Thursday, July 16, 2009

Motorcycle Jeans - Great find at Macy’s

The biggest kept secret in shopping at Macy’s is the end of season “wipe out”. A couple of times a year, when the next season is coming in and the old stuff needs to get out, Macy’s reduced the outgoing clearance to a ridiculously low price. Ridiculously low. (I just had to repeat that).

Well, I just happened to breeze in Monday and walk into the middle of the madness… well, really there was no madness since apparently not too many other people knew about the $15 racks. Yes, I said $15. A number of items, with various original prices, had been reduced to a mere $15. I found a pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans, with pink stitching, originally priced at $185. They were in Gabbi’s size so I snatched them up!. For April, I found a very cute Matty M “mosaic” sleeveless top with a design on the shoulder straps, originally for $88. For myself, I had to snatch up these Pratt’s Motor Spirit jeans in a vintage charcoal wash. Regularly priced at $198, on sale for the low-low price of $15!!

pratt blkjeansqs

I love them even more, now that I know one of my favorite fashionistas, Rihanna, owns a pair!!

pratt Rihanna leaving Da Silvano restaurant - Mar '09

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Girls Trip to Chicago – Budget Friendly

Even though I live here in Chicago, I’m going to write this blog as a “Trip Plan”… This should give some ideas to anyone planning a Girls Weekend in Chicago! Some of my closest girlfriends from my hometown of Detroit headed to Chicago to hang out for the 4th of July. We had a wonderful time! I did my best to expose them to restaurants and events that were Chicago-specific.
Wednesday – Chiquita arrives first and we head over to a spot that I had never heard of, called Sangria. I had a cousin in town that I had never met, so she and I went to this restaurant/bar/club to meet up with he and his friends. The DJ was pretty good, the crowd was surprisingly thick for a Wednesday night and there were plenty of nice men there (not that either of us is looking, right?). LOL! It actually sounds like a cool spot and I’m looking forward to going back for a meal!
Thursday – Chiquita decided to head over to Connie’s Pizza for lunch and then when April arrives late that evening and we head up to Wicker Park/Bucktown to one of my favorite spots (that I’ve mentioned before) – Salud Tequila Lounge. Thursday nights are $1-$2-$3 appetizer nights, so we each got a drink (the drinks there are good and strong) and a couple of appetizers for dinner. Totaled about $15 each. Not bad at all!
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Friday – We started the day at Chicago's Home of Chicken and Waffles. The food there is excellent! Up next?? What else – SHOPPING!!! We went up and down Michigan Ave shopping and snapping photos until Reina arrived on her journey from Detroit. We also caught a glimpse of NBA star Tayshaun Prince browsing the Bentleys at the dealership in Gold Coast (see last pic)
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We hopped the truck with Reina and headed to Cafe Iberico in River North. I have a few standard recommendations to share with you : THE WHITE SANGRIA!!!! You have to start with a glass (or pitcher) of the sangria. I also love the QUESO DE CABRA (baked goat cheese), CROQUETAS DE POLLO (Chicken and ham puffs), GAMBAS AL AJILLO (grilled garlic shrimp) and JAMON IBERICO (seared ham and manchego cheese). I absolutely love that place… food was less than $25 each.
Up next? A quick trip to change our clothing and head over to Pole Dancing Class at Flirty Girl Fitness… The “drop-in” classes are $25/person and last an hour. Sorry boys, I will only post the “before” pics ;-) I’ll just say it was TONS OF FUN!
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Afterwards, we had dinner at Carbon (pronounced like car-bone), a local spot that I like to refer to as an “upgraded Chipotle”. The concept is the same (build your own burritos or tacos) but the quality is superb. Cooked to order, freshly made salsas and sides and most importantly (and HIGHLY recommended) are the Tilapia tacos!! I eat here very regularly and bring everyone I know to this spot for some good, quick Mexican food. Food and drink about $10/person. Still awake, we dressed and went out to watch “Bobby” and his friends perform a hip hop set at a club near downtown. We were on the list and got in free. The music, aside from their hip hop set, was mostly techno and electronic. Not really any of our style so we didn’t stay very long, but still managed to have some fun! We hoped to make it over to Shrine but most of the girls were pretty tired by the time we left.
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Saturday - We skipped breakfast and decided to venture out to the Taste of Chicago. As this was my fourth trip to the Taste in one week, I already knew exactly which foods I wanted! We ran into my dad and step-mom there, but I won’t post the pics because it was raining and somebody had a shower cap on to protect their “do” from the rain! LOL!! After the Taste, we decided to get out State Street shopping fix! Filene’s Basement, Nordstrom Rack and Macy’s were key points. By then, we were ready for a snack, and despite the rain and slight coolness, I had to suggest my favorite snack spot in Chicago – Berry Chill. The frozen yogurt here is soooo good, and good for you!!! This is a pic I took a while back of the one time I ventured away from my usual. I got an original with Thin  Mints, Samoas and strawberries…. Not a good combination. My favorite combo is original yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and coconut shavings!
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Next stop? Three Peas Art Lounge in South Loop. A couple of months ago, I attended an event at Three Peas and was introduced to their signature drink – the Peach Cobbler Martini. I bragged to my girls about how good it was all weekend and finally they would get the chance to try it. One martini, turned into 3 martinis plus a few shots and some new friends! We finished the night with dinner at Bar Louie in Hyde Park and we had all crashed and fell asleep by 11PM!
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Sunday – Can’t have everyone leaving Chicago without a proper breakfast send off. We met up with my dad, step-mom and “Bobby” for brunch at Wishbone, a popular, Louisiana-style restaurant. I ordered my usual – the Shrimp and Grits. ITS SO GOOD!!!
All in all, we had a wonderful trip and I can’t wait for them to visit again!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Testing blog entries from BlackBerry

I'm in Atlanta with my sorority sisters having a good time but decided to take a moment to see if this blog posting works from my BlackBerry using the Opera Mini browser. Pics to come soon enough!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Can a FreakUm Dress be Classy?

To those of you who don’t know what a “freakum dress” is, here is the definition from the Urban Dictionary:

a sexy dress, that every woman has, which shows off her goodies; it's worn to attract guys (while making her own guy jealous).

While Beyonce apparently didn’t make the term up, she definitely made it popular with her song “FreakUm Dress” and the sexy video that went along with it.

Now, in the video, these girls have on some FA REAL Freakum dresses…. super short, very tightly fitted and shiny.

beyonce freakum dressbeyonce freakum single cover

Now, I don’t particularly go for the these types of dresses (meaning, more specifically, those shiny types in the video, LOL) but as Beyonce says, EVERY WOMAN GOT ONE. If you don’t have one, you better get one. Some women assume a freakum dress has to be trashy, sparkly or too short to walk in… but that’s not the case. There are some classy, sexy options out there… many were brought to my attention with the current sale going on at Saks Fifth Avenue. Check out these numbers, ladies… They aren’t quite as short as Beyonce’s in the video, but they are definitely guaranteed to turn heads. Find the style that fits your shape best and grab your girlfriends. Don’t hesitate to pull out your freakum dress at least once this summer… and when they play your song get on up an shake it!!!

For those who like it SHORT! (some of these are listed at under $100 too!)

velvet shine tube dressElla Moss colorblockBCBG gathered miniBlack Halo sillk cowlnecktibi Mandarin Strapless DressLaundry by Shelli Segal shirred dressEmilio Pucci one shoulder dressAlexander Wang one shoulder stretch 

For the more conservative crowd…

Alexander McQueen cowlneckTwelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent embroidered dress

Oh, and don’t forget to wear some sexy heels with it!!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Bergdorf Goodman Big Sale

I had to take a break to post some great finds in the extra 25-50% sale going on at Bergdorf Goodman. I actually just purchased this Theory “Yanni” romper from Macy’s. I didn’t get as great a deal as Bergdorf is offering, but I still managed to get it at a great sale price. With the extra 50% off Bergdorf has this listed at $82.50.

theory yanni rompertheory yanni romper 2

Theory printed top and skirt… $45 for the top and $59 for the skirt

theory printed top theory flared skirt

KORS by Michael Kors Metallic Gladiator Sandal OR the Jimmy Choo Whipstitched Platform Sandal

KORS Yes Metallic Gladiator, GunmetalJimmy Choo Whipstitched Platform Sandal

One of my favorite bags in an amazing color, the Valentino Histoire Framed Tote or the Pearlized Histoire Bag

Valentino Histoire ToteValentino Pearlized Histoire

The Marc by Marc Jacobs Totally Turnlock Tote or the Pieced Mouse Clutch

Marc Totally Tunrlock hoboMarc Mouse Pouch

And the Lela Rose Sateen Wrap Dress and the Rebecca Taylor Satin Olivia dress, which I LOVE but my friends have tried to convince me I’d be better off hitting up the Victoria Secret Semi-Annual Sale to find something similar and even less expensive… What do they know??? That dress is HOT!!!

Lela Rose sateen Wrap DressRebecca Taylor satin olivia Dress

Happy Shopping!!!