Last Trip of the Summer

This summer has gone by so fast for me. This was my first summer since starting college that I didn't take any classes. I have packed as much as I could into this summer and it seemed to fly by. My first trip was to Ireland and England for two weeks, my second trip was a week in Big Bear, California and my most recent and last trip was to Des Moines, Iowa (my hometown). I just went for the weekend Friday- Monday. The last time I was in Des Moines was for my birthday and it was freezing and snowing out. I love summer and fall time in Des Moines. It's such a great city with so much to offer. If they didn't have freezing weather I may still be living there. I spent most of the weekend shopping and spending time with my best friend Meghan. Where I live the closest place to shop is Tampa International Mall and that still doesn't have all the stores I go to.

I save my money so whenever I go to Des Moines I can go shopping! I don't generally like to shop I like to save my money. However, Des Moines honestly has some good shopping. They have several adorable boutiques I shopped at in West Glen. One was a resale shop that had some pretty good deals and you would never had guessed that the clothes weren't brand new. Their purses and shoes were a little pricy (I thought) for being used. Some of the coach purses I could have bought brand new at a Coach outlet, here, in Florida. I bought a cute red skirt for work with a black flower design, a necklace and a blue and white Michael Kors top for work or casual.

I also shopped at Gordmans. This is my favorite place to shop for picture frames. They have a huge variety for great prices. I bought some really cute dog themed picture frames to put pictures of Gunner in. I bought one frame for the start of my Europe pictures. I'm slowly starting to decorate my home and I can't wait to share the process with all of my readers.

I don't usually shop at Valley West Mall. However they are the only mall in Des Moines that has a Limited. I love to shop at Limited for my work and casual clothes. They are always have some sort of sale and they are reasonably priced. Everywhere I shopped at on this trip had sales!! The one good thing about Florida is you can where summer clothes year round! This time at Limited they most of their stuff was on sale with an additional 40% off and the other sale items were buy one get one 50% off.

I really cashed in  here. I bought two pairs of dress pants (capri style) that had the additional 40% off, another pair of dress pants and an orange sheer top that were in the buy one get one 50% off, a pair of yellow skinny jeans and a pair of mint (with a zebra pattern), they were also buy one get one 50% off. I bought a cobalt blue top that was on sale and a pair of earrings that were on sale. My mom and I pooled our stuff together because on top of all that I receive a discount for being a student!

At Jordan Creek we shopped at Francesca's Boutique. I bought a dress, belt and two pair of earrings. I don't believe any of that was on sale. I also visited the Loft where they had a pair of mint jeans that were original $55 on sale for $25. Another favorite of mine is Banana Republic, but they are pretty expensive (they also offer student discounts). I bought a cute top there that was on sale for $15.

My all time favorite place to shop is Barnes and Nobles, and Des Moines has a beautiful two story one that I always visit when I'm in the city. I was lucky enough to be armed with gift cards for this part. I always say I'm not to be trusted with a credit card in Barnes and Nobles.

Any time Meghan and I get together we bake. We both love to bake! This time we decided on cookies (last time was cupcakes). Meghan did most of the baking and I did most of the decorating. It's relaxing for me to decorate cookies and cupcakes. I tend to be a perfectionist though. I'm really proud of how the cookies turned out. The frosting on the bats was pretty thick so they were a little messier.

                       All the cookies we made. It took awhile to decorate them!

Palm Trees and Feet. I think the Palm Trees and Tulips are my Favorite,

 

                                                           The base ball bats
Stay tuned for my next post on student discounts. I love student discounts and use them whenever I can! Where is your favorite place to shop at?