The Nordstrom Anniversary sale has arrived!  It is my favorite sale of the year! If you are not familiar with the Anniversary Sale it is the yearly sale at Nordstrom where they premiere the hottest items for fall and winter!  These are brand new items and designer items that never go on sale that you can get for up to 40% off!

I know it’s probably 90 degrees out right now and the last thing you want to think about is boots and sweaters but I am telling you if you don’t grab these items now during the sale when you can save $$ you will regret it!

During the sale you will find major savings on all the top products and designers from clothing, accessories, beauty, and more!  Every year the items I stock up on are boots, sweaters, and my favorite beauty items.  I also get the boys a new North Face jacket and Nike shoes for school.

Check out the catalog to see some of what is on sale!

So let’s get to the info you want to know!  When does the sale start!?  How do I get early access?  Find all your answers below!

Early Access For Cardmembers July 12th-18th:  For early access you must be a Nordstrom Card Holder!  If you don’t have a card, here is the link to apply.  Nordstrom Card  During Early Access you MUST pay for your purchases with your Nordstrom Card

Anniversary Sale Open to Everyone July 19th-August 4th:  Sale is open to everyone and you don’t need a Nordstrom card to shop

Prices go up August 5th:  Everything will be back to full price

Tips for Shopping the Sale:

• Don’t wait!  If you see something you like buy it right away, it will likely sell out!  (You can always return it)
• Stock up on beauty items (Beauty brands rarely go on sale so this is the time to stock up on your go to products)
• Get your fall staples! (When fall comes you will regret not getting those booties and sweater)

I will be adding my top picks to this post throughout the sale so be sure to follow my stories for more info and my favorite pieces.

A great beach bag is essential for summer!  I am loving all of the straw bags with pops of color this season.  I always suggest a cheap pair of sunglasses for the pool or beach because you don’t want to loose or ruin your expensive pairs!  I always like to carry a little clutch of skincare sun essentials like sunscreen, lip balm, and lip gloss!  Plus a great beach read is key to summer relaxation!  I am currently reading Emily Ley’s, Grace Not Perfection.

Lemon Clutch

Summer Berry Trifle

Ingredients

1 Fresh Angel Food Cake, cubed into bite size pieces

1 Pint Blueberries

1 Container of Strawberries, sliced

1 Vanilla Pudding Mix, prepared according to package

1 Container of Cool Whip

Directions

1.)  Prepare vanilla pudding according to package and place in fridge to set

2.)  Slice strawberries and cut angel food cake into bite size pieces

3.)  Begin layering Trifle with angel food cake, pudding, cool whip, strawberries and blueberries.  Repeat layering until you end with Cool Whip on top.  Then create design with fruit on top

Frozen Rose

Frozen Rose

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Baby Stella will be here in just a few short weeks and we have so much to do to get ready for her arrival.  I guess when this is your third things get done later and later.  Her furniture still hasn’t arrived and her room needs painted.  Of course though I have her coming home outfit ready!  Check out some of these great shops where I have been getting some adorable pieces for Stella.

Outfit & Blanket

Flamingo

Bow

Stella & Dot Autism Awareness Bracelet

Diff Sunglasses

Diff Sunglasses

Palm Print Accessories

Stella & Dot

We had such a great time in Disney!  My favorite part was seeing the joy on the boys’ faces when they met their favorite characters!  These are memories that I will cherish forever.  I haven’t been to Disney since I was little and obviously so much has changed with the park but also with preparing for your Disney trip.  I did a lot of research and asked my Disney expert friends what I needed to do and came up with a trip that was best suited to our family’s needs.  Here are my Disney tips and tricks with what worked for us!

Tickets

We purchased the 5 day Park Hopper Pass.  We were able to go to all of the Disney Parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios) plus we were able to go to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon with our tickets.  We chose the Hopper pass which allows you to visit more than one park in a day.  We felt this was good for us because we knew the boys weren’t going to last all day in a park.  We wanted to have the ability to come and go as we pleased so we would go to the park during the day and take a swim break at the hotel and go back to the park if we wanted.

Magic Bands

If you stay in a Disney hotel you will automatically get Magic Bands sent to you.  If you don’t stay on Disney property you have the option of purchasing your own Magic Bands.  I highly suggest getting Magic Bands for many reasons!

1.  You don’t have to carry tickets in with you.  Your Magic Band will scan at the park entrance
2. If you plan on making FastPass selections you will just scan your bands at each FastPass ride entrance
3. If you plan on purchasing the Memory Maker Photos you just scan your band at each photo location throughout each park and your photos are automatically uploaded to your My Disney Experience App.

My Disney Experience App

Now that you have your tickets and Magic Bands it is time to plan out your trip.  You can do this all through the MyDisneyExperience website and App.  I used the website for my laptop and downloaded the App on my phone for when we were in Disney.  This is where everything for your Disney trip is stored.  This app is so user friendly and walks you through how to link your tickets to your Magic Bands, book FastPasses, dining and more.

MemoryMaker

I highly suggest purchasing the Memory Maker Photo Pass.  There are Disney Cast Members all over the parks who take your photo in front of your favorite Disney attractions and character meet and greets.

Our Hotel 

Nick is a Hilton Honors member so were able to use his points for our stay.  We stayed at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace which is located at Disney Springs.  Being that we were not on Disney property I had to make sure our hotel had shuttles to the parks.  So that is one of the main reasons we stayed here.  The shuttles came to our hotel every 25 minutes starting an hour before the parks opened.  Then we were dropped off just outside of security at each park.

On Sundays the Hilton Buena Vista Palace has a Character buffet breakfast.  Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy go around to each table and visit with each family.  This was awesome because I didn’t have to stress about booking a character breakfast within the parks.  The boys had a great time!

We were also within walking distance to Disney Springs which is a great outdoor shopping and dining area.  We went there just about every night for dinner.  I had made reservations for restaurants in advance and I would definitely suggest you do this as well because it gets very crowded.

There are also a lot of great shops in Disney Springs.  They have a huge Disney store so that is where we did most of our souvenir shopping so we didn’t have to carry our purchases around with us all day at the parks.

Another lifesaver for us was Amazon Prime Now.  I placed an order with Prime Now at midnight the night we arrived in Disney and our order was in our hotel by 8:30 the next morning!  I would highly recommend doing this because you can bring in food and drinks to the parks and this will save you money!

Pirates League

If you have younger kids I highly suggest the Pirates League Makeover where your kiddos can get transformed into Pirates or Mermaids.  Also for your littles who love Princesses they can become their favorite princess at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Both are located in the Magic Kingdom.  This was such an awesome experience.  From the moment you walk in it is a Pirates Adventure where you get your own Pirate name, pick your costume, receive special Pirate goodies, and more.  You need to make a reservation so you will need to call (407- WDW-STYLE) to book your experience.

Bracelets

Star Necklace

Sunglasses

We are heading to Disney in a few weeks!  The boys are so excited and I have to say so am I.  I haven’t been there since I was little and so much has changed.  I have been doing so much research on the do’s and don’ts of the happiest place on earth!  So as we prepare to head to sunny Florida I am going to share with you all of the essentials I have found for our trip!

Potpourri Recipe

• 1 Orange
• 1 Cup Fresh Cranberries
• 2-3 Sprigs of Pine or Rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon Cloves
• 2-4 Cinnamon Sticks

*Slice orange and place in a medium saucepan with cranberries, pine, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of water

*Simmer mixture and turn heat to low.  Your house will then smell amazing!