resist the Bed Stu boots and ended up buying two styles! Naturally, we couldn’t just keep our focus on just the shoes, so we ventured out into the store to take a look at some great close that just came in for the fall season. We checked out some DL 1961 jeans and, of course, fell in love with a few washes and had to take a couple pairs home.

As always, it was a great little shopping spree at Leigh’s and we can’t wait for more events this year to go check out!

Lunch and Happy Hour at Houlihan's Restaurant & Bar

Well todays weather was a drag! Because it was so gloomy out today, Lola and I decided we should head over to Houlihan’s for some lunch and of course happy hour! But before I could make my way to lunch, I had to drop the kids off at day care, and when I went to pick Lola up she had already started her happy hour...an hour early! That girl is crazy but I love her! The great thing about Houlihan’s is it was so close to Leigh’s just a quick little walk across the parking lot! Lola and walked into Leigh’s to check out all the new fall fashions they had got in and we couldn’t believe the amazing selection! Lola went for this amazing Rachel Zoe jacket that they had just got in that day, paired with some Rich and Skinny, skinny black jeans, while I wore the most amazing Blue Pea coat, with a great pair of green Vince pants! Because it was so cold out Rebecca showed us the amazing UGG section! Seriously so many UGG’s so little time! But what we are really excited for is the UGG trunk show happing at Leigh’s on Tuesday October 23rd, and Wednesday October 24th! And the great thing is that it’s the only UGG trunk show in West Michigan and Leigh’s gets to host it! Make sure you stop by and check it out! So after we picked out our outfits for lunch Lola and I were off!

oh my gosh look at this weather! Good thing we have on our comfy and cozy UGGS with these amazing new fall jackets! Lola and I were in loveeee with Houlihan’s atmosphere! It was open yet intimate, and the lighting as well as the decor was amazing! Houlihan’s is considered a “Restaurant & Bar” but don’t expect that whole dirty college bar scene (Even thought Lola loves those college boys!) This restaurant was gorgeous! So Lola and I found our way to the Bar..of course and took a seat! The menu was filled with amazing fresh options, even offering vegetarian and vegan options for all you heath nuts! And don’t get Lola started on the happy hour drink specials, needless to say Lola didn’t just fall in love with the bartender...

Lola got more than a glass of white wine! she got the cute bartenders number!

Like I said the atmosphere was amazing! I love how the restaurant was divided into different sections yet it was a really cohesive restaurant, everything went really well together!

And like I said we just loved the bar...and the bartender!

Adventures at John Ball Zoo

Today Lola and I decided to take a trip to John Ball Zoo. We couldn't wait to see all of the animals running around in the new exhibits! Of course, we took a shopping trip to Leigh's to find a super cute outfit! I wore blue shorts, a cute striped tank top layered with a casual blue shirt by Vince.  I also wore a fabulous bracelet by Ben-Amun. I met up with Lola, and of course she would wear a Rachel Zoe animal print dress to the zoo! I told her that just because we were going to the zoo doesn't mean she had to wear animal print. She insisted that the animal print might attract all the hot single dads, but I told her the only thing she might attract are the baboons!  She was not thrilled with my comment in the slightest and I got the silent treatment for next 15 minutes! 

John Ball statue

We made our way through the zoo and our first stop was at the aquarium. There were several cute penguins swimming around! We couldn't help but take our picture with them.

Look at the cute little guy swimming behind us!

We then stopped to look at the beautiful fish. Even they couldn't help but stare at our fabulous outfits!

We couldn't help but attract the colorful fish!

Look at how great our outfits looked in front of the water!

After walking through the aquarium, we decided to visit Monkey Island. There was one monkey who couldn't keep his eyes off of us! He was very curious and watched us the whole time. He must not be used to seeing such fashionable ladies at the zoo! I told Lola her animal print dress worked, she finally found a man! And this monkey was much cuter than the baboon option!

Posing in front of  Monkey Island

Us with Sarah and Lindsey

After visiting the rest of the zoo, we stopped in to explore the new gift shop. We found so many great souvenirs! We were told we were the perfect models for the hats...we took that as a compliment. They had a ton of stuffed animals just like the animals at the zoo. Lola decided on a cute, cuddly elephant while I chose a bright pink flamingo.

Our great souvenirs!

We had so much fun hanging out at the zoo! We were even invited back later this summer to check out the new funicular tram! We can't wait to go back again.

LaughFest

Us using the schedule to decide what event to go to!

Before we left for our mini vacation, we had been hearing all about LaughFest. We love a good laugh and were dying to attend. So, the first day of great weather, we headed down to LaughFest headquarters to buy some tickets! Little did we know, we would run into so many fun(ny) people!

The desk right when you walk in!

Funny cubes that we wish our faces were on!

When we first arrived we had no idea what we were in for! We walked right into a room full of LaughFest gear! As you can see from our pictures, there was so much for us to look at that we almost forgot why we were there!



Standing in front of our favorite signs!

Our Leigh's square!

Close up shot of our Leigh's square! Be sure to find it when you stop in!

One of our favorite things at LaughFest headquarters was the wall filled with signs of what makes people laugh. Of course, after seeing this, we HAD to fill one out! Lola thought of our best laugh--people in funny clothing. As we were filling out our square (we thought ours was the best), so many people complimented us on our jeans! We loved every second of it! Lola and I both left the house wearing the same jeans that we purchased at Leighs! We had on Rachel Zoe denim. Yes, Rachel Zoe--personal stylists to the stars and the star of one of our favorite fashion TV shows! We were so excited when Leigh's began selling some of her clothing line that we had to buy them! We think the great denim distracted everyone enough so they did not notice how goofy we were trying out all the LaughFest goodies for sale!



Funny merchandise!

Lola in a necklace and bracelet!

Eloise in a funny cape! Perfect for her kids!

We think we looked awesome in our gear! Is that cape not the funniest thing you've seen?! If you are looking for something fun to do stop into LaughFest and check out their schedule! But, be sure to come into Leigh's first to get the perfect outfit for the event! You don't want us to laugh at you for wearing funny clothing!