I hope you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend! Cyber Monday is in full swing and I've got a rundown of all the best sales. Some of these will look familiar because they are extended from Black Friday (YAY!) so if you missed it then, now's your chance to snag some really great deals.You can also hop over to my gift guide if you need some more inspiration. I'm adding new ideas daily! Abercrombie and Fitch - 50% off everything[showshopthepostwidget id="2164932"]Amazon - $40 OFF Amazon Echo + tons more markdowns!Ann Taylor Loft - 50% off everythingASOS - 20% off everything Banana Republic - 50% offBarneys New York - 40% off everythingCharlotte Russe - 40% off + free shipping[showshopthepostwidget id="2168144"]Express - 50% off everythingGAP - 50% everythingJ Crew - 40% off everything[showshopthepostwidget id="2164948"]J Crew Factory Store - 60% everything[showshopthepostwidget id="2164976"]Lands End - 30% off sitewideMarley Lilly - Up to 40% off + Free duffle bag set with $100 purchase[showshopthepostwidget id="2168404"]Nordstrom - 25-50% off site wide[showshopthepostwidget id="2164908"]Old Navy - 50% everything[showshopthepostwidget id="2168204"]Pottery Barn/Pottery Barn Kids - 20% off + other markdownsRevolve - up to 50% off site wide Happy Shopping!
November Goals
Hello, friends!It's November! Hard to believe since its been feeling like mid-summer outside. We down her in the South had the most amazing cool front this past weekend. FINALLY. It was glorious!This month is one of my favorites of the whole year. Not only do we get to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we also get to be a little more obnoxious about celebrating Christmas. Let's be real: I've been celebrating Christmas for weeks now. But at least now I won't get made fun of for it.My first goal for this month is to finish my Christmas decorations. I'm actually almost done but putting the finishing touches has been a challenge to say the least. Both my babies stay home with me and so anything that must be done, must be done with mommies little helpers. This project is taking about a million times longer than I would have hoped but that's part of the reason I started so early. I can't wait to share the home tour in the next few weeks! Reese has a special feature in the tour where she used an entire roll of scotch tape to attach a 12 inch ribbon to our fireplace screen. LOL! It's so trendy.Once I get the house all done, I can start to really focus on Christmas shopping. I love getting thoughtful gifts for my fam so it takes a good bit of planning ahead and searching to try to find just the right thing. I'm working on a blog post that'll include some of my favorite thoughtful gifts that I'm working on now and have given in the past. I hope to get everyone's shopping done before Thanksgiving. I know, it's nuts. But a girl can dream, right?As the Holidays approach, it gets really easy to get lax in areas I'm normally disciplined in. So this month I've already planned out all my blog posts thru the end of the year. I'm normally kind of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of blogger but I'm working on becoming a little more on purpose in this area.I shared on my blog a few weeks ago about our upcoming girl's trip to New York. We leave the first week of December so we still need to finalize all our plans and, most importantly, my outfits. Priorities, people. I'm still on the hunt for a few different things to complete my packing list. I've already bought one of these jackets and now I'm trying to figure out if I need the other one, too! Thoughts?[showshopthepostwidget id="2082368"]Since NYC is (hopefully!) going to be cold, it's time to invest in some real outerwear. I'm mildly obsessed with these gloves!! The beanie and scarf are new favorites, too.[showshopthepostwidget id="2082388"]
Ordering Clothes Online
Hi, friends!
I've had so many people asking me recently about my experience with ordering my clothes online. I'm finding they're are especially curious/skeptical about ordering from China.
Let me start out with addressing online clothes shopping in general.
I almost always try something on before I buy it so I've been a very slow mover into the online shopping arena. My two and four year old girls are pretty stellar shoppers but when it comes to going into the dressing room, they lose their minds. It's like a switch goes off simultaneously in their heads and they look at each and decide "everyone in this store needs to see mommy naked. You in? Let's make it happen."
Needless to say, the process of finding the right fit in the store is not an enjoyable one. And shopping alone is such a rare occurrence that it's really not even worth talking about.
What I'm discovering about shopping online is that all the information I need to know about how it will fit me is included. A few extra clicks and I can read reviews from other shoppers, find out if it fits true to size, and even get the exact measurements of the items. That's WAY more information than what you get in a store!
There still are times when I'll get something in and I don't love the fit but that's why I really only buy from online stores that offer free returns. Nordstrom is my absolute favorite for that very reason. I don't even have to take an item back to the store if I don't love it. I just mail it back with the pre-paid return label they provide.
Speaking of Nordstrom, they have these GORG riding boots on sale for $149 right now. So in love.
Places like Old Navy and Target give free shipping when you spend $50 or more, which is the perfect excuse to grab these amazing zip up booties that are less than $40. Add some cute navy tights for Fall into your cart and your shipping is FREE.
I was shocked when I first discovered some of these online stores that charge soooooo much less for the same items I was finding in boutiques. But it makes sense. The boutiques are more than likely getting their clothes from the Mart and the Mart is getting their clothes from China. Cut out two middle men and you've got yourself some gooooood deals on clothes!
I've shopped at pretty much all the major Chinese online stores like Choies and Zaful but the only one that I've had a great experience with has been She Inside. The quality of their clothing is great, the shipping is pretty fast (7-10 days), and they even have pretty good customer service. All the sizes I've ordered have been exactly as described, which is great because you do NOT want to try to make a return to one of these companies!
That's probably the only risk. Once you order it, you're stuck with it. But that being said, I still have never gotten anything that I didn't like. So to me it's totally worth the risk to get some amazing deals on clothes.
I'm always on the hunt for a good deal so as I find the good stuff in the great price range, you can be sure I'll keep you in the loop!
Here are a few of my recent favorites (can you tell I have a thing for blue?)
The blue and white stripe top is one size fits most and it's been one of my absolute favorites. Looks so cute paired with white denim. I wore it for the 4th of July and also on our beach trip as a bathing suit cover up.
The white peplum is a structured fit but has a sweet cutout detail around the edges that I love. It's kind of a high low feel, which was hard to see from the stock picture.
The peter pan collar ruffle hem top is my FAV. I ordered an XS which is perfect. It's just the right length to wear untucked with dark or white denim. It also had a really cute tie as the back collar, which I love!
I'm about to order a few more sweaters from She Inside as well. I'm loving the oversized sweater look but they can be really pricey in stores. So these are fitting perfectly into my Fall clothing budget. I linked a few of these in my last post about Fall styles but they're worth another look!
Thanks so much for stopping by and happy (online!) shopping!
Laura
Transitioning to Fall
Hey Friends!
I don't know about you, but I am SO ready for fall. As soon as we got back from the beach, I had to hold myself back from pulling out my pumpkin candles and jumping head first into my favorite season.
Unfortunately, we still have a considerable amount of time to suffer in the heat before we can really commit to the new season so I wanted to share a few ideas to keep in mind as you slooooooowly move into cooler temps.
When you're shopping and you come across long sleeve tops, go for the light weight variety and try to find sleeves that will roll up. I love this top from The Loft and the sweet little button up wrist makes it easy to roll up if it gets too warm for the arms to be covered.
I've been seeing light weight cardigans EVERY WHERE recently and I love the look of a v neck tee, cut off shorts, a cardi, and booties. It's casual yet put together.
I really like the look of the longer kimono style cardi with cut offs... How sweet is this one...
Speaking of booties.... We were, weren't we? Buy all. of. them. You can wear them now with everything. Shorts. Pants, Dresses, Rompers. There's no limit! These are part of the Nordstrom sale and I just think they're the cutest!
If you're not feeling like you are ready for long sleeves and sweaters (even lighter weight), then it's ok to still buy sleeveless this late into the summer. Or even better... go for the three quarter length sleeve like this cutie I got from The Loft.
If you want it to last you through the fall just find tops that don't have flutter sleeves so they can be worn under a denim jacket or (you guessed it) a CARDIGAN! I prefer to layer with sleeveless tops in the Fall since long sleeves can get bunchy and the state of Georgia offers no guarantees on whether or not cooler temps are here to stay when they arrive. Can you say 80 degrees in October? Not ok, Georgia. Not. Ok.
Another thing to keep in mind is color choice. Steer clear of the fluorescent summer hues in favor of warmer color pallets like mustard yellow, cranberry, navy, and my personal favorite, olive green. All the heart eyes for anything olive!
Thanks for stopping by, friends! Do you have any other tips for how you transition your wardrobe from late Summer to Fall? Would love to hear!
Laura