GAP sale this weekend-up to 50% off!

I was tipped off late last night thanks to Jean, who wrote on one of my favorite blogs, Extra Petite, that Gap was having an "up to 50% off Columbus Day sale."

So I scurried on over to their website and saw that they had quite an impressive selection of jeans all on sale.  I've been meaning to try out their legging jeans since I've heard and read great reviews on them, and figured this would be my chance.

For months now, I've been looking for the perfect black skinny jean/jegging - I wanted something that would be versatile enough to look polished and dressed up, while at the same time remain super comfortable.  Over Labor Day weekend, American Eagle was having a 40% off+free ship sale, so I ordered these black knit jeggings online through Ebates.  (referral link!)

AE Knit Jegging in Black

With the 40% off plus 3.0% cash back from Ebates, I paid $22.99 for these.  Alas, they came and just didn't fit right. The waist was way too loose on me and I didn't like the extremely narrow and tight leg opening at the bottom.  We weren't a good match, so I returned them at my local AE store.

Today I popped into The Gap in downtown SF after class quickly--the biggest one I know of around here--in hopes of better size selection, since I wasn't sure exactly what size I would be.  (Considering I hadn't purchased any bottoms from The Gap since the 5th grade!)  I determined that I was a size 25/0, which unfortunately seems to be a very popular size since it was sold out in most styles.

I brought a load full of pants with me into the fitting room, and only successfully fell in love with a black skinny jean and a royal blue washed ultra lightweight skinny boot.  Unfortunately the "skinny boot" in "ink" only came in 24/00 (there were about 20 pairs in that size), and the next smallest size was a 16.  Nothing in between.  So I decided to save the info and hunt on-line when I got home.

I was especially bummed they didn't have my size because, if you can see, they were on final sale in stores for only $9.97!!  Down from $69.50! That's roughly 85% off!

Sadly, while they carried my size online, it was only on sale for $49.99.  

I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this one though.  Hopefully the price will drop further and I'll be able to scoop it up!  It's definitely a VERY flattering fabric and cut - the fabric is super light but gives great shape, and it has not a huge hippy flare, but just enough to make your legs look slim and long and perfectly proportioned.

The other pair I liked in stores today and felt that it *could be* the skinny black jeans I desired were these "always skinny" jeans in black.

In the stores though, they were only 30% off regular price, which is $69.95.  That brings it down to $48.96.  I remembered it being less online, though I wasn't sure how much, so I left those in the store as well and planned on looking for it also, online when I got home.

This time I was rewarded, because these jeans are on-sale online for $34.98, which is exactly 50% off! Score!

So I popped it into my shopping cart, and got an additional 2% cash back for purchasing through Ebates.    With shipping and tax added, they came up to be about twice as much as what I paid for the AE pair, but hopefully these will live up to my expectations and I will have finally found my perfect black skinnies!

**As a note, I also wanted to point out that if you're a fan of Old Navy, not only are they having some great Columbus Day deals this weekend as well - they are currently offering 10% cash back on Ebates! What an amazing bonus!  I was just in the store a few days ago and I saw some cute items, but unfortunately nothing for me because even the smallest size at Old Navy is almost always too big on me.

My Favorite Thai 1

While in Fremont over the weekend, I had the opportunity to dine at one of my favorite Thai spots (I have two!) with my dear friend J.

Banh Thai

39060 Fremont Blvd.

(x Mowry Ave.)

Fremont, CA 94538

There are two things I always get while I'm at Banh Thai, one is of course, the Pad Thai (you can always tell if a Thai place is good by their Pad Thai), and the other is the Pad Kee Mao.  This time I ordered the Pad Thai.

Though we didn't have room for dessert this time (for dessert we went to Ulta instead...har har har), Banh Thai makes the BEST mango and sweet sticky rice I've ever had!! It's not always available since mangoes are seasonal and temperamental - but if you stop in, be sure to ask if they've got it!  If they do, you won't regret saving some room for it, I promise!

Since the weather has gotten cooler, I know I'll be hitting up my other Thai spot for some Tom Kha soup soon!

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Local spot: Stacks!

This is a quick nod to Stacks - a breakfast and brunch restaurant located really close to my school, so when I'm looking for some American brunch, it's really easy to just pop on over and pop back without being late to any classes or rehearsals!  Even though they are famous for their pancakes, I'm not a huge pancake girl so I'm happy to discover that their other selectiosn are great as well!  Here are two options that I frequently turn to:

Stacks

501 Hayes Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

This is their grilled chicken sandwich.  Served with my favorite potatoes, a nice salad and fresh fruit. Great for a lighter option that'll still fill you up for a long time!

This is my other favorite dish, their fresh fruit crepe.  I always sweetly ask if it's okay that I have whipped cream only instead of whipped cream + Greek yogurt on top...and they always say yes! And it's perfect that way!

One thing I love a lot about Stacks is, their food is always so colorful and pretty! It makes it taste even better, and even looking at the pictures makes me smile!

Herbie's Caprese over Linguine

This has GOT to be my new favorite pasta, hands down.  Its only been a couple of days, but I'm craving it already!!!!

I got the recipe from one of my most favorite blogs of all time, Herbie Likes Spaghetti.  If you haven't seen this blog before, do go and check it out!

Here's the link to the recipe, which I followed exactly.

Mine didn't turn out as pretty (does it ever?!) but it tasted heavenly! Here's some pics to tantalize your taste buds!

I have been gifted a few times lately with home-grown tomatoes, nearing the end of their life span and needing to be used up.  Perfect for this pasta! The tomatoes are ripe, and oh-so-flavorful, seeing as they're "organic" and pesticide free!

Stirring the tomatoes with salt to draw out the juices.

Adding the basil and stirring it in, with black pepper also...

Mozzarella whom I love......

Look! The tomato mix has sat after being blended, all the juices are out, and it smells amazing already!

This picture truly does not do the sauce justice...and there is no way I can describe the amazing smell!! You simply MUST try it for yourself!

Here's my final product! Haha, told you, totally not as pretty.  But tasted sooo good I almost ate the entire two-person portion!

The best part about it is, I packed up the remainder of the pasta for lunch the next day, and it was simple AND delicious!  

Red Wine and Potatoes

A few nights ago we got invited over to my parents' best friends' house for dinner.  Amongst many delicious items, my Auntie made some amazing mini potatoes:

I'm not sure what they're called, but apparently you can pick them up at Trader Joe's. I'm going to have to give this one a try sometime.  It's made with only scallions, salt, and a little olive oil, and it really allows the fragrance and taste of the potatoes to shine. I'll have to get the exact recipe!

To go along with it, I picked up a bottle of my favorite red and brought it along to share:

This is a Vino Dei Fratelli Chianti - and it is to die for!!  Bold and smooth, it's a crowd pleaser everywhere I bring it to - it's my go-to dinner party wine, and a guaranteed success every single time.  

B's Home-style Blackened Chicken Alfredo

I love to eat alfredo pasta, but rarely find myself ordering it out because I always feel like I'm paying too much for something not so fancy.  One of my frequent stops for fast eating - BJ's - has a great Blackened Chicken Alfredo, and I decided I would try it out at home.

First, I found this recipe for a basic Alfredo and followed it exactly for my sauce.   The only thing I tweaked was...I like veggies a lot, so at the very end where it says to stir in parsley, I stirred in a bunch of spinach as well! 

I also have a tip about the cheese - previously I had just been using Lucerne or whatever brand was on sale at Safeway for shredded Parmesan cheese.  Well, this time, for about a dollar more I picked up a box of this:

I got it at my Safeway down the street - but not in the cheese aisle, in the deli section, on one of the little islands that holds all kinds of fresh cheese, right next to the island that holds all the salads and microwaveable soups.  I was skeptical (in the box, it looked no different from the bagged kind I usually buy) - but it melted SO much better.  I'm sold!! This will be my go-to cheese for sauces from now on.  If you can grate your own cheese fresh that's the best of course, but I never have the time/energy/desire, plus it freaks me out to have my fingers running back and forth over a grater (if you, like me, also use your hands/fingers as a career you understand what I'm saying).  Too close for comfort.

So here's what you need for ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped Parsely

3/4 to 1 cup chopped spinach

1 package ready-to-serve grilled chicken breast

linguine 

This is unrelated and obviously not pasta - but I wanted to share what I was munching on while cooking!!  Anybody else like me - love eating so much you have to eat WHILE you're cooking the real food?!

Again - I'm always lazy/busy/tired so I like shortcuts.  For $2.99 I picked up a large package of Tyson's ready-to-eat Grilled chicken breast strips at Safeway.  They were of course tender and soft, but I wanted my chicken blackened.  So I threw it on over the stovetop and let it sizzle until it was nice and browned on both sides.  Easy and tasted perfect!

Multi-stove-tasking.   Making the sauce, boiling pasta water, and grilling chicken.

chopped up parsley and garlic ready to go!

Alfredo sauce coming together - by this point it smelled so good already!

Stirring in the parsley and spinach

This is what it looks like without the sauce! Just pasta topped with grilled chicken.

Ta-da!! The final product!!  Topped with extra parmesan cheese of course.  You know I love my pastas extra cheesy!

All in all, this was super easy, and super delicious.  And again, a hit with mom!! Definitely will be making it again soon.