The sale that everyone loves and hates is here! I've been shopping this sale even before I was a blogger, so although my posting schedule is sporadic, I can't not shop this sale! I live for this sale! It's really the only time (other than Black Friday) that I actually prefer to shop it in store vs. online! I'm ruining the ending by showing you everything that I bought in the photo above, but for those of you that want to see how I narrowed it down to those decisions, you can read on for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You guys! Admittedly, I'm not on Instagram as much just because that's the way life goes and priorities change. But the one thing that does not change is that I still hoard ALL my Nordstrom Notes for the Anniversary Sale! And when you're not on Instagram, you don't realize until now that the Anniversary Sale is only two weeks away! Insert girlie squeals here! I ran to my mailbox to see if the catalog was waiting for me, but duh. There's this thing called the internet and the Anniversary Sale catalog is online. So here are all my picks! Let's get started!
Well, it's here! The sale everyone hates but loves and loves to hate. It's like a train wreck in blogger world, I'm not going to lie. You just can't look away. I hate going on social media during this time because it's EVERYwhere and if it annoys me as a blogger, I can only imagine how it annoys a "regular" person. That said, I've loved this sale even before I was a blogger so I can't not shop it. And my stats during this time of year prove that a bulk of you guys love seeing what I want and buy, so I can't not blog about it! You can peek back at old sale posts here if you're interested!
I have a ritual! Wait for the catalog to arrive. Peruse it and sticky note everything I have my eye on. Give my wishlist to my sales associate, and then obviously, shop the sale and see what worked and what did not work. I wait all year for this sale, y'all. I save up ALL my Nordie Notes for this sale - I have about $400 accumulated to date ready to go for this year's sale! And yes, while it's the middle of summer and it's hard to get into the fall wardrobe frame of mind, well, I love seeing what the trends are for the upcoming season, and frankly, there are so many #nsale pieces I have in the past that I continuously wear season after season, so clearly something is working!!!
Happy Nordstrom Anniversary Sale early access day!!! I can't believe another year has come and gone and the sale is upon us again! But I can't lie, it really is the happiest time of the year. My co-workers are looking at me like I'm crazy as I happily prance around the office! But shopping is FUN and there is a buzz in the air as everyone gets excited over buying this and that. And let's just say trying on 348687673 pieces of clothes is a workout! And everyone knows that exercise creates endorphins and endorphins make you happy!
I was going to continue my recap of our vacation, but I felt silly talking about vacation since I will be shopping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale as of 8am this morning! The sale does not open for cardholders until tomorrow, July 13th, however, level 4 peeps get to shop it today, and I was lucky enough to be able to get behind the scenes a little bit early. Since the #nsale is so top of mind at the moment, I will have to postpone my vacation recap for a future post.
You have no idea how relieved I am to have this week behind me! It's been a doozy! I had a few big deadlines in both real life and blog life that have had me super busy, and the fact that they were all happening within days of each other was not good for my sanity. But, I got through everything I needed to do, and I am looking forward to a regular schedule again this week. WHEW!! In celebration of all my major deadlines being accomplished, the husband and I had somewhat of an impromptu double date night with his cousin and her husband. We went to one of our favorite steakhouses called Popeye's Chophouse. You have to drive through farmland and cornfields to get there, but it's such a hidden gem of a restaurant and it is SO delish.
Well, I did a lot of damage! That may be an understatement. But the good news is, the husband did not seem at all fazed by the amount spent, so yay for that! It was so much fun, too! It was a marathon - it took about two hours from start to finish. And I know I didn't get to browse through everything with as much patience as I could have. Who knows what other gems are hiding out there?! But, for the sake of not going bankrupt, I had to narrow my focus. For this post, I'm sharing all of the stock photos along with outfit selfies I took. Let's get it started!
The "special" sign in the background is a bit ironic because it was extra difficult to take these photos! Not only was it raining, but it was terribly windy, so although we were able to take these under a covered walkway, the wind was relentless! But the show must go on, so I'm sharing my special photos with you anyway! This was an easy outfit to throw on for mild fall weather and some last minute Christmas errands. Both the plaid top and the stripe tee are not only favorites in my closet, but one of multiple colors I have in each! And while you can't tell in these photos, the hem is longer for both at back, so I am covered quite comfortably from behind.
Happy Thanksgiving week! Now that the holidays are upon us, I've got all things sparkly on the brain! I've been wanting a pair of leggings like these for awhile but not all sequin leggings are created equal! I have this pair that are more like joggers, but I've been hunting for a true legging style. Express posted these leggings on their Snapchat before they were released, and I stalked their website (even more so than usual) until they were available! I'm glad I ordered them when I did because they're no longer available online and listed as "in store only." I'm sorry to tease you with them, but hopefully you can find them in store while you are Black Friday shopping. They are seriously amazing and I certainly plan to wear them to a holiday gathering or two.
I don't feel like I have done one of these buying lately posts in quite some time, so I figured I should probably catch you guys up a little. These are things that I have bought but haven't officially worn on the blog yet. I do like to style things as soon as I receive them as a reminder to myself that I need to wear them. So when I'm in a "what do I wear" slump, I can just sift through my flat lays and it helps jog some ideas! Each of the outfits below features one recent purchase, so let's get started!
This Scarf: Nordstrom (similar here, shop other fringe scarves HERE)
Last week, I recapped what I wore on my work trip to Providence and Boston, so I figured this week I would do the same for my Toronto trip I went on late last week. Packing for work trips is so hard for me. My struggles for this trip were: 1) I had never met anyone I was meeting, so I had no idea if they were casual or super dressy 2) I hate meeting new people wearing flat shoes, but I also knew I'd be doing a lot of walking so the shoes needed to be comfy. 3) The weather seemed to be cold, windy, and rainy. With that in mind, let's get started!
I can't even tell you how excited I am for this collaboration! You see, I stumbled upon Shawna's blog a couple of years ago, and she quickly became one of my blog crushes. I love her quirky personality that comes across in her photos, I love her writing style, and most importantly, I love her outfits. When she asked if I wanted to collaborate with her, I felt like a celebrity was reaching out to me! If you are new to her blog, I hope you'll pop on over and check it out here and that you'll find her to be as much of a style inspiration as I do!
The title of today's collab speaks for itself. I couldn't survive without a chambray (or 7) in my closet. It's a holy grail piece, and Shawna came up with the idea of styling it for day and then for play. Let's get started!
Hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was pretty low key - no real plans except for Saturday night so I felt pretty productive and was able to catch up on stuff I've been wanting to get done. I'm not sure why life seems exceptionally busy at the moment, but it was nice to not have many commitments this weekend and just go at our own pace.
Not going to lie, I'm still on a little high from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. If you missed it, I did my full recap in my post here. I just love all of my purchases and have not hesitated wearing everything immediately! These flats just may be my favorite of all my purchases. That's a pretty big statement, I know, but I just cannot believe how much I love them. I've weeded out all of my flats from my wardrobe because they just tear up my feet. I've tried many pairs over the years, different types, different brands, and I consistently get blisters - they're more painful than any of my heels. I've tried using heel strips and friction strips, but nothing seems to work. On top of that, I find it hard to style flats with anything but pants because I feel like they make my legs look stumpy.
And that's why I feel like these Halogenflats are perfect. I wore them all day on Friday, walking laps around the office, in the parking lot, and even for dinner, and my feet were perfectly comfortable. The fact that they're nice to look at just makes them even more magical. I always struggle with what closed toed shoes to wear on my work trips - it's easy in the winter because I can wear flat boots or flat booties, but in the warmer months, I got nothing! These will definitely be my go to flats from now on!
You know I always love showing you different ways to style pieces. And you also know I'm not afraid of a good pattern mix. I see great things for these flats, and I apologize in advance for wearing them incessantly!
If you're interested, I bought these in my normal size. Since they looked narrow, I would have normally gone up half a size, but these are a pretty generous size 6, and unless you have a wide foot, you may want to size down if you're in between sizes.
That's all of the tempting I will do for you today! Have a great week!
As promised, I'm here to recap my early access shopping spree at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! If you want to see what my wish list was and compare it to what I actually bought, you can read this post from last week here. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the sale. I didn't have high expectations only because I didn't find as much stuff in the catalog as I have in years past. What you're about to witness took about two and a half hours from start to finish. On an empty stomach and no coffee, mind you! Well, let's not waste any time, let's just get to it. As always, I started with shoes.
I really had my heart set on the Vince 'Adley' sandals I featured in my post last week, but sadly they weren't in my store so I mayyy have to order them. None of the boots were catching my eye - I'm not sure if it's just too early to think about boots, but I strangely had my eye on two pairs of flats instead, and I'm not normally a flats person. These studded Halogen flats are pretty perfect. They're true to size, if not a touch on the long side, but I purchased my normal size. I walked around in them for a bit and was surprised how comfortable they were. This was an easy yes.
I also ended up trying on the Louise et Cie 'Barry' flat. Again, I was surprised how cute and comfortable they were. I did have to go up a half size because the toe box was a little narrow in my normal size. I decided to go ahead and hold on to both of the flats and then we were off to Handbags and Accessories.
Luckily, I sent my list to my SA right after I made my appointment so she had an idea of what I was looking for because she grabbed this bag for me before it was gone! It was the only one left in the store, and the more I stared at it and held it (because I never put it down the entire time we were shopping) I just loved it! The color is more of a reddish brown than a cognac, which I loved since I already have a large cognac bag. And it's great that I can wear it single or double strapped, which transitions it from shoulder to crossbody. Versatility!!
Ahhh, how gorgeous is this multi-cord necklace? And it comes in so many other fabulous colors, I would definitely snag it! If the necklace isn't your thing, it also comes in matching bracelets! I resisted the bracelets, only because my cart was adding up quickly already, but they were pretty adorable! I did end up getting another Nadri bangle. I already have something similar in gold that I wear incessantly, so I thought having it in silver would come in handy!
I was a little relieved because just as we started looking at clothes, my SA told us (Jenna ended up meeting us) that her appointment after mine was pushed back, which allowed us to take our time! I was going to save activewear for an online order so I could prioritize my in-store touchy-feely time to "real" clothes. But since we all of a sudden had more time, I quickly grabbed my favorite Zella leggings in this mesh combo. I always buy a small in Zellas, which is my true size. And I normally size up in leggings, but I do not for these.
As far as the regular clothes, the lace pencil skirt I was eyeing in the catalog definitely lived up to my expectations! I ended up going with a regular size 6 (not petite), so I would say it runs pretty true to size. I love that it actually has some stretch to it, which many lace skirts do not! I wanted a shirt to try on with it since I knew I'd be taking dressing room selfies, and Jenna handed me this tee. It ended up being the perfect tee, not only for the skirt, but for real life, so I took it home with me. I bought a small.
And last but not least are these two pieces. I wanted to try on some designer denim just because it's been awhile, but I wanted to make sure they were a pair I would not have to get hemmed (ain't nobody got time for that.) Jenna recommended these Current/Elliott jeans because they came in more of a cropped length. Cropped for her, regular length for me. Not complaining! It was my first time trying this brand, and I loved the way they fit. I purchased a size 28 in the jeans and a small in the long sleeved tee.
My measurements for reference: Height 5'-2" | Bust: 34" | Waist: 28" | Hips: 36"
If you follow me on Snapchat (carylee07) then you got to see the play by play of my entire spree. But I didn't want to deprive my non-snapping blog readers of these selfies especially since I know some of you prefer to see the real life model verses the flat lay. I would say the length of the pencil skirt looks a little deceiving from this angle - while it does go passed my knee, it's not quite midi-length.
The only thing I am missing is beauty and cosmetics. But don't fret, I have that covered as well. Apparently the anniversary sale is the only time the ginormous pump bottle of Amazing Grace is available, so I was sure to purchase this set.
Quite a haul, eh? The hardest part was checking out. Let's tally this all up!
But wait! I saved up my Nordies notes ALLLLLL year for this sale. I ended up with $426 total in notes, so my grand total after the notes and after tax was…. $476! That is $789.90 in savings. Yes, I could have saved myself $476 by not shopping at all, but that's not the point right now! :)
Whew! That was a long post, so thanks for sticking with me. I'm happy to answer any questions, and I would absolutely love to hear what you all have your eye on and/or what you've already purchased! This is seriously the happiest sale of the year. There's just something about buying stuff on PRE-sale that makes it better than buying end of season or clearance stuff, you know?
I'm sorry to deprive you of your random roundup two weeks in a row, but it's tradition that I outline my wish list for the Nordstrom Anniversary sale, and since I plan to share everything I bought one week from today, I wanted to give you a little appetizer this week of what I plan to be shopping for! If you've never shopped the anniversary sale before - it's basically a PRE-sale of all the fall items. You're not shopping clearance stuff or last season stuff, you're shopping for fresh and new pieces before they're even sold to the public. It's kind of a big deal, and I save all of my Nordstrom notes throughout the year so I can splurge accordingly. I have $420 in notes saved up!!!
Admittedly, I never got my catalog! I'm not sure why! I did get the men's catalog, which was really short and abbreviated. I was waiting for the full catalog, but it never showed up. So, I'm not sure if they just didn't send me one since the card is in the husband's name and they figured he'd be only interested in men's stuff anyway, or if someone stole it, or if Nordstrom is just that cruel and deprived me of it, but it never arrived!! Luckily, my favorite Nordstrom SA, Amber, could feel my pain miles away and sent me her catalog all the way from Chicago. So. That is how I am able to share my wants with you now!
Clockwise from top left: Halogen Windowpane shift dress $64.90 After sale $98 | Rebecca Minkoff Lexi Bucket Bag $250.90 After sale $375 | Halogen Lace pencil skirt $45.90 After sale $69 | Vince Adley Mid-heel sandal $284.90 After sale $425 | Ivanka Trump Tenice strappy pump $89.90 After sale $134.95 | Rebecca Minkoff Moto Hobo $216.90 After sale $325
I always gravitate towards bags and shoes first - I can't help it! It was tough to decide on clothes because many were styled in layers, so I'll just have to take my time in those sections in real life! I ended up making an appointment the first day of early access on July 9th. You can expect a full recap on Friday because I know I will be excited to share all the details with you!
If you are curious and didn't receive a catalog - you can see it online in its entirety HERE.
And if you're wondering how you can shop the sale one week earlier than the rest of the world, the details are HERE.
And if you still don't get the hype but want to see what I scored last year, you can reminisce HERE.
I have a bonus post for you because I got sucked into the Nordstrom Half Yearly sale like everyone else. I didn't want to go too overboard though because the Anniversary Sale is just around the corner, and that's what all the Nordie Notes are going to go to! But if money were no object, I picked out a few goodies for my virtual shopping bag, and if I happen to inspire you to spend your own money, then yay!
Just a few accessories. I'm all about tassels and fringe, so you shouldn't be surprised by a couple of my picks. And I'm not even going to lie - I always start my search filtering by Kate Spade goodies - I can't help it. And, the Marc by Marc Jacobs crossbody looks perfect - not only in size, but in color! Drooling as I type.
Dresses and workout stuff are always my next step. I love love love Zella leggings, and I'm always open to building that collection. Especially with my new workout schedule I have going! I've been lusting after that maxi dress for awhile now - and it's under $100! The stripes, the print, the colors are all things I love! And, we have a couple of summer weddings to go to, hence my summer dress picks! Finally, my zip up cardigan that was part of my RemixFix2015 capsule? Yep, it's back and in a few other colors for just under $40.
Ok, soooo, if you're wondering what I bought. I just could not resist these shoes! (Surprise, surprise.) I have them in glitter already, but… they're animal print and just perfect and I know I'd regret it if I didn't get them for this price and Rachelle approved the purchase. So.
Hello and happy Monday! Life seems relatively back to normal at the moment, which is a good thing for sure! No real plans this weekend except for seeing Pitch Perfect 2, which was hil-aca-arious and I was legit dancing in my seat!
Last week I also started a workout challenge with some co-workers. It's not a weight loss competition, it's simply the accountability to be physical for at least 30 minutes, 6 times a week. And you can take your physicality to whatever that means to you - walking, cardio, weights, whatever! I'm back to Pilates 3 days a week, and then doing cardio the other 3 days. So far so good! I needed this extra motivation, so I'll keep you posted on this journey. I really just needed something to make working out a habit again. And, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to lose a few pounds also in the process. I weighed myself for the first time in months, and it was not my best.
The weather these days has been pretty psychotic. One day I'm freezing, the next day I am sweating buckets. For the cooler days, I am happy to have this textured knit jacket. This is the same one I already have in ivory:
It's just such a great fitting piece, and it instantly adds a little something to finish off any outfit. I am equally obsessed with my olive military jackets, so I felt like this moto style was the perfect marriage of my two favorite pieces:
Olive can feel very fall and winter to me, but blushes and nudes help keep it springy. This clutch is also a recent purchase and needless to say, I'm obsessed. I seriously got more excited than I should when I saw how nicely it complemented this outfit. If you're looking for something a little bolder - this one here from Target is an awesome budget option and if my Target carried it in store, I'm pretty sure it would be mine already!
Before I go, please hop on over and visit Cherie at Style Nudge. She hosts the Shoe and Tell linkup every Monday and is featuring one of my favorite pairs today in her post! Stop by, say hello, and link up your own shoefie while you're at it!
