*******UPDATED**********

Well, it has begun.

Christmas is upon us.

In 44 days we will be singing "Joy to the World," opening presents, and eating way too much food.

Today I even brought out my Christmas mug at work!!

And last week, even though it wasn't THAT cold, I still wore my beloved new red winter coat.

P.S. I really need a full-length mirror in my closet. This whole "only long mirror is in the guest bathroom" thing isn't working for me.

I jumped at the chance to start on my Christmas shopping this weekend while we were in Atlanta. Actually, I was a bit hesitant when I saw Santa at Phipps, but I got over it pretty quickly when we got to Nordstrom.

Speaking of Nordstrom, you need to go check out they're sale right now. I got some really amazing shirts (recommendation from my favorite blog) for only $35 a piece. I know that for a bargain shopper, $35 is still kind of high for a shirt, but I promise they're worth every penny. I usually like to read Pinterest Told Me Too, and then emulate her "must have" items by finding them at TJ Maxx or something like that, but really, you can't copy these shirts. They're versatile, gorgeous, great quality, and perfect for work and weekends.

Check them out here.

I also got this shirt in a beautiful emerald green. AND I got this scarf that I plan to live in from now until March. This scarf is only $20, and I plan to get a few more colors after my credit card recovers from this weekend.

You can find this scarf here.

While in Nordstrom, we also did a bit of Christmas shopping for others. Jason was happy to get it out of the way, and I was happy to just shop. I'd say that makes me pretty low maintenance, right?

While we were there, Jason got free Chick-fil-a, so he said that we could deduct $3 from our "Dollars Spent Today" summary.

So now I have to enlighten you with a rant about Nordstrom -

I had never been to Nordstrom before until a few months ago when we were in Seattle. BUT, earlier this year, I began reading Pinterest Told Me Too. I began reading her blog because she's friends with Sean-from-The-Bachelor's sister (yes, that's his full name, at least to me), and she blogged about the show. Then I read her blog into the next season of The Bachelorette. In between blogs about these shows, I would occasionally look at her regular blog posts.

Then I got hooked.

I bought this jacket after reading this post. It was my first Nordstrom purchase, and I haven't looked back (nor have I regretted my decision about buying the jacket).

Here's why: When I bought the jacket, I didn't pay attention to all of the reviews and I ordered my normal size. When the jacket came in, it was a little snug. I would have known that if I read more carefully, but I didn't. Instead of either eating the cost for the jacket and not being able to wear it comfortably, AND instead of eating the cost of shipping the jacket BACK to exchange it for the right size, I simply packaged that puppy up, slapped the pre-paid return sticker on the box, and within a few days, I had the correct size jacket. It was simple, and the best part is that it was FREE! Yes, that's right, Nordstrom is always FREE SHIPPING, FREE RETURNS. It's an amazing concept and I love it.

In honor of my amazing shopping trip on Saturday, AND in honor of Nordstrom's sale, AND in honor of Christmas being 44 days away, I'm going to share a few more items with you that you may want to look into for Christmas gifts (either for yourself or for others). Also, a lot of this knowledge was learned from Pinterest Told Me To, but some of it is from my own research...so just know that I'm not AS awesome as you might think after reading this next part.

(I'm kidding, obviously)

Nordstrom Sale/Christmas Shopping List:

BEST LEGGINGS EVER were: $36 now: $27
BEST FLATS EVER not on sale, but worth every penny $49.95
Kut from the Kloth Cords were: $69.50 now: $41.70
Men's MK Watch was: $225 now: $134.98
REALLY AWESOME SHIRT was: $58 now: $34.80
BEAUTIFUL MK Watch was: $295 now: $176.98
Clinique 'A Little Happiness' Set not on sale, but great price $39.50
Piperr Boots were: $89.95 now: $69.90
Cristo Boots were: $189.95 now: $129.90
Overt Boots (BEST DEAL) were: $209.95 now: $139.90
REALLY GREAT JEANS were: $58+ now: under $40
Zella Athletic Wear now 40% off
STAPLE Patent Leather Pumps were: $149.95 now: $74.96
BEST SCARF EVER $20

UPDATED!!!!!!!!!!

PENNY BOOTS ON SALE were: $169 now: $135.96
PENNY BOOTS ON SALE (wide calf) were: $169 now: $135.96

I really think every girl that I buy a gift for will be getting one of these scarves. Why not? $20 is a great price for such an amazing gift. Sorry if I just gave away what you'll be receiving from me for Christmas.

Ready to shop? Okay, good, me too.

Obviously.

After I finsihed my shopping spree at Phipps, we went to one of my other favorite places in Atlanta.

Just for your reference, here's my top favorite Atlanta destinations:

Nordstrom
Trader Joe's
Ikea
Caribou Coffee
Passion City Church

I don't think we've ever hit all 5 in one trip, but if we did, it'd be incredible.

Saturday, we were able to get to 2 out of 5. And really, if we're going to do any two, I'm happy it was my TOP 2!

Oh Trader Joe's, how I love thee.

After our pit stop at TJ's, we headed to Philip's Arena where the game was, and we grabbed some dinner. It was DELISH! Then we went to the game and rode two escalators to our seats. Can you say nosebleed? Can you also say we still had a BLAST?! Good, because although our seats were in the nosebleed section, we had SO MUCH FUN!

I even wore the jersey Jason got when he was a cute little 10-year-old.

Well, that's a recap on my weekend, a little kick-off to the Christmas season, and some tips to help you get started on your Christmas shopping. I hope you all have a great week!