My Weekend of Shopping and Learning

Last Weekend I was invited to attend a womens leadership conference in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to arrive in the windy city a day early to enjoy some shopping before the learning began. I did a nice survey of the large department stores (Macys, Nordstrom, Saks and Neimans) as well as some fun spots like French Connection, Lucy, Sephora (of course) and some basics like Banana Republic. My shopping was cut a little short by the nasty weather (blustery snow) and the fact that I was under the weather. And, my trip was cut short thanks to my sick children. But, I still managed to find some cute spring items. Here are a few of my faves....

I just love this little jacket by twilltwentytwo. It's cozy fleece, but with a flair. It has fun bell sleeves and w portrait collar, which I find to be quite flattering. I think it's the perfect addition to my wardrobe - especially since I am always looking for ways to dress up my jeans for work.

Another item I am eye-ing for spring is this little Marc Jacobs nylon hobo bag. He has the nylon in several styles, but I am partial to the hobo-style. It also comes in a pea-green and a cream color, but I think I will have to stick with basic black. Black is timeless, it goes with everything, and if it gets a spilled on, no one will know but me!

In other exciting news, I recently had a communication breakthrough with my son. He is finally using words to communicate and it's great. Yesterday we had our first real conversation. It went like this:

Benjamin: froo
mom: would you like some fruit
Benjamin: uh-huh
mom: Do you want organes
Benjamin: no
mom: Do you want an apple
Benjamin: no
mom: do you want a banana
Benjamin: uh-huh

I know it probably doesn't sound that exciting, but for someone who listens to a lot of whining, this is HUGE news!