Shopping & Sledding

Soooooo guys, I kinda lied to you last time at the end of my post when I said we were going sledding. We actually ended up going sledding yesterday since the state park we were going to didn’t have any facilities open on Monday or Tuesday and we didn’t want to be stuck up there without a bathroom–ummmm TMI!

What we did end up doing on Tuesday was even better–shopping! Obviously I am such a shopaholic, I will almost never turn down a shopping trip, clothes or grocery or otherwise. It’s just so much fun. We headed up to our favorite Denver mall for a day of shopping and eating out.

One major disappointment of the day was driving to Gelazzi (aka the best gelato place ever) and realizing that it was closed for remodeling! Yeah, uh, what is that all about? But no worries, we ended up checking out a new-to-us froyo place called Peach Wave and the disappointment ended when I realized they had several seasonal flavors to choose from. Me and seasonal flavors are BFFs, of course, so I ended up getting peppermint stick and chocolate froyos with raspberries on top. Boy was it delicious! I also sampled a few other flavors, including peanut butter, which was outta this world! But then again nut butters rock my world 😉

Shopping was hella fun, as expected. My sister and I headed out on our own, only to be surprised by how crazy the crowds were! I don’t think we’ve ever gone shopping that soon after Christmas so it was quite a shock. We even had to wait in a line outside of Hollister for about 5 minutes before they’d let us in since so many people were in the store 😯 It was hectic to say the least, but we got a ton of good deals and we both scored a ton of things! I seriously don’t think I’ve ever bought that many things at once!

I'm starting to really love stripes--especially in my favorite color (A&F Audrey pullover sweater)

 

I can always use another cute tank top...especially when it has the same name as me 😉 (A&F Ashley tank)

Abercrombie & Fitch, usually the calmest store at the mall, was packed with so many people that my sister and I got really frustrated! We did end up leaving the store with two purchases each in hand (for 40% off, too)–a pair of flare jeans and a lacy top for her, a pink striped sweater and ruffly grey cami for me.

I'm obsessed with lace...and bows! (Abercrombie Kids Dessa tank)

Abercrombie Kids was also a zoo, but practically everyone in the store was much shorter than me–that’s what I get for shopping in a kids store, I guess. I did score this adorable lacy tank with a pinstripe bow ‘belt’ for less than $20 though!

As if I really need more necklaces in my life... (AE)

How cute is this ring? (AE XO Ring)

 

American Eagle is the best place to get good jewelry cheap (okay, Forever 21 is too). I had a gift card to here that I spent completely on a necklace and a ring. I am basically jewelry obsessed and rarely go a day without wearing at least a necklace or some bangles. Apparently this Christmas I was really blessed with jewelry, since I also got another necklace and another ring as presents…

You can never have too much plaid (Hollister Manhattan Beach shirt)

 

Still in love with jeggings (Hollister Cord Jegging)

At Hollister, I continued my recent obsession with plaid shirts and jeggings. I’ve been eyeing these corduroy jeggings for the longest time, and once I took the plunge and bought my first pair the other day I decided to get these too. Since they’re tan, they’ll look good with anything and will fit well with my brown suede boots and the new boots I got for Christmas!

I also did a little online shopping back at home, where I ended up buying grey lace shorts from Abercrombie Kids and a pinstriped oxford-type shirt from Gilly Hicks.

We ended our day in Denver with dinner at On the Border, courtesy of a gift card my mom got. I haven’t been there in years, not since I’ve gone vegetarian, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a delicious veg-friendly meal of grilled veggie fajitas. Fajitas are always good and this one did not disappoint–it was mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, squash, zucchini and topped with super-hot fresh jalapeno slices. You can bet I was downing a ton of water throughout the meal, but it was delish! The fresh guac on the side was also amazingly good. I’m also pretty sure that the fajitas are vegan-friendly, as long as you don’t eat the side of sour cream that it came with–so I was able to find a yummy vegan meal in a regular restaurant..wooooo!

Sledding yesterday was also oodles of fun! We drove up to a state park up in the mountains and spent a couple of hours racing down the hills on our sleds. On one really fast run, I ended up tearing our inner tube on a stick and it deflated 😦 But it was fun while it lasted, and we still had two other sleds to have fun on. I was surprised by how fast and far we could go, and also by how bumpy the runs were. It was also reeeeeeally hard to walk up the hills, but it was an awesome workout without really feeling like one! On our way back home, we hit up Starbucks and I bet you can guess what I got–my usual holiday drink, a tall skinny soy peppermint mocha. Definitely a day to remember!

What fun things have you been up to lately? Have you gotten any good after-Christmas deals yet?

Style Phile: Maxed Out!

Because of my undeniable love of fashion (and shopping!) I decided to put together a little series (that will appear from time to time) of style-related posts, featuring some of my favorite new finds or just my personal opinion on all things fashion. Hope you enjoy 😀

I recently embarked on my semi-annual shopping haul (I’m not sure if it counts as a “haul” per se, because I usually only end up buying 4-7 items, but still. Oh, and it also happens probably 3-4 times a year, so it’s not quite semi-annual. Whatevs 😉 ) to Park Meadows Mall. I love this place. It’s my fave place to go shopping in Colorado; I could totally live here. It’s a pretty upscale, modern mall with tons of stores, most of which I’ve never even set foot in. But at some point, I would like to (minus the stores that only sell baby clothes or shoes for men or something like that). I mean, come on, I just realized there is a lululemon store there! Really? How did I not know this before–slash drop all my hard-earned money there? A lot of bloggers talk about lululemon and I’ve always thought, “I wish I could go there, but I’ve never seen one before in my life. I doubt they exist in my little corner of the world!” Now that I know that that’s completely untrue, I’m dying to go check it out. But I digress.

First stop: Hollister. AKA one of my favorite stores ever. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people that only buy things from there to fit in, look cool, blah blah blah (not that I’m judging them or anything). I first started shopping there five years ago, most likely because some of my friends did, but I’ve been a loyal customer since because I honestly love their clothes and their style matches my personality. Not to mention their prices are slightly lower than Abercrombie & Fitch’s (another favorite store). Win-win-win! But this time, I wasn’t really sure I was gonna end up with anything. I was lusting after a lace-trimmed, pinstriped cotton miniskirt (which was apparently only available for mannequin usage…) and when I didn’t see it, I made a beeline for the back of the store–the clearance area. I wasn’t really down for spending all my cash in one place for one item (ahem, on an adorable dress or khaki jacket) so when I found a pair of navy blue twill shorts for 15 bucks…well, I just had to buy them 😉 Seconds later, I spotted an orange thing all by itself on a shelf. I picked it up, and realized it was a cropped hoodie–just like one I had bought on clearance a year ago! Lo and behold, it was my size (love when that happens) and only $7.90! Um, a definite yes! My sister joked that I already had it, but mine’s in turquoise and this one was orange. Big difference. I do not mind buying the same piece in different colors if I truly love it. And being that cheap, how could I turn it down? So I bought the shorts and hoodie.

Orange cropped hoodie (new, Hollister), navy/orange floral button-down cami (Hollister), destroyed denim miniskirt (Hollister)

 (P.S. My bathroom is the best place for self-portraits, since it’s bright and has a big mirror. Sorry about the awkwardness 🙂 )

Multi floral tank (Abercrombie & Fitch), navy blue twill shorts (new, Hollister)

After a stop at American Eagle (they didn’t have the owl necklace I fell in love with and their leather sandals were a bit too expensive) and Williams Sonoma for some chili-lime seasoning, we hit up Abercrombie Kids and A&F. I actually do own a few items from the kids store, because it’s very similar to A&F’s items yet a lot cheaper and because I can still fit into their things. Score! This time, I didn’t find anything amazing there, so we ventured into A&F. You can seriously smell it almost a mile away! But the cologne smell is amazing, so I’m not complaining. I went almost immediately to the back of the store, because I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything full price here. It’s just way too overpriced. On the way, I spotted the $20 brown twill shorts I’ve been wanting and grabbed them. Usually, I pick out items I think look cute, but then end up having almost nothing to wear with it. This time, I decided to actually find something to go with the shorts. I have a few light pink tops at home, but they’re more fall-like. I needed something to wear with the shorts now! Nothing was really grabbing me, until my mom showed me a ruffly tank in white. It was gorgeous, yet simple, and I liked it, but it didn’t have quite enough oomph. Then she showed me a peachy-pinky-off white ruffly tank and it just seemed perfect. Slouchy, but not sloppy. Understated yet pretty. And just the right shade to pair with brown and pink. And it was 30% off. Well, if I must… 😉

Off-white ruffled tank (new, Abercrombie & Fitch), dark brown cuffed twill shorts (new, Abercrombie & Fitch)

At the register, I pulled out the 20% off entire purchase card I had (that expired two days later, yay for procrastination) and got ready to pay. I wasn’t quite sure how much money I had left on my debit card, but I swiped it happily. At first, I was sure I was in the clear because the woman ringing me up wasn’t paying attention to the screen…but seconds later, she said “Oh, you still owe $2.26.” My heart dropped a little, but I dashed over to my mom and begged her to cough up politely asked her for $2. I was a little embarrassed that I “maxed out” my card, but I was sooooo thankful for my mom being there to save my butt. What would I do without her (and her money)?

Next time, I’ll make sure that I have enough money to pay so I don’t end up in the same situation again. One time’s enough!

Have you ever gone over your spending limit? Favorite place to buy clothes?