2-16-2025 MY WEEK: love as a weekend treat

💟happy sunday!💟

    i hope you guys are doing a good job of avoiding the sunday scaries, perhaps with leftover chocolate from valentine's day? or with snacks from your galentine's events and a god rom com... if none of those were in your stars this week, i hope you had a fabulous solo time treating yourself. rupaul says "if you don't love yourself, then how the hell you gonna love anybody else?"

    my valentine's weekend was spent in the company of the best of both: the gals and the valentine. friday was date night with boyfriend, and he cooked us a steak dinner with veggies, then we went downtown to watch a candelight quartet play a collection of romantic movie songs, like shallow from a star is born (2018), tons of disney princess songs, and for the end, they played my heart will go on, spiced up with a proposal from the audience. i was smacking boyfriend on the arm while tears were flowing (because i am such a sucker for romance and i'll cry because of strangers - always), as the guy got down on his knee right during the bridge. we saw the couple on our walk out and congratulated them. the night ended with a sweet treat from a local fast food/custard chain we've never been to before.

    

gifts from boyfriend

candelight quartet

 

    

    saturday was treat number 2: spent with the girls, in celebration of my bestie vic's birthday. our first spot was in an intimate speakeasy type bar called the vault, downtown. it's separated in rooms, each with different patterned wallpaper fabric, very lush - in red and black tones mostly. i was advised the espresso martinis were amazing, but i was on a hunt for something else. i've been craving a pornstar martini since the first time i had it - back in croatia this summer at a beach bar pocco locco. so i ordered one for myself and the birthday girl, and here they had a tequila twist to it rather than vodka.it came in a very elaborate setting - the cocktail glass, the shot of prosecco on the side, and then a glass full of passionfruit boba - all of this hung on some kind of drink stand. the fanciness of it was worth it - it was scrumptious!

    the group decided to relocate a few blocks to society lounge. sib, bestie abby, and i - had our midwest version of the carrie bradshaw run across e 9th street, accompanied with a person yelling "move bitch!" because they wanted to turn right. you simply have to romanticize these moments - can't be stressing in this economy.

    society lounge was more open concept - and once again i dared the bartender andrew to whip up a good pornstar martini. sib opted for her classic gin and tonic. my martini was simpler this time (only one glass) and also very divine, and less sweet than the first one. sib's gin and tonic had a phenomenal cucumber freshness to it. 

    we mingled here for a bit, catching some seats as people came and went, and obviously flashing photos wherever and whenever we had the chance.

    the group decided to finish off the night ten minutes past downtown, in lakewood, at this bar that has become a must-go spot for our friend group. around the corner is the trifecta of bars - your regular dive bar setting, accompanied with a full hermit crab race section, a karaoke bar, and a dj night club setting. plus for the smokers, a large patio too. the crowd is definitely college type and doesn't have the fearful air of sophistication. during holiday season the karaoke bar is strictly christmas karaoke. 

    at this point i knew there was no need to search for a third pornstar martini here, so water was my drink of choice. per tradition, abby and i signed up for karaoke and sung our hearts out to chiquitita by abba. the girls around appreciated it - and for a minute i felt like the scene in mamma mia when all the ladies in the village sing dancing queen. such beautiful sisterhood and unity - that would've made me cry too if i was drunk!

    after our song, we migrated to the night club area, where sib was in search for anyone looking remotely like jude law in the movie holiday. instead a somewhat kind, but very stubborn guy persisted to ask sib if she believed in "true love", and begging me to let her get a drink with him. sib and i knew this was not jude law in holiday material. to make matters worse, a very young dj was struggling to make the transitions of songs make sense, and a couple times stared at the group for our approval. the trio escaped and we ended the night contemplating our late night snack orders.

any jude law looking dudes?

pornstar martini #2

i got lectured for diagnosing everyone right before this

lookbook of the week

here's a last sunday honorable mention from the superbowl party i attended. it wasn't much of a party, mostly dudes talking to themselves about sports betting and other things football related - but i predicted some good food and hard cider were good enough to socialize. and i actually enjoyed watching the game, and especially the half time show with kendrick lamar's performance. 

diesel t shirt i got over the summer in cro. those thrifted old navy  jeans, my trusty boots and jacket, and a secondhand buttoned shirt.

monday i had a super long day at work and did some traveling through the county, so i got inspired when i passed by a goodwill i haven't been at in a while. i wore a button down and sweathsirt on top and these new york and company pants which a client  thought looked like pajamas. i think i'm going to pause on this combo and pants at work. the coat is a vintage leather one. i got this grey very wang shirt that's purposely distressed at this said goodwill, and i'm already scheming some grungey ideas for future outings. stay tuned.

tuesday at work i cozied up again with a sweatshirt from boyfriend's grandma and some slacks. it was another super long day with a meeting dragging until past 5, so i was speeding home because morgan, sib and i booked a free workout session at this hotworx gym nearby. the workout was good, as is the concept. but tell me why would we have to spend $100 for "specialty" mats and towels to use their sauna, the gym part is very limited, and the workout was only 35 minutes, not even the advertised 45. monthly membership might be $54 but you have to pay a sign in fee, etc. thanks for the opportunity though...

wednesday was another (surprise, surprise) long day at another client house. vintage talbots floral blouse was paired with faux leather deep green pants from tjmaxx. 

thursday seemed like i was getting closer to a break at work and could relax a bit. i wore this target short sleeved sweater sib didn't want, and urban outfitters sparkling pants i bought years ago. i am making a mental note to experiment and think of an indie sleaze/american apparel type outfit with these pants. lo and behold, i finally pulled out my doc martens and decided not to be lazy with lacing them up. also this winter seems so never ending and it's constantly snowy and icy.

🠄friday aka valentine's day at work is taken super seriously. so i went comically red and pink, paired with heart shaped sunglasses and handmade heart earrings. the red boots are one of my favorites, i got them at forever 21 years ago and they were the last ones, in my size too. 

for my date with boyfriend friday evening, i wore this windsor blue velvet piece and i finally chose a pair of heels - steve madden pumps. i paired this look with a colorful tweet bag from charming charlie, and this vintage fur coat i got around my birthday at a huge designer sale🠆

saturday night for vic's birthday i wore this combo i mentioned a couple posts ago - windsor top and altuzarra skirt (also found in that designer sale - with tags on it still!!!!), paired with vintage secondhand leather jacket, thrifted manolo blahniks (cue the carrie bradshaw run), and thrifted calvin klein purse  (was also new with tags!)

 

at the quartet - can u tell i was crying?

sib and i - peep the wallpaper

my friends and i are big astro people, so for vic's birthday i made a tarot deck for her, in a mix of collage, pen and marker, and paint. i laminated them and attempted to papier maché  a box, but that was a fail. my plan is to revisit papier maché in the near future and redeem myself. 

❣what i'm looking forward to this week❣

    there's some cultural events during the week, which i would like to attend to, but i'm not sure if i'll get too busy with work. 

    on thursday sib and i will be attending an accelerate event downtown for local entrepreneurs to network and pitch their business ideas. sib went last year with our bestie victoria g (aka vg) and they say the hors d'ouvres were worth it. hey jude law lookalikes, polish up your linkedin profiles because sib and i will be doing some matchmaking...

    friday we have errands to run, but there's a cool event going on at the slovenian culture hall (hey neighbors!) that we're hoping to attend. there is a vinyl vibes party featuring ex yugoslavian rock music of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. how many of our diaspora acquaintances will be in attendance? i fear it may be a low number. the usa may have advantages and financial freedoms better than our lovely homeland, but the mentality is disappointingly archaic, and our own cultural events reduced to folk tamburitza, and church festivities, and occasional parties for NYE and the soccer tournaments that, in theory sound great but in reality end up with a sense of disappointment. 

    saturday night we're excited to finally see that drag show and i am praying for no cancellations. my outfit is set and i need to execute it. it's the perfect place for this perfect outfit. 

    sunday i may have lunch plans with some ex and current coworkers as we try and meet up every quarter for some good food and a chance to share what's new in our lives. usually we do mexican but this time we chose an italian restaurant. 

that's all for now, buona notte♕