GRAND OPENING CHARLOTTE PREMIUM OUTLET MALL - MY EXPERIENCE, WHAT TO EXPECT and HELPFUL TIPS

Overview -
This past weekend was a fun-filled day of shopping for my family. The Charlotte Premium Outlet mall had just opened their doors on Thursday, July 31st and they were offering shoppers a 4-day celebration of awesome deals and sales. The list of stores at the outlet mall is quite impressive and every store has a ton of people ready to assist you. Many stores were offering 20-40% off your entire purchase with some stores hosting giveaways and contests. While other stores would offer a small discount up front and then offer even bigger discounts at a later date to try and entice you back with the promise of additional savings.

This is the newest mall to be built since Northlake mall opened in 2005 and although there are several outlet malls in surrounding areas I believe this is the first outlet mall of its kind for Charlotte. The new outlet mall is quite impressive - a size of approx. 400,000 square ft (with an additional 125K square ft available for potential expansion), over 100 new stores to shop, and the main anchor store is Saks 5th Avenue Off Fifth. At this time there are 2,000 parking spaces for shoppers at the outlet mall and three overflow parking areas located in surrounding neighborhoods (Berewick Elementary School, Radiant Church and Shopton Square Shopping Center) with shuttle buses operating from 6 am to 11 pm taking shoppers to and from the outlet mall.

What to expect trying to get there -
Opening day, Thursday, July 31st, shoppers showed up as early as 6 am in the hopes of scoring some awesome deals. It was the same on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with police routinely shutting down surrounding entrances and roads into the mall to allow time for parking spaces at the outlet mall to clear out. Depending on the time of day, the shutdown could be for as little as an hour or two or at its most extreme it could be for several hours. On Saturday, the traffic fiasco was made even worse due to a special guest appearance by Bethenny Frankel, who founded Skinnygirl Cocktails. Roads were shutdown for three to four hours at a time.

Our experience trying to just get there -
Getting to the exit for the outlet mall didn't take us long - we took I485 south to exit 4 on Shopton road. We tried to turn right going towards the mall but the police directing the traffic diverted everyone away from the mall - either go back onto I485 or travel down the road in the opposite direction of the mall and then make a u-turn. After having to sit in traffic for well over an hour we finally made it to the road leading up to the mall entrance only to be turned away once again. According to police, the mall was closed. By now, it was around 5 pm and we were tired, hungry and beyond aggravated about the outlet mall closing so early. We decided to get a bite to eat before heading home and coincidentally there was a Bojangles directly across from the road leading to the mall entrance so we stopped there.

While we relaxed and ate our food cars kept pulling into Bojangles thinking they could park there and walk to the mall. Not so, the managers at Bojangles were patrolling the restaurant parking lot and turning people away who weren't there to eat at their establishment. On the roadways it was even worse, people were abandoning their cars on the sides of the road and making the really long walk to the mall. It was sheer madness! We stayed at the restaurant for about 45 minutes all the while we watched as scores of people walked along the roadways heading towards the mall. We also saw hordes of cars exiting as well but the police were still not allowing cars into the mall entrances. It was during this time we realized the mall hadn't closed it was just filled beyond capacity with too many cars and not enough parking spaces. Well, I guess we timed it perfectly because just as we were leaving Bojangles the police decided to reopen the main road leading to the mall entrance. By then hardly any traffic remained so we were able to park and shop at our leisure.

Helpful tips -
For right now the best time to shop at the outlet mall will be right as they open. Any later in the day and a person runs the risks of not being able to get in due to the police presence and them shutting down the entrances to the mall. I wouldn't advise going close to closing either as the majority of the merchandise will be picked over and not worth it.

This is an open style mall with some areas covered and some open. If it rains an umbrella or a rain jacket will be needed. If the weather is cool or hot then it might be necessary to dress in layers to accommodate the ever changing crazy weather. Also, there are plenty of places to rest with seating and benches all along the middle of the walkway.

There were a few snack shops open such as Great American Cookie and Auntie Anne's but not much else in the way of food. The food court wasn't open yet but several food trucks and food vendors were readily available along the perimeter of the mall with overpriced food similar to what one would find at the ballpark. Take for example Chick-fil-A, they had $5 dollar sandwiches with your choice of spicy or original chicken and for an additional $2.50 you could get a bag of waffle chips. One thing noticeably missing were soda machines or drinking fountains. Those were located in a few of the restrooms situated midway on both sides of the mall.

Shopping was extremely easy with a few of the more popular stores having long lines such as Kate Spade and Nike. There was a line just to enter the Kate Spade store but once inside shoppers could freely roam the store without feeling crowded or rushed. Overall there was plenty of sales associates to assist shoppers and to expedite the checkout process.

Our shopping experience -
My husband and son shopped mainly for clothes at Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle and Aeropostle while I shopped at stores such as Coach, Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor, Talbots, Kate Spade and Michael Kors. We did purchase quite a few items from various other stores such as Wilson's Leather, Eddie Bauer and Adidas as well. The prices were definitely in line with what one could expect from an outlet mall so that was nice as well. Overall we were really happy with the deals / sales that were being offered and we saved quite a bit.

Be sure to check back - I'm super excited to show you everything that I got.

SHOPPING SPREE: FOREVER 21 and ALDO JEWELRY HAUL

Hello all! I hope you are having a great day so far. I still can't believe we are almost through half the year. Time seems to be zipping right on by, LOL. Anyway I wanted to share with you a quick post of my shopping haul / spree from a few weeks ago. It is mainly jewelry; costume jewelry to be more specific. Nothing too fancy or expensive but some really nice pieces just the same.

I bought these earrings from Forever 21 for $5.80 USD. I thought they matched fairly well with the bracelet below. I tend to buy pieces that I can mix and match with other jewelry already in my collection. Also, the pieces don't always have to match exactly (size and shape) and they don't always have to be same exact shade or color either. 

I absolutely love this bracelet. I purchased it at Forever 21 for $8.50 USD. The color is reminiscent of green Jade which I love even more. I am an avid collector of all things Jade, especially the green Jade so this was a definite "must have" for me. The bracelet is described as mint and gold in color and the design is a faux stone pyramid. It is a stretchy bracelet so it should fit most everybody. Typically I wear a 7in. bracelet and on my wrist this bracelet was a tad loose but not so much that it would fall off. 

Later when I went to ALDO I found these earrings for $8.00 USD. I knew they would compliment the mint green bracelet pictured above so perfectly. Also, since I have multiple piercings in my ears I have the option to wear both pairs of earrings at once. Or I can go for a more subtle look and wear just this one.   

How cute are these rings!

I purchased the two rings as a set at ALDO for $7.98 USD. However there was currently a sale going on. If you bought one item then you got another item for free. Also I believe there was an additional discount given on top of the BOGO (buy one get one free) but I honestly don't remember what it was. Anyway, the mint green ring matches perfectly with the mint green ensemble and the peachy pink ring matches with the other ensemble. I love how this is all coming together so nicely.

Of all the items that I purchased these earrings are my absolute favorite piece. I purchased them at Forever 21 for $4.80 USD. They are described as peach in color (although personally they look more pink to me) and the design is a graduated square drop earring style. Even though they have a little bit of weight to them they are still super comfy. This is the peachy-pink theme that I mentioned above.

I purchased this bracelet at Forever 21 for $8.80 USD. The bracelet is described as peach and gold in color and the design is a faux stone pyramid. It is identical to the mint bracelet pictured above except this one is a different color. At first I wasn't going to purchase this bracelet because I wasn't overly fond of the peach-y color. It wasn't until after I had found the peach graduated square drop earrings that I decided to get the bracelet. I think the two will complement each other very nicely. Overall I'm happy with it.

I purchased this set of bracelets (there are a total of six) from ALDO for $14.98 USD. As I mentioned earlier, ALDO had a BOGO (buy one get one free) promo currently advertised and these bracelets qualified for that discount. Now, I can't take credit for choosing them because I had a little help from the wonderful SA (sales associate) working. She saw me trying to match up my FOREVER 21 jewelry purchases with stuff being sold at ALDO. So she suggested these bracelets because 1) they are very versatile, 2) they were part of the promo going on, and 3) they complimented the ivory coloring in my other bracelets.

Well, that's it for my Jewelry haul. I hope you have a wonderful week and I wish you an even better weekend! 

JEWELMINT: LOVE THAT BINDS BRACELET

Show off your love for fashion with this rose gold wrist adornment. A modern take on the sign language gesture for lover, this mesh bracelet features an O-ring and two hand shaped buckles. Our 7 ¼” piece fastens with a box clasp for a seamless look. Slip on this bracelet as a symbol of your everlasting affection for all things chic.

This rose gold "Love That Binds" bracelet has been on my wishlist for quite some time. I love the classic look and feel of the bracelet and to me it just screams elegance. Well, I had already purchased my JewelMint selection for the month of August but I really loved this bracelet. So much so that I went ahead and made another order for August. If you are not familiar with JewelMint and the whole process you can read my earlier post about it here. Or click on this referral link to sign up right now.

Anyway, I purchased the bracelet at the end of August. I know, I know, I could have used it as my September purchase but I really wanted it and I'm not a very patient person either! Ha Ha! Seeing as how I already had my heart set on this piece, I placed the order later that evening after making sure it was still in stock. However, silly me, forgot about having to go out of town the week that the bracelet was suppose to ship and deliver. So I asked a neighbor to keep an eye out for the package. The end of my trip couldn't get here fast enough. I was so excited to try it on. It felt like it was my birthday or Christmas!

Oh my, the bracelet was so gorgeous. It was everything that I imagined except for it being broken and to small. LOL. I have to laugh because I was so over the moon about this bracelet and here it is and I can't even wear it. Oh, how disappointing! I was utterly heartbroken. What was I going to do? Will they accept returns? Can I even return it?

The next day I contacted Customer Service at JewelMint and explained my situation. The Customer Service Rep. that I spoke with was extremely friendly and very helpful. She explained that all original packaging had to be returned along with the broken bracelet. I could choose to receive a replacement bracelet or they would issue a credit to my account once they had received the bracelet back. Oh, and you mustn't have worn the jewelry either; which I hadn't, so no problems there. I opted for the later, and asked for my account to be credited seeing as how the bracelet was too small anyway, which I'm still a little disappointed about.
 
Even though this purchase didn't turn out the way that I expected it too, I consider it to be a success and I will continue to recommend JewelMint to both my friends and family. I would love to hear from any of you that have ordered from JewelMint and how your experience was with them. Did you have any problems? Did you receive the same excellent Customer service that I did with my purchase? Please share your story with us.

Check back later when I post my September JewelMint purchase. Is it going to be a ring this time, or another necklace, or maybe a bracelet??? I guess you will have to wait and see.....  

AUGUST JEWELMINT: HERE TO ETERNITY SET

True love knows no bounds, and our love for fashion is no exception! This delicate three-tier design measures 16 ½” and includes a 3” extender. Our rose gold-plated and 14k gold-plated design features a double weaver’s knot, a Love charm, and a pavé crystal bar. Pair this piece with matching rose gold heart studs for a finishing touch.

I'm a little late in posting this but for my August JewelMint purchase I bought the "Here to Eternity" set.  If you want to know more about JewelMint you can check it out here. Or click on this referral link to sign up right now. Now on to the good stuff!

I love how this necklace gives the illusion of three different necklaces but it is only the one. This type of necklace will dress up any outfit or it can be worn with jeans for a more casual look. The one thing that I love most about this set is the combination of the gold and the rose gold colors. It is this combo that allows the wearer to pair other coordinating pieces of jewelry in either of the golds which makes this set a very versatile and worthwhile purchase.

Official Coach Factory Online Sale starts TOMORROW.

 

THE OFFICIAL COACH FACTORY 

48 HOUR ONLINE SALE STARTS TOMORROW

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JULY JEWELMINT: TRINITY BRACELETS

I first heard about JEWELMINT in one of my fashion magazines. Membership is $29.99 each month or you can opt to skip the month and not be charged anything. I bought my first piece in June and you can read more about the whole process here. Or follow this referral link to sign up right now.

For the month of July, I was going to opt out and not purchase anything but then I saw the Trinity bracelets. I had seen them before on the website and had really wanted them but they were always sold out. So I made sure to purchase them as soon as I saw that they were available. I like that there are three bracelets and each bracelet is a different metal: silver, rose gold, and gold. You can wear all three bracelets together or you can wear them separately. The bracelets are not big and gaudy but they aren't extremely delicate either. They are fairly sturdy and will not break after a few times of wearing them. If you have the opportunity to purchase them I suggest that you do. These bracelets are classic pieces that will go with anything.

JEWELMINT: MINT BLOSSOM BRACELET

JewelMint is the new and personalized way to shop for designer jewelry! Go to www.jewelmint.com and click "Get Started" to create your FREE style profile. You’ll then be introduced to your very own showroom filled with pieces chosen to best match your style. As a member you get access to the affordable luxury of exclusive jewelry collections designed by actress, Kate Bosworth, and her celeb stylist, Cher Coulter.

Each month you’ll receive personalized recommendations and style advice so you can get runway looks and red carpet style on your budget. Membership is just $29.99 per month and includes Stunning New Collections, Celeb Styling Tips and How-To tips and the jewelry piece of your choice.

Shipping is FREE, returns are hassle free and if you don't find something you love, SKIP THE MONTH FOR NO CHARGE. There’s no obligation.

Here is a link to the website: JEWELMINT

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When I went to the website I wasn't sure what to expect. My fear was that I would fall in love with something but the quality wouldn't be there. Or that the pieces would be be unique and beautiful but wouldn't match my style / taste in jewelry. However, my fears were for nothing because every piece that I saw on the JEWELMINT website was gorgeous. Now the only probably I had was which piece should I buy first. I wanted then ALL! Oh my, there are so many lovely pieces of jewelry to be found on their website. Each month new pieces are added to the already beautiful jewels that can be found there.

I decided to play it safe and go for a bracelet because, for me, I love bracelets. They are my go to jewelry pieces and I love incorporating them with various outfits and styles. Sometimes I will build an outfit around the bracelet that I want to wear that day rather than the other way around. Personally, I think every woman should have that one piece of jewelry that makes her feel like a million bucks and it doesn't have to cost that much either. That is what I love so much about JEWELMINT. Everything is just 29.99 for each jewel and the possibilities are endless.