Outfit Post: THE BOOTS ARE BACK!

The Cowboy boots have officially made their summer debut! I love them anyways, but I got a really awful blister covering about half of my foot from running around Chicago last week in inadequate footwear, so lately I've been needing something I can comfortably wear socks with... and these are PERFECT!!! I'm really kind of excited about this outfit, I think mostly because I always love wearing this belt with these boots, and they also both just happen to match this new dress.

Last night I went out with some of the girls at home for $3 margarita mug night. Absolutely delicious! You have to jump at any chance of drink deals in this town. I can't even imagine what those of you who live in the bigger cities must fork out for drinks on a night out! It's going to be one hell of a slap in the face leaving Bloomington's college town atmosphere and not having ridiculously cheap drink and food specials all the time.

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx
Belt: Old Navy
Boots: RCC Western
Purse: My closet? No clue...
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

***And a special thanks to Miss Ashlee Lynn for being my little photographer! Haha. It's SO much easier to get decent outfit shots when you have someone else taking the pictures and aren't trying to mess with a self timer/finding a ledge to set the camera on!

Now Reading: Freakonomics

Things you always thought you knew but didn't.

"Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?"


Ok, I'll be honest here: Some of you may be LESS than interested in this book. I'm majoring in Marketing with an Economics minor, so this stuff is kind of interesting to me. I have lately even wished I would have thought sooner to just do a double major in Econ.

Either way, I can PROMISE you that it's not some boring "Business book". Even those lose my interest after a few pages. This book is full of real life situations that are not only interesting to read about, but also make you feel like you're gaining something intellectually.

For example, is anyone aware that many real estate agents may not be getting you the BEST price when selling your house, because for every extra $10,000 you earn on your home, their commission only increases by, on average, a mere $150? How about that when looking to buy a house, you should be weary of phrases like "charming" and "good neighborhood" and "well maintained"?

I don't blame you if you're still not interested... but if you are, even a little bit, I'd definitely recommend this book!!! The authors also recently released Superfreakonomics, so I'll be needing to check that out soon as well.



(Side Note: New recipe post on Wonderland Kitchen for PEANUT BUTTER PIE! If you like peanut butter, I promise you'll like it. It's the perfect cool summer dessert, and really not too hard to make!)

Chicago in June: Picture Post

As promised here's a little picture recap of the Chicago trip! I still can't figure out what my plans are but I think I may be heading BACK home again either tomorrow or Monday, and then actually staying there for a few weeks. I've basically decided it will really work out best if I just live out of a suitcase or two for the next month, I've been and am going to be SO back and forth between my "three houses". Ayiyi! I think I'll actually take my laptop with me this time though so I can stay on top of regular posting.

(Corona ponchos and finger mustaches!!!)

(Ashlee, Dad, and I before dinner Wednesday night)

(Sunset after the storm)

(Too much fun in the aquarium gift shop)

(Grant Park. Where's Waldo?)

(Art Institute of Chicago)

(Drinks at the Peninsula)

(My new little friend Miss Vivian Jane! Can't wait to go back and babysit in July!)

Shot Book Crafting

I mentioned a while back that I was in the middle of making a "shot book" for my friend Lauryn's 21st birthday, and that I would post pictures of the final project- and I am FINALLY getting around to it!!!

A shot book can take on a lot of forms, but it basically is a book made for a 21st birthday to keep track of drinks throughout the night. I went into this venture not really having any clue how you are "SUPPOSED" to make a shot book, so I approached it as more of a scrapbook. Lauryn and I have been friends for years, so we have all sorts of crazy pictures together and with other friends, and I thought it would be fun to include old memories with some spaces for new ones. I also wanted each page to have a "theme" of a specific drink, or just leave room to fill in a surprise drink that someone bought.

I still need to buy new printer ink to print off the new pictures of that night to add to it, but here are some of the pages from the 8" x 8" book...

(First page of the book. My nickname for Lauryn has always been "Sil".)

(She loves the Little Mermaid so I saw this embellishment at JoAnn's and HAD to buy it. I tried to think of some kind of "mermaid shot" or something, but this turned out to be a much funnier place to put it.)

(One of her favorite movies is Breakfast at Tiffanys)

(Most Bloomington bars have a drink called an "AMF"... so this was the last page of the book. Unfortunately she never quite made it to one of those, but it still makes for a nice last page.)

The book definitely took a lot of time, but it was well worth it in the end. She loved it, and I had so much fun making it. I have to admit that looking through all of the pictures, coming up with quotes, and putting all of the pages together actually had me laughing to myself at times. I'm almost a little sad I didn't think of doing these before Lauryn's birthday, because now most of my friends are already 21!!!

Outfit Post: Summer in Chicago!

Thursday, Ashlee and I went running around Chicago all day while my dad was at work. He conveniently enough lives just a few blocks away from the Shedd Aquarium, right next to Lake Michigan, so we took full advantage of that! I was obviously thrilled because I love anything that involves live penguins. I also was able to get some new and exciting outfit pictures with what I think are some pretty good backgrounds! :-)

Outfit
Dress: TJ Maxx
Leggings (The dress was a bit too short to go without them!): Old Navy
Shoes: Old Navy
Purse: Guess what? Old Navy

At one point we were trying to do a timer picture (On her camera, because she kept yelling at me for trying to use mine. SO... I don't have that picture to post. Eh emmm. ASHLEE.) and a woman came up to offer to take it for us, but she was kind of confused because we had the camera sort of wedged in a flower box, and she couldn't really tell what we were posing for. What can I say, it was too good of a background to pass up!





We also took advantage of the free entry to the Chicago Art Institute (Thursday Nights from 5-8! This is one of my first discoveries via FourSquare, which may be my new favorite thing.) and I got to see THE IMPRESSIONISM EXHIBIT! Eeeekkk! I love impressionism... so I was darting around the rooms of the exhibit like a kid on Christmas hopping from one familiar painting to the next. I was also thrilled with myself for discovering that the original Van Gogh bedroom painting had BLACK OUTLINES, because in High School we had an assignment to kind of replicate a famous painting, and my art teacher was not pleased with my black outlines.

I've got another outfit post or two to get up at some point, and probably another picture post for some more Chicago pictures. You can also expect some kind of restaurant review to go up soon on Wonderland Kitchen because it wouldn't be a successful Chicago trip if I didn't indulge myself in some amazing and probably way too fattening food.

Tagged!

I was tagged in this post by a new blogger, Eva, at Once Upon a Dream. So here you go... some of the most random things you could ever want (or not want) to know about me.

What is your shoe size?

Well… I generally wear a size 9 or 9.5 (US). However, I think for tennis shoes and things like that I generally wear a 10.

Where do you work?

Ha... Nowhere at the moment. So if you know anyone in Bloomington, IN who is hiring… I’m ALL for it. I need to do another round of applications in hopes of getting a job by next semester. This “living cheaply” thing is getting old.

Your favorite blog?

Probably Butterfly Cupcakes and Daffodils. I just love that it’s a mish mash of everything from outfits to day to day stuff to recipes and art. I also love Wild as a Mink Sweet as a Soda Pop, Idee Geniale, Jen Loves Kev, Curves and Chaos… you get the point, actually… just look at the blog roll to the left. I love them all!

Do you have any pets?

I have a dog at my parents house named Penske. She’s a boxer, and about 12 years old, but she’s still just a big old baby. I also have these two adorable little African Dwarf frogs up here at my apartment named Hayden and Rossi (After American/Italian MotoGP riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. I used to have a snail in there named Stoner after the Australian rider Casey Stoner, but he died.)

(Penske with her stunna shades on)

How many siblings do you have?

One little brother named Dane, who is going to be a senior in high school. Wow. It’s still weird for me to say that… can’t believe he’s getting so old!

(Dane with HIS stunna shades on. Oops, that was unintentional!)

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

DENVER, COLORADO! I loveeeee it. They have all four seasons, a decent winter, and it is GORGEOUS! I really just love the idea of living right outside of a decently sized city as well.

What were you doing before this?

Sleeping! Until Miss Ashlee called and told me she was halfway here... then I decided I should probably get my butt up out of bed and shower/finish packing for Chicago.

Your favorite food?

Really just anything my dad makes. Definitely steak steak steak, most kinds of shrimp… I LOVE his Coffee Crusted Porkchops and his Beef Stroganoff.

Do you have a middle name?

I sure do… Anne.

Favorite websites?

Well, Blogger, obviously. International Movie Database (IMDb)- I use this practically everytime I watch a show or movie to see what actor/actress plays a character, what else they were in, etc. I’m also notorious for using the phrase ‘Let’s Google It’… so I’m a big Google fan.

Who do you tag?

Hmm... I will tag Rai, because I know that she will actually do it!

Now I'm off to get myself ready for Chicago and head out! I probably won't be back until maybe friday night, so I'll try to post then. In the meantime, if you have a Twitter account, feel free to check me out there, because that will still be updated pretty regularly with random little tidbits and pictures!!! Sort of a sneak peak, if you will!

Last day of Color Week: Rainbow!

Ok, so I'm actually like... 3 days late on this one. This weekend was full of a lot of family time, friends, sleeping, and running around trying to get all sorts of things done. Right now I'm getting ready to head back to Bloomington just for the night to repack and head out to Chicago tomorrow morning for a few days with my friend Ashlee. Hopefully that will include the aquarium, the art museum, possibly this Arab festival that Ashlee really wants to go to, and maybe some good actual outfit shots.

So without further adieu, here are the (very late) "Rainbow" pictures to cap off color week!

(High school yearbook)

(Early Father's Day Dinner- it was kind of "rainbow". My dad is the best cook EVER!)

(Favorite coffee mug EVER!)

Ok, I cheated on the last one... that picture was actually from I think tuesday night when there was a huge storm... but how do you NOT put a picture of a full double rainbow up on Rainbow day of color week!??

Thanks to CAT at No Wooden Spoons for doing Color Week- it was a lot of fun!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I've been trying to slowly catch up on everyone's posts from the last couple of days, and will probably be doing more of that tonight in addition to setting up a post or two to go up while I'm in Chicago.