shopping | AK Studio

Today I am so very honored to sharing a sneak peek of the much awaited…

Everyone is familiar with Mackenzie Horan, the talent behind the Design Darling blog, but what you might not know is her business background.

The girl has made some SERIOUS rounds with my dream jobs working for Rue Magazine and Jonathan Adler. Yup! I’d say this girl has had access to some of the most gorgeous homes in the country!

And now Mackenzie is preparing to open an e-boutique so we can all have access to her goodies. Everything will be in keeping with Mackenzie’s preppy, fun aesthetic we are accustomed to seeing on her blog. There will be a tightly edited assortment of colorful accessories and decor, including acrylic desk accessories, color-block clutches, throw pillows, and more

The site will be www.designdarling.com and will launch TOMORROW! But you can sign up for the mailing list here in the meantime.

Valentine’s Day is not one of those holidays where I have a picture of Spencer and I from every year, but we do like to go out to a special little dinner. When we first graduated from college and moved back to Chicago, we didn’t realize that Valentine’s Day was a seriously big deal at restaurants. So a week before, Spencer tried to make reservations at about every restaurant in the entire city and we couldn’t get in anywhere. We both had roommates so cooking at home wasn’t the most romantic option. I just figured we’d have to celebrate the day before or the day after, until my roommate offered up her sister’s reservation, she had decided to stay home and before cancelling offered it up to us.. Neither of us eat sushi, but we took the reservation. Needless to say I was a bit of a brat about celebrating at a restaurant where they served food we didn’t eat.

Well, we got there and were completely surprised. The atmosphere was great, and the non-sushi menu was incredible. Turned out to be one of our very favorite meals we’ve ever had. So in honor of that night, we have gone there for every Valentine’s Day since. Its a tradition that I look forward to every single February.

Although this restaurant isn’t the most fancy, I love dressing up for Valentine’s Day. It gives you a perfect excuse for a new dress and a pretty outfit. So this year, I’d like to be wearing this:

dress, watch, shoes, clutch, studs

The shoes are girly and soft, whereas the rose gold watch gives it some edge. Love the entire look! And so looking forward to our dinner.

Do you have any big Valentine’s plans? Or do you brush off the silly holiday?