Tag Archives: shopping

Orlando Premium Outlets Get the Best of Me

29 Feb

Oh my goodness. By far the best outlet mall I have ever been to, the Orlando Premium Outlets totally blew my mind on full day #1 (Sunday) of this trip, when I was still feeling super under the weather. I was determined to not waste a SINGLE day in Orlando though. If I couldn’t enjoy premium eats, I could at least enjoy premium shops!

FAVE purchase of day.

JUST KIDDING about the above. This was a serious for-sale dress at the Papaya Outlet. Would make a great slutty college girl Halloween costume. Hey, I’m not judging. I’ve been there…

Junior year, 2010.

ANYWAY.

Purchased the above two necklaces at Charlotte Russe, 2 for $10 and then got 15% off for having a college ID, score!

Two more necklaces from Ann Taylor Loft, buy one, get one 50% off. They look kind of weird all folded up in their cellophane bags, but I like how the cashier placed them in there and stapled the bags shut, so I’m keeping them there until I can unpack them at home.

Lighting makes this J. Crew dress look more coral, but it’s actually bubblegum pink and has one of those exposed zippers in the back. I tried to find a more telling photo online but couldn’t!

This necklace was only $5 and J. Crew has a student discount too!

Ahhhh Vera Bradley outlet!!! I used the opportunity to purchase several Vera items I’ve always wanted but haven’t been able to justify purchasing – another notebook for school, sticky notes in assorted sizes, a calculator for my desk at work, and a luggage tag. The outlet prices were an additional 20% off!

As if I need any more shoes, right? I got some Toms look-alikes at Pac Sun, because I am in love with the ones I got in Boston but too cheap to pay $54 for another pair. I am more in love, though, with the pair on the right that I got at Journey’s. I have been wanting black and white 20′s-inspired shoes for awhile and am so happy to have found some that were reasonably priced – and I got 15% off from a coupon!

At Pac Sun I also got the above cloth leopard-print tank dress. It’s so comfortable and such a simple cut. The design also has a cute criss-cross back that’s unexpected if you just look at the dress from the front! I like the leopard print – I can even dress it down if needed with a black cardigan. I’m also excited about the bikini I got because I’ve always wanted one with a “sculpted” triangle top!

Ann Taylor was having a BIG sale, 40% off everything in the store, and my madre was kind enough to buy me the clothes I picked out there for my birthday (March 22). I love the above sweater and the gold buttons adorning it, and the tank is so cute and simple. Until it warms up, I can wear it under sweaters. I also am a bit obsessed with the 3/4-sleeve dress on the right. If I wear a tan or black cami underneath, I can wear it to work, and the longer sleeves mean I won’t be freezing my butt off like I always am in dresses. This will be paired with heels – obviously :)

I really like the prints that Ann Taylor comes out with every season. I have always been a fan of prints over solids (though there’s a time and place for everything!) and now that I have the above three tops, my next mission is to find some of the amazing colored ankle-length pants that have been all over the fashion mags lately.

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Drumroll please, my biggest and most ridiculous/spontaneous purchase of the day – and ever.

I am a watch addict, so strolling into Fossil on a whim (I originally was headed to Auntie Anne’s, but alas, the damn line was out the door) was probably a big mistake. I immediately spotted several watches I’d had my eye on for awhile. Okay that’s a lie, two of them I’ve had my eye on, one I just saw and became enchanted by it. It reminded me of, oddly enough, birthday cake.

Do you see what I mean? That teal face (it’s more green in “real life light”), those colorful rhinestones. This is a total birthday watch!

My sister got the above watch for Christmas, and I was instantly jealous. Now I can say I have my own!

I saw the above watch, brown with a rose-gold stripe, online several months ago. I fell in love! It was even more beautiful in person.

Yes…I bought all three watches. AHHH. I was so afraid that the salespeople were judging me – ha! I was nervously chatting with the girl who helped me try on the watches, trying to make sure that there were people out there who had bought more than three at once before to calm myself. I am never this spontaneous and I don’t do things like this often…and I’m pretty excited about my watches…but it’s safe to say I won’t be going shopping again for awhile.

So all this shopping definitely cheered me up a bit, but I still went into the evening feeling sick, especially after being on my feet at the outlets for about four hours straight! My dad and I picked up takeout from TooJay’s and I was able to eat some of it (see above).

What’s the most spontaneous purchase you have ever made? What do you think of my purchases? What’s the best outlet mall you’ve ever been to?

Vacation Days Turned Sick Days

26 Feb

I have the worst luck, huh? Less than two weeks after getting over a stomach virus, I was hit with another one upon waking Saturday (yesterday) morning. I felt iffy, yet was experiencing no actual symptoms, so I still went to the gym and completed 30 minutes of HIIT on the StepMill. Looking back this was probably a bad call – I should have let myself rest. I wasn’t very hungry all day but managed a tiny breakfast and lunch. Luckily I was still doing OK on the plane ride to Orlando. However, my luck ended there.

This certainly LOOKS lucky – amazing dinner cooked by my dad. The place we’re staying is a timeshare so it’s more a condo than a hotel room. I was actually feeling very hungry for this dinner and it tasted fantastic to me. So fantastic that I ate myself silly!

Baked potato with salsa in the skin, medium to medium-rare filet mignon, and veggies dipped in Publix garlic hummus. Went back for more steak and also a turkey burger in spicy yellow mustard.

It all tasted so delicious, but I felt way too full afterward. I took a water bottle and went to sleep. And woke up a couple hours later in SO much pain, lots of stomach cramping, my body was VERY mad at me. I shouldn’t have let my guard down! But I did and I spent all day Sunday (today) feeling pretty darn crummy. Twitter was a lifesaver as usual – thanks to all who wished me well and gave me advice on how to tame my tummy!

Picked some of this good stuff up. Includes ginger!

I was way more cautious  and though I had a couple of moments of meh feelings, I am feeling better tonight, OK enough to VERY slowly eat some rye bread and turkey pastrami from TooJay’s, a Florida go-to. I refuse to miss out on this trip! I also had WAY too much success at the Orlando Premium Outlets, by far the best outlet mall I’ve ever been to (upon recommendation from the lovely J of J’s Everyday Fashion), which cheered me up. I will be sharing my purchases soon!

Our hotel room is also gorgeous! Again, more like a condo, kitchen included. That’s how we’ve been able to stay in for a couple of nights – and no one is fighting over TVs that’s for sure! Here are some pics for you all – gotta run :) I’m gonna read my amazing book and hit the hay in a few. Here’s hoping I wake up feeling better!

My room, will be sharing with grandparents for a couple evenings.

My bathroom, the wallpaper is cute!

Despite the fact that we have a washer/dryer room, I did NOT pack light.

Living room and dining area.

Clearly the rents don't plan to use their jacuzzi for anything other than a suitcase stand.

What’s the best hotel room you’ve ever stayed in?

Have you ever gotten sick right before or during a vacation?

Rambling and Photos

22 Feb

Hey guys. I feel like I haven’t done a really good, this-is-me-writing-what’s-on-my-mind post since last week. Probably why I’m having the urge to just write whatever is on my mind! But I also have photos from my trip to Boston a few weekends back that  I never got to share – I ducked into Barrington Coffee Roasters quickly so my friend Ken of Pete & Gerry’s Eggs could grab a coffee, and was impressed by the cafe’s use of space and simplistic, clean decor. I had to take photos and really want to show them to you all, so I’m going to borrow a tactic one of my favorite bloggers, Danielle, uses and just disperse the pictures of the coffee shop throughout my rambling (hence this post’s title).

So what’s up with me on this Hump Day? Well, I’ve been having great workouts lately. This past weekend included a Grammys-themed spin class, tough StepMill HIIT session, and some leg work. Monday I got out of work on time to attend my favorite high-intensity Step class, and yesterday was an active rest day in which I utilized a My Yoga Online trial membership (ended today – sad :( ) and completed a 40 minute video called Grounding Yoga Flo that was really the perfect mix of flow and quad-burning poses in the beginning, followed by relaxing balance and twist poses (like eagle – I LOVE that one, so fun to try and stay stable) til the end.

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Work has been going well – last week was pretty busy but that made it fly by. This week things have slowed down and I’m glad, though at times finding myself looking for more to do. I probably just jinxed myself…

…but even if I did, no big deal, because next week is my first official big-girl-job vacation and I am leaving this Saturday afternoon for ORLANDO! Despite the fact that we have been blessed with the warmest winter since the year I moved here (2001-2002 winter), I am still so ready to fly South and also see my grandma and grandpa. I have already done a TON of restaurant research for my trip and my parents and grandparents are ready to let me plan all of our evenings – I have impressed them in the past with my restaurant choices, and I’m always in charge of picking places during trips!

I definitely want to get my shop on in Orlando, and Jeanette of J’s Everyday Fashion was kind enough to provide me with the Top 5 Places to Shop in Orlando. I pretty much want to hit up every. single. one. but don’t know if that will be possible! My priorities, in that case, are on the Premium Outlets (hello, deals) and Park Avenue in Winter Park (because I want to eat at a BUNCH of places there too). Downtown Disney is probably happening anyway – I love walking around there with my parents!

Just writing this has gotten me even MORE excited for vacation, if that’s possible. I cannot wait to lay by the pool reading magazines each day. I ADORE magazines and I have a huge stockpile of them that I’m packing, because reading a magazine inside in the winter sucks, so I save them all for outdoor reading. Does anyone else do this?

I’m off – I feel like I’ve sufficiently rambled and photo-shared enough for one post. Not sure what will be on my workout agenda tonight, depends on when I get out of work (either Interval Training class or Spin), but either way it’s gonna get me sweaty and leave me feeling awesome.  I also have to share with you guys the FANTASTIC dinner I had last night (which ended with a complimentary dessert) at one of CT’s only vegetarian restaurants, It’s Only Natural in Middletown, CT. I’ll get on it!

What do you think of the decor of Barrington Coffee Roasters?

What was your best recent workout?

Have you ever been to Orlando? Do you LIVE in Orlando? Shopping/restaurant recs are welcome!

Quizno’s and Shopping

12 Jan

My very favorite sandwich chain is not your usual go-to, Subway. It’s Quizno’s, which so happens to have had almost every location in CT closed – LAME. The company has fallen on some hard times, but I hope they survive because I think they offer the best ingredients, no question about it. The only thing Subway beats them on is the bread, but the contents of the sandwich (including pickles – and Quizno’s has them on their condiment bar!) are more important to me.

It’s one of those chains that I always make a point to visit when I am near one. Though FL locations have been forced to close too, the phenomenon is not nearly as widespread as it is around here, and I always visit the Quizno’s near my grandma’s apartment whenever we take our family trips to Florida, as we did last month.

Enough rambling, let me show you the fantastic small veggie sub on wheat that I had for lunch one day by the pool on our trip!

Completely stuffed with banana peppers, pickles, cucumbers, pepperoncini, chickpeas, tomato, onions, and mushrooms. No iceberg lettuce shreds for me – those 95% water things always make more of a mess and do nothing more!

As you can imagine, I made quite a mess while eating this and ended up using a fork to finish a lot of the fillings that fell out. But it was the best Quizno’s sub I’d ever had - and I got to have another one for my last meal of the trip, on the airplane ride home, since our layover airport had a location too!

Another thing I did a lot of in Florida (though this one I can do back home) is shopping. I had the perfect amount of shopping luck – enough to get a few fun things (mostly with holiday gift cards) but not so much that I felt forlorn as I left desired purchases behind for the sake of saving my money (yeah yeah, first world problems, I know). The day after Christmas, my fave fashion blogger J was live-tweeting all the amazing sales going on, which sparked my urge to use some of those gift cards ASAP!

My favorite purchase of the day was also my first – a new Nordstrom’s purse. Usually I don’t buy anything from this store because I’m too cheap, but it was super affordable and not even at a sale price! It’s slightly larger than my last purse (a Coach from a secondhand shop) so I already feel like I have SO much extra room in it. I love using it so far!

I did make a food-based purchase at the mall as well. I got hungry for a shopping snack!

My Starbucks gift card came in handy here!

I used my Forever 21 gift card to buy a blazer that is a bit more daring than something I’d normally buy, but I knew just the pants I can wear with it, and I “debuted” the outfit at work yesterday. Success! I went with a plain black T underneath the blazer.

Image courtesy of forever21.com.

Bath & Body Works continued to lure me into buying mass amounts of things I don’t need. They were having one of those “Hello Yellow!” sales in which they hang giant posters of rubber ducks in the store windows and proclaim that everything is “99% off “or “buy 1 get a zillion free”! These are exaggerations, but the signs’ proclamations might as well have said those phrases, judging by the way I made a beeline for the store and started scooping up seasonal candles and soaps that were marked-down to post-holiday prices.

Got this little candle, and one other flavor that I can't recall at this time.

Totally don't mind if my hands end up smelling like peppermint in June.

Come springtime, my hands will smell of freshly picked...gingerbread men?

At least I can spread the holiday cheer all year round, right? Monthly purchase of things I don’t need from Bath and Body Works…check.

Do you have the same tendency as me when it comes to Bath and Body Works (buying things you don’t need at all)? 

NYC Traditions

31 Dec

I’m currently blogging from the Tampa Bay International Airport, waiting for my connecting flight to take my siblings and I back to CT. Not pleased about going back, but I am pleased that I can continue to relive this wonderful holiday season through all my recap blog posts – enjoy this latest one, about our trip to NYC 12/23-12/24!

Every year, my dad takes my sister and I to NYC on the 23rd. We shop, go out to eat, and stay overnight. Then on the morning of the 24th, we wake up and go to the Today Show to get on TV! We are successful each year, and after we get on TV, we have breakfast, shop if we still need to make some stops, and then go home. It is really one of our most beloved family traditions, and I look forward to our NYC excursion each and every holiday season.

The coldest year we ever went, in 2009.

Last year's trip in 2010! Sis is behind the camera.

This year was wonderful, as usual.

Traditional photo prior to departure.

We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, which was very ritzy and super convenient.

Loved the glass elevators!

Elevators were supposedly super efficient (and were…at times). You typed in the number of your desired floor on a keypad, and the screen displayed which elevator you were supposed to go to.

We were all the way up on the 38th floor! What a view, and a nice room too.

Hannah and I prepared for our shopping with a Starbucks pit-stop for nonfat mistos.

She and I had some fun with the Forever 21 billboard in Times Square that shows its audience with a new character every couple of minutes. Can you spot us? Probably not, I barely can. If you could I actually might be a little freaked out.

Halfway through shopping I got a hankering for a unique NYC snack. I found it at Nuchas, a little stand in the heart of Times Square that sold empanadas. I chose a grilled chicken variety that was delicious. I didn’t take a photo because it did look quite plain, but trust me, this was better than a street vendor hot dog.

I had some success shopping! I found a sweatshirt and new jeggings at American Eagle, and a ton of jewelry and a shirt at Forever 21.

And then came our traditional trip to Rockefeller Center to see the tree at night!

Then it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for what turned out to be a wonderful dinner – still to come!

What’s your most treasured holiday family tradition?

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