Manis and Donuts Birthday Party & My Latest Sample Sale Haul!

Last year Ella didn't have a birthday party so this year she insisted on having one. She's been asking for a manicure since I started doing my nails but I told her she had to stop biting her nails first...but that never happened. When she told me that she really wanted a mani for her birthday it came to me in a flash. Party at the nail salon! I chose one with a Dunkin Donuts next door so it was an easy, out of the house party.

She insisted on sharing her birthday look. At this point she styles herself so I can't take any credit. I dug this Gymboree birthday shirt out of the basement for her - I think we have one in every size LOL. Every few months we go shopping in the basement. Most of my kids clothing was purchased before they were even born.

From head to toe:

• Earrings: 14k gold screwback earrings, $25 (My friend used to sell from her house but she's out of business.)
• Necklace: $10 (also from my friend)
• Shirt: Gymboree, $2.99 (From their Red Balloon Sale, although I probably had a 20% off coupon. I used to hoard cheap Gymbo - I still have NWT stockpiles in my basement.)
• Sweatshirt: Gap, thrift store, $3
• Ring: part of a set of midi rings, Nordstrom Rack, $3 for the whole set
• Skirt: Disney Store, thrift store, $3
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, Nordstrom Rack, $30 (she borrows a lot of my smaller designer bags)
• Tights: thrift store, $1
• Socks: Target, $1
• Sneakers: Sketchers light ups, thrift store, $4

I also hit the Ohne Titel sample sale last week. They closed their showroom and it's unclear if they were going out of business or just moving. I wanted to go first day but my younger daughter was home sick all week. Finally on Friday she went back to school so I ran in to see what was left because I was literally having nightmares that I missed it. I can't tell you how sick I am about missing all the $2000 outerwear that sold for $50 on the first day, or the $15 runway shoes, but what can you do?

I carefully sifted through everything left and came out with some great pieces. All dresses were $40 so I chose this stretch-knit colorblock fringe dress, retail $1085. Knits are tricky for me but I think I can make this work.

I wasn't sure about this skirt because white across my butt isn't the most flattering on me but when I found this top - I needed it. The top is the Intarsia caped halter (retail $275, skirt retailed for $325) and I can't wait to share mod pics of this outfit. Each piece was just $30. Pretty sure I'll be sporting this ensemble next fashion week.

This dress was a runway sample so it's a midi on me, but I love the length. It has a stain in the front but for $40 I wasn't leaving it. Retailed for $610.

This runway belt was $15 - although they charged me $10 less when ringing me up so I think of it as a $5 belt. Looks cute over the dress. 

Remember when I said I won three giveaways on Facebook? This 14K moonstone Melissa Tyson Designs ring is selling in her Etsy shop for $399! Woohoo!

Don't forget that Clear the Rack at Nordstrom Rack starts tomorrow! I think it's the first time they've started on a Wednesday. More bad news - I hear after this CTR they won't be doing any more price adjustments so no more shopping ahead :(

So glad that sample sale season is starting up! Fingers crossed for good stuff ahead. Which sale are you looking forward to?

XO
Shoppinggal

NYC, the George Washington Bridge & Another Nail Fail.

So I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. On Sunday, I decided to give acrylics another go and headed back to the nail salon in Washington Heights. This time I had my secret weapon in tow - my girl, W who speaks Spanish fluently. Unfortunately, once again, W's favorite nail technician had the day off so we went with the owner...which didn't work out so well either. 

I don't think my manicure is terrible but there were a combo of issues that did not go my way. First off, I asked for pointed nails and she shaped them super crooked and fang like. We realized she didn't know how to shape a pointed short nail so W recommended square, which is what she does. Looks great on her but not so much on my short, stumpy, old-lady hands LOL. And some of them are still crooked despite the square which we figured there was no way she could screw up. But she did. THEN, they didn't have the color I wanted. I wanted a color like Essie Ballet Slippers in gel - and they didn't have it. I tried this yellowish sheer color topped with a pink sheer with iridescent glitter to neutralize the yellow. Didn't work.

They actually don't look so bad in this pic but that's only because they are a little blown out from the camera focusing on the red gloves.

Here are W's nails. I think they are much better than mine. I told her next time we are only going to her girl - and if they don't work out I'm throwing in the hat.

I'm not wearing any makeup because I thought I was only going to shoot our nails. But as we were wondering the streets I spotted this fun mailbox and got inspired. Looking forward to putting away this coat already. As anxious as I am for warmer weather, I have not a clue what my vision for Spring is yet. I have to play around in my closet a little this week.

My #OOTD from head to toe:

• Hat: H&M, $1
• Sunglasses: Century 21, free with rewards (but they were selling them for $60)
• Coat: H&M, $24
• Dress: H&M, $15
• Gloves: Carolina Amato, sample sale, $15
• Bag: Balenciaga Velo, Nordstrom Rack
• Key Chain: Adrienne Landu, fashion presentation swag, free :)
• Jeans: Chip Foster, Nordstrom Rack, $19.98
• Sneakers: Converse, Nordstrom Rack, $7.50

You can shop my look here:

And then I saw the George Washington Bridge and knew what we needed to do. I told W that we were going to walk home to NJ. So we did.

But first I jumped on a ledge and we took a few more pics LOL.

I've always wanted to walk across the bridge and it was sunset so it was the prefect time. The light wasn't the best for pictures but it was beautiful IRL.

Don't worry - we crossed just as it turned dark and when we got to Fort Lee we got a ride the rest of the way.

Today I snapped another pic of my mani and the more I look at it the more it drives me nuts. I've since gone over it with a coat of Ballet Slippers...which kinda defeats the purpose of getting gel in the first place, but what can you do? At least my A.V. Max druzy ring looks pretty. BTW, I've extended the $50 giftcard giveaway for a few more days so it's not too late to enter!

And last but not least I've decided to give Pinterest a try so I joined in with a bunch of bloggers for a Macbook Air + Kate Spade giveaway there! You can enter in the Gleam widget below - good luck!

XO
Shoppinggal

Macbook Air + Kate Spade Pinterest Giveaway

Fashion Week and Hooker Nails.

This year is my first real New York Fashion Week. I say that because this year I have tickets with my name on it - not pass alongs liked I've had in years past. I contacted everyone and their mother to score tickets to this season's shows and presentations.

A little while back I reached out to the adorable Kim of Fashionably Petite who always manages to attend the coolest NYC events. She invited me to the Thrive Causemetics blogger brunch previewing their new makeup collection this past Wednesday and I happily accepted. Thrive Causemetics is Beauty with a Purpose: For every product purchased, one is donated to a woman going through cancer treatment. My sister in law's sister, Rochelle Schoretz, passed away last year from breast cancer at just 42 - she was diagnosed at 28 and went on to found Sharsheret, a Jewish non-profit organization supporting breast cancer survivors. I've written about the amazing Rochie before and you can read more about her here and here. My sister in law, Dr. Dalia Shoretz Nagel, has recently been appointed the President of Sharsheret's board, and so I naturally gravitate to any cancer causes.

As a serial nail biter I decided to try acrylic tips with gel polish for fashion week. I should also mention that I've had maybe a dozen professional manicures total in my lifetime so this was a huge deal for me. My super talented friend Wanda (check out her cake decorating Insta, Cakes by Charnelle) always has the most amazing nails so I tried to go to her girl in the City who was of course out that day. Wanda assured me that they were all good and I would be fine. I was told it would take about 45 minutes so I arrived at the salon after 10 (I had to be by 29th street at noon) and none of the nail people were there yet and nobody spoke English. My high school Spanish doesn't include any nail lingo so I was in trouble. After a few rounds of Google translate, and almost an hour, the one person who spoke English came in to do my nails. I probably should have left but I REALLY wanted my nails done.

All my inspo pictures I had saved were on my iPad which was of course at home so I pulled out my phone and scrolled thru pics of nail art on Instagram. I wanted something more neutral, not too long but pointed, and a small detail on an accent finger. Which is of course was not what I ended up with.

I hesitated on the length which was mistake number one. I wanted them shorter (to look more natural) but the nail technician assured me I would love them longer. Some of them look a little crooked but only one was really bad so I insisted she fix it. But then she forgot to shape it so it's rounded while the rest are kinda pointy. Truthfully only my pinkies are as pointed as I wanted. Gel polishes don't have clear bottles so you have to look at a tiny dot to get an idea of what's inside. I didn't see anything neutral so on a whim I decided to try a mood changing polish because Wanda had hers done in blue and it's so cute. She couldn't find the colors I wanted so I pointed to a red that changed to a light pink. Then she pulled out a coral-y pink and insisted it was the same color (so not) but I thought it could be cute. They change colors and sometimes they're the prettiest ombre. I asked for a simple accent but she forgot about it and I was in a rush because it took much longer than I thought so I made the mistake of letting it go.

I was excited to do my nails because I was told that it would last a month and for $35 it sounded like a really good deal. Now I have to look at my wonky hooker nails for the next 20 something days. And then it seems I only have one mood which I'm gonna guess is stressed or angry because they are almost always the dark pink color LOL. This time of year is a bad time to a mood changing polish because my hands are almost always cold and it seems that you need to have warm hands for them to get lighter and achieve that ombre look that I wanted. I wish I could have them fixed but they're not terrible so I can manage. And I'm not walking in that place again without Wanda LOL.

A cold subway nailfie.

So me and my crazy nails arrived at my event an hour late. Luckily they hadn't yet finished their presentation so I snuck in and arrived in time to swatch a few cosmetics, grab a swag bag and a drink. Thrive also had a fashion show that night that I was invited to but I had already volunteered for homework club at my kids school so I had to race back to NJ to help 40+ elementary school kids with their homework.

I must say that even thou the day didn't go all that smoothly, I did have a pretty good hair day. Because I was in a rush there wasn't much time to shoot my outfit. Here are a few snaps from the day :)

#OOTD from head to toe:

• Dress: Tracy Reese, Nordstrom Rack, $29.90 (retail $385)
• Shirt: Halftee, eBay, $10
• Tights: Spanx, Burlington Coat Factory, $13
• Bracelets: Dannijo, sample sale, $25 each (retail $480)
• Boots: Sergio Rossi Rockstar boots, sample sale, $25 (retail $1,260!)

I'm linking these pieces and similar pieces for you to shop :)

Last but not least I know you want to see the swag! They only had phone cases for iPhone 6 and 6+ (I have neither) so I grabbed the 6+ just in case I ever get one. I'm clearly the last blogger without an iPhone LOL. I'm excited to try their lashes (retail $26) and glue ($16) after being assured they won't irritate my sensitive eyes. And of course right after I spring for my Anastasia eye pencil I'm gifted with these - took one of each color ($23 each) so I can test what works better for me. There was also a pretty navy liner ($22) which is already in my beauty bag.

And that was day one. I'll be blogging about my fashion week adventures day by day. You can follow me on Insta, Facebook or Twitter for real-time updates :)

PS - It's not too late to enter my latest blog giveaways! Check out my Nordstrom $500 gift card giveaway and Louis Vuitton Speedy 30, a pair of Fendi sunglasses, and a gold iPad mini giveaway! 

XOXO
Shoppinggal