Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

TBF, his little sister and I enjoyed some of these yesterday right after some Holiday shopping and a celebrity siting - Vince Vaughn (!!) - here.

IwasactuallyfarmoreexcitedthanI'dliketoadmit.

Have a holly jolly Holiday everyone :)

Code Word Is Santa's Got a Brand New Bag

What movie is that from?? :)

Santa came to town a little early, TBF and I already exchanged Christmas presents since family is coming in to the city.

What'd he get me? Well, I thought you'd never ask!

Freck's got a brand new Longchamp bag.

I was dying over this when we went to San Francisco, and he remembered! I think I almost started crying when I opened it. Almost.

I got him...

...a monogrammed flask and a fryer :)

He's REALLY been into gin and cooking lately, so he was thrilled with both.

Hooray for Christmas! What's on your list this year?

Chicago Blogger Meetup + Christmas Fun

What a weekend! I wanted to quickly share that I attended a fun blogger meet-up event filled with cupcakes, wine and manicures hosted by the super sweet Lisa from Fantabulously Frugal and American Express. I met some amazing bloggers and was (finally!) able to meet the fashionable and sweet Tabitha, the adorable and bubbly Jess LC, as well as some new friends (Hi Kelly and Shaina!). I'm still so thrilled that I was asked to attend. Thank you again Lisa! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again (hopefully) soon! I'll definitely link to pics as soon as they're posted on the other gal's blogs. You know how I am, darn anonymity ;)

Onto the Christmas fun! Snowed in? Ran out of cute labels or tags? You've come to the right place! Look at all these!




Aww, cute right?! And there's more where that came from! Check out all of them here.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

Holiday Decor Color Scheme

I must admit, I jumped the gun on my Holiday decorating before Thanksgiving with some small touches here and there, but I haven't really done much more than that. So now it's time to add some more solid pieces!

Which leads me to :: What is your Holiday decor color scheme?

Traditional red and green?



Traditional blue and silver?



Green and silver?




Pastels and silver?



Gold and silver?



Small neutral touches of a warm, cozy Holiday glow?





Multicolor?

images via here and here

Did I miss any? I love Holiday decor! My small touches were red and white/silver. What's yours?

Happy Monday! Stay warm! :) The high is only 21 today in Chicago! Brrr!

I Know, It's Not Even Thanksgiving Yet.

Don't judge me. I wasn't looking for anything Christmas related, promise.

Now that that's out of the way, have you had the pleasure of browsing RikRak's Etsy store yet? I stumbled upon it while browsing Etsy yesterday and I am loving these stockings!














Hooray! Cute, right? Practical too at only $18!

Happy Monday!

Another Smorgasbord Post!

Yes, I can't complete a sentence/thought today because my thoughts are all over the place. What's that mean? A smorgasbord post!!

If that's not appealing to you, then know that the most adorable niece in the whole friggin world is at the bottom!

• Remember when I was pondering about what to wear on Christmas while sitting around the tree opening presents (or whatever tradition you have)? Well, today I'm imagining I'll wear this ...
  

• It's a winter wonderland out here in Chicago today, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

• Nota won on Sing Off last night! I was rooting for them, so I was so pumped. AND they sang Down by Jay Sean who actually came out on stage and sang with them!
  

This isn't the finale but I can't resist, I just love how they sing it! Jenn knows what I'm talkin about ;)

• I'm still pretty homesick since I can't be at home right now and I really want to be. I'm trying to think about how these feelings will disappear as soon as I get home. It helps a little :)

• I may get to work from my apartment tomorrow, which is a teeny bit fabulous. Being able to work out in the morning and then work in jeans? Yes, please!

• TBF's fam got in late last night, I'm really happy they made it in safe. They drove all the way (to Chicago) from DC, where all the snow is!

• Congrats to Andy and Jeanna on their engagement! Jeanna was the first person I met when I started college in Chicago way back when. I'm lucky that she and I are still so close, I can't say enough nice things about her. Their engagement is also pretty exciting because FRECK introduced them!! Hip hip hooray! They're pretty much perfect.
  

• Is anyone else finding it difficult to take the time for yourself and work out? I skipped yesterday as well as a couple times last week simply because it's so cold out and I keep thinking about gifts I could be wrapping or cards I could be writing. Hopefully I get a good work out in tonight.

• ...and here is my beautiful niece Emma. I adore this little one so so so much!

Is it weird that it makes me nervous to post her pic? I may end up taking it down...

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Freck's Friday Fancies XXIX

It's FRIDAY! ..and not just any Friday, it's the last one before Christmas!

dun dun dun...

You know what that means! If you're like me, you have a couple of "last minute" gifts to get. Thankfully, my hood in Chicago has plenty of places in a 50 foot radius for these yet to be purchased gifts.

As you've probably noticed, this week's fancies include last minute gifts that can be purchased within a 50 foot radius of my apartment.

Go!

Walgreens/CVS. Bump it. Yes, throw away your teasing comb gift reciever and refrence this how-to for the perfect poof.

Walgreens/CVS - Reese's. What's better than candy?

Walgreens/CVS. Snuggie. They're really taking the world by storm.

Walgreens/CVS. Classic mixed cd..preferably Lady Gaga if the person knows whats up. Consider referencing this how-to to make the most bomb mixed cd ;)

Walgreens/CVS. Puppy Chia Pet. Who wouldn't want to watch a puppy's head grow moldy?

CD store. Beatles shirt - classic.

Walgreens/CVS. Develop pictures from Facebook or last May's graduation and frame them.

Argo/Starbucks gift card. Trust me, it will be used eventually.

Video/cd store. M.A.S.H. for the parents so they can tell you for the millionth time that "that guy" went to the U of I and they know because he always wears U of I sweaters.

Gap. Slippers for your sister in law because her toes-ies might get cold. (Yes, I have a gap less than 50 ft away from me, it's truly dangerous. Some people have to refrain from going to Chipotle on their way home, I have to refrain from the Gap. Ok, that's a lie, I have a Chipotle near me too.)

Last but not least, if you're in the market for Uggs, did you see Fantabulously Frugal's post about Uggs? She was also kind enough to post my comment about how I found out that you can get REAL Uggs for almost HALF the price!!

Alright, now get out there and start checking your list twice! ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Weekend Recap + Scrooge

Hellloooo Monday!

My weekend was pretty decent. Friday night I had a work part-ay and the rest of the weekend was spent relaxing or being a scrooge (haha!). I'm having a bit more of a difficult time than I thought I would with transitioning into the real world and not having as much time as I'd like to spend with my family over Christmas. I guess I took for granted being able to spend at least a week with Mama and Papa Freck (and co.) over the holidays. This year I'll be lucky to spend two days with them, a thought that gets me a little down.

To battle these scrooge-like feelings, I've been telling myself:
-Hey Freck, the main reason you aren't able to spend as much time with the fam this year is because you have a great job.Some people don't have a job, be thankful.
-Hey Freck, be happy that you have a family to miss and come home to, some don't.
-Hey Freck, you're healthy and young, you have plenty more Christmas's to enjoy with the fam.

...and a couple more that I've probably missed.


Another way I'm battling these scrooge-like feelings is by watching old Christmas movies that I grew up with. One of my absolute favorites is White Christmas, and I thought I'd share some of my favorite scenes below just in case any of you are feeling scrooge like and/or if this is one of your favorite Christmas movies!!

Mama Freck's Favorite :)

I needed those red dresses when I was little.
Did you know that Vera-Ellen, had a 19 inch waist?! Wow!

Enjoy and happy Monday!!

Christmas Spirit + Biggest Loser

This Christmas tree was in the middle of the beautiful hotel where my conference was yesterday. I couldn't help but take a picture. Isn't it so pretty?!

Okay, onto the goods. Who saw the Biggest Loser Finale last night?!


Everybody now! "HOLY COW!!!!!"


Not gonna lie, Rudy, you're kind of a stud.


Danny looks amazing, too. I think what I enjoy most about the two guys and Amanda (in pink) is how humble they are. It was so encouraging and they were all so thankful for the opportunity and their transformation.

Did anyone else feel that Rebecca's attitude changed compared to before her transformation and wasn't very humble? She won the at-home BL, which is so awesome and she looks fantastic, but something about her attitude rubbed me the wrong way. Anyone??

Remember everyone, the giveaway ends tomorrow! Make sure to enter if you haven't!!

Alright, back to work. Happy Hump Day!!!

***

Okay, cool, by the looks of your comments, I'm not crazy when I think that Rebecca has changed and it's weird. TBF thinks she's on drugs..could be, she is kind of spazzy and random? Oh well, she looks fab, hopefully she tones the 'tude down a bit...

Also! According to this interview, they are still dating and she's moving in with him.