Skinny Sangria Spritzer

Often in the summer I crave a refreshing cool cocktail that isn't too heavy and slightly sweet.  I love white sangria, but the rum or vodka that gets added is sometimes a bit too much.  Taking a simple white wine and adding a few ingredients makes it a little more fancy and the perfect light beverage to put a little spring in your step :)

:: Skinny Sangria Spritzer ::

2 bottles of white wine (I used Sav Blanc)

White Cranberry Juice (use the less sugar version)

Cran-Raspberry LaCroix

Dice a variety of fruit - I used nectarines, green apple, pear, and blueberries.  Let the fruit sit overnight in the wine in a large pitcher.  I prefer to add the other ingredients individually to the glass - pour 1/2 a glass of wine, and finish off with equal parts white cranberry juice and cran-raspberry sparkling La Croix.  Enjoy!

Great Gatsby

Happy Friday!  This weekend I'll be attending a Great Gatsby themed birthday party for one of my good girlfriends, and I've been drooling over the fashion images I've come across. Don't you wish you could just live in another era?  This may be mine.  I die for the feminine and loose fitting dresses, layered necklaces, and over-the-top headpieces.  Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!

Great Gatsby themed Outfit by newgirloldtown 

Rock dress, $148
Bourne leather high heels, $144
ALDO metallic handbag, $35
Forever 21 chain jewelry, $16
Kate spade earrings, $78
Forever 21 long chain necklace, $13
Tasha hair accessory, $78

Ultimate Style Inspiration

Photo courtesy of Glamour

I have a slight obsession with all things Lauren Conrad.  I even own a "Team LC" t-shirt that I used to rock back in college in tribute to her Laguna days....true story.  Since, she has built a style empire that I continue to lust and pine after.  If you haven't checked out her website (http://www.laurenconrad.com/), it is chocked full of great ideas for the modern day gal looking to add some style to her life.  Her beauty site, The Beauty Department, is a daily read for me, and I've found some of the best tips and tricks that every aspiring beauty maven needs to know from creating your own at home products, trendy manicures, to styling the perfect "fun bun".  So take a sec and add that one to your favorites, and I'll go watch more re-runs of The Hills ;)

Tough Mudder: What I learned...

This past Saturday I participated in Tough Mudder (as mentioned here).  To sum it up:  It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life, but I'm so glad I did it.

After a 4:30am wake-up and a 3 hour drive later, we arrived in "middle of nowhere" Indiana at an off-road park that looked like a combination of sand dunes, swamp, and forest.  The first waves of Mudders had already started, and although we weren't scheduled to go yet, we decided to jump over the 8 foot wall into the next wave of participants and get underway.  As we began the run, the heat was already a staggering 95 degrees and the sun was beating down, which is really what took the race from being hard, to ridiculously difficult.  The first obstacle was jumping into a pool of ice water and having to dunk underneath, swim across, and pull yourself up the other side.  While it sounds refreshing in such heat, it literally felt like my body was in shock afterwards from going through the 2 extremes of temperatures.  The entire course itself was brutal - the ground was very rarely flat, and it was basically running 12 miles on sand, gravel, and constantly climbing uphill and downhill as we made it through the 20 obstacles in around 5 hours (I did have to skip some of out physical pain, and/or fear...).  Here's a few highlights:

- Slip n' Slide:  This one looked like a ton of fun until we approached it and realized it was covered in gravel from everyone already going down.  Yup, it hurt.  Really bad.

- Berlin Walls:  This one was fairly easy since my burly man teammates hoisted me up and over the 12 ft walls with what seemed like little effort.  They rock.

- Walk the Plank:  I'm afraid of heights.  It took some convincing and hand holding to jump off the 20 ft high platform into the water below.  Swimming out of it was almost impossible since it was at mile 6 and I was already exhausted, so thank goodness the bf was there to cling onto and pull me out of the water (sorry about almost drowning you haha... but seriously).

- Twinkle Toes:  Being a dancer, I was all talk about how "I got this one, I've got mad balance!".  Yea right. Barely halfway down the 4 inch wide wooden balance beam it started wobbling uncontrollably, and I ate it into the water below.

- Monkey Bars:  This is the one I thought there was no way I'd get across.  My hands were wet and muddy, the bars were greased, and they went uphill over a pit of water.  I got onto the first rung and thought for a moment I should just jump in the water and quit this one. Then I somehow managed to grab onto the second rung, and the next, and the next.  I saw guys dropping left and right next to me.  But somehow, I landed on the other side and that was the turning point - I did it.  Everyone knows the feeling of accomplishing something that they thought they couldn't.  It was a high I'll never forget.

- Electroshock Therapy:  Now before I will say I was terrified of this one.  The last obstacle to run through before the finish line where wires are dangling carrying upwards of 10,000 volts of electricity.  However, the confidence I got from the monkey bars helped me run straight through - sure, I got shocked and I felt pain  through my entire body - but I that meant I had finished!

Everyone has been told the phrase "you can do anything you put your mind to".  It wasn't until I finished Tough Mudder that I really can say I understand it.  Would I do it again?  Probably not.  But I really do feel empowered, and ready to take on challenges with a new found self esteem.  So if I could pass on any advice at this moment, it would be to step outside your comfort zone, put your mind to it, and just go for it.  You may surprise yourself.  

Image via Pinterest

Tough Mudder

It's official:  I have temporarily lost my mind.  I don't know if you've heard of Tough Mudder, but if you have and you know me, you would probably agree that my sanity isn't necessarily in check. For those of you who don't know about Tough Mudder, allow me to summarize:  A 12 mile course consisting of obstacles designed by British Special Forces that includes (but not limited to) an "Arctic Enema" (swimming through an ice bath), running through 4 foot flames, completing an uphill set of greased monkey bars, jumping off a 15 ft plank into freezing water, sprinting up a greased half pipe, scaling 12 ft walls, crawling in the mud and gravel under barbed wire, and oh yea, running through a field of wires that carry as much as 10,000 volts of electricity.  That's right, essentially succumbing oneself to electrocution.  I'm sorry, did I mention that in between all the obstacles it involves running 12 MILES???  Yep, I've gone cray cray.

Why you ask did I sign up for this?  A certain someone who will go unnamed (ahem... the bf) said "hey, you should do this with me and my friend."  I'll about doing fun activities and trying new things so I said "sure, why not."  That was before I actually really looked at the website and read about the extensive nature of the course.  I was expecting something akin to the Warrior Dash or Spartan Race, which in essence is the same concept, except Tough Mudder is 3 times as long and on steroids.  Now I would like to say I'm in decent shape.  I run, bike, do regular yoga, and like my occasional Shamrock Shuffles and 5k's.  Apparently that's all child's play when it comes to training for said event... especially when my training as of late has consisted of long walks to the nearest festival and a few extra downward facing dogs.  Yea, probably not gonna cut it.

That said, I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning and embark on the drive to northwest Indiana with my "teammates" and prepare to subject myself to 90 degree heat and 12 miles of mud.  Good thing that Tough Mudder's mantra is all about camaraderie - helping out your fellow Mudders and not racing, but simply accomplishing the feat.  So, I hope to "accomplish" as much as I can and I will admit, I'm secretly pumped and ready to tackle the challenge.  This coming from a girl who gets spray tans and wears eyelashes on a regular basis...Sigh, I digress.  Expect a full report of the happenings next week.  Happy Mudding! 

All images via ToughMudder.com

Birchbox love

Have you heard of Birchbox?  If you are a self proclaimed beauty junkie or maybe wanting to switch up your routine with some new products, you MUST check it out.  For only $10 a month, you receive a lovely little box delivered to your mailbox filled with different samples of beauty and lifestyle products.  A genius marketing idea!  Moreover, I relish in the bit of excitement after a long day when I see it delivered on my doorstep.  You'll never know what you get that might surprise you and end up becoming your favorite new find that you rave to all your friends about.

I'm a sucker for anything wrapped with cute packaging

 A peak at this month's contents

Tomato Basil Crostini

In my opinion, a simple go-to flavorful appetizer is a must-have for any gal to have in her arsenal of recipes.  The other night I hosted our weekly girls get together, and this recipe was the first thing to make the menu.  With clean flavors and fresh ingredients, it makes the ideal summer appetizer that's both easy to throw together and the perfect compliment to a glass of chilled white wine {or 2}.

:: Tomato Basil Crostini ::

Tomatoes - slicing size

Fresh mozzarella

Basil leaves

French baguette

Garlic 

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Slice your baguette into 1/2" thick slices and lightly drizzle with olive oil on a baking sheet.  Throw into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes (enough to make it crusty, but not browned).  Peel a few fresh garlic cloves and slice in half.  Rub the garlic over each crostini {tip: slicing the garlic lengthwise makes it much easier to hold onto}.  Slice the mozzarella and halve, and do the same with the tomatoes.  Layer in the following order onto the garlic crostini:

- Mozzarella

- Salt and Pepper

- Drizzle of olive oil 

- One basil leaf

- Tomato

- more Salt & Pepper

- Another drizzle of olive oil

The seasoning is key, otherwise it won't have nearly as much flavor.  Bon appetit!

Cheers to the Weekend

Happy Friday!  The weekend is supposed to be beautiful, and I could not be more excited.  The Old Town Art Fair is one of my favorite Chicago festivals, and happens to be right in my backyard.  I expect to have a beverage in hand and stroll through the tree-laden streets soaking up the sun and sights.  In the meantime, here's a few of the things that have me inspired this week...

Wildflower ice cubes

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DIY Crayon art

This Etsy find will have a permanent place in my apartment

Summer in the city

'nuf said.

Striping on Up

A couple months ago, I moved into my very own big girl Chicago apartment in my little Old Town neighborhood.  I've lived in the area for a few years with a good friend, and I decided it was time to spread my wings and fly a staggering 2 blocks over to the new solo digs (what can I say, I love my 'hood).  As the neighborhood name suggests, my new place was far from new (I prefer to call it "vintage"), and I was eager to jump in and tackle a total rehaul to make my house a home.      

I painted every single gosh darn 12 foot wall in the place - not a small task I tell you!  However, my beloved office nook needed a little delineating.  A few hours of careful measuring and brush strokes later, and I accomplished a neutral accent corner that is the perfect compliment to the rest of the apartment.

Before

I used green Frog Tape and I swear by this stuff - so long old blue painters tape!

Ta-da!  I followed some great advice and learned the key to preventing paint from bleeding through the tape: dry brushing.  Use just a small amount of paint on your dry paint brush and cut in with a light coat just along the tapes edge.  I added in some pops of chartreuse (my fav color of the moment), and my nook is {almost} complete.  

New Day, New Blog

Welcome to New Girl Old Town!  I'm an avid follower of life and style blogs, and it has so much become a part of my daily routine that you could call it my virtual morning coffee clutch.  I've had the idea of starting a blog for quite some time, and well, what better time than the present?  


Little bits of inspiration, creative ideas, stories to share, local finds, and everything in between... that's what you'll find here.  Cheers to possibility, and many mornings together! 


XO, Krystal