About Time for a Jacket

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'!

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

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

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...

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

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

...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

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

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

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?