Jeffrey Campbell MEL

I pretty much calculated my day around the arrival of this package. It came from Oregon, stopped at Kentucky, and then arrived at my door this afternoon.

As I read more about clothes, shoes, and bags online by anyone and everyone, I am finding that a lot of what comes into style really does trickle down from the runways. I go into stores now and can roughly identify the origins or the inspirations behind clothes, shoes and bags at mass-friendly stores, from H&M to Bebe to Club Monaco.

So I had been reading about Aldo's SMEAL (MOLAVI is similar, possibly less insane heel/platform combo) here and there, and Mordecai being a supporter of all things Judas Priest-inspired offered to acquire a pair for me for my birthday. Apparently, these are more or less knock-offs of or heavily inspired by Balmain's studded crystal sandals. I visited a couple of Aldos dowtown and scoped them out in person. But then while flipping through the latest Teen Vogue (April 2009), I noticed a similar pair, the MEL, by Jeffrey Campbell for $50 more. Zara had a pair out as well apparently, but 1) I hate the Zara at Old Orchard and 2) they probably wouldn't have them due to either the store employees being blah or legal issues. I thought the Jeffrey Campbells looked more like the Balmains and generally looked more sparkly and fun, so I hunted these suckers down. Akira's and Lori's didn't carry them, and I diligently checked Solestruck.com everyday. They were finally up on the site yesterday! So I ordered them to be delivered overnight, and they were on my feet almost exactly 24 hours after I placed the order.

The shoes are surprisingly comfortable; I think it has to do with the platform up front so that the feet aren't angled so steeply. The rhinestone anklet is mad shiny and indeed sparkly fun! The heels feel stable and I think are thicker than the Aldo or Zara or Balmain versions, so I am very content with that. BTW, my birthday has passed and I am healthy and unbroken **KNOCK ON WOOD** Let's hope nothing happens this weekend with these shoes.

I thought I'd share some other birthday spoils.

My mom and I have been out and about since I'm on Spring Break (it's a proper noun folks, must pay homage to the blissful week of rest!) and we stopped by the Levi's store in Wicker Park. It was love at first sight with this jacket, even though I look like a child (I had a Land's End jacket in this color growing up) or like I'm going to visit the Niagara Falls. My mom bought it for me, saying "Why not? It's the day after your birthday." Here I am posing in the way a Japanese baseball player stretched when he was on deck, waiting for his turn to bring Japan victory. (Can't remember who it was.)

Today I went to H&M in the early evening and began doing damage to the H&M gift card generously given to me by Mordecai's parents. Again, under the influence of fashion show-and-tell blogging, I went straight for this jacket. It's weird how tastes suddenly change or evolve; I've never been a big fan of light-wash denim, but I'm all for it this spring. Maybe I am overly eager to celebrate spring's arrival.

Baseball card updates (they are related to the celebration of my birth) will go in another post--those are harder to write about because I'd like to scan them but that entails scanning them. I have a good cover for my Fantasy League baseball card collection too, so look out for that in the next episode.

Early acquisition

Just as last year, I received an early birthday present around this date from my parents today: this year, the much coveted iPhone. With the ability to constantly track my email, my music, the weather in Chicago and Yokohama, Facebook, Twitter, baseball, fashion, the world in GPS map form, Pacman energy pellets, and so much more, I thought my life was going to undergo a revolution or uprising today. But things have been pretty quiet, and I think this is for the better. I'm still very happy with my new acquisition.

My love for purple has not subsided; you know I had to get on the purple iPhone case. The other day, I noticed that the laundry hanging on the new clothing rack was largely purple, or variations of it. This weird website claims that "too much purple and you don't tend to live in this world." LIKE THIS IS A BAD THING! SO BE IT!

Baseball Card Love

Yesterday Mordecai, Joe and I went to Max's for dinner and Target for baseball cards. Max's is known for their "ghetto fries." They apparently also have "pizza fries" which I found more enticing than the description of "ghetto fries," but since the latter are so hyped up I decided to go with them. The fries are smothered in BBQ sauce, cheese, chopped onions, Italian beef gravy, and hot peppers. It sounds appetizing, but it kind of became too much after a while. I certainly don't need to try them again. And for some reason, Joe's order was notably spicier than mine.

Then we moved on to the Target at Peterson. If you don't know from other social networking sources, the three of us have become more or less obsessed with baseball cards. My level of interest was comparatively minimal when Mordecai, Jenni and I went to Meijer, though getting the Tim Lincecum card and knowing he was high up on overall draft rankings sealed Fantasy Draft fates (I drafted Lincecum before Joe could during the second round; sorry Joe, I didn't know he's potentially part Filipino). I know that my general obsession with Fantasy Baseball is spilling into the territory of "abnormal," but why should love have limits? In addition to collecting Topps 2009, I'm keeping a binder of all of our league's players. (More on that for another post, probably.)

Mordecai got Topps 2009 and Topps Heritage (1960 design). He seemed to enjoy the card of floating manager heads and the Jimmy Kimmel-look-alike player. Joe got the Upper Deck Masterpiece 2009 (or was it 2008?) box, Topps 2009 Cereal box, Upper Deck 2009 Jumbo Pack, and Upper Deck Spectrum 2009 box (in photo, above). The Spectrum series features autographed cards by random celebrities, including Kim Kardashian. I bought a regular pack of Topps 2009, a jumbo pack of Topps 2009, and a Topps 2009 Cereal box as well. I added significantly to my general collection and to my Fantasy League collection, so I am quite content and willing to hold off until Saturday for more baseball card treasures.

Colonel Sanders unearthed

Yesterday afternoon, Jenni forwarded me this story from Yahoo News. As she noted, it combines fried food, baseball, and Japan--a story made for this blog!

In 1985, Hanshin Tiger fans celebrated national championship victory by throwing a statue of Colonel Sanders into a river in Osaka. Said statue resembled Randy Bass, a "key team member." Osaka officials unearthed the statue from the gross-looking river yesterday. I looked up Randy Bass images online and got pretty much nothing. But no matter; look carefully:

I took this snapshot from the video that accompanies the article. Look at those eyes! Colonel Sanders is ASIAN. How on earth is someone named "Randy Bass" going to resemble this statue of Colonel Sanders? Hmm, now I want Japanese KFC...

One last note, not to blast this article or anything; I have much love for the Hanshin Tigers and their crazy fans. But the last line of the article reads: "Osaka, Japan's second-largest city after Tokyo, is located about 260 miles (420 kilometers) west of the capital." This is all lies. Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan after Tokyo! The BayStars need to get crackin' on putting Yokohama on the global map!

Spring Cleaning

I cleaned, even though no one is visiting or staying with us! Now that the weather is improving, I decided the heated table shouldn't be turned on all the time. But the blankets are there just in case. Also, piles of paper are inevitable.

Flamin' Hot Funyuns

I gasped when I saw these at a convenience store that is hidden in a building directly across the street from the Art Institute (same building that also contains Au Bon Pain and Bennigans).

The man at the convenience store claimed that the 99 cent bags of chips are undergoing a price increase, so "some of the flavors" of Funyuns, including these Flamin' Hots, were going to be discontinued. I had already grabbed two bags, and didn't feel like making a big scene so I just said, "Oh really? Glad I got two." The clerk might have insider info, but according to the Frito-Lay website, I can still get them at five locations in my zip code. I wondered what he meant by indicating that there were multiple flavors aside from original and Flamin' Hot; turns out that there were Wasabi Funyuns, which is insane. I'd probably die if I ate those.

I have to say, they weren't that different from the original Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The Flamin' Hot recipe contains a lot of onion powder, so Flamin' Hot Funyuns is a rather redundant concept. But really, who can complain about more onion powder? (Except for someone who is not eating Funyuns or Flamin' Hots and has to sit near you.) Or the novel experience of Flamin' Hot in a different texture? I hope they continue these, and continue to discontinue the Wasabi Funyuns.

Fantasy Baseball '09: The Poppersteins Yearbook

Current Wants/Obsessions

As my time at the Reg recedes farther into the past, my Photoshopping skills increasingly deteriorate. I need to bring them back up to make a collage of my fantasy baseball team! Here is my practicing round, a collection of the things I currently covet and the things that I am otherwise somehow obsessed with. I still like things that look like something Rob Halford might wear; purple; greasy food; and reviving the 90's, this time through neon, floral print, and lightwash denim. Being mistaken for an undergraduate is still on my agenda, willfully or not--so I have some interest in Uggs, especially after trying my mom's pair on the other day. They are super comfy! My feet looked like odd forest creatures. As of late, Mordecai and I have been watching "Freaks and Geeks" nonstop--I love this guy Bill. And of course, I'm still Animal Crossing, trying to get my hands on the super-expensive Princess furniture set. So far I have the wallpaper and lamp. It's trying when you have 4.5 million bells accruing interest in the DS game but less than 50,000 bells in the Wii version, and no way to transfer the money.

From the top left, clockwise: Forever 21 fluorescent-green-ish top; Lawrence's Fisheries Fish Fillet Sandwich; studsandspikes.com black pyramid studded bracelet; Nike Liberty Blazer hi-tops; Club Monaco sheer lavender tanktop; OctopusMe tentacle ring; my Animal Crossing character; Bill from "Freaks and Geeks" wearing an American Apparel flourescent-green-ish tube dress; Le Blog de Betty wearing the H&M denim jacket to her right; Lay's Classic Potato Chips; gray Uggs; studsandspikes.com tree spike bracelet.

Center: Gracie Grace's Princess sofa and closet, Spring Collection; Fashiontoast wearing Aldo SMEAL sandals.