I think, at this point, that just about everyone has a love/hate relationship with the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Dani, Rox, Sarah, and I talked about this a little earlier this month- were we even going to shop it? I felt over it before it even began. I know we weren’t the only ones who were kind of “meh” about it this year- check out this post from Gentry (one of my favorite bloggers who I have never met!). I totally agree that I want less, better quality, more versatile items, rather than stocking up on trendy pieces that I won’t love in a year. Last year, I bough the same dress in four colors. I wear all of them constantly because they’re great for work, but I probably didn’t need to do that.

I have the Nordstrom card, so starting on July 12th at 12:30PM, I was able to shop the sale early. I’ll be honest, I shop when I feel overwhelmed and this has been a hell of a summer for me. I’m also going to LA for an art gallery opening in September, so I wanted to see if anything caught my eye somewhere between business casual and cocktail. Before I knew it, I had close to $500 worth of STUFF in my cart. This is not what I was going for.

Luckily, I have a friend I can turn to when I have questions of finance and practicality. She and I have made a point of being open and honest about money with each other. It’s great because there’s no judgement. But I sent her pictures of everything I picked and we narrowed it WAY down to a cute dress for LA and a jacket I’ll get tons of use out of.

If you’re trying to budget, do you have a budget buddy? Or someone who can tough-love you out of things you don’t need?

I wanted to show you all my picks and what I eventually ended up with. Some of the pieces I wanted originally were not practical, or they were things I could find similar versions of for less.  Some of them are already gone… there’s a chance they could be restocked but wowza!

What do you think of the sale this year? Are you excited to buy, sitting this one out, or somewhere in between?

BLANKNYC Faux Fur Teddy Coat||Chelsea28 Ruched Waist Minidress||Gibson Teddy Bear Faux Fur Jacket||Steve Madden Lavish Buckle Bootie||Free People Popcorn Sweater||BP. Long Leopard Jacquard Cardigan||BaubleBar Valentina Heart Stud Earrings||Avec Les Filles Leopard Mock Neck Short Sleeve Dress



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