My Little Nina Kids Shoes Model.

Last week Ava got some exciting news - she was called in to apply to be a Nina Kids Shoes fit model. I'm sure you could imagine how insanely jealous Ella was so I took both girls with me to their NYC showroom. To be a child fit model you need to be a size 13. Ava measured in a smidge short but the technician liked her foot shape and took her anyway. The good news is that we probably have another 4-6 months for her to model so I foresee a lot of Nina Shoes in our near future :)

After measuring her foot they proceeded to try on all the samples for Spring/Summer 2017. It was market week so the showroom was abuzz with buyers checking out the new collection. They asked that I not photograph the new styles so instead we tried on these amazing Nanon crystallized kicks and the Carmyn studded boots from the upcoming Fall collection which will be available shortly. Wish they made them in adult sizes too.

My mission was to look for flower girl shoes for my brother's wedding. Initially the bride wanted to buy the girls Sophia Webster butterfly shoes which are $260 a pop. I spotted these blinged out Zelia online and we had to try them on. All the samples were size 13 with exception of these - which happened to be a size 2...Ella's size! She was so happy to finally try something on. It was a perfect fit. Just like Cinderella :)

I'm linking up some of the special occasion shoes we admired. The Zelia comes in a flat version but only in baby sizes. I'm not a huge fan of heels for little girls but these are very tasteful and sophisticated.

Unfortunately my brother just changed his mind again and decided there would be no children at the wedding. So not only will my girls no longer be flower girls, they can't attend the wedding at all. Not even for just the ceremony. Only infants and children over 12 are invited. My kids are now 7, 9 & 11. While I get that it's his wedding and he can do as he pleases, we're all a little hurt and disappointed right now. At my wedding we had dozens of flower girls of all ages in little pink dresses, and all of our family was invited to walk down our isle. Being that my husband and I are both one of seven children, we probably had a good 50 people in our wedding party LOL.

We were probably there for about two hours total and as you can see in all the pictures, they plied them with tons of candy LOL. My girls were in heaven. Towards the end, my husband met up with us to drop off my son (who was Pokemon hunting uptown) so he could head to a meeting. We asked if we could take a few drinks for the road, and off we went on the rest of our adventure.

We were right by Union Square so after a quick stop at the playground I had to hit Nordstrom Rack. Key words being 'had to' :)

Akiva's clothing is mostly hand-me-downs but I did get his shorts for $1 at Nordstrom Rack and his Adidas slides for $3 at Century 21 last year. The girls were both wearing thrifted Lilly Pulitzer dresses that I picked up for about $4-5 each. Nothing says summer like Lilly Pulitzer. Ella's Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC and yellow Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet were also Rack finds - pretty sure both pieces together cost less than $50. It's a actually Ava's furry key chain on there (gift from SIL) and she wasn't too happy about lending it to Ella LOL. Ella's silver Toms were thrifted for $4 and I had to spend a whole $15 on Ava's Crocs at Marshalls. Ella destroyed all the C'rocs in Ava's size so there was nothing to hand down.

I'm linking up the girls looks - I love seeing them in bright cheerful colors and lots of pink!

Then we took the Subway uptown - we had parked for the day near my old apartment on Central Park West. I used to joke that I had the world's biggest front yard. We magically got a parking spot right in front of the subway (crazy!) so we crossed the street and headed into the park for a few minutes to take a walk down memory lane. All three of my kids were born in the City. My son's English name is Parker, as we lived on Central Park. If I had another boy I probably would have named him Hudson LOL.

And because I'm a glutton for punishment, I packed the kids in the car and sped to NJ to hit the monthly Lego Mini Build at the Lego Store. Every month they have a free mini build (at all locations) where they give you a mini kit to build and keep for free. You have to go online and sign up at 9am EST on the 15th for the following first Tuesday or Wednesday of the month - and some stores fill up pretty quickly. You know me and free stuff LOL. This month it was appropriately a apple with a worm. I'm so not ready for back to school. I've been slacking dropping some forms off at their school and I still have to get their supplies. Ugh.

And then I picked up my nephew's glasses at the other mall (he got hit in the face with a baseball that day and broke his other new pair, just 3 days after he got them), grabbed my nephew and went to the pool, and then took the kids to a BBQ for dinner. For some reason everything always happens when my husband is working LOL. As a professor he only works a few days a week but for some reason those days are always whoppers for me. I always end up with a bleeding kid in the emergency room when he's at work - or just left for work.

I'd say I'm hoping for an uneventful week but that's not true. There are a few sample sales worth mentioning this week. Tamara Mellon and Lulu Frost will be having a joint sale starting tomorrow (8/9/16) at 150 Greene Street. I'll probably also stop by Korres (love their mascara!) and a few others this week. There are a few sample sale sites (and you should check them all as some get info up sooner than others) but when planning a day I'll always check Lazar Shopping because they organize sales by week. You can see all of this week's sales here.

Tamara's first sale was amazing with $50 shoes and clothing, and while the subsequent sale was pretty good too, nothing compares to the first. It was epic. This will probably be her last NYC sale as she packed up and left NY to start over in LA. I have a feeling that it won't be as good as previous sales (260 is not having a preview for this sale) and there may be less merchandise (which is why they are being joined with Lulu) but I'm hardcore so I'm in.

Nina Kids posted a pic of my girls on their Instagram, seen here. Feel free to like and comment :)

Hope to see you at Tamara Mellon tomorrow! Be sure to say hello :)

XO
Shoppinggal

NYC Day With Mini Me & MAC Sample Sale Haul!

This week I took Ella into the City for a mommy & me day. Our schedule was full but I had a feeling my little fashionista could handle it. Our first stop was Nordstrom Rack where we walked out empty handed. I pulled out my camera to take a few picks before we headed to meet my future SIL at Kleinfeld's Bridal...only to find I left both my memory card and battery charging at home. Ugh. Luckily my phone takes a decent picture. You really can tell the difference in quality between my cell and DSLR pics.

Ella's OOTD from head to toe:

• Barrette: Sequin butterfly hair clip, sample sale, $2
• Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana, Century 21, $15
• Dress: Flowers by Zoe, thrift store, $5 (Ava has a matching one too!)
• Shorts: Cherokee, Target, $1.80
• Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Lola, sample sale, $10
• Bracelet: Balenciaga, sample sale, $99
• Shoes: Toms, thrift store, $4

And for those of you who want to look like Ella, you can shop her look below :)

I just wanted to add that Ella styles herself. I make a suggestion here or there but she has her own ideas and doesn't always listen LOL. I encourage my kids to make their own choices and develop their own sense of style.

After grabbing a quick bite, the promise of 60% off MAC's retail prices kept us waiting on line for a little over two hours. For me it was no big deal but the sun was out in full force and Ella burns easily. After spotting several people in line with umbrellas, I ran around the corner to Bed Bath and Beyond to grab a giant umbrella to protect us from the sun. Another shopper also shared some sunscreen just in the nick of time, and fellow bargainista, Practically Haute joined us in line and treated us to cold drinks. Be sure to head to her site and check out her look inside too.

Once inside we forgot all about the wait and proceeded to fill up our basket with inexpensive makeup. I'm not a huge MAC fan but I love their reasonably priced lipsticks. Take an extra 60% off and I'm sold.

Signs said you couldn't apply but many sales associates let you swatch the colors on your hand.

I've never used their nail polish before but for less than $5 it was worth a shot.

Here is our first edit. When we were in line to pay we noticed some other colors in other people's baskets that we needed.

As much fun as we had, Ella was very happy to get on to out next stop.

Next stop was the dOMAIN Integrated Holiday in July preview - we probably spent the most time at the Perverse Sunglasses booth trying on sunnies while waiting for our free manicures. These glasses retail for about $40-60 with a few higher. Of course Ella's favorite was the $75 Eros 1042. We put down our bags while looking around and a few bloggers grabbed Ella's Rebecca Minkoff backpack thinking it was a part of the preview. It seems everyone wants my 9 year old's bag.

Walking to the High Line we passed this wall and thought it was perfect. Then my phone died. We grabbed some dinner then headed home. We were literally out for over 12 hours on our feet.

And now for our MAC haul! These were shot with my Cannon T5 and you can totally see the difference.

All of these MAC Studio nail polishes were $4.80 each. Colors from L-R; Instant Crush, Miami, Impassioned, and Flaming Rose.

Here is Ava modeling one coat of Miami. She's a wiggly little girl so this was the best I could do.

I let Ella choose one lipgloss for herself and she chose Such A Sweetheart Huggable Glass ($8). I choose the Spring Flock blush ($8.80) because it was the only color that looked like it would work for me. Looking back I wish I tried a few neutral colors but I love my bright pinks, corals and reds.

Lipsticks from L-R; Brooke Candy Mind Control, Such a Sweetheart, Be Silly & Silly. These were all $6.80 other than Mind Control which was $7.20.

I've always wanted to try MAC Cosmetics Velvetease Lip Pencils! I purchased (from L-R) Just My Type, Lovers Lane, Anything Goes, and Just Add Romance - all $8 each. Note Ella's green manicure :)

I swatched the lipsticks on top and the lip pencils on bottom - in the order I photographed them above. The lipgloss is to the far right. The top pic was bright sunlight and the bottom pic was in the shade.

It was MAC's first sample sale and I would definitely go to their next. My only future recommendation is to bring lots of water, sunscreen and an umbrella if it's sunny (or rainy) as you're totally exposed to the elements while waiting on line. I heard that the last couple days of the sale had little to no line and they were constantly restocking. Next time I'll be waiting till the end of the sale because the line really was insane. As we left, we saw that the line wrapped from the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th Street - to all the way around the block down 19th Street. I'm sure there were people waiting in that line for much longer than we waited.

I'd like to apologize for getting this report up so late - typically I like to share during (not after) a sale but this Summer is insanity. I could have had it up Friday afternoon but the sale ended at 4PM and I decided it would be too late if you were only first hearing about it, so I walked away from my computer and hit the pool with the kids. Between my kids being home (no camp - not sure what I was thinking), personal shopping clients, and my brother's upcoming wedding, my plate is full. That being said, if you follow me on social media you were given ample notice - so please don't yell at me for not telling you LOL. You can always follow me on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram for live updates. I'll start Snapchatting more (I'm @LeHoarder over there) as soon as I can figure it out.

I have to share a big win for me this week. This photo exceeded 550 likes. Not sure why this one but feel free to like it too :) Until now my most liked photo was around 360 and it was just a EOS lipgloss. I just wanted to thank you all for your support. Every like, comment, and share is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Hope your Summer is going well! Retail sales are starting to heat up just as sample sales take a summer hiatus. I got an email that Neiman Marcus got another markdown - plus an extra 20% off sale. Nordstrom is having their Half Yearly sale but honestly I do better at the Rack. If anything amazing pops up I'll be sure to share!

XO
Shoppinggal

Coachella style on a dime & penny finds :)

After looking at pictures of Coachella fashion on Instagram all weekend I put together this Coachella inspired look....from a NY perspective. As much as I try to evoke a hippy-beachy California vibe, the New Yorker in me always shines thru.

I know you really want to see me wearing my clothing, but in my defense I did try taking a selfie in this outfit but nothing worked.

It all started with a recent H&M find - this super cute (now sold out) red dress was just $7 on the sale rack a couple weeks ago :)

Topped it off with a thrifted Marc Jacobs collection (not MMJ) denim jacket that I picked up last year for about $20. It was too small and I thought about selling it but luckily I put it away. When I went "shopping" for Spring in my basement closets I pulled it out and it's perfect! Check out the cartoon details on the sleeve.

These fringy tassel earrings were $3 at the last Yosca sample sale. I wish I picked up multiples. I'm sure you recognize my $50 Rebecca Minkoff studded large quilted affair from her last sample sale - so excited for her upcoming sale! I REALLY need a brown bag (this one is grayish-taupe and is the closest thing I have) because I tossed my old one when it fell apart. It was a gorgeous $15 thrifted Fossil tasseled bucket bag that I wore till it died LOL. I used to get so many complements because it was WAY before this tassel and bucket bag craze so nobody seemed to have anything else like it.

Last but not least my 90% off Alberto Fermani $16 booties from Century 21 :) I figured they should make at least one appearance before sandal season.

And now what you really want to see - my penny finds! The Rack had shoe markdowns this week and they seemed to have cleared out their boots (or at least they were supposed to LOL).

Some were actually marked a penny - but most aren't. I just a lucky guesser :)

These are all of my keepers in my size.  Clockwise from the top left;  Zigi Soho $99.95 (got you a pair too V!) , Cole Haan $378, Vince $495, Aquatalia $475 and Uggs $294.95.

And these I actually picked up for my nieces but my giant footed 8-yr old daughter swiped them for when she's older. I'm a size 9 and my husband is a 12 so chances are these size 6.5/7s are going to fit her sometime in the near future. (Sorry guys!)

L-R, Steven by Steve Madden $239.95 and DV Dolce Vida $109.

L-R; Steve Madden $110 and Toms $98.

The rest of my stash is for my friends, family and lucky clients :) Let's just say I picked up $5000+ in boots for less than a quarter LOL.

Also, my code for Rocksbox "shoppinggalxoxo" still works for your first month free. One more shameless plug - please sign up! You get a month free and I get a $25 credit. Win-win!

As always, happy shopping!
-Shoppinggal