Maxwell Street Days

[Remember this beaut?]

ATTENTION, all shoppers, cheapos, and people who get strange highs off of scoring things on sale (better than hard drugs, I suppose)! If you are going to be in the Madison area this weekend or if you're just looking for something to do to (and willing to take a roadtrip in the name of fashion), I highly recommend checking out State Street's Maxwell Street Days. Urban Outfitters is only one of the many stores on the capital's prominent street that is featuring unbelievable deals. An example of what kind of deals? I just snatched up the above dress for a cool $20. And it used to be $129. Oh yeah, and I managed to get a blouse, sweater, and 2 tees, each for only five bucks. Needless to say, you won't see Urban knock their prices down so low anywhere else. 

So come experience the City of Beer and Cheese this weekend. Then again, if you are one of those who suffers (or benefits?) from sale-induced intoxication, you may be able to skip out on the beer altogether.

Details here!  

xo Heidi 

A Madison Summer

[A sunset over Lake Mendota at Memorial Union Terrace]

Summers in Madison, Wisconsin, are nothing if not serene. While the nightlife remains somewhat bustling, it doesn't nearly compare to that of the school year. With most students back home for the season, the campus slows down, and focus shifts from meetings and parties to the littler things, the details easily overlooked during the rest of the year. The clean urbanity of Capitol Square, the strange social order of the ducks on the lake, and the enticing smell of food trucks outside the bookstore serve as the icing on the cake of Monday night movies on the terrace and weekly trips to happy hour. Although I have no idea where in the world (literally and figuratively) I will be in a couple years, I'm certain that my laid-back summer in Madison will be cherished no matter what continent I'm on--even if I find myself dwelling in a Parisian apartment. Hey, I can dream.

[Night stroll near the Capitol]

[First cosmo ever at Paisan's happy hour]

[A duck drying off on a hot afternoon]

[The (in)famous Union pitcher]

xo Heidi

Summer List

[My own Summer Goal #21: Invest in a retro high-waisted bikini a la Grace Kelly.]

On a bus ride from Madison to Chicago last weekend, one of my best friends Brian and I passed some of the time by putting together a list of things we want to do this summer. For the first time, we'll both be living in Madison during summer break (and in the same building!) along with some of our other friends. So to put it lightly, we're pretty pumped for the coming months. This summer also marks my first one being 21 as well as the last one before graduation for most of my friends. In other words, it might be my final chance to, with all my friends around, spend the hot days laying out at the Union and cooler evenings wandering State Street. Bittersweetness aside, here are several items from our list we can't skip out on:

1. Get drinks at both student Unions (and probably on a regular basis)

2. Go to Madison's zoo (it has red pandas!)

3. Take a road trip to Tennessee (our friend Jess lives there now, and we're looking forward to seeing her, whitewater rafting, and hitting up Southern bars)

4. Have a barbecue

5. Traverse to Picnic Point (maybe for a picnic?)

6. Expose our friend Amanda to a "Parks and Recreation" marathon 

7. Have a bar crawl in our suburban hometown

8. Go to Chicago for Sox games, the Taste, and--what else?--bar-hopping

9. Karaoke at Karaoke Kid bar

10. Crash a wedding

11. Force our friend Steph to visit Madison (she's a busy gal, so we're determined to make this happen!)

12. Go to Six Flags

13. Visit the farmer's market

14. Partake in some late-night Culver's runs

15. Have a classy party (by classy, we mean not wearing t-shirts)

16. Get Babcock ice cream

17. Take a second road trip to somewhere in the West (we're still working out the details of this one)

18. Tie-dye shirts

19. Check out Summerfest

20. Go horseback riding 

Image via

xo Heidi

[PRESS PLAY: "Heaven's In New York" by Wyclef Jean. Available on iTunes.]