In the Absence of Isabelle...

 Days spent out and about on the public transportation system. I feel like it may be time to get a student fare card? Yes, I think so.

 Drool worthy Jeffrey Campel "sleigh" shoes.

 My dear friend Lillian and her understandable adoration of cats.

 Francesca's cards. I want them all. Something about the colored words perhaps?

 Coupons. I adore these.

 Getting lost on the streets of Chicago. At night. Typical

Boston, where I spent Christmas with my family.
While there I went on a Grocery expedition, here are the photos that I took to entertain myself while shopping with my parents for Christmas Eve dinner.

This Olivia's lettuce made me way too excited.

 Organic or not? What is the different really?

 Again, far too amused by this. A touch of color? When the table cloth is white? Yes.

 If this has existed a while and I have simply never seen it I feel ashamed.

 Beano? Is it better than Pepto Bismol?

 16 ounces of Marshmallow Fluff? I'm in.

 Unfortunately our cart did not include that Marshmallow Fluff.

 Meat slicer in action. Actionshot. Actionshot. Actionshot.

 So talented at naming flower bouquets. I want this talent.

Providence, Rhode Island. I adore this city. Even though it's a little strange, I still adore it. For no reason in particular actually...

 This dog took up most of my effort. My uncle should thank me for thoroughly tiring out his dog.

Once I returned home from (the snowless) Boston, this is what I found. My cat. Anxiously awaiting.

Hope the Holidays were happy, and the New Year will be happy as well. xx.

NOVEMBER BLUES: FRANCESCA'S COLLECTIONS

Welcome to our blues, where we post about our outings together and highlights of the week or month. Blues will be posted up to four times a month and will be typically longer than our normal posts.

Last weekend, we took advantage of our few days off of school for Thanksgiving break by searching for a new favorite clothing store. We left our usual downtown hotspots with peppermint mochas in hand and headed north to Bucktown. We were drawn into Francesca's Collections by their gorgeous storefront and fell in love almost instantly.

  

Francesca's is a small shop with huge personality. It's got homestyle flair with a modern twist. The store had tons of beautiful jewelry options (for cheap!) as well as fantastic clothes and other vintage inspired knick-knacks. There are so many hilarious and useful gift options that we almost had to buy out the store. One of our favorites was this one:

 

We both walked away with some great new earrings and necklaces that we can't wait to wear. Francesca's is definitely one of our new favorite places to shop. It's one of those places that puts you in a good mood and makes you smile as soon as you walk through the door.

What a productive break we had.