My New Favorite Store

I have a new favorite store, that I just happened to stumble upon one day while taking a walk on Milwaukee Ave. It's Rudy's Round Up General Store in Wicker Park. They have an amazing assortment of gifty items and great vintage accessories and clothing. Best part of all, everything in the store is very reasonably priced. Rudy's has a great assortment of new and vintage jewelry. Lots of fun necklaces, including TONS of Owl necklaces and great vintage plastic jewelry. I am a big fan of quirky jewelry and I feel as if the buyers at Rudy's went shopping with me. I have to control myself. I could do some major damage with their great selection of jewelry. I did buy an Owl Necklace, which has become my favorite necklace. I'd been searching for several years for the perfect Owl necklace-- one that was unique and looked very vintage. The bags are amazing! Lots of cute purses and clutches. The really make a good effort to find top quality vintage bags--for a fraction of the price at most Vintage/ Thrift stores. The clothes are good, too. Lots of humorous t-shirts for guys and cute dresses and sweaters for women. The clothes are all in good condition and reasonably priced. To me, it seemed like the best of the best of thrift store finds.

I have a nearly impossible time finding good cards. I hate buying cards because they are all either super cheesy , way too sappy, lame or disrespectful to the recipient. Rudy's sells vintage cards and new cards that are much better than the average run of the mill Hallmark cards. And they they are about the same price as a Hallmark card, too. Plus, they are much more fun and unique.

Rudy's selection of gifty items is great, too. Everything from a Frida and Diego t-shirt to baby gifts to Dia de los Muertos skulls. There's something for every taste. I love that they have a selection of new and vintage. Need a California Raisin figure? It's there. A cute change purse or a cat figurine? Its there, too.

Rudy's is jammed-packed with a great selection of eclectic good, but with a very current spin. Not sure what to buy for your friend's birthday? You'll find something at Rudy's. And probably something for yourself, too.

Goodbye, Frye Boot Envy!

For the past four of years, I have been obsessed with Frye boots. I am a boots kind of girl, pretty much from Fall to the start of Summer. I have pined over owning my own pair of Frye boots, but I couldn't get over the $200+ price tag. I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money on a pair of shoes. I know that they are amazing and last forever, but to me, it's a lot of money. I've gone through Nordstrom way too many times stalking the Frye boots. I've looked through every thrift store I visit, in the hopes that someone got tired of their Frye boots. A couple of months ago, I was ready to just break down and buy a pair of Frye boots. I came to my senses and seriously considered buying a pair on E-Bay. Thank goodness for Target! They have a knock-off version of the Frye boot for 1/4 of the price! And the kicker is: they are LEATHER! Amazing. I had to go to two Target stores when I was back in Minneapolis, but it was well worth it. I've received many compliments, but the best part is, most people think they are really Frye's! I love it! Even people who own the same Frye version can't tell the difference. SHHHHH!!! It's my secret! The boots are very comfortable and are only $50 dollars. Such a steal.

Even if faux Frye boots are not your thing, Target has a great selection of shoes. I buy most of my flats from Target and they are just as comfortable as other flats that cost twice as much. My favorite pair of flats from Target finally bite the dust after four years of wear. It was a sad day when I had to finally throw them out because they had holes on the bottom and didn't stay on my feet anymore. I replaced my pointy toe hunter green flats with black and electric blue flats that were only & 16.99 a piece! My favorite boot of all time was a pair of light brown slouch boots from the Big Girl Shoe Department at Target (if you have small feet, the Big Girl 5 is equivalent to a women's 7). They were on clearance for $9.99! Super comfortable and practically indestructible. I had them for three years and finally had to get rid of them six months ago. I wore those boots just about everyday to work. I wished I had bought another pair.

Moral of the story: it pays to wait to make a really expensive shoe purchase . And Target is an amazing place to shop for shoes. I am really tempted to buy another pair of the faux Frye Target version, 'cause I love them so much.