The Weight of the World

Sometimes I wonder why I feel like I'm walking on a perpetual slope with a boulder strapped to my back. Maybe it's because of all of the stuff in my purse!

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit but I really do carry all of this stuff around with me everyday. I was a Girl Scout and I just can't break out of the "Be Prepared" mentality. And I like options, so that makes it worse.

The good thing is that, while there is a lot of stuff, it is very well organized in my bag and I can find everything in a snap! And this purse is great. It isn't a big black hole and the straps are long enough to fit over my shoulder.

On the Flicker page for this image there are roll-overs, but what you see here includes:

• Dooney & Burke Alto Bag
• Phone 1 - Blackberry for work
• 60GB iPod - previous b-day gift
• Phone 2 - iPhone - last year's b-day gift, in white leather case
• Kindle - this year's b-day gift
• Estee Lauder pink heart compact
• Coach wallet - filled with cards but no cash
• Owl bag - business cards for work and blog, notebook, hair clip and hair band
• Moleskine journal - filled coupouns and to dos
• Flash Drive - what the heck is on that?
• Dooney Keychain - has house, work and car keys, plus my YMCA tag which I don't even belong to anymore. But it helps me sort my keys.
• Multiple Lip products - Burt's Bees Lip Balm L'Oreal lipgloss, Chanel lipstick
• Black bag - "lady" products, Stella travel perfume, Bvlgari White Tea towelettes, nail file, floss, blotting papers, travel flashlight and swiss army knife.
• Stickers and mini-business cards from MOO.com

The sad thing is that I also carry a laptop bag with my computer and files as well as another shopping bag filled with computer cords, my mouse, my lunch and, of course, my shoes for the day.

I should be a good 3 inches taller! Geez!

Ready for a Recap?

It's been a busy couple of days since I last posted up here.

I came home early on Thursday because one of the city papers wanted to interview me about the blog. The reporter came over after I got home from work and we had such a good time that we're going to do a follow-up next week. Exciting!

Friday was actually pretty quiet. I took the day off from work and, after we got Napoleon taken care of for the morning, I watched movies in bed with the other pets. My hair stylist had an opening so she was able to fit me in for a cut and color. I got bangs! Long ones, since I haven't had bangs in ages. They swoop over to the side, so we'll see how I continue to feel about them.

After my appointment I had to go to the mall to return some shoes (I returned these - too uncomfortable, kept these - very comfortable, and am not sure if I'll even get these). I exchanged my Old Navy skirt and got a smaller size in my Gap denim pencil skirt. I also got some new Clinique eyeshadows, a new bottle of my Origins Ginger perfume and a bottle of Estee Lauder Private Collection perfume (which I haven't worn since college). I also found the perfect big boyfriend cardigan in black and grey stripes for which I have a few Fall outfits in mind. Oh yeah, and a few Godiva Key Lime Truffles.

When I got home my Pearl River order had arrived. Lots of fun Chinese fans and parasols and straw slippers (which are very comfy indeed!).

Yesterday we went to Asheville for the Bele Chere festival. If you follow me on Twitter (and I hope you do, so I can follow you as well!) I had lots of "at the moment" updates and Twitpics - you can always see the most recent down below on the right. We took lots of fun pics so I'm going to upload those to Flickr and will do a post asap!

The Shopping Experience

Where I live is really nice but it isn't exactly a shopping mecca. So this weekend I was literally driving all over the state to get in a little retail therapy. While I like having access to all kinds of stuff online, sometimes I really miss browsing at really nice store.

On Saturday, I drove over to Raleigh to the Saks at Triangle Town Center.



My main reason for going was to return a few pairs of shoes that I decided against keeping. I did like these Miu Miu sandals and the Prada sandals but decided my favorite pair were the black satin heels, so I took the others back. I'm trying to be frugal, ya know.



These are stunning in person, though. Sigh.



Since I was in the store, I did pick up a few things we needed - I needed some Clinique mascara and the hubby needed his Kheils shaving cream.

Then I remembered that I had an $80 Saks rewards gift card. Whoo hoo! Not that I needed it, but I decided to get a girly little compact for myself. So I sauntered over to the Estee Lauder counter and got them to pull out the ones I liked. The Tuberose Gardenia one was way heavy so I decided on the Heart of Hearts compact. Isn't it cute!


Everyone at the counter was very nice and helpful in a genuine way (surprisingly). They had a make-up artist in and they asked if they could make me up. I normally never go for that but what the heck, right? They brought me a glass of champagne (it was delish) and tried a few products on me. One product they used was the Bronze Goddess Shimmer Bronzer. I have never used bronzer and rarely use blush because I have a ton of pink in my skin. But this actually looked really nice. So I did buy one. I guess they made their quota off me. I used it again today and liked how it gives me color but I don't look too overdone or anything.



Saks is also doing a free gift with purchase. Not only is it filled with a bunch of great stuff, all of which seem made just for me, but it had 2 travel bottles, a small case and a travel toothbrush. Perfect for decanting when packing for a trip.



It was a nice relaxing day. Which I think is a rarity when shopping these days.

Then today I drove down to Charlotte and went to Neiman Marcus at the Southpark Mall.



The main reason for heading down there was to see a Manolo Blahnik trunk show. In honor of that, I decided to wear a pair of Manolos - my red snakeskin mary janes. I also wore my JCrew scottie dog sweater and my charcoal denim skirt.



I have to interject here. I've probably said it before but Manolos and the way they are architected are amazing. On Saturday, I wore my JS heels. I barely walked around in them and they were starting to bother me a bit. But today I wore the Manolos, walked all over the mall and they weren't bothering me at all. I had actually brought a pair of flats to change into, just in case, and I didn't even have to crack them out.



So, back to the trunk show, it wasn't thrilling me. While they were lovely, I didn't really see anything there that jumped out at me. I was hoping for something unique and amazing, but left without buying anything.

I also have to say that, while I love Neiman Marcus, I find their Sales Associates a bit annoying. They tend to run the gamut from obsequious to condescending, or are both. I usually do two things when I'm planning a trip to a NM. I dress up a bit (half the reason for the Manolos) and I carry a shopping bag with my book, or like today, an extra pair of shoes. I know it's kind of a lame cop out, but I think of it like being at a frat party. I used to carry around a glass of water or a soda around just so everyone would quit bugging me about not drinking. They just want you to join in the consumer frat party. If you don't have a bag in your hand they're all over you. Not very relaxing.

And if you have a few nice items on, like your bag or shoes or jewelry, you actually get better service. A very large part of me hates that. Who are they to judge by what I'm wearing? But part of me wants the better service and I also like dressing up a bit when I'm going to a nice place to shop and to have lunch. Obviously I am not the only one, because I saw a lot of nicely dressed ladies in the mall. And that is not usually the case, especially in this state. Still. The NM Associates can be snobs.

So after wandering around NM for a while, I took a leisurely non-husband-rushed stroll around the mall. I wanted to go into the Hermes store, but it was closed. I did go into Nordstroms which was having a big shoe sale (didn't get anything and found their SAs to be too helpful. I wanted to shoo them away like gnats) and then went to Sephora.

The make-up artist at Saks had used a brush to put on some foundation and a wide brush for the eyeshadow. I liked how they worked so I decided to get some for myself. Both ones are Sephora brand.



Foundation/concealer brush




Eyeshadow brush

I also wanted to try some very glossy nude-pink lip glosses. I didn't want anything shimmery, just really slick and glossy looking. I got two to give a try. The first is Sephora's ultra-shine lip gloss in Natural Pink 14.

The second is Smashbox lip-enhancing gloss in Pop, a sheer pale pink. Much more nude than that swatch appears.

From Sephora, I also got a free mascara sample, so now I'm overwhelmed with mascara options. After Sephora I had a uber-filling lunch at Cheesecake Factory and then I headed back home. I capped off my glamour shopping weekend by hanging out in the yard with the chickens and freshening up their coop. Talk about a contrast.

Did you do anything fun over the weekend?