A weekend in my favorite city

Most of you know I love Chicago. It's one of those cities I cannot visit enough. I love that it's bigger than Minneapolis but still very walkable. I love that it's right on Lake Michigan. I love the architecture. I love that it still has that friendly midwestern vibe. I love the shopping and the restaurants. And I love the friends who call it home that I get to visit when I'm there. I think you get the point. I really love this city. So it's no surprise then that I had a wonderful time while visiting this past weekend. I stayed with a good friend from high school / college while I was in town. I took in the sights and ate so much good food. I also got to spend some time with my lovely editors over at The Everygirl, Alaina and Danielle. Here's a little recap of the entire weekend.

Weekends in Chicago never ever seem to be long enough. I can't wait to visit again soon.

I hope you had a great weekend!

P.S. Feel free to follow along on instagram @jackiesaffert 

A Zara Wish List

Other than the indecisive weather patterns there are few things I dislike about Minneapolis. The people are friendly (Minnesota nice is real), there are lots of great outdoor trails and parks to frequent in the summer, and there are tons of wonderful restaurants as well. But what is Minneapolis missing? Zara. And what a shame, too. I love Zara. Like a lot. I looked up the nearest store to where I'm staying in Chicago this weekend and it is six blocks away. Six! I'm so excited. These are a few of the dresses I would love to pick up while I'm in town. 

navy 79.90 // white 69.90 // multi 69.90

I love all of the subtle details; the knots on the back of the navy dress and the sheer panels on the white dress. Simple and classic with a twist. I suppose the one good thing about having a Zara far away from me is that it's all the more exciting when I do get to go. The silver lining.

I hope you have a happy Wednesday!

Snapshots Lately

With July more than halfway over, I'm starting to realize this summer is going to come to an end before I know it. One of my best friends has always joked (much to my annoyance) that July 4th is the start of the end of summer. I always hated when he said that, but I must admit that sometimes it seems to be true. The moment July 5th strikes Target sets up their Back to School section and starts to display fall clothing (and Target is what I use to set my standards, if you haven't yet noticed). But this year, instead of being stressed out by the impending end of summer, I'm simply more aware that I need to make the most of this season. I'm going to eat ice cream, sit on patios with friends, dine al fresco, and go for long runs along the river. It's going to be lovely.

My view of Minneapolis on the way to work. // Ice cream. A summer staple. // Morning stripes + caffeine. // The most delicious black bean quinoa burger + kale salad from here. // Sunday brunch at Sun Street Breads. // Found a copy of the Young House Love book. Discovered the blog a few months ago and it's now

one of my favorites.

This week I'm looking forward to a long weekend in Chicago. For those of you who have been reading for a while, you know how much I love the city. I will be leaving bright and early Thursday morning and I can't wait to spend time with a good friend plus Alaina and Danielle of The Everygirl. I've been working with them for over 10 months but haven't seen them since September. It should be lots of fun. But until then, I have a large to do list to tackle, so I'm off to work on that.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Happy Weekend

Happy Friday everyone! It is almost the weekend and I could not be more excited. I know I say that every Friday, but that's simply because it's always true. I met some friends for drinks last night and had a wonderful time catching up with them, but I'm definitely feeling the effects of that this morning. Lack of sleep + lack of coffee is never really the best combination. But on the bright side, I am just a few short hours away from the a few days off and that makes up for everything. 

I plan to take it easy tonight, relax, and get a little work done (but fun work - like blogging & TEG). Tomorrow morning I have big plans to make it to an early yoga class. I'm trying to sleep in just a little less than I usually do so I can get a jump start on my two favorite days of the week. On Saturday night I have plans with friends and Sunday is wide open at this point. I am going to try to make a brunch happen, though. No surprise there. Oh! Sunday is also my mom's birthday. If you're reading this mom, happy early birthday! You don't look a day over 30. ;)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Spend some time outdoors, some time relaxing, and some time with family and friends. Isn't that how all weekends should be spent? I think so.

image via

Snapshots Lately

Last night I was catching up on a few blogs and brainstorming for daydreamer when I noticed I hadn't posted since June 26th. Almost two weeks! I am simply not okay with that. I have had a long to do list for the blog for months (which includes posting regularly again) and I am determined to tackle it, little by little. This weekend I finally updated the About Me section of the blog. I hadn't touched it since last May so it was definitely in need of a redo. I still need to update that photo, though... Baby steps. 

On another note, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I had four lovely days away from work and it felt pretty incredible to have such a long, calming weekend. I spent lots of time outdoors, relaxing and going for runs along the river. I couldn't even bring myself to go to a yoga class this weekend - there's just something about the Fourth of July that makes me want to spend every moment outside.

A stop for fro yo recently. Definitely a summer necessity. // J. Crew jewels in gold and seafoam green. I want them all. // Fresh watermelon and pineapple. // Essie holiday festivity. // Trips to Target are even better with Starbucks in hand. // I have my eye on this top. Waiting for it to go on sale.

And now it's Monday. I have a million things to tackle at the office this week. I'm hoping these next five days are extremely productive and that they pass by quickly. I'm kind of already counting down to next weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful day!