Cyber Monday Madness & Finds

I fully admit that I was taken by the Cyber Monday madness this morning. It was the first thing I thought of this morning. I fed the cats, took a shower, and then checked out my favorite shops: J. Crew, Anthropologie and some new favorites BHLDN and Hobo International.

J.Crew is featuring 25% off and free shipping:



Yes, I utilized the code and got the petite Ruthie dress for $73!

Source: jcrew.com via Emily on Pinterest

BHLDN also had 30% off, even on sale items. You can use the code THANKS. With the promo, I purchased another early Christmas present. The TORSADE PEEP-TOES LAVENDAR heels were $66 including shipping when they were originally $180!!!

Source: bhldn.com via Emily on Pinterest

To top it off, I got a new purse from Hobo International called the Lorna! It's been on my Christmas list for awhile and it was 30% today! You can also use the super secret promo code CYBERSALE25 and receive 25% off.

Source: hobobags.com via Emily on Pinterest

I've also heard that GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Piperlime are all having amazing deals too.

I promise to hold myself back, Mr. F!

My Thanksgiving Week in Pictures!

Chicago was freezing last week! One of our tricks was to warm up with matzo ball soup at the local deli. Fortunately, the weather only got nicer over the short week. It's actually warmer in Chicago than in Seattle!

Thursday morning, we drove to St. Louis for Thanksgiving weekend! We arrived a few hours before dinner. We had wild turkey seasoned with bacon, made by Mr. F's Uncle Logan!It was a completely different kind of turkey! Check out the color difference between the white and dark meat!This was my first Thanksgiving in St. Louis, so Aunt Cammi told us she used her best china and silver! Uncle Logan had saved wishbones for us all to play with, after dinner! 

The day after Thanksgiving, we went for a hike at Rockwoods Reservation! It was gorgeous, sunny day, in the upper 60s! We brought the kitties with us and they have had a good time exploring their grandparents house.  They have had to contend with a new dog and cat but Lily and Lyra seem to be making the best of it. 

Today, it was raining in St. Louis and didn't make for great photos. We had lunch in the Loop at Fitz's and I had a ginger ale float.   I'm so happy we still have one more day until the work week starts!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Weekend whirlwind

Saturday night, we had a mini Thanksgiving fest at a friend's house where we all brought an appetizer. We brought turkey sliders and they were a big hit!

Yesterday/Sunday morning, we went to see Breaking Dawn at 10am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved seeing it with my cousin, Katy.

Source: justjared.buzznet.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: twilightlexicon.com via Emily on Pinterest

 Unfortunately, we mistakenly brought the guys with us and they did not appreciate the movie like we did. The guys could not understand why we loved Bella's wedding dress. Did you know you can buy the Carolina Herrera design through Alfred Angelo?!?






Last night, Mr. F made the Pioneer Woman's Braised Short Ribs. 

They were stunning. 

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Emily on Pinterest

Date Night: Blue 13

Mr. F and I had a fun date night tonight! We had a delicious dinner at Blue 13 in River North and let's just say, it was celebrating us knowing each other for 10 years! We had been to Blue 13 this summer and it was so great that we were surprised we hadn't returned yet. We were also excited to try their new fall menu.I had a Moscow mule to start and it came in a chilled copper cup.We also had the soup of the day, Celery root velouté, with ciabatta, beet, pearl onion, chestnut, and apple puree. I took a picture of the garnish before all of the soup was poured into the bowl, but here's a better picture of the soup from Twitter. 

Source: twitter.com via Emily on Pinterest

For dinner, I had the amazing pork cheeks with sauerkraut, bacon, fingerling potatoes, creme fraiche, apple puree and a few other goodies.Mr. F had the short ribs with whole grain mustard, but I wasn't able to get a picture before he dug in. They were even better than my pork cheeks and also had stunning presentation!

To celebrate our date night, we had a little Walla Walla in Chicago. We enjoyed the K Vinters Syrah called, "the Beautiful" after Charles Smith's wife.  The aromatic nose was delightful especially with the 5% Viognier. On the palate, it represented Walla Walla Valley fruit in a nostalgic and delectable way.

Our dessert was out of this world.Our waiter recommended the Warm Walnut Brownie and we melted instantly when we tasted this masterpiece. There was coffee ice cream, cranberry gelatin, and carmel de leche, accompanying the cocoa nibs brownies, interspersed with chocolate walnut brittle. We were so stuffed and happy that we saved some for breakfast tomorrow!

If this post makes you drool, you must go to Blue 13!

Source: blue13chicago.com via Emily on Pinterest

Kindle Touch obsession

Guess what came in the mail today? My early Christmas present, the kindle touch!

Source: amazon.com via Emily on Pinterest

I highly recommend the kindle as a holiday present. Check out these specs!

Simple-to-use touchscreen, with audio and built-in Wi-Fi

Most-advanced E Ink display, now with multi-touch New sleek design - 8% lighter, 11% smaller, holds 3,000 books Only e-reader with text-to-speech, audiobooks and mp3 support Built in Wi-Fi - Get books in 60 seconds Borrow Kindle books from your public library Exclusive EasyReach touch technology lets you read easily with one hand New X-Ray feature lets you look up characters, historical figures, and interesting phrases. Learn More

I find the kindle touch easy to hold, intuitive to use and lighter than a book. The E Ink is easier to read than my computer screen and it's quicker to flip to the next page than actual paper! 


As a side effect, I may be blogging less in the near future. I'm 82% done with the third book of the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin and I cannot wait to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins soon! 


I'm also excited to use the Kindle Owners' Lending Library! 


We have a 'Amazon Prime membership' and with it 'Kindle owners can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free - including over 100 current and former New York TimesBestsellers - as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.' Learn More

Massive Selection
Over 1 million books, newspapers, and magazines, including latest bestsellers, Kindle exclusives, Audible audiobooks and more.

Low Book Prices
Over 800,000 books are $9.99 or less.

Free, Out-of-Copyright Books
Millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 titles such as Pride and Prejudice are available. Learn More

Free Book Samples
Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.


By the way, if you have a kindle, you can start reading The Hunger Games on your Kindle in under a minute. 

And if you don't have a Kindle you can download a FREE Kindle Reading App!  [I'm not trying to promote Amazon, I'm just so obsessed that I have to share it with you all!]

Greedy Girl boots

My awesome boots arrived today from the Greedy Girl blog giveaway! I am so lucky. I picked Dingo's Adobe Rose from Langston's. I've been boot scootin' and dancing all over the house to break them in. Now the real question is, do I wear them with skirts or pants? Mr. F says jeans only, possibly jean skirts. 

Source: silverscreening.wordpress.com via Emily on Pinterest

I say, I want show them off.

Source: lookbook.nu via Emily on Pinterest

A work weekend in Tampa, Florida!

I am so lucky that my job occasionally sends me to conferences in awesome cities. This weekend, I went to Tampa! I had never been to Florida, prior to Friday!When I arrived at the hotel, I had just enough time to take a 4-5 mile run along Bayshore Blvd, before the sun fully set. It was gorgeous to run along Hillsborough Bay and Davis Island.A co-worker suggested I go to Columbia, the oldest restaurant in Ybor City,

 and I'm so glad I did. I had the amazing Campesina paella and the delicious guava turnover.  After dinner, I met up with other people from the conference for drinks. We stayed out late, but fortunately the conference didn't start until 11:30am on Saturday!

Between lectures, we enjoyed the river walk view. I was so inspired by the sun and water, that a friend and I decided to go on a harbor boat tour before dinner. We went aboard the "Never  Never Land III"!

 We motored around Harbor Island and along the Seddon Channel. We saw fancy condos and palatial homes, including a house used in the movie, the Punisher! 

Here's our hotel, the Sheraton Riverwalk.  I really enjoyed the view from my room, especially at sunset!