Love: Charlotte Russe

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?

New Years Eve Outfit Post

Let's do this in two parts: First, keeping it classy with the outfit post. Second, we'll break it down with the crazy pictures and stories from New Years Eve.

I didn't make much of an effort to find a new dress for New Years Eve this year. Any shopping attempts more or less boiled down to a five minute browse through Target resulting in nothing of interest. I did, however, realize that I have a few good black dresses that tend to be a little "fancier" than the events I usually attend, so I decided to make use of one of those. I refer to this dress as my "Kardashian Dress" because it tends to accentuate my curves and make my rear end look even bigger than it actually is.

Paired with a clearance sequined belt from Target that matched the bow headband from last year and my new We Love Colors tights, it did the trick.

Ashlee's paparazzi shooot and camera with it's super wash-out flash.

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx (I think)
Tights: We Love Colors, Red
Booties: Payless
Belt, Headband: Target
Necklace: American Eagle Clearance
Ring, Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Also noteworthy as far as outfits go are my friend Dana's shoes. I could not help but take a picture to share with everyone, because they were AMAZING:

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!)

Outfit Post: A Little Bit Country and a Whole Lotta Rock'n'Roll!

Finally back from the weekend adventure in Chicago and then Bloomington! It was a great weekend. Ate *too much* good food in Chicago, and at this point I'm just dying to be back in Bloomington for good for the sake of getting back on a regular work out schedule!!!


This outfit is from the Tom Petty concert, which was amazing as usual. He's just so great live... I definitely recommend trying to get out to see him for anyone who likes him even a little bit!!! I drug my dad to Forever XXI on Saturday while we were running around town, and ended up getting two new dresses, a vest, a shirt, and a handful of cheap accessories... many of which made it into this outfit!!! I really love the vest, and I think I want to get one similar to it but in black from Charlotte Russe, because apparently they have them for only $10 right now. (I wish I had a picture of the detailing on the top of the back of it, but I'll try to get one of those the next time I wear it.)

Outfit
Dress: Target
Vest, Earrings, Bow, Necklace: Forever XXI
Boots: RCC Western
Ring: American Eagle
Purse: Target

(With Dad and Mr. Jack Daniels)

(Joelle and Stephanie... and the kid who was really annoyed that we got up to go get more drinks every twenty minutes... hence the double fisting.)

Outfit Post: We're Off to See the Wizard!

The school corporation I graduated high school from always does a summer musical, and this summer it was none other than one of my favorites of all time... THE WIZARD OF OZ! It was a really great production, particularly on the parts of the Scarecrow, Lion, and The Wicked Witch! (Ok, the Wicked Witch is my good friend's little sister, so I'm a little biased, but she really was fantastic!) It was really tempting to try to get a picture of the actual musical, but, since they told us no photography, I tried to actually follow that. I REALLY wish I had a picture of Glinda's dress, because it was absolutely amazing!!!


I wanted to wear something casual but not too casual, so here's what I ended up with. This is actually the first time I've worn these shoes! They're really similar to the black strappy wedges from Old Navy that I've worn a lot this summer, and they're SO comfortable! I stuck with the gray/metallic accessories with this purse I just rediscovered in my closet and the metallic belt. (Photo shoot again compliments of Miss Ashlee Lynn!)

Outfit
Skirt/Lace Cami/Wedges: Old Navy
Plain Cami: The Buckle
Bracelets: For Love 21, Charlotte Russe
Necklace: For Love 21
Flower Ring: Target
Sunglasses: Delia's

First Day of Class!

Ok, so I guess my first day of class was on tuesday. I'm clearly a little behind here. I'm only taking one summer class, and it's The History of The Beatles, so it's really quite the enjoyable way to spend two hours of my day Monday through Thursday.

The professor, Glenn Gass, is one I've had for two other History of Rock classes, and I LOVE him. You can tell how much he loves the Beatles and every aspect of the music he talks about, and he's so passionate about all of it. It's basically just two hours of hearing all these great stories about the band and those associated with them, and Glenn has clearly told these stories so many times, been to these places, met a lot of these people, it's almost as if he was there when the story happened.

Anyways, this is what I wore. Thank goodness I opted for leggings under this dress, because it was one hell of a windy day, and I don't think the journey to class is the appropriate place to pull a Marilyn.

Outfit
Dress, Leggings: Target
Sandals: Old Navy
Owl Necklace: For Love 21
Key Necklace: Chewlry
Sunglasses: Delias
Bracelets: For Love 21, Charlotte Russe, Claire's

What's everyone else up to this summer? Summer classes? Working? Any good vacations? Also- stay tuned, my roommate is going to be having a give away sometime in the near future, so I'll be sure to shamelessly plug that for all it's worth!

Belated Birthday Present from LaLaLaurynnn

My friend Lauryn, aka Lalalaurynnn, has been assuring me that my birthday present is on the way, and I kept forgetting about it, but it finally came, and I LOVE IT! She is so cute... she custom ordered me a necklace from Sparkle Peach's Etsy. All I can say is, it was absolutely perfect for a 21st birthday present. I'll leave the rest up to pictures.

Now go check out Sparkle Peach's Etsy, because everything in it is SO cute!!!

Summer Brings Out the Virgin Mary!

Summer and sundresses always put me in the mood for bright colored jewelry... and out comes the Virgin Mary Necklace from the Cactus Flower! Usually paired with matching green and bright blue bracelets from Forever 21, and I threw in this creme bangle from India. Today was definitely a sundress day- temperatures almost hit 80. However it was not a good "Self-timer" day, and I had to settle for a mirror picture to get one of the dress, so sorry for the poor quality of THAT one. Lighting was just not working with me this morning in our apartment.




I finally got my digital scrapbook of India finished for my Creativity and Communications final project, and went and got it printed/put together this morning. So yay for being done with that. My Marketing Research final was tonight, and everone kept saying it was easy, so I didn't really study for it... and it was. Now just one more on Thursday, and it's summer!!! Plus, Cinco de Mayo in the meantime. One of my favorites :-)

Today Betsy and I ran to Target in search of some little over the shoulder side purses for going out... and I got this little metallic one, as well as a clearance belt, all for $17! Goooood day. I think I'll have to go back this weekend because they had some reallly cute dresses.

Back to Normal with an Outfit Post!

Thought I'd instill a little normalcy with an outfit post that didn't involve partying or any form of alcohol (Yeckkk, liver's still on strike!). All accessories for this one are compliments of my lovely roommate Kelly for my birthday. She works at Charlotte Russe and got me this bracelet set, necklace, flip flops, and some earrings, along with a creme colored shirt with a subtle gold sparkle to it! I love it all! Paired the accessories with my navy Old Navy dress I think you may have seen before.

(WHY ARE THESE MOLES RUINING OUR DIRT YARD!?)