Budgets Suck. My sideline review of the 2010 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

We have a bunch of financial changes and big expensive things going on in life at the moment - job change, moving, the kids (just in general). These things that have caused us to have to seriously implement the B word: Budget. What does that mean? That means that I'm going to be sitting out the 2010 Nordstrom Anniversary sale. 

Unfortunately Nordies doesn't realize this, and they are still sending me catalogs and emails with all the things that I'm longing to purchase now, but not be able to wear until San Diego see's fall weather sometime in November/December. Hey, it literally JUST became summer here THIS WEEK. 

But I hate to miss a good party. So right now I'm playing the "if-I-had-a-Nodies-card-that-I-never-had-to-pay-off" game and I'm going to share with you my top picks of the sale that I will be staying as far away as possible from.

 SHOES:

 

Boots. Booties. Heels. And that Puma ballet flat sneaker.. because you always need a pair of shoes to walk around Disneyland in.

JACKETS

Trouvé Studded Leather Motorcycle Jacket
Sale $198.90
After Sale: $298.00

 I love this motorcycle jacket. Grey leather goes with everything and is a great alternative to black or brown.

LUST.

Halogen® Crop Collarless Jacket
Sale $98.90
After Sale: $148.00

Since it doesn't even get chilly in San Diego until October, this 3/4 length sleeve is perfect to put a little fall in your outfit even if it's 80 degrees out

flounce tbd Sequin Jacket
Sale $89.90
After Sale: $138.00

This is definitely a Rachel Zoe / Whitney Port look... but I kinda think it's hot.

SHIRTS AND PANTS

Bellatrix Printed Silk Chiffon Tunic
Sale $58.90
After Sale: $88.00

They keep pushing floral down our throats, so before I know it, I will break down and get some floral pieces. I love tunics with skinny jeans and boots.

Seventy Two Changes Boxy Tee
Sale $79.90
After Sale: $128.00

This looks like a top I would live in. I love things that are flowy but not all that long. 

Paige Premium Denim 'Verdugo' Stretch Denim Leggings (Tranquil Wash)
Sale $109.90
After Sale: $168.00

There is a special place in my heart reserved just for Paige Denim. "Jeggings" are another thing I think we are all just going to have to break down and buy this year. I know, you've been fighting it. Morally opposed to it, but I think this is the year we will all break. Not to mention it will be nice to just be able to stick your jean in your boot without all the folding and sticking them in socks and then ending up with that painful skin wrinkle where your boot pushed the pegged jean leg into your ankle for the past 4 hours. Yea - that guy knows what I'm talking about...

MISC.

Michael Kors 'Jet Set Iconic' Chronograph Watch
Sale $166.90
After Sale: $250.00

I've been lusting over a big gold Michael Kors watch for 2 years now. They are $$ though - even on sale. I mean, pricey for a fashion watch.

Nordstrom Textured Hoop Earrings
Sale $16.90
After Sale: $26.00

Earring staple. I wear gold hoops daily.

M·A·C 'Apply, Line & Define' Eye Brushes (Set of 5) (Nordstrom Exclusive) ($125 Value)
$49.50

If you don't have a good set of brushes, this sale is the best time to invest in some. The price is right and you will use them for years.

Well, now that I have the retail itch, I'm going to go cry in my Cheerios about not being able to buy it ALL. But hey, I need a dining room set. As Jason pointed out, we can't eat Thanksgiving dinner on a pair of boots. 

Happy Shopping!

Walking in Heels

When you talk to people about working from home, normally their eyes glaze over and they get this blissful expression and say something along the lines of "Oh, how nice to not have to get dressed everyday..." To which I normally reply, "Yea, but I miss shoes."

Seriously. I have missed shoes.

Even if you are one of those Type AA++ people who gets dressed to sit in your home office to work, I bet you still are not wearing shoes. At the very most I have on slippers in the winter, but besides that I slip on flip flops, running shoes or ballet flats before running out the door to do a lunch time errand. I would go to Nordstrom and stare at all the pretty shoes and dream about having a place to wear them {more than once}. High heel boots, bright wedges, a coveted pair of Christian Louboutin Simple Pumps, I could only dream! I mean really. I'm no Posh Spice traipsing around soccer fields in 5 inch stilettos.  

At my last office job I wore heels almost daily. I loved my heels. Kittens, pumps, wedges, I dressed my feet up. A nice pair of pointed pumps immediately turns jeans and sweater into a "work outfit". I always felt more put-together, taller and skinnier. Also, and while this sounds a bit odd in retrospect, ballet flats were not en Vogue in 2005. The Tory Burch "Reva Revolution" (Her signature ballet flat that launched that style shoe into a wardrobe must have) didn't hit until late 2006/early 2007. Which means flats were not even in my work ensemble vocabulary the last time I was office-bound.

Last week I started a new contract with a new PR agency, a contract that actually is IN an office. For the first time in four years I'm working out of the house on a regular basis. Luckily, the office I'm working in is a super cool and creative environment with a definite "San Diego Business" dress code, so clothes to wear to work are not really an issue (well, not any more of an issue than normal). It's exciting. The office is in one of the more "urban" parts of town; walking into the office, away from the kids and the house, has been a nice addition to my mainly suburban life. I get a little rush from the little walk from my car to the office and if I close my eyes and happen to pass a homeless person who smells like urine, I can pretend that I'm a big NYCity girl for 2 minutes. I worried that I would have a problem going back to an office, but in reality, the only thing I need to adjust to is walking in heels again.

Swamped

It's been one of those weeks. One of those weeks where you wake up and scream "TGIF!" and then stop and go "Wait, what? Friday. How'd that happen?"

Changes are afoot and time is a precious commodity this week. Next week I actually have a week off. My week of summer. So, hey Mother Nature, if you are reading this, PLEASE give us a little coastal sun?

But since I know you are dying to hear about our day at the fair, I'm going to point you over to the GM The Future is Electric blog to read all about the fried food and fast cars.

With that, I will leave you with the cutest thing since mini-pigs in red boots; 2 year old girls in ballet class!!!

Giveaway! Tickets to the San Diego Fair from Chevy Ride & Drive

Confession. When they came to pick-up the Traverse this week I *may* have cried a little bit. I know the kids did, and continue to, every time we get in one of our non-dvd enabled cars...thankfully, we may have a chance to reconnect this weekend at the San Diego Fair at the Chevy Ride and Drive Event.

I KNOW. I see you sitting there, green with jealousy over all my Chevy-loving of late. But don't worry - this time I get to share my Chevy love, with a lucky San Diego Family!

Thanks to Chevy, I have a awesome giveaway: a San Diego “Fair Care Package,” for THIS WEEKEND (June 18-20, 2010).

Chevy's Fair Care Package comes complete with free admission tickets, ride tickets, and other swag to help you enjoy a day at the fair. Additionally, you'll have the chance to test drive Chevy's line-up of cars and they will even schedule a time for that ride & drive so you don’t have to wait in line.

To enter, in the Comments section, tell me about the ONE food item you are dying to try at the 2010 SD Fair. The winner will be chosen at random tomorrow at 4:00 PM. 

Re-Tweet this promotion for extra chances to win!

"@HipmamaB and #Chevy Ride & Drive have FREE tix to the SD Fair THIS WEEKEND! Enter by 4 PM 6/17 to win!"

Think about it, free tickets to San Diego Fair, Chevy cars and a Deep Fried Stick of Butter... who can think of a better way to spend a day this weekend?

*Contest is closed*

CONGRATS to SUE for winning! Enjoy the fair, the food and your Chevy Ride and Drive!

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Everything's Better With Bacon

A few weeks ago I got a Facebook message from my friend Heather that read: "Save the Date - BACON PARTY". Oh my. Email spam marketers can learn from this - if you want people to open your emails, forget about subject lines like "Get a bigger penis" or "Free Money from Nigeria"; just go with BACON PARTY and I'm sure you will have a 100% open-rate. The only thing better than bacon is a party celebrating this glorious meat.

The plan was simple enough - every couple/family attending the party was asked to bring a bacon dish and it didn't matter if it was an app, main dish, side dish, dessert or beverage as long as it featured bacon. Naturally, my bacon-senses starting tingling. I could bring a dip, but was I up for a real challenge? I put the feelers out to the Twitterverse: "what should I bring to a BACON PARTY"... the answers flooded in, but the one that immediately caught my attention was the combination of two of my favorite words: Bacon + Cupcakes. GAH. The thought alone almost made me fall out of my seat.

So I set out to embark upon this mission... the mission to merge the perfect crispy saltiness of bacon with the sweet decadence of a cupcake...

The recipe Maple Bacon Cupcakes came from Bacon Today (yeah, I know), and in actuality is pretty straight forward. When you think about it, the flavor isn't all that strange. Think Sunday brunch with pancakes, bacon and syrup all piled high, cut up and eaten in one bite. After I made the cake part, I felt they were almost a little bland. The recipe did note that the frosting was extra sweet - but I would add more sugar to the batter if I made these again. Trying to think of something to really pump up these bad boys, I started thinking about an interesting topping. In the pictures on Bacon Today, they showed the cupcakes topped with a piece of bacon, but since I was worried they were not sweet enough, I wanted a candy topper. That's where the Bacon Toffee came in...

Before Saturday, I had never candied anything before, but it was actually fairly simple. The end result? Simply AMAZING. Honestly, if you ever make bacon flavored anything in the future, make this. The taste is simply mind numbing. Some may say it's the ultimate in "umami", but I just say OHMYYUM.

One of the best parts of the party was how excited all of the guests were about it. Everyone outdid themselves with thoughtful presentations and creative ideas. From Bacon Vodka to be used in an "Oinker Shooter" (oyster shooter) to bacon wrapped pork bites (bacon ON bacon!), everything was really delicious. Our only disappointment was that no one attempted BACON EXPLOSION. Oh well, there is always a next time.