CRUMPLED FANTASIES

INTRODUCING.....

2013-05-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

I took a small break from crumpled fantasies to work on a new project...

I've created a beauty blog called potions anonymous.

I had intended to begin incorporating beauty into this blog, but decided against it in order to keep this space more personal/travel/chicago/adventures.

I've been considering writing beauty posts for a long time because I try so many products (what girl doesn't?). There will be reviews, skincare, hair, and a little bit of makeup. I will share tips on saving cash (I super love drugstore products!) and where to splurge. Visit potions anonymous and follow along!

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WALKING

2013-05-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

i could walk around the city for days. DAYS i tell you! probably not in the shoes i chose this particular day- but nonetheless... i love to walk. i walked a few miles to a restaurant last week on the first really warm day. it was spectacular and you could see the joy of the warmth and sun on everyone's faces. including the dogs.

Also, there is a corner that made me feel like I was in Florida.

CHICAGO TOURIST CHECKLIST // 001

2013-05-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

When visiting Chicago, your first morning here, you must visit Wildberry Cafe. There WILL be a wait, so walk across the street to Millennium Park and take your picture in the reflection of Cloud Gate (or "the bean" as most people call it). This is a requirement and I'll have no qualms about it. Also, if you live in Chicago you should do the same thing because Wildberry has the best pancakes in the universe and what else will you do for 45 minutes? I had a visitor for the weekend and had more fun than a blog can hold. But this morning schedule is a right of passage for all future visitors so here you go.

While you're in the vicinity, you might as well walk back up Randolph and then take a left on State Street for shopping. Especially Sephora, particularly if you're a girl.

p.s. those polka-dot shoes are from H&M and they're the most comfortable shoe ever ever ever.

THE STREETS // 001

2013-05-02T13:43:00.001-05:00

The Chicago River is my most favorite thing to look at when i walk. i love crossing those shaky bridges on foot.

Interior shots are of Bavett'e Bar and Beuof.
photos by crumpledfantasies

THAT DAY I ATE MY FIRST MACAROON

2013-04-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

last weekend, i had grand plans. spring cleaning, cooking at home, not eating out, cleaning the floors, basically not going outside at all. grand, i tell you!

saturday, I slept my latest sleep. (nearly 10!) i woke up, showered quickly, and made homemade pancakes. sidebar- i've started to make more "from scratch" things because well- why not? can i just tell you about the pancakes? They're just as easy to make as pancake mix. and the fluff of those things! magical! i even added a few chocolate chips. with chocolate chips included- i don't even need syrup. it's a heavenly breakfast. and i am not a breakfast person. mostly, i'd rather eat last night's leftovers for breakfast. some people scream "ew" when i say that- but let's all be honest here- how many times have you eaten cold pizza for breakfast? yes, point proven.

after pancakes, i could see the sun shining in brightly from the windows. the temps have been so fidgety lately. one day warm-ish, next day cold and pouring rain. i've been really missing the sunshine lately so my grand plans would have to be put off to another day. we got dressed and headed out the door to go to the ONLY hibachi place we've been able to find in the area. i can't whole-heartedly recommend this place to you because the service is atrocious. BUT it tastes good. and lunch is like... half the price. so away we went to evanston. have we talked about downtown evanston before? it's cute. it's easy to get to from my place, and they have an urban outfitters. score.

that sunshine shining through the wooden blinds was pure trickery, because it was COLD. i didn't care though- i needed some vitamin D. we even walked to a bakery we'd seen a few weeks before to try my first ever macaroon. i purchased three. salted caramel, chocolate, and vanilla. i was so excited- i imagined a fluffy cake-like chewey goodness. similar to a brownie? but with a cookie-like outside. i'm not sure what all macaroons tasted like but these crumbled in my hands and the middle tasted like icing. also- they were cold. i've never been 100% sure what exactly a macaroon is. i'm still not? i'll give them another try at a different bakery some day. did i have a bad experience? am i missing out on macaroons?

a quick stop at urban because it's fun there, then we returned home and rented pulp fiction because i had never (!) seen it. how have i not? i was too young when it came out, i suppose. so my spring cleaning grand plans are still on hold :). I'm holding them hostage until it actually feels like spring. but then i wont be inside, like ever. so maybe summer.

AN INTRODUCTION TO BEAUTY

2013-04-24T10:12:00.001-05:00

not sure if you noticed, but i changed my blog design a few weeks ago. i added a beauty archive page, but with no beauty posts. that's me, always behind schedule. this bloggy thing here that i spend a little bit of time on each week has thus far kind of been my diary of sorts, documenting my life and what i enjoy at the time. (because we all know that i switch interests like i switch lip colors. but i'm getting better! i think?)

there is a point somewhere here. so i was thinking of more things that i could share on the blog that interest me. i kind of feel like i'm writing to friends when i'm entering my posts on blogger (i am right? will you guys be my friends?), so i decided to treat it as i would a conversation with a friend. and what do girly friends talk about? "OMG your skin looks amazing, what foundation is that?" "your lashes are major- what do you use?" "ugh, i can't contour to save my life, how do you do it?" you get the point.

so....... what girl isn't a product junkie? i rarely finish a bottle of.... anything. the female form just LOVES to try new things on the skin. smells good? we have to have it. sparkly? yes, please. skin-perfecting foundation routine? PLEASE TEACH ME! so........ i will share things from time to time that i like, or hated, or can't live without. because, let's just have a virtual slumber party, you know?

UP FIRST: I'd like to explain my skin/hair temperaments and preferences so you understand what products work for me and why i shy away from other things. ready? go!

SKIN | my skin has changed so much in the last year. i didn't have many skin issues in high school. random breakouts, as teenagers do. i had oily skin. i actually didn't even take very good care of my skin. i would sleep in makeup all the time, i would layer makeup on TOP of yesterdays makeup. (what?!? i know.) i would go makeup-less when i felt like it, i didn't have many face issues. BUT i broke out on my back a lot! i had to take better care of my back than my face. so i really never locked into any routines. i just used whatever i (or my mom or granny) had on hand. in the past few years, though, i was cursed with that bitch hormonal breakouts. she sucks. there is no rhyme or reason, it doesn't come around during certain cycles or in any predictable form. its like this. "oh, finally, my skin is starting to clear up." then three days later, "nope, attack of the hormones, way worse than before!" bitch, that one is. so, bottom line: i've got my body acne issue worked out, i get hormonal acne frequently (on my face), and my skin is combination. (I get dry on my cheeks right under my eyes.) Oh! also, i live in the city, so i guess urban environmental issues can make a difference? i'm still figuring that one out.

HAIR | my natural hair color is ash blonde and it's been chemically treated in all sorts of ways. i've bleached it blonder, i've dyed it darker, i've cut it, i've heat tooled it, i've damaged the crap out of it. in it's current state, my hair is mostly my natural color with blonde ends (it was inadvertent ombre- i just stopped lightening it all over and it grew out ombre.) i've let it grow out really long. and the ends are very damaged. i've gotten two haircuts in the past two years, i think. i've never had split ends until last summer, but now they're THERE. assholes. recently, in an attempt to make my hair healthier, i've mostly stopped using heat tools. i think i've blow dried my hair five times in the last 4 months. i've only used a flat iron or curling iron a few times. since the natural wave thing is in, i'm embracing it. also! i only wash it two to three times a week. i'll probably do a whole post on this so i wont divulge too much into it but, my hair is SO oily. if i can do it- you can.

MAKEUP | so i'm still figuring makeup out. for like... 6 years i used Bare Minerals. and i liked it, alot. it was easy, it felt nice, and didn't look cakey. i got my mom and sister into it, too. but, then i started getting the hormonal acne, and it seemed like the bare minerals made it worse. my skin felt irritated when i wore it. i looked up some things online and discovered that Bare Minerals contained bismuth oxychloride, which is an irritant- especially to acne. so i was like SHOOT! what do i do now? i had been using mineral makeup SO long that i literally didn't know HOW to use anything else anymore. i kind of had to teach myself how to apply makeup all over again. that kind of sucked. and honestly, i'm still learning.

BODY | as i mentioned, my back is annoying and can get breakouts. i have it under control the majority of the time, but i have to be careful of what i wear and what i let touch it. (like conditioner in the shower) the rest of my body is pretty normal. i'm not overly dry, but lotions always make it better. i don't have any real issues other than my feet get really sweaty, really easily. is that TMI? probably, but we're all friends here. it's weird, because i don't really get sweaty under arms like most people do, but my feet do! so odd...

TEETH | is it weird to talk about teeth? not really, because i think anything that is visible to a non-blind person should be considered beauty-related. so my teeth... they're a problem child of mine. i'm going to try to explain as best i can. i actually have strong, healthy teeth. HOWEVER, the enamel of my teeth is VERY thin. this causes alot of issues. most importantly, my teeth will never be sparkling white. at best, they'll be dull white. that's because even with absolutely no trace of a single stain, they're lackluster due to the thin-ness. (actually, parts of my teeth are SEE THROUGH, just to put it in perspective for you.) so that means a few things: 1) they stain VERY easily. 2) they're VERY sensitive. and 3) as i mentioned, lackluster. i repeat this because i'm always looking for ways to brighten my teeth that won't make them more sensitive and won't cause me pain. because some whitening products bring me to tears- to be completely honest. ouch. i cringe just thinking about it.

NAILS | i'm incredibly lazy with my nails. i almost never paint them. probably because i'm so bad at it. i keep them trimmed and filed and clean, but you won't find any nail tutorials here. the best you'll get outta me is a once a year manicure (usually before a vacation) and maybe a handful of other times that i'll paint them myself. i really love the look of painted nails but i just don't take the time out to do it. also, i'm really impatient and i always eff them up before they dry.

PRICE POINTS | this one is a tough one to answer. because, i'm mostly cheap. i like things that don't cost me a lot of money (because i'd rather use the money on a vacation) and i like things to be easy (i.e., not a 25 step system that i have to buy 14 different full size products for at one time.) i wear mostly drugstore items, but if i find things that work for me that are a little more expensive, i'll go for it, so long as i can afford it. so you'll see a lot of drugstore items here because it's hard for me to take the plunge and spend $50 on .5 oz of product without knowing i'll love it first.

WHEW! so is this crash course over? good. look out for some beauty-related posts coming up soon and PLEASE provide any product recommendations in the comments. slumber party- remember?

STYLE 002 // FOR THE LOVE OF FLATS

2013-04-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

Since moving to Chicago, I haven't put a heel on my feet once. NOT ONCE! i do a lot more walking now and those high wooden soles have been VERY neglected. do i miss them? let me tell you- NO! i mean, heels aren't the most comfortable things to wear, and i've loved finding new ways to style flats. i've mostly worn boots since it's been cold, but my black oxfords have seen their fair share of concrete, as well. and spring is the perfect time for flats! that's really when they shine. i've been looking for ways to wear them- shall i share?

photo source: one, two, and three- The Sartorialist four and five- Amy Creyer's Chicago Street Style

INTERIORS // 002

2013-04-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

this apartment. man. new yorkers seriously know how to make use of small spaces so miraculously. i'm dumbfounded every time. i graced my eyes on Rita Konig's magical apartment via the selby. Look at that bedroom! I mean, really? It's like wonderland.

STYLE // 001 // PACKS

2013-04-18T14:14:00.000-05:00

i have a serious confession to make. i have been looking for a semi-decent looking fanny pack for YEARS. literally, since 2007. i remember this specifically because i went to disney world with my family that year and who doesn't need a fanny pack for a theme park? only people with strollers. and men. i mean- how much more awesome is carrying something around your waist than bothering your shoulder? i am happy to report that after many years of wishing and hoping, the fanny pack is making a comeback. sure, they're trying to rename them "belt bag" "hip pack" or "bum bag" but we all know they're fanny packs. thank goodness they're leather and studded because that old nylon winnie the pooh pack my granny keeps for me is really wearing thin. i'm waiting on a fringe version. Nastygal? where are you with this? i expected better.

one//two//three//four//five

it's clear the fashion gods are bringing the 90s back with flannel, chambray, and ripped jeans. you know what else they're bringing back? backpacks. equally distributed weight? smiles all around over here. does anyone remember the brand "the sak"? i loved those damn woven bags and i seemed to always get one for christmas. one year i got a red "sak" backpack. i carried that thing until it could carry no more.

one//two//three//four//five

top image source second image source.

WHITE SOX GAMES IN PHOTOS

2013-04-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

I vlogged about the white sox game i went to recently, but here are some shots for you.

THE BURBS

2013-04-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

i've lived in the burbs since i was 18. the burbs bring a slightly different feel than a city does. the burbs are much more spread out. everything is slightly larger. there are tons of chili's and olive garden's. you must drive a car in the burbs. otherwise, it will take you four days to get anywhere. i'll preface this by saying that i hate driving. it's the worst. traffic blows. it makes me anxious. i was more than excited to sell my car when i moved here. (you're welcome, sister.) but, living in the burbs for so long, (7 years!) you get accustomed to a few things. things like (here's where a list starts. i love a good list):

(a) driving to a target for toilet paper and leaving $150 poorer because you have a car that fits all of your purchases in. (b) chain restaurants that actually taste good and are the size of a walmart. (c) ~~pumping gas.~~ JK, no one likes that. (c) huge movie theaters. (d) no homeless people.

even with a vast amount of restaurants chicago has, there are a handful that i dream about. i may have been on a first name basis with at least one server and/or hostess at local plano/north dallas locations. (1) Pappadeaux. winner for best tea, bread, and seafood. can't find any comparable here. (2) Razzoo's. best pasta ever invented ever. (3) On the Border. okay, so this isn't even my favorite mexican place (that award goes to a restaurant in Chi, surprisingly!) but i loved those Tex-Mex chips, salsa, and tacos. authentic? no. delicious? yes. and finalllllly: (4) cracker barrel. best pancakes/breakfast. nearing on four months here in the chi, i was really craving a taste of home.

this weekend, in the cold (before my glorious monday, you see) i ventured out over an hour away to a dreadful little suburb that had miles of nothingness, but somehow still housed a pappadeaux. despite arriving at an oddly early time for dinner (5:45) and the place being the size of a mall (biggest restaurant i've ever seen) there was STILL an hour wait. i didn't even mind. it was as if i had been waiting for 90+days- whats another hour?

i finally took a seat, ordered tea with extra lemons, requested that delicious, fluffy bread and butter, and basked at the wonderfulness of the menu full of seafood options galore. (we seriously lack good seafood in chi, have i mentioned?) i almost couldn't decide and wanted to order multiple dishes, but decided not to. from here, it was mostly a blur. i ate until my stomach hurt. it was like i was back in texas, but better? that comfortable familiarity that you sometimes need. it's funny to think about, how you love a new place so much but still crave the things you loved before, too. but without craving the place you were before. does that make sense? yeah, i think it does.

after dinner, a target trip, and a movie (42, go see it!), we drove the long stretch back into chicago. i realized i hadn't taken a single photo the entire night (very unlike me! i'm a documenter...) so i snapped an empty lake shore drive at 1:30 AM. (rare sight!) driving back into the city, i felt very at home. would i live in suburbia again? perhaps... but for now i'm enjoying the city. lack of good seafood and all.

IN WHICH MY ARMS WERE FREED

2013-04-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

have you heard? spring is coming so incredibly slow this year. not a day in March were my hands not shoved in gloves or pockets to keep fingers non-blue. april was a smidge better but not what i would've imagined my first non-scorching spring to be. not a single flower has been bestowed upon my wandering eyes. my ears are perked up, listening for the tale-tell signs of birds chirping, but to no avail.

ah, but today. a monday! of all days! a glorious thing occurred. i put on my black leggings. then shimmied into my most comfortable black dress. slipped into my ankle boots, wrapped my light-mostly-for-decoration tribal print scarf around my neck, then put on my light leather (read: pleather) jacket. I was smiling at the thought of not wearing my heavy coat. walking out of the door into the stairwell that somehow always smells of wet dog, i thought to myself, "maybe, just maybe, the heavy coat days of early 2013 have passed and i will rock my lighter jackets hence forth." oh it was a song in my heart. a wish upon a star. crossing my fingers that the blue fairy would meet my at the building entrance and grant my wish so long as i was brave, selfless, and true.

lest did i know that i wasn't in need of the blue fairy, for when i stepped outside into the courtyard, i almost couldn't believe it. it....was.....warm. so warm, in fact, that by the time i got to the train, i peeled off my jacket and decorative scarf. yes, my arms were FREED from the confines of sleeves. something i haven't been able to do since i still lived in texas.

there's just something about warmth and sunshine to make a day brighter, a smile bigger. is this that nice spring weather everyone's told me about? its what i've been waiting for. it came on slowly, much later than anticipated, but i suppose the warmth just wanted to be appreciated. make us miss what we didn't have. i spat at the heat in texas, so i suppose it was teaching me a lesson. well, warmth, lesson learned. well played, my friend.

VISUAL JOURNAL // DREAMLAND

2013-04-12T11:01:00.001-05:00

when i was in college, (and to be completely honest... a year after i graduated) i had this terrifying recurring dream. it was finals week and i was making my finals week schedule and realized that... SHIT!.... there was a class that i hadn't been to the ENTIRE semester. as in, i remember going to the first class, buying the book, getting the syllabus, making my usual class-organization-OCD-folder and poof! i completely forgot about it the ENTIRE semester. nearly 5 months! but i never dropped it and i had to talk this final without any knowledge of the class! and it was tomorrow! and if i didn't pass this class i wouldn't graduate! because it was my last finals week before graduation! oh, the knots in my dream stomach were awful.

well, the other day, i had a milder-not-so-scary version of that scenario happen in real life. i came home work last week to see that the glass to my building had been broken. i snapped a picture of it because that's what you do when you have an iphone in your hands and you see something unusual. after hearing the electronic click in my earbuds i realized... SHOOT! (since this is less dramatic than not graduating, it deserved a lesser version of my previous swear word)... wasn't i doing a project to take a photo every day for a year?

you guys... i completely forgot that project even existed for... um like two weeks. so this was a really long round about way to say, "my bad. i'll do better."

what i learned from my first vlog

2013-04-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

ONE: i hate my voice
TWO: don't eat while filming a vlog
THREE: angles, magen. find a good one.
FOUR: i hate my voice
FIVE: give ashley a script because she interrupts
SIX: my deviated septum makes my voice way more nasally than i remember. also, i hate my voice.

noted for next time.

things i miss about the south

2013-04-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

O N E

Seafood. I can't find decent crab legs. Fried shrimp the way i like it is hard to come by. Don't even MENTION crawfish. Someone asked me if I have ever eaten "cray-fish". Um, no. Just, no.

T W O

short sleeves.

T H R E E

cows. lol, just kidding. cows smell bad.

F O U R

Walmart. Like... where are all the walmarts? i need cheap cereal and bad clothes, you know? you know.

F I V E

this bitch. love you, sister.

how to keep in touch with family via text

2013-04-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

a night out

2013-04-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

i made a video! what? i know... i upgraded to a Canon T4i and i can't stop.

i can't believe we're still protesting this crap

2013-04-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last week, there was a protest regarding the recent announcement that fifty-four Chicago schools will be closing.

visual journal

2013-04-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

P.S. HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY! i don't have any clever april fools jokes for you. i'm not very funny.

piece

2013-03-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

pizza lovers unite! i have another pizza recommendation for you.

piece. cute name right? and their to-go/delivery business is called piece out! i love a good play on words.

You know I love Jimmy's pizza, but I should share the pizza love because there are plenty of tasty thin crusts around these parts. Piece was rachel ray yum-o. perfect crust, perfect cheese (and nothing else... meats on pizza freaks me out). oh and they have orange soda. what?! yes.

sketchy

2013-03-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

i'm all about trying new things here in chicago. i'm a certified musical-addict. i enjoyed the opera. i've always loved live music. and now, i can tell you that i thoroughly enjoy sketch comedy.

i mean seriously. ashley and i attended cupid has a heart on (cheeky, right?) and we couldn't catch our breaths from laughing so hard. my abs were sore.

if you decide to go you probably (read: definitely) shouldn't take 1) children 2) parents/grandparents or 3) anyone in which you get uncomfortable watching a sex scene in a movie with. because while there's not a sex scene on the stage (ew), there are plenty of vulgar songs and maybe men in thongs. maybe. i wont give anything away, though.

P.S. stage 773 is a pretty sweet venue.

Geja's Cafe

2013-03-26T10:45:00.004-05:00

For fondue in the chi... please make your way to Geja's Cafe. (NOT WITHOUT RESERVATIONS, THOUGH. YOU'LL BE DISAPPOINTED.)At Geja's you'll be treated to delicious cheese fondue complete with apples (yes, apples! just try it.), pretzel bread (oh-my-goodness good), and grapes? (The grapes were kind of weird to me, but hey- what's a little food adventure between friends?)

Also, at Geja's, you'll be dounced in reddish-pink light (there is quite literally NO white light. none, i tell you.) which actually kind of worked with my skin tone so that was cool.

You MUST get the lobster. TRUST. go ahead and stab your fondue fork in lobster, then (the same fork!)in broccoli. BUT DON'T EAT THEM TOGETHER! dip the lobster in the garlic butter sauce (obvs.)THEN, dip the broccoli in the leftover cheese. then eat everything else you order in any fashion you so choose.

the chocolate was fine. i much prefer appetizer and meal to dessert.

also, don't order the bailey's and cappuccino. because bailey's warm is kind of weird. but if you like hot alcohol then totally do.

INTERIORS | 001

2013-03-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

some inspring interiors for you.
Glen Jenkins weekend home, via Anthology.
let's discuss this island. perfect use of storage, i say. i love having casual seating in the kitchen so one can have company whilst cooking/preparing. the mismatching stools add to the charm of the overall-not-too-fancy look. i hate stuffy interiors. homey is where it's at, you guys.
parisan homes, via design sponge
just look at the contrast of the wooden floors and white modern cabinetry. JUST LOOK!
via a well traveled woman tumblr
on the real... that place i'm saving up for most likely isn't going to be a huge house with a library, walk in closet with a vanity and lots of natural light, home office, etc. (such things would require winning the lottery, which is only a possibility if you buy lottery tickets, which stress me out. the numbers! the choosing!) so, barring winning the lottery, my first place will probably be more like a condo. preferably loft-style with wooden floors and exposed brick. and oh! this awesome hanging divider. its just enough to close off a sleeping area but still be light and airy allowing a smaller space to feel larger.
via solid frog
windows are everything. they just are.
MY FAVORITE INTERIOR THIS WEEK: a tiny san francisco apartment, via a cup of jo.
maximizing space is my biggest challenge. oh and organizing.

PRISCILLA: QUEEN OF THE DESERT

2013-03-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

It's official. I'm completely head over heels for theater. I've seen Peter Pan, Blue Man Group (have i mentioned you should see it? you totally should.), an opera, and now... Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

After I left this show, all I could say was: "Now THAT is a musical."

It's about drag queens. And it couldn't have been funnier. or more over the top. or more sparkly. or with better music. (I heard Madonna at least four times. you had me at material girl.) can it really get any better than feather headdresses, a pink glitter bus, a showdown fight at a honky tonk, dirty songs, and Donna Summer? Spoiler alert: it's no.

if there is a stage involved, you can count me in. ticketmaster fees and all. (those fees really are ridiculous, have i mentioned?)

luckily for me, there are probably seventy two million theaters in chicago. big ones, small ones, free ones, expensive ones. i'll never get enough. even if the seats are super uncomfortable.

VISUAL JOURNAL

2013-03-20T10:00:00.000-05:00