New Kids in the Shoe Closet

Never mind the messy hair, or the awkward faces, or the outfit which you have seen a million times. The point of this post is THE BOOTS. I am SO excited about these. As I've mentioned before, I know UGGs are pretty love/hate, but I am definitely a lover. These are the Delaine's I asked for on my Christmas List, and they have beyond exceeded my expectations.

I originally wanted them because they had the rubber across the toe and the rubber sole so they seemed like they would be great weather-appropriate shoes for all the days we have the snowy/slushy thing going on. After I asked for them, I was reading up and realized that the bottom is actually made more like a sneaker. This means that the inside of the sole is SO COMFORTABLE with so much support! They're not as thick as normal UGGs, which is a little sad, but they're still super soft and furry and I am in love!

Did anyone else get anything fabulous for Christmas that you are just dying over?

Christmas Picture Post

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend! Already have some pictures lined up to do an outfit post featuring one of my presents, and just got a few new things today that I am REALLY excited about making an outfit out of. Hopefully I'll get a little bit more on track here with posting, although I'm going home again for a few days around New Years Eve so that might throw it off again just for a short time.

Chandon and Raspberry Liquer while we man the grill

Well, no one could find our real stockings so mom whipped up some of these classy replacements

Penske loved the scarf... or maybe not

Dane with his IU blanket that I made him

Penguin Pillow Pet (Haha, Thanks Mom)

The hilarious poem on the Pillow Pet tag

Angostura Rum from Trinidad. YUM!

Family picture

Little brother Dane and his girlfriend Chelsea

Christmas craft post to come! I still have to give out a few of those presents to some friends at home so I don't want to give anything away too soon. Also, you can find a picture post entirely of the weekend's food on Wonderland Kitchen, but consider this your warning to NOT look if you are even the slightest bit hungry!!!

Finally Finally the Christmas Picture Post.

I know it's a bit late but I'm finally getting around to sharing some of the goodies I got this year. It's occurring to me that I have several posts I meant to do somewhere along the lines of break and just never got around to, so maybe the next few snowy days will help me get around to it.

The MUCH ANTICIPATED Steve Madden Merriees. They fit like a GLOVE and I am absolutely in love with them. And especially in love with the fact that I managed to find them for a great sale price (for my mom- I guess I basically did my own Christmas shopping this year).

Steve Madden Fiesstaas. Also long awaited. These are going to take a bit getting used to because they're a little higher than my usual heels, but I absolutely love them as well.

Vera Bradley Weekender!!! I had originally wanted the small duffel, but they were sold out in the pattern I liked, so I ended up with this instead- and I think I love it ten times more! More pockets/zipper compartments, and it will be the perfect airplane carry on!

Lolita Lolita Lolitas! I think I've mentioned these before (Martini ornament from the Christmas Decor post), but they are truly my favorites! My aunt got me the "Five O'clock Somewhere" wine glass and my Dad got me the "Zebra" martini (We got him the Indy and Chicago martini glasses). Excited to add them to my collection!
They've got all sorts of great things that make perfect presents- check them out here. You can usually find a lot of their stuff at Hallmark's as well.

Of course I don't go any holiday without adding to the DVD collection. This year, The Hangover, Public Enemies, and Inglourious Basterds. All WONDERFUL movies. I also picked up Wedding Crashers, Red Dragon, The Prestige, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose (brand new for the used price, and buy three get one free!) with a gift card from Coconuts in Evansville, IN, where they sell used movies, guarunteed of course.

The domestic side of me was also fulfilled with an 8" Chef's Knife (ONE OF MY FAVORITES!), wine glasses, an apple corer, and Torani Caramel Syrup and a Paring knife from a gift card I won at Evansville's Kitchen Affairs.

This is a series recommended by my mom's hairstylist Mindy, and I thought it was pretty decent. It's essentially about a "Vampyre Finishing School", but also kind of portrays Vampires to be magical in a sense. It really just seemed like what would happen if Twilight and Harry Potter produced an offspring. They seem to be written towards a younger audience, but they were fun to read, and only too about a day each. There are also two more in the series I have yet to pick up.

I really liked/needed all of my presents this year, so I'd say it was a very very good Christmas! (Yes, even the Chiefs shot glass and bottle opener that my dad and brother used in an attempt to make me a Chiefs fan). What was YOUR favorite present this year?!

Holiday Picture Post

I just got home yesterday from visiting family in Wabash, IN (not the most fun place on earth, but my mom's whole family lives there so we try to get up sometime around Christmas to visit) and wanted to share a few pictures taken lately! All camera phone quality, but hopefully my camera will be back and fixed from the Best Buy Geek Squad in less than a week! Gotta love warranties with accidental coverage!

Cuddling with my not-so-little lap dog, Penske.

Time for Christmas baking! (Recipes found over at Wonderland Kitchen)

Penske and my cousin's dog, Georgie, meet again for the first time since Georgie was a puppy. Penske wasn't so much a fan of Georgie's excessive amounts of energy and was glad when she got home and had the house to herself again.

The queen, passed out in my bed one morning.

SNOW IN WABASH! A little jealous of their White Christmas (they got a few more inches after this was taken). Definitely no where close to what friends on the east coast got, but I'll take what I can get! I LOVE snow!

Little Princess Georgie cuddling up on her mommy's lap, wearing her "Christmas Necklace," as my cousin puts it. Someone is spoiled!! She is really one of the most cuddly dogs I've ever met in my life.

The "under-the-tree" view at the Hoover house, so far. I smell a couple of pairs of Steve Maddens but beyond that, who knows! I've been a good girl and haven't done any peeking just yet. ;-)

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!!!

Christmas Wonderland at the Jungle

I've been meaning to get a Christmas Decoration post up for some time now, and with Wild as a Mink's comment on my last post of " I bet your place is all decked out", I felt now was only the appropriate time to do so!!!

Our main tree this year is a little 3 footer graciously donated by the Wanhainen clan, which we've got up on a wrapped 'present' on the end table and decorated with a variety of ornaments. A few of them are these adorable little candy canes that say "IU" all over them, given to us by our friend Lauryn (Unfortunately I don't have a picture of them specifically!). I'm not sure where her mom found them, but I'm pretty sure I'll be needing to get some more next year!

I also went and bought a few little ornaments from Target, such as the penguin (Of course- I'm really obsessed!!!) and the little mitten pictured below. The leopard print martini glass is from the Lolita collection- they make the full sized painted martini glasses that I collect (Really cute idea for presents! Check them out at any Hallmark store!). The little clay A with the candy cane is one Kel (Sew Me Some Love) made and also has a matching red K somewhere on the tree.

Our table center piece consists of my itty bitty hot pink tree complete with miniature ornaments, both bought at Urban Outfitters two years ago for a pretty decent price, though I can't remember exactly how much. Kelly bought some "Christmas Light" Ornaments from Target that we have thrown into our candles to complete the look. (As if you haven't already figured it out, MOST of our decor is from Target, and we really could be the Target poster children for holiday decorating)

I personally am a sucker for Garland, so we've got the kind with silver tinsel hung over every door and window in the house for the most part, complete with red bows in the kitchen/living room and blue bows in my room. The kitchen window has the multi colored snowflakes above it, and I've got the pink sparkly snowflakes scattered throughout my room in various places. My favorite garland spot, however, might be the half wall between the dining room and living room, shown above. It's definitely perfect with the little IU Snowman Kelly's mom gave us that a friend of theirs made!

The THIRD tree in our house can be found in my room. This little approximately 2' Hallmark tree has been a growing collection of miniature ornaments ever since I was born. The highlights include my little snowflake fairies and the whole cast of the Wizard of Oz (And yes, I've got the whole cast and then some on the big tree at my parents' house too). It also has a few different little Santa/Mrs. Claus couples and some rocking horses. I think both grandmas have contributed to this collection somewhere along the way! One of the legs holding the tree up unfortunately broke a few years ago, but I'm not ready to give it up just yet so I pulled a real classy move and duct taped it together under the tree skirt. Oh well, out of sight, so no one can tell!While I love every part of our decorations, one of my very favorites is our little snow village on the bookshelf in our living room. I also have a few houses in my room, and Kelly has a little toy factory in hers. I stole this from my mom, because she's got a great collection of the, but never wants to put them up at home because she doesn't like having to put them away! (I did manage to sneak a few of them up at her house, though.) We've got the fake snow under them, as well as the sprinkly kind on top of THAT!

Yes, those are fake presents wrapped next to the bookshelf. And yes, we know, we (mostly me) are out of control, but there are few things in this world I love more than decorating for holidays. Not to mention that this was only a highlight, there are still lights up elsewhere, a homemade wreath on the front door, the wreaths on our doors seen in the previous post, wrapping paper wrapped doors, and more!!!

Hopefully you've enjoyed that mini tour through the Jungle, aka the North Pole. I hope you all have a great holiday season and enjoy any time off work or school and time spent with family and friends!! Additionally, please feel free to comment with any stories of excessive holiday decorations to feel like we're not the only crazy ones ;-)

WalMart Holiday Finds!

I know I tend to throw Wal Mart to the side of my mind with preference for Target, but over Thanksgiving break I went in to get outdoor Christmas lights for my parents house and stumbled across a few things. Their Christmas section was a bit picked over but they still had a lot of cute stuff, and as always, for really low prices!!

This glittery "Let It Snow" ornament was only a dollar, and I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to put it when I bought it (It's definitely too big for our bitty 3' tree at the apartment). It ended up fitting perfectly into the center of the wreath on my bedroom door. I actually made this wreath last year out of stuff I found in the dollar or holiday sections at Target, and I think the whole thing together only cost about 7 dollars!

I also bought this five dollar towel set (We usually have decorative towels hanging on our oven door handle) that came with a hand towel and a wash cloth sized towel. They had other sets that came with a dish scrubber for the same price, but I personally loved the penguin and couldn't really tear myself away from him!

Forever 21 Sales!

Meant to post this a while ago and have of course been without a computer and caught up in the frenzy of studying and stressing for finals. This is a picture of one of the dresses I got on MEGA CLEARANCE at Forever 21. And by that I mean... around $5. Which, even for Forever 21, is quite the steal. I also got one in the same pattern but purple, because as far as I'm concerned you cannot have too many summer dresses, especially when they're only five dollars.

This one I wore with brown leggings, my trusty Durango Cowboy Boots, and I also wore my brown Old Navy CardiCoat over it. I didn't get a picture with the sweater, but here's one of the dress. It's super fun and flowy and I think will pair well with a million things I've got in my closet, so I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm ALSO pretty excited about the fact that I got to my parents house today to see that my two pairs of Steve Maddens that my mom ordered me for Christmas have arrived! Of course I had to try them on to be sure they fit. The gold Merriees fit LIKE A GLOVE. The Fiesstaas are a little bit more loose as far as what I'm used to in high heels, in that they don't seem to offer as much support. I still love them, and can't wait to get used to them.

I was a little disappointed that they weren't as pink as the looked in the picture. In this picture they look almost purple, but they are definitely a fuschia. In all fairness, that's what the color was listed as on the website... but the pictures all made them look HOT pink.

Regardless, I do still love them, and can't wait until Christmas when I get to unwrap them and WEAR THEM!!!! It's going to be a high heeled Christmas in Alex's Wonderland, that's for sure!