Live from the Front Lines of the Gilt City Warehouse Sale!

                Today is the start of the Gilt City DC’s warehouse sale. It is located this year at Dock 5 of the Union Market. This is behind the shops off of Neal Street NE. I have attended the biannual Gilt City warehouse sale since its inception and have reported on it through this very blog (http://bit.ly/21ffFu0 ). I have attended the first access media event. Gilt City has sent me a private email link before the regular tickets go on sale because I am a premium client, have been here before and the site follows me on Twitter. The first access media event benefits are getting first crack at all of the goodies. This is great when both my dress and shoe size is 12. Speaking of shoe size, I am happy that Gilt City has (finally) stocked my shoe size!

In addition, to shoes, I have snagged the white Diane von Furstenberg dress and two Alice + Olivia dresses. These are two of my favorite designers plus I couldn’t resist the Alice + Olivia sparkle! I absolutely love sequins and they make me feel feminine.

Another bonus is the extra discounts coming from certain colored tags. I manage to score an extra 20% off my blue Alice + Olivia dress because it has a lavender tag. 

I hope that these insider tidbits guide you through your Gilt City warehouse sale visit. This event is happening today and tomorrow. Here is the link to purchase tickets (http://gi.lt/1oQY4uA). Hurry up because they are going fast and you save hundreds of dollars in one place! 

Saving Money Where I Can Through Ideeli!

            My Ideeli Escada wool trench coat arrived this past weekend and I was giddy because I only spent $249.99 on a $1175 coat. That’s 21% and saving $926.  This was only the beginning because I also ordered an Escada that should be shipping this week for only $99.  Cumulatively, I saved over $1000 on these two purchases. My closet and wallet thank Ideeli.com!

Escada Wool Coat

Escada Original Price Tag

Two-Thirds of the Way Done

            It is amazing that today is September 1^st and 2/3 of this year is done.  I am proud to accomplish a lot this year (promotion, move, PMP certification) because most people only do one or two of these things. I’ve managed to do all three but I am officially in grind mode after realizing that there are only four more months left.  I will earn my PMI-ACP certification, rededicate myself to fashion and creating my line, win Nanowrimo in November and keep saving for a house.  I know that by December 31^st, I will possess two project management certifications, know how to make a fashion pattern, sewn four clothes for my line, save over $3000 towards my house and have fun doing it.

Self-Investment on a Shoestring Budget

            I’ve enrolled in this regression analysis course and the instructor wants us to use either SAS, Stata, JMP or other commercial statistical software. Well. SAS wants $199 for a 6-month license so I check to see if StatCrunch processes the same and viola it does!  This move has saved me $199 and much needed time in learning how to do regression in SAS.  The great part is that I can use StatCrunch for the upcoming logistic regression next June. I truly want to improve my job performance and advance my career and thanks to StatCrunch, I don’t have to break the bank!

High Fashion Meets High Savings

Yippie! Nordstrom has the Alice + Olivia Charla leopard-print trench coat in large for $317 instead of $478.  The only reason how I learn this is because the Alice + Olivia store is having a 20% off Friends & Family sale.  The company already has the trench coat on sale for $478 so I do a Google search and learn that Nordstrom has it for $317.  Even though I checked before and large was sold out, I check again.  When the site says large, I put this in my cart ASAP! I am saving $161!  The secretary’s words hit me upon buying the coat. When I told her that I wouldn’t buy the trench at Nordstrom Tysons two weeks ago because booking my fashion week Cleveland trip was the priority, She told me that it would be cheaper.  Now it is and I’ll probably receive it by Wednesday, May 1^st. I will be rocking it!

Alice + Olivia 'Charla' Leopard-Print Trench Coat

Downtown DC Nordstrom Rack Grand Opening

            I sashayed 15 minutes before the 9am grand store opening and the line snaked all the way from 18^th and L street to K street where the Bank of America branch.  Regardless of my lateness, I received the Nordstrom Rack mesh bag for being one of the first 1000 customers. Immediately I went for the Kate Spade purses.  This store had a lot of variety. I snapped up the beige big purse and red and black patent leather shoppers. I added one pair of Paige denim jeans. I was the happiest when my receipt said that I spent $528.81 but saved $584. Now that was an accomplishment! Below was my photo of my downtown DC Nordstrom Rack stash:

Paige denim jeans and three Kate Spade purses from downtown DC Nordstrom Rack

Mentality Change

Talking to former officemate is the best thing to happen to my day because she has gotten the job and I get to process my legal situation.  Originally, I am disappointed that it’ll take more than $8000 to get a down payment; however, I realize that SBA has increased my salary substantially.  I will save this amount in one year with a whole lot remaining.  I just want to leave here before of all the crap that has happened.  Also I must pay the lawyer and a settlement (maybe!).  I am just getting my feet underneath me by starting at SBA and this black cloud still hovers over me.  Yuck!  I hate this; plus, I still need to square away money for bills and starting my business.  I will build my company one brick at a time.  The hardest thing is completing the summary, therefore, I will pay $109 to enroll in the Writers Store screenwriting punctuation course starting May 21^st.  I might also buy the Screenwriter’s Bible for cheap because it is $90 cheaper than $109.  I have done just that because 1) it is cheaper and 2) I will finish reading it way before May 21^st. Doing this I no longer feel trapped and stuck and like a victim of circumtances.  Now I'm empowered to submit my TV script to the channel I want it aired.

Finalnically, purchasing this book  has saved $90 which is nearly equal to the $99 Ed2Go total quality fundamentals course which will advance my career.  This extra $90 amount will go towards total quality applications because this will improve my job performance.  I cannot wait to receive the book and start my class because it empowers me focus my personal and professional lives.  I cannot wait until I see my officemate again because I know that I will have more progress to relay to her and more money in my pocket.