Why have I neglected this for so long?? Shopping!! Eeeee!!

Life gets crazy. It can also depress you in ways you don't always admit to yourself. So, lets see for a brief update and in a nutshell, I've been way up and I've been way down over the past few years. Shopping has always been there, but I definitely had to slow it down after being on my own. And more than the shopping, expressing myself has been one of those things that I enjoy. So, neglecting this blog has been a silly thing to do on my part.

There is this cool shopping center I pass on my way home to Fort Worth from work in Lancaster. Outlets at Grand Prairie? Something like that. I only say cool because it has a Bloomingdales Outlet store!!! I love this store! We don't even have a Bloomingdales store in North Texas, but for me, its reputation spoke for itself. And I say that the shopping center is cool but I have been there probably 15 times since it opened and I have honestly never made it to any other part of the dang place. (there is a Michael Kors, a Gap, True Religion even an Off 6th!) I'm silly, but that is how much I adore this store.
My suggestion? Park at the west entrance and enter at the shoe side. YES. They have the best shoes. Dolce Vita, Sam Edelman, Kelsi Dagger, Betsey Johnson, Steve Madden, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Elizabeth and James and so so much more. There are some shoes from last season and maybe even the season before that, which are the best, best deals, and then there is also current season's offerings. I once got a pair of distressed suede tan colored Ash sneakers with pyramid studs for $12.. Oh and the boot section is amazing. And are all discounted already!

DV Dolce Vita booties. I recently got a pair almost exactly like this with a super wearable high heel for $40!!

You can then saunter into the fabulous selection of purses. Marc Jacobs! Love. The clothing is more to the center of the store, categorized well and easy to navigate. From Joie, Free People, BCBG and French Connection to Calvin Klein and NYDJ and Michael Kors, along with a very cool selection of slightly lower priced lines but with great style and quality. They have kids, mens and even a new plus size section! I have a couple of pairs of J Brand jeans in khaki and tan corduroy that i got for about $20 each!

Then the climax of every visit for me, as a consummate bargain shopper and self-professed obsessor with finding "the deal," is the actual Clearance section. Holy cow. First of all, everything that enters this place is marked down, period. They constantly have extra discount off  by marking things with a colored dot system. I have saved up to 80 percent off original prices before! But the clearance, ermygrrdd, it satisfies that passion to hunt for something great that you didn't even know you wanted, nay, needed. And it too is also usually discounted!!! I once bought a denim Marc Jacobs shirt for $20!

I'm sure many people don't get the difference between shopping at Wal-mart and shopping at nicer  more expensive places like Nordstrom's. But quality is the key word here. I adore Target and Forever XXI. The prices are reasonable and I can score something that is chic and/or practical at a great price. But once you put on a pair of J Brand jean leggings, you instantly can tell the difference in how well they are constructed. You get a level of styling and fit that adds to/creates the normally higher cost you just can't get with most lower priced items out there. I do not have a fit model body, most of us don't! So, shopping for quality is so important. Getting quality for cheap, is like the most delicious feeling ever. Well, it is to me!!