Some inspiration for your weekend...

"Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving."
Albert Einstein

Freck's Friday Fancies XXXIV

Although I do not fancy being sick, I do fancy having things to do once I'm able to peel my face off my pillow without being concerned I might die.

Yeah, maybe a little melodramatic, but wow..the stomach flu sucks.

So.

This is what fancy when I'm sick (and can no longer sleep):

A hot shower.

A good magazine - hey. Don't get any ideas. Ladies you know how much we love these kind of magz.

Gatorade in various flavors. I'm not a huge fan of Gatorade, but when I'm extremely dehydrated, I might as well have an iv of this stuff. It helps.

A good movie - extra points because some scenes were filmed in my old hood here in Chicago. I actually accidentally walked through the set while they were filming on my way back from Whole Foods!

Some Paula Deen because her voice simply comforts me when she's making something delicious like a grilled cheese smothered in butter.

A red velvet cupcake for when I feel better. Oh you know I ate half of this as soon as I felt it was safe.

Special shoutout to TBF. He provided all of these items for me and took care of me in all my ickyness. Thanks :)

Doing a whole lot of nothing this weekend is what is on my radar. What's on yours?

Have a wonderful weekend!

TBF, don't read this.

TBF turn away.

I know how much you love long hair. 

I came across this yesterday and I can't get them out of my mind. My stomach immediately knots up a bit when I look at them (or maybe it's the fact that I'm at home with a stomach bug today), going back to shorter hair is so tempting!

How bad do these pictures make you want to cut your hair?! I've been growing my hair out for a good two years now and it's just now getting to mid shoulder-blade area.

I love having long hair, it's so easy to maintain and throw back in a bun/pony if I'm short on time.

This is the actual picture that convinced me to get a bob a couple of years ago!

...but I really loved having my hair short (and blonde), too!

Anyone else tempted to cut their hair now?? The bob is just so cute!

L is for the way you Look at me...

Welcome to the first of four Valentines day posts, starting with L for love.

Because, why not? Valentine's day is around the corner and it's fun post candy. I'm not a die hard V-day fan, but it's fun to see the different gifts and ideas people come up with every year for their lover's.

I want to stress that these gifts can be given and/or shared with loved ones like your friends and family, too. I know what it's like being single and sassy and independent and it was a blast, this was the only time of year when I was annoyed with being single. So, I hope these four posts make you feel like you can share this Valentine's day with friends, family or proudly solo, too!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Souffles. Who doesn't love chocolate?

Love Letter Charm, $4.97

Framed Love, $35

Get a tat of your lover's name on your necklace. This one's less of a commitment ;) $29.99

Hanging Love Note Pillow, $12


I looooooooove these, this could be a fun activity you could do together?? Pssst, this desert doesn't make me feel as guilty because it's mostly fruit!

TBF have made plans to spend our Valentine's day together on Saturday (the 13 rather than Sunday the 14) at one of our favorite restaurants downtown. What are your plans?

**Note**

I'm still working on my blog template, html is rough! Props to those of you who had a smooth process! I don't have much patience for trial and error, so pretty please bear with me.

I've spaced out the margins a bit, but I'm still not loving the layout. My eyes get a little confused and don't know where to look. Maybe I'm just nuts. Either way, hopefully I'll get it fixed soon!

What do you think of the new layout? Is it too cluttered? Are there too many colors? I'm considering putting two sidebars on the right rather than on either side of my post section. I'm always looking for a new header, too, so any advice as to who I could go to for help would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Wacked Out Template

I'm experimenting with a new template, so if you see that my blog is a little wack, that's why!

If anyone can lend any advice on a three column template, please email me. I'm kind of struggling with it.

The columns are all smudging together and I can't figure out how to space them out better. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks!

*MAC in Lillyland Spring Line Pre-Launch Event in Chicago*

So this sister needs a dress.


I was chatting with the MAC gal behind the counter at Nordies last week and after awhile, she asked me if I was going to the MAC event in early February. I told her I didn't know what she was talking about and then she proceeded to tell me about this event that I am bouncing off the walls excited about.

The event is a spring line pre-launch (Living in Lillyland) for MAC cosmetics at Nordstrom on Michigan Ave after hours on a Saturday in February.


Have I mentioned how much I love MAC cosmetics???

I've been told the event will include:

• professional makeup artists who will be flown in from all over the country
  
• models walking around in the spring line makeup
• all of the makeup counters will be converted into MAC counters
• cocktails and appetizers
• and I'm assuming (and really hoping that) Lady Gaga and Cindy Lauper music will be blasting since they've teamed up for the campaign

So what do I need? An awesome cocktail dress and kick ass shoes.

Now let's pretend I have a bottomless budget...

Nordies, $148

Nordies, $148

Little Black Dress? Nordies, $148

Love this shape, Nordies, $Ineedacoupon

I'm starting to see a color theme...$158

...and maybe some cute shoes...

Steve, $99 The Classic Peep Toe, $175 Dolce Vita, $139

I like to keep my pumps pretty classic.

So excited!

By the way, TBF made a copy of my keys for me, so for now, I'm all set!

Happy Tuesday :)

Weekend Recap + Giveaway Winner!!

I had a nice, slow weekend at home in central Illinois. I saw all of my immediate family members, babysat my adorable niece with TBF, and the trip back to the city was surprisingly smooth and quick.

The only problem is...I lost my keys.


For those of you who know me, you know that I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body. We've yet to find the keys, but for now I'm tired of looking and tired of caring. They'll turn up eventually!

I hope.

**

Onto the giveaway winner!! Thank you to all of you who entered :)
The Random Integer Generator picked...


Entry #1! Jenn from Jeans Friday!!


Congratulations Jenn! Shoot me an email when you get a chance and we'll discuss the deets.

Thanks again to all who entered!

Happy Monday :)

Freck's Friday Fancies XXXIII

**First, don't forget to enter the giveaway -->
it ends tomorrow!!**

Alright, now onto the fancies...

Although the weather has improved, I can't help but post about rain related items again. I saw these Nordies rain coats and accessories and they look so cheery, something that is essential on a gross rainy day!!

Adorable Mr. Kors, nice work. $128

Cheery, right? $98

After seeing how friggen expensive my Ugg repair will be (65 friggen smackers for a rip in the seam!?), I'm starting to think that investing a cute pair of these Hunters boots is a better idea...

I need these. $115

Cute, warm scarf. $98

I looooove love love my glittens, Sale! $25
These allow me to use my fingers for my BB if I want or I cover my fingers up with the mitten section if I want.

I'm homebound in T - 5 hours and I'm so excited! I get to babysit my little niece alllllll weekend. Yay! Have a great weekend!

TGIF!!!

Who Knew Rain Could Involve Cute Things??

Because icky freezing raining was falling on Chicago last night, I'm inspired to reflect this idea in this post...but hopefully my post is a bit more cheery than the icky rain was.

Rainy Day Gift Tags, $3.50

Adorable Raining Baby Shower Invite, $20

Rainy Days and Mondays onesie, $15

Rainy Day With My Umbrella, $23

Because this is cheesy cute and Valentines Day is coming up, $3.75

Rainy Wall Decal, $15

Sapphire Rain Necklace, $50

Rain = Water = Clean, Chicago Flag Soap! $4

Last but not least, my very own rainy shirt that TBF gave me from Threadless

**2 more days until the giveaway is over!!!**

Happy Thursday!!