Amazon Prime membership on sale (one day only)!

Here's a discount you'll really want to grab if you're a regular Amazon shopper but not yet a Prime member.   For one day only, Amazon is discounting their annual Prime membership by 20%, from $99 to $79. The deal starts Friday, November 18 at midnight EST and goes until 11:59 PST.  Hurry, this is a great deal, we've had a Prime membership for 2 years now and the benefits totally pay for themselves!  See site for details.

Book Review - "Capture Your Style" by Aimee Song (#20 - 2016)

Capture Your Style by Aimee Song

I picked this up at Marshall's on a whim, I had heard about it and it seemed interesting.  It's a very short/concise read.  I had sort of low expectations about how beneficial this book would actually be. But I was pleasantly surprised, I did get some really good tips about photography and editing photos.  Also about how to make your Instagram feed to look more cohesive and harmonious to best reflect your mission statement/brand.  After finishing the book, I spent about 4 hours going through my feed and deleting photos that I didn't like anymore and I geotagged all my travel/landmark photos.  At times I think she did oversimplify how to get a good photo (not everyone has a photographer following them around and not everyone wants to pester random passersby to take endless photos of them), but other than that I would recommend this book! 

I'm @spryonthewall on Instagram.

Weekend Sales Roundup - 11/11 - 11/13/2016

Since it's getting close to the holiday season and it's so hard to keep up with the deluge of emails, notifications, etc about what sales are going on and when, I'm going to attempt to do a round up every weekend.  I'll even pop in for one day notifications/surprise sales/etc.  Hopefully it will be a help.  Some will be affiliate links, but I'm not just going to post something because it's affiliate linked, I'm going to post every sale that I think you will be interested in.  So here is what's going on this weekend:

Garnet Hill - Friends and Family sale,  25% off full priced items 11/10 - 11/15/2016. See site for code and for additional details.  I LOVE their percale sheeting.

Jack Spade - Take 25% of your purchase with code: PURPOSE  Ends 11/13/2016. See site for details.

Madewell - Take an extra 20% off all sale styles. Use code: EXTRAEXTRA Ends 11/14/2016. See site for details.

J.Crew Factory - 40% off everything, free shipping and an extra 50% off clearance. Use code: ONYOURMARK Ends 11/11/2016. See site for details.

Off 5th - Take an extra 25% off clearance. Use code WOW25 Ends 11/13/2016.  See site for details.

BareMinerals - Friends and Family sale with 20% off everything use code: SHARE.  Ends 11/14/2016. See site for details.

Land of Nod - up to 40% off bedding. Ends 11/14/2016. See site for details.

Vera Bradley - 25% off select full priced travel styles. Ends 11/13/2016. See site for details.

L.L.Bean - Take 20% off everything, use code: SAVE20. Ends 11/15/2016. See site for details.

Kate Spade - Take 25% off your purchase with code: PURPOSE Ends 11/13/2016. See site for
details.

Marc Jacobs Beauty - Friends and Family sale 20% off for a limited time (couldn't find an exact end  date) use code: MJBFAM  See site for details.

Anthropologie - 20% off full-priced home items use code: HAPPYHOST for a limited time. See site for details.

Wayfair - For 3 days only, get an extra 15% off select sale items. Use code: HOLIDAY15 See site for details.

GiGi New York - 20% off sitewide ends 11/13/2016.  See site for details.

Lisa Leonard Jewelry - 30% off your entire order! Ends Monday 11/14/2016. See site for details.  I swear by her jewelry for gifts, it's always been a HUGE hit!

Weekend Sales Roundup for 11/5 & 11/6/2016

Since it's getting close to the holiday season and it's so hard to keep up with the deluge of emails, notifications, etc about what sales are going on and when, I'm going to attempt to do a round up every weekend.  I'll even pop in for one day notifications/surprise sales/etc.  Hopefully it will be a help.  Some will be affiliate links, but I'm not just going to post something because it's affiliate linked, I'm going to post every sale that I think you will be interested in.  So let's get started with what is going on this weekend:

Mark and Graham - 20% off your order and free shipping. Ends 11/7/2016  Use code: MGTURNS4  (a great place to find personalized bags, gifts and accessories) I think I might pick up this tray for my bestie.  See site for additional details.

Neiman Marcus - New arrivals on sale, up to 30% off (ends online 11/5/2016 11:59 pm CT) See site for details.

Neiman Marcus Last Call - Up to 50% off plus an extra 10% off everything, including clearance. Use code: EXTRA10 Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Butter London - All November long they are giving you a mystery gift (valued at over $100) with any $100+ online purchase use code: NOVEMBER100 at checkout. I LOVE this eyeliner pencil. See site for additional details.

Serena & Lily - Up to 25% off all lighting, prices as marked. Ends 11/7/2016. See site for details.

Theory - Men's sample sale, up to 70% off online 3 days only. See site for details.

Flight 001 - Friends and Family sale, 30% off full price items, use code: F1FRIENDSNFAM Ends 11/8/2016. See site for details.

Gap - Friends and Family sale, 40% off everything and free shipping. Use code: FFSALE Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Gap Factory - Friends and Family sale, 40% off everything and free shipping. Use code: FFSALE Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

West Elm - Flash sale (posted 11/5/2016 not sure when it ends) on Mongolian fur pillows. See site for details.

Lands' End - Friends and Family sale 40% off. Ends 11/9/216 Use Promotional Code: FRIENDSHIP and Pin: 1451. See site for details.

IT Cosmetics - Friends and Family sale 25% off any $30 order and free shipping. Use code ITFRIENDS Ends 11/5/2016 See site for details.

Kate Spade - additional 30% off sale items use code: CHEERS Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Sur la table - Friends and Family sale, 20% off use code: FRIENDS2016 Ends 11/11/2016. See site for details.

Anthropologie - 20% off dresses use code WINWIN (limited time, not sure when it ends). See site for details.

Jack Spade - additional 30% off sale items use code: BETTER Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Under Armour - 25% off select UA Tech and UA Fleece and free standard shipping.  Not sure when it ends. See site for details.

Vera Bradley - 30% off select patterns. Prices as marked. See site for details.

BaubleBar - 40 hour event, up to 40% off 40 pieces for only 40 hours. Prices as marked. Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Lulu Frost - Sample sale, up to 70% off select items, all sample sale items are final sale. See site for details.

Nordstrom - Fall clearance event, save up to 40% off select items, ends 11/13/2016. See site for details.

Land of Nod - 20% off kids playhouses. Ends 11/7/2016 See site for details.

J.Crew Factory - 35% off everything. Use code: THISISFUN Ends 11/7/2016 See site for details.

Tea Collection - 20% off special occasion styles and free shipping. Use code: CELEBRATION Ends 11/6/2016  See site for details.

Preschool Prep Co. -  is having a 50% off everything and free shipping special right now (not sure when it ends). We used pretty much all the Preschool Prep DVD's and they are so great.  See site for details 

Paper Source - Holiday preview sale - 20% off everything use code: SPREADCHEER Ends 11/6/2016. See site for details.

Book Review - "Make it Happen" by Lara Casey (#19 - 2016)

Make it Happen by Lara Casey

I stumbled upon Lara Casey through social media and promptly ordered this book and her PowerSheets.  I dug in.  Now let me preface this review with the fact that she is faith-based and if you are turned off by that in any way, then this is probably not for you.  I started working on the PowerSheets and watching Lara's videos and reading her blog.  Then I quickly realized I needed to read the book and dig deeper through that.  This book is really thought provoking, honest, raw, emotional.  Ms. Casey lays it out, she bears her soul and all her issues and how she worked through them (is still working through them) and lessons learned.  She's like your honest friend who tells it like it is but in a warm, funny, nonjudgmental way.  She wants to help you be your best self.  And she's not talking about "having it all" and "climbing to the top", she's talking about living your life with purpose and creating a meaningful life.  It's not an easy read at times, lots of stuff comes up with her prompts and exercises.  And I get overwhelmed by that so it took me a while to read it from cover to cover.  And I still feel like I need to revisit all the dogeared pages (I dogeared A LOT of pages).  So this book is more of a journey and a workbook, something that I'm going to keep with me and reference a lot.  I highly recommend the book and I highly recommend following Ms. Casey on social media.  She does live Facebook talks on Wednesdays, she's such a motivating person.  

I've been a bit slack on the PowerSheets (this is my perfectionist side coming out, I want to fill everything out "right" so I just don't do it, which defeats the purpose I'm aware, because there is no "right").  Work in progress here :)

Book Review - "Lovable Livable Home" by Sherry and John Petersik (#18 - 2016)

Lovable Livable Home by Sherry and John Petersik

I mean you can't read blogs and not know who Sherry and John are/were/are.  I followed and enjoyed their blog for years and eagerly bought their first book Young House Love, and really liked it.  So I was excited to see what they had in store for book #2.  I did not enjoy this one as much as the first book.  I think because it didn't focus so much on their projects, more on sharing other people's home and what they do that works for them.  Which is fine and the photos are beautiful.  However, I came to see what John and Sherry are up to, more about what they have been doing since the blog was shuttered.  But maybe that isn't the point and I'm just missing the blog.  Overall it's a solid book with lots of ideas, but if you are looking for more of what the blog was, pick up book 1.

Book Review - "The Knockoff" by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza (#17 - 2016)

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

I was eager to pick this one up!  Imogen Tate is the 40-something Editor-In-Chief of Glossy magazine, she's at the top of the fashion world.  However, after returning from a medical leave (she had breast cancer) she finds her former assistant Eve now running the magazine.  But it's not so much a magazine any more as it is a shopable app.  Imogen is blindsided and has to quickly figure out what is going on and what evil Eve has planned for her. Eve is a 20-something psycho hellbent on being the "new" Imogen no matter what it takes.  Making fun of Imogen's age and how non-tech savvy she is, writing her off as a "dinosaur".  But as much as Eve is tech/social media/etc savvy, she has no clue how to deal with human beings or navigate the actual real world.  And that's where Imogen starts creating her battle plans.  Nothing unpredictable, but very well done and a fun read.  

Side Note:  I will say that, being the same age as Imogen in the workplace, this hit a bit close to home as I'm now considered "old".  I'll just leave it at that.  Also I read this article, that was sent to me by a fellow 40-something friend, right after I finished this book and it really is interesting.  Okay, okay, I'll stop shaking my cane now ;)