Christmas at the Zoo

christmas at indianapolis zoo, pearl beanie, blue leopard coat, windowpane fossil sydney satchel, faux fur infinity scarf

christmas at indianapolis zoo, pearl beanie, blue leopard coat, windowpane fossil sydney satchel, faux fur infinity scarf

christmas at indianapolis zoo, pearl beanie, blue leopard coat, windowpane fossil sydney satchel, faux fur infinity scarf

christmas at indianapolis zoo, pearl beanie, blue leopard coat, windowpane fossil sydney satchel, faux fur infinity scarf

christmas at indianapolis zoo, pearl beanie, blue leopard coat, windowpane fossil sydney satchel, faux fur infinity scarf

It’s not often that I think more about my outerwear than my regular wear. But when we made plans to go to Christmas at the Zoo last Wednesday when it was about 25 degrees, I had to put my thinking cap on. And my thinking cap just happens to be a really cute pearl-embellished beanie. I wore one of my simple A-line dresses from Madewell to work, along with fleece-lined tights and boots. I kept the scarf on too, just because it’s cute.

Then I brought along a cashmere sweater for an extra layer of warmth under my coat, plus a hat and gloves. Boom. The only thing I wish I had added was a pair of socks. I thought the tights would be warm enough but they totally were not. Luckily, Christmastime is the one time when you can kind of almost enjoy being cold. Hell, let’s even throw in a few snowflakes. It makes the hot chocolate taste better.

It had been a few years since we went to Christmas at the Zoo, and it was even better than I remembered. The place is covered – and I do mean COVERED – in lights. And they have reindeer. And hot chocolate. And the dolphin show is Christmas-themed. Oh, and did I mention there’s hot chocolate?

Coat // Hat* // Boots (on sale) // similar Scarf (only $5!) // Bag (on sale) // Lips “Plushest Punch”

*Hat purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Shopbop.

Twisted Sisters

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similar Shirt (on sale) // Pants (under $30) // similar Bag* // Shoes* (on sale) // similar Cutout Bracelet // similar Pearl Bracelets (on sale) // Lips

I wore this on a Thursday night a couple weeks ago to go out for drinks (Thirsty Thursday! Half-price cocktails – woot!) and then went to a little blogger party at a local gift shop. The shop, Twisted Sisters, is actually pretty close to my apartment, and I had driven by it countless times on my way to class or work downtown. But you know how it is – sometimes there are places you know exist but you never visit because you don’t have the time or the reason. But free snacks and booze? Yep, that’s reason enough for me!

Like most gift shops, the theme of Twisted Sisters seems to be “random stuff.” Luckily, it’s a very well curated assortment of random stuff. Meaning that if you need a gift for someone (including yourself)…you might actually find it there. And that’s something that can’t be said for a lot of those obnoxiously kitschy gift shops. Here are a few of my favorite things I spotted while sipping my cab sauv at Twisted Sisters:

embellished collar shirt, black ponte pants, gray steven mules, snakeskin clutch, indianapolis blogger

Bags and accessories? You know I had to put these first.

embellished collar shirt, black ponte pants, gray steven mules, snakeskin clutch, indianapolis blogger

They also had a great assortment of local goodies. Indy pride!

embellished collar shirt, black ponte pants, gray steven mules, snakeskin clutch, indianapolis blogger

And what gift shop would be complete without some initialed home decor and non-traditional greeting cards?!

If you live in the Indianapolis area and find yourself on Binford’s North End, I can definitely recommend stopping by Twisted Sisters. (There’s a Starbucks just across the parking lot, if that helps.) And if you don’t live around these parts, why not stop by a new small business in your own neck of the woods this week?

Thanks to Twisted Sisters for sponsoring this post! Find out more about them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

*Bag purchased with gift card provided courtesy of H&M; shoes purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Shopbop.