Outfit Post - By the Lake

Last Saturday, I was driving around picking up some things for a couple of DIY projects I want to try. I thought it would be nice to show you a place that I used to go all the time as a kid, Lake Johanna. My friends and I used to ride our bikes down here and hang out by the beach. Those were the best days. No worries, no responsibilities. Just hanging out with friends and enjoying the lake.

It was REALLY windy and cold the day I was here (hence the red nose) but because of that, I was alone at the beach save for a couple of runners and people driving by. I love beaches in the cold weather and wish I had brought some cocoa and a blanket or two with to enjoy it more. Empty beaches also make for very easy and non-awkward photos shoots so enjoy the plethora of photos :)

  

Also, if you couldn't tell, my new remote came in the mail! Yay! Back to better photos. I'm hoping to get better at going places when I take photos but I can't promise anything :) I started a notes page in my phone to write down outfits that I come up with when I'm looking at Pinterest or thinking about my closet. This is one of my ideas come to life! If you want see more of my outfit inspiration for Fall/Winter, follow my board here! I think the top half came out better than the bottom half but I'm sure I'll wear this again soon.

Outfit Details:

Shirt - Old Navy

Jeans, boots, necklace - Target

Blazer - Vintage, thrifted

Hat - Forever 21

PS. I was wearing a coat and gloves with this before, during and after these photos. Brrr!

State Fair 2013

I am so happy that I got the chance to go to the Minnesota State Fair. Something about it, I just love. My goal next year is to make something and enter it. I would just love to win a blue ribbon! My friend Liz and I went the Sunday before Labor Day along with 236,197 of our closest friends. It was a record breaking attendance day and it sure felt like it. The lines were long but the food is always worth it my opinion!

First we went to the Miracle of Birth building where you can see live births (no thanks) and lots of really cute baby animals. That's my favorite part :)

Then, we began our food quest. I always have to get 3 things at the fair. Cheese curds, corn and Pronto Pups. If you aren't from MN, you may not know the glory that is the Pronto Pup. It is like a corn dog but has a different batter. The batter is more like a pancake consistency than cormeal-y like a corn dog. It's awesome. I don't even really like hot dogs that much but I love Pronto Pups. Next up was corn. The corn at the fair is roasted and it's pretty much the best sweet corn on the planet. Fact. After an hour or so of walking, it was time for cheese curds. Minnesota cheese curds are made from cheddar and are amazing. The only legit kind of curd is batter covered. Some places serve the imitation curd which is has more of a cornmeal/bread crumb coating. It pales in comparison to the battered curd. Can I say curd one more time? Curd. haha

 

I also tried a couple of the food that make their fair debut. First up was the fudge puppy which is a belgian waffle on a stick covered in chocolate. This concoction is not new but the English toffee flavor was. It was pretty good but didn't have enough toffee flavor for my liking.  Right before we left, I braved a SUPER long line to try the Minnepumpkin pie. This booth is relatively new and the past couple of years only served one kind: the Minneapple pie. Apple pie is pretty good but I (capital L) LOVE pumpkin pie so I had to try it. YOU GUYS. It was so so good. The crust was amazing and flakey and the filling was awesome. I want one right now.

In terms of "attractions" there are a lot of fun things to see. This year we checked out the Horticulture building among other things.  It has become quite popular because now they serve beer in there. All locally brewed and you can get flights of different kinds. My favorite things in the building are the apples and the honey. They really have the best apple cider there and you can buy apples just to eat for a buck. I also love the seed art. I can't believe how creative some people can be with just seeds as the medium. Meticulous to the max.

  

  

We also stopped at the Dairy building to check out the butter sculptures. They've made a movie about them so they are a pretty big deal! We saw a really neat exhibit showing the winners of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way crown for the last 60 years. I loved seeing all of the winners throughout the years!

  

Then it was time to hit the road. Until next time, fair. I love you!

Flight of Fashion Show

I attended the United Way Flight of Fashion show a couple weeks ago and I realized I never posted about it! Shame! You can read more about it in my previous post here. It was really interesting and all for a good cause. I thought I would share a couple of the photos I took with you! I brought my nice camera but the lens I had on it did not work well in that environment. Lesson learned!

   

My date for the night was Megan! 

Outfit Details:

Dress, brooch - Thrifted

Belt - old (I want to say Forever 21)

Shoes - really old

Tights - Target

United Way WINGs Flight of Fashion

Join me on tomorrow, April 4 at 5:30pm for the Twin Cities United Way WINGs Flight of Fashion show! The fab Loring Pasta Bar, in Minneapolis will be the venue and it should be a great time! Proceeds of the event will go to the WINGs program which helps women and their families establish financial 

stability to overcome poverty. WINGs is committed to investing in women, giving them the tools to succeed personally and professionally. The groups’ motto is “helping the community and your career take flight.”


Metro area boutiques and designers providing the runway looks will include: Ann Lambrecht, Arrow 
Minneapolis, Bombshell Boutique, Corset, Emma Berg, Etcetera, Fashion Avenue, Gretchen Ventura, Grethen House, Hat Trix, Joynoelle, June, Karma, Lindsay Hopkins, Rags from Riches, Stephanie Lake, Sun and Moon Jewelry, and Uptown Vision Contact.All items will be available for purchase either in store or with the designers. 

Chemist Karoline Wells of The Elixery, an artisan cosmetic house located in Minneapolis, has created a custom lipstick for WINGs Flight of Fashion called “Take Flight.” 

Tickets are $85 for VIP (includes premier seating and exclusive WINGs lipstick), $50 in advance, and $60 at the door. For tickets, more information about the event and details about WINGs, visit www.unitedwaytwincities.org/fof. 

Outfit Post - eShakti

I'm back with an outfit post (finally right?).  I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by eShakti to do a review of an item from their new spring line.  I jumped at the chance, of course! It was actually really hard for me to chose which dress I wanted to get this time around.  So many great colors and silhouettes offered on their site right now. Not sure if you remember what happened last time I got a dress from them. I got in a custom size and it was way too big on top (cue sad music). So, this time I opted for a standard size and just got a shorter hem length. I picked a size smaller than I would normally wear based on the sizing they had listed for the item.  It fits MUCH better than last time and the dress is a nice material as well.

To summarize, look at the size measurements on the website and be wary of ordering the custom size.  The dress is a nice material and looks well made so it is worth the price in my opinion.

Outfit Details:
Dress - c/o eShakti
Cardigan - Old Navy from a couple years ago
Tights - Target
Shoes - Forever 21
Coat - H&M

I also wore this dress to another Third Thursday at the MIA. This night didn't have a particular theme since it was the opening party for their "More Real: Art in the Age of Truthiness" exhibition.  The exhibition was really well put together but that kind of art isn't really my scene so I'm not the right person to give an opinion on it.  I guess I just don't "get" most modern art.  Show me creativity or talent that went into your work and I will appreciate it but I might not understand it. The activities they had planned were fun as usual such as free haircuts, making paper cameras and live music.  I made a Vine with some of the art that we saw there. Check it out here! I also had to pose with the old-fashioned paper camera I made :)



I hope you are all having a lovely week. I've been getting ready for my cousin's baby shower I'm hosting this weekend and starting to get everything planned/situated/booked for my trip. I'll be there in less than a month now! Needless to say, I've been pretty crazy but I'm going to try to keep things going around here the best I can!

Third Thursday Fashion

I totally forgot to tell you all about this great event I went to the other week. Every month the Minneapolis Institute of Arts has an event at night with a different theme called Third Thursday.  I went to a Shakesperan themed event a couple months ago that was amazing and this night was no different.  It was MN fashion week so the Third Thursday events had a fashion theme.  There was a photo booth with vintage accessories hosted by the lovely Megan and Nora of Two Birds, a band, and a fashion show! The fashion show was fantastic and featured looks styled by our local vintage and consignment stores: Mighty Swell Vintage, Blacklist Vintage, Scout Vintage, Via’s Vintage, b.resale, Rewind, Lost & Found, Buffalo Exchange, Tatters Vintage Clothing, Everyday People Clothing, B-Squad Vintage, Nu Look Consignment, and Second Debut.  I didn't get too many pictures of the fashion show itself so I took a couple from the Citypages coverage (See all of their photos here) and a couple of from the MIA Flickr page here.

  

  

My favorite looks of the night! Ali was even a model in the show!

Our fun times at the photo booth!

I met up with my friend Kate, Lori and Cambria and had a great time hanging out with them. It was my first time meeting Cambria in real life and I can't wait to hang out again! There were so many great outfits, it made me wish I had dressed up more! I also wished I had brought my blog cards because I was itching to take some photos of all the great fashion. I always feel even more awkward asking people when I don't have my cards.  I did manage to take a couple so I included them below.

The owner of Blacklist Vintage in a FAB outfit

One of the models wearing a look from Via's Vintage

Cambria with a dashing older couple

A purse that Lori loved

I hope I get to attend more fashion events like this in the future. It is so fun to see local fashion and meet others that enjoy it too. If you are interested in more information about Third Thursday or the MIA, check out their website here. Happy Thursday!

For the Locals: Vintage Estate Sale

The lovely Liz (who owns Hill Valley Boutique) is hosting an estate sale this weekend in Minneapolis.  According to Liz, this woman is a huge vintage collector and is trying to downsize her collection. I work all day Saturday but plan on heading over Sunday. I hope there is something left!  If you want this info, check out the Craig's List post here. Per the post, "From a 50plus year collector. Items have been taken care of and are in great condition! Saturday January 19th 10am-4pm and Sunday January 20th 10am-3pm. cc accepted! Collectables, vintage housewares, gorgeous art and frames, depression era glass, original art, custom built in's, lots of beautiful furniture in great condition. Vintage lamps, storage cabinets, and much much more... Priced to move!"

 If you want more info, let me know in the comments or send me an email.

Hopefully some of you will be able to head over and check it out!

Local Love - Juniper Boutique

I'm finally getting back on track and posting another addition of Local Love. Today's feature is a new boutique in Maple Grove called Juniper. Juniper carries a lot of great brands in their store including Tulle and Kensie but also carries local designers as well.  The items I've seen all seem to be unique in some way either in their shape, color or pattern. I can't wait to head out to her shop this weekend and see all the gorgeous items myself!

Juniper has been generous enough to offer my readers 15% either online or in the store! Enter the code babesinthriftland at checkout online here or mention my blog if you head into the store. How perfect to spread a little joy just in time for the holidays!  You can follow Juniper on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new items coming into the store.