Tag Archives: francesca’s

Girls Night in Chestnut Hill Square

I’m so glad that Kaitlin moved to Boston in time for us to celebrate her birthday together! We spent late afternoon/evening of her special day at Chestnut Hill Square in the nearby suburb of Chestnut Hill.

The outing started with a trip to Francesca’s to pick out a necklace and pair of earrings. As Kaitlin said in her recap post, having a girlfriend there for feedback made the daunting task of selecting from many options a bit easier.

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I’ve been looking for a new makeup pouch for travel purposes, and when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist scooping it up!

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Sweating and Shopping in Chestnut Hill Square

I received the SoulCycle class mentioned in this post free of charge. Opinions of the experience are my own.

I mentioned in Friday’s post that I’d be off to Chestnut Hill Square‘s SoulCycle studio on Saturday for the birthday class of my friend Abbey. I started my outing though doing what I like to call a necessary evil – grocery shopping.

I decided to venture into Wegmans, because I’d heard a lot of magical things about it from other Boston bloggers like Christina and Jen. While I certainly was impressed, and would like to return sometime when I had more time to kill (and a lunch or dinner to buy – holy amazing hot/cold bar!), it was not my ideal choice of grocery chain for a quick, budgeted stop. I saw a ton of items I’d love to have thrown into my basket, including some fun hummus flavors. That’s temptation to someone trying to stick to her grocery list, and only her grocery list! And holy crap, if you want a carb craving, simply walk by their bakery. Its scent made me glad I was about to go to SoulCycle in anticipation of an inevitable Saturday night carb party.

One of the items I coveted…Lemon Dill hummus!

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Skirting Around Fashion Friday

Before I dive into this week’s Fashion Friday (which obviously has a skirt theme) I’ll give a quick update on the missing shoe situation mentioned in last week’s Fashion Friday. Short story short – it still has not turned up. And I totally wanted to wear it (and its twin) with today’s outfit…oh, first world problems. My shoe addiction ensured I had a backup pair that matched, of course. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on this terribly pressing situation.

I am soooo ready for the weekend and it’s sure to be fun. Firstly, the rain is dying down and the weather tomorrow looks great, which will make the beach trip I have planned with my mom downright lovely. Secondly, I have a couple restaurant outings planned (of course) with wonderful people! Tonight my mom and I are going to Barcelona in West Hartford, and I’m SO incredibly excited to bring her there for her first time and show her a restaurant that is so special to me. Tomorrow I’m going to It’s Only Natural (YAY) for a friend’s birthday dinner – and use of my gift card. As long as the sun stays out for Father’s Day, I will make it a wonderful and relaxing Sunday, despite my lack of father in the country (he’s going to Paris for a business trip).

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Special Fashion Friday Guest Appearance!

Thanks for your words of encouragement and advice on yesterday’s revised gastro-goals post! I think Michelle of Purely Twins put it best when she said it’s all trial and error, but your advice is ammo I can use for that experimenting so keep it coming!

I’m not going to say the s word. I’m not. All I’m going to say is I’m currently trapped in my house because it’s just Mom and me at home (not counting the sleeping brother) so we have a guy coming to plow our driveway and we have no clue when he’ll arrive. Hopefully soon so I can get to work because I have a crapload to do there. OK no more winter talk.

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Fashion Friday Misses Warm Weather

I hope you guys caught my talented foodie/chef friend Devan’s guest post recipes yesterday! And don’t forget today is the last day to enter my Country Crock Thanksgiving Kit giveaway!

Wait…Winter Storm Athena? Who are you and why were you here when we are not yet in the single-digit dates of November? I hate winter, I hate cold, and I swear this is my last winter in New England. That is my goal – please hold me to it. Yell at me if next November, I am saying the same thing.

This meal was just what the doctor ordered when I got home from driving in the blizzard on Wednesday night – swordfish, veggie pizza, roasted Brussels, and cheap red wine.

I’m not going to complain any longer though, because I was lucky enough to come home safely last night to a warm home, while so many are still without power and facing devastation from Superstorm Sandy (or as Christy called her – I LOLed at this – SuperBitch Sandy).

We only lost power at my house for an hour during Sandy, but when it happened my dad and brother were certainly prepared.

Instead of complaining, let’s cheer up with some nostalgia. I realized I had a bunch of fashion photos I hadn’t shared yet of myself in outfits I wore back in August and September when the weather was warmer. So let’s forget about the recent hurricane/blizzard and celebrate lovely warmth!

Before a pool day back in August!

Top: Urban Outfitters

Bathing Suit Top: H&M

Shorts: Hollister

Sandals: Francesca’s

Watch: Fossil

Before a Boston booze cruise in August!

Top: Urban Outfitters

Shorts: Hollister

Watch: Fossil

Shoes: PacSun

Beachin it Labor Day weekend!

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Cover-Up: H&M

Bathing Suit Top: FCUK

Shorts: Hollister (clearly a standard huh?)

Before a Labor Day Weekend dinner in New Haven!

Dress: Sister’s (I believe it’s Forever 21)

Bracelets, Shoes: Francesca’s

Have a good weekend folks and hopefully Monday I’ll be able to provide a tummy update. You may have been able to tell already but other than a few waves of nausea that have passed fairly quickly, I have been doing a lot better still! And am continuing to not bother trying to determine “what” has made me feel better, just enjoy.

Which look is your favorite?

What’s your favorite outfit to wear when the weather is warm?

Do you prefer warm or cold weather fashion?

Fashion Friday: I Fell For It

Today is your last chance to enter the Mohegan Sun giveaway for a signed copy of Real Housewife of New Jersey Teresa Giudice’s new cookbook – you could even meet her if you’re near the casino! Enter if you haven’t, giveaway ends at 11:59PM EST tonight.

I will never stop nerding out over marketing. I guess that’s why I majored in it…why I work in the Sales Department at my employer…and why I love blogging! I get so beyond excited to see marketing in action, even if it’s a situation in which I become one of its “victims”. You are probably wondering…isn’t this Fashion Friday? Shouldn’t you wait and write this post on Monday so you can call it Marketing Monday? I know Meg is thinking that right now (she’s my fellow alliteration enthusiast).

Instagrammed accessories from Tuesday’s work outfit.

Well if there’s one thing that fascinates me most about fashion (aside from the pieces themselves), it’s the marketing aspect of it. Allow me to give you a perfect example, in which I “fall prey” to the clever email marketers over at Urban Outfitters.

Firstly, all orders over $50 get free shipping. Secondly, they are having a bangin’ sale on shoes. Those three s’s (shipping (free), sale, and shoes), along with boredom, combined to create the perfect storm for online shopping. I filled my virtual cart with enough pairs of shoes (four to be exact) to get the free shipping (and then some). Actually, I picked out six pairs at first, but narrowed it down to four with Jeff‘s help via FB chat (sorry to rat you out there, Jeff).

I swear this post has a less-than-completely-shallow point! I ended up abandoning my cart of shoes, something that happens all to often for online retailers. The purchase wasn’t completely off the table in my mind, but was definitely in “wait and see how I’ll feel tomorrow” status. I did not check out.

Then this afternoon, I got a nice email from Urban Outfitters with this goodie inside:

IT WAS FATE! Or so I thought. I couldn’t believe it – here I was, on the fence about purchasing some lovely cheap foods, and along comes a coupon. I quickly logged onto my account, added the below adorable straw clutch to my cart (oops), and checked out using the promo code. $110 gone…but it could’ve been $122!

An hour or two later, while telling my co-worker about my fateful coupon purchase, I stopped in my tracks. DUH DUH DUH. And I call myself a marketing major?! Urban Outfitters saw me add those shoes to my cart. They saw me decide not to purchase them the day I added them. So what did they do? They sent me, specifically, a nudge. Who was I to think everyone on their mailing list got that coupon? It was no coincidence. It was NOT fate. No, it was just smart email marketing.

So I fell for it, just like every other schmuck out there. I often tend to think of myself as superior-minded in terms of being aware of advertising efforts. In fact, I can be downright cynical. But yesterday, Urban Outfitters got me to purchase the items I shared images of in this post. And all I can do is sit back, be in awe of the fact that I am an example of “the girl who fell for it”, and give them props for successfully utilizing tried-and-true marketing best practices.

At least my feet will look good while I’m doing so.

EDIT: After drafting this post I stopped into Francesca’s after work since I had time to kill before meeting up with my parents for a glass of vino. And what did I find? A sale. And what did I do? Purchased three more pairs of shoes. And jewelry. And another purse. Um..you only live once?

$12!!! Love the bows.

Also $12 and so unique!

$2 necklace!

These were about $2 each!

$6. Yup, $6.

I love how the straw makes this clutch summer-friendly but the black makes it winter-friendly too. Year-round use!

Have you ever “fallen prey to” a marketing tactic?

What was the last thing you bought online?

What is the largest number of pairs of shoes you bought in one day? Yesterday’s seven is a (sad) record for me.