Baby Shower Brainstorming

I've been to a few baby showers, including one that I planned, but I'm doing another one in January for a cousin of mine. They don't want to find out the sex of the baby (much to my dismay, of course, makes planning way more fun!) so I'm going with a gender neutral theme.

Does anyone have any really cute ideas for games or anything? My guess is that there will be somewhere between 30-40 people at the shower, so I'm particularly looking for any games that are more suitable for a bigger crowd! If you have any fun ideas, I'd love to hear them!

I also just put a new recipe up for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars on Wonderland Kitchen! I got the idea from Red Vines for Breakfast (One of my favorite blogs, especially when recipes are involved!) and I have already made it twice in a week and a half. SO GOOD.

I Saw Her Standing There

This title is in dedication to the many CHRISTMAS songs they play at work that have various Beatles songs as background music. I get so excited every time they come on and then realize that instead of I Saw Her Standing There or Got to Get You Into My Life it's Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer or Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Mind you, these are not awful songs, they just aren't the Beatles.

To be completely honest, I don't think I've worn a "real outfit" in days now. My wardrobe has mostly consisted of yoga pants, t-shirts, and work clothes. They didn't end up needing me for my call in today so I think I'll probably just continue the trend and stay in bed in pajamas and watch movies all day, maybe move to the couch, and maybe try to get some of my online class done. Free days at their finest.

I did finally get my hair trimmed and layered up a little more, and FINALLY got something done about the color. The roots were getting atrocious but I couldn't decide whether I wanted to go darker or keep it the reddish color. What came out of it was "Raspberry Truffle," which is kind of dark but has a reddish hue in the light. I think it worked out ok.

Hope everyone else is having a good, productive, or relaxing weekend of some sort or another!

BLACK FRIDAY

Look familiar? Well, maybe not to you, but this is what my day revolved around. I was scheduled for a noon to 5pm shift and ended up staying another two hours, and let me tell you, I LOVED IT. Time always goes by SO much faster when you are busy, and I really just love interacting with people and talking to different people and co-workers all day.

Of course I didn't manage to get myself out of the store without spending some money, but I picked up a couple of things to give away as prizes at my cousin's baby shower as well as a Christmas present and yet another candle for myself. The candles were on sale again 2 for $20, which is way too good of a deal to pass up. If any of the deals above look enticing to any of you needing to do Christmas shopping, your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not Bath & Body will still have these sales going tomorrow, but I'm guessing they will! The VIP bags sold out today at our store, but they may still be available online/at other stores.

What did those of you in the U.S. do today? Shop? Work? Hang out at home doing your best to avoid all the crazy traffic and crowds? I've done a little bit of it all!

Friends' Thanksgiving

I have so much I would like to post, but I keep forgetting about posts I intended to do or getting to things too late, and I ended up getting a TON of call in hours this weekend in addition to another shift tomorrow so I have been kind of all over the place as far as getting things up goes.

Every year we do a "Friends' Thanksgiving" before we go home for break, and it is usually just an awesome excuse to make delicious food and drink a couple bottles of wine. Here are a few pictures from this year's dinner.

Lauryn: "I LOVE THE SIZE OF YOUR WINE GLASSES!"

(Lauryn's Pumpkin Roll)

I will have a recipe up for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bars soon (Another awesome one from Red Vines for Breakfast) but right now you can find the Bourbon Fried Apples recipe over at Wonderland Kitchen.

Take Me Out!

(Franz Ferdinand making its way through my head) This weekend I went out with some friends to Nick's and The Upstairs Pub for the first time in weeks. I went out with the intention to not get too crazy, but we still had a ton of fun. I took a couple of better outfit pictures, but the lighting was kind of weird and they didn't turn out so well, but hopefully you get the point. I am in love with these Charlotte Russe boots!!!

(I swear I'm not on drugs! My eyes are so red thanks to being in a rush putting on mascara and in turn stabbing myself in the eye. It's beyond me why I haven't realized that "rushing" is never a time saver in the end when it comes to mascara application.)

Outfit
Dress, Side bag: Target
Necklace, Belt: Forever 21
Boots: Charlotte Russe
Leggings, Sweater: Old Navy

Now I just can't wait for my roommate Kelly to be 21 so she can go out with us too! Only 4 more months and life will be complete!

My Camera's Gone Crazy

I have NO idea what exactly was going on with my camera the day of these pictures. I thought I would try to get some outside outfit shots in between classes and that the natural light would make them turn out really well, but instead what I got was my camera having some kind of psychotic blurry/overexposed episode. I think it is definitely going to be time to upgrade soon, though I am trying to hold out until my birthday in April.

Outfit
Leggings, Dress, Belt: Old Navy
Boots: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Forever 21
Sweater: American Eagle

My really awkward poses are attributed to the FREEZING COLD WIND and my previously mentioned inability to dress weather appropriately. More proof that it is also time for this girl to break out the gloves and coats!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

...And yet I'm wearing dresses without leggings. Here's the deal, I think I've discussed this before: I'm not so good at dressing weather appropriately. In addition to the fact that the cold doesn't bother me too much until it gets REALLY cold, sometimes I just feel like wearing something and don't really care what the temperature is. So that's why you can see me wearing leggings in the summer and going completely bare legged in the "winter", like I did in this outfit.

Outfit
Dress, Leggings, Sweater: Old Navy
Boots: Uggs
Hair flower: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: For Love 21 (I think...)

I think it has finally gotten to the point though that I will actually start relying on coats instead of just sweaters to keep me warm. I'm not trying to catch pneumonia anytime soon!

Bonjour Jeune Fille

These pictures are actually from Sunday night. I had a work meeting from 7-9 (As did Kelly and Lauryn, it was really a big mall party I guess. Hello Holiday Season!) and then we went to see THE BLOW! Love love love love love her, if you haven't heard of her, see bottom of post.

Outfit

Dress, Belt: Forever 21
Side bag: Target
Sweater, Leggings, Scarf: Old Navy
Boots: Ugg
Really Curly Hair compliments of the mousse Kelly bought the wrong strength of and gave to me.

Grade A photography right there! Oh well. The show was amazing, and also completely hilarious. She's really funny live, and if you ever get a chance to see The Blow, I think you should take it.

FREE TIGHTS!

Who doesn't love free stuff? I'm pretty sure it's not just me, so I wanted to pass this giveaway along to you guys. Here's a chance to win a free pair of tights from We Love Colors! Head on over to check out the giveaway at Big Beautyful Mess.

Shoe Fever

Sun lights up the day time,

Moon lights up the night.
I light up when you call my name
and you know I'm gonna treat you right,
You give me fever!

I went to title this post, and now I have Peggy Lee stuck in my head. But Shoe Fever more or less accurately describes the frenzy I get myself into around this time every year when making up Christmas lists. Ok, who am I kidding... I get into this frenzy a couple of times a year, and I'm surprised I managed to hold off for this long.

I was on the Charlotte Russe website yesterday looking at shoes because my roommate who works there keeps coming home with the cutest boots, and then my mom's friend came over to drop off an "early" graduation card (and $$). Call me crazy but that sounded like an obvious cue to head on in and pick up these boots I had been oogling on the site. (Actually, they didn't have the specific ones I was looking at, but I like these better!)


The best part is that they are actually practical enough to wear around for all sorts of occasions, including just for daily outfits! I especially love the little ribbed sweater poking out of the top. Of course I couldn't stop there and had to check out the WHOLE shoe collection... plenty of cute ones! Here are some of my favorites. (Click the picture for a link with more information!)







That last pair just puts me in the mood for all sorts of holiday parties! Have you guys started making any holiday wish lists? Did any shoes make the cut?

Don't You Love Her as She's Walkin' Out the Door?

This outfit was for what I guess you could say was a cross between a date and a bar hop with a friend who was in town from Texas. But then again, as far as I'm concerned that's one of the best first dates a girl could ask for: awkwardness really disappears when alcohol is involved. (Ok, at least until you get too much alcohol, at which point awkwardness is probably multiplied.)

For your viewing and entertainment pleasure I have included a cardboard replica of our former President in my photo shoot. I got this on what I think was my 16th birthday from a boyfriend, I think as a joke. He clearly did not come with any cardboard Secret Service members because before the party was over he was covered in little bb gun bullet holes. Poor guy.

Outfit
Dress: Forever 21
Leggings, Scarf, Vest: Old Navy
Boots, Bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Ring: Target

Should Have Been a Cowgirl.

It was one of those days... I know you all know what I'm talking about: You have some errands you need to run or things you need to do that require not just sitting around the house in your pajamas, but you don't want to get FULLY ready for the day just yet. This was the kind of day it was last Friday when I needed to get some things done, but didn't really want to put too much effort into getting ready because I wasn't planning on showering until later in the day.

Cue the "jeggings." And I don't know if you could even call them that because they're not just the super stretchy jeans, but literally just leggings that look like jeans. Oh well, I don't care, they were SO comfortable but still a little bit more structured than other leggings. This shirt has become my new go to "lazy" but "a little put together" shirt... doesn't that always happen with anything oversized and comfortable? The cowboy boots are also just my go to for damn near anything, so alas we have my unintentional cowgirl look. It has to be some cosmic joke that the only thing I ended up buying while we were out was a red bandanna from Hobby Lobby for Saturday's tailgate. Classy!

Outfit
Shirt (dress? Like two sizes too big) and "jeggings": Old Navy
Boots: R.C.C. Western

And I just want to make it clear that this shirt DID completely cover my rear end. I'm not a big fan of the "leggings as pants" movement (Not to be confused with the "leggings with a long shirt" movement. I'm referencing the ladies on my campus who think it's cute to wear leggings AS their pants with only a short t-shirt to go along with them), unless I'm laying around the house and it's laundry day... all bets are off for that one.

Outfit Post: A Cooler Fall Remix

Taking a warm weather outfit and transitioning it into fall can be as easy as throwing on leggings and a cardigan. This is a great way to take summery dresses and keep them in good use well into the fall! This dress is one of my favorites... I'm truly surprised it hasn't fallen apart yet, particularly because it was only somewhere around $20 when I bought it at Target.

Warmer Fall Weather Version:


Remixed:

Outfit
Dress, Belt, Ring: Target
Necklace, First Outfit: For Love 21
Leggings, Cardigan, Vest in First Outfit: Old Navy
Boots: Uggs (First outfit), R.C.C. Western (Second Outfit)

Do you guys have any favorite items that you have found a way to incorporate into cool weather outfits?

In other news, I'm convinced I have some weird version of 20-something onset Alzheimer's. My forgetfulness has really taken itself to a whole new level lately. That or my blatant lack of observation of what I'm doing during the day. Earlier I was wondering why my cousin had never responded to a text I sent her only to realize I never actually sent it. Oops? This has come up with a few blogs as well, who I was completely convinced I was following until I saw them comment here, popped over to their blogs, and realized their posts weren't showing up on my post updates. I'm really way too out of it sometimes... at least I got several of those blogs added to my blog roll, FINALLY. (Specifically talking to you, Jennifer and Anika! Haha)

The End of an Era

It's official: I have completed my last tailgate as a college student. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come, especially with my little brother expecting to come to IU, but I have a feeling they just won't be quite the same. (But then again, my dad probably thought that too, and he clearly still keeps right up with the best of us!)

So without further adieu, I give you a picture summary of the ridiculousness that was Saturday:

(Completely normal to start drinking at the bar at 7am before it is even light out, right? That's how we do it at Kilroy's Breakfast Club! Maybe the only upside to noon games.)

(Kelly, the roommate!)

(Dad and some of his IU girls!)

(Storm Trooper time!)

("Adam, why do you have that weird look on your face?" "It's not a weird look, it's called sobriety")

(Free shirt from Kilroy's Breakfast Club. Getting up at 7am to go to a bar has its perks!)

(Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, anyone? Aka, me and my dad.)

(We'll call this: Why you don't pass out at an IU tailgate. Demonstrated by Steven. Thank goodness we thought to buy those 50 cent mustaches and beards from the machine at Kroger.)

(Tobasco wake up call!)

(Enticing him to take pictures while he still is completely unaware that he has a Hitler mustache)

(Steven: "HEY! MICHELE! What's your problem!?")

(Recipe Bonus: Dark Chocolate Ganache Topped Brownies that I made for the game!)