Under the Arch

What I'm wearing: I have a costume for later, but for work I'm wearing a green t-shirt with a stylized ace on it, levi's boot leg jeans, and my new black chucks. (yay new chucks!)


As promised, here are some of the pics I took wandering around Lincoln park on my Chicago trip....

Please forgive the poor quality of the photos taken with my cellphone, but I need them for...you know...proof. Um, sort of.

Ahh college night at the bar, cheap beer, drunken co-eds of both genders....aaaaand 40 year old men? (I'm guessing on the age here.)

They can't dance, they dress like dads and they spend the whole night trying to talk co-eds into going home with them. Um, what? What could possibly be the thinking behind this behavior? I watched in fascination thursday night as they rubbed themselves indiscriminately on girls barely old enough to even get in the bar. At one point, I saw them go off to one side of the room to confer with each other.......strategy session? They pick out of the crowd the girl LEAST likely to go home with a guy old enough to be her father. They stop girls leaving the restroom to comment that he was watching them earlier and their dance moves should be illegal. Huh? Gah, Creepy. One guy accosted my friend one night and had to be hip checked into the wall by another girl when he wouldn't let her go. Lucky for him, I missed that one. Every week, there they are, more desperate than the week before.
Gah, I find myself more annoyed as I write this. Going to the bar isn't always about dodging the pervs, I have a good time with a fun group of people and get to lose myself in loud music for a couple of hours and forget about deadlines, papers still to write, and complicated life decisions. For that, I'll deal with the pervs. Besides, then I get to make fun of them on the internet, can't beat that. :)

I'm a blogging idiot and I didn't realize that my settings didn't allow just anyone to leave a comment, you had to be a registered user. I fixed it , sorry about that.

I believe that I mentioned before about shopping at Steve and Barry's, especially the Sarah Jessica Parker line, well here we go, I finally got around to showing you some of the great stuff you can find at this store and the pieces I have already snatched off the shelves for my very own.

these are the "Boyfriend jean" which have already gotten me compliments
$14.98!

satin ballerina flats
$14.98

black and white Houndstooth coat
I ADORE this coat, comfy and warm and oh so cute.
$19.98

I bought this sleeveless ruffle shell in a pale blue-green that looks lovely under a cardigan sweater.
$7.98

I bought this waffle hoodie in grape and dark gray.
$19.98 each

I bought this 2 button lace trim nightie in blue.
It makes a great slip under all those sweater dresses you've bought.
$7.98

Last, but not least, this woven robe is just a light cotton which is perfect for throwing on over your pj's if you have to run to the door for the UPS man. (not that I've done that)
I bought it in light blue instead of this lovely pink.
$14.98

I Luuurrve my new phone, the Samsung Blackjack.....I was finally eligible for an upgrade if I re-upped my contract for the next eleventy billion years and sense my old phone would randomly die at the most inconvenient times, usually when I'm a metrolink and bus ride away from home, I decided to bite the bullet and get a new phone. (I'm not even talking about when it has a low battery, it just arbitrarily dies for no reason that I can see, usually when I have an incoming call. gah!) So, here's what I spent my hard-earned student loan money on.....oooooo! Ahhhhh! She's so pretty....I will love her and pet her and call her.....uh....she doesn't have a name yet. Any suggestions?

Saxon Equileather Ladies Lace Up Paddock Boot

These are really cute and have a sort of equestrian vibe that would look good with jeans.

a.n.a® 'Amber' Leather Riding boot

These are full on riding boots from jcp.com. These would look great with skirts, which I would like to wear more of this winter. So, now I have a brown pair and a black pair, plus the brown knock-off uggs I bought last winter.......

a.n.a® 'Dale' Suede Cuff Boot

Also from jcp.com (who knew they had such cute stuff?)...These would also look great with skirts.....

Mudd® 'Origami' Lace-Up Boot

These are more like "slogging through the snow" boots and look toasty warm.

So, why are women so enamored with shoes? eh. I have no idea. But, there's just something about that perfect pair that completes an outfit that makes anything better, at least for me.

yep...the excitement never ends.

I went to Steve and Barry's on friday. What is this, you may ask? It is quite possibly the best store ever. NOTHING in the store is over $20...there will be pictures later of the things I bought, but for today, a list.
3 pairs of shoes
4 t-shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 pair of pj shorts
1 robe
3 hoodies
2 shirts
---------------------
=15 items for $170

That's just over $11 per item. I mean, come on, when's the last time you bought a pair of jeans for 15 bucks that actually makes your ass look good? Steve and Barry's has Sarah Jessica Parker's new line, "Bitten". That's where the jeans came from, and like I said, I'll post some pictures of the items soon.
First, though, some pictures that I took on the sly in the store for future purchase.

As well as writing this blog, I also regularly read quite a few blogs out there. (some of which can be found on the lower right-hand side of this page) One of my favorite blogs is written by a thirty-something Southern woman living in Los Angeles named Laurie, though she's better known as Crazy Aunt Purl, the name of her website. When she announced that she had a book coming out, I was eager to read whatever she had to say, because I knew it would be honest, heart-felt, and funny as hell. I could relate to her Southern issues, her feelings of uncertainty after the break-up of her marriage and the "fine patina of cat hair" that seems to cover everything. She inspired me to find a yarn shop in my new neighborhood and finally learn to knit. (I can sew and I can crochet, but I couldn't find a single relative to teach me how to knit.)
I bought her book this week and loved it. I laughed, I cried, I lusted after the felted bracelet bags in the back of the book. Please, please, go check out the book which can be found at Borders or Barnes and Noble and visit her site.....www.crazyauntpurl.com!

One of my favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is wander around Soulard Market. There are tons of people, lots of things to look at and smell...and I feel like I'm doing something good for the world when I buy produce here rather than at Shop n' Save. I usually make at least three loops around before I feel like I've seen everything and it was all I could do not to take pictures of everything...but I'm still getting the hang of this taking pictures in public thing. Even though no one says anything, I feel like they're all staring at me, condemning me with their eyes...for something..."Stop taking pictures of my artfully displayed produce, woman! How dare you try to steal my soul with your black box of doom!" (Hello paranoia, my name is Bri.) le sigh

First up is my snack, because oh. my. god. funnelcake batter in the shape of a donut in a handy dandy mouth-sized morsel of heaven...with vanilla icing. So. good. These people should be knighted or given an oscar or kissed repeatedly, that's all I'm saying....ahem...moving on.
Next, a couple of still-lifes...lives...whatever...

Vegetables
or Romaine lettuce, which I have tried to like and continue to dislike no matter how much dressing is involved.....

And Fruit
pretty, pretty pears...they look like little dumpy ladies all lined up in row like that

Yeah, I chickened out after two pictures inside and took my happy ass out to the pretty streets...

...you can find these guys just outside the market on the park grounds...I don't know...they amuse me....

After wandering around the grounds, I took off down 9th Street to see what I could see. I am in love with the neighborhood...maybe after getting over the trauma of moving to my current apartment (which, frankly, may never happen) this may be where I land next.

Many of the buildings have little gardens where butterflies can be found....

I mean, really....how cute is this?


There are little concrete benches every where, just in case you feel the need for a breather while taking a walk.

I didn't, but I did squat down to take a picture and almost fell on my ass...

Further down the wall, I came across this gate...open and welcoming...

....back to the market and my car...all this walking has worn me out...time for a nap.