Friday, October 30, 2009

Dress up the little ones for the holidays. Hartstrings and Strasburg now at the Premium Outlets!

Attention all Grandmas!  Head to the Premium Outlet mall near Disney for the most adorable children's clothes. If you have cute kids in your life, don't miss Strasburg and Hartstring's stores.

Strasburg is a more traditional line, with high end details on dresses like smocking and ribbon sashes.  Yet the prices are reasonable, a bargain given the quality.  There are great items for girls and boys.  In the back of the store, you'll find final sale racks full of great buys.

Strasburg offers a beautiful doll and a line of mini- Strasburg dresses to dress her in.  It is toooo sweet. 

Hartstrings' style is that of an upscale country family going on an outing.  The clothes are equally cute as Strasburg but with more of a classic Ralph Lauren kind of vibe.

$10 coupon for designer fragrances! Bulgari, Versace, Hermes and more!

Here's a great holiday coupon to use at FragranceNet, a great site for the best fragrances.  Use it for gifts or stock up on your favorites  before the season of parties and romance!
Use the code FALL9 and get off $10 off orders of $80 or more at FragranceNet.com .com. Ends 11.15.09

Friday, October 23, 2009

Make flights fly- with eBooks & AudioBooks!

Traveling to Orlando soon? Want to make the trip seem shorter? Is there a book you've been dying to read? Twilight, anyone?

Order your audio books or eBooks from Keebra before you leave home. Click on the link below and save 10%:

Largest selection of eBooks online.  Save 10% Now! Use code: SAVE10NOW.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Baccarat/Lalique...Together in one outlet at Prime!

Two world-renowned crystal brands- Baccarat and Lalique- are together in one store at the  Prime outlets.

For Prime Outlets, scoring this one of a kind store was the outlet mall coup of the century.  It 's the only one of its kind in the world.

Check it out, saving are up to 50% off of retail.

Nordstrom Rack comes to Orlando

GRAND OPENING!
Orlando, FL
Millenia Crossing
November 6, 2009

A Nordstrom Rack store is opening near the Mall of Milennia.  Nordstroms bills this as  "an event not to be missed!"   Nordstrom Rack stores carry "the hottest brands and trends at the best prices."

At the grand opening, Nordstrom holds a 'Race Through the Rack' sweepstakes*. One lucky person will be chosen to be the first customer to enter the store and have 90 seconds to select up to $2,000 worth of merchandise. The drawing will be at 8:45am in advance of the 9am grand opening. Plus the first 1,000 customers will receive a Nordstrom Rack tote bag as a gift with their opening day purchase. Crazy but fun.


Sunday, October 18, 2009

Premium Outlets Holiday Shopping

Orlando Premium Outlets is a great place to spend a few hours... or a few days!

150 stores include:

A/X Armani Exchange
Diesel
Lacoste
Salvatore Ferragamo
Zegna
Barney's New York
Tag Heur
Movado
Joe's Jeans
AG Adriano Goldschmied... and many more

Plus all the great athletic brands- Adidas, Nike, Reebok

Go to premiumoutlets.com/vip for holiday savings.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Downtown Disney Update

Don't miss Raglan Road,the Irish Pub in the middle of Downtown Disney (in what used to be Pleasure Island)!  A huge authentic pub, there is great entertainment, food and beer on tap. 

In addition to live music, there is a featured Riverdancer, who pops up every so often to dance.  It's all good.  For smokers, there is a huge patio with its own bar. 

In Dowtown Disney, the best mixed drinks are at Wolfgang Puck's. The bartenders are real bartenders, who can make any drink you like, plus a bunch of great menu choices.  They fill the glasses all the way up and are friendly too.  They'll recommend the snack rolls as appetizers for good reason- the flaky dough and yummy plum sauce are a fine accompaniment to your drink.  Rainbow rolls (sushi) are great too.

Last but not least, stop into Magnetz.  There's something in this shop for every child and the inner child in every adult here.  Lots of cool stuff.  A fun place to pick up a UNIQUE souvenir for a few dollars.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Guerlain Fragrances at Epcot

The entire line of Guerlain fragrances can be found in "France" at Epcot.  This includes many not normally available in the US.

If you are going to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, grab a glass of champagne and try on scents to your heart's content.  Bring a guy who can give you the male perspective.  :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Bahama Breeze, an island down the road from Prime Outlets

Visit Bahama Breeze for comfortable surroundings with an island flair, like a Beach restaurant. It's right down the road from Prime Outlets, on Vineland road.  There is a great big outdoor tiki bar area plus a large inside bar and restaurant.

The portions are generous, so you can share a couple of appetizers or an entree for a light meal.  Local favorites are coconut shrimp and goat cheese spread appetizers.  The newest hit is the stacked mango, crab, shrimp and avocado appetizer that comes with long crunchy crackers; it's healthy and delicious.

Don't miss the Key Lime pie at Bahama Breeze.  A Florida tradition, it's not too sweet, on the perfect graham cracker crust and peaked meringue topping.  The perfect ending to a great day of shopping.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Mall of Milennia for young fashionistas

Mall of Milennia is fashion heaven.  For the young trendy set, there's:

Anthropology
Juicy Couture
Betsey Johnson
Guess
Neiman Marcus (great sales, less expensive than you'd think, a great place for occasion/dance dresses)
Macy's (BIG store, merchandise overload, but you will find great buys)

For upscale looks, there are lots of designer shops.

For the college bound and those who dress like they are:

Forever 21 (cheap and trendy)
Urban Outfitters
Abercrombie and Fitch (preppy)

News: there is a new MAC cosmetics store upstairs between Bloomies and Neimans.

Young men at Mall of Milennia

Visiting Mall of Milennia? Here's the search and destroy shopping plan for young men.

For dressed- up clothes with style:

Macy's
Guess
Kenneth Cole

For casual, preppy (i.e.- loose-fitting) with great quality (will be worn again, first by brothers and then by cousins):

Abercrombie
J. Crew

Young men hit the Orlando outlets

Between the two mega malls, Prime (on I-Drive) has better guys' sportswear and preppy clothes.  Premium (by Disney) has more fashion forward choices.

Sporty favorites at Prime:
  • Adidas
  • Aeropostale
  • Nike
  • Oakley Vault
  • Reebok
  • PacSun (multi-brand, classic Florida surf wear)
  • 7 for all mankind (only outlet in world)
At Prime for the preppy/classic guy:
  • Tommy Hilfiger
  • Ralph Lauren/Polo
At the Premium outlets, you'll find trend-setters:
  • AG Adriano Goldschmied
  • Kenneth Cole
  • Lucky Jeans
  • Joe's Jeans
  • Diesel
For a classic, yet up to date look (not necessarily preppy) at Premium:
  • J. Crew
  • Banana Republic
  • DKNY
Premium also has Nike, Reebok, Puma and a large Adidas store.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Ralph Lauren and Nautica outlets for the casual workplace

Ralph Lauren and Nautica have both stepped up their style in the past few years.  More than just solid pique polos, you'll find stylish, yet classic sportswear that is perfect for the casual office, the small business owner or the home-mom who wants to look polished on the go.

Prime and Premium outlet malls each have these outlets. Look for coupons for these on the mall web sites and during any mall promotion.  

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Thomas Pink Now Open at Prime Outlets - Orlando


According to Prime outlets- Thomas Pink, the leading international luxury shirt brand, has just opened a new outlet store in Orlando's Prime Outlet Center. Southeast Florida will now have the opportunity to experience Thomas Pink's distinctive, timeless designs and exceptional quality. Choose from an exquisite array of luxurious shirts and delectable accessories for men and women.

Neiman Marcus Last Call Columbus Day Sale

Neiman Marcus Last Call in the Prime Outlets has a big sale from October 7 to 13.  SHOP EARLY because the store gets picked over by Sunday.  You'll save an extra 20 to 30% over already great prices.  Get that pair of designer shoes now!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Florida Mall- DO NOT PARK BY SEARS

Met some nice folks from Great Britain at Mall of Milennia today. They said that they didn't like Florida Mall... They didn't even realize that there is a NICE part to the mall, they missed it...

Florida Mall has 350+ stores; and half of them are downscale- not bad, just boring.  If you are looking for nice quality and a great shopping experience, you need to be in the NEWER part of the mall.

Park by Macy's or Nordstrom or the M&M store.  Or Dillard's.  Then you will be near the new wing.  In the new part, you'll find these great stores and fun finds:
  • M&M Store- huge and fun.
  • Adrenalina-  great surf shop with indoor surf tank, fun to watch!
  • Saks Fifth Avenue- can't be beat for gifts, makeup, perfume, designer purses, good quality costume jewelry,  men's designer ties, overall a nice experience with great customer service.
  • Nordstrom- more great service, wonderful womens accessories, samples of any perfume in little bottle, nice coffee stop/shop, big MAC and Bobbie Brown cosmetics counters, cute and surprisingly reasonable kids clothes. 
  • Sephora-  great makeup store with lots of top brand make-up and perfume.  Also mens cologne.  DON'T MISS.  Locals travel far to shop at Sephora. Makeovers and advice are free and helpful.
  • Abercrombie and Fitch-  where saleskids are called "models" for a reason. Cute, preppy, all-American clothes that last FOREVER.  Pricey, but the quality is really good.  If you have multiple kids, buy for the oldest and they will all want to wear them.  We give them to cousins after that and they still look new!  NOTE: F. Mall has two Abercrombie stores- one for kids and one for adults.
  • Banana Republic- if you have to dress decent for work and are between 28-59, go to BR.  Great quality, current styles, help is well-trained and friendly. Some are so good, they act as stylists, giving great advice as you try things on, but never obtrusively or without invitation.  This is the only store credit card I have, it's that good.  
  • LOTS MORE. 

Mall of Milennia jewelry sales- GO NOW

Next to the upstairs food court at Mall of Milennia, you'll find three types of jewelry-  young trendy jewelry at Forever 21 (no sale needed, it is crazy inexpensive, some items look like they cost hundreds!), upscale watches and designer lines at going out of business Park Promenade (20 to 50% off now, will keep going down, but so will selection) and 80% off on good copies of In Style magazine favorites at Landau.

For example, I bought 4 items at Landau.  $10 for 1" David Yurman-copy hoops (too cute and too real-looking to believe) for everyday, 10$ for gorgeous waterfall earrings (what the stylists say we should wear instead of tiny studs that no one sees) and $20 each for two EXCELLENT copies of 24" necklaces- one Heidi Klum's expensive (18K) line and one a dead ringer for a $2000 14k necklace.  Landau has upgraded their line from the original fake studs and pearls.

If you are a Yurman fan- rush in to see the cuff bracelets that are on sale.  Dead ringers.

Landau excels at the almost forgotten art of customer service.  All 4 of my finds were brought to me by the very nice woman who helped me.  An English woman in the store looking for jewelry to match a special occasion dress was equally pleased and bought beautiful pieces that would have cost thousands in their original incarnation.

Get ready for your trip!

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