The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Is Now Open to All!!: Sharing What I Love + What I’m Sending Back!

The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is finally open to everyone today – I shopped it during the presale for cardholders and there’s tons of good stuff – the best stuff will go fast so be sure and shop early. In case you missed it from my earlier post, here’s the scoop on the sale:

• The Anniversary Sale includes brand new fall merchandise which is what really makes it stand out from other sales that are typically end-of-season-items. They actually put it on sale right as it hits the shelf and then after the sale it goes up to full price!
• Nordstrom offers free shipping AND free returns so you can do all of your shopping online without fighting the crowds in-store. The key is if you think you might want something, buy it now and return it later if needed because the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is just like shopping HomeGoods – if you pass it up and decide to go back for it later, it will be gone!

And one word of advice – if there’s something that you really want but it’s showing as out of stock, keep checking back! With free shipping and free returns, Nordstrom gets a LOT of returns during this sale so things will start trickling back into inventory – I had success snagging every out-of-stock item I wanted last year by quickly checking a few times a day until I found the item restocked!

(post includes affiliate links – full disclosure available {here})

What I Bought at This Year’s Sale and Love!

One of my favorite past Nordstrom buys is this black marble tray (available {here}) that’s the PERFECT size for the back of the toilet and makes even the oldest toilet (like this one in our guest room) look chic! (Update: Today I heard from a couple of people that Nordstrom is sending out the wrong black marble tray – I have reported it to someone at Nordstrom and they are looking into it – hopefully the issue will be fixed but know that if you get a different one than the one pictured, you can return it free of charge).  At this year’s sale, I bought this white marbled ceramic tissue box cover (available {here}) and LOVE it! It nestles perfectly into the toilet tray and is nice and heavy so the cover doesn’t lift up you when grab a tissue! 

I also snagged this cute gray striped Turkish towel (available {here}) that is just a little over $20 and comes in several colors – it’s the perfect quick-to-dry hand towel!

I jumped on this beautiful blush throw (available {here})  and it’s just as pretty in person as in the pic! Soft, lightweight and Hope approved:

And that cute little gray fringe pillow is one I already owned from last year’s sale – it takes a little fluffing once you get it out of the box but once fluffed, it’s so so cute! You can find it {here}. 

I also ordered this indoor/outdoor gray patterned rug (available {here}) for my kitchen and it’s perfect!! Love!

and I had already told you that I own and love the long patterned lumbar pillow that’s the second pillow back in this pic and is available on sale {here}:

Well I just got the striped blue pillow in the front (it’s available {here}) and it’s both darling and a great deal at about $25. The pillow insert is polyester but it has a zipper if you ever decide you want to upgrade it to down! (In case you’re wondering, the white tassel pillows are from {here} and the blue fringe end pillows in the back are from {here}). 

My big surprise clothing win is this pair of $44 skinny ankle jeans (available {here}) – I usually steer clear of pants that have the word “skinny” in them because I’ve got enough curves that they pretty much never work for me. These have a lot of great stretch and they’re really soft and a flattering fit AND they come in Petite length which is great for shorties like me. I will definitely be wearing them on repeat!

I also ordered another pair of {these high-waisted black leggings} that I bought at last year’s sale and wear constantly (I also got a pair for my oldest daughter so she won’t steal mine anymore!). They are awesome at sucking you in! 🙂 For sizing, I would recommend ordering a size up unless you want a super suck-you-in Spanx effect!

I also love this plush gray throw (you can find it {here}) – it’s at a super reasonable price and is so so soft and cozy:

Plus there are about FIFTEEN different color options for this throw! And finally, if there is one clothing piece that you buy at this sale this Barefoot Dreams hooded cardigan (available {here}) should be it!  I’ve been using Barefoot Dreams robes for over 15 years and have one of their other cardigans but this long cardigan with the hood is the softest, most comfy thing I think I’ve ever tried on. Highly recommend!

Other winners from my big ole Nordstrom order are these: 

What I Bought at This Year’s Sale and Didn’t Love (aka The Losers!)!

I’ve seen so many people wearing cropped flare jeans that look adorable on them so I decided to try out {this pair}. 

You guys, they totally make me look like Huckleberry Finn – it is absolutely laughable! Not sure if it’s because I’m too short to pull them off or because this kind of jeans should simply be banned for anyone over 40 🙂 Two thumbs down. Other things that didn’t work are {these booties} (they were so hard to get on and then once they were on they were way long!) and {this watch} (I didn’t like the way the watch band laid). And another Nordstrom Sale item that I’m not a fan of is {this chunky throw} – I absolutely love the look of it but have been really disappointed in how it wears – my dog has snagged it with her nails several times (something that’s never happened with any other throws we own) and sometimes her nails even get caught in it so we can’t use it on our sectional anymore. So it might be perfect for an extra throw on a bed or if you don’t have pets but in my opinion it’s a no-go for pet owners. Too bad because I love the look of it!

What I Already Own and Would Absolutely Recommend

You might have just seen in my post {here} with tips on shopping for a sectional that I have a large gray and white rug over the carpet in our family room – it’s available {here} and is a product that I love and highly recommend:

These socks (available {here}) are always a winner – I love the padded back that keeps the back of your sneakers from rubbing on you when you exercise:  

I also own and recommend these lounge pants (available {here}):

I’ll be adding more favorites to this post as I find them so you can keep checking back throughout the sale for the latest! You might also want to join my new Facebook group called Driven by Decor Deals {here} where I’ll be sharing new Nordstrom finds throughout the sale along with deals from other shops! Happy shopping!