Fashion's Night Out Indianapolis

Over the past few years I have heard about my friends (in other cities) participating in Fashion's Night Out events and sales and I have always been a little jealous! Well I no longer have to be jealous, because FNO is coming to Indianapolis THIS YEAR! Next Thursday! 

What is Fashion's Night Out you may ask??

Founded in NYC in 2009, Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) is an unprecedented global initiative celebrating fashion, restoring consumer confidence, boosting the industry’s economy during the recession, and putting the fun back in shopping. Past FNO events have featured special limited-edition products, celebrity appearances, unforgettable performances, and incredible giveaways.

Last year's bash featured events in eighteen countries and more than 4,500 events here in the States. With special limited-edition products, celebrity appearances, and unforgettable performances, FNO 2012 is promising to be even bigger and better than before!

Indianapolis is celebrating FNO as an official participant for the first time this year and I am SOOO excited about it!!! FNO is being presented by Pattern Indy, which is the fashion networking group I have been attending meetups with over the last few months. 

Fashion's Night Out is Thursday September 6th from 6-10pm. 

Some participating retailers include: 

The Fashion Mall, Saks Fifth Ave, the Circle Centre Mall, and the Indianapolis International Airport.

Several stores within the malls are participating. For more information check the Pattern Indy website!! 

Hope you will all take advantage of this fun night of shopping!! 

Info on this blog taken from Pattern Indy and Fashion's Night Out.

Him and Her- His style

Occasionally Dan wants to go shopping for himself and when he does he goes big! So this weekend we hit up a few of his favorite stores and Dan came home feeling like a brand new man ready for the fall! Dan has excellent style and I don't shop for him too often because he likes to himself.  I will tell you that he is sort of a hipster and artsy therefore he did wear corduroy pants a few times this summer much to my embarrassment! Sometimes you have to pick your battles and that one I did not win.

Anyway, other than sometimes wearing flannel and cords in the wrong season, Dan picks out great clothes, shoes and accessories.

This weekend he picked up a new watch and cologne!

Timex Vintage Field Army Watch and Spice Bomb Cologne. 

I generally blog about women's style and things that I covet, but I thought it would be fun to talk about guy style for the fall and what's in Dan's closet or wish list (or mine).

 I've been trying to get Dan to buy a pair of brightly colored pants or shorts for about a year now. I'm hoping he comes around.

 Can't have enough plaid shirts. New shirt from J Crew

Gingham shirt and cardigan. In the closet! 

Boots on the wish list.

 Tan colored jeans

Seven for All Mankind

 Red chambray shirt

Urban Outfitters

Randomness

Hello there! It's been a seemingly long week. A lot of blah(ness) over here. Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been doing a lot of random things but nothing quite worthy of blogging about. But in case you ARE interested this is what I've been up to...

Ran over something. Had to get a whole new tire Ugh!

 

 Got super excited and made up a recipe for this pie including Nutter Butter crust. Turns out, it wasn't that tasty, except the crust!

 Skirt and top I wanted to buy to try the mixing pattern trend. Decided I better save my money.

 Dress from the Loft that I can totally make. I don't think this style flatters me, but I still want to make it. Anyone want it?

My twin, apparently. A friend found this on Pinterest, however it's not me!! Cute hair though right? 

 Shiny, shimmery fabric everywhere!!! I'm dying to make something, but what?!?!

 

New(ish) purple skirt and now favorite outfit! Jcrew.

 

 Funny babies! My niece Rye and my favorite tot Kamryn in the dress I made her! Lol! 

See told ya I had a random week! In between all this oddness I have been trying to find fabric for curtains and bench cushions for our house and STILL organizing our closets! Seriously, I still cannot figure it out. I promise to post pictures of our house once I get at least ONE room done. 

Have a great weekend!

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy is one of those things that everyone should just know how to make... except I don't. I have twice messed it up because everyone just told me, "oh, you just add flour and milk until it looks right." Yeah, right. Both times it was extra thick from an abundance of flour or burnt or just not right. It was important for me to get this recipe right because it's one of Dan's favorites. So finally I just looked up a recipe, duh.

Once I had some real direction, it was EASY and awesome! So now I can make this all the time with no problems! If you're like me and could never get it right just judging or maybe haven't ever made biscuits and gravy before, then this recipe is for you! Recipe adjusted from All Recipes.

Spicy Biscuits and Gravy
Ingredients:
1 pound Bob Evans Spicy Sausage Roll
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 roll of biscuits

Directions:
Prepare biscuits according to package. Meanwhile crumble sausage and brown in skillet. Stir in flour until dissolved. Gradually stir in milk. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over biscuits.

Enjoy!

Lottie Dottie

I finally got the chance to visit Lottie Dottie, a boutique in Greenwood, last week! I had been hearing about it via facebook for several months. It's a super cute boutique with very girly decor and adorable dressing rooms! They have a pretty good selection of tops, dresses and even colored denim! They get in new items every day. I tried on a few pieces and ended up buying a top I saw online and went there looking for. They have a great website you can order off of too!

I really like boutique shopping, but usually just hit up the stores in Broad Ripple. I'm really happy that I've discovered this Greenwood hot spot! If you live on the south side, or anywhere really...

Check it out! 

 bright and fun jewelry

Several racks of maxi dresses! 

 White button down I bought. 

Grilled Pizza

My parents bought us a new grill as a house warming gift and it is the best gift EVER! Dan picked out a nice Weber grill with the capacity to grill 28 burgers, as if that will be necessary. Either way, we love it! In the first week, we grilled everything. Chicken, burgers, pork chops, corn on the cob, and pizza twice! We had a charcoal grill before and rarely used it because it was so much work and we also shared a patio at our condo with no privacy. I ended up grilling everything inside on a grill pan or panini maker. WHAT a difference a real grill makes! It's so nice to grill out on our deck. It's the little things that come with being homeowner, so fun!

Dan's mom has grilled pizza for us before and I have always wanted to try it too.  I bought several ingredients and we gave it a shot! Trust me, it's amazing and the crust is SO good!

Grilled Pizza
Ingredients:
Vary depending on taste. Dan made a spicy one and I made a veggie one. We used:
-one roll of Pillsbury pizza crust (makes 2 pizzas)
-crumbled spicy italian sausage
-pepperoni
-fresh sliced jalapeno
-tomato sauce
-fresh mozzarella cheese
-sliced Roma tomatoes
-fresh basil

Directions: 
Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spread a little olive oil on the foil so the dough doesn't stick. Unroll the dough. Don't roll too thin or it will burn on the grill. Spread olive oil on top of the dough so it will now be on both sides.

Grill each side of the dough for about 2 minutes until you see grill marks. Pay close attention to not burn dough.

Place toppings on dough and grill again for a few minutes until cheese is melted and toppings are melted. Again, pay close attention to not burn.

Remove from grill and enjoy!!

An American Legacy

For the last few months I have been attending Pattern meetups as a way to get involved with the Indianapolis fashion industry. I have met a lot of people and made several new friends. It's a great organization and very welcoming to all those interested in fashion whether as a career or just a hobby. If you have any interest, definitely check them out (link above) and let me know if you would like to go  with me to a meetup!

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Pattern and Fashion Arts Society meetup at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  I enjoy going to the IMA, particularly when it has fashion related exhibits and at the meetup we were offered a personal tour of the exhibit: An American Legacy: Norell, Blass, Halston & Sprouse, all of whom hail from Indiana. I really enjoyed the inspiration from the pieces getting ideas for dresses I would like to create myself! The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 2013 so go and check it out! The pieces will be rotated and therefore you may just want to go twice. Click HERE for more information. 

Very Betty Draper.

This was my favorite!! I love the sparkle.  Maybe New Years Eve dress!?!

Fabulous fashion friends! 

Check out their blogs too. 

Sarah- Indy Green Queen

   Amber- The Browsing Brunette

Allie- Allie's Bubble 

Navy Jeans

Have you ever been shopping and seen something that you HAD to have, but chose not to buy only to think about it for days? Well that just happened to me with a pair of navy jeans. Not typical jeans of denim, I'm talking about navy colored skinny jeans. In my mind, I could casually wear them to work as "work pants". I went over every thing I had that could go with them. It would be a staple of my fall and winter wardrobe.

AND then... I saw this article Kate Middleton's Olympic Style and the princess herself rocks these navy skinny pants. She practically wears them every day!

NOW, I've got to have them! Of course I saw them at TJ Maxx and can't find them again. But Kate's are J Brand. Here are two options.

Jeans and Corduroys