To Ida Street We Go

Today is a momentous day. Magical Simplicity is growing up :) We're heading to a new space, with a new name, to celebrate a new stage & talk about the same things. I'm actually heading there now!

Ida Street is a real place. I moved there just after my 24th birthday. Do you remember? In my tiny studio apartment I started learning a lot. Like what the tool box is for. & that I actually love photography. & that personal style is everything, but that sweatpants are a girl's best friend. It was on Ida Street that I started growing up. & on Ida Street I started growing out of this space.

It's okay! Magical Simplicity is coming with me. I'm stuffing it (& all my old posts) into this beautiful leather tote. So, from now on... visit me HERE. Let's continue our adventure. Let's talk about the things that happen on Ida Street. Xoxo, a million times.  I'll see you all there.

Photography: Mintwood Photo Co.

MARIEMONT: DILLY. BISTRO, BAR & BOTTLE SHOP.

This post has moved! But you can still read it HERE!

THE [SUPERMAN] CAPE

Ah... I'm dreaming of warmer days! Seems like just last week it was sixty degrees & perfect cape weather... oh wait...  

Well. That was last week. This week Cincinnati is throwing negative temperatures our way. So you might want to bookmark this babe for warmer days. I predict they are only a little bit away. But maybe that's because I'm wearing a superman cape & that means anything I want to happen will happen. That's how it works, right?

I bought this cape in college, wayyy back in 2010. Then, I lost it in the trunk of my car for TWO YEARS. About a month ago, I found it again :D. Feels brand new! So what about you guys? I love that the cape trend has been going strong for four years - how do you wear yours? You can tell me in a second.. BRB while me & my superman cape try to conquer this polar vortex real fast.  

Cape: For Cynthia via TJMaxx (five years ago)(similar)
Sweatshirt: JCrew (two years ago)(similar)
Pants: Thrifted Gap (similar)
Hat: Target
Tote: Madewell Transport Tote
Shoes: Free People (four years ago)(similar)
Photography: Jacob Heath

CASUAL MONDAY + BLANKET SCARF

Get excited people!!! I was on a stay-cation last week & spent a lot of time transferring Magical Simplicity to it's new home & new name. I'll show you guys really, really soon. Meanwhile....

Can we comment on this Cincinnati weather?! What the heck! Last week it was under 20 degrees & up to 60 in just the span of 48 hours. So, rather than bundling my blanket scarf under my huge eskimo coat, it finally got to take the spotlight. 

This is the most comfortable scarf in the entire world. I got it at a winter sale last year at Curate Boutique & never looked back. It doubles as a blanket when I'm traveling for work (airplanes get really unexpectedly cold, don't you think?) & a perfect cozy accessory when just running out for errands. 

Did you guys hop on the blanket scarf trend? How do you wear yours? I've seen some pretty neat ways lately.. I especially love this cape-look by twosixandcounting. Maybe I'll try that someday too :) P.S. We took these photos on Ida Street --- you might be hearing that name around these parts a little more soon ;)

Blanket Scarf: LOOK wool blanket scarf via Curate Boutique (last year) (similar)
Shirt: Merona Chambray Light Wash via Target (last year) (similar)
Pants: Skinny Ankle Jean light wash via JCrew Factory (last year) (similar)
Purse: Woven Faux Leather from SF (similar)
Sunnies: Street Vendor in NYC (similar)
Photography: Jacob Heath 

ANNIE'S SIX FAVORITE POSTS OF 2014

Wow. I'm heading to the Dollar Store to look for glasses that say 2015. What on earth?! (& side note: don't you miss the days of the two double zero thousands? They made for such great glasses!) But before we all dawn our sparkles & cheers our way into the New Year, I wanted to share my top six favorite posts out of the almost 100(!) that made 2014.

In Fashion...

1.) The Rolling Stones Tee: I got more & more comfortable with every fashion post posted in 2014. From the first one way back in May (here) to the Rolling Stones Tee just last week, each one was more & more fun. This was one of my most recents, & a particular favorite :)

2.) The Beanie! One thing I love about blogging is that it challenges me to try new trends. The beanie/pom hat was one of those. I just love the way it looks! & this post also got featured on Midwest Dressed, another reason it makes my favorites list.

In Cincinnati...
Now, I truly, truly loved every single place I visited in Cincinnati this year. Every small business & Cincinnati original. You can read about each & every one of them HERE. But, for the sake of keeping my list....

3.) [Greater] Cincinnati's Carabello Coffee & their coffee for a cause is just such a Cincinnati gem. I can't wait to see how they grow & prosper in the new year!

In collaboration...

4.) Styling with Cincinnati's Curate Boutique: The cutest little boutique asked me to collaborate in 2014. I modeled some of Curate Boutique's winter line for the Holiday Look Book & had a blast running around town with a professional photographer & these stunning clothes!

In life...

5.) The Importance of Treating Yourself: I love this post for two reasons: the sentiment, of course. It is very important to treat yourself & acknowledge your own accomplishments. (If you don't believe in yourself, who will, right?) The second reason I love it are these awesome pictures! This was the first time that Natalie & I played around with the settings on our new DSLR cameras & it was such a fun shoot :D

In DIY...

6.) Small Space Living: Building a Corner Coffee Bar. Last but not least, in DIY, the corner-coffee bar. Five months later, I still use this coffee bar every single day. It's the perfect place to set up for a morning of work & occasional people watching from the window.

& that is that! Thanks to each & every one of you for one truly amazing year. xoxo & stay tuned for 2015, we're kicking it off with a bang ;)

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION: IS EVERYONE HANGING OUT WITHOUT ME?

We loved Mindy. Loved her so much. Right before Christmas we got together to discuss our Holiday Book Club Selection, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? [And Other Concerns]. Once again we met for delicious food, divine drinks, & a little talk about a shared read. 

The consensus was clear: Mindy Kaling is hilarious. We laughed out loud even recounting what we had read. I did all my reading this time on a plane, traveling three times to Baltimore between Thanksgiving & Christmas. I would like to take this moment to apologize to everyone who sat next to me on those flights. I was that girl. The one who literally l-o-l-ed through the sky.

Though I loved many parts of this light & easy read (adjectives that Mindy herself ties to this book), what I find most lovely is how normal she makes me feel. Yes, of course we all work from our bed. Drama is fine. Fad dieting can be fun. Etc. My friend Teddy described Mindy as "the perfect combination of ditz and biting intelligence." You know what, I 100% agree. What did you guys think? What were your favorite parts? Do you think she will write another book? Let me know your thoughts in comments! 

& feel free to join us for our next winter book club. We will be reading Cheryl Strayed's Wild.

HOLIDAY CASUAL

I'm home, home, home for the Holidays!

No explanation needed! Wishing you the merriest Christmas there ever was. Love you guys to the moon & back. Enjoy every bit of this time you have with the ones you love. & I'll do the same! I'll talk to you later! xoxox

Sweater: J.Crew Factory

Jeans: J.Crew Factory 

Shoes: J.Crew Outlet (similar)

THE ROLLING STONES TEE

Do I love The Rolling Stones? I had to Wikipedia them to figure out who they really were. I mean, sure, everyone knows The Rolling Stones. But can you really roll off some Rolling Stones originals? If so major props. I music envy you. I, on the other hand, mostly love The Rolling Stones for this. awesome. tshirt.  

My dad gave me this tshirt a few years ago. It is the softest, most perfect, most excellent shirt in the land. So soft, perfect & excellent, in fact, that I usually wear it to bed. But I packed a little light over Christmas & here we are! The Rolling Stones Tee makes its daylight debut!

It's kind of like, my original graphic tee :D What do you think? Can I pretend to be a groupie? I really like the look (& the comfort level) so I think I'm going to no matter what. ;) xoxo

Shirt: Rolling Stones Tee (inherited) (similar)

Jacket: rag&bone via TjMaxx (similar)

Jeans: Jcrew Factory 

Boots: Anthropologie (three years ago) (similar)

Photography: Natalie Folchi of CincinNatalie

LATELY....

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we WISH you a Merry Christmas.. & a Happy New Year! Hi guys! I've been a little mia. I had my very last trip of 2014 last week in Baltimore Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. The rest of the week I celebrated Christmas with some of my nearest & dearest friends. Here's a little look into my world lately.. I wish you all a Holiday so lucky as mine. xo Annie

^^^ All those many, many times I say I am traveling - these are the goones I am with. We had our company Christmas party on Friday. It was so fun to kick it outside of the office with the people I spend so much time with.

^^^ I am THRILLED to announce 2015 will bring with it the marriage of one of my best friends. Morgan (center) & her college sweet heart Ben (not pictured) are tying the knot next fall. I'm in the wedding (yayyyyyyyyyyyy!) (first one!!) & this weekend we toasted to the happy couple. Random note: I can't even tell you how many of this exact same picture we have from our high school years. 

^^^ The great cookie bake of 2014! This is the first year my friend Kate (who recently  re-debuted on this blog as "my friend who was as obsessed with Gossip Girl as I am & ate rolos & drank cheap wine with me after our long, hard days of interning" (I jest. I realize now the internship was the perfect amount of long & hard. I was dramatic in my youth)) invited me to her family's cookie bake. Basically, there were like 400 cookies in her garage at the end & I brought a bunch of them home. Heaven. Random note: see that picture above? It's an upside down ginger bread man! Isn't that genius??

^^^ I ended the weekend at a blogger clothing swap (keep your eyes tuned for something extra great coming from this group in 2015). We each brought the clothes from our closet that were headed for the donation bin & thought we'd check with each other before we sent them to Good Will. It was so fun to try on clothes & new styles & I came home with a gold mine.

AH what a phenomenal week. Only to be followed by an even better one. Christmas is my favorite <3 Sending you all love. xoxo 

HOMEMADE ICE CREAM SANDWICH.... the first try

What are my two favorite desserts, you ask? Cookies & ice cream. How could you make my life even better? BY COMBINING THEM. That's how I started my quest for the perfect homemade ice cream sandwich. I happen to already know the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe (remember it HERE?). So I thought, "Um, omg. Easy." Disclaimer: it only half worked. Here's what I did:

Seems simple: stuff two oversized cookies with one scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Freeze. & you've got yourself a delicious homemade ice cream sandwich. Right? Kinda........

You've got an ice cream sandwich with cookies so hard you can't bite into it. THE WORST! I eagerly chomped into this treasure yesterday & was left with.. nothing! Not even a bite! Now, I'm biased, but I believe these would have been perfect if I ate them right away without freezing. However, four cookies worth of cookie dough later, I thought I'd be good (smirk emoji) & save this mega treat for later.

So back to the drawing board I go. In my google search bar today: "How to keep frozen cookies soft." Ideas & tips welcome!

STYLING WITH CINCINNATI'S CURATE BOUTIQUE

Oh my gosh you guys. Fun. That's what it was to hang out with Courtney PeGan owner/founder of Cincinnati's Curate Boutique [map]. I mentioned to you guys a bit ago that I had the fabulous opportunity to model some of her outfits for the Holiday Lookbook. (See it here!) 

Behind the scenes, Courtney pulled three fantastic outfits for me. Then the talented Corey Stevens Photography traipsed around Cincinnati with us to get seriously festive. I had one casual outfit & two fantastically fancy ones, ALL of which I loved. In fact, the outfit above inspired me to start wearing beanies & pom hats as much as possible (remember this one?). Since this photo I've actually purchased that very pair of pants. Spoiler alert: they make every outfit amazing.

I literally had so much fun with Curate. & if you haven't stopped in recently (or ever)(gasp!) it's about time you did. & it's conveniently the perfect season for it. (Christmas presents!!!!!!!!)

What do you think guys? Which is your favorite of these styles? This green dress is just lace - all the way down the back. Gorgeous. But... I think I'm still partial to the sparkly number in the middle. xoxo & thank you for reading! 

Outfit 1 | Pants: Liverpool Madonna Skinny Coated Jegging via Curate Boutique

Sweatshirt: JOA Embellished Collar Sweatshirt via Curate Boutique

Beanie: In Stores only (Curate Boutique) 

Outfit 2 | Dress: Chaudry Beaded Cocktail Dress via Curate Boutique 

Outfit 3 | Dress: Line & Dot Moore Keyhole Lace Dress via Curate Boutique

Photography: Corey Stevens Photography

MAKE A ROARING TWENTIES OUTFIT.. FROM CLOTHES YOU ALREADY HAVE

One thing I've recently realized is that Roaring Twenties Attire & Holiday Attire are impressively similar. Sparkles! Make up! Fur! More sparkles! It made it very easy for me when it came time to find a Roaring Twenties outfit for the Cincinnati Opera's 95 Anniversary Gala Ball. (At which I was a volunteer.) (& at which there was a candy bar.) (For which I bought $400 of candy....... um yes.)

Anyway, here is a rundown of the Holiday staples you already have that will make for a great Flapper outfit.

1. Your very average pencil skirt. If you don't have one in your closet, chances are you need one. Here's a good one from H&M. This is the perfect fit & style for flappers who did show off their legs, but did not show off too much.
2. The sparkle shirt. You really must have this! They were all the rage about two years ago -- & are coming back in force this Holiday season! Don't have one? Mine is very similar to THIS. Plus, isn't the very first thing you think of when someone says "Roaring Twenties" sparkle???
3. The shiny shoe. Surely you've picked up something like THIS during a Christmas past! This is actually not accurately flapper attire - but it matches our Great Gatsby inspired re-invention.
4. The crowning piece of your Roaring Twenties outfit: the sparkle headband. Again, think of Christmas past .. didn't you pick one of THESE up back then? No? Head over to Forever 21 now! For Flapper life, you'll want to wear this across your forehead rather than in your hair. (It's totally way more fun!)
5. & the Faux Fur Vest. Umm YES. Nothing screams warmth & comfort more than THIS. & in my research I found many a Gatsby pic in fur :)

I can't even remember  how many times that night I told my fellow volunteers (& new friends!) that I wanted to wear "Gatsby clothes" for the rest of my life. It's the perfect style - stylish but not too revealing. Flirty, but not showing too much skin. Basically, it's just fantastic. & best deal? Every piece of this ensemble is multi-outfit worthy!

^^^^^^^^^ Sorry for my pixels, but here's an insta-selfie.

^^^ Me & my volunteer friends. We all used to intern for the Opera. We are also all amazing. Also: that back drop.

Other tips for being a flapper (that also can be used as great advice for Holiday parties):

- Cat Eyes

- Lots of jewelry; preferably pearls

- A pretend bob to your hair (easy to do!)

- Excellent dance moves