Today was my lucky day...

This afternoon I dropped off a pair of jeans at Nordstrom to be patched and just so happened to see a rack of premium denim on sale (I had no idea that stuff EVER went on sale - YAY!). I peaked over and saw the exact pair of jeans I purchased for FULL PRICE a few weeks ago (the blog post all about it). I asked the sales woman if they did price adjustments and she said "of course". I assumed I had to bring them in with my receipt but she said nope, they could look it up with my card right then. She took my card, swiped it and then suddenly I was credited back quite a large sum, large enough I could have almost bought a second pair - I was thrilled!!!

Thank you Nordstrom for being so amazingly awesome!

Leggings!

Leggings and tights have been on my mind a lot lately, what can I say, Japan sparked quite a fun idea of outfits I could put together. As soon as I got home I took a fresh new look at my closet and I hope to pair some of my "old" items together and even try to be a bit more adventurous. Sometimes I am a bit self conscience about fashion choices but not really sure why that is... I am hoping Japan awoke a new fashion spirit inside me, I feel like it did!

So anyways, leggings were a hot item there. If women weren't wearing leggings it was tights. After the vogue fashion show at BFW I was excited to see an array of leggings and tights that I can purchase in my own town. I aso plan to look online for some unique finds. Speaking of online, as I opened my email this afternoon I saw a glorious email from Bluefly with the subject line "LEGGINGS - Our love affair continues..." (I've attached the email image for you as well). PERFECT, I can start there!

Do you have a favorite place to buy leggings or tights? A saleswoman at Nordstrom the other day admitted to me she buys her tights at Forever 21 for $4.99. I must go and check them out as they are a great place for cheap staple items like belts, tops, bags, etc.

I would love to hear from you all on this one, help a girl out!!

Here are a few other finds for leggings: NY & Co., American Apparel, Victoria's Secret, Newport News, Home Shopping Network, Shop Style, Shop Bop, Target, Nordstrom and Macy's. (I could have gone on for awhile here...)

There is a NEW Nordstrom in Tacoma

Tonight Dawn and I went to the grand opening gala for the new 138,000 sq ft. Nordstrom at the Tacoma Mall, which benefitted the Tacoma Art Museum and Museum of Glass. I can't say I've been to the old one but from what everyone told me, the new one is by far brighter, nicer and carries more lines than they did before.

As we arrived there was a black carpet for guests to have their pictures taken by Team Photogenic along with a line of smiling waiters/waitresses, dressed all in black, with wine and cocktails. (We both had a pomegranate martini which was delicious!)

Kendall gave us a tour of the many new lines and features of this new store (Dawn will talk more about that on her blog). I think I was most excited by the Deborah Lippman Manicure Bar and the Anastasia Brow Bar. While checking it out we got to talk with the Deborah Lippman rep who told us alot about the product. Their products don't carry the toxins like most nail polishes and last longer than most mani/pedi's. I can't wait to get one of their Star Treatment Manicure!

City Catering Company of Seattle created the appetizers that were being passed by attractive men and women dressed in all black. It never seemed to slow down either, which was nice. I tried something new pretty much everytime. (The crab cakes were my favorite, if you're asking...)

There were several bars setup - they even used space wisely by turning a few cash register areas into makeshift bars. DJ Darek Mazzone was spinning tunes on the 2nd level. Live models were modeling fall fashions on level one and two. They were so good they actually did look like mannequins, especially if you didn't know they were real.

Nordstrom employees are by far some of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to what they are selling. We learned so many interesting facts about products and lines. Everyone was friendly and wanted to help us no matter what it was. Thanks Nordstrom, Kendall and the many employees we met for the fun night in T-Town!

Check out the photos from the evening!

There is a New Nordstrom in Tacoma

A NEW Nordstrom is opening up in Tacoma and Dawn and I will be in attendance. (YAY!)

Here is the info if you want to come along too!

Tacoma Art Museum and the Museum of Glass will be the beneficiaries of an elegant evening of food, fun and fashion hosted by Nordstrom to celebrate the opening of its new, relocated store at Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Wash. The event hopes to raise over $100,000 for the participating organizations. Co-chairs for the gala are Joanne Selden, Clemencia Castro-Woolery and Diane Dimmer. Honorary Chair is Melanie Dressel, CEO of Columbia Bank.

WHAT:
Be the first to preview the new Nordstrom, while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, buffets, bars, live entertainment from The Dudley Manlove Quartet, and the opportunity to shop in the new 138,000 square-foot store. Guests can also view fall 2008 fashion presentations including looks for men and women.

WHEN:
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 at 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Nordstrom at Tacoma Mall ~ 4502 South Steele Street, Suite 800 ~ Tacoma, WA 98409

COST:
$75 a person for gala tickets ~ (100% of the proceeds will be donated to the beneficiaries)
To RSVP, please call 253-272-4258 x 4004.

NOTE:
The opening gala for the new Nordstrom at Tacoma Mall will provide several great media opportunities. Please contact Kendall Ault at (206) 373-3031 or (206) 931-5096 if you are interested covering this exciting event.

See you there!

And so it begins....

Tonight Nordstrom kicked off Bellevue Fashion Week with a bang! On the agenda was a shopping preview and a runway show of several high end designer pieces.

Some of my favorite items were the L.A.M.B shoes - they were so pretty. Like little pieces of art on your tootsies... I need them!

We arrived for the 6:30pm VIP reception where we snapped pictures of the bags and shoes displayed for the guests to peruse. The drink of the night was this yummy pink concoction called the Fashionista. The appetizers were being passed by super friendly wait staff - who we found out were not only nice to look at but some were actually models too. (Hi Matthew from TN and Denise who came with her roommate - you guys were so nice to chat with! Thanks for hooking us up so many times with yummy appetizers!)

While sitting and noshing, we met some lovely ladies and chatted with them until it was time to go in for the show at 8pm. I had taken a bunch of images pre-show but the runway show was what I was most anxious about - time to test out the new camera! I'm still learning the new camera so bear with me. I don't claim to be a "photographer" but I try my best to get photos that will let you, the reader, feel like you were there. Check them out here!

Dawn will give you her notes on the highlights of what went down the runway, click on over to her blog and check it out.

Stay tuned as we'll be blogging all weekend and next week on what is happening over on the East side for Bellevue Fashion Week (BFW)!

NYFW Part 4

Oscar De La Renta:


3.1 Phillip Lim:


Calvin Klein:


These are the last of them from Nordstrom. Enjoy!! Maybe next year we can show you videos and images we actually took... Ah, wouldn't that be a dream come true!? ;)

You can find additional videos and coverage at Elle Magazine online.

NYFW Part 3

Marc Jacobs:



Michael Kors:


After watching these two videos, I think they are my favorites sofar! The shoes, the handbags, an adorable tunic top, the gowns at the end - beautiful!!

NYFW Videos Part 2

Halston:


Rodarte:

NY Fashion Week Videos

If you're looking for something fun to watch and you have an unnatural obsession with NY Fashion Week like I do then go here! (Or watch the videos below)

Nordstrom is doing these great videos called the Town Car Confessionals by Jeffrey Kalinsky. If you can't make it to the runway shows this is a fun way to keep up with what you're missing. (Oh how I wish I wasn't missing it either.. Hopefully I'll get there someday for fashion week!)

Peter Som:


Thakoon:


I love it!! More to come tomorrow!

This is an awesome article!

I just ran across this article in the Seattle Times called "Seattle Girls' School students get hands-on lesson in fashion design and marketing". You should read it, it's inspiring!

They also made a video fashion show:


Way to go girls, this is awesome!!

I love a good sale!

As some of you know the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is coming up. I found this fact out when I was bra shopping recently. (This may be TMI for some of you, so, sorry...) I tried on about 18 bras and narrowed it down to 4 (that was not easy!). I wasn't going to buy 4 because for those of you who shop at Nordy's you know those suckers aren't cheap.

I ended up then narrowing it down to 2 and once I did that, my lovely sales girl told me not to worry because one of the ones I was fretting over would be on sale on July 18th. She wrote down all the info and I plan to go buy it! (Natori Lace Bodydouble Style #136001 - it was wonderful but spendy, on sale sounds much better!)

So anyways, the reason for this whole post is that 2 days ago my Nordy's catalog came that has some amazing Fall items in it. I'm not as special as Dawn as she gets a preview and can buy before the general public - something about spending tons of money there with your credit card gets you that privilege. (I had to get rid of my card there when someone stole my identity... that's a whole 'nother story.)

Check out the catalog as there are some amazing new items featured. Apparently we all need a purple purse for fall and red shoes are here to stay!! I love the pink and blue coats... Not real crazy about the mustard color - pale skin only looks paler... not a good look for me.

Oh to be a Nordstrom stylist - what a great job!! I would love to work on their magazines... to bad I have no magazine or stylist experience...

What a Weekend!

This weekend for me was jam packed full of fun and exciting things.

Friday evening included a SIFF film, 'Cherry Blossoms - Hanami', which was EXCELLENT! I loved ever second of it. It's a beautifully made movie (scenery, acting, story, etc...) and it just makes me want to go to Japan EVEN MORE!

By the way, it won the Best Film Golden Space Needle Award for the festival!

Saturday morning was boot camp with Regina and Melissa. Then that afternoon was more SIFF movies: 'Jolene' and then 'Frozen River'. I really enjoyed Jolene. It was an intriguing story about an orphaned girl's journey through life - her journey was very rocky at times. The actress's Jessica Chastain (Jolene) and Frances Fisher (Cindy) were at the screening. Director Dan Ireland was also in attendance and introduced the film (reason why it started late). I wish we could have stayed for the Q&A but with the movie starting late we had to book it to the next theater to see 'Frozen River'. We were about 10 min late to it but thankfully they let us in anyways. Regina loved that movie but I was kinda "Ehhh" about it. I didn't hate it by any means, but I can't say it was my favorite of the festival.

Sunday, Regina and I went for breakfast at Cyclops and then she had to head over to the Cinerama to see Cherry Blossom - Hanami. I wandered around downtown for 2 hours before my haircut at Seven. While wandering, I ended up finding a cute pair of Gladiator sandals at Nordstrom. Then at Macy's I found a dress for me to wear this weekend to my friend Jen's wedding and some cute patent leather sandals/heals to wear with it. I headed over to Seven Salon and had may hair done - just cut this time as there was no time for color, sadly. I had to schedule another appointment to get that taken care of. (I am an impatient person, it killed me to leave w/o it being done, but what can ya do...)

If you haven't ever been to Seven it's quite an experience. They have a DJ spinning and they give you free latte's if you so choose (or water or tea). A haircut is about $75 but they are known for looking at your features and knowing what style of cut and color will work best on you. We didn't actually do this as she didn't really change my hair all that drastically, versus just thinning it out a bit and giving me more layers and thicker bangs. I like it but want to get the color all done before I'll say I love it!

After my haircut, I wandered around some more and called an old friend to catch up. I had a movie to attend at 6pm and didn't see the point in going all the way home via bus to then just turn back around... By 5pm I just couldn't stand being downtown anymore. I hoped on the monorail and headed home. I skipped 'The Whackness' - I'll just see it when it comes out.

Oh, did I mention it was sunny all weekend and beautiful here? We needed that!!

I'm a mean mean girl....

Actually, I'm not really mean (or so I think) but this may be the meanest post I've had on here. It's nothing personal towards this beautiful model, but man, the hair... WHAT THE HELL... It looks like a rats nest on her head. (Yes, I added a rat on her shoulder, thank you photoshop!)

Anyways, what brought me to this image is the cute coat. Love it, it's Marc by Marc Jacobs... Sadly, it's still chilly here in Seattle, so a cute coat still grabs my attention. But really, the hair distracted me so much that this post became about that. Sorry!!

If ugly wore a dress...

If ugly was a person and she chose a dress to wear I think this would be it... OMG this dress is so ugly. To think someone out there could have paid the retail price of $475 for this hideous sheath... Sorry if you own this dress... but if you do, really... what were you thinking? I seriously wanna know what would compel someone to spend that much on this dress. Even on sale it's still not the right price in my opinion. If it was free then maybe... I get that we all have our own personal style and taste but this dress doesn't do anything for the skinny model that's wearing it.

No, not even if it was free...

This would be a great dress to recycle and make something else out of it. Like a purse or something. May I also add that anything that was $475 should NOT be this ugly... It should be a law! Like time should be served if that law is broken... Murders, sex offenders, old lady bashers, people who make dresses like this and charge $475... they should all be behind bars. (ok, not really...)

So, this has been my random rant for the day... Let's end it with a positive... There are some really cute dresses at Nordstroms on sale right now. I know it to be true b/c I saw the email... Like this one, I love this one!!

Dear Santa,

I really don't need anything this Christmas because I tend to buy the things I want right when I want them. However, when forced to make a list for my hubby I came up with a few ideas of things I would like but don't necessarily need.

For this Christmas I would like the following:
1 Yoga membership - 2 months unlimited $99 at Home Yoga. I hurt my back awhile ago and yoga seems to be one of the best ways to make it feel better.

1 cute laptop case from this place: (I like the blue airplane one - it's snazzy and cool!)

The ipod touch - I was able to play with one of these the other day and, boy howdy Santa, it was neat!

I love gift certificates, some of my favorite places to go are: Glee Day Spa, Nordstrom, Etherea Salon, Lucy, Diamond Nails in Queen Anne, The movies, Panera Bread (yum!), Puma (I love their shoes!). I really enjoy having the freedom to buy something when I feel like it.

Cute yet funny shopping bag from About Attitude: I tend to use plastic bags b/c I reuse t hem for my lunches but this bag would make me want to use it. It's so funny I would laugh and laugh and laugh my way to the checkout stand.

Diamond Earrings (studs or something like this) - I ask for these every year, Santa, and they never come. Have I been naughty?

So anyways, Santa, like I said, I don't really need anything. It was just fun making the list. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,
Tarah

Cutie Patoodie Dresses!

I just received my Shopittome Sale Mail and there were tons of cutie patoodie items in it!

I was attracted to this dress: BCBG Max Azria Shadow Bloom Print Dress, Trapeze shaped dress with double scoopneck, 3/4 flutter sleeves and diamond print border. Pulls on over head. However, the Sale Mail says it went from $158 to $56.88 but there is no mention to the sale on Bloomingdales site... I put it in my shopping cart to see if the sale priced would show up and it came up as $94.80... Hmmmm... I liked it better at $56.88 so I held off.

There is another cute dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal Tie Front Chiffon Halter Dress that went from $260.00 to $129.90 ~ not a bad deal at all!! I love the color!

Regina has sparked this whole new interest I have with dresses.. I was never a big fan before but I feel the desire to own more dresses! Thanks Regina!

Off topic - tomorrow is the DIFFA party!!! We'll have pictures posted hopefully the day after - come back and check them out!

Perfect way to start Fall...

Labor Day has come and gone so it seems Fall is approaching... quickly! I received my ShopittoMe Mailer today and there was this lovely satin dress that seems perfect for the first day of Fall, which appears to be Sept 23rd...

French Connection 'Mystify Me' Satin Shift Mini Dress was $158 but is now on Sale for $93.90... 40% off, not bad!

So, how was your Labor Day? We had a 4 day weekend at my day job... It was so nice, I didn't do much other than work on the site, relax, watch some movies and cook. I made the mistake of going to Target yesterday... Hell on Earth - all the kids and parents buying school supplies - what was I thinking?! I had to abandon my cart and carry my items b/c there were so many people pushing their carts, not looking you in the eye and being rude... I couldn't handle it.

By the way, what's up with people pushing carts and not looking you in the eye or making an kind of acknowledgment you even exist? I found myself doing it too... You just wanna push your cart and pretend no one else is there - prob. so when you cut them off you don't feel as bad, you can just pretend "whoops, I didn't see you"... When in reality, you did... That is such a bad behavior, we need to break it, I need to break it!!!

Just got a call from the Bellevue Fashion Week people, looks like we get to cover fashion week - I can not wait!!! Stay tuned!!

Hampton's Style

I have never been to the Hampton's nor do I know anyone who owns a home there or who has partied there... I've always had this wish to be invited to one of Diddy's White Parties - it seems if you get that invite then you've "made" it!!

The weekend Jeff & I was invited to a Hampton's themed party in Clyde Hill, a very she she neighborhood in Bellevue - very nice I must say!!! Jeff and I meticulously went over our clothing choices as we wanted to wear the proper attire for the evening. The invite said "Over-the-top preppy, Seaside Swank , Country Club Chic"

Jeff opted for a pink shirt and tan linen pants. He wore slip on shoes with no socks.
I wore a white sun dress with a pearl necklace and earrings. I threw a pale blue cardigan over my shoulders and wore matching blue Coach slip ons and a matching blue straw handbag... We felt so preppy!!

It was a catered event with wonderful finger foods, a signature cocktail, DJ and photographer. They went all out! We had a great time and I am really glad we could go. I had tickets to Rick Springfield last year and wasn't able to make it... (Shut up, I love Rick!!) ;)

Anyways, as we were touring the house I slipped and almost fell down the stairs. I caught myself with my right arm on the banister and popped one of the straps on my dress... Crap! Then as we were sitting and talking I reached for a glass and popped the other strap... Crap! Then when we left I sat down in the car, reached for something on the dashboard and popped another strap... Crap! Now I just had 1 strap holding my dress on - lovely... Needless to say I returned it to Nordstrom's today, which they very graciously took back. By no means was my dress to tight in the straps, they just had no give and apparently weren't sewn on very well... Bummer, it was a cute dress.