Home is where the heart (and money) is

I love my parents and it's always nice to see them. However, like any other spoiled, materialistic offspring, there is a greedy additional reason why I look forward to my trips home. Namely, my mother is well trained and knows that mother-daughter bonding time means taking me shopping and dropping loads of cash. I almost always get some goodies but this time was an exceptionally good haul. My mother took me to the mall with the specific goal of finding me an acceptable 21st birthday gift. My birthday was 3 months ago and I had already received a gorgeous Mike & Chris leather jacket (50% off but that's another post) but my parents had told me that they wanted to buy me something that I would still use 20 years from now. Well, when my mother has a mission she sets right to it. We first browsed the jewelry section at Macy's where I found a gorgeous necklace with a single black pearl. I was in love but being fickle I decided that I needed to peruse every jewelry section and store in the entire mall before I made my decision. It took 2.5 hours and I looked at every possible stone and combination but I eventually settled on the pearl. I really liked some of the diamond pendants, particularly the journey ones but the pearl, I felt, was more unique. Plus, we were able to get it for a huge discount with the Macy's card, a discount coupon, and the jewelry sale they were having. I can find a diamond pendant that tickles my fancy anytime but a $850 pearl for $200, I think not. Along with the pearl pendant, I got a necklace, earring, and bracelet white pearl set for a ridiculously low price. It's not my ideal type but since I need white pearls both for interviews and for sorority recruitment in the fall it was a good buy.


Aside from the jewelry, I picked up a pair of BCBGirls black pointy toed heels (boring but again, needed for recruitment), 3 v necks and a boyfriend cardigan at American Apparel, a more professional silver watch by Kenneth Cole Reaction and $200 worth of makeup at Sephora to make a "travel kit." Lastly, I found an amazing deal. While browsing the sale racks at Macy's, I stumbled upon a Marc by Marc Jacobs wave print wrap dress. I was a bit worried because it's a small and I, of late, am definitely not a small but it works because it's a wrap dress and because no matter how fat I get my chest will always be minute. It retails for $198 but I got it for only $68! Needless to say it was a good weekend.