OurBigAdventure

I first visited a Nordstrom Rack (the outlet store for Nordstrom) in Los Angeles in 2006. I was told it would be heaven for a shoe lover like me. I wasn't exactly impressed - the store was a mess and the shoes were strewn all over the ground - sometimes missing one of the pair. I was probably there for 10 minutes and I realized I hated the store. I just don't like digging for shoes!

When I heard Orlando was getting a Nordstrom Rack by the Millenia Mall I started to have those same awful visions. But last night I decided to stop by and see my friend MJ while she was shopping over there. I was quite surprised! The store was very clean, very bright, very ORGANIZED. Not a shoe on the ground! They were all in the correct size area and they had a huge selection. I must have hit the one bad Nordstrom Rack on the wrong side of LA so many years ago.

If you like Paul Mitchell products they had a ton of stuff including the Tea Tree shampoo that my mother in law Patty got for me for Christmas. They also had a lot of Smashbox makeup and some great makeup brushes for great prices. They also had a huge selection of designer jeans, sunglasses and jewelry! I really wasn't in a shopping mood and there wasn't anything I needed at the moment or I would have bought a handful of things.

But my find of the evening was a pair of black heels - perfect for our upcoming Joshua Bell concert in Ft. Lauderdale. They are Me Too shoes - originally $88. Marked down to $39 with an extra 35 percent off and I paid just over $25! I wasn't shopping for black heels but these just happened to catch my eye. They were too cute to let go!





What do you think?

I am a sucker for holiday gift sets. I look forward to two catalogs every November: Sephora and Bloomingdales Beauty. They have the greatest gift sets! I buy several every year and I love them! Last year I got a Bobbi Brown train case - it has two levels and I use it every time I travel. It was well worth the splurge! I think part of my love for gift sets was that my mom used to give me all the ones her clients gave her for Christmas - she never wanted them. They were a treasure chest of fun makeup items!

I buy this one every year - Stila's lip gloss set:


This one is very similar from Tarte and I think I will get it this year, too:


I tend to go through mascara quickly - I don't use it all that often and I sway from waterproof to regular depending on the day's events. I think because I am always using two (three at the moment - I also have a Victoria's Secret navy blue mascara that I LOVE!) they dry out quickly and go bad before I can finish them. All the more reason to love this Sephora set of trial mascaras!


This Laura Mercier trio has been on my wish list for years but I keep buying other moisturizers. If I am not using the always perfect unscented Paula's Choice Slip Into Silk Body Lotion, then I am using a Sephora coffee scented tub, a Bath and Body Works peppermint (on after Christmas clearance last year!) or a THE hotel lotion my friend Beth sold me on. I added this to my Amazon wish list this year, but if I don't get it I have a feeling I will *finally* buy it for myself.


And the fun scented shampoo body lotion combos from Philosophy always rock!






The funny thing is I don't even have the Sephora or Bloomies catalogs yet! I just happened to check out Sephora to see what they had early. And I just missed the 20% off for friends and family last week. Bummer!

Spring 2010 Fashion Week starts Thursday! I am so ready to jump right over all this fall stuff and go right into spring. I am just not ready for tights and boots. Well, I like them. I just don't ever get to wear them here in FL. If I had model legs and lived where it went below 65 I would LOVE to own these Stuart Weitzman OTK (over the knee) boots. I have always loved OTK boots:



Oooh these Prada OTK boots are super hot, too!



These Valentino booties are cute - I could see wearing these when it gets just a tad bit cold here.



But when I got to this page in the latest Vogue I panicked - I am just not ready for fall. Oh I am so hot! Can we bump the AC down a few degrees please?



And what is up with Louboutin charging $2830 for these blue spechio platforms with allover multicolor jewels? $1000 for shoes is expensive enough. I am not paying nearly $3k!






Remember this dress from Abaete I posted this time last year? I love it! Too bad Abaete is not in the lineup for fashion week this time. I noticed they do have a store in NYC so I will have to check it out when I am there! Last year I saw a few dresses at Bergdorf but I decided against them since I rarely wear dresses. I ended up getting a Helmut Lang skirt that I also rarely wear. I am just a jeans and black shirt kind of girl!