Rust.

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Okay, everyone, hold onto your hats. Guess what I have here? An outfit post.

Yes, I can't contain my excitement. I miss awkwardly posing in public with passerbys giving me the look of "why is that top-heavy girl posing like that?" It's really not that fun posing alone in my apartment against a plain white wall, and today I was lucky enough to get out with some friends who were agreeable enough to give me a hand.



Meet Lauren. She's a cool broad from Arizona who is in town for a couple of days. We follow each other on Instagram and since I had today off work, we met up in Wicker Park for some ice coffees and chit chats. She's a freelance pattern maker, which is totally awesome. What am I doing with my toes here? I don't know. It hit 65° today — which was an amazing change from the snow we had yesterday. I swear that this has to be the strangest Chicago winter ever. I'm ready for spring and bike rides! (Follow her on Instagram at @laurenologie)


And this is my pal Josh. Josh and I met about six or seven years ago through a music sharing network — we both were straight edge and listened to hardcore. After years of being Facebook friends and Twitter followers, we finally met in person when I moved here in the fall. He's pretty awesome and you can thank him for these delightful photos of myself and Lauren. (He's on Instagram as @themightyear if you want to check him out).



I met up with Lauren at a little espresso bar that I haven't check out yet — Cipollina. It had a nice atmosphere that was reminiscent of Jeni's Ice Cream in Columbus (but without the yucky attitude). Since it was so warm, I went with an iced Americano. Good call.



We hit up some little shops — including Lenny & Me and the Urban Outfitters on Milwaukee. As dorky as it is for me to stroll into UO when I'm normally there five days a week, I really wanted to check out the spring window set. Since I work at the outlet, we don't get to do all of the fun things that the regular stores do, and this crazy dyed-ribbon-and-fencing splash of color it too awesome not to want to examine up close.


And as we left Urban and walked up the street, Josh ran into someone he knew who was walking a couple of cute doggies. This is a short-legged pitbull. He was a total sweetheart and the young lady informed me that she is currently fostering him — so if you're looking for an adorable and lovable dog, look no further. She mentioned that he has some ear complications from where they clipped his ears too short and is going in for some sort of surgery to correct them. At the moment he is deaf but they're unsure if it will remain that way after the surgery. If anyone is interested, I can point you in the right direction. He needs a loving home! And look at those cute little legs!


Oh, and would it be Chicago without wind-destroyed hair? Of course not. Bring it on, spring. Bring it on.

Striped button up, thrifted
Double-wrap belt, UO
Rust mid-length skirt, XXI
Woven flats, UO
Gold cuff, H&M
Braided suede bracelet, DIY
Brace ring, H&M
Men’s spike ring, Topman