Made by a self-taught Oak Park woman, these Kiln-fired fused glass buckles are decked out with silkscreened images recalling a simpler time: Antique cameras, '20s-style Underwood typewriters, old-timey bicycles, and even Sputnik, ironically, the ultimate international pantsing.

Buckle up at Kiku-Co.com

Started by a couple of Midwestern dudes, TFLN is a repository to semi-anonymously (area-code only) post your most intimate texting action for all the interweb to see, ranging from the self-reflective ("I need to shower the guilt off of my thighs") and useful ("Dont touch anything! You just got rid of your crabs!"), to the hopelessly romantic ("Where did you get a picture of my penis?").

Check what people are electronic finger writing about you at TextsFromLastNight.com

The former Walton St stalwart has moved up north to the Clybourn corridor, where floating shelves adorn a sleek white-walled space showcasing their handcrafted Italian footwear, like a cheetah print number made from calf hair, and several styles of boot (cowboy, motorcycle, and Beatle) made from other members of the animal kingdom -- alligator, ostrich, lizard, and even sting ray, taking vigilante vengeance the way Steve Irwin would have wanted it, with fashion!!!

Shod yourself in wild animals at BattagliaFootwear.com

Celebrate the most Mexican of holidays with a street fete highlighting that most Mexican of sauces, which you can snag from eight different vendors (Fogata Village, Lalo's, Nuevo Leon) in full and $1 to $3 tasting portions, whilst enjoying mariachis, lucha libre (Mexican wrestling), $3 Miller Lites, $5 Sauza margaritas and Mexican Bloody Marys called Micheladas -- because so much is riding on your (spare) tire.

Peep more info at EighteenthStreet.org