Holiday Travel Must-Haves

Seeing as the holidays are fast-approaching, I've decided that rather than doing my usual last-minute scramble to pack everything for holiday traveling (which always leads to forgotten items and numerous emergency trips to Walgreen's), I'd plan ahead and get a few key items to make my travels easier, better organized and more enjoyable. I've compiled my must-have list of travel items here and thought I'd share them in hopes of inspiring other procrastination-packers like myself. :)

My Holiday Travel Must-Haves:

1. J.Crew jewelry pouch to organize all of the costume jewelry I'll be breaking to add a bit of sparkle to my holiday outfits
2. Kate Spade larabee dot small natalie cosmetic case to avoid the mess made by makeup spills during transit
3. Wishing Fish luggage tags to add some style and attitude to my otherwise boring luggage
4. CHI mini pro collection to reduce the extra bulk of hair tools/products 
5. Etsy shop Kindle sleeve
6. n.a.p travel blanket is the best blanket I have ever used
7. Freedom by Jonathan Frazen is a book I just started reading and I anticipate it being long enough to last me through my holiday travels
8. Bumble & Bumble live fully travel bag

Changes?

I never thought that I was the type of person that struggled with change, or was much of a worrier to that end. However, I'm discovering more and more that I really do have a difficult time with change and analyzing whether or not I'm making the best choices for myself and the life I hope to lead. The inverse of this problem is that I also find myself to be extrememly impulsive and once I get an idea in my head that's what I'm doing and there really is little that anyone can do to stop me. 


Take for example my recent move from Chicago. I left the city that I love and a job I always dreamed of for a city I barely know. I still don't fully comprehend or accept my move at times, but I did do it which in many ways I am proud of. The problem is, since I apparenty have a more dificult time with change than I thought, I often end up thinking of my leaving Chicago as a breakup of sorts. I get nostalgic about my time spent there and tend to only remember the positives. I also overwhelm myself with the thought that since I left I will never be able to go back. It's this thinking that leads me to believe that Chicago wouldn't have me back after the way I've treated it. But I'm slowly coming to the realization that Chicago and I are not "broken up" and I don't need to feel sad every time I drive in for a visit. We are merely taking a break and like any truly great relationship that we will be together again soon. 


In the meantime, I need to stop comparing every other city to Chicago because, let's face it, that never allows you to move on when you try to do it after a relationship ends (plus the fact that Chicago is the best city in the world). We learn to appreciate the good and unique things that another person has to offer us because it's simply unfair to compare him/her to those that came before. 


So for all those reading, I apologize if you feel as though you've wasted the last 5 minutes reading the rants of a crazy person go on about the parallels between a move and a breakup. I guess it's hard for me not to give a shout out to the city I love. Besides, according to the types of followers I have on Twitter, it seems as though my biggest interests are Chicago and cupcakes- not untrue at times I suppose. :) 


So in closing, I love you Chicago and I know we will be together again soon, but for now I guess I need to see what else is out there. Until then, I'll be missing you.

Yes, there's life beyond Starbucks.

I believe that I have found a coffee chain that could kick Starbucks to the curb. It's called Barriques and the best thing about it is that it not only specializes in coffee, but it offers an excellent and non-intimidating wine selection as well. I've found several Barriques around thus far and hope that more start to pop up soon because even though it is a chain, it still manages to offer a cozy boutique feel which I love.

I love that they used old window panes as their menu boards.

 Wine and gift nook :)

Barriques offers wines from all over the world and provides great descriptions on what to expect favor-wise from each wine so hopefully you aren't surprised at first taste.Their wine is very reasonably priced too - there are bottles priced as low as $6.00.

They even serve wine by the glass in house and also have special wine tasting events each month.

Great cupcake coffee mug I found in Barriques gift section of the store.

Little Gifts

Sometimes the things that can make you feel better after a rough day are never what you expect. For instance, today wasn't what I would call one of the best days I've had but I just logged onto my computer knowing that I needed to do another blog post (I'm trying to become more consistent with my posting) but was not feeling very inspired by anything due to my crummy day. To my surprise and enjoyment I had an email from one of my best friends from college that I unfortunately don't get to see very often due not geographically inconvenience. (Side note: I hate the fact that know one told me when I graduated that I wouldn't get to live in a city with all of my friends and/or that I wouldn't have unlimited funds to see the friends that I miss on a daily basis).

But anyway, the message said nothing more than "please watching this" followed by a video link. I wasn't at all surprised why she thought to send it to me once I clicked through and began watching the video. It captured one of our longest-standing inside jokes perfectly. (I won't explain the joke...it would only sound dumb). The point is that the thought behind sending me this cute video is what got to me. Knowing that even though I'm very far from many of my greatest friends they still "get" me and they still care. I hope that everyone reading this has friends that they can feel this way about because honestly sometimes those people are the only ones that can make you smile after a tough day.

For anyone who's interested here is the link to the video I've been referring to. It's very cute and has officially made me want to go out and purchase pink sneakers :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TL3oaHKCko

Back to Basics

I’m learning it’s an impossible waste of time to be making “big plans” for being a “grown-up” because so much of life is out of my control. So, I decided to channel all the time I spend worrying about the future into a more productive outlet. Not that making plans isn’t important (believe me, I just sat through a riveting 401k retirement plan presentation at work which hammered in the importance of planning for the future…ugh) but why spend your entire present planning for your future?

So, what’s step one? Maybe actually following through on that whole “trying one new thing a week idea” I posted on here about over a month ago? Sure, that sounds good. I know I’ve been slacking on that but in my defense, it has been a really busy period…

Because I've been feeling a little overwhelmed with all the “new” around me I decided to start out safe and visit a really neat coffee shop while out and about in the great state of Wisconsin. Yes, for anyone that didn’t know I ended up in Wisconsin (please insert over-used joke about liking beer and cheese here).

Anyway, the shop is called Electric Earth and is located in Madison, WI. Although I think the title is a little odd, I found the establishment itself to be inviting and very original.

As you can see from the menu Electric Earth offers a lot more than coffee to their customers.

Homemade trail mix...YUM!

Mural on the inside wall of the shop.

These were taped up on the walls inside...I thought they were pretty cute.

Homemade tiramisu is a MUST in my book.

Iced coffees that were not exactly served in standard coffee cups.

New Beginnings

It’s clearly been awhile since my past post, but in my defense I have had a lot going on recently. For starters, I got a new job which is always a period of adjustment. For this new job I also moved to a city that I’ve never lived in before. It’s been fun/scary trying to navigate my way through working in a new industry and trying not to look like a tourist in my new "home." It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but I am excited for the prospect of new opportunities. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I’m only 23 and have my whole life ahead of me. I’m slowly learning not to worry whether every move I make will result in imminent missteps at life.  

In order to make the most of this new life experience, I am planning to do something new each week in order to learn to appreciate as much as I can about my new surroundings. I’ll be documenting all of my to-do’s here for you to follow at your leisure. :)

Also, it’s possible that you will start seeing guest bloggers on Broke by Noon sharing their experiences of living in new cities and learning to “make it” in the grown-up world. If you would like to contribute, please feel free to email me at lindsayfend@gmail.com.

Stay tuned…

TOMS Shoes

I, like most girls, love shopping whenever my schedule and well, let's be honest, budget (ekk) allow it. Shopping was definitely more fun back when it wasn't my money I was using to buy things but all the same it's still one of my favorite pass times. However, the one great thing about living on a budget is that you pick up a lot of good tricks for spending every dollar wisely and thanks to company's like Groupon, you can still indulge in little splurges every once in awhile.

All that being said, I was pa-rousing my staple online shopping sites last night, discouraged by the high price tags of all the "must haves" of the season when I remembered that I'd been meaning to check out this retailer one of my old co-workers had interned at back in college. She was always talking about all the great charity work the company does and well that engage their customer base. The company I'm referring to is TOMS Shoes.

According to their Web site, TOMS has provided over 600,000 shoes to needy children throughout the world but instituting an ingenious business plan; For every pair of shoes that are purchased, TOMS will donate a pair of shoes to a needy child who cannot afford shoes of their own. The extra bonus? The shoes are super affordable and cute! Their classic shoe is only $48.00 and most of their other styles of shoes fall well below the $100.00 mark. Ordinarily I double check with my gut (thanks to my stupid budget) before making an online purchase, but I have to say this was one expenditure I felt truly great about!

Happy shopping everyone!

The Farmers Market

Today I ventured to the farmers market for the first time and now having done it, I really hope it becomes a habit because I loved it. In fact, being there reminded me a lot of when I was a kid and would beg my parents to go and let me live on a farm. For anyone that knows me, that thought is probably laughable, but yes it is true. I used to want to live on a farm with chickens, pigs, the whole deal. Luckily, my parents decided it would be better to send me off to college than a farm, although I'm sure some times they would have liked to given those years of teenage angst I supplied them with. :)

Anyway, back to the farmers market...

It's great to be that close to your food. It makes the experience of shopping a lot more fun than a grocery store. Every booth has samples so you really know what you're getting when you buy it. The experience could potentially be overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking for so I advise going with a plan in mind, mine being breakfast. It also never hurts to bring a friend along so you have someone to talk you out of buying the ten dollar homemade jam just because it had a cute label.

So sticking to my plan, I got up nice and early, intentionally skipping breakfast so that I would be forced to find something to make given whatever was available at the farmers market. I cheated a little and purchased a delicious peach smoothie after walking around the market for awhile, but I did come out with some delicious Parmesan and rosemary crusted bread, purple asparagus, farm fresh eggs, summer butter and beautiful star gazer lilies. I used it all to make a simple but delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with purple asparagus and white cheddar and toasted bread with fresh summer butter.

You can see pictures my little Saturday adventure below :)

Lots of fun booths all over the market

Got em! 

Tried them but I didn't get them

Gorgeous flowers

The really expensive jam that I luckily didn't buy

"Purple Passion" asparagus - really delicious. I was told it is slightly sweeter than green asparagus.

Smoothie stand at the market

Raspberry and peach smoothies

My loot!

Cooking up my purple asparagus for breakfast

The end result :)

Phoebe's Cupcakes

For anyone that follows my Twitter feed (thank you, by the way) it's pretty obvious that I have a fondness for cupcakes. So it shouldn't be at all surprising that I try to use some of my free time seeking out new cupcake bakeries to try.

This past weekend, I went walking through Lincoln Park in hopes of finding some great farmer’s market deals when I happened upon Phoebe’s Cupcakes. I stopped inside and was immediately drawn to the simplicity of the store. There weren’t 800 different cupcakes competing for my attention. In fact, there were only six to choose from. Even though the selection was limited, I still had a difficult time picking a flavor considering all six flavors sounded delicious. Since I couldn’t pick just one, I ended up going with a salted caramel and a red velvet one rationalizing it to myself as needing to try more than one flavor in order to get a proper opinion of the cupcakes at Phoebe’s :)

Store front of Phoebe's Cupcakes

Pretty chandelier hanging in the store

Really cute dispenser display with colorful sprinkles to add to your cupcake purchase.

Salted Caramel Cupcake: Vanilla Cake soaked in Homemade Caramel with Caramel Buttercream Frosting topped with Himalayan Rose Sea Salt

Red Velvet Cupcake: Classic Southern Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting topped with Red Sprinkles

Surprise! Caramel on the inside of the cupcake too! 

Wine Down

As much as I love being able to take advantage of all that city life has to offer sometimes it’s just as nice to be able to wind down and have a relaxing night in. Several weeks ago, a friend of mine and I decided to do a wine and cheese night.

To gather our necessary supplies, we ventured to my favorite Chicago grocery store, Fox & Obel in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. The only problem with this brilliant wine and cheese night idea was that neither one of us knew practically anything about wine or cheese. (I guess my college years of enjoying Andre and Yellow Tail didn’t exactly make me a wine connoisseur. Not to mention, the extent of my cheese knowledge was knowing that KRAFT singles were always a must when making a proper grilled cheese sandwich). So when we got to Fox & Obel we were a bit overwhelmed to say the least. Luckily, Fox & Obel had a great wine sommelier on staff that helped us pick two great wines, both at reasonable prices. The sommelier  even suggested what types of cheeses to pair with our wine selections. We ended up with a red and white wine and six different cheeses  to enjoy.

It was great getting to try something a bit outside my comfort zone, and with great success! 

The Places You're Surprised You Loved

Being the "learn by the school of hard knocks" kid that I am (well, according to my mother anyway) when I graduated college I decided that it was unfathomable to subject myself to the "failure" of moving home and limiting myself to finding a job in the city that I had grown up in. I kept telling myself that if I never left and branched out I would stay in Chicago forever. Now, don't get me wrong, Chicago is an amazing city that I feel blessed to live/work in, but I saw so many of my peers going off in new paths and didn't want to be the only one not stepping out of my comfort zone. So, my senior year, I started the inevitable job search and decided that I was only going to consider Chicago as an afterthought, focusing on other major metropolitan areas for my search. Well, funny thing about that is whenever I was given a great lead/opportunity/job offer in another city I found something "wrong" with it. I think the real thing "wrong" was probably my unrealistic expectations and unwillingness to lose the safety net of being within driving distance of my parents house (just in case). But anyway, long, super drawn out story later, I ended up taking a post-grad internship in Ann Arbor, Michigan - a safe four hour drive from Chicago.

I didn't really know what to expect when I moved to Ann Arbor. It was nothing like Chicago. The people were different, the culture was different and even the pace was different. I took a big leap of faith by moving there considering I had limited resources in terms of friends nearby. Oh and did I mention that I had never been there before? But cares to the wind I made my way up north, subleased an apartment from a more than a little questionable character and set off to test myself in the city of blue and yellow.

Soon enough I became accustomed to the great little cultural nuiances that make up Ann Arbor, and even now I find myself missing many of the things/places I took for granted while living there - most notably the AMAZING restaurant scene that comprises Ann Arbor.

If you're even in Ann Arbor, there are several AMAZING restaurants that you must try:
DISCLAIMER: I use the word "restaurants" in terms of really really good cheap food that I could afford on an intern salary. I'm sure their are a ton of great high-end culinary stops in A2 that I would have loved to try given a different financial situation.

For one, Le Dog was my go-to lunch stop at least once a week I'd say. It's a little homemade soup/hot dog joint that boasts some of the best quick-food around and (don't kill me Chicagoans) it could easily beat out many Chicago hot dog stops. Not to mention, their lobster bisque is hands down the best I've ever had. The only problem is that they only offer it on Thursday's and Friday's.

Zingermans, a sandwich shop/deli revolution in Ann Arbor's KerryTown District has garnered national press for their wide variety of specialty sandwich options and unique eclectic culture. It's a little on the pricey side for a deli in my opinion, but worth the occasional splurge.

Blimpie Burger...need I say more? If you haven't seen Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food Network you may not know what I'm talking about so I'll cue you in. Blimpie is your average hole-in-the-wall burger joint with no-so-average tastes. Their burgers are HUGE, delicious and fairly priced. The best part though is how you order. It kind of reminded me of "the soup nazi" episode on Seinfeld. They have a very specific way for you to order your burger and if you don't abide by their rules...well, just do me a favor, follow the rules. :)

Ashley's was my favorite libation stop at the end of a hard day of work. The bar (with pretty decent pub food) offers over 60 beers on tap and a number of themed beer flights like Fruit Beers...I'm still convinced that the pear beer I tried there had to be juice.

Do you remember?

Do you remember all those simple things you loved when you were growing up? Back before the days of deadlines and student loans? Well, lately I've been getting pretty caught up in everything that I have to do day-to-day (clearly shown by my lack of blogging) that I haven't taken time to appreciate the little things as much. So, I decided to make a point of doing some things that bring me joy this week and that got me thinking about all the things I loved to do as a child. As it turns out, childhood memories serve as a great source for inspiration. I decided to reinstate some of these pastimes into my days and have found a lot of joy in activities I was sure I had outgrown at the age of twelve.

Here's a list of some of my favorite childhood activities that are still just as fun today as they were when I was little - oh and as a side note - they're all free, which always helps when it come's to those grown-up budgets :)

1. Playing childhood games with close friends i.e. MASH - Yes, it is still fun to see what job you will have when you "grow up" even though you already have a job. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that you can still put down Leonardo DiCaprio as your future husband even though we all know that's not happening anytime (but just in case you're reading this Leo, the weather in Chicago is starting to get nice, so you should consider a visit when you get a chance).

2. Petting every dog that walks by - It's annoying to the owner but, come on they are so darn cute!

3. Coloring - Okay, I know adults still "doodle" on their meeting notes but when's the last time you legit broke out some crayons/markers/colored pencils and actually colored? I took a stab at it with my friend Erin recently and it was a lot of fun (see image of still unfinished, coloring project that will probably take me until I'm 30 below)

4. Listening to music that was "cool" 10 years ago - The fact that I used to think (10 years ago) that "Tearing Up My Heart" by The Backstreet Boys was a metaphor for my love life is laughable...

5. Playing in the rain - Nowadays people are so grumpy whenever it rains. I get it, commuting in the rain stinks, but going home, throwing on some old clothes while running out to play in the rain is one of the most satisfyingly innocent acts you can partake in.

Please feel free to share any great ideas/memories you have. I'm always looking for more to LOVE. :)

Savor the Flavor

This week I traveled to Savor the Flavor, a little restaurant gem that I have been dying to try ever since I happened by it. The concept behind the establishment in brilliant...grilled cheese, ice cream and coffee. What else could anyone really need?

Now usually when I get myself all psyched up to try a new restaurant I tend to leave a little disappointed, or at least realizing it was not what I had expected it to be. To my pleasure, Savor the Flavor was exactly what I expected!

It had a very relaxed/comfortable, hole-in-the-wall type of feel that worked well with all the mis-matched, worn-in furniture strewn throughout the place. Of course it didn't hurt the vibe they gave off by having Nora Jones playing the background.

The restaurants walls were covered with purchasable art and from local artists, which is a great concept in my opinion. I personally LOVED the one in the white frame on the left side in the picture above. If it hadn't been $250 I might have ran away with it.

Oh, and did I mention that they had a whole collection of well-loved board games to play while waiting for your food?

Yummy grilled cheese. I had mine made with cheddar and swiss with tomato on wheat bread. Savor the Flavor lets you create your own grilled cheese by choosing from a variety of breads, cheeses and toppings to customize your sandwich to your liking.

Ice cream. One of my all-time favorite treats. I had the Moosetracks. I would have taken a picture of it for you but unfortunately for me, i was quicker at eating the ice cream than my hands were with the camera...oh well. :)

Here Comes the Sun...

Which means it's time to FINALLY break out those sunglasses! I've been scanning the latest issues of all my favorite fashion sites/magazines to determine what the latest trend is in eye-wear and I'm pleased to see that plastic-framed sunglasses are going to be a big seller this season. I'm loving this trend because they come in a lot of bright, fun colors and shapes that that make it easy to spice up a spring outfit. Also, because their seems to be a variety of these shades at different price levels, which is always helpful when it comes to the bank account :)

Below are the links to a few that have made my wish list with my favorite being a pair of Ray Ban's that have a map of the NY City subway on the inside (pictured right). I've been told that their are similar one's with a map of the Chicago "L" but I haven't been able to find them yet. But if anyone else has heard about these and/or knows where to get them, please let me know! Happy Shopping!

Ray-Ban 'Classic Wayfarer' Sunglasses in Red/Subway $159

Retrosun Vintage Palomo Picasso Sunglasses in Yellow $220

Tory Burch Wide-Arm Plastic Sunglasses in Tortoise $145

Carrera Plastic Hippy Glasses in Red $98

ASOS Flip Frame Sunglasses in Black $20.51

Color in Optics Women's Metal Sunglasses in Turquoise $110

Betsey Johnson Women's Bj 247 Resin Glasses in Raven $65

Urban Outfitters Thick Plastic Frame Sunglasses in Purple $10

DMK

For anyone that lives in Chicago, or any big city for that matter, you probably know what its like to be spoiled with endless restaurant options all around you. That's not to say they are all amazing options, though. Even in this great city, I have found, and unfortunately eaten in, several restaurants that should be avoided by anyone having more than six taste buds. Now, I do not claim to be a food editor of any kind (although, I wouldn't mind being one), but I do appreciate restaurants that are willing to create an experience for their customers by putting their own unique style and flare on their food. That being said, after a series of some disappointing restaurant choices as of late, a friend of mine and I decided to pay a visit to a place that we knew wouldn't let us down in the culinary department: DMK.

DMK is a burger bar in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood that is, without question, one of my favorite "go-to" restaurant's in Chicago. Their menu is small but affordable with only 13 unique burger options that are all priced at $8.00. They also have a variety of speciality french fries ranging from sweet potato with lemon aioli dipping sauce (my favorite) to salt and pepper fries with a chipotle ketchup. YUM!

Cute beer glasses (they have an extensive variety of beers on tap) and cupcakes that are available at the bar

DMK has also been rated as having some of Chicago's best macaroni and cheese

(pictured above)