Nordstrom Haul: Tom’s!

I have been fawning over Tom’s for months. Searching websites for sales (which I found were pretty much slim to none) and looking at the different styles available.  I knew I wanted the classic version, but I was also oogling over the crochet and a few patterns.  I kept saying to myself, I didn’t need them, so I’d wait.

Then the persistent want came back.  So my search for my Tom’s began … but this time I was focusing on sizing. Now I know I have wide feet and I know Tom’s brand suggests going down a size – so if you’re a 7 ½ you should get a 7 because the shoes stretch to your foot.  But I couldn’t find any information on wide feet. None. It’s like a nonexistent internet search (whodathunkit!).

After searching the Nordstrom website I stumbled upon a sale on Tom’s (not on the classics though).  So I ordered a pair of black classic and a pair of navy blue circle pattern Tom’s – in two different sizes.  When they arrived I found the 11 fit JUST right, but were tight and the 12 fit perfectly and were very comfortable just a bit long.  After talking to Nordstrom customer service I decided to re-order the Navy circle pair in a 11 to try out since Nordstrom has a perfect return policy.

Now the sizing trial begins … will my Tom’s stretch and fit my big ole wide feet?  Time will tell!

QUESTION:

Do you own a pair of Tom’s?

Payless Shoe Haul

I am a bit of a sucker for a coupon, especially a coupon that’ll essentially give me a great deal. I received a $10 off $25 purchase coupon in the mail and since I haven’t purchased a pair of shoes in a while, that immediately got me onto the Payless website to check around to see what they had available.  I’ve learned I can get a lot more shoes in my size on their website BUT the downside is their ship-to-store option takes FOREVER.  One time it literally took 3-weeks for me to get the shoes (partly because the store received my shoes and completely forgot to call and let me know).  Since I needed to ensure I found a pair of shoes that were not going to be a problem for my brothers wedding, I decided to pop into the store one late afternoon to browse around.  Thankfully, I struck “gold” and found two pairs of shoes – one for the event I was looking for shoes for and the other because they’d be awesome for spring/summer time.

I picked up a pair of Comfort Plus in the Phillip Mid Wedge Slide style.  They did not have these in the size I needed (they weren’t even an option in a wide or regular) but I found them in a size up and they fit comfortably.  I find sandals, especially sandals/wedges with side straps; they really dig into my feet after a while and make walking a “chore.”  These have a nice, soft kind of stretchy side so I don’t think they’ll be a bother to my feet.  They are originally $24.99 – but I got them on sale for $19.99.

If you’re interested in tis particular style you can find it here: http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=&subCatId=&skuId=130910100&productId=72816&lotId=130910&category=&catdisplayName=Womens

Then after bothering the girl that works in the store, asking if they magically hid a pair of plaid boat shoes I ended up spotting these Airwalk “Tom” like flats – in the style Dream Slip On. When I was a little girl, shoes like this (with the laces – which they still sell) were called “skippies” in my area.  I’ve always loved those shoes and have looked for pairs for myself during the spring/summer months (because they’re light on the feet) but as I’ve gotten older and my feet have grown it’s harder to find them.  But when I saw these in my size I snatched them off the shelf.  The true test was to see if they’d fit … and to my surprise they fit PERFECTLY!  They are originally $19.99 – but on sale for $16.99 – so after my coupon I paid $6.99 for these (making my grand total $26.99 for both pair).

If you’re interested in these they can be found here (they also come in a variety of colors): http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=&subCatId=&skuId=092802080&productId=71097&lotId=092802&category=&catdisplayName=Womens

QUESTION:

Have you shopped for shoes at Payless in a while?  If so, what have you picked up?

My $40 Mistake -- JustFab Law Handbag

This is what happens when you purchase things online without reading fine print and/or reading e-mails that are sent to you and simply deleting them.  I wasn't aware I had to opt out of the month last month for JustFab so when I noticed a $40 charge on my credit card I called to inquire and was advised I had until the 5th of that month to cancel and since I didn't cancel in time -- basically tough .... yeah, you can finish the rest of that sentence.

So I had a credit on my account for almost two weeks and I kept going back and fourth in the shop.  I don't typically purchase shoes online because I have large feet which run wider and I have a heck of a time finding a pair of shoes that are comfortable enough to wear all day without limping around and/or having o take them off immediately.  I am a handbag lover so I'd been staking out the selection and decided I was going to go ahead and just order the Law bag in black for myself.  I had looked up reviews online and everyone said the same thing -- sturdy bag, adorable and GIGANTIC.  I love a big handbag.  I carry a lot with me so to have a bag with a little more room to allow for all the stuff I carry, it's a blessing in disguise -- while also a curse once things start to get too heavy.

The bag itself is quite adorable.  It's a black almost "puckered" pattern which repeats itself all over the bag.  It has a golden locket on the front with an adjustable removable shoulder strap which was stashed away inside the handbag for traveling.

Shop Lately Gift Haul!

After making two purchases with Shop Lately I instantly became addicted to the website.  The daily deal e-mails are really a bad thing because I have to talk myself OUT of clicking on them and buying an abundance of things.  This day I received the e-mail, clicked on it and found 2 perfect gifts -- one for my mother and the other for my boyfriend.  I was surprised that Shop Lately actually sold men’s items, but it happened to be on this particular day they had men’s watches available.  I had been looking for a watch for my boyfriend and figured since this was nice looking online and the watch I purchased for myself prior was great quality that I’d get this one for him.  Turns out it is fabulous quality as well.  I’ll be giving it to him with the other items I got him for his birthday next month.  Now whereas with the bracelet it was just a random find on their website, which was too good to be true so I purchased right away.  The bracelet is in not only my mother’s favorite color, but also has a theme she loves (evil eyes).  My mom is half Greek and is ALL about the evil eye.  The bracelet is so cute; I almost wish I purchased the black thread version for myself.  I was able to save $5 off with the credit provided to my account after my initial 2 orders (for some reason I wasn’t awarded it right away) and shipping was a flat $2.99 (part of the reason why I LOVE the site! I hate paying shipping).

Here’s what I purchased (I cannot provide links to them as they are no longer available):

Toughen Up Men's Watch – Silver
Eye Opening Evil Eye Cord Bracelet – Red

JustFab: Sorbet Handbag Haul!

I received a "We miss you!" e-mail from JustFab. I had signed up on their website shortly after they had become the "it" service but never purchased anything or really browsed the site. With the e-mail I received I was offered the opportunity to purchase a handbag for $19.95. I decided to purchase the Sorbet handbag because I told myself it was gorgeous (which it is) and that I needed a pink bag in my life. Of course my boyfriend told me I have a pink Coach bag hanging up on the door (oops...).


I like the bag, it's structured and due to the base it stands upright. It's a vibrant pink shade with gold accent hardware. It's the perfect size and has a number of compartments inside the bag. The part I love is that it has a removable shoulder strap. I will be making use of that especially on days where I'm running a ton of errands (particularly shopping) and I don't want to lug EVERYTHING in my arms.

Another Shop Lately Arm Candy Haul!

I should not be allowed to receive deal e-mails from ANY company because a deal means “Oh!! Must buy!” in my mind. This always leads to my bank account being a little bruised because I can be a rather impulsive shopper. My new obsession has been Shop Lately. I’ve never been much of a jewelry fan outside of gold (real gold) earrings but I’ve been bitten by the cute bracelet bug and off and purchasing I’ve gone. Then the last few months I’ve been considering getting myself a watch, especially because when at work when I’m walking around I have no idea what time it is unless I am carrying my cell phone with me. So to avoid that, I found a pretty watch on Shop Lately on sale so I purchased it. Upon receipt I will say it’s a stunning watch, but it’s big so I have to take some of the pins out to adjust it to my wrist size. I purchased 5 of the bracelets because they were adorable online and I wanted to get some extra as little gifts. It’s Christmas in August/September….

Here’s what I picked up:

- Glammed Gear Watch - Rose Gold (you can see it here: https://shoplately.com/product/13900/glammed_gear_watch_rose_gold)
- Everyday Cross Bracelet – Gold (you can see it here: https://shoplately.com/product/14020/everyday_cross_bracelet_gold)

I would appreciate if you’re going to purchase anything shown above and you do not have an account, you would do so through my referral link: http://shoplately.com/?u=xdfnsh0p .

Steal! $3.99 Raspberry Crocs!

I made an “emergency” trip to Kohl’s this afternoon because yesterday I had received an e-mail from Kohl’s alerting me that my Kohl’s cash was set to expire on Monday.  Well, we can’t have that!  So I made a trip to the store to see what I could find.  I hit up the shoe section first because I needed to get a larger size in the sneakers I picked up prior, I got a half size and needed to push it up to the full size.  But before I could get to the sneaker section, I made a b-line for the clearance shoe section.  The first thing I noticed was this bright/hot pink pair of sandals, I blinked and realized they were Crocs and grabbed them rather loudly proclaiming “Ohhh!!”  The greatest part is THEY WERE IN MY SIZE -- which is a complete shocker because finding a size 11 anywhere is pretty difficult.  I tried it on and they fit perfectly.  Crocs can run pretty narrow with some of their shoes and this was an 11W so it was perfect.  The only negative?  There was only one shoe there.  I scoured the entire area and could NOT find the second shoe.  I knew the possibilities of them selling one shoe to a peg legged pirate was pretty slim to none, so after going down and getting my sneakers I returned to the clearance section. Scrouching down on the floor I began looking thru boxes (I was determined to find that damn shoe whether I had to tear Kohl’s apart or not), when I pushed one box back, it wouldn’t budge and I realized something was behind it. Ta-da, the missing shoe!  I squealed and quickly ran away from the shoe section LOL.

The style I picked up is called Thea and the color is Raspberry.  The shoes themselves were originally $39.99, but on clearance for $13.99.  I had $10 Kohl’s cash, which dropped the price down to $3.99!  Not bad, not bad at all!  This is like the … er, maybe 8^th pair of Crocs I own.  Yeah, I’m obsessed but I LOVE them and I think they’re adorable.  But to each our own J.

the Dress I'm most likely wearing to a wedding

I picked up this Vera Wang dress at Kohl's a number of weeks back with the intention of wearing this to my boyfriends cousin's wedding.  I figured since it's going to be an August wedding and August can sometimes bring the hottest of weather, I'd like to be somewhat comfortable -- especially in a church where there is NO air conditioning.  I spotted this dress at Kohl's and really fell in love with the color.  It's a gorgeous blue teal shade sleeveless dress which rests at my knees.  The front has a design over the bust and down the middle of the dress which looks as a chiffon and really dresses it up [as you can see the pattern in the flash based 2nd photo].  The greatest part?  The dress was originally $68 and I paid under $8 for it after my 30% off coupon.  SCORE!  Got to love Kohl's and their fabulous deals!  Now this is the dress that's in the running for the wedding, but that doesn't mean I won't be browsing in stores over the next week to see if I can find something else.

QUESTIONS:
Would you wear this dress to a wedding?
Have you purchased anything at Kohl's as of late?

Shoebuy.com Croc's Haul!

Toward the end of June I received an e-mail from Shoebuy.com about a Special members only 2-day sale. I frequently get these e-mails on sales thru Shoebuy but since I had never purchased with them before (I signed up to look at their inventory many moons ago when I received a free $10 coupon off your purchase and never went further than browsing). When I saw the mention of Crocs I logged in and checked out the same which ran for 2 full days. Immediately I saw a pair that I wanted for myself and that I had seen in store but they had never carried my size. I knew my boyfriend wanted a pair of Classics since he basically stole my pair (they are the unisex classics in black) and I have to ask him all the time "Where are my Crocs?" since I don't walk around barefoot. Yes, oddity, but my feet are super sensitive. Anyway! And since my niece was turning 3 I decided to order her a new pair since she outgrew the pair I last bought her. She loved them because she could wear them in the water, out and about, etc. I got her a cute little black pair and (THANKFULLY) the order came in 2 days before her birthday party so I was able to include it in her gift bag. When she saw the shoes she gasped and went "THANK YOU AUNTIE!!" haha! I love her.
I realize thru researching Shoebuy online they have a somewhat middle of the road reputation -- generally a negative one when it comes to returning. So to make sure I didn't have to return, I only bought what I knew would be the sizes I needed. My order shipped right from Crocs warehouse with the Shoebuy paperwork in it. All the items I purchased were at least 50% off suggested retail AND shipping was 98 cents or something outrageous like that.

So this is what I picked up:
- Women's Crocs Cleo II in Black. Paid $15 Sadly these squeeze the heck out of my pinky toe. But my pinky toe is a problem in any shoe I wear -- I do know once I get these to stretch to my feet they'll be fine though.
- Infants' Crocs Shayna in Black. Paid $12.50
- Crocs Classic in Chocolate. Paid $15

So there you have it, my Shoebuy.com purchase and mini-review of sorts.

Old Navy Cardigan Haul

I went to Old Navy a few weeks ago solely to pick up some of these cardigans.  With the weather getting nicer and hotter, I want to start wearing sleeveless tops to work -- but in order to be professional and to make myself a little more comfortable with a sleeveless top I decided to pick up some cardigans that have a longer sleeve that ends before the elbows.  I really wanted a white one -- but they only had one in the store AND it was damaged -- marked lower in price because of the big huge hole in it (really, Old Navy??).  I ended up getting a larger size in the black since lets face it, black goes with anything.  I then grabbed one of the fuschia cardigans because I wanted something pink and it was the closest I'd get to it.

They were priced as marked -- $15 each, BUT Old Navy was having a 30% off women's items that day, and I was able to match it up against a 20% off your entire purchase coupon.

Haul: Adrina Flats!

I absolutely fell in love with these shoes when I saw them online and I had been going back and fourth with myself for two weeks telling myself I didn't need them. But each night I found myself back on the Crocs website putting the same shoes in my online cart and then talking myself out of it and closing out of the page. Yes, you read that right -- these gorgeous fun shoes are Crocs! They are the Adrina Flats which are just the most comfortable, adorable shoes I have ever rest my eyes on and put my feet in.

I purchased these in the color black/black but in reality it's a rather char-coaled type of black, it's not a vibrant deep black shade. When you put them on your feet they look like a light black color. They fit true to size, perhaps they run a tad big, but you really have to follow the Crocs size structure because since their shoes are made from rubber you have to go either a size up or a size down in their shoes to find your proper size.

The base of the shoe is thick enough to support the bottom of your foot while walking. The sides are a very thin, pliable cut out material with a peep toe. Soooo adorable and soooo comfortable! I really want to order the brown pair. Sigh. I'm obsessed. These are $39.99 on the website, but I was able to use a 10% off coupon code from customer service (since I could not get the Facebook and Twitter $4 off to work). Plus on the day (the morning before Father's Day) I was able to get free shipping! Hooray!

I popped into Kmart two weekends ago ONLY because I received an e-mail saying my Shop Your Way Rewards were going to be expiring come Monday. I wasn't even aware I had a Shop Your Way Rewards balance so I headed on into the store. I knew I needed a pair of sandals that weren't the thong variety (I can't wear those without shuffling my feet or gimping around the rest of the day because it's chewed up the skin between my toes). I've had some good luck with Kmart sandals in the past -- last year I got two pairs that were dressier and they were very comfortable.

I hit up the shoe department and found a pair of simple black sandals that criss crossed over the top of my foot. They are in the style "Michelle." I realize they are nothing to look at and are kind of "old lady"-ish but they were extremely comfortable and really the only pair that I could find that was in a wide. They had another pair I liked but they were in a shade I would never wear on my feet. The greatest part is they were on sale for $11.04. Weird pricing structure, but okay!

Then while walking around I found this super cute pair of crocheted flats that I have been wanting forever and a day. They are by the brand Bongo and were on sale for $9.99. I was contemplating getting the tan shade, but I felt the black is a staple shoe I always go with and I get weird with brown/tan shade shoes. I prefer black shoes so I just like to stick with that theme. I have worn these to a BBQ and they were comfortable, but after a while the side of the crotchet part started to rub my pinky toe and I ended up switching shoes. But after a few wears they'll be comfy enough.

The last thing I purchased was a t-shirt that was on the clearance rack for $2.99. It was cute and had a hippie type fairy design on it. Then again for $3 I couldn't pass it up.
When I got up to the register, I told the girl about my Rewards that I wanted to use and she said I needed the pin on the card. Well. I don't have my card on me, I never use my K-Mart card I just give them my cell number. She told me if the cell on me was linked to the number provided, I could text some number and it would send me my pin. I did that and was able to deduct $7.42 from my total JUST because I've shopped at Kmart for a few things over the last X-amount of months. Pretty cool! Now I know why all those ladies on Extreme Couponing prefer to do their grocery shopping at the Big K.

$7.60 Nike Fit & Yoga Pant Haul

$7.60 is all I spent out of pocket for these two items and not due to a gift certificate or anything. I went to Bob's because they had sent me a $10 off your purchase birthday voucher in the mail. I figured I'd get a pair of Croc sandals that I wanted, but looking thru their selection they did not have any in my size. I headed over to the clothing department and found some yoga pants on clearance for $10. I snagged those because I LOVE yoga pants -- and I grabbed this tribal top for $12. Upon getting home and trying it on, it fit very oddly and accentuated my hiatal hernia so I decided to return it.

Anyway, while in the store I then headed over to the sneaker section because I had been looking for a pair of lighter Nike or Puma shoes that would be lightweight enough to wear to zumba class without making my already large feet feel like cement blocks. I browsed around and found one pair for $90, they were nice but not something I was in love with and for $90 I wanted to love them. After walking around I stumbled upon the clearance section. I found two pairs of Nike's in my size, a pair of Nike Fits and Nike Frees. Both were marked $45 with the sign on the wall stating additional discounts will be rung up at the register. I brought both up with me figuring I'd get 2 for the price of one and a pair of dress shoes for my boyfriend. The first pair rang up $30 and upon wearing them at home I had to return them they were soooooooo uncomfortable after 10 minutes on. I didn't quite realize it until I was able to look at my receipt, but the girl at the register was chatting away to me and mistaking rang thru the shirt I purchased [and ended up returning] twice instead of ringing up the shirt and then the pair of sneakers. So I got the sneakers for $12!

I had a 20% off your entire purchase coupon I printed off Bob's website and I used my $10 off your purchase coupon. Subtracting my boyfriends shoes and the 2 items I ended up returning both of these items cost me $7.60! Craziness, right!?