East Ukrainian Village

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.

What's New in Wonderland Kitchen

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.

Lollapalooza: The Friends & The Food

(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

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

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.

Rockin' and a Rollin'

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...

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.

Outfit Post: Back in Black

Who knows WHY I thought it was a good idea to run around in head to toe black in the 90+ degree weather of the Chicago summer, but it really didn't get too bad until the end of the day. I needed something that was not too revealing, comfortable to walk around in all day, and not too risky when it comes to those Chicago winds vs. Skirts/Dresses. Just for the record: Quickest way to take a black outfit and make it pop: ridiculously colorful scarf. Voila!

Outfit
Dress, Leggings and Ring: Target
Scarf: Old Navy
Shoes: Gap
Earrings: For Love 21

Yesterday we started off with breakfast at the Bongo Room on S. Wabash in the South Loop. It was REALLY delicious, but way too filling. I'll be posting a review soon over at Wonderland Kitchen (Along with several other amazing restaurant reviews from this Chicago visit! You can currently find a review for the South Loop pizza joint Flo & Santos).

(Red Velvet Pancakes with Vanilla Creme Sauce. You better believe I'll be trying to find my own recipe to share with you guys in the very near future for this delicious little creation!)

Then we had school visits at Northwestern for the little bro, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for both of us. I've been looking into a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design, but after being told that I'd basically just be blowing a cool $80,000 to play around with "studio time" for two years, it didn't seem exactly like what I wanted to pursue after I graduate... as much as I'd love to sit around and craft for two years and call it an education. It did, however, look like a really cool school for anyone who is specifically pursuing art and has an actual undergrad background in it.

We ended the day (night, really) at a White Sox game (the REAL Chicago team) followed by watching the fireworks at Navy Pier from the drive out by the Planetarium. It was a busy busy but really great day overall!!

By the way, big thanks to Pearls, Lace, and Ruffles because I was one of the winners of her 300 followers giveaway! I can't wait to get this adorable little collection of jewelry and put it to good use. I promise to post as soon as it comes in :-) (And thanks to all of MY new followers! Again... it means a lot that any of you actually read this! I've been working on pulling stuff together for a giveaway of my own, and that will be happening soon!)