Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Take 2

Good Golly Miss Molly...

This is a long one, so grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up and prepare to read and maybe even laugh (at my expense).

This entire sale makes my heart race. I'm not sure if it's excitement, stress, anticipation or a combination of all three. I went into the store yesterday and walked in like a boss to the sectioned off areas where all the goodies are. 

It was somewhat like ants on an anthill and of course if you know me I ended up just chatting it up with several different ladies who were also shopping.

#makeafriend

My first stop was the jewelry "tent" and I found quite a few pretties in there. 

I seem to be broadening my horizons in the watch department and this Fossil watch is right up my alley. I love the size and the casualness of the leather band making it perfect for everyday wear.

Fossil Leather Strap Watch

There are lots of other watches included in the sale all of which you can see HERE, but this pink Kate Spade watch is too cute if you are looking for a really fun watch.

Kate Spade Watch

Next up I spotted these abalone Kendra Scott earrings. When I saw them online I wasn't really that taken by them, but in person they won my heart. These babies will go with just about everything.

Kendra Scott Elle Drop Earring

I bought my first Kendra Scott jewelry last year during the anniversary sale and it was a gunmetal finish just like these earrings. I have absolutely loved it!!! I wasn't really sure about the gunmetal finish, but as it turns out I wear it all the time.

This might be the worst picture ever, but I wanted to show y'all these adorable, delicate necklaces. This is two separate necklaces, the long one and then a short one and it's available in a couple of finishes. The longer necklace could be wrapped once or twice to give you the look of 3 chains or a multistrand short necklace.

#onenecklacemanyways

#loveverasatility

Alainn Bezel Short Necklace 
Alainn Extra Long Bezel Necklace

This bracelet is feminine but still makes a statement.

Nadri' Starry Night Hinge Bangel

These earrings aren't in the sale, but I spotted them on my way into the fitting room and loved them. It's hard to tell from the picture but they are silver and gold and I like to mix metals almost everyday so these will be perfect and they are so reasonably priced, I don't even care that they aren't on sale.

Panacea Beaded Teardrop Earring

I breezed through the cosmetics and fragrances area and this set of beautiful blushes/bronzer caught my eye. The colors are prettier in person than this photo or online. They look like they would be subtle but give you a healthy glow.

Bobbi Brown Cheek Set

It feels like we're seeing a lot of open front ponchos for the fall. I saw this one on line and really liked the look of it, but wasn't sure how the texture would be. It looked like maybe it would be itchy, but it's not. #happyface It's soft and cozy.

Ready. OK. (doing my best cheerleader impression here)

Treasure & Bond Fringed Stripe Poncho

You'd never know it to see it in the picture, but this crossbody bag is burgundy. It's the perfect size for a crossbody. Not too big, not too small. So many of them are so little you have to drastically reduce the amount of "stuff" you normally have in your purse and I don't know about you, but as soon as I take something out I need it. 

#lawofthejungle

Sole Society Crossbody

Time to hit the dressing room and here are the first round of items that made the cut to go in with me. Last time I did one of these posts someone commented they liked seeing all the items hanging there before seeing them on because they look so different.

I bought last year's version of this shirt and loved it. It is so comfortable and I wear it a lot. The neck line of last years is slightly different and I think I like this one even better. I wasn't sure how'd I like this print when I put it on but I LOVED it. These blouses are seriously affordable and functional. I usually just wear it with jeans but you could easily put it with pants or a skirt if you work in an office environment.

#lotofbangforyourbuck

This top runs big. I'm wearing and x-small and think if was available in an xx-small I could probably wear that size.

Pleione High/Low V-Neck

Here's the same top in another cute print. It's available in about 15 different solids/prints.

#iwantthemall

This is another top that I purchased last year (in black and wine) and I wear them A LOT.  This years is slightly different and again, I think I like the new one even better. #luckyyou They are perfect with skinny jeans and boots or booties and especially on days when you want to wear something loose but still look cute. It's long enough to cover your hiney if you have the legs for leggings and looks darling with them. Throw on your blardigan  or baby blardigan and you are ready to go. Great travel wear!!!

Pleione Split Neck Mixed Media Tunic

Slightly longer in the back. You can also do a half tuck in the front with top.

For a girl who isn't really a tee shirt kinda girl, I really like this one. It comes it a variety of stripes and solids and is a steal of a price. I'm wearing an x-small, so it's cut pretty generously.

Caslon Relaxed Tee

I think the utter glee on my face says it all about this next top. It was another one of those I looked at online and wasn't sure what the fabric would be. Oh. my. word. It is the SOFTEST thing and I can't wait to get mine and wear it on a cool fall day. This is described as a sweatshirt, but it has a little more panache than a sweatshirt and with a long necklace added to it...perfection. 

Bobeau Rib Long Sleeve Fuzzy Sweatshirt

Hangs longer in the back.

Here's another cute sweatshirt option. It has side slits that make it roomy and hang nicer. I think I might be developing a sweatshirt fettish.

Caslon Side Slit Sweatshirt

I bought a sweater similar to this one last year by the same maker and it's been a favorite. This is made of pretty thin material and would make for an awesome change of season sweater paired with leggings or jeggings. I think it would look great on someone a little taller perhaps with a little less #junkinthetrunk ;) I tried on the red for something different, but I'm pretty sure I'd like it better in the black or grey.  For size reference I'm wearing an x-small.

Halogen Oversize V-Neck Sweater

Being completely honest, this one was a miss for me. I will say it was one of the softest sweaters I've ever put on and maybe if I'd brought a solid into the dressing room I would have felt differently.

Caslon Drape Neck Top

This jacket I picked up not knowing what to expect. It's a heavier weight and for someone in a warmer climate like I am, you could probably use it as a winter "coat".

Caslon Convertible Collar Sweater Coat

And finally, the almighty, truly beloved, soft as a kitty, coziest thing you'll ever wear blardigan.

I was completely unsure of this ombre color combo when I saw it online and didn't order it in my first batch of things, but after trying it on in the store I was convinced and in love. This color combo works better on blondes and the black ombre looks better on brunettes. I say this because as I was #makinganotherfriend she was trying it on and had dark hair. We agreed the lighter one made her look washed out and the darker one was better for her just like the lighter one worked better for me. This was her first blardigan and I assured her I wear mine EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. The sales girl said anytime men come in looking for something for their wives she points them straight to these and they usually respond with "You're just showing me the most expensive thing". She said she responds with "No, I'm just showing you something she won't return" ;)

Barefoot Dreams Drape Front Cardigan

And last but not least....the baby blardigan. This is indigo, but it still looks good with jeans and did I mention it has POCKETS. What is it with us women and pockets? I have no idea, but we sure do love them.

Barefoot Dreams Circle Cardigan

aka Baby Blardigan

Okay girls, I hope this gives you helpful information and shopping inspiration.

Speaking from experience if you find something you like don't wait. Strike while the iron is hot. You snooze, you loose. Are you getting the picture?

I'm heading back to the mall tomorrow and dragging Katie along to check out some things and find some more gems for you.

Happy shopping friends!!!

Lisa

XOXO

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday the weekend is here!!!

Friday means one thing...Friday Favorites with Erika, Narci and Andrea.

We are super excited that our friends who moved to Hawaii last year are arriving in CA to visit tonight and we will get to spend some time playing and laughing with them and then on Tuesday, Katie and I are heading up to visit friends in Minnesota and spend some time at a lake. It's going to be so fun and we are really looking forward to it.

I've been spending a lot of time learning how to navigate my new Mac and am feeling pretty good about it so far. I've been transferring pictures from my old PC to my new computer and that takes FOREVER, but I'm getting there.

Enough about what I've been doing, lets get to this weeks favorites. 

ONE

Stargazer Lillies

Stargazers are my favorite flower and have been for as long as I can remember. My girls carried them in my wedding, we had them in the arrangements for our rehearsal dinner and whenever Kent wants to get me flowers, these are what he comes home with. I think it's safe to say they are just as much his favorite as they are mine. The fragrance of these lillies is absolutely lovely and carries throughout a room.

We recently planted two Stargazer plants in our back yard.

This is how they looked when we planted them and within a week they had opened and looked like this...

And in a couple more days...

They've just about peaked, but are still gorgeous and smell heavenly.

(on a side note: if you cut them to bring inside be sure to remove the stamen from the middle, those little orange suckers stain like nobody's business)

TWO

We found two more flavors of Halo Top Ice Cream

Mint Chip and Chocolate Mocha Chip!

YUM!

If you aren't familiar with Halo Top or are new to my blog, I named it a favorite HERE a couple of weeks ago.

I think the only flavor we have yet to find is Birthday Cake and I have to say around our house it's unanimous that Mint Chip is the favorite!

THREE

This crazy girl. I think we should have just put a dishwasher in her room since she usually has all these cups, mugs, bottles, etc... sitting around up there.

Yes mother's of little ones, this is what you have to look forward to. 

Katie came into my room yesterday with an arm load of cups and bottles and asked if I wanted a "liquid beverage". Stop right there...aren't all beverages liquid? I had to give her a hard time because she is constantly ragging me about one thing or another and frequently "tweeting" things I say that she finds amusing...usually that make me look like a doofus.

#shesgoingtomissme

FOUR

My new computer!!!

We have slowly but surely become a Mac family. I'm not sure we'll ever get Kent to join in, but the kids and I now all have them. The part I'm finding most challenging is getting all my pictures on and trying to find some kind of order to them. I've uploaded A LOT of them to "the cloud" and when I bring them over to my new computer it's like someone threw all the folders up in the air, they flew open, and landed on the floor in a big random pile. PLEASE...if you have the answer to this....TELL ME :)

FIVE

We were out one Saturday walking in a shopping area and saw this adorable pink shirt outside of a shop.

I thought it was cute but I think Kent wanted to buy it and make Katie wear it.

#wishfulthinking #hereallydid

SIX

Are you shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?

Early Access started yesterday and I've already done some damage. You can check out the first round of my haul HERE.

Come back tomorrow for another jam packed post of pictures and items to peruse from the sale. I went to the store Thursday and spent some time trying on some really cute stuff to share with you.

Hope your week has been filled with favorites and your weekend will be too!

Lisa

XOXO

Check out these other fun Friday linkups with some great bloggers.

High Five for FRIDAY / Five on Friday / Friday Favorites / oh hey FRIDAY

• 
  

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, Take 1

This is not a drill....it's really happening, the day is finally here. 

The day all my blogger "friends" have been talking about and prepping for for weeks.

I must admit, I feel a little ill prepared to handle the apparent magnitude of this sale, but I'm going to do my best.

So what's a girl to do when she wakes up at 12:45 in the morning on the day of said anniversary sale?

Why of course she gets out of the bed and hits her computer and here's what I found :)

Click on green links and be taken right to each item!!!

Topshop Mixed Stripe Layer Top

Just look at this cute little sweater/shirt combo. I love it and it does the layering for you.

Dreamers by Debut Cowl Neck Boxy Pullover

This sweater looks so soft and cozy. I ordered it in Olive and can't wait to get my hands on it. 

Treasure & Bond Stripe Pullover Sweater

This one I ordered in the grey and black. I love the drop shoulder and it will look super cute over a black cami with boots or booties and black (or denim) jeans.

Caslon Mixed Print Open Front Long Cardigan

I love this long cardigan, it will look great with leggings or jeans. I think it will be a great sweater to throw on when you need a little warmth, but not a full on jacket.

Leith Shawl Collar Cocoon Cardigan

This sweater looks a lot like my blardigan that I wear EVERY. SINGLE. DAY and I'm not the only person who's noticed it. I'm seeing lots of bloggers talking about it as well. I ordered the burgundy and predict it will be worn on repeat.

And speaking of blardigans, you can find the ones included in the sale HERE.

If you aren't familiar with the term "blardigan" it was coined by fellow blogger, Sheaffer Told me to. 

Blanket + Cardigan = Blardigan

#fashionmath

Barefoot Dreams Drape Front Cardigan

aka Blardigan

It's the coziest piece of clothing I own. I take it everywhere and wear as a robe all the time. 

#blardiganlove

You won't be surprised when I tell that I now will be sporting the "baby blardigan". HA

Yes, a while back they came out with another style of the "blardigan" that is a different cut and it was quickly named "baby blardigan" and it has POCKETS!

#pocketlove #everyonelovespockets

Barefood Dreams "Circle" Cardigan"

aka Baby Blardigan

I ordered the Indigo and Stone to see which one I like best. These "babies" (see what I did there) will probably go fast, so don't hesitate. Order now, commit later. Remember Nordstroms AWESOME return policy.

BOOTS!

I think I have literally been looking at,  picking up, trying on, and thinking about these boots for about FIVE years. Well girls, the waiting and looking is finally over. I pulled the trigger and ordered them!!! (picture me running around and jumping up and down)

Frye Melissa Button Boot

One of my friends ordered these last year and she loves them and now my boot envy can be put to rest because I'm going to have my own.

#happybirthdaytome

Kendra Scott Adair Drop Earring

I was torn with these. Silver or Gold...or both?

I showed restraint (for now) and went with silver.

All Kendra Scott sale jewelry HERE.

And I guess it paid to shop in the middle of the night because this little darling is already SOLD OUT. 

#yikes

You can see the other Alex and Ani bracelets included in the sale HERE.

Alrighty, here's the first round of goodies that caught my eye. I'm headed to mall after I meet some women from my bible study for coffee and will hopefully come home with lots of pictures and more loot for you to discover.

Happy Thursday friends!!!

Lisa 

XOXO

Stranded - Famous People Edition

Oh you guys, this is going to be fun.

I'm linking up with Erika and Shay today for their series "Stranded" where each month we talk about 3 things or people we'd want with us if we were going to be stranded on an island. This month it's...

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Choices, choices, choices.

As soon as I saw this, TWO people immediately popped into my head and I bet the same two may have popped into yours.

Jimmy Fallon

If I'm going to be stranded I'm going to need some entertainment and can you just imagine the antics there would be with Jimmy around?

And without a doubt I'd want to have JT along...because they go together like peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, cookies and milk, you get the picture...Right?

Justin Timberlake

These two are magic together. They feed off of each other and it comes naturally.

One of my favorite skits they do is the Barry Gibb Talk Show. The first time I saw one of these my immediate thought was "these guys can really sing, they sound amazingly like the Bee Gees". Watch for yourself HERE.

I probably watched 30 minutes of YouTube videos of these two just writing this post.

None of these images really copied well, so I'm sorry about that, but you get the picture. These guys just crack me up and the amazing part is they both seem like genuinely nice, hard working, fun loving, family guys who've managed to keep their heads from getting too terribly enormous.

Can you think of any two people who would be more entertaining to have on a deserted island?

They sing.

They dance.

They tell jokes.

They do impressions.

They feed off of each other.

It'd be a HOOT!!!! Heck, it might even make you want to be stranded if you knew you'd have these guys along for the ride.

Now for the third person.

This one took a little thought.

And then a little more thought.

Male or female? 

Seemed like most everyone that came to mind was male, but I thought I might need some girl power with me.

I finally came up with...

Joanna Gaines

Some of you may not know who she is, but I'm going to guess if you're reading my blog then we have similar tastes and you've seen her on Fixer Upper.

Joanna just seems like such a sweet person. She's open about her Christianity and shares her faith. She's a mother and wife and a creative.

I think we'd have a lot in common and besides that, can you think of anyone more qualified to help create a beautiful, inviting home made from sticks and leaves? I'm pretty sure we'd have the most gorgeous hut on the entire island. ;) She'd probably even figure out how to make shiplap out of trees.

So if you were going to be stranded with three famous people, who would they be?

I bet it will be a lot of fun to read all the different ideas and I feel sure I'll be saying to myself, "I can't believe I didn't think of them".

In the mean time

Tomorrow's the day!!!!!

Are you ready???

Here's a sneak peak at what we're going to be seeing.

The color of the season looks like a form of burgundy or wine.

Booties are still going to be the "go to shoe".

For fall we're going to see a lot of open toe booties with both block heels and wedges to make the transition.

And distressed jeans are going to remain in the rotation.

Hope y'all are having a great week and enjoying every minute of summer.

Lisa

XOXO

Here are the future topics for stranded for you to be thinking about and if you missed any of the past editions you can click on the links below to see Stranded With...

Medicine Cabinet Items 

Books

Netflix series

YAY for Nordstrom Rack and jeans on sale!

Last night I decided to check the jeans available at Nordstrom Rack online and was just about giddy when I found they have one of mine and Katie's favorite pairs now in stock. I ordered them from Nordstrom last year and we both fell in love. They sold out and I haven't seen them anywhere for months.

You girls are in luck! If you've been looking for a comfortable, slightly distressed, super soft pair of jeans, jump online and order these before they disappear again. 

As always, click on the green links below the pictures to be taken straight to each pair.

Dublin Distressed Skinny Jeans

This is the same pair of jeans both Katie and I are wearing in my previous post on distressed jeans HERE and I talked about reinforcing the distressing to keep it from "growing".

While I was on the Rack website I decided to see what else I could find that mind interest you. 

(and me)

 Tomboy Distressed Jeans

This pair has more distressing and earlier in the spring there were quite a few bloggers wearing these (on repeat) and recommending them. They are on sale for an unbelievable $19.97 so I've ordered them for myself and Katie. Are you noticing a pattern? Crazy enough, we both seem to like the same jeans.

#imustbecool

As long as I was ordering and could get free shipping by spending $100 I figured I may as well have choices. Right? We already each have a pair of the Jagger style that we love but these are a different wash. They are like pajama jeans and I talked about the HERE. Jeans are my uniform, and I love to have several different options, so in my cart they went.

Jagger Super Skinny

For some reason the link right to this pair won't cooperate so just look on the page this takes you to and find the matching picture...it's like a shopping game :)

I've been looking for a pair of black skinny jeans for quite a while. Yippee, they had a pair...ON SALE no less so I probably don't have to even tell you I ordered them as well.

Jagger Skinny Black

Here's the deal, I won't keep all of these, but as long as I'm going to be standing in the return line I may as well make it worth my while. 

I'll let you know how these turn out once we get them and try them on.

Only 2 more days until the famous Nordstrom Anniversary Sale begins for those of us who are cardholders.  July 14-21 is open to cardholders only so if you aren't, this sale is reason enough to become one. You get early access to all things sale and so many sell out before it opens to the general public on July 22 and continuing through August 8.

This sale is a great time to get a jump on good deals for fall fashions and see what the trends are going to be this year. I'm going to try to get in the store a couple of times at the end of the week and do some trying on so you can see what's available. I did a poor job of picking when to go on vacation not taking the sale into account.

#slowlearner

Let me just tell you that bloggers all over the country are eating their Wheaties and gearing up to hit the stores first thing Thursday morning.

#itscrazy

One more thing. Unless you live under a rock you've probably heard today is PRIME day on Amazon. 

This is like Black Friday in July with lots of special deals people will be trying to snatch up so head on over to Amazon and see what you can find for a bargain.

Okay y'all, have a great day and buy some jeans...you won't be sorry!

Lisa

XOXO

New Monday, New Computer

Hello and Happy Monday!!!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sure did. Ours was fun filled and busy.

Yesterday afternoon we headed to the mall to hit the Apple Store.

And I got a new "toy"

I'm using my new Macbook Pro for the first time this morning, so I'm both excited and scared. 

Why scared...learning new things can be scary, right???

I know it can be for me. I don't really love change and this is a pretty big change for me.  I've used a PC for about 15 years (if I had to guess).

I have to say I'm pretty excited with myself so far. I figured out ALL BY MYSELF how to transfer most of my stuff from my PC to my new Mac. I've just got to figure out how to transfer all my pictures in Picasa. If you've done this, I'd LOVE any advice. It's looking like I need to back it all up to discs or thumb drives? I thought I'd transferred it with the initial transfer I did, but if it happened I haven't figured out how to find them yet...LOL

We had the big Grad Party for Miss Katie this weekend and it went great with the exception of the wind. OH. MY. WORD.

It was COLD and WINDY!!!

That's the thing about where we live in California. You can have a day in the high 90's and the next day might be the mid 70's and wind is almost always a factor to some extent.

I used my camera to take pictures which means until I do some playing around and figuring out I can't post them yet, but here's one I took on my phone. Confession: I did a horrible job of capturing the party in photos. We were busy talking with the kids and I forgot to take many pictures. I'm really bummed I totally forgot to snap any of them using the new cornhole game Kent made and the ladder ball game we purchased for the party. Oh well...chalk it up to old age and forgetfulness.

Notice the sign on the drink container on the right is turned to the side...that was from the wind. :( 

I'm going to keep this short and sweet today so I can get back to reading about, playing with, and figuring out this new toy of mine.

Wish me luck!

Happy Monday and hope your week is off to a great start!!!

Lisa
XOXO