Last Minute Halloween Costume DIY

So after much love given to me because of my lovely Halloween costume from this year, I have decided to share with you how I created it because it was super easy and if you have yet to decide what you're going to be and need something for tonight and/or an outing this weekend, I'd be honored if you'd make your own iPod nano costume.

With beautiful friends, Holly and Heather at Buckheads.

That's right, for those of you who do not stalk my personal Facebook account, I was an iPod Nano. I would have preferred to be a pink one, because that is the one I have, but I was working on limited time and resources. However, I think it turned out to be a success and it lasted through the night of walking in the pre-Frankenstorm drizzle and through sweaty dancing inside of a PACKED Tiki-Lounge. (Which, by the way was a fabulous place to spend the evening. It was like a friend's awesome house party and had fantastic throw-backs and current hits in their music selection. You should check it out.)

On to the DIY...

You will need some kind of base fabric. Keep in mind what colors (pink, white, black, silver, yellow, green, red and blue) the iPod Nano comes in. For this, I found it to be easiest to go to Goodwill and find a skirt that was long enough to work as a dress if worn at tube-top level. This way you don't have to sew anything and elastic or a button is already in place so you know your costume will stay in place and you don't have to worry about pulling anything up all night. Your skirt should be PLAIN and as close to a pencil skirt as possible (or a-line for us curvy girls) so you appear to be a rectangle, like the nano. You will also need a small white t-shirt, Sharpie, blue highlighter, green highlighter, scissors, a large circle to trace and a magazine to trace.

1. Start by cutting the t-shirt in two. Cutting along the seams is the easiest.

2. Trace a circle on one half (I used the top of a hat box) and trace the magazine on the other half.

3. Write in/draw the elements of the Menu on the circle & the screen options on the rectangle.

4. If possible, cut out a square on the left hand side of the screen and staple a CD cover you don't mind using, behind it. This gives a more up-to-date iPod look.

5. Sew, safety pin, tape or glue the pieces onto your skirt or fabric. (I used safety pins and double-sided tape because, like I said, I made this about an hour before I left the house in it, so I didn't have time to sew.)

6. Rock out knowing your costume is BOMB and you paid less than $5 on it.

This picture was taken AFTER being worn all night...proud of it holding up.

 

Hope you all have a fabulous Halloween! 

Love, Chels

Vote for my new profile picture!

Hello sweet readers! Recently I was able to work with my friend, Ashley, of Ash Tay Photography to take some lovely profile pictures for Chels & the City. And I am in love with basically every last one of them!

You can see them on my Facebook (and soon to come Pinterest)! But I have narrowed them down to four options for the main profile picture of this here blog and need your help to decide. (Unbiased opinions if you will.) So see that little box over there to the right that says "Meet Chels" ------->

Yeah...imagine each of these photos in that spot and tell me which one you think would work best there - leave your vote as a comment and I will pick the fan favorite! (The second and third place winners will be used on other pages of this blog so do not fret!) I love all of your faces for reading/voting. I really do appreciate your support and hope that you love reading it as much as I love writing it.

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Option #4

Thanks for voting! You are fabulous!

Love, Chels

Fashion Forward Fridays: Meet Stephanie!

I have been awful at Fashion Forward Fridays recently and I apologize profusely. I know that it has become my "claim to fame" in blog-world so I promise to get back in the game. I actually have a couple ideas in the works to make it even cooler...if that is possible.

Stephanie, much prettier than that potted plant.

However, feast your eyes on this vintage-dressed cutie: Stephanie! As she poses sweetly outside of the Pittsburgh Public Theater and eagerly welcomes the weekend and the start of a new big-girl job at Big Brothers Big Sisters. I cannot get over this skirt. I think that it is so bold and Stephanie is rocking it, she's braver than I am. Stephanie says that she wouldn't consider herself a fashionista because she wears what she thinks looks good on her, not necessarily what's "on trend." Which I actually think is what makes someone a fashionista/o but I understand what she means. Stephanie said that if she wears what's in style, cool, but if not, that she's still going to wear it, because the best thing to wear is confidence.

I love this advice from her! My interview with her and her responses were like everything I always want people to tell me to write about. Stephanie thinks that the most important thing to do when getting dressed for any occasion is to be honest with your body type. YES. She also said to be proud of what you wear and how you're wearing it. DOUBLE YES.

Stephanie loves stores like Kohl's and The Gap, but also is a avid thrift store shopper, even though she said that her grandmother and mother would disapprove of that. But she said that you have to be patient, thoughtful and clean to be able to make thrift-store finds into treasures. Like for instance, this fabulous skirt she's wearing. How could you not pay attention to this outfit and the lovely lady rocking it while walking downtown? Stephanie also said that GQ should not have named Pittsburgh the third-worst-dressed because this well traveled lady has seen cities that are much worse. Hooray for the home-team!

The Producers Take Over The Playhouse

Oh. My. Goodness. I have been raving about this production since I saw it on Saturday night. I cannot believe how fabulous it was. Honestly, if you have the time to do so, you must go see The Producers at Point Park University's Playhouse. These students should be very proud of their performance and you should really take the time to check out the talent of Pittsburgh's up-and-coming.

The Producers runs until Sunday the 28th at the Playhouse.

The Producers, is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, based on the film by the same name by Brooks from 1968. The lyrics and music were also written by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. The story, which was also made into a musical movie in 2005 as well, is about Max Bialystock, a renown Broadway producer and his new partner, former accountant, Leo Bloom. Max (portrayed by senior, Tom Driscoll) and Leo (sophomore, Carter Ellis, who was made for this part) figure out a way to earn much more money on a Broadway musical flop, than a hit and scheme together to create the worst show possible. They bring together an awful show, a horrible director and actors who just don't have it and hope for the best worst.

This show relies on many show business jokes, ridiculous accents, and poking fun of Nazi's and homosexuals and to be quite honest, I never really liked it before. While anyone can go into this show and laugh at certain parts, as a whole, I never found it to be the great musical it is said to be. Now, obviously the twelve Tony Awards that it won would disagree with me. But, simple as that, I never really liked it before. Until now.

Driscoll, Mandie Russak (a senior, as Ulla) & Ellis. Photo credit.

 

 

The Point Park Conservatory Theater Company has changed my mind. Each student in this show brought everything they had and left it all on the stage. They brought these outrageous characters to life and made The Rockwell Theater swell with talent. I do not think a single student lacked any bit of character and each one brought the performance to the next level with each scene. All of them should be making their director, Point Park alumnus, Tome' Cousin, and the entire Point Park community proud with the obvious hit they brought to this stage. This is the biggest show that Point Park has done and these students have proven that they can handle the challenge of doing even bigger and better and I applaud them.

This was the first Point Park show that I was actually able to attend and I was floored by the talent that this school is holding. Call me biased, but I don't know any of the students in this show very well. Keep in mind I'm a grad student at Point Park and have few opportunities to interact with undergrads, especially the super busy COPA students. I sincerely look forward to future shows and suggest that you make seeing The Producers a part of your plans this weekend since it's final show is Sunday night, you will not be disappointed.

FUNDS: Let's talk about money!

While I type this, Bills, Bills, Bills by Destiny's Child is running a loop in my head...coincidence? Last night, I was able to attend a great little event to really kick off Homeless Children's Awareness Week. Granted, I was pretty much hounded into going by Isaac, who was one of the speakers, and Trent, who was the MC, but I am so glad that I was able to go.

Logo for HCEF.

The event, FUNDS: True Stories About Money, was an evening of first-person storytelling and was beyond entertaining. It was held at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy, which was a perfect venue with a great vibe and wonderful food and drinks. And while I may (okay I do) have a biased opinion, I loved Isaac's story the most but also adored that so many people participated in telling their hilarious, thought provoking and heartwarming stories. From learning about the generosity of a man in Haiti, the feeling of bouncing checks, finding a prostitute's jump-drive, figuring out the best gifts from boys usually aren't expensive...or in that storyteller's case, expected, and of course, Isaac's tales of growing up on a farm, each story connected back in some way to money and how the storyteller related to it at some point in their lives. It was interesting to hear so many different stories especially when all I could think about was how I was spoiled with money and other blessings (like a cleaning lady for our house) growing up and now am figuring out ways to pay for everything myself. Thanks for that reality check!

FUNDS was organized by Homeless Children's Education Fund. Which raises awareness of HCEF's efforts on behalf of youth experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. Trent gave a lot of statistics that were very shocking to me and he mentioned ways to volunteer to help the cause, which is something I may look in to in the future because, like Trent said last night, it is hard to imagine that so many children face homelessness when we usually think of adults as the only people dealing with this issue. Homelessness in general is a topic that I plan on bringing up in the series of Peace'burgh, so I'm sure you'll be hearing about this event again from me, I thought it was absolutely fabulous and a great way to talk about something that usually people do not like to mention.

There are a couple more events this week coming from the HCEF if you want to check them out! Including an art installation/performance art piece called "Stand Up." This is a volunteer-based event where volunteers will be holding up pictures of actual homeless children in the area over their own faces (like a mask) and stand outside of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall for a moment of silence to portray the statistics and to act as a symbol for the children in Allegheny County facing homelessness. There will also be food from Franktuary provided afterwards for volunteers, which is reason enough to help out. Also, for those of you steel city runners out there, HCEF is also hosting a 5K Run/Walk at North Park on Saturday. This is a great cause to become involved with and this week is a perfect time to do so!