Dressed down Fridays

Ahh  Friday - my second third favorite day of the week!

A few weeks ago after snatching a coworkers down vest while being cold in the office I decided that I needed one too. I purchased one from Lands End and it arrived earlier this week. I finally took it out today since it's been rainy and cold here. I think I probably could've worn boots with this outfit and it would've been the icing on the top but I felt like rockin' a pair of thick socks with my sperrys today.

Plaid shirt - Jcrew, V neck - Nordstrom,  Down vest - Lans End, Jeans - Gap, Shoes - Sperry, Necklace - H&M

I really like this outfit and think it could work with a multitude of different shirts and sweaters. Swap out the sperrys and add in rainboots and I can make this work for a rainy Friday at work or even a weekend brunch with warm boots on. Or in the spring when its warmer I can go without the longsleeved vneck sweater. And this vest is just so cozy I completely understand how my cat feels when she finds a good sweater to nest in.

I feel as though this week has just dragged on and quite frankly I wouldn't mind curling up with take out and a book this evening, especially if it rains again and this cold front continues.

This weekend's plans include going out to the Red Bull Flugtag event tomorrow afternoon and then heading to the Niners/Rams game with a bunch of coworkers on Sunday. I'm excited - I have been to a proper football game in a long time and with such a big group I'm sure it'll add to my excitement.

So that's about it here - counting down the minutes until 5. What's on tap for your weekend?

Nordstrom sale shoe picks

Whoa California - bi-polar weather much? Not that I'm complaining, but summer is giving us one more run for our money with temps in the 80's today. Sadly being stuck in the office is no fun and the ones really complaining are the chinchillas who hate the heat.

This past weekend while DH was away I had lunch with a friend downtown and then we checked out the Nordstrom half yearly sale. I wasn't expecting to get anything but I ended up coming home with the two pairs of shoes below...

Steve Madden Chaufur flats via Nordstrom. Once again, loafers. I know, I'm totally on this menswear flat shoe kick and I'm loving it. Plus Ms. Rosie wanted in on the action - I think she got excited over the crinkling of the tissue paper and thought she was going to get a treat but here she is photobombing some of my shots. These flats are actually really comfy - I'm not wearing them today because its too hot but I can't wait to wear them after the heatwave is gone. And the price wasn't bad, either!

 Steve Madden studlyy flats in black, also via Nordstrom. I still love spikes. I think I had actually blogged about these earlier in the year but passed on them due to price. But when I saw them for sale on Saturday, well I couldn't help it. But note - size up! These run small. I'm normally a 7.5 but had to take these in an 8. The backs are also a bit stiff but I'm hoping with a heel liner and walking around the apartment that I'll be able to break them in. Plus there's sparkle. What's not to love?

There was a cashmere sweater that peaked my interest at the sale, so perhaps I will add it to my holiday wish list. And since I had a 75 gift card I paid less than a whole pair of shoes out of pocket for both pairs. Gotta love it!

And tomorrow is November 6, election day - so get out and vote!

Did you pick up anything from the Nordstroms sale?

Cozy plaid

And just like that autumn is officially here. While we had amazing weather this past weekend I'm now grabbing for any warm and cozy sweater to bundle up with. I hope everyone on the East Coast who has dealt with Sandy is doing okay.

Yesterday I wore my new Zara sweater I got in Italy and I'm so glad I added this to my bag. I could see myself even pairing it with a belt next time around.

Sweater - Zara, Plaid shirt - Target, Jeans - Banana Republic

I have to admit that I'm really digging the braided action going on with this sweater. And the sleeves are just a tiny bit long which allows for me to cover my hands when I'm walking to work in the morning and its brisk out.

I also love plaid. Perhaps it goes back to having to wear it as part of my school uniform growing up (prep ingrained in my brain) but seriously, I love plaid. There used to be a time in my life when I rocked plaid pants (we won't go there though). I'm contemplating a plaid blazer - specifically this one. Thoughts? Or is it too outrageous to wear?

What's your thoughts on plaid? And Happy Halloween - hope you have a fun and safe day! :)

Everyday outfit

It seems as if autumn has totally bypassed us here in the bay area and instead winter has blown in. All this week we've had chilly (okay, at least by my California standards) temperatures, wind, and rain. Snow has already started falling in Tahoe and there's definitely a nip in the air that I don't mind - I love any reason for cozy sweaters and long socks with boots.

I had ordered the J Crew boyshirt in snow cat after seeing it in store, trying it on, and watching it go on sale more. So I finally caved and ordered it and I think its a great addition to my button down collection. I could see it paired under any number of colored or various fabric blazers, too.

Shirt: J Crew, Jeans: Gap.

I promise (okay, maybe not) but this hopefully doesn't look like a spotted cow print. I took a size 6 in this (hey, who doesn't like smaller numbers?) and since it was still chilly when I left this morning I paired it with my newly acquired blue poncho. Not so great photo below.

And of course, with my newest favorite pair of shoes. The J Crew tassel loafers.

Tassel loafers.

And after looking at todays outfit I'm realizing that I have a major J Crew problem. Okay, maybe its an addition (in which I may or may not have ordered a jacket today..oops..). The girls who work the registers at SF Center told me I should apply for a job to get their discount. Not gonna lie, it's pretty tempting. I might do it - who doesn't love spending money on top of a discount?

In other news DH and I celebrated 10 years of being together today. Where has the time gone? We had dinner at one of our old favorite date restaurants - Chilis - and now are just enjoying being at home with the fur kids.

Speaking of fur kids, meet our newest addition - Cat Food. And he has his own tank set up, mason jar was clearly for transport.

Happy almost weekend everyone!

European purchases

We've been back not yet a week and I think I'm already ready to go back to Europe. But that's a given.

So... about that shopping. Yup, I didn't come back empty handed. But y'all... I was in Ferragamo, I had to run back to get my passport for the duty free shopping... and when I did the currency conversion... I couldn't bring myself to buy the shoes. They are stunning - and I'll see if I can save up for them... but I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on one item (and I didn't have enough set aside for them, even with the tax break). So I left Europe sans Ferragamos... but here's what I did buy:

In Munich I picked up a scarf with a print of the Edelweiss (which just so happened to be my late Nonno's favorite flower). It also seemed to be the official flower of Oktoberfest - once I started paying attention they were everywhere.

Florence was where I did the majority of the remainder of my shopping... have I mentioned to you that I love Zara? And when I was doing price comparisons in the hotel room between US/Euro prices with the cash back, well, it was cheaper.

Zara elbowpatch wool blazer. Wool. Plaid. Elbow patches. Need I say more?

Zara cardigan. Perhaps because I was still cold from Germany but I had to grab this.

Zara oxblood velvet loafers. Reeeeeeeed.

Zara jeweled necklace. I couldn't help this one - the sparkles drew me to it.

I also picked up a few smaller accessory items...

The journal came from this awesome handmade paper store and it is in a traditional Florentinian print. The hardest part on this one was picking out the color scheme! In Monterosso I nabbed the little heart necklace, something small and dainty to remind me of my honeymoon. I grabbed the MyWallit kitty keychain at the main store in Lucca - I had no idea they were an Italian brand! And the purple wrap bracelet was also from Monterosso.

And last but not least, a poncho. Navy blue is surprisingly hard to photograph. We were waiting for our plane in Bergamo and I spied this. I kept thinking about while sitting at the gate and ran back to get it....but they were closed. So I hung around for a bit (like a creeper) and once I saw they were back I tried it on and bought it. Can't wait to wear it soon as the weather here has been turning and it feels like fall.

Well, that's about it. We definitely splurged a bit more on meals with wine and cheese courses. I did manage to afford all of this with the money that I'd set aside so I'm proud of myself for not having to dip into other funds for this.

Hope you've enjoyed and are having a good Sunday!

Honeymoon review

AKA, we are back.

How to summarize 2 weeks in Europe? Well, I'll certainly try...

We started our trip in Munich for Oktoberfest. I had no idea what to expect, but what we did find was not what I thought it was going to be. Huge structures holding hundreds of people, a band, and rows and rows of excited beer drinkers, singing, food (by far the best rotisserie chicken I've ever eaten), and of course even more beer. DH and I shared benches and tables with various groups of nice people and had a blast at the fair that accompanied the beer tents.

Lowenbrau tent, around 1PM on a Monday. And this isn't even HALF of it!

From Munich we traveled south to Naples and Ischia, an island off the coast. We feasted on pizzas, rode funiculars and visited castles (who knew Naples had so many castles?) and went to a natural thermal water park. I thankfully didn't get sick on any ferries, although we made a mad dash and made the ferry on the return to Naples in 8  minutes flat.

View of Mt. Vesuvius from Naples

View of the port of Ischia from our room window

From Ischia we went north to Florence and walked, ate, and drank wine through the three nights we were there. Florence is amazing - we went back to places we first went to in 2007 and even got to enjoy some sun on the rooftop pool of our hotel. Florence will always hold a special place in my heart.

Duomo at sunset 

Ponte Vecchio at night 

View from the top of Giotto's tower, 411 steps up

And from Florence we traveled to the coast and visited Cinque Terre. Just amazing. The people are fantastic and the slower way of life there was much appreciated. We visited each of the 5 towns and made a day trip to Lucca, 5 kilometers from where my grandpa was born. Pasta, cheese, wine, and olives are things I'll never forget but will always miss. Below - Monterosso.

We made it home on Sunday night after a very long delayed and bumpy flight. Happy to be home - I missed my pets and my bed.

Recommendations:

Ischia:

Aragona Hotel & Spa

Poseidon Thermal springs park

Florence:

Grand Hotel Minerva

Ristorante Oliviero

Hemingways

Per Bacco

Corniglia:

La Gatta Flora (great pizza!)

Monterosso:

Hotel Villa Steno

La Tortuga

Ciak

Bon Voyage

Sept 28 is finally here.... and after such a long week DH and I are off to the airport this morning to start the first leg of our honeymoon - a family event in DC.

Sunday night we then start the second leg - we fly to Munich for Oktoberfest.

And from there, on to Italy, which I know will be a bit of an emotional trip this time around.

So, bon voyage - see you all in October ;)