What's In My Cart From The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale + Giveaway

Good morning from 3 AM me. There are few times that I'll wake up in the middle of the night willingly with no plans of falling back asleep. The Nordstrom Anniversary sale and getting up to go on a trip are the only two times that currently come to mind. I have no doubt that you'll be hearing a lot about this sale all over the internet and instagram in the coming days and with good reason. If you're curious as to why everyone is talking about it you can read the honest answer here or agree that it really is as good as it sounds and start shopping here.

For those of you who may not know all the details of the sale, here's the low down. The sale is currently open to Nordstrom Card Holders (it's not too late to apply and you can do that here) only. Next Friday, July 20th (my mom's birthday!) the sale opens to everyone. I will say that things do have a tendency to sell out so if you're considering a card already it may be worth it. Fortunately, Nordstrom does their best to restock things throughout the sale although there is no guarantee that your favorite item will end up back on the site. Lastly, this sale is different than many other sales since the items that are discounted are newly released pieces for Fall. So, instead of having to wait til Black Friday to get all the fall pieces you're loving on sale, Nordstrom releases them all at once at discounted prices. I think that about covers the jist of the sale, but if you have other questions about how it works feel free to ask me or find out more information here.

While I do truly appreciate each of you who comes to my site looking for inspiration from the sale, sometimes you have to lookout for #1. Because of that, I am starting my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks with the items I currently have in my cart instead of sharing lots of picks from each category. I still will share those categorical picks, but I'd be bummed if some of the items I love from the sale sell out before I had the chance to snag them. When I am online shopping my strategy is to add those items I am considering buying to my cart and then re-evaluating my cart before checking out. Consider my online cart kind of like an in store dressing room. I haven't committed to the pieces yet, but I'm definitely interested. Will I purchase all 35 pieces currently in my cart? Absolutely not (I'm a teacher, remember? That's not the kind of salary I make). Am I interested in these items? You bet! Will this be my only order? Probably not. One of the beauties about shopping with Nordstrom is the fact that they have free shipping and returns. That means I'll probably check out more than once and will more than likely make some returns for the items that don't work. A secret that you need to know if you don't have a Nordstrom nearby is that you can return pieces purchased from Nordstrom at Nordstrom Rack which is exactly what I do!

Without boring you any more with my personal shopping strategy, below you'll find all the pieces that I currently have in my cart. You'll have to wait until next Thursday and Friday to see what I actually ended up getting since I plan to share photos of the items once I have them in person and a video giving you a run down on the sizing and whether or not I plan to keep the piece. In order to shop this post, be sure to scroll underneath the graphic in order to find the name of the piece and a link directly to it. The image isn't currently shop-able by clicking on the pieces directly in the graphic but hopefully it will be soon!

1. 1822 Denim Butter High Waist Skinny Ankle Jeans in Donna (28.90) // 2. Diptyque Candle Set (55.00) // 3. Calson Back Zip Pullover in Grey (39.90) // 4. BP Brice Notched Bootie in Cognac Suede (79.90) // 5. BeautyBlender Cleanse and Carry Set (35.00) // 6. S'well Pink Water Bottle (22.90) // 7. BP Raw Edge V-Neck Tee in White (11.90) // 8. BP Raw Edge V-Neck Tee in Ivory Liz Stripe (11.90) // 9. J.Crew Tipped Short Pajamas in Cool Pink (56.90) // 10. Madewell Province Cross Back Knit Pullover (45.90) // 11. J.Crew Ruffle Popover Shirt (58.90) // 12. Calson Ruffle Hem Cotton Blend Sweatshirt Dress in Navy (45.90) // 13. Adidas Edge Lux Clima Running Shoes in Clear Orange (63.90) // 14. 1822 High Rise Denim Skinny Jeans in Rinse (28.90) // 15. Madewell Stripe Blanket Scarf in Forgotten Sea Multi (35.90) // 16. Sub_Urban Riot Good Vibes Tee (21.90) // 17. ALO Glimpse Long Sleeve Tee (44.90) //  18. Madewell Courier Stripe Button Back Top (45.90) // 19. ALO High Waist Airbrush Midi Leggings in Anthracite (51.90) // 20. Topshop Rosa Biker Jacket in Light Grey (58.90) // 21. BlankNYC Meant To Be Moto Jacket in Evergreen (64.90) // 

22. Petit Pehr Pom Pom Set of 3 Canvas Bins (60.90) // 23. CeCe Scallop Edge Tank (58.90) // 24. Charles Henry Ruffle Shift Dress in Royal (62.90) // 25. Calson High-Low V-Neck Sweater in Ivory-Black Stripe (37.90)  26. Gibson Cozy Fleece Tunic (39.90) // 27. Patagonia Nano Puff Water Resistant Jacket in Black (148.90) // 28. Halogen Cotton Blend Boat Neck Top (33.90) // 29. Laura Mercier Prime & Perfect Set (38.00) // 30. Halogen Seamless Bandeau (11.90) // 31. Calson Peplum Top (32.90) // 32. Hinge Mixed Lace Peplum Top (45.90) // 33. Leith Stitched Shaped V-Neck Top in Ivory (43.90) // 34. Madewell Colorblock Blanket Scarf in Cream Pink (35.90). // 35. Louise et Cie Clea Bow Slide in Black (84.90)

Giveaway:

To make these Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2018 posts even more fun I decided that I want to include a giveaway for y'all. This giveaway is different from the ones you've seen other bloggers do on instagram lately since it isn't a loop (aka not going to make you follow a ton of other people for the sake of me gaining followers) and is kind of a game for y'all.

Let's start with what is up for grabs. A $200 Nordstrom Giftcard that will be emailed to you on the day the giveaway ends (July 20th) so that you can shop the first day of Open Access of the Nordstrom Sale with it.

So, how do you enter? Like I mentioned, this giveaway is different in that it is a bit of a game for y'all. What you have to do to enter is listed in easy to follow steps directly below.

1. Follow @prepinyourstep on Instagram.
2. Comment directly on this post with which items above you think I purchased. Instead of listing the name of the item, feel free to just include the number listed next to it. You also need to include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you and send the $200 gift card your way!
3. Pay attention to my instagram stories (how convenient since you're already following me per number 1). I'll be sharing some additional hints directly on my instagram stories to help you even further.

Up for the challenge? I'll admit it's a bit tricky but a lot of fun because I'll be giving y'all hints in each post leading up until the giveaway ends on Friday, July 20th. That means, I'll be sharing links with y'all of the items that didn't end up making the cut when I finally clicked "order." The beauty of this giveaway is that each day as I narrow down the items that didn't make the cut, you can come back to this post and comment again with your new guess. Right before Open Access of the sale begins, I'll be reading through the comments to see who the first person to perfectly guess which pieces I ordered was. If no one is able to guess each piece based on the clues given, I'll randomly select the winner.

I am SO excited for this aspect of sharing the sale with you and can not wait to give back to one of you to help you shop the sale!

Shop Some Items Shown Above: