We had a lazy Xmas day, spent playing with our daughter and watching TV ("The Smurfs" and "Midnight in Paris") without even going outside for a walk but yesterday we got up early and hit Saks for the post-Xmas sale. I think I have already said here that my husband goes shopping once a year, on the 26th, and even if it can be frustrating being at Saks without even looking at all the goodies that I could buy for me (especially the bags and the shoes), I have decided a long time ago that this is "his" day and I am just going to be his personal shopper. After all I can shop any other day of the year and I can let him be the center of the attention for one day. In any case Saks, and in particular the men's department where they were having 60% off until noon, was CRAAAAZY, even a well-seasoned shopper like me had more than enough after two hours of fighting with the crowds for a pair of pants. And if I was tired, you can imagine my daughter (she was with us this year since we don't have any family here for the holidays who can provide babysitting), she was poo-pooed even if she was remarkably well beheived the entire time. The highlight of the expedition was bumping into a JCA in the Saks elevator (in case she is reading "Hi Stef, it was fun to see you at Saks!")
It was good to come back home around lunch time, change into "lounge clothes" and just relax. These last few days I spent a lot of time in my JCrew flannel pajama set from last year, but instead of wearing the pants and top together I like to switch to a silk shirt for the day (it makes me feel like "I got dressed"). I bought this black one a couple of weeks ago at Joe Fresh for $19 and I wore it non stop (in and out) since. It is a size bigger than the other one that I have in the nude color (I couldn't find the XS anymore), but I really like the slightly oversized look of it. I haven't bought and worn a black shirt in ages (in fact I just retired my only other one from Zara, from the pre-baby days, that was too small around my mid-section) but I think that I made peace with wearing black again thanks to this blouse:
The necklace is the JCrew tassel neklace from early fall. I go it recently on a popback on the website after looking everywhere for it. I love this necklace, it has the right amount of sparkle to light up a dark top like this one:
I actually waited until Xmas to wear it and put it under the tree and it was actually a good thing because my Milly dress was a complete bust, unfortunately. It looks so lovely on the website pic:
but the fit is all wrong. I bought a petite and while the top portion fits, the skirt is giant, I could fit two butts of mine in that. Very strange! Being it a knit dress it can't be altered, so back it goes. Oh well, at least I didn't pay the shipping and my husband and daughter actually had a surprise for me, a Sephora bag with an anti-aging treatment. Uhm, I am not sure I like the message, but I will take it.
I am in my pajama outfit today too and I guess pretty much the rest of the week. My husband went back to work this morning and with my daughter we are trying too fill the after Xmas emptiness with little projects like decorating a gingerbread house (it was a gift from a friend but we received it a little bit too late to decorate it in time for Xmas, so instead of rushing it I preferred to keep it for this week). My daughter loves Mickey Mouse and Co., so we decided that it was going to be our theme this year. Maybe it doesn't look exactly like the clubhouse but it was fun and it is cheerful enough:
I have another project to be completed before New Year's Eve: to compile our New Year's Eve playlist. I usually buy new music during the year and then I just have to put it together in a new playlist on iTunes, but this year I have literally had my ears shut (I bought only one song in the entire year, Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" and only because my husband asked me to) and I am catching up (thanks to iTunes "2011 Rewind"). I am looking for songs with an infectious tune or just plain great songs from the past year. I have an eclectic sensibility (even if I gravitate towards electronic music more than pop, R&B and hip-hop) and if you want to share your favorite song of the year please do so in the Comments!
hi ema,too bad that the milly dress didnt work out.
ReplyDeletemy favorite songs this year are "a night like this" from carol emerald and "fire to the rain" by adelle.
thanks for stopping by on my blog!
Ema, I was in NY on Boxing Day (my in-laws live in NY) and thought long and hard about going to Saks at 8 am, as that is what I usually do when I am home. But the Saks at home is a 5 minute drive away, while the Saks in NY is at least an hour drive away, and that doesn't include finding parking. Public transport would make me more grumpy. So I ditched my Saks plan even though I really wanted a pair of Prada sport boots and the 5th Ave store had a pair just waiting for me!
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, I thought I would have an even better plan, and that is to drive up to Woodbury instead, taking our time, and then driving back to DC straight from Woodbury. So we got to Woodbury around noon and it was MADNESS. Lines outside all the popular stores (Prada, Burberry, Tory Burch, and of course Coach, which I can never understand -- you can buy Coach Factory ONLINE!). It took us ONE HOUR to LEAVE the parking lot. That's right, to LEAVE! I learned my lesson. The outlets on Boxing Day is pure punishment. That's my post for tomorrow.
Sorry for the long comment but I'm so glad that you understand the Saks Boxing Day tradition! For years my husband thought I was loony for getting up early to be there at 8. But actually, knowing that people camp in the cold outside Best Buy or Walmart for 2 days, I don't think an 8 am outing is crazy at all, I think it's actually quite reasonable. I've actually been with the kids too one year and we raid the Christmas cookies/sweets department after a sweep through the shoes department! It's a lot of fun!
Hi ina, I agree, "fire to the rain is a great song"!
ReplyDeletedinster, yes, we always hit Saks on the 26th. We weren't there at 8 though, more around 9 (we waited for a bus forever). The sweets department was even more crowded than men's, they had a rope and they would let only few people in at a time. Crazy, I tell you!
Thanks for sharing your experience, it makes me feel better about never going to the Outlets ;-).
(catching up on blog reading!) hi, ema! so fun bumping into you in the saks elevator! i admit--i was there selfishly shopping for myself! the worst part--i'm returning most of what i bought! i easily got sucked into the sale frenzy and ended buying things i don't need and didn't even really like (once i was home and had more time to think it over!) even worse-i waited on line for 45 min to get into the shoe dept, had crappy service once i finally got in and ending up returning the 2 pairs i bought anyhow! sigh...
ReplyDeleteglad you and your family had a lovely holiday. a very happy new year to you--here's to more shopping bump-ins in 2012! (i think we also bumped into each other at the prince st jc once too? one day we should plan it! our girls can keep each other company :))