Friday Finds || Vol. 3, Week 29

Chicago blogger Jessica Sturdy of Bows & Sequins in front of the pink flamingo wall in River North wearing a preppy green dress with a cute collar and ruffle hem.

Ahhh Friday Finds is back! Truthfully, I never meant for it to take a little hiatus, but if you’ve been following along everywhere else, you already know the last few weeks were an absolute clusterf*ck.

My lease was up at the end of June and I had decided to switch it up and move. (Lots more on that to come! There are definitely days that I regret it.) One of the tricky parts was that I was a bridesmaid in one of my best friends’ weddings the day that my lease was up, so I knew I would have to be able to move a few days early to account for the rehearsal dinner, staying in the suburbs that weekend, etc.

Thankfully, I have a flexible job (😉) and could coordinate with my new place to get the keys a few days ahead of my lease start. I don’t do well living in chaos, and since I had a friend visiting the weekend before my lease was up, it was perfect timing — I would knock out my move in one fell swoop during the week. My Redi-Boxes got delivered on Tuesday, June 25th, I packed all day the 25th & 26th, and was ready for my movers to move me on Thursday, June 27th. Easy peasy! Nothing had ever been so breezy, so naturally, I should have know chaos was about to ensue.

My movers cancelled on me on that Thursday, then arrived over an hour late the next Friday morning (even though they assured me I was the first move and there wasn’t a chance they could be late), the move itself took double the amount of time they thought it would (that’s double the price for those of you keeping track at home), I barely had time to get my nails done for the wedding, got checked into my hotel two minutes after I was supposed to be in the lobby for the rehearsal, went to the rehearsal dinner with wet hair, etc. That Friday was easily one of the more stressful days I’ve ever had! Somehow coordinating a cross-country move (twice) was easier than moving neighborhoods in Chicago.

I was able to set all that stress aside to enjoy my best friends’ wedding weekend though, and it truly was such a magical few days. From the rehearsal dinner, to the tear jerker of a wedding, to the insanely gorgeous reception, to not leaving the dance floor for a single song, to the epic pool party the next day… It really was the best weekend ever!

That following Monday hit me like a ton of bricks, though. Well, actually maybe Tuesday. Monday I was running on adrenaline and basically unpacked my entire place in a single day. I couldn’t sleep at all those first few nights so I was running on EMPTY. I was absolutely exhausted and with so many big life changes happening at once and constantly going from fire to fire to put out, there was one day where I just sat in the shower and cried that first week.

Thankfully work was slow that week with the Fourth of July, and thankfully I had plans to keep me busy and keep my mind from swirling into the “What have I done??” headspace. But I will say, after two weeks of chaos and an overall very stressful month of June, I had never been more ready to sit down at my desk on that next Monday morning, July 8th. I was feeling a bit more life myself that week, but naturally, that week coincided with the annual Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, and I was just so exhausted that I couldn’t bring myself to go above and beyond this year. Well, it was a mixture of not having the mental capacity to take it on, mixed with an overall feeling of not wanting to force shopping down your throats.

But anyway, with working on Nordstrom sale coverage last weekend, it was yet another Friday Finds that got skipped over. But I’m back, baby! These posts are always my favorites to put together every week and I’ve got a very long list of finds to share from the last few weeks.

As for me, I’m getting there. Simply put, change f*cks me up. As hard as I try to do ‘all the right things,’ I just really do not handle change well. I have good days and bad days, and I have to keep reminding myself that it’s only been about two weeks and this rather large life adjustment is going to take some time. (Patience, or my lack thereof, is another one of my downfalls, haha.) But again, I’m going to do a whole different post about moving sometime here soon.

Happy Weekend, my friends. We made it! (And if you’re still reading, congrats, you made it to the end of my rambling.)

xoxo jrs

Here are this week’s finds…

I can’t get enough of the new dress I got this week! (Pictured above.) The preppy collar and flirty hemline are so fun.

I’m obsessed with this leopard print straw tote. So unique and different! And the colors are so good.

MY FRIEND FROM REMOTE YEAR JUST PUBLISHED A BOOK!! (Hi Ray!) It’s called Golden Boy and it’s a psychological thriller, I’ve heard it’s similar to a Gone Girl or something of the sort. You can find it on Amazon!

If you’re one of my fellow single ladies, please read this.

Looooving this new Vineyard Vines dress! So, so good.

How fun are these raffia sandals? They come in a really cute pink gingham, too.

This dark brown straw hat is en route to me. Love the unexpected color!

I’m going to need this pearl headband! So chic. (And it’s 20-30% off right now, too!)

If you need a cute pair of cheap slides for the beach and pool, these are $13 and the scalloped detail is adorbs. Love the white and the coral the most!

Going to need these gingham pajamas on Amazon.

30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30

7 Things You Need to Know Before Freezing Your Eggs (Can you tell my 30th birthday is rapidly approaching?? 😂)

Why You Need Friends That Won’t Just Tell You What You Want to Hear

The 12 Most Instagrammable Places in Chicago

For my butterfly-loving gals, these earrings are so pretty.

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4 Comments

  1. 7.20.19
    vanessa said:

    Sorry to hear that things have been so stressful! As someone who also just moved homes and hates change and chaos, i HEAR you on all of this. Hope things mellow out a bit in the coming weeks!

    • 7.22.19
      Jessica said:

      Thanks, Vanessa! It’s helpful to hear you can relate. Hope the dust settles a bit for you, too! xo

  2. 7.28.19
    Shanna Howell said:

    Love that dress. What size are you wearing – fit true to size?

    • 8.12.19
      Jessica said:

      Wearing a 6… I’m usually a 4 and think it runs a bit small, so I’d size up if you’re in between!