My Black Friday 2014 Scores

Hi! I hope everyone who celebrated had a marvelous Thanksgiving. I think this one was the best one yet. The food was wonderful. Seeing all of my family was great. My sister and I took a set of outfit pictures together (sneak peak posted on Instagram today). And now I am recuperating after shopping this morning. I used to go at midnight with my girlfriends (missed you Bridge!) but have not in the last two years. Instead I slept in for a bit and then hit a few stores. I usually like to go to Target the best. Honestly, the last two years I have gotten there after nine in the morning to find the store less insanely busy and the items that I want still in stock. I really only want the DVD deals and the gift card deal they ran this morning so it was not worth the hassle of staying up all night. Here is what I picked up today, in stores and online, these codes and prices are good for today, November 28, 2014, only:

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At Anthropologie, I bought a Buttered Rum Candle and their Fanned Feather Necklace with their extra 25% off today using code HOLIDAY25. I know, that is boring. But there is nothing there that I have to have right now, especially since I decided to keep:

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This Tartan Sweatercoat. Love of my life. I just adore this piece. I was going to have my husband give it to me for Christmas, but I obviously could not wait. The outfit post for this will be going up next week, but I wanted to show a bit of it now in case you wanted to see it while the sale was still going on.

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At Target I picked up all of these movies for around $60. Whoot! And yes, my emotional state and movie choices are obviously that of a thirteen year old. I have no excuse… Or shame.

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Restoration Hardware has their duvet slippers which are my favorite slippers to wear and to give for $16 today.

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I went to my favorite local boutique, because they were doing 50% off the entire store and bought a few goodies.

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Finally, I wanted to write that I have been stalking the Millie Dress at Anthropologie in black and the same dress in blue at Modcloth for the last few days after I saw someone on Instagram wearing it. It reminded me of my favorite swing dress that I have ever seen that Atlantic Pacific wore awhile back. I was hoping that Black Friday would bring about a sale on the dress at one of those stores. It did not. However, I found out that the dress is by Dear Creatures and so I looked for it on their website. I found it and got it in both colors with their Black Friday discount code DCBLACKFRIDAY for 40% off. I just wanted to share that this shop is doing a Black Friday sale of 40% off their new arrivals and free shipping over $100. My dress was an amazing price going directly through the designer. They have a lot of pieces being sold at other retails for much more at a better price on their direct website today.

Did you shop this Black Friday? I ended up getting much more for my kids and relatives online that I cannot write about here. I tackled a lot of my Christmas list. Did you score anything? Thank you for the sweet comments on my post earlier today. I will be responding to all of your comments tonight. You filled my heart with happiness. Thank you. How was your Thanksgiving? Are you drained the next day like I am? I can never figure out if it is the turkey or the bottle of wine I consumed the previous day that leaves me with dark circles and bleary eyes.

*This post is going up in leu of tomorrow’s Littlest Things post. I must clean this house! I will have a new post up on Sunday. Have a beautiful Saturday!

A Dress Falled With Embroidery

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My husband and I went on a lunch date on this day. It was not cool enough for the sweater, so I wish I had set it down.

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I also wish I had more pictures of the dress itself, but my photographer that day was all about the closeups.

I hate closeups.

I love my photographer.

You will just have to bear with me.

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Or bare with me. Look at the cute Free People bandeau bra (bralette post can be found here) I simply put over a regular bra for a pretty lace peek-a-boo moment.

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I found this dress at my local Nordstrom Rack for a screaming deal. I could not believe nobody had scooped it up (it is sold out. I could only find one size medium of a similar dress. It is on sale for $30 from $148 on Free People here).

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The embroidered detail is amazing.

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I wanted to pair the dress with some wood accessories. I slipped on this Scrabble Ring for a fun solution. If I was a pumpkin latte kind of gal, I would happily drink it in this dress. This dress screams, “fall!”, with its orange and mustard accents.

Alas, I am allergic to pumpkin. So, I will have to get by just wearing the color.

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I will somehow manage to get through the autumn with regular ol’ coffee.

And closeups of my thirty seven year old face.

Somehow.

The secret is in the sauce a little thing I am grateful to not be allergic to, wine.

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Did you notice something amiss in the previous closeup picture? Something that did not look right?

Was it a bit creepy?

Was it my elbow?

I am double jointed in my elbows, so sometimes in pictures like those it looks as though my head should be flipped the other way.

Just give it time.

Halloween is coming up.

With pumpkins. And closeups. And weird elbows.

And wine.

It’s enough to make a girl’s head spin. What is making your head spin lately? I am definitely craning my head towards this dress. Are you double jointed? I only have it in my elbows and my thumbs…

And my mind.

Our Trip To Las Vegas

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My husband and I were married in Las Vegas fifteen years ago. This is a picture of us on that day. My husband does not know I am sharing it. He. He. It is hard to believe this was us fifteen years ago. My hair was so short. And my husband has a beard now with (cough) grey hairs poking through. It is nice to look back at where we were. It makes me excited about where we are going.

I thought it would be a good idea to head back there for our anniversary. My husband and I both do not like to gamble. We don’t smoke. And, honestly, I am not fond of malls. I’ve never been to a strip club. I was not interested in any of the Circus du Soleil shows. And we would never just hang around a pool without our children (unless it was our own pool). Because of this, Las Vegas is generally not on our list of destinations to go to on our yearly romantic getaways.

But I decided we had not been there in almost nine years and maybe we would try it again.

Spoiler: there were good times and there were bad.

‘Tis life:

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I got a fabulous deal on Hotwire for the Wynn Hotel. When we checked in, I mentioned we were there for our fifteenth wedding anniversary. They kindly upgraded us to a higher floor.

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The hotel is amazing. Gorgeous. Stunning. It boasts the prettiest lobby I have ever seen. The most amazing scenery. The clientele leans towards the classy side. I have never seen so many beautiful women in one place. And of course, I broke out with the biggest zit on my chin just before we arrived. Truly showing I did not belong there.

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The room was beautiful.

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The hotel also sent up a sweet gift of chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary.

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And all would have been well.

Better than well.

It would have, should have, could have been amazing.

There was just a slight problem of the air conditioning not working in our room. And not working in the room we were subsequently moved to.

I am a baby when it comes to heat. I cannot sleep in a warm room. This led to me having a meltdown and many sleepless nights.

Hence, I have made the determination I could only stay here in the wintertime, if we came to Las Vegas again. I have to have a working air conditioning system in my hotel room.

In. The. Desert.

.

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The little cafe restaurant at this hotel is the best restaurant we ate at while in Las Vegas.

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Oh my gosh! I am a nut for a tuna sandwich. And on a croissant? The biggest croissant I have ever seen?! Made by the chef there?! So good! I ate this three times during our stay (and gained FIVE pounds in four days! Back to reality).

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They also had a seafood club that my husband said was excellent.

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And lava cake?!

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And unlimited mimosas for breakfast for $19!!!!!!!!

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And strawberry waffles?! I also saw the most beautiful buttermilk biscuits on a tray on our last day and was bummed I had not tried them (I seriously cannot figure out why I gained five pounds).

I highly recommend this little cafe. We would stay at The Wynn again just for this restaurant.

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We ate at Tom Culicchio’s Heritage Steakhouse, because my husband and I are huge fans of Top Chef. The meal here was the most I have ever spent on a dinner. We ordered the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu at $65. The filet mignon steaks were $59 each. Like most nice steakhouses, sides are not included. We did not have appetizers or soup or salad. The steaks were just okay.

However, our waiter was awesome. We loved him. He made the whole experience.

For the bottle of wine, two steaks, two sides, and two coffees our total was over $200 before tip.

Ouch.

But now we know.

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We also ate, quite by accident, at Raos in Little Caesar’s. It was fine.

It was pretty. It was romantic. The food was decent. Again, we are really spoiled with the Italian restaurants in our town, so I have high standards. This restaurant is about a seven out of ten for me.

We had the lasagna and prime rib noodle special.

The creme brûlée was not good. That makes me sad. And the reason it got a lower rating.

And so this is why we ate all of our remainder of our meals at Terrace Pointe Cafe at The Wynn. That restaurant is a ten out of ten for me. It is really good. We tried a lot of things and everything was amazing. It was also reasonably priced for Las Vegas.

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We went to three shows while we were there. I felt like Goldilocks. One was not good, the other leaning towards bad and one was just right.

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My husband and I had never heard of Daniel Tosh before, but we love comedy shows. We like to see one comedy show on every trip we take together (our first date was to a comedy show). We went in to the show with open minds.

Daniel Tosh is? Not a nice guy. I did find a lot of his material offensive. However, some of it was funny. And I did find myself in hysterics at some points during the show. I would not see him again, but I honestly did not mind it. His bit is offending everyone and everything. He claims to get an absurd amount of death threats daily. I believe it. It is the shock factor. Honestly, after The Book of Mormon, this did not faze me.

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We saw La Reve at The Wynn, because we were staying there and it was convenient.

Hmmmm. How can I say this?

Nicely?

It wasn’t my favorite?

The theater is gorgeous. The entertainers are so talented. It has all of the components of a good show. A really good show. Except for a story and good music. I think that was what was so upsetting. This could be a fantastic show, but they need to scrap the “plot” and start over with a new script, new choreography and new music.

La Reve means “The Dream” and I felt like it was definitely going to put me to sleep.

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Finally, the “just right.” We went and saw Absinthe. This show was amazing. It is raunchy. I mean raunchy. I mean… Okay, you get it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Or taunt you? I guess it depends on what kind of a show you like. If you have a problem with nudity or cursing or profanity, then this show is not for you. I found it so funny. It was in the right context. The cast is wonderfully talented. It is a burlesque circus show in a very small tent. It is located at Caesar’s Palace. It was amazing. Ten out of ten from me.

There are acrobats, two women who do actual burlesque acts complete with a bubble splashing tank, a couple who perform the craziest act on roller skates, a comedian, and a tightrope.

Fun!

I love a show called, “Teatro ZinZanni” which is a circus-like dinner theater show hosted by a drag queen that performs in Seattle (and used to also perform in San Francisco) in an old beautiful 1920’s circus tent . We have seen that show (it changes seasonally) four times. I was happy to find something similar to our old favorite.

I was captivated from the moment we sat down.

I would come to Las Vegas just to see this show again!

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While my husband played in a poker tournament, I went and did some reviews at some of my favorite stores. Part one of my Anthropologie reviews is going up on Sunday. This is the outfit I wore when I went out by myself.

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I bought one thing in Las Vegas. It is this summery yellow floral slip that I allowed myself to buy by claiming it was Vegas “underwear.” Yes, I can absolutely justify anything. Yes, this makes my husband a saint.

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I wore it out one night with a different slip underneath it and a mustard cardigan over the top. This is because my feet were so swollen and blistered, I could not wear any of the cute dresses I had brought with me on the last night, because none of my high heels would fit on my feet. Thank you guys for telling me to bring comfy shoes. I would never have thought to bring flats otherwise. They were a lifesaver.

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Our hotel was at the end of the strip and there was a lot of construction surrounding it. This meant a lot of taxi rides. Which resulted in a lot of overheards. And was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The taxi drivers here were friendlier than any I have ridden with in any other city.

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One night when we were coming back to our hotel, a group of men were holding the door for people coming into the hotel. From watching “The Soup” on t.v., I knew immediately who one of the men was. It was the older gentlemen who is on that show “Gigilos.” I cross my heart that this was the same day I had put up my story about being mistaken as an escort and this time I had a male escort holding the door for me. The whole cast was there. I did not speak to them, but I noticed they were very polite to everyone as they made their way through the hotel.

And that was pretty much our trip. We will not be back for a long, long while. It will take my body some time to recuperate from that cigarette smoke. Broken down into ten descriptions:

Hot room

Expensive wine

Tuna croissants

Lots of shows

No sleep

Love

Stuffy nose

Taxi drivers

The house wins

Blisters

Have you been to Las Vegas? What was I missing? What is your favorite part?

P.S. In yesterday’s comments, Gwen had mused that it would be fun if other bloggers posted their wedding pictures today, too.

And Liana from Frock and Hound sweetly did. And it is gorgeous! Her wedding photo looks like a beautiful scene from a fairy tale. You can see it here, on her post A Look Back.

If you would like to share your wedding photo, please let me know and I will link it up here. Thank you! : )

H&M Lately

First: I want it noted that this year (2013) from 12/1 to 12/2, H&M is doing a huge online sale. I ordered quite a few Christmas presents early Sunday afternoon. It is 40% off entire regular price order over $50 + an additional 25% off sale purchase + free shipping. The code is 7376. This is a fantastic offer! H&M is all ready a decently priced store. This discount is kind of spectacular. Happy shopping!

Now, on to my story about this store from two weeks ago:

I dropped my daughter off at the mall with her friends. However, the thought of her at the mall by herself made me hyperventilate. Okay. She wasn’t by herself. She was with six other girls. One of whom was seventeen. But still. It’s a scary world out there…At the mall.

So I stayed. That way I could scope out any potential predators. Or stalkers.

Or deals.

Selfishly, I had a craving for those fried cheese sticks at the Corn Dog Stick place. I have no idea if they still sell those there. It’s been almost twenty years since I have had them. On my way to the food court, I stopped in at H&M. I needed a simple long sleeved black t-shirt. I knew they had them here for $12.95. I entered the store.

And there I stayed for the entire time. There are some fantastic items there right now!

If you text your email address to the number in store, you get 10% off your purchase to be used that day only. I think you can also give them your email address at the register. The best part is, after I did this, they also emailed me a coupon for 20% off one item.

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They have the best sweater tights there right now. They are spendy at $12.95, but I loved this gold color. And I got them for 10% off, so they ended up being more of a decent price. I believe during the Cyber deal these are now $5.25 in the sale section.

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I got my black shirt.

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Look at this tube scarf. So easy. The color is brilliant (perfect with the trendy army jackets popular now and jeans). $12.95 (plus discount) = a steal.

They also had: Bunny. Pajamas. Bunnies on pajamas. Who needs sheep? I bought them, but they are in the wash. No pictures. Sorry!

They also have a new “lodge” line with some fabulous Fairisle sweater items. Unfortunately, they did not have my size in a gorgeous dress, but this line is really cute for the right body type (mine not being it).

I never did get my fried cheese (perhaps that is for the best), but I did find some amazing inexpensive pieces.

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The only deal I bought for myself with the 40% off Cyber Sunday/Monday sale (besides some basic tanks for $3.57, 2 pairs of $7.46 jeans, a pair of black sweater tights and a scarf) was this vest. I normally do not do the fur thing, but I loved the pattern. We will see what it looks like when it comes. I kind of hate the tie waist. If I cannot fix that, I will not keep it.

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The skinny jeans that are on sale for $9.95, are now $7.46 with coupon code!

Have you been to H & M lately? Are you going to partake in their fabulous online offer?

P.S. Johnny Was is also offering a Cyber Monday sale with 35% off purchase with code ENJOY35.