District Damsel

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Pants | TopShop

Shoes | LuLus

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I am two things — extremely type A and a creature of habit. While I love trying and experiencing new things, it’s hard not to stick to places we already know and love when it comes to planning a date night. To inspire us to get out of our comfort zone and venture somewhere other than our tired and true spots, the control freak in me made a Google Doc with all of the places I want to try in the city, complete with the type of cuisine the restaurant serves and down-to-the-minute details of how long it would take to get there from our apartment — both in terms of walking and hailing a ride share. Like I said, I’m a control freak.

The doc has come in handy quite a few times when trying to figure out where to go with friends, which is exactly how we ended up at District Winery for our latest double date. I just sent the doc to our friends and had them pick since I knew I’d be happy with any of the choices!

If you don’t have a dining bucket list, consider this your jumping off point and start your own! Below are some of our favorite spots to go, and you can always check out my main DC Dining Guide for more inspiration!

If You’re Feeling “Sceney” | District Winery

Situated in Navy Yard,  the winery has a tasting bar and full-service restaurant and doubles as an event venue. We kicked off the evening with a wine tasting (orange wine is actually amazing!) and then had a great meal at their restaurant Ana. Head over to Bluejacket Brewery after dinner if you want to continue your evening!

If You’re Too Tired To Go Out | Beau Thai + Netflix

I knew I had a problem when I added Beau Thai as a contact in my phone. Gerald and I order from here at least once a week — usually right before we settle in for a few episodes of whatever show we’re watching (this month, it’s Ozark Season 2). We’re lucky enough to live right around the corner from the traditional Thai spot, but they also have a location in Mount Pleasant and deliver! I always go for the Pad Pik King Tofu and G alternates between the Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles.

If You Want a Traditional Date Night | Ghibellina + a movie

While we love our Netflix shows, we actually prefer to go to the movies! I got us MoviePasses in the spring and one of our favorite things to do is hit up Ghibellina’s happy hour and then walk it off by catching a flick at E Street Cinema or Atlantic Plumbing. Ghibellina has happy hour every day and they have pizzas on their happy hour! We both can eat a lot, so we usually order our own pizzas, but the walk to the movie theater (about a mile each way) helps us feel less guilty.

For When You Want a Good Meal and Solid Service | Red Hen

Red Hen is one of my top three favorite restaurants in the city and we love bringing our friends here. My dad is a super picky eater and even he loved it! Red Hen’s menu changes seasonally and I’ve never tried something I didn’t like there. They always have one vegetarian pasta on the menu (obvi my order) and the burratta appetizer is always the first thing we ask for.

If you want to relive my birthday for the last three years 😊| Lauriol Plaza + happy hour at The Riggsby

I know it’s not chic or forward-thinking, but Lauriol Plaza is seriously my favorite restaurant in the city. Every year for my birthday I ask that Gerald takes me to happy hour at The Riggsby (a 1960s-inspired supper club in Dupont Circle) and then we walk over to Lauriol Plaza for dinner and a pitcher of margs. The Riggsby’s happy hour is on point — I literally think about their gimlets on the regular — and it has a fun yet intimate vibe despite being in a hotel.

I am a summer girl through and through, but I have to admit, I do get excited about fall because the changing of the seasons is a great excuse to fuel my shopping addictions. While I default to the fast-fashion shops around Metro Center when I need a quick retail therapy fix, nothing beats a full mall shopping experience. Sure, the crowds can be overwhelming, but having a plethora of shops, brands, and food all in the same space is actually quite the treat.

You’ve heard me talk about how I grew up going to the Pentagon City Mall, now dubbed the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, and I truly mean it when I say that it’s a serious gem that Washingtonians need to take advantage of. Even though the Fashion Centre is across state lines, once you hop on the yellow or blue line it’s an insanely easy Metro ride — and parts of it are even above ground! (Looking at you coworkers who are scared of the underground.) I left my office on Pennsylvania Ave last night at 5:50 pm and was walking into Matchbox for the Fall Ready event at the mall by 6:12 pm — even with a 6-minute Metro wait.

If you’re like me and you’re looking for an excuse to shop, or even want to switch up your beauty routine, Saturday, September 22 is your day. Fashion Centre at Pentagon City is hosting their Fall Ready Event from 1 – 5 pm and it’s full of amazing perks! Stop by the mall for complementary makeovers, fall fashion previews, and more. The best part is that any shoppers who spend $150 or more at any store in the mall will receive a complimentary tote filled with giveaways! Just swing by Guest Services next to Sephora to claim it. Read on for a sneak peek of some fall highlights from some of the Centre’s top retailers.

The Body Shop | Did you know that The Body Shop was the first beauty shop to stand against product testing on animals? They’ve been around for eons but they were truly a leader in sustainable beauty! Gerald’s been struggling with a bit of skin inflammation and my cal Elisabeth of District of Chic recommended The Body Shop’s shaving cream for mens’ sensitive skin. I can’t wait to pick a can up for him on my next trip to the mall.

Kate Spade | Is there anything this brand can’t make fashionable? Their new fall line features a super sassy line of handbags and accessories with foxes and couldn’t be cuter.

L’OCCITANE| I actually didn’t know that L’OCCITANE products are organic! I’m on a bit of a natural skincare kick and I was so excited to learn that they use organic ingredients. The beauty shop recently launched a new Reboost product that’s meant to revitalize your skin after traveling and I’m so excited to try it out. Stay tuned for a review on stories!

TUMI| First let me start by saying, the store manager at TUMI is such a doll. She’s so passionate about the products TUMI creates that I was sold the second she told us that the brand is creating five new collections made just for women. The new collections are seriously chic, and I’m hoping I can somehow wrangle their suitcase and weekender bag into my wedding registry…

COACH | I NEED THIS DINKY BAG IN MY LIFE. I am utterly obsessed with this bag, and the whole Coach fall line is gorgeous — think western-inspired styles and hand-painted prints.

When Gerald and I went to Chicago to celebrate my longtime friend Victoria’s birthday (and squeeze in some quality time with Rox!) I did not expect to fall in love with the city. I’d heard horror stories about the cold, so I automatically assumed it wasn’t a city I would like — I was SO wrong. Chicago officially has a piece of my heart. It has so many things to do and places to explore, plus a lake and a beach, and the people there are SO NICE. Not to mention there’s fabulous shopping and a great food scene.

We literally spent 49 1/2 hours in the city, landing around 8 am on Friday morning and leaving at 9:30 am on Sunday. The flight was super easy — I slept the whole time both ways — and about an hour and a half from Reagan airport. Chicago does have a one hour time difference, so it was really nice to get that extra hour on Friday.

Since our flights were a little pricey — $330 each — we decided to forgo a nice hotel for the cheapest we could find and stayed at The Congress Plaza Hotel. It’s definitely one of the older hotels in Chicago, but the price was right and it was in a great location in the Loop, right near Millennium and Grant Park. I can’t really brag about the amenities or the room, but considering we were really only there to sleep and shower, it was a fine stay. We took the L (Chicago’s version of the Metro) straight from the airport to our hotel on Friday morning to drop our bags off and I was shocked at how easy the transit system was to navigate. We flew into O’Hare and it was about an hour ride to downtown, but the line is mostly above ground so you didn’t feel like you were stuck on a commuter train.

After dropping our bags, we headed to the Riverwalk to take one of the famed Chicago Architecture Tours. The tour is right on the river and you get to learn so much about the city and its architectural history! It sounds a little cheesy, but it was definitely a highlight of the trip. I booked our tour a few weeks in advance through Chicago’s First Lady Cruises, which is run by the Chicago Architecture Center, so I knew it would be legit. The first floor of the boat was covered (which was perfect since it was pouring rain), and had a bar! We rather aggressively had some 10 am mimosas, but it just added to the charm of the tour. We ended up going on the top half of the boat for the majority of the tour since it offered the best views, and the rain really didn’t ruin it. (Let’s just say it was not a good hair day for me.) I 100% recommend booking one of these tours if you visit the Windy City!

After the boat tour, I was so cold that I had to go buy pants. Rox gave me the location of the closest Forever 21, but on the way there we passed by Nordstrom and I am SO glad we went it. The Nordstrom on on Michigan Avenue, aka the Magnificent Mile, is actually the flagship store and it is insane — it made Tysons look like a dump. There are full TopShop, Reformation, Free People, and Madewell sections, in addition to a bar on the men’s floor! I snagged a pair of TopShop pants and a top and was so much happier in the chilly weather.

Straight from Nordstrom, we hopped on the L again and headed to Wrigley Field to catch a Cubs game. Wrigley Field is the second oldest baseball stadium in the US and it had SO much character. We went to a 1:20 pm game and I was shocked at how many people had dipped out of work to attend it! While I’m not a Cubs fan (#GoNats), it was a really fun game and it even went into overtime. We got tickets for a pretty great deal on StubHub (around $35 each I think?) and since the stadium is on the smaller side, every seat in the house is pretty solid.

We took the L back into the city and took some quick naps before meeting up with Rox and the Husband of Glam for dinner. (I’m not a napper, but in our defense, we had gotten up at 4:30 am EST.) We met at Beatrix in the Aloft hotel in River North and it was SO good. It was a total scene and the food was super veg-friendly. I’m still thinking about the chopped Thai salad I had! (Great choice, Rox.)

From there, the birthday celebrations started and I was reunited with my biffy since 5th grade at Point and Feather.  We had so much fun catching up with Vic and my college frat brother and playing darts (sorry I was a horrible teammate, Nina) and then decided to be insane people and go get bottle service across the street at Hubbard Inn. I’m not used to staying up partying till a bar closes anymore, but we had so much fun dancing the night away. Trust me, I paid for it with the hangover the next day.

Due to the night before, we had a slower start to our Saturday morning and walked over to Eataly for lunch. Eataly was SO cute and definitely worth checking out. Imagine if Union Market was 100% Italian, and that’s basically was it is. To nurse our hangovers, we each got a Neopolitan pizza and split a bottle of wine. I could have spent hours in the food hall exploring the different wines and sampling fare from each of the different mini restaurants, but we had a city to see!

To burn off the carbs, we walked to the lake and took a stroll around the Ohio Beach area. The lake is absolutely gorgeous and offers amazing views of the skyline. We both love people watching and had so much fun seeing all of the party yachts roll in. #Goals. Right next to the lake is Navy Pier, which was pretty touristy, but still a fun spot to check out! We grabbed a beer and hung out in the amphitheater area watching all of the riverboat tours sail by.

We headed back towards hotel via the Riverwalk, and I wish we’d had more time to check out all of the restaurants right on the water — definitely something to add to your list if you are visiting Chi! We had to stop into Millennium Park and see The Bean, and there was actually a dance festival going on! I convinced G to undergo five minutes of a salsa dance lesson on one of the park lawns, you can imagine how thrilled he was. We took an obligatory selfie in The Bean, then headed to the neighboring Crown Fountain to see the splash park.

Fast forward to dinner — we tried to go to the Milk Room, a speakeasy at the Chicago Athletic Association, for a pre-meal cocktail but it was fully booked for the evening so we headed to The Gage, which used to be a woman-run hat factory! We then hopped in an Uber to Bucktown to my favorite kind of restaurant, a Mexican hole-in-the-wall to meet up with the birthday girl. Estrella Negra was perfect, inexpensive and delicious!

To cap off the night, we headed to The Whistler, a dive bar with a live DJ around the corner where I got to reconnect with one of my old coworkers!  I kid you not, I ordered a round that included a glass of wine, a vodka soda, and an IPA and nearly spit my drink out when I saw that it was only $15. That’s ONE cocktail in DC! The District has ruined me.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, chock-full of adventures. I can’t wait to go back.

A year ago, I thought skincare was using a drugstore face wash in the shower at night, dabbing some Witch Hazel on my icky spots (if I remembered), and wearing the same moisturizer I’d been using since I was 11 years old. I had always longed to be one of those girls who had pimple free chins and didn’t have to wear foundation, but I thought that I couldn’t afford nice skincare products and didn’t have the first clue about what products to use, let alone what my skin type was.

Last February, I had the worst breakout I’ve ever had, RIGHT before my 27th birthday. I was so embarrassed about it that I almost didn’t want to go out for my birthday brunch — it was like my skin was rebelling against me and I’d never felt more self conscious about my face. With our wedding looming, I decided it was time to actually start a skincare regimen and oh my gosh, I don’t know why I didn’t jump on the clean beauty bandwagon earlier.

It turns out, clean products are exactly what they’re hyped up to be. Essentially, clean products are made from non-toxic ingredients and harsh chemicals. If you read a label and can’t pronounce anything, chances are it isn’t “clean”. I recently had a conversation with my coworkers about skincare and one of them mentioned that you should never put anything on your face that you wouldn’t eat, and let me tell you — the products at Ivy Wild make the cut!. I had the opportunity to visit the new natural beauty and skincare shop in in the Manhattan Laundry building (14th and Florida, right next to 305 and across from Maydan) and had the best time sampling new products and getting made over by the founder, Rachel.

Ivy Wild carries both skincare and beauty products and I had the chance to try a ton of them during my visit! Before my makeover, I wiped off my work makeup with Little Barn Blue Yarrow + Geranium Cleansing Oil — I’ve been hearing a lot about oils as skincare products and was super skeptical about putting it on my face, but it definitely didn’t have the greasy feel I was expecting, and it turns out that oils actually help penetrate your skin more deeply than regular cleansers! I also tried the Soleil Toujours Set + Protect Micro Mist (SPF 30) and it was super refreshing. I’ve recently become obsessed with applying daily sunscreen and the mist makes application super quick and easy.

Next up was the fun part, getting my makeup done by Rachel! Before we met, I had mentioned that I was interested in a long-lasting foundation that would hold up on my sweaty two-mile-each-way walk to work and Ivy Wild certainly delivered. Rachel helped me swatch match my perfect shade of Saint Cosmetics liquid foundation and I am obsessed. For some reason, I thought that natural makeup wouldn’t have the coverage that I was hoping for, but boy was I wrong. This foundation has amazing coverage and feels like silk going on. The bottle says long wear and it is 100% accurate — I couldn’t believe how good my makeup looked after spending all day sweating at a winery the first time I wore it out! I may have also accidentally fallen asleep in it and woke up blemish free.

While doing my makeup, Rachel made sure to teach me how to apply it properly, and I swear it’s changed my makeup routine. She taught me how to contour with a Vapour Organic Beauty Solar Translucent Bronzer Stick (I will be back for it) and I’ve been having so much fun experimenting with the application at home with an old bronzer. Rachel also taught me the right way to apply blush (I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve been applying it totally wrong for 10+ years) and I’ve been loving the Rituel de Fille Inner Glow Creme Pigment compact that came home with me! Creme blush is actually way easier to apply than it seems and can repurposed as a lip color. I’m not a lipstick gal, but Rachel convinced me to try it as a light lipstick and I’m slowly warming up to the idea.

Another product that surprised me was a brown tinted mascara. I’m usually a bolder-the-better girl when it comes to lashes, but I really liked the softer look that the Saint Cosmetics Mascara in Brownie Points gave me and it’s inspired me to swap out my harsh black eyeliner for a warm chocolate this summer.

In a nutshell, Ivy Wild doesn’t just sell beauty products, they actually help you find what works for you and teach you how to to wear it. I usually scurry into big brand makeup stores, grab what I want, and get out of there as soon as I can because I’m intimidated by the fancy makeup gals, but I could have hung out with Rachel and her team all afternoon long. I’m so excited that Ivy Wild helped me find new products that I love AND are good for my skin. Thank you for a fabulous experience! Catch them on IG at @ivy.wild.beauty for all the gorgeous things!

Photography by Mary Godier of Ringlet Studio and Mary Elizabeth Creative 

I don’t know HOW it is already August! This summer, and really this whole year, have flown by. I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of things already this season, but there are definitely still a few I’d love to experience before the cooler weather sets in. Read on for my end-of-summer bucket list!

Visit the Hishorn Museum – I’m a local, so I’m not quite sure how there are museums I haven’t been to left in this city! The exhibits always look amazing when I scroll past them on Instagram, and the current ones definitely look interesting.

Explore The Wharf – while I’ve been to The Wharf twice, I’ve only been to two bars and didn’t spend any time actually walking around and seeing all that the development has to offer. I’d love to catch a show at Pearl Street Warehouse and I’m dying to try Mi Vida!

Cheer on the home team – I’ve only been to two Nats games this year! Usually Gerald and I average around five, so I’m definitely trying to squeeze in a few more before the season ends. I love exploring Navy Yard after the games — especially hitting up Bluejacket!

Visit one of DC’s new wineries – DC is now home to two wineries — District Winery in Navy Yard and City Winery in Ivy City. I’m not sure if the vino is any good at either one, but I’m definitely game to find out.

Purge my closet – I know this isn’t exciting, but I always feel so good after getting rid of clothes I don’t wear any more (and even better if I can sell them!) I’m aiming to get rid of a whopping 50% of my closet before I pull out my fall wardrobe…do you think I can do it?

Go to Jazz In the Garden – can you believe I have only been to this free, quintessential DC event ONCE?! I had so much fun the last time we went, it’s just so hard to find a Friday where both Gerald and I can actually leave work early to make it

Shop My Look: 

Dress | Forever 21

Shoes | Similar 

Since everyone has been going nuts over the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, you might have forgotten about Amazon Prime Day, which is tomorrow! Amazon Prime day is sort of like a Black Friday blowout meets the Nordy’s Anniversary Sale — it’s a day full of specials that are available exclusively to Prime members. You can find deals on everything from furniture to kitchen supplies to hair products. The kicker is that you have to be a Prime member to take advantage of the sales, but you can sign up with just a few clicks. Gerald and I joined Prime when we first moved in together and I honestly don’t know how I lived without it. Getting online orders within two days is seriously the best and you receive all sorts of perks with their streaming app — I’m currently binging SweetBitter thanks to my free trial of Starz through it!

I digress, in honor of Prime Day, I thought I’d use the opportunity to share my experience about ordering fast fashion pieces from Amazon and link some of my favorite finds from the site.

Last year, I worked a lot with overseas fashion brands, promoting their trendy but extremely discounted clothing. I tried to be extremely honest in my posts when reviewing the items (catch the posts here and here) but eventually stopped working with them after I received some pieces that were such poor quality I couldn’t say anything favorable about them.

I really missed the constant influx of cute clothing — lets face it, those ads that follow you around on Facebook and Instagram make you want to buy everything with one click — but I was turned off by the return policies and often long shipping waits. Enter Amazon. While searching for my normal Amazon orders — sticky bras, kitchen utensils, dry shampoo, etc. — I began getting served clothing ads. I never thought of Amazon as a place to buy clothing before, but it turns out that brands similar to the ones I used to work with were selling their items through the major online store!

While I’ve had my ups and downs with Amazon purchases, their customer service center has always made everything right and I’ve always been able to return items and/or receive a refund if my items were delivered to the wrong spot. For example, I bought a bunch of bikinis for our annual trip to Seaside, but accidentally put my delivery address in wrong and the package was delivered to the Taylor Gourmet below my office (front 2) instead of “floor 2”. Since I couldn’t find the package at the sandwich shop, Amazon completely refunded my order and sent me the same suits at no additional cost from what I’d originally paid.

Since discovering that I could buy the fast fashion pieces I craved on Amazon, I’ve gone a litttttle crazy ordering swimsuits from brands like Cupshe and Zaful because I was so confident that I could get my money back through the distributor if they didn’t fit, didn’t look true to size, etc. While I’ve returned the majority of the suits (shopping for swimsuits is hard enough in person, forget online) I’ve loved the few that I kept and loved the price tags even more. I’ve ordered a few dresses from there, like this cute palm print number I wore to dinner at Thip Kao (side note: if you like spicy Thai-style food, YOU MUST GO.)

I’ve found that the customer reviews on the site are extremely accurate and the best part is that most reviewers will actually post photos of themselves wearing the item, so it’s super refreshing to see honest feedback from women of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, I’ll bite the bullet and order an item of clothing that hasn’t been reviewed, but if you’re a cautious buyer I’d recommend sticking to pieces that have been vetted.

If you order a product that’s Prime-eligible, you can expect the package to arrive within the promised dates — usually 2-5 days. If the product isn’t marked as a Prime order, it will probably take about 1-2 weeks, but you can stalk its exact arrival thanks to Amazon’s pretty great tracking technology.

Disclaimer: this definitely seems like a sponsored post, but it’s not. I just really love using Amazon!

Favorite Amazon Finds

Palm Print Dress

Blossom Print One Piece Suit

Boho Off The Shoulder Dress

Colorblock One Piece

Gingham Bikini

Blue Striped Romper