Chels Wears: Remixed Hipster Grunge

Pants: WalMart | Chambray & Cardigan: JCPenney | T-Shirt: Mumford & Sons

Scarf: WalMart | Fork Ring: Festival | Telephone Necklace: Wet Seal | Leather Cuff Bracelet: Charlotte Russe

Shoes: Payless (Brash)

I'm not really sure if I'd consider this look to be really "hipster" or "grunge" but it's certainly remixed. If you look at previous Chels Wears posts, specifically, Double DIY and Breaking Fashion Rules, you can pretty much come up with this outfit and I thought this basically condemned building in town made for the perfect backdrop. Please excuse the pile of trash that I am clearly offended by in the first picture.

I wore this to see the War of the Worlds show at Bricolage (which by the way, you still have a chance to win tickets to: see how here) last Thursday and it was freeeeeezing. I had my trusty photographer (my dad) take these as I was on my way to the show and wished that I remembered to grab a coat before leaving, but alas, I froze instead. In case you were wondering, the later half of fall has certainly arrived here in Western Pennsylvania, which I am not a fan of since it leads to winter. The season I love to hate. Looks like it is time to stock up on some desperately needed new boots. Four Pittsburgh winters will certainly test the quality of your footwear and after last year, basically all of my boots have had more than enough.

Bricolage PGH Presents: War of the Worlds (...& A Giveaway!)

I'll admit that when I was first invited to go to Bricolage for their "midnight radio show" of War of the Worlds, I was a bit skeptical. Considering I had to attend in person for a radio show, I was confused from the get-go. And knowing the history of the original War of the Worlds scaring the pants off of people in 1938 because so many people thought it was a real news broadcast over the radio, not just a show, I was very concerned about what would be going on, but as this blog claims, I'm up for anything that promotes Pittsburgh and well, Bricolage is in the heart of downtown, so off to this interesting event it was.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know that I was also asked to live-tweet the event, which made the experience all the more exciting, because I very much love living in a world where everyone can read my sometimes witty comments as they come to me in 140 character increments. Sorry to anyone who was thoroughly confused about my reporting of a meteor hitting McConnell's Mill and martians invading Pittsburgh. 

Anyway, Bricolage put on a damn good show. All skepticism out the door and excitement for the next show is within me. Honestly, this was AMAZING. For those of you (much like myself) who think watching a live radio show would be boring, hold up, there are plenty of visual aspects to this performance. Not only can you quite obviously see the actors and the band, but there is also a large screen behind them for full visual effects of the story, and the commercials, which were hilarious and probably my favorite part. (I'm biased, I just finish two years of non-stop analysis of advertisements and now appreciate a little commercial parody more than the average person. Thanks, grad school.) I also very much enjoyed the ability to see exactly how the sound effects were made for this story and am always charmed by people having fantastic radio voices. 

More than anything the amount of humor and overall fun in this production is really what sold it for me, and the fact that Bricolage has adapted the script to be very much Pittsburgh-based. The original script, if you never heard it, would have been pretty terrifying if you tuned in to the middle of it didn't know that is was just a story. But hearing it set in and around the Pittsburgh area, while sitting in a little dark theater in Pittsburgh, was also slightly scary. Trust me, it's something you do not want to miss!

And here is your chance to win two tickets for yourself to Bricolage's War of the Worlds, with a Pittsburgh twist, on the night of your choice (Friday or Saturday, November 1st, 2nd, 8th or 9th.)

Here's how to enter:

• Like Chels & the City on Facebook.
• Like Bricolage PGH on Facebook. 
• Email the correct answer to the following question to chelsandthecity{at}gmail{dot}com : In 2005, Steven Spielberg directed a film adaption of War of the Worlds, in which the fabulous, Dakota Fanning stared as Rachel Ferrier, daughter to Ray Ferrier, portrayed by Tom Cruise. The, then eleven year old, won what awards for her performance in this role? 

Simple enough in this age of technology, right? The winner will be selected at random from the participants who submit the correct answer and like both pages on Facebook but 10pm on Thursday, October 31st! The winner will be emailed back with details on how to claim their prize! Good Luck!

This is a sponsored post, I received tickets to attend this show 

and for the giveaway for this post, but, as always, all opinions are my own. 

Fashion Forward Fridays: Wearing Leather

So my most recent obsession is wearing leather in the most classy ways possible. For today's Fashion Forward Fridays, I wanted to demonstrate what that means to me and hopefully you'll like these looks too. I'm sure you will realize the common theme of mixing hard and soft elements into outfits, which is by far my favorite thing to do because I love mixing the super feminine with tough masculine pieces. My personal style of how to wear leather, clearly has that theme throughout.

You may not be the kind of person who dresses up to go everywhere, but you should know that I am. A decade worth of watching What Not To Wear during your formative fashion years will do that to you. So this look may be a bit too much for you to consider as an "everyday" kind of look. Personally, this outfit is perfect for running errands, going out to lunch, to a meeting. Whatever you've got going on, this outfit can handle it. The only thing to keep in mind is that leather pants tend to stretch out and wear as you move around in them, so 1) they get more comfortable throughout the day, and 2) you really shouldn't actually wear them everyday if you want them to remain as them should.

Usually I'm not a fan of matching pieces of your outfit, but I just thought the reds popped too perfectly not to keep them together. This outfit is so sweet to me. I can image a lovely date night at a nice restaurant and then walking arm in arm to a theater and to a late night dessert outing. Sigh. So cute. This look is the sappy stuff movies are made of. I'm such a sucker for a classic bomber jacket paired with lace, so this pairing is making me so proud of myself and my Polyvore skills....now all I need is to find a dress like this for myself so I can really make this outfit and then force MJ into taking a romantic stroll with me.

Again, I'm not a fan of matching pieces of your outfit, but if you are bold enough to wear a leather peplum skirt to the office, you should probably tone down your bag and shoes. (And this is coming from the girl who lets her heels do the talking for about 90% of her outfits.) This outfit screams power player to me so I hope you ladies work in an environment where a leather skirt and heels with some spikes on them would be acceptable, because there is no way that you'll walk out of the office without a raise if you ask for one while wearing a look like this.

What are your favorite kinds of pieces to wear right now? Which is your favorite leather style?

40-Foot Ducky, You're The One....

If you're from around Pittsburgh, then you know the crazy amounts of buzz surrounding The Rubber Duck Project. If you're not, to sum it up for you, about three weeks ago, a giant duck came floating down the Allegheny River and into the heart of downtown, and the hearts of Pittsburghers. How about that for a sappy line.

While I did not get a chance to see this guy up close, just another reason why I'm sad about moving out of downtown, I did get to see him while driving through multiple parts of the city. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him, captured by some of my favorite Pittsburghers. Enjoy!

Photo provided by Tina Richey.

Photo provided by Laura Greenawalt

Photo provided by Lindsay Nicholson

More than likely my favorite picture with the duck, fabulous job, Katie! Photo provided by Katie Funaki

Thanks to The Cultural Trust, this cutie has been in the city and gathering thousands of visitors for about a month, which all started with a huge kickoff party on the Clemente Bridge on September 27th to welcome him. He is part of an art installation by Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, and was created "to bring joy to the world and connect people." And I'm pretty certain he's done that here in Pittsburgh.

As of Sunday night, the duck has left The Point, but I'm sure the tons of people who visited him or even heard about him will not forget the joy of that experience. Pittsburgh, the fabulous city that it is, was the first in the United States to host this big guy and I'm sure will miss him the most. After all, he was here with us to celebrate the first Pittsburgh Pirates playoff experience in two decades. 

Cutie Pitutie Bath & Body: Review & Giveaway!

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the unannounced blogging break, I honestly didn't plan it but once I went a week without blogging, I felt the need to hold off on it for another week. But I'm back! I'll admit that it was nice to not feel the need to come up with topics or write everyday, but to be really honest, each day that passed without me blogging, I felt like I was missing something. This is certainly a little space that I am passionate about and I hope that comes across the screen to each of you too!

Body Frosting and Shea Lip Butter by Cutie Pitutie

Moving on...to make up for my break, today I'm introducing you to a great local business that is my current obsession. Cutie Pitutie Bath & Body is a fabulous small business. They are located in Charleroi, Pa (about an hour south of Pittsburgh) which is such a quaint little town, near where MJ grew up, so it holds a special little place in my heart. But why this company is being raved about today is because of the woman behind it all.

Tina, a mother of seven, started this business with a friend back in 2006, and although the friend is no longer her business partner, because of her determination and desire to create more natural skin care products, Cutie Pitutie lives on. Since some of her kids have sensitive skin, she knew how important it was to make natural products that could work for everyone. But that's not even the best part about her and Cutie Pitutie, Tina is selfless in giving to others and a portion of every product sold goes to a different charity each month.

I suggest that you look into her products, I know first hand that the Hand & Body cream will leave your skin feeling the softest it has been in a long time. It's so rich and creamy and smells amazing! So here's your chance to (literally) get your hands on some Cutie Pitutie goodies. Good Luck!

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions, as always, are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fashion Forward Fridays: Sofiya Mozley Designs & James Bond Party

Left: I love sandwich boards, you should know this. | Right: Me on the balcony of Perle in my best Bond girl look.

If you follow along with my Facebook or Twitter accounts than you know that I was in downtown Pittsburgh for the Global Champagne Party - Pittsburgh. I received a personal email invite and the promise of a fashion show, James Bond theme, and location of Perle, a new champagne bar in Market Square, had me sold. And knowing that the fashion show was going to feature Pittsburgh-based designer, Sofiya Mozley, made me know that I could use the event for Fashion Forward Fridays.

The Global Champagne Party was literally a global event, and Pittsburgh's party was just one of ten happening around the world to raise money and awareness for The Charity: Water and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The James Bond theme was to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Bond movies and the collection presented by Sofiya Mozley made for the perfect mixture of modern day, Bond girl looks. Although the actual fashion show got started much later than anticipated, the vibe of the event was exciting and drew in a wide variety Pittsburghers. This was certainly something you people-watchers would have loved. 

I really appreciate being asked to meet the models before the show! Left to right: India, Morgan & Soigne.

Getting ready!

All the models and Sofiya after the show.

With signature drinks of Vesper Martini's and a Jill Masterson (champagne and orange vodka), guests also could enjoy a wine tasting, complimentary sushi and cupcakes and raffle for fabulous prizes with all of the proceeds benefiting The Charity: Water and the Pittsburgh Food Bank, evenly. Overall, it was a fun event, though I would have liked to see more fashion show and have less down time.

Be sure to keep an eye out for this designer, because based on what was presented at this event, she certainly has and interesting perspective of fashion and is bringing something new to the industry. Though not every piece was a winner for me, her show was certainly entertaining and displayed a variety of pieces for all kinds of women. She will certainly be one to watch, especially in the near future for Pittsburgh.

Finally met fellow Pittsburgh blogger, Tye, of Lagelle. Remember her fabulous guest post?

And of course, James Bond was there and Erin and I had to get a picture with him!

Happy weekend, Pittsburgh! Remember to keep it stylish!

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers (Vegetarian & Meat)

All the ingredients you'll need except, missing from photo, tomato sauce.

I don't think I have ever posted a recipe on this blog, so you guys might be a little thrown off today, but I really like the link-up that H&K Style Journey does each week called, Pinned It - Did It, so I thought I'd share this one with you. Also, because I'm in love with how both recipes turned out.

Fun Fact: When I was first talking with MJ about getting back into blogging back in 2011, I planned on making a cooking blog about making recipes easy for small kitchen and small budgets, because in grad school, I had both. But, I decided that a Pittsburgh-based blog would keep me entertained longer, because I love the city and only like cooking. But both of these recipes would have certainly made it to that blog - keep reading for the yumminess!

Chels Wears: Oversized & Tight

Ring: Charlotte Russe | Bracelets: Wal*Mart | Purse: New York & Co. | Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Shirt: JCPenney | Chambray & Pants: Wal*Mart

Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Guys, seriously, I cannot even talk about how excited I am about the Pirates right now. Holy. Poop. But, moving on. The two main pieces of this outfit are from Wal*Mart. And you should know by now that I buy clothes from every where and do my best to make them look good. It's called being on a budget and still wanting to look stylish. If college taught me one thing, it was how to shop on a budget.

Let's talk about these pieces. These pants are so perfect, I also bought them in hunter green. This color in real life is oxblood. (Or maroon for those of you who don't speak trend.) For a curvy girl, it is the hardest task to find jeans that hug your curves and still are tight at the ankle. But not to worry, friends, I found them at Wal*Mart and they come in all kinds of colors, so go buy them up. Also, for awhile I've been looking for a light chambray (denim shirt) that isn't boring and I think with those little studs on the lapel of this one, I've found the perfect one. Especially since this one is a bit over sized, I can see a lot more outfits with it because layering with sweaters in the winter will be easier. What are some great pieces you've been looking for and have finally found?