Tag Archives: Nordstrom

Me: Right Now

If you know me, then you know I spend a lot of time sick. Most of the time I can fake it and put on real clothing and makeup and function like a grown up. Because at 27 with a 7 year old who even ill has their button stuck on go that’s what you do.

But then there’s days like today where I’m texting everyone because unless I’m in the process of swallowing something warm, it feels like there’s a torture device from a horror movie rotating in my throat. I feel feverish and cranky and my first thought on waking up was how much dayquil can you drink before you o’d?

So I pulled on my favorite Victoria’s Secret Leggings, grabbed my favorite Gilly Hicks hoodie and scraped my hair into a ponytail with an Emi-Jay Hair tie. Skipped the makeup because my face is a bit swollen and I don’t even want to touch it (those of you with sinus issues totally get this one) and when I got a bit cold threw on my navy blue Bearpaw boots.

I adore my Jack Skellington mug that my husband got me a few days ago when I was massively stressed out over our son’s Halloween costume. It was the perfect way to remind me that Halloween is my favorite Holiday.

Detail shot on the hoodie. I bought this last year during a Gilly Hicks sale along with another one, and I definitely have plans to get more. Victoria’s secret may do the best leggings, but Gilly Hicks has them beat on cozy hoodies.

My boots are Navy blue Bearpaw boots that my husband gave me for Christmas a couple years ago. I got these instead of Uggs because I hadn’t decided yet if I wanted to spend that much on a pair of boots that I probably won’t wear out of the house all that often. However I’m full on in love with the ones that have bows on them so I’ll probably be asking for a pair in the Classic Chestnut color for Valentines day.

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If you’re a fan of this look for laying around your house sick then then I made a wishboard of the same or similar items that are available now. Just being this cozy and surrounding myself with all of my favorite things has made me feel so much better.

Me Right Now by fashionandhappythings featuring a purple hooded sweatshirt

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Nordstrom Beauty Spot Haul

As I mentioned in my post on Sunday, I went up to Kenwood to meet Sarahbelle93, and while I was there I did a bit of shopping. Howl decided he wanted to help show you guys what I bought.

I’m running out of my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, and I don’t know if my skin has changed or if their formula has changed, but it didn’t work for my skin this time around. So I picked up the Kiehl’s Rare Earth Cleanser. I bought this cleanser because it seems that my skin has been absolutely out of control oily lately. I’ve only used it for 2 days now but it seems to be helping.

Then because I actually am completely out of my Liz Earle Toner I also picked up the Rare Earth Toner, which I kinda really love because it separates and has powder or something in the bottom, and then you shake it up to use it.

I also ran out of my Fresh mask and wanted to pick up the Kiehls Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Mask but they were out of stock so I ended up with a bunch of samples. Only one of those is Kiehls, the others are Kate Sommerville, Clarins and Dr. Dennis Gross.

Then after I checked out I noticed that they had some new Emi-Jay hairties so I grabbed a couple packs for myself, and I grabbed the same ones to give to Sarahbelle. These seriously are my all time favorite hairties, and even though I keep loosing them, and they’re kinda expensive I will always repurchase these. I can pretty much guarantee that I will include a pack of these in my future 100 followers giveaway (hey, I can dream right?)

I know I said I was going to stick with Liz Earle, but I really do think they reformulated or something because my face actually seemed to get a bit worse. I had some left from the last time I bought it, and my skin started to clear up. When I started the new bottle I didn’t change anything or add in any new skincare that I hadn’t been using before and my face started getting worse. I’m actually really heartbroken about it, because I had such good results the first time around and I honestly thought it was going to be my holy grail. But I guess it’s back to the drawing board. Everytime I say ” OMG I love this forever” it either gets reformulated or my skin begins to hate it.

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Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation SPF 42 or Allergic To Everything?

Today’s post is going to be on the Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation SPF 42 that I hauled a little while ago.

I actually feel a bit bad having shown it in the haul now because I ended up returning it because I was allergic to it. But I did use it for a little while before I found out I was allergic to it and decided to post up a little bit of a review.

I kinda loved this foundation. It was a tad to dark for me, but aside from Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and Nars Siberia there’s not many foundations out that that aren’t to dark for me. Maybe one of the Burberry ones? I’ll grab a sample the next time I’m in a Nordstrom and let you know.

It is a very thin formula with a light coverage that is really build able. Sometimes you’ll try to build up a foundation and it’ll get cakey or the color will get darker and that just wasn’t the case with this one. And even though the formula is thin it’s not hard to work with and lays really well on the skin. It would have been great for the summer, especially after I’d gotten a bit of color.

It claims to be water resistant, but I never really got to test that out.

Now I know you guys are dying to know what the allergic reaction is. Mostly it made my cystic acne angry, but I also developed some odd red patches. I also want to be clear that I do have unusually sensitive skin and the red patches cleared up by the end of the day after I stopped using it. Those might have been something else, but the fact that it irritated my acne was enough for me to stop using it.

If I were you though I wouldn’t hold any of that against this foundation and I urge you to try it, I was absolutely lovely to apply, it wore well, and lasted all day, which is more than I can say for many other foundations I’ve tried in the past.

Gift Guide for Knitters, Embriodiers or Crocheters or What to buy that weird Aunt

I know it can be super hard to shop for the crafty people in your life. Especially if they’re the sort of person who makes everything. There are a few virtually fail safe things that you can buy come Christmas, Birthday, Mother’s Day or Just Because, and I’m going to tell you them. And then you might feel sort of dumb, because some of them are obvious. But don’t, because I didn’t think of them either until I started knitting myself.

Baby blanket that I knit for a friend

If you work with your hands a lot yourself, you’ve probably noticed they get a bit dry and haggard looking. This is 10 bazillion times worse if you’re a yarn crafter. For some reason the yarn or thread just seems to suck the moisture right out of your hands. Another pro or con is that the scent of whatever cream your using clings to what your making. I have tried a lot of creams and lotions and these are my favorites that I’ve had.
1. Philosophy Field Of Flowers Lotion, I haven’t had this specific scent before, but I have had their lotion and I loved it. They all smell amazing and they’re just lovely to use.
2. Soap and Glory’s Hand Food is amazing, it smells wonderful, like CoCo Mademoiselle to some people. Plus it’s called hand food for a reason, it makes your hands feel amazing
3. L’Occitane is definitely the most luxe of the 3 choices. My favorite is Pivoine Flora which smells like Peonies. The packaging is just gorgeous, and the lotion is enriched with Shea Butter. These are definitely my absolute favorite.

If you don’t want to go the fancy hand cream route, you can always gift them a new pair of needles if they’re a knitter or crocheter. I recommend something sort of novelty like Knit Lites which I have a pair of and I love them. Otherwise I recommend a pair of Bamboo needles or crochet hook, which are what I use personally.

Luxurious yarn is another lovely gift, I really love Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande, it’s super soft and cozy and is one of my favorites, but there are also Cashmere and Angora yarns which are absolutely amazing. If you’re going to go this route then I really recommend asking the person behind the counter how much you need for x project, such as a pair of socks, sweater, blanket, or a scarf. It’s very frustrating having great yarn and not being able to make anything with it.

You can also purchase kits to make certain items like stuffed toys or a certain pattern for a hat or baby blanket. I recommend going into a yarn shop to look at those, because the person working there can usually tell you if you actually need more yarn or any other specific tools to make the item in the package.

Finally there is always books. My personal favorites are the Stitch and Bitch series by Debbie Stoller, but the Vogue Stitchionary series is also really good. I actually taught myself to knit from the Stitch and Bitch Series and have managed to loose 2 copies of the first book now. I plan on buying myself another copy very soon. I actually hope to someday own all of both series. There are also several good books filled with patterns and how to fix mistakes and all kinds of tips and tricks for knitters, which are usually sold in the Yarn Shop.

And if you don’t want to do any of that buy them an amazing scarf or a lovely blanket, because they knit these things to keep people warm and cozy out of love, and you may not be able to make them something yourself, but giving the gift of warmth still says I Love You.

Valentines Day Gift Guide For Him

I promised a gift guide for him for the upcoming Valentines Day. I had a bit of input from my husband on this one.

First up if you’ve got a bit of cash you can spend and he didn’t get one for Christmas an iPad is a pretty sweet gift. They can be a bit pricey though so on the less expensive end of the spectrum I recommend a Nook HD or a Kindle Fire.

If he’s already got one or he’s one of those rare technophobes then you could go with the always classic guy gift a book. Which book you buy depends on what he’s into though. A big seller right now would be The Hobbit, because it’s out in Theaters and since it’s in 3 parts he might be a bit impatient to see how it ends. If he’s a big reader though he’s probably already read it though, so you could go with something off the best seller list, or a humorous book such as the Ask a Ninja book or the Monster Hunter’s Handbook. Those last two are iffy and not very romantic.

A more romantic gift would be a cologne, and I’m definitely recommending Spicebomb by Viktor and Rolf. It’s the companion fragrance to Flowerbomb, and like Flowerbomb it smells absolutely amazing. If he’s not into Spicebomb, then I recommend Burberry Brit for Men, it’s another personal favorite of mine and if you haven’t then I recommend you go smell it, immediately.

Tickets to a future show it a pretty sweet gift, or if you’re the sort of couple that prefers nights in, then I suggest a “Movie Night In” kit complete with a snuggly blanket, popcorn, and a movie, my husband recommends Kill Bill, but my favorite Tarantino movie is Pulp Fiction.

A skincare set is always nice and you can go for the Core Collection from Jack Black or a classic brush shaving kit from The Art Of Shaving. You may think he wouldn’t use it or he’s already settled into a routine, but you’d be surprised how many men are willing to try something new, and better shaving cream really does make a difference. I bought my husband the Surpreme Clean Shaving Cream in the Jet Set Traveler Kit from Jack Black a while a go and a tube lasts him nearly a year and he says he prefers it to drugstore shaving creams “by far, it’s a whole other level”.

If you’re looking for something simpler, or you haven’t been dating long a nice sweater, or quirky tee from his favorite brand is a good idea because he’ll think of you every time he pulls it on, and whenever someone asks him where he got it. ThinkGeek has some great quirky tees and if you’re looking for a good sweater I’d hit up Macy’s or Nordstrom.

Or you can follow the old proverb “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” and give him an IOU to take him out to his favorite place on you, or if you’re handy in the kitchen you could whip up his favorite meal or dessert for him.

Finally if you’re short on cash or none of these ideas are hitting the spot an Itunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or ThinkGeek gift card is a great option. It lets him know that you’re thinking of him, but wanted to make sure he could get exactly what he wanted, or if you know for certain he really wanted the new “so and so” album then you can mention that in a note on the Itunes or Amazon card to let him know this wasn’t just a last ditch effort gift. Awhile ago I bought my husband a Barnes and Noble Gift Card so he could pick out his own nook case because I just couldn’t decide.

Bonus Note this is my 100th blog post and I’m quite proud of myself for keeping up with it. For awhile I was really bad about posting consistently but I think Blogmas cured me of that. Now if I go more than 4 days without posting I feel like I’m being neglectful.