Shopping like my life depends on it...

Ok, well maybe my life doesn't depend on it but I need to shop till I drop at the Gap, because yesterday I gave my 2 weeks notice.  I wish I could say I gave my 2 weeks because I got this amazing big girl full-time position, but sadly that is not the case.  However, I finally decided that I needed a major change in my life.  I needed this because I needed to make a change that would improve my attitude and outlook on life.  Lately, I have been miserable at my job.  I thought it as only because I've been closing a lot but that wasn't it.  I was miserable there all day, everyday.

I sat down with a few of managers and discussed my options with advancing within the company.  My main manager was not as supportive of my decision as I originally expected, which was upsetting.  However, I finally made the decision to go to another store where my friend is one of the managers.  When I went to talk to her I was shocked that even the other managers, who I've never met before, wanted me to work there. With that being said, all good things must come to an end!  I enjoyed my time at the Gap over the last 4 years.  I've had some good and even some bad times (more then I would have cared to have).  I'll miss some of the people I've worked with and I'll definitely miss my employee discount.  However, I know it's my time to leave.

With that being said, here's the mini shopping spree I went on today!!!!

 Since my photos didn't turn out to good I decided to include the pictures from the Gap's website for some of the items.

Polka Dot Seam

LS Camo Epaule

A super soft off the shoulder sweater... it's called the Drop Shoulder sweater

FT Slim Crop Pant

Slim Crop Cash

Blouse from Old Navy

Ok this isn't from the gap but I found this bag at Marshalls the other day and I absolutely love it.  I was going to splurge on a Rebecca Minkoff or a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag but I'm actually really happy with this no name bag.   I paid $40 for this genuine leather bag.  It's bigger then the typical cross body and is dual toned, which I love about it.  It has tons of compartments to store the countless crap I put in my bag.

 Closer look at the lovely color of the bag

Love the inside detail of the bag... is this not absolutely perfect for fall!!!!!


Well I'm sure I'll be back in a few day with more stuff that I bought with my discount.

Until next time!!!!!!!!

A Week in Review... Fifty Shades of Grey and Horror Stories from Working in Retail

Hello all!!!

I had every intention of posting several posts this week but I've been busy working.  When I wan't working I've been reading Fifty Shades of Grey (I know I'm late on this bandwagon, but I never actually wanted to read it).  I've had every friend and coworker recommend this book to me and I hesitated but I can honestly say I'm glad that I finally did read it (better late than never).  Funny story about the book, yesterday I was reading the book and realized I was about 95% done with it so I quickly downloaded the second book on my Kindle just so I could start it while on my break (thank you wireless).  Can you say obsessed!!!!! I'm excited to see which actors they are going to get to play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele for the movie, although I have no idea how they are going to be able to make it into a movie without having an NC-17 rating?

Enough about that book.  This week I've had a taste of full-time employment because I worked 40 hours at my "lovely" retail job.  I've always wanted a reality tv show crew to come to where I work because some of the people I work with are real characters and some of the customers we get are questionable at best.  Without saying where I work, I'll give you a two clues.  1. It's an American company that is made up of 5 stores (2 are online stores) and  2. It was found in 1969.  At times I L-O-V-E where I work while other times I hate it.  This past week has been pure torture.  I think as the summer goes on and the heat gets more intense customers just start to loose their minds.  Here are the top moments I've had while working in retail:

1. Shoplifters... like most stores we get people that want to come in for the "five finger discount" and leave with merchandise that they haven't paid for.  How someone can do this is beyond my grasp but that person has to live with that on their conscience.  Maybe about 2 years ago we had a customer who came into the store with a huge empty purse.  We watched her and realized she was there to shoplift.  My manager went to ask her if she needed help and she brushed her off.  Next I went over to my manager to ask her a question when the lady looks at me and shouts "I'm tired of you following me through the store... do you think I'm shoplifting?" I was completely caught off guard... I had no idea we were following this lady and I didn't even say anything to her, in fact that was the first time I saw her.  Next thing I know the lady throws the clothes she has in her hands (not the ones she put in her purse) at me.  My manager quickly calls security and the lady leaves with a final threat of "remember you have to leave the store sooner or later!" Umm, the clothes we sell aren't that expensive, just pay for them like everyone else does!

2. This past week has been a week of ups and downs for me.  I had an elderly lady threaten to kill me.  Yeah I kid you not, she said "I'm going to kill you" because I unfolded a reusable tote that she bought to use.  Now your probably thinking she said it jokingly, nope she was fuming when she said this.  I've also been called "un-American" by a customer.  Where I work we get a lot of tourists.  Now some of the tourist don't understand that you have to wait in line and you can't just walk up to the register and pay.  I had just returned from my break and another employee told the next customer to come down to my register.  I hadn't looked at the line to know who was next.  These three tourists came up to my register and I began to ring them up because I assumed they were next in line.  After they left, I made the mistake of looking to my left to call the next customer in line.  The lady at the register next to me looks at me and says "Why did you help them, they weren't next in line." I looked at her like she was crazy (and frankly she was) and told her I was sorry.  Clearly my answer wasn't good enough for her because she continued to berate me by saying that  I don't care about American customers and why should they get special treatment.  I was shocked, I pretty much did the only thing I could think of that would tick this lady off and I smirked and walked away.  I was not going to give her the satisfaction of apologizing or even responding.

3. By far the most interesting events I've ever had come with returns.  Our return policy is pretty liberal in the sense that you have 90 days (yes, 3 months to return something for a full refund).   This past week this lady came in and told me she bought a pair of pj's in Florida and brought them home and realized they smelled funny.  She washed them in the wash with the rest of her laundry and realized they still smelled.  Instead of drying them in her washer or even laying them out to dry she put them in a plastic bag and left them there to get moldy.  I didn't know what to do so I called my manager who in turn called customer service and asked them what we should do.  After a long phone call, customer service told the lady we weren't going to return them because she was negligent with washing them and leaving them wet for 3 days before bringing them to the store.  About an hour later the lady comes storming in and grabs another package of the same pj's a rips them open and shoves them in my managers face and says "smell them, they stink too!"  This lady was clearly pissed and frankly the pj's did not smell that bad.
Similar to this situation I've had people try to return things that they've worn or have had for years.  I hate returns because people just assume we have to take everything back and people always come up with the most ridiculous stories as to why they are returning things.  News flash, as long as the tags are still on it and it wasn't worn, I don't really care why you're returning it.


Well I've rambled on long enough.  Maybe in the future I'll write a post all about my crazy experiences in retail because I have plenty more crazy customer encounters.

Until next time....  

Life Sucks Sometimes. I Need a Change Stat!!!!

Hello all...

As you can probably already tell this post is not going to be all sunshine and rainbows.  After my last post about unfortunately not receiving a job offer, I've been in a funk.  I've realized that I can no longer work in retail (at least not in the position I'm currently in).  I need something more, I need a management position or a real job, I just need a change.  I need something that will provide me the financial security I am looking for.

So, where does that leave me.  Hopeless, frustrated, tired, optimistic? How about all of the above.  I keep telling myself that I'm giving myself the summer to kind of figure out what I want to do but in reality there aren't really jobs out there (at least the jobs that are there are not entry level positions).  I'm just confused. I've been reading the book Life After College and the information in the book is actually helping me figure out what my goals are, what motivates me, and is helping me develop a life plan.  While the book is helping me, it is making me semi depressed as well.  I know a lot of college students are struggling to find a job but I don't hear them complaining.  I cannot stress it enough, I'm begging someone to give me a chance.

I guess the rejection email I received from my last interview is taunting me.  I should probably just delete it but I keep looking at it hoping some how it will say what I want it to say.  It's not going to happen but I can dream!  What got me was that the email said "You are extremely qualified for the position and come highly recommended, but we've decided to go with someone with more experience."  There's that word again, experience, it's almost taunting me now.  How do employers expect recent grads to gain this experience if they are not willing to give someone a chance.  I wish I used my college experience a little more efficiently and done more internships to gain that experience but I don't have a time machine so that isn't really possible.  I guess I'll just hope some employer will remember the feeling and take a chance on me.

Sorry for my rant about jobs, I think the fact that I was so close to getting this position it made me re-evaluate my life and has frustrated me.  My one friend asked me if I actually wanted this position or was I just excited to have a job? What's interesting is I couldn't really answer the question.  I think I was more interested in making a decent amount of money and being able to say I'm employed rather then doing the actual job.  Oh well, no sense in wondering what could have been.

My week improved slightly over the next couple of days.  I was able to FINALLY get a haircut, which was long overdue!

Unfortunately, my hair only looked this good for a few hours because the Jersey humidity and rain caused my naturally wavy hair to frizz and poof up.  I am grateful that my hair is healthy and shiny and just so soft.  I'm thinking come September I may try something extreme with my hair.  I've done the short bob or the long shapeless hair.  The only thing I haven't done is dye my hair yet.  My hair stylist as well as the manager of the salon I go to told me to not even think about dying my hair but I want something different.  I want to add definition and color to my hair.  What I'm thinking is something like this in terms of the cut and maybe even the color....

from Pinterest

I don't think I'd go as blonde, but maybe go a light brown at my ends.  I wish I could have my hair look this good everyday but my waves are not as disciplined.  I tend to wake up with one side looking a mess while the other looks nice and pulled together.  

This is the color I'm thinking would soot my skin tone better...

Like the title states I need a change.  Whether it's a new job or a new hairstyle.  I need something that will boost my confidence and hopefully help me land a job.


I want to leave this blog with a quote that I find fitting for this blog.

"Keep on beginning and failing.  Each time you fail, start over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose- not the one you began with perhaps, but you you'll be glad to remember. " Anne Sullivan

Hopefully my next post will be filled with sunshine and butterflies!!!!

A Week In Review

So I've been slacking off with my posting so I figured I would update everyone on the week I had:

Monday:
On Monday I actually went on a job interview.  I wasn't initially excited about the job position but after I left the interview I realized that this position is something I wanted to do.  Although I've been on a few interviews I didn't feel like this interview went really well.  For starters, I had to drive through a crazy storm that was so bad that I actually needed to pull my car over and pray that the storm would pass.  Then once I got within a mile of the business, I sat in bumper to bumper traffic.  I pride myself on always being early.  I tend to leave myself 15-20 minutes to get places.  Well for this interview I was 5 minutes late, which actually didn't end up mattering because my interviewer was actually late too.  Because I was late I felt like I was flustered and wasn't myself.  I left the interview thankful for the opportunity but not expecting to get a call for a second interview.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:
I worked.  Nothing too interesting.  Customers have been acting crazy because it's a holiday weekend and all the crazies come out for a good sale.

On Friday I received an email from the company I interviewed with asking to setup a 2nd interview.  I was actually really shocked because I didn't think I did that well on my first interview.  I've realized I really would like this position so I'm going to really prepare for this interview this time.  Wish me luck!!!

Thursday:
On Thursday, my brother and I went to go see Madagascar 3 in 3D.  Overall, I thought the movie was pretty cute.  I really believed that the movie was geared towards the adult crowd.  My favorite part included King Julien singing a lovely rendition of the Spice Girls "Wannabe."  I wouldn't say the movie was worth the price of the $10 ticket but it definitely was a cute movie that had me laughing.

Sunday:
Today, I went with my roommate (technically my ex-roommate but that's too depressing) to see Magic Mike.  I was extremely excited to see this movie because I love Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, and Alex Pettyfer, plus who wouldn't be excited to see these men stripping.  I know the movie has been on the top of the box offices but I believe it's simply because of the actors who star in this movie.  Matthew McConaughey was made for this role.  I'm sure Matthew doesn't want to be associated with a sleazy male stripper but this is exactly how I imagine him acting at home with his kids.  Overall, unless your dying to see Channing Tatum's butt, I would wait for this movie to come out on DVD.  JOe Manganiello wasn't even in the movie that much but he did reveal a little more then the rest of the characters did (if you know what I'm saying ;)

I hope everyone else had a pretty successful week!!!!!

Oh and here's a cute picture of Pierre and Tuckie in their matching bow ties!!!