Alex's Wonderland

Spring Time Floral

2012-02-07T18:35:00.004-05:00

I made a stop by Target today and am so glad I did a quick peek at the clothing section because I ended up coming home with FOUR of the dresses. Isn't it always when you least expect it that you end up finding something you really love?

I had to get multiples of this first dress (I also bought the second pattern shown) because I LOVED it. It was very similar to another dress I have from Target that I have absolutely worn out. The fit is really flattering, so I felt justified buying three of them. Not to mention the fabric patterns were all so different that they practically look like different dresses as it is.

I bought this one, but I'm still thinking about it. I love the overall fit and the feather pattern on the dress, but it definitely accentuates your back side because of the gathering and I'm not sure my butt needs any more accentuation. Haha. We'll see, but I'm guessing I'll end up keeping it.

These next two are dresses that I tried on but didn't end up getting. The first one was just a bit too tight in the chest and the second is probably better for those of you who don't have much of a butt. I did love the details on both of them though. The back of the first one is SO cute and it's more of a turquoise color in person.

I skimmed through the Jason Wu collection and there were definitely some cute items embracing the spring florals, but nothing really stuck out at the fit of dress I was looking for. Have you bought any of the Jason Wu or current Mossimo dresses? I'm looking forward to giving my daily wear a little dose of spring!

TOMS Ballet Flats

2012-02-02T12:58:00.004-05:00

At one point I practically lived in ballet flats, but I have found that it's hard to find a good pair that is totally comfortable without requiring much "breaking in". I was really excited to hear that TOMS would be rolling out a line of their own ballet flats! I have yet to own a pair of TOMS, mainly due to not being able to decide which pair I would want, and was curious to see what styles would be available for this new line.

The ballet flats, which were debuted this week, range from $74 to $84 and are available in 13 colors/patterns. I'm interested to hear feedback from anyone who has purchased a pair. With pricing so high for a pair of flats, I'm hesitant to even consider it without knowing the quality and comfort is worth it.

Has anyone already ordered a pair? Do you plan on doing so? I would certainly love to hear any feedback about them. I think for now I may try to narrow it down to a pair of the classics for Spring.

You can check out the new line of TOMS ballet flats for yourself here. Which style would you pick?

Love: Lana Del Rey "Born to Die"

2012-01-31T12:16:00.006-05:00

This album has been a MUCH ANTICIPATED release for me. Even more so with the fact that the few tracks available on Spotify mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago, leaving me with YouTube as the only source for any of her music.

Lana Del Rey first came onto my radar with a feature of the song Video Games in an episode of Gossip Girl, but a lot of people are now familiar with her due to her not-so-inspiring performance on Saturday Night Live. I certainly don't think it was TERRIBLE, but for anyone who already knew her music it was clear she was nervous and not performing as well as her other live performances available on YouTube. For those who didn't, many brushed her off and criticism spread like wild fire.

I don't know why everyone has such a strong opinion about her, be it positive or negative, but believe me when I say the album is ABSOLUTELY worth buying. Her vocals are hauntingly beautiful, and I'm quickly finding that each song is more addicting than the last. I have half of the new songs already saved as favorites just after a first listen on Spotify and am now on my way out the door to buy a physical copy. My only complaint might be that some of the songs I have come to love from her YouTube releases didn't make the album. This, however, is easily overcome by the new material.

You can pick the 12 track album up at Best Buy, currently on sale as a new release for $8.99 with a normal list price of $10.99. A deluxe 16 track version is available on iTunes for $11.99. If you're not ready to fully commit yet, check her out on Spotify by searching "Born to Die". I have a feeling that if you like it, you'll love it.

Steve Madden Spring Picks

2012-01-30T15:13:00.005-05:00

I don't let myself wander to the Steve Madden website often, but it has been a while so I decided to take a peak and see what was in the works for Spring. Here are a few that caught my eye:

CHIEEFF in Coral Suede
$89.95
The perfect simple & cute spring/summer wedge!

TASSAL in Cognac Leather
$69.95
One of my favorite colors in shoes because it goes with everything.

IROQUOIS in Cognac Leather
$179.95
These wild little things caught my eye pretty quickly... if only I had the money laying around!

RIOTTT in Pink Multi

$99.95
I love this eye catching color combination.

And of course the sale/clearance section:

My MADIEEs in Stone Leather!

ONLY $59.99
This shoe in the Cognac Leather has been a wardrobe staple of mine, and you can currently get them for nearly a THIRD of the original price in the Stone Leather. Jump on it!

TEXXIE in Cognac Leather
$64.95
Also on sale from an original $159.95, this was another one of my top picks back when I bought my pair of MADIEEs, with just a little extra detail on the side.

It might be safe to say that I want any shoe that's available in Cognac Leather- it's just such a great color that goes so well with black, patterns, or just about anything else you can mix up. Are you dying to have any of these or any other Steve Maddens this season? Or is there another pair of shoes out there making your mouth water?

If you just can't resist, use the code SMFREESHIP on any purchase over $75 to get free shipping from SteveMadden.com!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T16:39:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I wanted to pop in and say Merry (belated) Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend with family, friends, or whoever it may have been spent with.

I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend with family and was apparently a VERY good girl this year. I'd say the highlight as far as gifts were concerned is my NEW DUVET AND ALTERNATIVE DOWN COMFORTER! I listed both on my "wish list" but kind of just hoped for the duvet, and was actually shocked when I saw my parents had gotten both. It's definitely even harder to drag me out of bed in the mornings now.

My brother apparently ALSO loves my new bed spread and took a nice little nap on it Christmas Day. He then tried to convince me that I wanted to sleep on the couch that night so he could sleep in my bed. I don't think so!

We also went and saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo yesterday for our usual movie & Chinese Christmas tradition. I usually just go along to whatever movie is picked, and to be honest I had not read the book and had no clue what this was really about. It ended up being really good, although REALLY sexual. I guess if you did read the book you would know that but it was a little unexpected for me. I would definitely recommend it, though!

I hope you're all easing back into the daily routine or still enjoying time off!

Christmas Wish List

2011-11-17T16:56:00.008-05:00

You know you're getting old when any given wishlist consists mostly of things for the kitchen. I'm really trying to think ahead here and stock up on things I don't have for when I have another apartment. I'll sneak some DVDs and music on the list so I'm not totally lame. If only that Lana Del Rey album was already out...

It Might Get Loud on DVD
(Amazon)

Documentary about the electric guitar from the viewpoints of The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White

Immersion Blender
(Target)

Preferably with detachable end

Full Sized Coffee Maker with Custom Brew Strength
(Target)

4 Piece Glass Cylinder Canister Set
(Target)

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
(Amazon)

Florence & The Machine- Ceremonials
(Amazon)

Christy Fringe Moccasin Slippers
(Target)
Chestnut, Size 9

Melio Frosted & Mirror Finish 20 Piece Flatware Set
(Target)

Set of Plain Black or White Dishes

Bridesmaids
(Amazon)

Mossimo Kloe Wedge Booties
(Target)
Black, Size 9? I guess I'll need to wander in and try these on

Wamsutta Down Alternative Comforter
(Bed Bath & Beyond)
Full/Queen

Binx Faux Fur Duvet Cover Set
(Bed Bath & Beyond)

Black, Full/Queen
(This might be a bad idea... I don't know that I'll ever get out of bed. But I think now that I've seen it I am going to have to have it one way or another. I'm sorry, savings account.)

(Most pictures linked to specific website)

Wow, that was a terrible idea. Every time I make a Christmas List I always find so many things that I never thought of and end up falling in love with them. (Cough... duvet cover, you will be mine.) Looks like my savings account might be taking a pretty big hit post Christmas with all this home shopping!

I also feel the need to disclose that I ridiculously contemplated registering for a "wedding" to myself at Target just to get some organized list of everything I'll need for a new apartment. I thought that might be taking advantage of the system though. That wedding I went to last weekend had me so excited about EVERYTHING on their list... and also a little sad that someone already bought them the waffle maker. Isn't it just so much more fun to buy presents for people that you would also love getting? Now I'm in the mood to start making my lists for what to buy everyone else!

What's on your Christmas list this year?

Photo Booth Fun

2011-11-15T00:13:00.007-05:00

Saturday I went to my friend's brother's wedding, and much to my delight they had a photo booth at the reception. These are my FAVORITE and this was the first time I've been in one at an event like this. Even more fun was the little scrap book station they had set up next to the photo booth so you could make a page with one set of the picture print outs for a book the bride and groom got to keep.

I couldn't resist sharing these with you as soon as they were all posted on the photographer's Facebook page.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite picture of the bride and the groom:

Tulle Time

2011-11-11T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yes, you're welcome for that cheesy Home Improvement reference.

We have less than two weeks left in the Chicago apartment and are trying to make the most of it (though I'll be gone this weekend for a wedding), so last night we went to dinner at one of our favorites: Sullivan's Steakhouse. Long Island Martinis, Filet Trio, and White Cheddar Au Gratin Potatoes? Check, check, and check. Yum.

I love this dress because it's comfortable, cute, and so easy to accessorize with a million different things. I like to keep a little edge on the tulle so it doesn't look too frilly, and these boots did just that.

Oh! And you'll have to excuse me because it does have a little bit of product in it, but for the most part my hair is still pretty silky and shiny from the olive oil treatment the other day- even after a coloring! I'm thinking I might start doing these at least once or twice a week.

Now you'll have to excuse me, I'm off to pack for my second of three moves in less than 6 months. Let's cross our fingers that by the end of January I'll be settled in Denver and won't have to worry about moving for a while!

Olive Oil Hair Treatment

2011-11-09T13:22:00.003-05:00

Last night I found myself on some crazy kick looking up all sorts of homemade beauty treatments. I may just have to start a new feature and regularly post some of these, because I found so many I wanted to try. The first one I knew I wanted to do was a basic olive oil hair treatment.

My hair is pretty dry. I don't know where I got it from, because most of the women in my family insist on washing their hair every single morning so it doesn't get oily. I've always found that mine is way better if I go a few days without washing it, but that rarely happens and it sometimes can get TOO dry. On a daily basis I usually put a little bit of Moroccan Oil in it, but I tried this treatment and I'm hoping it will eliminate the need for that at least for a few days at a time!

It's really simple- no specific ingredient amounts, no official way to go about it. Here's what I did:

Put about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a small bowl, little mug, or anything that can be microwaved. Microwave for about 30 seconds to warm it up a little bit.

Make sure it's not too hot (for your fingers or your scalp) and just start scooping small amounts into the palm of your hands, rub it around to coat your hand, and then work your fingers through your hair. I also took the ends of my hair and dipped them full on in the olive oil, squeezing the extra out.

Your hair does not have to be dripping wet with olive oil. In fact, it's better if it's not. Just make sure you've coated it all and there aren't any dry spots. Some sites recommend trying to avoid your scalp so it doesn't get oily, but I didn't have any issues with that, particularly since it's been a little chilly and my skin has started to get a little bit more dry.

Put it up in a bun to keep it out of the way and leave it in for 1-2 hours. I was just hanging around the apartment looking at some blogs/watching Tuesday night TV, but if you're doing something where you're worried the oil might get on something you can cover your hair with a plastic bag or saran wrap.

Shampoo hair thoroughly to remove all oil and condition as you usually do.

(Several recommendations stated they left the treatment on overnight, but others said they tried both versions and leaving it overnight didn't make much of a difference. You can also add a few drops of essential oil in the scent of your choice to the olive oil before heating it to give it a more specific smell, but if you don't have any don't worry... your hair is not going to smell like olives.)

I definitely started noticing my hair felt softer and shinier immediately as it began to dry, and the next day this still applies! It even looks better than when just using the Moroccan oil, with a more consistent shine throughout.

Let me know if you try this or have any other suggestions to add! I don't think I'd recommend it for anyone who has oily hair naturally, but if you have dry hair this should work wonders. I'll be sure to update with how long the extra shine lasts.

I Just Can't Get Enough

2011-11-08T16:32:00.004-05:00

Have you heard of Spotify yet? If the answer is yes and you still don't have it, believe me when I tell you that you want it immediately. I heard about it what must have been two months ago but I don't think I really understood what it was and only downloaded it a few weeks ago.

Basically it's an online streaming service FOR FREE. At least for the first six months. With a minimal amount of ads per hour the artists still get paid without you even subscribing, but after six months of your use restrictions on play time and number of plays are put into effect. I've only had the service for a few weeks but I am already totally willing to subscribe: for $10 a month (yes, the price of one album on iTunes) you not only don't face these restrictions but are able to stream the music offline and download it to devices such as your phone or iPod.

I understand any issues this brings up in the music industry, but I do think it is a great middle ground that still allows artists to benefit while working with the changes technology has brought about. I know that I certainly will continue to buy the albums I really like, because sometimes it's just nice to have that physical copy, and I do believe in supporting artists you like. This is just a great option to explore and sample new music, especially with the collaboration with Facebook that allows you to share playlists or albums with friends and even directly send music suggestions. Besides, how many times have you wanted to buy music from iTunes only to get sick of it a week or two later and not ever listen to it again?

Here are a few of the albums that I REALLY can't get enough of on Spotify, some that I have already bought and others that I have every intention of buying:

Cold War Kids: Mine is Yours

Florence and the Machine: Ceremonials

Pistol Annies: Hell on Heels

the bird and the bee: Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates

Two Door Cinema Club: Tourist History

Is Tropical: Native To

Interested in any of those, or any other albums you have been thinking about lately? What are you waiting for? Go get it!

Jane of the Jungle 3.0

2011-11-07T19:14:00.004-05:00

This year Jane came back with some new and improved accessories: real flowers, false eyelashes, green eyeshadow, and JUNGLE ANIMALS.

Despite the fact that these masks are truly some of the creepiest things I've ever seen, I was ok with Steven and Adam wearing them to complete the look. The flowers were a last minute addition thanks to me forgetting the usual go-to's in Chicago. I ended up buying some fake vines from Michaels, some Alstromerias, and hot gluing them both to an old bangle and a hair barrette. They were wilting by the end of the night, so they were really a one shot accessory, but I LOVED them. (Not to anyone attempting this: super glue is NOT an option. I first bought the wrong sized glue sticks and ended up trying to settle for super glue which really only got on EVERY FINGER but never made the flowers stick.)

I also ended up loving false eyelashes way more than I thought. They weren't TOO difficult to put on and nowhere near as awkward as I thought they might feel. I only wish I hadn't accidentally dropped them in a sidewalk grate when taking them off later in the night. I'll definitely be buying some more.

About Time for a Jacket

2011-10-26T15:00:00.005-04:00

I just bought this jacket today at Forever 21 and I LOVE it. The lining is so warm without being too heavy,and it was SO cheap.... oh, and did I mention how soft it is, both inside and out? I have definitely needed a jacket like this, that works for fall or winter, for a while. Has anyone else seen any other cute jackets or coats that could easily transition from Fall to Winter?

Quilted Patch Suedette Jacket
Forever 21+
$39.80

Halloween's A Comin'!

2011-10-23T00:28:00.008-04:00

I was starting to get concerned that it would never feel like October. I think all of the traveling and not officially living in one place right now has my sense of time a bit skewed and it has been the first year I haven't spent months thinking about what I'm going to be for Halloween.

I knew I wanted to reprise the role as Gretchen the Biergarten Girl since I have only worn that one once, but I hadn't thought of anything new. I think I'll still probably just do remixes of old costumes, but I'm looking forward to another Jane of the Jungle and maybe even a Cowgirl to use those good ol' boots and bring out the long-lost leopard print cowboy hat. Any suggestions for the name to accompany that one? Costumes are always much more fun when they have alternative identities to go with them!

What are YOU going to be for Halloween? Do you have any creative costumes that you have come up with using just what's in your closet? Sometimes those can require the most creativity not only in wardrobe but in hair and make up, and they're always a favorite of mine!

Now I just need to find a replacement beer mug for Saturday's tailgate, since mine seems to be packed away in the midst of all this moving...

A Night Out in Denver

2011-10-14T13:12:00.006-04:00

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx
Leggings, Purse, Cardigan: Old Navy
Boots: DSW
Socks: Target
Necklace: American Eagle
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

I just got back from spending a few days in Denver and I miss it already! The day we landed the weather was right around 50 degrees, which was a welcome change from the temperatures in the 80's that we had been experiencing in Chicago before we left. I'm not totally in love with Indian Summers... when fall gets here I am always much too excited about it to have it taken away again so soon!

The temperatures got up to the 70's the other two days in Denver, but because we would often leave in the mornings and not always come back until later at night I had to work with layers to make sure I wasn't too hot/too cold at any given time. This outfit was the perfect blend for a nice dinner at the Capital Grille downtown on Larimer followed by a few bars with my dad and what ending up being nearly a whole convention of friends from his industry who were in town. I am absolutely falling in love with these boots and I am so glad I kept them! (They were a bit of an impulse purchase and I wore them around the apartment for two days trying to decide)

Larimer Street in Downtown Denver

The Girls Are Back in Town

2011-10-07T11:53:00.005-04:00

Last weekend some friends and I met in Bloomington for the Big 10 opener tailgate (We gave up on trying to go to games a long time ago). It's funny how, even though we just graduated in May and left at the end of the summer, the people are so different! It's weird being out at the bars and not running into a single person you know, and it kind of makes you feel a little old. Even more bizarre was the fact that we were tailgating with my little brother and his friends, who have replaced us as the next generation of Hoosiers. I'm well aware 22 is not old, but man, sometimes it feels like it.

I actually just got back from the trip due to spending a few days at home afterwards for the infamous Fall Festival in Evansville, and now I'm off to Denver on Sunday to hopefully make some progress on the job search and do some apartment hunting. It's been a busy month! Taking advantage of the opportunity to do all this traveling while I can. Has anyone else been anywhere fun lately?

Hello MADIEE...

2011-09-28T10:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the family!

Steve Madden- MADIEE (Cognac)

I LOVE these Steve Maddens. They're still just a little tight so I've been gladly wearing them around to stretch them out a bit. I even learned how to polish shoes today just for them! (Yeah, ok, not hard but I had never done it before. I guess I don't own a lot of leather shoes.) Now I just need to stop even looking at boots. I'm definitely set for a while, but it's so hard to not look! Particularly hard when you have some how ended up on what seems like every shoe-related mailing list on the world wide web.

And I'll leave you with a picture of the gorgeously crisp Chicago day we had yesterday in between rain showers:

Tattoo Healing

2011-09-27T12:51:00.007-04:00

I have officially only put any effort into outfits twice since last Wednesday thanks to this tattoo. Though I wish it would just finish healing already, I'm not really minding this temporary yoga pants lifestyle. (Not to mention I spent the weekend playing with/helping my aunt take care of my cousin's little baby Luke, with a pretty good chance of being spit up on, so there really was no need for looking all that put together.)

Speaking of healing... for anyone else out there with tattoos/wanting tattoos, I'm finding the care instructions from our guy at Insight to be WAY better than those with my previous tattoo. They recommend using lotion and NOT A&D/Aquaphor/etc. for moisturizing during the healing process, and it has made a big difference. The general thought behind it is that it allows any fluids to exit while better allowing oxygen in to the wound, and leads to much less scabbing and more of a peeling process similar to that of a sunburn. It also STARTED peeling a few days ago (it hasn't even been a week since I got it done) so the healing process overall has been much faster than when using Aquaphor with the last one. If you have any questions at all about the specific care instructions, feel free to comment/get a hold of me, because I definitely recommend this by far over using any kind of thick ointment.

I don't like posting without pictures, but since I'm sure no one (including me) wants to look at the peeling mess that this tattoo is right now, here's a super cute picture of little Luke the rock star.

Which reminds me... I need to get on buying him a precious little pair of baby Chuck Taylors. He's only 7 months old but we're all half convinced he's going to skip right over crawling and just start walking. He loves pulling himself up and, unless he's totally occupied, prefers to be standing, so it's only a matter of time. Might as well be running around in style.

Why I'm Only Wearing Yoga Pants

2011-09-22T13:59:00.008-04:00

...At least for yesterday, today, and most of tomorrow. I'd make that all weekend if I didn't have real things to do.

Yep. That's a combination of the Tom Petty logo infused with the Hoover love of racing and an individual touch of the Jack White Airline. A family crest of sorts, forever inked into my body.

My dad, brother, and I have been talking about this "family tattoo" (my mom opted out) for what seems like two years. We're not sure what we're going to dedicate all of our time to now, but I'm sure we'll find something. Dane got his in early August, my dad a few weeks ago, and I just finished it off last night. This wasn't my first, but it's safe to say it was the most painful and that it may be the last. At least the last of any substantial size.

Shout out to Thomas at Insight Studious in Chicago for doing his thing and making me 100% glad I went through with it.

My brother's, with an Eddie Van Halen version of the flying V.

My dad's, inspired by Dave Grohl's Gibson... a guitar he has some version of. (Sorry the picture quality is a little iffy and shiny)

And in other news, I finally got around to updating the Wonderland Kitchen URL. This was far more of a pain than I anticipated. If only I could just take up two domain names and have all links forwarded to the new site. Hmm, maybe there's some way to do that, but I don't know. I just spent an hour updating any links I could find, but google searches are still off and I'm not sure what effects it had on the Google Reader followers. If you followed before the switch and are still getting the updates (like today's Mushroom Alfredo post) and could let me know, I'd appreciate it!

You can now find that here: AlexsWonderlandKitchen.Blogspot.Com

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Transitioning to Fall

2011-09-20T14:03:00.003-04:00

In addition to some longer sleeved dresses, some of the things I'm really looking for right now for fall weather are comfortable tunic-type tops that can be worn with leggings or jeans, a belt, and boots for an easy casual look. Particularly since I seem to be on a boot rampage and have bought three pairs in the last two weeks. Er... we'll save that for another post.

Forever 21+ has a few tops that have caught my eye. I think I may need to make a little trip over to Michigan soon to check them out in person. (Click pictures for links)

Ok, ok, so that last one wasn't at all what I described... but it's still really cute and very "me" and I think it would transition nicely with a cardigan. Now that I think of it, I don't think I have many dresses that can't easily be turned over from summer to fall and occasionally even winter. Am I the only person who wears a lot of things year round, just in different forms?

East Ukrainian Village

2011-09-19T15:50:00.005-04:00

My friend Mandy was in town from St. Louis this weekend, and on Saturday we set off to explore a section of Chicago I had not yet been to. It's called "East Ukrainian Village" (or East Village) and has a lot of vintage shops and much to my delight an amazing Western store called Alcala's. We're talking walls upon walls of cowboy boots. It's a shame I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on them. I'll definitely be going back, as they also had some really awesome belts and really cheap real leather purses.

Hey, look, Wonderland graffiti!

One of the vintage stores was called Kokorokoko and is specifically 80's/90's. What I wouldn't have done to have THAT around back in high school when those were frequent party themes. I ended up getting a few more buttons for my denim vest and a "brief purse" (It's a purse that just has a built in handle so it makes it feel like a brief case? I don't know, I like the way it felt in my hand AND it was sparkly.) and Mandy got a ring and a necklace.

We also made a stop at Margie's ice cream, a place we had both heard of. It's a super old school ice cream and candy shop with THE BIGGEST sundaes ever. Seriously, huge. And they come with an entire side of fudge. REALLY GOOD fudge. Thank god we had not eaten lunch that day.

Grandpa's Turtle Sundae from Margie's. Unbelievably one of the "smaller" options.

This weekend overall was a pretty good one for Chicago exploration, and I'm definitely looking forward to doing more of that in the near future.

Back in Boots

2011-09-16T13:14:00.004-04:00

Fall has definitely happened in Chicago, and I love it. I don't know if it's just that I love fall so much or that I'm so glad the humidity has gone away, but I have been in just about the best of moods ever since the weather started getting cooler last week. My house has been in constant candle-mode, alternating between Slatkin & Co's (Bath & Body Works) "Leaves", "Creamy Pumpkin", and "Autumn Apple." Yum!!! I also made the first batch of Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars of the season last night, and then proceeded to eat two of those and drink a glass of Sauvignon Blanc as my dinner. As someone on Facebook commented "I'm sure that covers at least 4, maybe 5, of the food groups anyways!" Haha.

What fall means as far as my wardrobe goes is this: SWEATERS AND BOOTS ARE BACK! I threw a big chunky sweater on Wednesday night and had forgotten how super comfortable and warm they always are. Mmmm. Here's today's outfit:

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx
Scarf: H&M
Sweater, Leggings: Old Navy
Boots: Durango via RCC Western

And in the background? Only my absolute favorite flowers- gladiolas! They were surprisingly cheap at Whole Foods... $3.99 for 10 stems.

What are your favorite parts of Fall that you are excited about? Or are you like me and it's just about everything to do with it?

Brand New Bag

2011-09-13T17:00:00.003-04:00

Faux Leather Saddle Bag

Old Navy: $24.50

I saw this bag at Old Navy last week and wasn't quite sure I wanted to spend $25 on it, but decided it would get plenty of wear. It's the perfect size- not too big that I'll be tempted to throw anything and everything in it, but big enough to hold the essentials. I'm not usually one to go for long strap bags with the exception of little purses for going out, but this was a good combination between my usual go-to's.

It's also nice that it's really structured and therefore holds things in place a little better so I don't have to go digging through looking for something... does anyone else ever have this problem? Last week I think every single time I went to get in my car I had to search for a few minutes just to find my keys. No bueno!

I Did It...

2011-09-12T21:16:00.004-04:00

The fact that my hair stylist can get me in usually within a days notice really works nicely with my impulsive decision making. I mean, I had been contemplating this one for a while, but I have a tendency to make decisions and then forget that I made up my mind and come to a completely different conclusion. I decided I should just leave it long since the weather is cooling down anyways, maybe get just a little trim, and go with that for a while. Well, that turned into "cut approximately 3 inches off", and three inches seems like a lot less when you're just holding your finger up to your hair trying to measure.

Either way, I love it. It definitely seems like a much shorter cut than that picture of Zooey Deschanel, but I think she just has a much longer neck. It looks a lot shorter when it's curled (though I'm sure you're all smart enough to know that), so I'll get a straightened picture up sometime.

Hurry!

2011-09-10T21:37:00.003-04:00

Through midnight tomorrow, you can use the code "FALL30" on Steve Madden online orders and get 30% off your entire order. I personally will be using this to get THESE little babies:

It does exclude clearance and a few other styles (including a pair I was going to get, but in the end I think I like the MADIEE's better) so be sure to double check when you enter the code at check out.

If you miss the cut off for that code, I believe you can still use the code "SMFREESHIP" to get free shipping on your order, but this unfortunately also excludes clearance and can't be combined with the 30% off code. All clearance shoes are currently only $19.99, and if you wear a women's size 10 it's your lucky day because I've noticed a lot of the cuter styles are only available in that size now!

They have a lot of cute boots in stock now, a lot with a definite cowboy boot influence without necessarily having the full blown western look. Here are some of my current picks in the store:

The PAMMYY seems simple enough but also comes in some wild prints.

The classic Oxford look in a wedge.

The HAIIKU. I believe I posted about this one before, but it's currently on sale for $79.95 from $129.95!

The CHEEEKY comes in your choice of two velvet floral prints or cognac leather.

Hello, Red

2011-09-04T23:10:00.005-04:00

Outfit
Shirt: Old Navy
Jeggings: Forever 21+
Sunglasses: Forever 21
Vest: J.C. Penney
Shoes: Target
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Oh, and I don't think I ever posted a decent picture since I colored my hair red. Well, more red. When your hair is this dark it's difficult to get it to do anything you want, but I attribute getting it this far to Garnier Nutrisse Ultra-Color (R3- Light Tint Auburn) which is (gasp, finally) a coloring meant specifically for dark hair. OK, maybe this existed before... but I just found it and I was damn excited about it.

(Even if the red was still coming out in the shower a week later. Just invest in a cheap red towel from Target, it's totally worth it.)

Hair Cut Help!

2011-09-03T16:05:00.004-04:00

I've been going back and forth on whether or not I want to cut my hair. I'm getting real sick of always having it up in a little bun, but I also know that it's starting to cool down and this big ol' mane of hair will be much more manageable throughout fall and winter. At present time I'm thinking maybe just a minor cut off the bottom and really layering it up (and keeping the bangs at the perfect length to be full bangs or slightly swept to the side)... but I think if I could find some good picture inspiration, I might consider going in for a closer-to-shoulder-length cut.

This has apparently been consuming my thoughts so much that I've even been having dreams about hair-cut related situations. Haha. In one I had a great shoulder length really red cut that looked something like Rachel's hair in the 7th season of friends. (I guess I've also been watching a lot of Friends lately, too...) Here's what I'm thinking...

Oh, yeah, if my hair could look like this every day without a hell of a lot of effort, this would not even be in question. As it is, I'm not sure I'm willing to commit to that much of my hair being pulled into my bangs. You know, what with me constantly changing my mind about whether I want to keep them or not.

Or this... but with bangs.

What do you think? Any picture suggestions???

What's New in Wonderland Kitchen

2011-08-31T16:25:00.004-04:00

I'll admit that after discovering Food Gawker this week (Thanks Lauryn!) I have spent a large majority of my time perusing that website, making recipes lists and grocery lists, grocery shopping, and cooking. Oh, well I also spent most of Monday at a tattoo parlor watching my dad get his version of the "family tattoo", but that's a story for another time.

Basically I've been trying to put a little love into Wonderland Kitchen, and haven't so much been wearing anything interesting or doing anything other than things that seemed more relevant to post about over there. So here's what's going on the last week or so on that front:

A new love for our neighborhood Italian market.

A trip to Lincoln Park's Burger Bar. (And Truffle Fries!!!)

Warm gooey fresh baked cookies for dinner... and taco salad for dessert.

Spinach Caprese Omelettes and a fresh mozzarella obsession.

Sorry if your mouth is now watering. I know mine is. Maybe I'll be back tomorrow with an outfit post... assuming I ever put on real clothes today.

Indianapolis MotoGP 2011

2011-08-29T13:25:00.006-04:00

One of the only sporting events I really get excited about is the annual MotoGP in Indianapolis. (Though I will say I'm exponentially more excited that Formula 1 is finally coming back next year and will give me an excuse to visit Austin!) This year turned out to be a little bit of a dud in the racing itself... the usual Saturday dirt bike flat tracks at the state fair grounds were cancelled due to the deaths resulting from the Sugarland stage collapse, and then on Sunday Ducati had a not-so-great day with Valentino Rossi MISSING a turn (TWICE, how does that even happen?) and dropping to the back only to be followed by some kind of tire issue or something with Nicky Hayden which put HIM in the back.

I know, I don't know the technicalities or anything, but we love Hayden/Ducati, and it was a little sad to see ex-Ducati rider Casey Stoner finish first.

Oh... wow, way too much sports talk. Highly unusual for me! Anyways, back to the next best part of the weekend, our annual Saturday night trip to Benihana. I finally got the Ceramic Cat mug I've been wanting since practically the first time we went there years ago, and we managed to NOT get kicked out, yet again! When the Shaffer and Hoover families get together, this is always a fine line we walk. We did pull off a fake birthday, much to the surprise of my dad. Surprise Birthday "Parties" work best when it's not even the person's real birthday... SURPRISE!

Anyways, here are some pictures from the weekend.

Mmmm... Nicky Hayden's watch advertisement. (Pardon Shelly's finger)

An "Alice" Ducati!

Our "Birthday" picture at Benihana. Shelly and I could not stop laughing about how well we got away with the whole situation.

We were disappointed when we had to give the instruments back.

Worth noting is that this is one of the very rare occasions you will ever see me wearing a baseball hat. Although recently I have taken a fondness to wearing Cardinals or White Sox hats out to Wrigleyville for any Cubs game, just to ruffle some feathers.

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Love: Lungs

2011-08-26T10:00:00.002-04:00

I threw a few Florence & The Machine songs on a playlist what seems like forever ago, but I only recently got ahold of the entire Lungs album and have since fallen totally in love with it. It's the perfect "daytime" music for driving, doing things around the house, you name it. The album in its entirety has a variety of songs, ranging from the popular "Dog Days Are Over" to the really upbeat "Kiss With a Fist" and a handful of more mellow songs. One thing remains pretty constant though... the woman has an incredible voice.

The album, which came out in 2009, was re-released in 2011 including a second portion called "The B-Sides" with a demo of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" (Then called Ghosts), a live version of "You've Got the Love", and a few covers. I was particularly excited and totally surprised to hear a cover of Cold War Kid's "Hospital Beds."

A new album is set to be released sometime in November, but in the meantime, I definitely recommend checking out Lungs! You can follow this link to get to the Florence & The Machine YouTube channel and watch the video for "You've Got the Love."

A New Love for Brown

2011-08-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is a dress that was a little bit of a surprise purchase the other day at Target. We had to go to get some other things and it had been a few weeks since I had looked at their dresses and thought I would check it out. I picked up four or five to try on, and was hesistant about this one because the pattern at first glance almost seemed a little too "camo" or something to me. I'm not normally really attracted to thinks with a brown base color, but I gave it a shot. It didn't hurt that I knew I could wear it with my brown wedges, which were really my first brown-based inspiration.

I didn't end up liking a single other dress but LOVED the fit of this one! This is actually the dress I mentioned in the last post about wanting to get in more than one pattern or color but they only had this and leopard print. I was also surprised how much I ended up liking this print... it paired REALLY well with the belt from Forever 21 that I have been favoring lately, and of course my brown pair of super-favorite-wedges from Target. And I won't lie, I think this dress really emphasized my tan, which is always a big plus in my book.

One of my favorite parts is the neckline. It comes up high enough to cover plenty and not be too revealing but is also open enough to not feel too restricting. (Forgive the bangs, they're looking a mess in this picture)

Outfit
Dress, Shoes: Target
Purse: Nine West via TJ Maxx
Belt: Forever 21
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Edgy Floral

2011-08-24T10:00:00.002-04:00

Taking floral prints and adding an edge is becoming one of my new favorite go-to's for outfits, whether it's the denim vest, or going with all black accessories, lots of rings, and feather earrings. This was another night in Destin of dinner/shopping, and maybe a few cocktails. We went to a restaurant at The Village at Baytowne Wharf called The Village Door (Which was REALLY good by the way! The food was great and apparently they always have some kind of live music going on.) and sat on the back deck which was right on the marina. It was a gorgeous night, and I only wish the weather had been so nice and not humid the rest of the week!

Outfit
Dress, Flower Ring, Wedges: Target
Bracelets, Feather Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Purse: Carlos Santana via TJ Maxx
Belt: Forever 21
(Drink: Vodka Cranberry)

(By the way, this is the little bun I have more or less been rocking for the entire summer. I am so sick of humidity, and SO glad the weather in Chicago has been gorgeous this week. Hard core contemplating cutting a few inches off my hair!)

Yet Another Leopard

2011-08-23T13:53:00.006-04:00

Remember the Forever 21 leopard print dress I posted about a while ago? Well, of course I bought it. I really wanted to wear it with my black strappy wedges, but this was on a night in Florida when we were going out to dinner and potentially doing a bit of walking around a shopping area so I didn't want to end up with angry feet.

Outfit
Dress, Belt: Forever 21
Sandals: Target
Earrings, bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Purse: Carlos Santana via TJ Maxx

I actually just got another dress from Target that I REALLY loved the fit of, enough that I wanted to buy it in another print. It's a pretty basic pattern so could easily have been dressed up in different ways, but unfortunately the only other pattern was leopard print. LOVE leopard print, but given I now have this and the other leopard print dress I posted in the last outfit post, I figured I probably was good on that for a while.

(Side note: Does anyone know how to get pictures to not be quite so blurry when you make them bigger? When I upload pictures, even though the original size is HUGE and can be seen by clicking on it, the vertical pictures are always too small and get blurry when I enlarge them. I have it set on the largest upload setting, but don't know if there's any way to get around this and make it bigger but still clear?)

Lollapalooza: The Friends & The Food

2011-08-17T10:03:00.008-04:00

(This post apparently unofficially sponsored by Bud Light.)

I kept making Sarah let me take outfit pictures of her all weekend. In this one she was like our own little fashionable Dora the Explorer, backpack and all!

We may have played in a fountain... on multiple occasions...

My dad and I... rocking his favorite little fedora!

Andouille Sausage, Fingerling Potatoes, and something else I forget on a really fancy bun.

Some classy drink mixing going on.

The Lobster Corndog. YUM.

The only problem with this is that for about a week after Lolla I was constantly craving the fanciest junk food that you can't actually find anywhere.

Uh, yeah, let's just say I was going for comfort and staying cool all weekend... not so much the best outfit I've ever worn. Haha.

Lollapalooza: The Music

2011-08-16T12:27:00.012-04:00

Hello from Destin! I just wanted to do a quick post with some Lollapalooza pictures. Another to come soon. For now, this one will focus around the music. I didn't manage to get pictures of every band we saw, just because I was trying to enjoy the shows without getting too carried away with picture taking. Here are a few from what I did get.

Two Door Cinema Club, Day 1

Coldplay, Headliner Day 1

The city made such an awesome backdrop for the stage!

Eminem from the back, Headliner Day 2

I just could not get over how many people were there. Saturday was kind of a bust, but a few in our group really wanted to see Eminem so we walked over around 6 so they could work their way closer to the stage. My dad and I watched for a while and wandered by both Pretty Lights and Beirut before the night was over.

The Cars, Day 3

Cold War Kids, MY Headliner for Day 3

My favorite part of the whole weekend... even with all the rain and mud. We spent the entirety of two other sets working our way up to the front row for this. Totally jealous that the next day a family friend was sitting right next to all the band members on a flight to LA.

Chicago Brunching

2011-08-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

Three of my good friends were up in Chicago last weekend for Lollapalooza, but we didn't walk over to Grant Park until 3 or so most days which left plenty of time for experiencing some of South Loop's finest brunch locations... or at least our favorites. This was probably the first time in quite a while I had made any real attempt at getting dressed/dolled up with moving and as hot as it had been, so I made a point of getting some pictures.

Outfit
Dress, Shoes: Target
Belt: Forever 21
Bracelets, Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Headband: DIY
Purse: Nine West, TJ Maxx
Sunglasses: Delias
(RIP... these little guys didn't survive the weekend, and they didn't even get worn to the actual festival!)

Brunch was at Eleven City Diner, a particular favorite of ours. I alone have been there a handful of times and somehow had never discovered how amazing their pancakes are!!! I definitely stole a few bites from Katelyn.

Band on the Run

2011-08-10T01:07:00.007-04:00

All moved out of The Jungle in Bloomington, settled in Chicago, and yet again dealing with not having internet!!! Right now I'm at my parents' house in Southern Indiana and leaving for Florida tomorrow, and I think the condo down there has it so I'll try to crank out some posts/get some scheduled in case the wireless is for some reason not up when I get back to Chicago. It has been a crazy month, that's for sure.

For now, I'll leave you with some pictures from a Paul McCartney concert we saw at Wrigley Field on August 1. I'm not going to lie, I was excited when I heard we'd be seeing him, but probably not as excited as I should have been. He was never my FAVORITE Beatle, and most of my favorite songs were John songs, but he WAS a Beatle none the less. The show ended up being probably among my five favorite shows I have ever seen. He is still SO amazing live, and played a ton of Beatles music along with songs I apparently didn't even realize were his. If you have any interest in him/the Beatles, it is totally worth your while to spend the money to see him.

(As always, you can click any picture to get a bigger view!)

"McCartney has more hits than the Cubs"... Loved this one!

My little brother is a little bit of a nut.

John's "Give Peace a Chance"

Live or Let Die

Hey Jude

Day in the Life

Have you guys been up to anything fun this summer? Any other good concerts out there? One of my next posts will be a Lollapalooza recap of sorts. See you then!

Pattern Mixing Procrastination

2011-07-29T10:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, the plan was to get up and finish packing so I could clean.

Instead, I woke up, did some pattern mixing, and went to lay out in the pool with my cousin instead. It's ok though, I got a nice tan.

Outfit
Dress: Forever 21
Sandals: Charlotte Russe
Sunglasses: Delias
Bag: Old Navy
Swimsuit: Target

Have I mentioned how much I hate packing? As if I don't procrastinate enough when I'm packing for a weekend trip, multiply that times 50 with me attempting to pack everything for two different destinations. I think my problem is really over analysis of the organizational methods of all of it... and my strong point is standing around assessing the situation without the motivation to get it finished. Oops! I think I'd make a great supervisor. (Haha) I guess one way or the other it's all getting thrown in a car or truck Saturday and on it's way!

Wonderland Kitchen Update

2011-07-28T10:00:00.002-04:00

For those of you who may or may not follow, here's a little update of what's been going on over at Wonderland Kitchen:

(You can click any picture for a link to that post)

Super Cute Anthropologie Apron Obsessions

FARMbloomington Restaurant Review

Iced Coffee

Cookie-Bottomed Cupcakes

How Sweet's Bacon and Gorgonzola Roasted Potatoes

Where Have You Been Hiding?

2011-07-27T10:00:00.002-04:00

This outfit is made almost entirely out of things that I have not worn in a really long time. Or, now that I think of it, I'm not sure that I've ever actually worn this tank top. I'm totally baffled as to why I haven't worn this skirt in something like a year. I think I was under the impression that it didn't fit anymore, or that it fit awkwardly, or something. Who knows, but it was a stupid impression because I love this skirt.

I'd like to say a special thank you to Sunday's storm that cooled the weather down to a tolerable level and in turn allowed me to do something with my hair other than wearing it in a tiny little bun.

Outfit
Tank, Skirt, Wedges: Old Navy
Bracelets, Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Ring: American Eagle
Belt: Target
Necklace: Forever 21

What's New with Steve Madden

2011-07-26T10:00:00.005-04:00

It occurred to me that since I've more or less been living in sandals and my beloved Dolce Vita knock off wedges from Target, I haven't so much as taken a glimpse at any Steve Madden lately. This is good for my wallet, of course, but I was curious to see what was new.

(I think truth be told I may have been a little scared off by the fact that I keep making myself try on a pair I got last year that is more or less way too tall for me to do even the slightest amount of walking in. We're talking "could wear them out to dinner" and that's about it. I'm being more careful with letting the skyscrapers catch my eyes these days!)

I popped on over to the website, and there are definitely some noticeable trends making their way through the collection. Here are a few of the new styles...

One trend that can be easily spotted is the use of a lot of blue and purple:

Color blocking:

Thicker heels:

The sequin trend:

And again, the leopard print:

You can also currently get 30% off on the "Sneak Peek" section... so be sure to check those out and get them while they're on sale if anything catches your eye!

Are any of these new trends specifically appealing to you?

Heat Wave, Martha and the Vandellas Style

2011-07-25T10:00:00.003-04:00

It finally rained today and brought the temperatures down just a little bit, but prior to that I think most of us in the U.S. have been dealing with some not-so-pleasant temperatures. So what's the plan for getting dressed to leave the house? Easy: things that are as un-clingy as possible, as uncovering as possible without being too-showy, hair UP, and little to no makeup. Here's how that plan pans out...

Outfit
Dress: Old Navy
Pocket Vest: J.C. Penney
Sandals: Target
Purse: Nine West, T.J. Maxx
Headband: For Love 21
Necklace: Target (I think?)

These shoes have been my "go-to nicer-than-flip-flops-but-still-comfortable-summer-sandals"... SUPER comfortable, though even these could not stand up to all of the walking required by a NYC visit. At least they match my summer purse almost perfectly.

How have you been staying cool?

Take a Ride on the Wild Side

2011-07-24T09:00:00.001-04:00

Are you wild about leopard print? I know it always seems to catch my eye. The Forever 21+ Collection is all about the leopard right now. There's something for everyone, whether you want to absolutely stand out in a full-on leopard print fabric or just use it as an accent. Here is just a glimpse at some of the current leopard pieces.

(View the entire line on the Forever 21+ Section of their website by clicking here)

Longline Leopard Sweater: $22.80

Sleeveless Leopard Dress: $22.80

Leopard Open Cardigan: $15.80

Slub Cardigan with Leopard Scarf: $24.80

Leopard Pocket Top: $17.80

Leopard Sublimation Tee: $17.80

I know a few of these will have me stopping by the store as soon as I get to Chicago next week!

Staten Island's Snug Harbor

2011-07-23T01:26:00.008-04:00

One day before I went into the city my friend Ashlee and I grabbed some iced coffees from Dunkin' Donuts and went over to Staten Island's Snug Harbor (a "cultural center and botannical garden"). Here are some pictures from the day:

Real life Wonderland??

The 9/11 Memorial

I could just about kick myself for not realizing they had a real life garden labyrinth! When googling Snug Harbor I can across that and these other real life hedge mazes.... so cool! I almost want to make it a point to travel to some of these places just to see them.

I'll admit that the following two pictures were not from Snug Harbor, but we saw these little guys over by Ashlee's apartment on our way back. They were too cute! The second picture also made me FINALLY realize why it's called "ducking". Maybe a little slow.

Man down!

"DUCK!"

Brooklyn Summer

2011-07-18T16:24:00.007-04:00

I took a 5 day trip to New York City in June to visit my friend Ashlee who lives on Staten Island, my roommate Kelly who is interning in the fashion district, and to meet up with a few of the blogger ladies I have heard OH SO MUCH about from Miss Nickie, our "big sister of the blogging world". As you can imagine five days in the city led to quite a bit of material, so we'll start with this outfit post/Sunday recap and go from there.

On one accidental trip to Brooklyn via the subway and a missed stop, my cousin was texting me and upon hearing of our little adventure replied "Oh, Brooklyn... rough place, but very classic." I'm not sure that he's ever actually been to Brooklyn, but we thought the quote was hilarious, and 'rough' was definitely an appropriate term for the subway station we ended up in. The rest of it: not so bad.

We stayed in the Williamsburg neighborhood with Nickie one night after a night out and spent the next day wandering around doing all sorts of things. Brunch (or maybe more like "linner" by the time we got around to leaving the apartment) was at The Lovin' Cup and for $15 you got a delicious brunch entree and ALL YOU CAN DRINK MIMOSAS. Obviously our idea of a great time. As if that wasn't enough we stopped by the Turkey's Nest Tavern to get giant to-go margaritas for the park and spent the next hour or two lounging around in the sun with our margaritas.

We then made our way over to this little place I've only heard so much about: Beacon's Closet. As Nickie put it, we were "a little too tipsy to sift through the clothes" so she and I just checked out the jewelry sections while Kelly tried some things on. I ended up with a few rings and a necklace, which will surely be making appearances sooner or later.

Pictures resulting from various photo shoots along the way to Beacon's:

Note: Nickie did NOT fall down but was merely "taking her photography very seriously as an art" and getting pictures of Kelly from a new angle. Hahaha. This picture alone could pretty adequately sum up our day.

Sifting through a pile of "free" things on the sidewalk. We actually ended up leaving with quite a few books!

The night ended at an Italian restaurant with Maresa and her husband Tom that may have been a bit too classy for the likes of us and our day drinking... but you can thank Taco Chulo for being closed for the Gay Pride parade. I'm still sad I never got to try these nachos that they're always talking about.

Here's the outfit for the day:

I'd like to take a moment to thank the wind for these oh-so-cute bangs.... or not.

Dress: Target
Leggings: Old Navy
Vest (previously jacket): Charlotte Russe
Boots: Durango, R.C.C. Western
Sunglasses: Delia's
Purse: Carlos Santana, TJ Maxx
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Stay tuned, more NYC adventures to come.

Happy (VERY) Belated Independence Day!

2011-07-17T22:05:00.008-04:00

Finally have my laptop back and have a lot to catch up on, but I figured I'd go with the most time-sensitive topic before the month was out. Here are a few pictures from the 4th of July when we went to visit family in northern Indiana.

My outfit for the day: I think I ended up rocking the "Texas Soccer Mom" theme? Somehow about a million mosquitos managed to get me through the leggings, boots, and socks. Clearly they were determined.

Outfit
Dress: Forever21
Boots: Durango, R.C.C. Western
Leggings: Old Navy

Our "uniforms" (I kept calling it a costume, clearly I'm not a big sports fan) for the corn hole tournament. It's worth noting that I have neither aim nor skill when it comes to throwing things and we lost both the first round and then the first round of the loser's bracket. Alcohol may have also had something to do with it. Also worth noting that we made these visors for approximately a cool $5 thanks to WalMart. Keep it classy, USA.

My brother Dane and my cousin's baby, Luke. Dane's keeping him hip with his hairstyles, haha.

My dad and baby Luke keeping cool while watching the White Sox game inside. Thank goodness little Luke isn't being raised to be a Cubs fan.

My cousin Katherine enjoying some of the "JOTS" (A nickname for jell-o shots that my grandma apparently picked up from an article about 'how many teenagers die from them'... good thing we aren't teenagers.)

The main party with my mom's family was actually on the 3rd, and on the 4th my brother, his girlfriend Chelsea, my dad and I took off for Chicago to see a U2 concert the next day. We had dinner at South Coast Sushi (obviously a really American place) and then managed to catch not only the fireworks off Navy Pier but fireworks along the entire horizon from my dad's roof. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

Hopefully everyone else in the country had a good July 4th, you know... at the beginning of the month.

Update!

2011-06-20T17:43:00.003-04:00

Yet another computer drought going on in my neck of the woods, this time due to a virus that I have yet to get fixed. I've been functioning thanks to my Blackberry, but one of the things I miss most about having a computer is the ability to not only blog but keep up with what is going on with everyone else! I am able to read blogs from my phone, but different formattings can be kind of goofy when it comes to getting the text to a readable size.

I do hope everyone is having a nice summer so far though, and I'm hoping I'll be back before too long with some real updates or posts. I'm off to New York City thursday morning (WAY too early, might I add) to visit some friends (and hopefully hang out with some other bloggers in the area!) so I'm sure that will lead to some good material. By the time I get around to all of this I'm sure I'll have a practically brand new wardrobe to share differing from previous posts. Ok, maybe not completely new, but hopefully lots several new pieces.

The College Graduate

2011-05-26T15:51:00.004-04:00

I guess this is a little outdated, as I graduated a few weeks ago, but I originally wanted to wait until I could provide a little more insight into the whole 'how it feels to have graduated' thing. Almost three weeks later, it still doesn't feel that different. Everyone keeps asking me how it feels, and so far I haven't had that much to say. I do think it started setting in a bit when I opened my first graduation card and realized that I should be putting most of the money into savings for when I have to starting renting and furnishing a new apartment in Chicago.

My degree is in marketing, but the plan for now is to do as many little "assisting" or "shadowing" jobs as possible this summer in the field of corporate event planning, starting with an opportunity in mid June. By the end of July I will be living in Chicago full time and hopefully working full time as well. I met with a family connection in the field the week after graduation to talk to her a little more about what the field entails, and the meeting ultimately made me even more excited about following that career path. I knew I didn't want to do anything "typical" for a marketing degree, and corporate event planning utilizes a lot of the same creative and communication skills tailored more specifically to my interests. I'm not completely sure what the near future holds for me, but I know I am looking forward to it!

My brother, Dane, and I before graduation.

My wonderful parents!

My 'fake' degree. I guess the real one should be coming in the mail sometime now that they have confirmed that I did, in fact, pass all of my classes.

Did anyone else graduate this spring, whether it be from High School, College, or even Grad School? If so, congratulations! What are YOUR plans for the future now that you're done for college or career choice?

Little Bug a Boo

2011-05-25T16:33:00.006-04:00

I finally got to meet my cousin's son, Luke, last weekend when family was visiting for my brother's high school graduation. (Oh wait, graduation, about that... I guess I forgot to do a post about MY graduation, so that will be coming soon!) Luke is 12 weeks old now and just the sweetest little baby. He was a real trooper with getting passed around from person to person the whole weekend!

Crazy eyes!

How cute is he!?

Love: Summer Rain

2011-05-17T16:17:00.001-04:00

...And playing in it with Kelly.

The Denim Vest

2011-05-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

I never know where all of my followers come from, or who else you follow or are aware of, but I do think the fashion/lifestyle blogging community can be a small world. For those of you who are lucky enough to be familiar with Nickie and Mel, you may be aware of their grown-up girl gang, the Downtown Dolls. Kelly and I have always looked up to these two as "blogger big sisters" of sorts, and of course we were intrigued with the concept of a fashionable gang. I wasn't quite sure I could pull off the denim vest, but when Kelly found a bunch of denim jackets on sale for $5 at Charlotte Russe, we couldn't pass that up and vowed to destroy and decorate these jackets into our own vests representing the spin off, the B-town Dolls.

Kelly (Or should I say, Axl Sews) finally got around to making hers, and I'm still in the process of decorating mine (right now it's solely adorned by the lonely little Mick button Kelly threw in with my Christmas present. He's great!) In the meantime, I've discovered that it's my favorite thing to throw on over pretty much any dress I own to give outfits just a little bit of edginess to them.

Outfit
Dress, Belt: Target
Leggings, Sandals: Old Navy
Vest (Jacket): Charlotte Russe
Purse: Carlos Santana
Sunglasses: Delias

(Kelly and I wearing our vests on a bar adventure this weekend)

The whole girl gang-alternate persona thing really seems to come together when you put a denim vest on. I don't know why, but it almost just seems to be this magical little accessory that throws an extra little pep in your step and makes you feel like a force to be reckoned with. (Or maybe, I might just be completely crazy... I don't know! Go out and buy a cheap denim jacket, rip it into a vest, and let me know what YOU think!)

For My Mother:

2011-05-08T11:23:00.006-04:00

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."
~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

Happy Mothers' Day to the wonderful, beautiful, Jennifer Leigh!!! I love you mommy :-) You have always gone above and beyond to make sure we are happy and taken care of, and you are much appreciated! (Even if Dane doesn't always show it... he'll come to eventually!)

As a matter of fact, Happy Mothers' Day to all the Kramer women! (My Aunt Mary, Aunt Jody, Cousin Andrea, and Grandma! Aunt Susie not pictured, but to her too!)

And last but certainly not lease, a Happy Mothers' Day wish to one of my very best friends who managed to give me one of the best little nieces in the whole wide world:

May Flowers

2011-05-07T20:30:00.006-04:00

My last outfit as a college undergraduate! Thursday I had my last final in History of the Blues and then Kelly and I were off to Nick's to meet my dad and his friend Dan for dinner and drinks to celebrate. This floral dress and necklace just arrived from Forever 21 and I am absolutely in love with them both. The little owl necklaces were only $1.50, so Kelly and I both got a gold one and I also grabbed a silver one as well... too cute!

Outfit
Dress, Necklace: Forever 21
Bracelets, Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: Target

Dad and I at Nick's

Happy Cinco de Mayo: Patron time!

Self Control or Shoes

2011-05-04T17:08:00.005-04:00

Remember that time I mentioned Target's awesome spring shoe collection, and the Mossimo knock-offs of the Dolce Vita Pela's that I have been dying to own for a year now? And then remember how I ended up going out and buying them before I even got around to getting the post out to you with birthday money that I technically had not even received yet? Well, here are those wonderful little (or not little at all) shoes put to work.

Outfit
Dress: Forever 21
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Clutch: Coach
(Compliments of Kelly's closet for the day)
Belt, Shoes: Target

And I'm not at all ashamed to say that I love them so much that I went out and bought a black pair today to wear for graduation... and every outfit this summer thereafter. It's a good thing they only had the two colors in the store, because chances are I might have come home with a nude pair on top of the other two. Self control and shoes are mutually exclusive in this brain.

(I will address the fact, for sake of full disclosure, that depending on where they hit on the back of your heels, that part can be a little uncomfortable. My solution is simple: leave them just a tiny bit unzipped at the top and this problem is eliminated!)

New York and Co. Dress Sale

2011-05-01T17:58:00.003-04:00

While scrummaging through my closet in an attempt to figure out what I'm going to wear for graduation on Friday ("Business Casual"... but if you know me at all you know that means I'll just be trying to find a dress that could wiggle its way into this category), I came across a dress I got a few years ago from New York & Co. We don't have one in Bloomington, so it has been a while since I have been and I hopped on over to the website to look around.

They have SO many dresses on sale right now! There are a couple I may consider if I get any graduation money, just because they are so cheap and so cute! One of them looks like it would fit exactly like the dress I already own and love, so it is really tempting. I think the best part is that their style in some of the dresses is something that could easily translate to business casual whenever I do enter the working world.

Animal Print Wrap Dress: $37.06

Sleeveless Tiered Dress: $34.96

Streetwear Short Goddess Dress: $21.47 (50% off!!!)

Sleeveless Floral Cotten Voile Sundress: $41.96

Click any of the pictures to get to the page for that particular dress. All prices listed reflect the online-only dress sale they have going on.

Also- if anyone has a minute and would care to leave an opinion on my previous post, "Twitter's Role in Consumer Interaction", I would really appreciate it! It is for a group project for my Marketing Strategy class and I am just looking for some blogger input on the subject. Thanks so much!

Twitter's Role in Consumer Interaction

2011-04-30T22:03:00.004-04:00

Ok ladies and/or gentlemen, I need your help for those of you who are interested! For a final group project for my Marketing Strategy class, my group is analyzing Steve Madden's brand strategy. I am responsible for a section about what the company could do better and I am focusing on their use of Twitter as a means to reach and connect with their customers (us!).

So what I would like to hear from you is a response to any of the following questions, or any thoughts you may have that are relevant. It does not have to be specific to Steve Madden, but really just the general idea of a retail company and their interactions with consumers through Twitter.

Do you follow any of your favorite brands on Twitter?
If so, why? Are you looking for links to sales, new products, styling ideas, other?
What is your favorite part about the Twitter content of one of your favorite brands that you follow?
Do you think a company is more likely to grab your attention with certain sales or products if they are utilizing Twitter to reach out to consumers who chose to follow the brand?
Are there any things that companies do that you would like to see less of on Twitter?

Feel free to chime in with any of your thoughts, I really appreciate it!

Throw Some Glitter, Make it Rain

2011-04-26T14:31:00.005-04:00

This is what happens when you dye Easter Eggs AFTER you spend two hours at Happy Hour on $3 Thursday:

You don't make it to Hobby Lobby before they close to get intended decorating supplies, like feathers for making cute little birds.
You forget that last year you had TWO tablets of each color and accidentally water down the dyes too much.
You end up COVERED in glitter.
Or, in Kelly's case, you fall asleep and never even make it to the egg dyeing/glitter shower.

Adventures, as per usual. Here are some pictures of what we DID end up with:

Hey Lauryn, I don't know if you got enough glitter...

Jenna and Alex egg productions.
To quote Jenna, "I'm Jewish so I need special assistance."

See that egg in the middle on the left? We call that the Ke$ha egg. Mostly because it turned out all sorts of weird looking colors and we really had no idea what to do with it, so Lauryn just covered it with glitter and ta da... Ke$ha egg.

Lauryn's eggs.

Jenna was clearly exhausted from all the egg dyeing.

I've seen a few other posts about egg dyeing and everyone had some really cute/unique ideas! Did anyone else do anything really fun or crazy for egg dyeing this Easter?

The French Ballerina

2011-04-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

I guess the combination of the black and white stripes and all the tulle and ribbon just make me feel like a French Ballerina in this dress. It has become one of my new favorites since I found it at TJ Maxx a few weekends ago at home. They had some REALLY cute dresses when we went in, and I got another for only $20 that I might wear for graduation. Oh my goodness, graduation, THAT IS SO SOON!

These pictures are from a few weeks ago, back when I actually bought the dress, and I have worn it again since then but have been thinking I already did this post. Oops! don't know where my head has been lately but it's not on this planet. (Come to think of it, I feel like I'm always saying that... hmmm.)

Outfit
Dress: Pretty Good via TJ Maxx
Leggings and Wedges: Old Navy

It drives me crazy because the dress is "hand wash only," and I sure don't have the patience for that... but I think in the long run it will be a good thing that keeps me from over wearing it. Does anyone else have this issue? I feel like I'm always finding an item that I absolutely love and then wearing it to death before it gets to have a long productive life!

Spring Shoe Frenzy

2011-04-21T11:00:00.000-04:00

You all know how much I love shoes. And you also probably know how much I love trying to pawn awesome shoes off on you guys when I can't afford to buy every single pair that I want. Target has a sale going on sandals right now, but aside from that they also are carrying the Dolce Vita for Target line AND have a really great knock off of the Dolce Vita Pela wedge. So let your mouth water on behalf of your feet (and my wallet), these are my picks right now:

Dolce Vita for Target: Cork Wedge Sandals
$29.99

(These remind me so much of one of my favorite pairs of flat sandals from Old Navy, and they come in A LOT of colors, including metallics!)

Dolce Vita for Target- Rope Wedge Sandals
$29.99

Mossimo Pilar Strappy Wedge Sandals $29.99

(These are the Dolce Vita Pela knockoffs, and I have been drooling over those for practically a year. Plus, I have it on good authority from Miss Joanie that they are super comfy! These also come in about a million colors: everything from neutrals to pink!)

Xhilaration Thierry Ruffle Flat Sandal (Floral)
$14.00

Mossimo Wauna Braided Flat Sandals
$14.00

(Also available in multiple colors!)

Ok. I have to be honest here. I started this post this afternoon and after my night class I had to run to Target to pick up a few things. I ended up coming home with the Pela knockoffs in Brown. My first choice was obviously black, but I have way too many black or black-friendly shoes as is, so I really wanted to do something different. I was interested in the Nude, but they didn't have those in store, and I really have been wanting some brown comfy but cute shoes for the summer. Joanie was not lying- they are SO comfortable. They're probably close to 4 inches tall and I don't feel like I'm wearing heels at all!

Do you have any Spring/Summer items you're drooling over right now or absolutely must have?

Birthday Outfit Post

2011-04-18T13:35:00.004-04:00

As we speak I am currently uploading the 200 pictures from Little 500/birthday week to Facebook. Not excessive at all, right? I'll try to pick some of the best to share sometime this week. Here's what I ended up wearing out the night of my birthday:

Outfit: Dress, sandals: Old Navy Belt: Forever 21 Flower: Won in a giveaway Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

The bangs got thrown back for the night because they had just been getting toooo hot this week!!! I can't decide if I want to grow them out of maintain them for the summer. Hmmm.

I think this was one of the best birthdays I have ever had to date. On top of the roses from my dad that I can home to Thursday morning, my crazy crazy friends set up this whole "scavenger hunt" with all sorts of little props and tasks to do throughout the night, but unfortunately most of them got left at Jenna's on accident on the way out. I still remembered the little jar of bubbles, though, and was blowing those around all night long! Big thanks to everyone who made the birthday part of this week so much fun... I have some REALLY wonderful friends! (Including Katelyn who drove two and a half hours and randomly showed up on Friday to visit for the weekend! Wonderful surprise!)

Thanks Mom & Dad...

2011-04-14T12:19:00.004-04:00

For making me! Well, and... you know, putting up with me for the last 22 years :-)

I'll be doing the birthday/Little 500 thing all weekend (who am I kidding, I've been doing it all week), but I think it should result in some pretty post-worthy pictures. See ya next week!

Goodbyes to Cold Weather

2011-04-10T23:49:00.005-04:00

The weather has been teasingly darting around between being REALLY cold (for the Spring state of mind, anyways), perfectly Springy, and something like you would expect in the middle of June. This outfit is likely one of the last you'll see with a really "cold-weather" feel to it... it's almost time to pack up the heavy sweaters!

Outfit
Dress: Gap, hemmed
Cardigan, Leggings: Old Navy
Headband: Forever 21
Ribbed socks: Target
Necklace: Italian blown glass
Boots: Durango, RCC Western

In other news, my camera decided to randomly break (literally nothing traumatic happened to it and the lense cover went all crazy and in trying to fix it a spring was lost) so it looks like it's a new camera instead of cowboy boots for my birthday after all. The next few posts will still be catching up from the old camera, but I'm looking forward to trying an outfit post with the new one. It's a really similar camera, just newer, and I think it does better with different levels of lighting without flash. We'll see!

(I'm still hoping to get the cowboy boots as a graduation present, so those should be along sometime in the next month or so! Wait, did I just say graduation? Oh my goodness)

Love: Sephora Collection

2011-04-05T17:30:00.001-04:00

As mentioned in the last post, several of the makeup products I was wearing are new and have become some of my new favorites/daily staples! All three are from the Sephora Collection.

I'll start from left to right:

Sephora Collection, Lip Attitude- Star in Capricious Red. ($12) The website describes it as being a mixture of lipstick and lip gloss, and it is a perfect combination of just that. I like that it's more subtle than most lipsticks due to it's glossy/sheer color and has the perfect amount of shimmer to not be overwhelming. I love this color because it really compliments the coral-red colors I have been wearing a lot lately.
Kohl Waterproof Eyeliner in Keep Black. ($9) I had read about Korres eyeliner on a blog around Christmas time, but never saw it anywhere when I thought to look. It caught my eye again in Sephora last weekend, but it was placed strategically close to the Sephora Collection Kohl Waterproof Eyeliner, which was significantly cheaper. I like the idea of anything that's waterproof that's around my eyes, because they're nothing worse than "bleeding" eyeliner or mascara due to swear, tears from eye irritation, or anything else. I am SO glad I bought this- it goes on SO easily and SO smoothly, and it STAYS on. When I wore it out the night in Chicago, any other eyeliner would normally have been long gone by the time I got home, but it took a shower AND a good scrubbing with makeup remover to come off, which is a huge benefit as far as I'm concerned. Since then I've found that just that makeup remover works best so as to not totally traumatize the poor skin of yours eyes. ;-)
Sephora Collection Colorful Mono Eyeshadow in Creme Caramel (Matte). ($12) I am always looking for new neutral colors that can be incorporated into "going-out" makeup or just worn on a daily basis. I LOVE this color, because it is actually a little warmer than the picture above, and it is just about the same color as my skin, so I can even use it as an extra little layer of concealer under my eyes when needed. I LOVE using this when I'm going for emphasis on eye-liner/mascara and when paired with the lipstick to keep things toned down and not over the top. The different shades come in matte, glittering, or metallic shimmer, and definitely are long lasting. I am looking forward to trying new colors in the future.

I think overall all three of these products have made me realize that you can find makeup that you don't have to spend a FORTUNE on that is still really high in quality. They were all slightly higher priced than most comparable products I have used in the past, but so far have proven to be worth every penny! Do YOU have any favorites from the Sephora Collection you would recommend trying next?

Katelyn and I both in the Capricious Red lipstick.

Rockin' and a Rollin'

2011-04-04T17:12:00.005-04:00

The reason we were in Chicago last weekend was more or less based on the fact that a band we used to go see all the time in high school was having a Reunion/Farewell show. Much the Same was based in Chicago but did tours stopping in Evansville pretty frequently, and were certainly one of the staples of the Evansville "punk" scene. (No, I was never really "punk" by any means, though we did go to plenty of show. I'll try to find a picture to attach of the girls back then.)

After the show at Reggie's Rock Club in South Loop, we were heading up to Lincoln Park to see a band that one of my dad's coworkers is in. The plan was to head out to the bars in Wicker Park after that, but we were three tired girls (and sick, in my case- thanks allergies!) so we just high-tailed it home with my dad after the second show. Here's what I wore for the night:

Outfit:
Vest: Forever 21
Boots, Bracelets, Earrings: Charlotte Russe
Skirt/Sequined Pocket Shirt/Leggings: Old Navy
Purse: Carlos Santana, TJ Maxx

**Hopefully a post will follow in the near future highlighting the makeup seen in these pictures, as several of the products I picked up at Sephora have become my absolute new favorites!

Some of our guy friends from Evansville who were also in town for the show. Cute faces on their part, I know.

"Holding" Phillips glasses while he was busy doing the "mosh pit" thing.

And, as promised, here's an attempt to capture what we looked like back in the "scene" days. Definitely not punk by any means. Note the band shirts, reddish highlights on black hair (though believe me, that changed plenty of times), rainbow raver kid bracelets, rubber band necklaces, gauged earrings, etc etc etc. I don't really know what we thought we were doing!

Baby Don't You Wanna Go...

2011-03-31T13:55:00.008-04:00

I guess this is a picture post. I don't really have all that much to say. Your mouth may be watering with the last picture, my apologies. Chicago always comes with some damn good food. You'll also have to excuse the wild, untamed state of my hair and the sleepy eyes in every picture: attack of the allergies (part III), which always makes me feel like I have the flu or something awful.

Me, Katelyn, and Sarah before dinner and drinks on the first night in Chicago.

Adventures in Lincoln Park.

Drinks at Bird's Nest. Jagerbombs, to be specific.

Twin Anchors, famous for being "Frank Sinatra's favorite rib joint" and also the location of the Harvey Dent coin flip in The Dark Knight. Killing two birds with one stone, if you will.

Somehow every picture we took ended up looking like a family portrait. Lunch at Joe's before some shopping. Home of....

Hands down, THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN THE WORLD. At a Stone Crab place. Go there. Seriously. I don't think I've ever had anything from this place that is not awesome.

I promise in the next post I'll be wearing an article of clothing other than that skirt. Haha.

One Skirt, Remixed

2011-03-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

This skirt has been quite the star of recent outfit poses. I really love it, but because it's a print it is more difficult to wear it different ways each time without letting anything clash too much. Here are two different ways I've worn it in the last week and a half, once in the warm Florida weather, and once for going out in Chicago.

Florida:

Outfit
Tank top, Flower Ring: Target
Vest/skirt/Sunglasses/Necklace: Forever 21
Shoes: Old Navy
Purse: Carlos Santana
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Chicago:

Outfit
Vest, Tank Top, Leggings: Old Navy
Boots: Steve Madden
Skirt/Colored Bracelet: Forever 21
Necklace: Bought/Made from Hobby Lobby
(Worn with Deep Purple bomber jacket from Target)

The outfits pretty much stick with the same basic concept, just inverted colors. Does anyone have any creative suggestions on what to pair this skirt with to make a completely different look?

Spring Break in Clearwater, Pt II.

2011-03-27T20:04:00.007-04:00

Back from the weekend and sick YET AGAIN. I'm getting so tired of this dust allergy. It always seems to cause some real big sick problem at the most inconvenient times. I may legitimately consider getting allergy shots for it... and I HATE shots! Does anyone else do regular allergy shots that you think help a lot?

Anyways, it's been like 30-40 degrees here and in Chicago all weekend, so let's get back to reliving Florida.

Travelodge neighbor from Wisconsin out at one of the bars.

On the crazy little golf cart shuttle.

Matching OPI Cajun Shrimp nail polish :-)

Yes, we actually brought our own green food coloring.

Out for St. Patrick's day.

Sunset Beach Nap!

A very whipped boyfriend?

Happy hour at our favorite spot (Frenchy's) with the IU crew.

Some sign on the way home through Georgia. I don't know if it was big enough. We also never found out what this "$1.00" bag of fruit was. Really disappointed with THAT one!

Junghwa by Amy Stewart: Rope Bracelet Giveaway

2011-03-24T12:56:00.002-04:00

Looking for a cute but simple accessory to add to your spring/summer wardrobe? These adorable rope bracelets by Amy Stewart are the perfect addition! Amy is currently doing a giveaway of one of these bracelets on her blog (Click the picture to view the post!) but you can also find them on her Etsy shop: Junghwa. She also has some really adorable necklaces, rings, etc on the shop, and it is worth checking out!

There are three days left to enter, so be sure to click on over to her blog ASAP! She will also be featuring another giveaway in the near future, so keep your eyes open for that one as well.

HELP!

2011-03-23T14:33:00.002-04:00

I was certain I wanted the Ariat Pomegranite/Mesa Brown Cowboy boots for my birthday, but now I'm torn between those and these Dolce Vita Marci sandals! I wear my cowboy boots all the time and would definitely get great wear out of a new pair of those, and my friend Betsy who used to ride horses says Ariats are REALLY comfy. However, I don't own any really nice black sandals, and I know I would get a lot of wear out of those too.

What do you ladies think? Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with either brand, or even the particular shoe?

Spring Break in Clearwater, Pt I.

2011-03-22T22:03:00.006-04:00

"WELCOME TO THE SOUTH, YA'ALL!"

Posing for a picture opp while struggling with the janky cart through the class act known as the Travelodge. I should clarify that it was actually probably classier than I expected to be. We really didn't set off on Spring Break expecting the Ritz, and we got the good ol' trashy college spring break we'd always dreamed of.

Tall boys when we got in town. We weren't about to waste a second. You're not 21 forever, ya know!

Getting ready for THE BEACH!

Shots of Red Stag and American Honey right when we got to the beach.

Oh, this is also the time we were so excited to just get right on down to the beach that we forgot to bring any kind of towel whatsoever... so we just snagged some of those beach chairs that apparently you are supposed to rent.

Creeping around behind the bar with Chad the bartender.
"MY FAVORITE GUY COUSIN'S NAME IS CHAD TOO!"

Just... hanging out on the bar.

Guy who plays guitar at the bar walks up and proceeds to hit on us shamelessly all night while buying us a couple of drinks. You buy us drinks, we'll entertain you for a little while. End of night rolls around and as we're closing out the bar...

Bartender: "Do you ladies want this on one tab?"
Kelly: "Yeah, HIS."

And that's how we got our first night of something like $40 of drinks, FO FREE.

No alcohol? Oops... Thank goodness for party cups!

These pictures are all pretty much from the first 24 hours of being there. I'll have to figure out some way to break the others up in a few separate posts. I think I managed to get one decent set of pictures that could be an outfit post, and the others will probably be structured something like this.

We didn't get nearly as many pictures as one would have expected, mainly due to Kelly dropping her camera the first night and me just being too preoccupied having in depth drunken SPORTS CONVERSATIONS (Yeah, I know NOTHING about any kind of sport with the exception of being able to trash talk the Cubs and maybe bullshit my way through a little hockey and baseball) with all sorts of random folks, particularly those who were willing to buy me drinks in the meantime. The week was really ridiculous.

The Lacy Tights & Kelly's 21st

2011-03-20T20:56:00.007-04:00

I really love these tights, but I rarely wear them because they're really kind of uncomfortable in a million different ways. However, after packing for Florida (REALLY unreasonably I might add, I didn't wear 70% of what I brought), I kind of just had to throw a mish mash of things together to go out for drinks on Kelly's 21st! I guess it worked out well because throughout the weekend I had two totally new outfit combinations I had never even thought of before. Here's what we came up with:

Outfit
Lacy Tights: Target
Sweater: Old Navy
Boots: Charlotte Russe
Dress: Delia's

And I couldn't cover Kelly's 21st birthday without sharing the progression of the Four Horsemen Shot I got her:

In other news, we're back from Florida, and not at all looking forward to being back in the studious state of mind. I'll be reliving the week through various posts I'll be sharing this week before it's off again, this time to Chicago for the weekend. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

The Sparkly Belt

2011-03-12T22:02:00.003-05:00

What can I say, I am a five year old child when it comes to anything sparkly/shiny, and this belt I came across at Target was no exception. It was $15, which as a poor college student is a little more than I would normally want to spend on a Target belt (Clearance is where it's at), but it was one of those things I saw and immediately had to have. I justified it by the fact that I have really been needing SOME kind of new belt, and I don't have any that are a gold-ish color. Whatever works to eliminate or at least reduce the buyer's remorse.

I should also let you know that I made this entire outfit around the fact that I wanted to wear this headband out. Again, I may or may not have multiple personalities, one of which is a five year old girl. These socks WERE one of the clearance finds... only $1.40!!!! It all evens out, right?

Outfit
Dress, Socks, Belt, Sidebag: Target
Boots: Steve Madden
Headband: Forever 21

See, it's already right at home!

Happy Spring Break for those of you who are on it! Kelly and I are Florida bound Monday afternoon. I'm sure that will result in all sorts of outfit posts and pictures to share!

Kelly Turns 21, Chaos Ensues

2011-03-06T15:05:00.008-05:00

My terrible amount of procrastination and "Senioritis" I've been feeling regarding school has definitely spilled over to the blog world. I really have to ask myself what I've been doing for the last few weeks, because I really have not been taking many pictures of ANYTHING, and I don't know that I've even had anything too exciting to talk about. Hopefully Spring and Sprink Break will help give that a little kick in the butt.

In the meantime, I wanted to do a picture post commemorating that in ONE WEEK, Birthday week begins and one of my best friends/roommate will FINALLY BE 21!!!! I don't think age of friends ever seems like any issue at all until you're at the split where one of you can go out to the bars and the other can't. We'll be leaving for Florida on her actual birthday for Spring Break, so I'm looking forward to a week of celebrations. I love birthdays, mine AND those of everyone else!

Chaos Ensues...

Skirt Dresses and Cowboy Boots

2011-02-22T20:49:00.003-05:00

I think one of my favorite things is to take high waisted skirts and turn them into dresses by just wearing them even higher. It probably started with trying to wear them at the right height so they were the length I wanted them to be, but however it happened, it works.

Outfit
Skirt: Forever 21
Sweater, Legging: Old Navy
Boots: Durango, R.C.C. Western
Side-bag: Target

Bangs brought to you by Bettie Page and my lack of self control when it comes to scissors.

(I don't think Claire normally looks this much shorter than me... I'm not really sure what's going on here, it kind of looks like she's my child?)

I guess another favorite thing are those damn cowboy boots. I think I'm going to ask for another pair, this time Ariats, for my birthday. A friend who grew up riding horses says they are REALLY comfortable, and I could use another pair as much as I wear these. Plus, cowboy boots are totally worth the money since the more torn up they get, the more 'authentic' they look. I've had mine for years and the only real issue they've had is that time I spilled coffee all over them. Oops!

It's looking promising for these little ladies:

Sorry I've still been so out of it when it comes to the blogging world. I've been trying to at least pop by to keep up with everyone, and I don't think I even have a good excuse for being busy or anything. Maybe busy procrastinating... that's for sure. Oh, and HAPPY NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY! I'm kind of sad I just figured out that this is apparently a real thing, because otherwise I'd be drinking one as we speak.

Forever 21 Gift Card Giveaway

2011-02-17T12:36:00.005-05:00

For those of you interested in Giveaways (Let's be honest, aren't we all) AND Forever 21... Pearls Lace and Ruffles is hosting one where she will be giving away a $75 gift card and a $25 gift card to two lucky readers!

Click the picture to head on over and check it out!

Red High Heels

2011-02-15T21:26:00.004-05:00

Last night a few friends and I celebrated Valentine's day with dinner at Sushi Bar and then going to see The Roommate. I cannot express how RIDICULOUS that movie was. We may have had a little to drink before, but it was SO messed up and way more sexual than I expected. I don't really know WHAT I expected... but it was completely bizarre. I think it was worth seeing... but maybe wait until you can rent it from Redbox if you're considering it.

Either way, last night was probably the most fun Valentine's Day I've ever had. I LOVE my friends and could not ask for better ladies to celebrate the single life with :-)

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx
Shoes, Belt, Bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Earrings: Claire's

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:37:00.009-05:00

I thought I'd celebrate today by sharing some of the people and things that I LOVE!

My Momma

My Little Bubs

My Dad

My Wonderful Friends

My Little Penske

My Wonderful Roommate, and Steve Maddens!

Music and Art

My Little "Niece" Lily Baby

Crafting and Reading

College! (This represents that well, right? Haha)

What do YOU love? I hope that whether you are single or in a relationship, you have a wonderful Valentine's day and take the time to appreciate the people and things in your life that you love!

Steve Madden Sale

2011-02-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

Steve Madden is having a big ol' sale on Boots that includes some other shoes as well, and since I have no money for shoe buying, I figured I should at least try to encourage the rest of you not to miss out on some of these fabulous shoes!

STEVEMADDEN.COM

CARLSEN

BONANZA
Ok ok, maybe these aren't on sale. I still wish I had them!

ELEVAATE

***Update: Did not post this at first because I thought the code expired, but you can currently use the code WINTER25 at checkout to get 25% a purchase of $75 or more and free shipping! If spending $125 or more, use WINTER30 and get 30% and free shipping!

Something New, Part Two!

2011-02-07T12:05:00.000-05:00

Here are the more ridiculous pictures from Saturday night in Chicago. These are the sunglasses I bought at Forever 21. I think they remind me of Lady Gaga which probably explains the ridiculous growling face I'm making in all of these pictures.

I don't know why my dad looks like an adorable old little Chinese man in this picture...

Why yes, my dad DID initiate these tequila shots. No question on how close this apple fell to the tree.

More tequila on the apartment building roof in what felt like -10000 degrees. Smart on my part.

iPhones are the boom-boxes of the 2000's

You just can't take us anywhere....

Something New!

2011-02-06T22:47:00.007-05:00

As I'm sure anyone has come to expect out of me when Chicago trips happen, I made my usual run by Forever 21. I picked up two dresses, a high waisted skirt, sunglasses, and a belt. Hopefully the others will be making appearances here soon, but here's the outfit from Saturday night when we went out to Buddy Guy's Legends to see some live Blues music.

Back zipper detail

Outfit
Dress, Belt: Forever 21
Leggings: Old Navy
Necklace: American Eagle
Shoes, Bracelets, Earrings, Ring: Charlotte Russe

Betsy!

A "Part II" of sorts is to come tomorrow with all the ridiculous pictures we took Saturday night. What were you ladies up to this weekend?

"Snowpocalypse" Hits the Midwest

2011-02-04T01:00:00.006-05:00

Although they got two feet of snow and the "2nd Worst Blizzard in History" as far as Chicago is concerned, our version of the Snowpocalypse was more of an Icegeddon. We ended up with about .75" of ice drizzled with a bit of snow. This doesn't sound too horrible, but it got us out of school for about 24 hours (Which managed to get me out of FOUR whole classes. Perfect timing IU! Many thanks from this lazy senior! I should also mention that IU has only ever canceled classes a total of like five days in its history) and a lot of people are still out of power.

Thankfully we never lost it and our hardships were pretty much limited to being cut short from a trip to the mall and spending half an hour chipping our cars out of ice. Not bad at all.

The wild hair and lack of makeup: the way I looked for about two days this week.

I wish I could have gotten more pictures of the icy trees, but the freak weather melted the ice off and refroze it on the ground before I could make it out the next day!

Playing in the 'ice balls' with Kelly.

Ice Bunny?

I've also STILL been working on recovering from this 'sick' that I was starting to worry was bronchitis. Turns out it is the same thing I got this time last year: a HORRIBLE allergy related mess. I guess the floor set at work and cleaning off the shelves a week and a half ago really set it off and it just went down hill from there. Now I'm on a whole slew of Allergy/Symptom relief medications including a Promethazine/Codeine Cough Syrup... you know, the stuff rappers make SIZZURP out of. I don't question the ability of that stuff to mess you up... I took a teaspoon full earlier this morning and was knocked into the best nap ever with some REALLY wild dreams. I'm actually looking forward to see what comes from tonight's dreams.

The first time I wore real clothes and make-up in days...

Outfit
Sweater, Leggings: Old Navy
Scarf: H&M (Kind of obsessed, if you couldn't tell)
Dress: Target
Boots: Charlotte Russe

Tomorrow it's off to Chicago with my friend Betsy to visit my dad and another friend for the weekend. I'm kind of excited to see all the snow, and glad that Chicago is on top of its game and had everything cleared up pretty much the day after the blizzard. Hopefully I'll get a lot of pictures so I actually have something interest to post about next week. (Not that promethazine induced dreams aren't great or anything...)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hoosier Pride

2011-01-30T18:37:00.005-05:00

Keeping things somewhat fashionable with Miss Kelly for Thursday night's basketball game against Illinois (which we won, BY THE WAY). I forgot how much I love going to basketball games... especially when we pull off a win.

Outfit
Sweatshirt: Jansport, T.I.S.
Boots: R.C.C. Western
Socks: Target
Leggings, Skirt: Old Navy
Scarf: H&M

Self Control

2011-01-29T17:01:00.004-05:00

...Something I don't have when it comes to my hair.

Honestly I'm probably one of those people that over-thinks too many things in life, but when it comes to my hair, I get an idea in my head and need to carry it out immediately. That's why, against my better judgment and the advice of a close hair-stylist friend and others, I cut my own bangs. I've done it before and it's never too awful... it usually just needs to be trimmed a little bit so they lay like they're supposed to.

I'm actually really glad I ended up doing it, now I just need to get used to having them again. I didn't actually intend for them to be straight across at first, but once they're at a certain length they really just work better that way. I'm sure soon enough they'll be too grown out and will be back to being side-swept.

(Still not completely recovered from sickness, but recovered enough to stir up some trouble with Kel again)

Love: Charlotte Russe

2011-01-28T17:28:00.002-05:00

Out of all of the shoes I was look at on the Charlotte Russe website, I ended up only finding one pair in store that had the right size and seemed like something that was comfortable enough that I would actually wear. I tried on the nude pumps and LOVED the way they looked, but they had that weird combination of fitting perfectly on the front but just barely being too loose on the back and I knew they'd be the kind I was constantly slipping out of when walking. Here are the ones I got:

Here's another close up of the ring from my last outfit post that I love so much:

I also ended up with a couple of pairs of earrings but of course I can't find pictures of them online. I'll try to get some whenever I wear them. I've been going for the longer earrings lately because those are really the only ones that will stand out in my wild hair.

I would definitely recommend checking out their website right now. They have some sales going on for Valentine's Day, and a LOT of really cute dresses! Unfortunately I don't think I would fit into many of them thanks to my, uh, chest being a little too big (That is not always a good thing for those of you who wish yours were bigger!!!).

Click picture to visit CharlotteRusse.com

Do any of you ladies shot at Charlotte? I never did quite as much until my roommate started working there again. Now I try to avoid going in as much as possible because I know it is near impossible for me to walk out without buying at least an accessory! What are your favorite things to get there?

The Ring That Hugs Your Finger!

2011-01-24T17:51:00.003-05:00

I was in Charlotte Russe last week to get some shoes with a gift certificate my cousin got me for Christmas, and of course I can't get out of that store without popping through the jewelry section. This ring was one of the things I ended up with! The band is stretchy so it fits most fingers perfectly, and the top part literally feels like it's hugging your finger. Yeah, that's why I bought it. I mean, I never claimed to have sane reasons for why I buy things after all.

Outfit
Dress: Delia's
Leggings, Sweater: Old Navy
Necklace: American Eagle
Ring, Earrings, Bracelets: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: My dirty dirty slushy snowy and oh so warm winter Uggs

I spent pretty much all of today in bed with the exception of going in for an advising appointment to make sure I'll graduate on time (I will, in case anyone was concerned). We had a floor set at work last night which involved cleaning off the shelves and lots of dust and my AWESOME little dust allergy was not a fan, so my throat feels all but completely swollen shut today with a little side of scratchiness. No worries as far as I'm concerned though, I'm off to the store to buy some apple juice and ice cream, which I was craving anyways, so it all worked out!