2013-05-21

 Before we get started today, my heart is so heavy for all of the families in Oklahoma that were victims of the tornadoes yesterday.



I was at The University of Oklahoma when the tornadoes hit Moore in 1999 (just 10 miles down the road), and the devastation was beyond comprehension.

And preliminary reports say that the storms yesterday were 3x as strong.

The families of the elementary school children are in need of all of our prayers.

If
you would like to help the Salvation Army of Central OK, you can text
GIVE to 80888 for a $10 donation or send your checks to the Salvation
Army Central Oklahoma Area Command, P.O. Box 2095, Oklahoma City, OK
73101.

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Now, on to regularly scheduled programming.

First, the story.

It his highs, it has lows.....it really has it all.

You'll laugh, you'll cry.....well, you get the point.

So I know all of you know Shay.

Shay is the one who actually encouraged me to start this blog while we were at the pool with our kids last summer.

She is also the one who links to me constantly, tweets my links,

and is one of my biggest blog cheerleaders.

I am sooooo very grateful for all of her support, comments (she typically is always the first to comment on my blog by about 5:30 a.m.), tweets, links, and love!

I wanted to do something big for her to show my appreciation.

So, I decided to buy her THIS pair of Hunter boots as a THANK YOU!


A couple of weeks ago she had casually mentioned to me how much she LOVED

them after seeing them on my blog.

She had fallen in love with the lavendar color and couldn't get them out of her head.

I had the idea that it would be SO FUN to get them for her!

So, I did.

And I was so so SO excited about giving them to her!
Like strangely excited probably.

We made lunch plans, and I woke up that morning just absolutely giddy.

There was a chance of rain that day, so I of course took my cue to slip mine on too! ;)
(I have only had mine 2 weeks, and I've already worn them 3 times!
I went back and forth for years if I should spend the money, and I'm so glad I finally did!
Totally worth the investment.)



boots HERE, military jacket HERE
Y'ALL!  HUGE news!
My exact military jacket went 40% off just last night!
So, it's now under $50, which is an astounding deal for a year round jacket that you will get soooo many miles out of.  Just ask my friends and co-workers, I am wearing it constantly.
You will be SO happy to have this jacket in your closet.  Plain and simple.
All sizes are available right now....but I am imagining they will sell out fast, so don't hesitate!
I love my green one so much that I'm going to get the khaki one too!  SO excited!!!!
For a size reference, my jacket is a SMALL.
Click HERE for both the green and the khaki jackets.
I know that some of you were waiting to pull the trigger on this jacket, now is the time!
(If you were friends with Shay, she would tell you that this justifies you buying both.  Right Erika?)  :)

Anyway, we were meeting at 11:00, and I kept watching the clock with excitement.

Right at about 10:00 I got a text from her.

Sit down people.

She was telling me that she had just ordered the Hunter boots off of my blog.

SAY WHAT?

SHUT UP.

I. Know.

I almost died.

I had told her I was bringing her a surprise at lunch, but she had not idea what it was.

When I got out of my car, she saw the big wrapped box, broke out into a huge smile and happily said "What is that?"

Then, it hit her.

She saw the size and the shape of the box (and the look on my face), and then she said with disbelief, "WHAT? IS? THAT?"

I'll tell you what it was Shay.  It was a box full of broken dreams.

Ha!

Still, I gotta say, they looked super cute on her and she was THRILLED to get them!

(She was able to cancel her order.  Whew.)

Here we are after lunch!  :)

This pic makes me happy!

Click HERE for the boots.

Good story, right?

We could not believe that she ordered them about an hour before I was set to give them to her.

What are the odds?!?

THANK YOU SHAY FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!

MAY YOU THINK OF ME EACH AND EVERY TIME

THERE IS EVEN A CHANCE OF SPRINKLES!

;)

(Cause let's be honest...if there is even a chance of sprinkles....we will both be wearing them.)

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Okay......now for a play by play of my trip to Nordstrom!

Anyway, I met Shay and Alli at the mall on Friday with all of the kids!

Shopping and Tin Star for lunch?  Yes, please!

I thought I would share part of the day with you....

Here I am getting ready to leave for the mall:

Neon Shirt:  GAP, sold out

Cut-offs:  GAP, click HERE

I wore these shorts 3 days in a row this past weekend.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

What?

You don't do that.

Yeah, neither do I.  I was just kidding.

TOMS:  Nordstrom, HERE

(a Nordstrom exclusive that will eventually be phased out)

And remember to get THESE to go with your TOMS.

Sequin Crossbody bag:  Target, click HERE

This is my first crossbody bag, and I can't even tell you how much I love it.

I wanted to get a very inexpensive one because I didn't know how much I would like it.

Well, I am now a believer in the crossbody.

And don't you just LOVE the little brass discs?

It was soooo convenient and freeing!  Especially at the mall!

(fyi:  I've been to several other Targets since buying this one, and they no longer seem to be in the stores.  I guess they are only left online, unless you get lucky and find one that has been returned.)

First I hit up the jewelry counter and tried on this Kendra Scott necklace.

Kendra Scott is SO in right now!  I first saw her jewelry on Melanie (Big Mama) when I got to

meet her at dotMom. Click HERE to see her in her Kendra Scott necklace and earrings.  After seeing it on Melanie, I started seeing it everywhere. (I must have been living under a rock before.)

Celebrities love her stuff, and you can always spot it on t.v.

THIS necklace comes in 9 different colors.

I also LOVE THESE Kendra Scott earrings.

Oh, and THESE.

And THESE.

Yeah, I pretty much adore everything she makes.

Then I headed to the purses.

I am loving my first crossbody so much, I wanted to look at others!

I found TONS of cute ones, but THIS one was my absolute favorite.

It's fabulous, right?  It's out of my price range, but I love it.

If any of you feel like you need to convince me that I NEED this bag, please feel free.

Or, if any of you would like to coordinate a bake sale to raise the funds for me to order this purse, again - feel free.

I also found a couple of big bags I liked.

I featured THIS one last week and was so excited to get to see it in person!

Click HERE.

It's a fun and bright tribal pattern.  I like the black the best.

And then I saw THIS one.

Be Still My Heart.

Y'all.

I really really really love this bag.

Chevron?  Yes, please.

Red?  Um, yes.

Kate really knows how to speak my love language.

And just when I thought the above was as good as it could get, I saw THIS one.

This one is 1/2 the price of the Kate Spade.

It's a totally different type of bag, but I'm thinking I love it just as much.

It screams "SUMMER!"

I think the shape is so interesting, and I LOVE the leather handle, the natural canvas background, and the unique coral and pink design.

Yeah.  I am totally digging this bag.

Do you people love it as much as I do?

And let's be honest, I also love that it is under $100.

Click HERE.

If you are on the hunt for a great bag, but none of the above ones caught your eye...
click HERE and type in "Michael Kors bag sale" in the search bar.

You won't believe the bags that are on sale...most up to 40% off.

The Hamilton Large Canvas tote is GORGEOUS.

Okay, enough of my bag obsession.

I  randomly tried on THIS swimsuit cover up.  It is pricey, but I loved it.
SCRATCH THAT!
IT JUST WENT 40% OFF TOO!!!!!!

It is like really thin swimsuit material, and it had a really cool open back.

I have on the medium/large in the pic, but I would have preferred a small/medium.

Click HERE.

I also made a point to find 2 shirts that I had seen online and thought would be great staples for everybody's closets.  I wanted to see if I still thought so after trying them on.
THIS one is knit and oh so cute.

It comes in 16 colors and has lots of great reviews.

I used to shy away from pockets on the boobs, but for some reason I don't mind them anymore.

And in case you haven't been able to tell, I am SUPER in to button-ups right now.

I've purchased 3 this year, and I wear them all the time.

I really like that this one is knit and that it has 3/4 sleeves that button up.

I think it looks great with shorts, but I also imagine it with white skinny jeans and some great sandals for a totally pulled together look.

It's under $50, which I think is a GREAT price for a piece that will be a staple in your wardrobe.

(In fact, this is one of those shirts that I can see me buying 2 of.  Do you guys do that?  If I really REALLY like something, I do not even hesitate to buy it in 2 colors.)

Click HERE.

THIS one is silk and very nice.

Great reviews and 17 different colors.

Also great with white skinnies and nice sandals.

And it's nice enough to wear with suit pants and heels.

And...I FOUND ANOTHER OATMEAL LINEN BLAZER!

A handful of you had e-mailed or left a comment saying you thought my blazer (found HERE) was going to be a little short on you.  Most of you talked about having long torsos.

This is NOT a problem that I have.

And I gotta tell you, I don't feel sorry for you long torso people. ;)

Well, I found THIS one!

It's the same great oatmeal color, and it's still a nice slim fit, but it's longer.

I really really liked it.

And last, but certainly not least, I found met Brayden.
Brayden is Tiara's cousin (Tiara is the famous wedge)

THIS is Brayden.

Brayden is JUST AS COMFORTABLE and SASSY as Tiara.

However, Brayden is braided leather and has an open back, and I think has a more casual feel.

Brayden is so new that there aren't yet any reviews, but I'm going to let Tiara vouch for Brayden.
Brayden is totally legit.

Two things about these 2 wedges:

1)

I know SEVERAL of you were having trouble with your order of the Tiara wedge.  Some were told they were on backorder, and some were never received.  Now, I'm not sure about this, but I think there must have been a glitch in the system somehow.

One of my friends said she received an e-mail saying her putty pair were on backorder for another month.  However, she went on and ordered a 2nd pair because they were no longer showing as backordered on the site, and the most recent pair she ordered has already shipped out.

I also had a reader e-mail me that she called Nordstrom saying she had never received hers, and they immediately shipped a pair out.

So...if you have a pair that are on backorder...I don't think a call would hurt.

2)

For the life of me, I cannot decide if I want the blue or the brown Brayden.

I now only have 1 color (putty) of the Tiara, so I feel totally justified getting the Brayden too.

(At one time I had the yellow too, but every time I put the yellow on, I ended up changing them out and wearing the putty.  So I took the yellow back.)

Anyway, brown or blue?

What do you think?

Click HERE for Brayden (the new kid on the block).

Click HERE for Tiara (the originals).

A giveaway was added to my post from yesterday late in the day.

Click HERE to enter for this necklace.

Also, before I go....I want to say "hello!" to Kristi!

I met another reader (again, she was sweet and darling of course!) named Kristi while at Nordstrom on Friday!
Kristi got a picture of us with her phone, but I forgot to get one with my camera (bad blogger).  Kristi, e-mail the pic and I will post it!
I just love meeting all of you girls that are sweet enough to say something to me when you see me.
It totally makes my day.

you can follow me on facebook HERE

you can follow me on Pinterest HERE

you can find me on twitter at @simsslp

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