Baby It's Cold Outside

The insane winds blew in some chilly weather into Chicago this week! I whipped out my heavy wool jacket, pashmena and....not my gloves, because I couldn't find them.

So! Good thing I'm going shopping today because I think I'm going to replace my lost gloves with these...



I. Love. Mittens.

Happy Weekend :)

Freck's Friday Fancies LXV

Ahhhh it's finally here! What am I fancying this week...? Well? I don't really know if I can pinpoint one exact thing, but I will tell you that I'm having the biggest shopping itch ever. Not. Good. Stressed mixed with not shopping for awhile must do that to you!

So! Having said that, what am I doing this weekend? Well, after the necessary tasks (cleaning, workout, grocery shopping, yada yada...) I plan on hitting up J.Crew and Club Monaco to see what I've been missing out on this season.

Sigh, here's what I'm jonesin' for (and fancying!)...

I think I'm finally going to take the plunge!

Does this scream Holidays or what? Yeah, I said it!

Although I think the stockings with those shorts are silly, I'm diggin' that coat!

I'll look but won't touch this.


Been drooling over these for awhile. Do you see that zipper on the back!? Love.

Lastly, I'm loving the Making Of video for the 2010 Fall Lookbook for Club Monaco.

You feelin' me? Lots of fancies, no specifics :)

TGIF!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite!

How cute are these?! Coincidentally, I think I'm due for a new set of PJ's... ;)

Speaking of sleep, is anyone else as ready as I am to "Fall Forward?!" Holy Moly. It's so dark out in the AM!

Happy TGI almost F!

Edit: Thank you Paddy K! :) He reminded me that it's "Fall Back," not "Fall Forward." Haha!!

San Francisco :: Day 3

Here is our final day in San Francisco!

After much debate, although I wanted to shop, TBF reminded me that we're only in San Francisco for a couple more hours and we can shop anytime soooo we hopped on the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf!

...where we were greeted by these guys on Pier 39

This guy was a show off.

Time to head back already!? Yep, back onto the trolley we go!

Over the hills, then we were homeword bound :)

And that was our trip! We've already decided that the next time we head West, we're going to dedicate the entire trip to Napa Valley.

Sigh, I already can't wait!

Happy hump day :)

I Must Have It

...if it goes on sale.

San Francisco :: Day 2

Hooray for day two of our San Francisco trip!

This is the most important day of the whole trip. Why? This was the day of the marathon, the whole reason why we came out; to support and cheer on TBF's little sister who ran the Nike Women's marathon. She did it in 4 hours and 5 minutes!! That's 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes! Wow!

This day was full of yummier yummies, exercise and SHOPPING!

First stop? Nike Women's Marathon!

Finish line!

Behind the {chaotic} scenes

The race finished here, beachside!

The huge expo in Union Square, also where the race started.

An awesome perk for the marathoners, having Lean Cuisine served to you post run!

Time for dim sum in Chinatown!

Shumai and BBQ Pork Buns
I know, I was a bit squeemish the first time I had dim sum, and now I can't get enough of it. San Fran's might have been the best we've had. Those pork buns, on the right, are delishously soft and doughy treats filled with amazing pork. Click on their links above for more yummy info :)

Mmmm

Our fortunes. I received some funny comments about these ;)

Miss Chinatown Pageant!! These lovely ladies covered this restaurant.

SHOPPING TIME! I stared at these beautiful Anthro windows for a good 5 minutes.

I almost walked out with a Le Pliage bag, but I held back. Christmas list?

Biggest. Nordstrom. Ever.

Dinner at Don Pisto's. I highly recommend this place (thanks again to TBF's Yelp app!). This place sat 49 people, had a small but super yummy menu {including delish and strong sangria}

...and that's that for day 2!! Day 3 to come! :)

Happy Monday!

Freck's Friday Fancies LXIV

We interrupt this San Francisco recap with this week's Fancies! How amazing is it that it's already Friday?! Hooray! We did it :)

This week's Fancies are fun Fall touches!

We gobbled up that fruit salad so fast!!

This lovely stack of reading material welcomed me home when I got back from San Fran! What's in that brown envelope on the bottom you ask...?


Aha! Remember this? I'm still trying to find the perfect frame to put it here.


A couple more shots...I think I had too much fun with this. What can I say? I love Fall!

Pitcher : Crate and Barrel
Bowl : Pyrex
Jar : Recycled marinara sauce jar :)
Fruit, flowers and pumpkin : Trader Joe's!

Ahhh, pumpkin chai anyone?

TBF and I have a football-filled one ahead where we'll be traveling home to central Illinois to go to the U of I homecoming game on Saturday, then back up to Chicago on Sunday for the Bears vs. Redskins game!! What are you up to this weekend?

Have a great weekend!

San Francisco :: Day I

Hooray! San Fran was a great time. Although the trip started off a little rough (i.e. food poisoning the evening before we left and having the building fire alarm go off at 3 am the next morning), the rest of the vaca was fantastic.

Here is day one of our trip :)

First stop? Hotel! We stayed at this lovely boutique hotel near Union Square. It was perfect for our needs (near Union Square, close to transit, within our price range and well, cute!).







Next stop? Food! We used TBF's Yelp app for most of the trip, and it led us here, a very yummy mom and pop joint known for their yummy coffee and divine breakfast sandwiches. I was starving after having not eaten anything since being sick the night before. This place did the trick :)



Our next stop, and perhaps my favorite stop of the entire trip, was the Ferry Building. This building, located on the bay, is full of fresh produce, beautiful flowers, lick-the-plate desserts, just-off-the-boat seafood and mouth watering meats.

TBF's turn to go giddy: this is Boccalone, where you can find the mouth watering meats I mentioned....in a cone :)

See? This was full of prosciutto, ham and other salty meats that were stored...

in here! It really was so yummy!

Oh, and did I mention it's run by one of the guys from Chef Vs. City?

Wine shop!

Fresh oyster's being shucked by this young fella.

Fresh flowers everywhere! You know I wanted to pick up those hydrangea's...

We found it! We found it! Miette! That gingerbread cupcake definitely earned it's title as The Best Gingerbread Cupcake in America!

Thanks again for the suggestion, Tommy!

Here's the last picture of the day. I was silly and didn't take pictures of Comstock Saloon, an extremely delicious and unique restaurant near Union Square. TBF particularly loved it because it had his favorite gin. This place was soo good!

Sigh...if only I could go to the Ferry Building and pick up those gorgeous flowers and a yummy cupcake every single day! All the more to look forward to on our next visit out there :)

Day 2 and 3 to come!

Happy Wednesday!