Nordstrom Sale Recap

Oh my.....I am seriously still recovering from our shopping day. It was a good day. We met up at 7:30 in the morning and got on our way.  

They were just unlocking the door when we arrived....and we immediately got going.  By the way, everything is true to size unless I specify otherwise.

Hellooooo shoe department!

Several of us got booties.  These are the Steve Madden Snakeskin booties.  They are a comfortable heel.  They are a a chocolate brown color and will be fun to wear with jeans and skirts.  They also come in the solid color options of black and taupe.

These are the Treasure and Bond snakeskin booties.  They have a wooden heel and are a lighter color.  They also come in black.  We sized up a half size in these.

And these are the Madewell Brown booties!  I knew these needed replacing in my closet and so of course I went for them.  They also come in black.  

We also grabbed a few flats. I am always looking for a navy shoe.  A few of us grabbed this loafer.  It is so soft and it is Born so you know just how comfortable it is.  It comes in brown, black, mustard, and taupe.  There are suede and calfskin options.

And, of course, I always need a black flat, so I grabbed these by Halogen.  They will get lots of days in action. They also come in mustard, red and a black plaid.  

Don't worry! We also grabbed a few sandals.  These platform sandals are so cute and comfy and also come in black.

And Eileen Fischer had tons of cute options.  This one was very cute and also came in black and taupe.

Now, let's move on to clothes!  

I am going to fly through these because there is just so much to show you.  Ready?  Buckle in.....here we go!

This soft sweater is lovely, and if hot pink is not your color, it also comes in a dark grey.

These jeans are by Top Shop and have a fun ripped hem.

One of us needed a new denim jacket and Madewell had this great one.

Two of us got this Halogen wrap top.  It is just a good basic to layer or wear alone. There are twelve color options!

Next up, this striped top by Halogen along with these tie waisted pants. The pants come in four color options and we sized up in them.  If you look at them on line, they are ankle length.  At 5'4" they are regular length on me. The shirt is in six color options.....including a classic white.

I loved this little sweater and it comes in eight color options. I may be going back for another one...or two of these.

This sweater has pockets and is super cute with jeans.

I caught a dressing room picture in this one.

This next one by Free People has a great cowl kneck and is very soft.

The intimate department is always one of the best.

Stock up on these by Natori

And we seriously stocked up on these pj sets.  They. Are. So. Soft.

The short version comes in four color options.

The long version also has four color options.

Now let's quickly look at beauty, and then I promise I will let you go.

If you are into brows....give this one a try.  Great duo and a good time to restock or try something new!

Another stock up item.....these philosophy sets!

I hardly wear lipstick, but I am a sucker for trying a new one.  I grabbed this set by Bobbi Brown

and this set by Charlotte Tilsbury

Honestly, I may be stocked in lipstick now for the next two years.

In the home section, we came across these throws. Super soft and great color options!

Ok, I have a few more things to show you on Monday.....but maybe this will get you started. Stay tuned!

By the way, remember how perky we were in that first picture? Well, here we are about half way through the store...

one team member down

.... and three more gathering energy for the finish.

(Nordstrom also has super nice dressing rooms, so part of the team rested while the others were trying on).

After 8 hours, we finally exited the store.  Here's a look at us caravaning out.

And one final shot of the team with all our goodies......loading up and heading home.

And this is our FAVORITE sales associate, Buffy. 

 She met us at the door and stayed with us all day.  She carted our stuff around, stashed our piles and kept a smile on her face the whole time.  She has helped us in the past and I knew I wanted to hang out with her again this year.

She is an expert in all things beauty.....that is the department we first met her in a few years ago.  But as you can see, she is super cute and fashion forward.....so she was great to have as we went all through the store.

Thanks, Nordstrom for a super great day!

We are Going In!!!

Today, our shopping team is headed in to navigate, scope and report on the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.  Just a reminder: Cardholder access will begin on Friday, July 12th. I will have a full post of things you might want to scoop up quickly on Friday and if I still have energy, I will put some sneak peaks on Instagram starting on Thursday.

If you already have a Nordstrom Card, you are all set.  If you do not, it is not too late.  Just give Nordstrom a call and you will be able to have the early access on the 12th.  Now if you don't have a card or want a card, still tune in for the fabulous picks.  Public access will begin on the 19th.  Trust me you do NOT want to be figuring out what you might want on the 19th.  You will want to be adding to your cart.

So here's a few suggestions for while you are waiting:

1) Inventory your closet.  What are you missing?  What do you need to replace?  Listen there is nothing more disheartening than pulling out your favorite brown boots from last year and realizing you just may have worn them out last season......so just take a quick inventory so you will know what your focus should be.  There are going to be tons of items on sale so having a little focus to grab those essentials will be good. The jean selection is looking pretty good.....

2) Look at all the birthdays and Christmas presents you need to buy.  This sale is when I always grabbed that luxury splurge item for my girls for Christmas.  There will be great boots, handbags and home items.  So if you want to get something really nice for some of those on your list, this is a good sale to do that.

3) The sale normally has some great beauty items.  So take stock there too.  If there has been that brand or item you've wanted to try, get your focus on and be ready.






I can't link to anything because the sale is not live on line yet.  But just sit tight.  As soon as they come up I will have them for you here.

OK, we are off and running.  Talk to you soon!!!!

June Book Review

I had another good book month in June.  I really enjoyed them all and hope  you can find one or two you might enjoy.  A couple have some serious language in them and I will fairly warn you about those.

Here is what I read this month




According to a Source by Abby Stern.  Ok, first let me say if you are allergic to the F-word, you are going to want to take a benadryl before you start on this one.  Once you get past the first 3 chapters the language tones down a bit, but you've been warned.  Now the story itself is very good.  If you love stars and enjoy the whole focus on their every day goings and comings, you will probably really enjoy this one.  It not about any particular star.  It is really about a young writer who reports for a major tabloid magazine and all she goes through to "get the stories".  There's a whole lot thrown in about her romantic life, her family life and her navigating between it all.  It is a good mindless summer read.






This is Just My Face by Gabourey Sidibe.  Ok, here is one I am going to recommend you listen to rather than read if you can.  Gabourey has great delivery and timing.  She's naturally funny and quick witted.  But I really think it is her delivery of her words that makes this one so interesting.  Now I recommended you take a benadryl if you were allergic to the F-word in the review above.  I am going to recommend you take two benadryls and have an epipen on stand-by for this one.  She's a cusser. No, not a curser.  A cusser - which means she uses curse words as every part of language, verbs, subjects, conjunctions.....yep, all of them.  She is very direct and talks about some really personal stuff in this book.  This is why I think you'd enjoy it more "hearing it" rather than reading it.  There is something completely different about hearing her talk about her life.  It was not an easy life.  But wow.  I am glad I read it.  I will put it like this.....the book made me like her more.






The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson.  My girls gifted me with this one for my birthday.  It is a sweet little fun story.  A set of twins where one of very girly and one is very not.  A strange turn of events has them switching places......unfortunately it happens to be at a time when the girly of the two is involved in trying to win a beauty pageant.  As you can imagine everything that can go wrong....goes wrong.  It is a quick fun read.  You know how you sometimes need to cleanse your palette so you can enjoy the next bite.  Well I feel like sometimes I need to cleanse my brain.  This book is entertaining but a great brain cleanser. It is not scary, suspenseful, tragic.....just enjoyable.



The Home Edit by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. These two ladies have famously organized homes of many stars.  I got this book for my birthday and have devoured it.  I love being able to enjoy my current space and stuff by just getting it organized and together.  I think that is the difference most made on DIY shows.....just take the current and make it more usable, more beautiful, more accessible.  This book has some beautiful photos and great ideas.  I am working my way through a few of their tips and tricks.  I will be sure to share the results as I get them done here on the blog.  Really enjoying this book. If you enjoy organization and labeling things.....get this book.

Hope you are reading some goodies too.  I still have such a stack sitting right by my bed to work through and even more on my Amazon wish list......so many good books, so little time.

The Trunk Club

My crush on Nordstrom is no secret.  I gush here on the regular about them.  What can I say?  They've earned it.  Well you also know I love a good subscription service.  I have subscribed to monthly boxes of snacks, clothing, makeup.......you name it.  Well now two of my loves have come together.  Nordstrom is running a personal shopping service called The Trunk Club. Nordstrom says it is not a subscription service and technically they are correct.  But it is a fun box that comes in the mail so let's just go with it.

Here is how it works.  I logged on to the The Trunk Club site, created a user name and password and then they gave me a style quiz.  They had sample outfits put together and I had to indicate if I liked them or not.  Then they asked me preference questions.....what colors I liked, did I wear businessy stuff, athleisure, casual? What type shoes I likes including heel height.  It was a fun little easy quiz. They do both men and women's trunks.  You are paired with a stylist.  They take all your information and build you a trunk with items they think you will like.  The styling fee is $25 UNLESS you have a Nordstrom credit card.  If you are a cardholder the styling fee is FREE!  And of course since it is Nordstrom affiliated, the shipping is free too. Even if you do not use a Nordstrom Card the $25 styling fee is credited toward any of the items you keep from the trunk.

You can get a trunk as often as you like.  You can set up for monthly, quarterly or any interval you choose.  You can even request a trunk if you are preparing for a big trip or other special event.  How fun is that?

So once I completed my preference quiz I received an email with my trunk items detailed.  I was able to click on any items I did not like or did not want shipped to me.  For instance, there was a pair of black pants suggested for me and we all know the last thing I need is another pair of black pants so I just declined those.  They also had alternate items for me to add to the trunk if I wanted.  There were several accessories including sunglasses for me to choose from.

Once I approved the trunk, it shipped and I waited anxiously to receive it.

Here is what is looked like when it arrived.

And here is what it looked like all packaged up

Here's a look at all the great contents

And I got an email with outfit suggestions.  So I could try on everything, mix and match the pieces and then decide what to keep.  Did I mention you don't pay for any of this until you receive it, try it on and decide what  you want to  keep.  You get five calendar days to make your selections.

Do you want to see how all my things came together......oh good......because I really want to show you.  Now I'll just warn you, the model is not very good but she works cheap......so there's that. I have also included links to all of the items in case they are of interest to you.

Here is outfit number one: Navy J. Crew Pants, Grey Vince Camuto Tee, Bar Necklace, Kate Spade Earrings, Madewell Ballet Flats, Madewell Tote

I loved these pants.  The fabric is so nice and the fit is great.  The Tee is super soft.  I would never have ordered this on my own, but I loved it.  The necklace is cute.  Simple bar necklaces are in and this one is adjustable to three lengths.  At first I thought the earrings were huge but the longer I kept them on the more I liked them.  And the tote.....y'all I am in love with the Madewell Tote.

Here is outfit number two: The floral flowy dress by Eliza J.  I loved the color.  I loved the pattern.  I don't have a lot of narrow things left on my body but my shoulders are very narrow.  This turned out to be a little large in the shoulders and just kept sliding about.  But if you have shoulders. this is a beautiful dress.

Outfit number three: A floral midi skirt by Halogen with a tie back top. Don't hate me....I am weird about clothes with cut outs.  I like them on other people.  I really do.  But for some reason I never feel like I can pull it off.  But I thought these pieces were nice and they were actually two of the more moderately priced pieces.

Outfit number four:
Khaki pants by 1901.  These are a four way stretch pant.  So they are designed to be fitted. I liked these and thought they were worth the price. I am wearing them here with the same top from above.

Outfit number five:
I loved this black and white top.  I know that is not a surprise to most of you.  The fabric is really nice and it was super comfortable.  It is also by Vince Camuto.

The grey cardigan was also super soft and you know how much I love a good cardigan

In the end I kept six items.  These are the items I kept along with the sizes I am wearing for reference
1) Madewell Tote (one size)
2) Vince Camuto Grey Tee (small)
3) Vince Camuto Black/White Check top (small)
4) Kate Spade Silver hoops (one size)
5) J. Crew navy pant (8P)
6) Gibson Grey Cardigan (small)

Which meant I was returning 6 items.  All I had to do was log into my Trunk Club account, select the pieces I wanted to keep and pay for those.  The others I indicated I would return.  They sent me this return label.....with two strips of tape to close the box.

 I just put my return items back in the box, secured the label, taped the box and dropped it at the UPS store.  You can also get free UPS pick up if you want but I found it easier to drop it off.

This was super fun. I can't wait for the next box.  If you try out The Trunk Club, let me know how you like your items.

I am not scheduled to get another box for three months.  I think it will be good to get a trunk at the beginning of each season as a little closet boost.  However, I may request one before then if I really get the urge.

Thanks, Nordstrom, for another great service!

Update: Alexandria, the sweet stylist who put my trunk together, read the blog post today and reminded me to share with you my referral link.  You can use it if you decide to try out a trunk yourself!