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Coffee Talk 06.30.19

Greetings from the great state of Maine!

I’m sitting here at the airport in Bangor, waiting to board my plane and trying to whip out this post real quick. Supposedly my plane has WiFi, but I’ve learned never to depend on in-flight WiFi. It tends to be pretty fickle.

It’s been a whirlwind weekend; I haven’t even been here a full 48 hours, and I’m already headed home, but I’m glad I came. The wedding was beautiful, of course, and it was fun to see my family all in one place.

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m eager to get home and be with my people. Although, my flight is oversold, and they’re offering a $1100 travel voucher to give up my seat… it’s tempting.

As far as what’s coming to the blog this week, of course the 4th of July sales will soon be in full swing, if they aren’t already, and after that I’m planning my pre-Nordstrom Anniversary Sale coverage.

Is it just me, or is the #NSale coverage starting waaaay earlier than normal this year? If you follow a lot of bloggers, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I’m conflicted on it all, truth be told. I mean, no sale is worth this much buildup… or is it? Haha! I mean, it IS a good sale, but I liken it to how the holidays have become overly commercialized, with Christmas sharing the aisles with fall decor. How early is too early?

In past years, I didn’t start talking about the #NSale until after July 4th, but this year I decided to get a headstart with my dedicated email list, and it seems like others are on the same time table.

Anyway, I do have other posts in the works I’m excited about — some are collaborations with other retailers and some are my own non-sponsored content ideas, so I promise, it won’t be all #NSale all the time for the next month.

In non-blog related news, ‘ll be bringing the family and coming back to Maine in just two weeks, and I’m looking forward to that. I hope we get nice weather; word has it, it’s been extremely rainy up here this spring and summer. In fact, it’s raining cats and dogs and elephants here at the moment; but it’s gorgeous in Philly so hopefully I can enjoy some pool time this afternoon.

We aren’t taking our beach vacation this year; instead we moved our Maine trip later in the month so our son can join us. The past couple times, we’ve gone while he’s at his camp job.

Then we’ll be stopping in the Boston area for a few days on the way home. I need to sign off, as my flight is about to board. I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

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44 Responses

  1. We are headed up to New England for vacation on July 13th (all the way from Texas). We are flying into Portland and will be spending time in Maine and New Hampshire. New England is my favorite part of the country- my kids have never been up there and they are so excited!

  2. Happy Birthday, Jolynne! I hope you have a wonderful day!! I am a daily follower so whatever you do for the Nordstrom Sale is fine with me! I am not a cardholder or Nordstrom Club “big spender” so a lot of times, sizes are depleted when it comes time to shop. I do like to watch the hype, tho! Haha! It’s also really fun to see new styles and all. I am hoping to find a new bag in a light neutral color, on sale! 

  3. Happy early birthday! I just got in a few days ago from Philadelphia—love that city! Y’all really are in such a fantastic area; so close to many fun & interesting destinations on the East Coast. My family thinks we may do an East Coast vacation next summer—fly into Boston & work our way up to Canada.  Regarding the Nordstrom’s sale, I’ve gotten a bit tired of the hype (so I really appreciate how you’re doing separate emails for those who are ready to look into it). Don’t get me wrong, I love a great sale but I’ve not actually had great luck with the items I’ve purchased in past years. Anyway, safe travels home!

    1. Thank you! And yes, it is SUCH a great location. We have a little bit of everything within a 2 mile drive — the city, the beach, the mountains, the countryside. And then all the history. That sounds like a great plan for a summer vacay.

  4. I hope that you had a smooth flight home.  I just do t get why so many airlines overbook so many flight.  They know how many seats are on each airplane.  It’s hard for me to really get psyched about purchasing fall clothing when it’s so hot and humid here.  If I knew doing so would bring on cooler weather, I’d buy everything falling in sight.  I know you love the warm weather.  I suspect that even if it is wet and rainy while y’all are on your family vacation in Maine, y’all will still have a good time.  Happy early Birthday!

  5. Well our long weekend has basically been a wash out… rain showers and overcast skies since late Thursday.. which was too bad as we had a gorgeous week. Oh well they’re saying we are going to have a hot dry summer and our last two were definitely that:) the rain is good for our veggie garden though so a blessing there…. I love Maine.. we visit as often as we can.. we are a 7 hour drive to Bangor. I like   route one through oquinquit wells and Freeport… have safe travels… 

    1. YUCK! I hope you get better weather this week. It was a pretty nasty weekend, weather-wise, although we did get a pretty sunset both nights. They’re supposed to be getting better weather this week, and now we’re getting the rain again. Le sigh… it’s seems to be the new normal on the east coast.

  6. Happy birthday Jo-Lynne. Wishing you much happiness and joy on your special day.
    And yes, Maine is a beautiful state.

  7. It sounds like a great weekend.  I live in MA – I never realized you went to Gordon. We have a number of friends whose kids go there and really like it.  I hope you have a good trip home and fun when you come back!
    I like the Nsale posts but it gets to be too much with so many fashion bloggers talking about it.  Often it’s the same products on multiple blogs – almost as if Nordstrom is trying to push those items.  Or maybe those are the best things on sale so everyone gravitates to them.  Oh well, I guess it’s fun to see.  I didn’t subscribe to your Nordstrom emails so as long as you’re still covering a bit on your blog, I’m sure I’ll have my fill.  Thanks!!

    1. I can assure you, Nordstrom is not trying to push specific items. I think we tend to gravitate to the same ones because we all have the same basic taste, and we know what sells. 🙂

    2. I hope that didn’t sound cranky. I just wanted to clarify. 🙂 Also, re: Gordon… yeah, I think it would be really cool if one of my kids ended up going there. I know it won’t be Becca because she will want a marching band, but I think it could be a good fit for Caroline.

  8. Happy Birthday, Jo-lynne!!🎉  I love Maine. My husband and I spent our anniversary up in Bar Harbor area year ago. It was so beautiful!!

    1. Thanks, Daniela! Yeah, we love Bar Harbor, although it’s gotten really crowded in recent years. We always go there once, but we also try to find the hidden gems in the area… there are many! It’s so fun to explore.

  9. I would probably give up my seat in a heartbeat! Lol.  Although I don’t blame you with your birthday tomorrow.  Happy birthday!  As to the N-Sale, I have to agree that there’s WAY too much hype about it.  I personally can’t afford Nordstrom prices even on sale,  so there’s two solid weeks in July I don’t even bother checking any blogs because that’s all anybody talks about!  So if you offer other content during that time, it’ll be a welcome reprieve!  

    1. Ha, yeah, I mean $1100 is pretty generous, and I’m sure they had a later flight. Still, I got home just in time for a cookout with friends that Paul had set up at the last minute, and we spent the afternoon in the pool. It was perfect, and I’m glad I got on home. 🙂

      During the #NSale, I already have collabs planned with Walmart, Gap, and Lord + Taylor… plus of course some of my own non-sponsored stuff, so I am hoping that will help balance out the #NSale hype.

  10. Maine is one state I have never been to and I’m thinking of planning a trip this fall in mid-October. Is that good weather-wise? 

    In regards to the Nordstrom sale: I do have fun looking at what’s going to be “in” for the coming fall & winter and I do shop it every year, so I signed up for your separate email and will look at what other bloggers share as well. However last year I ended up returning almost everything I bought because either I didn’t love the items as much as I thought I would or sizes didn’t work. It was also frustrating that every blogger imaginable seemed to feature the same cardigan or boots and they sold out the first day of the sale never to be restocked or seen again. It also seemed like a lot of the merchandise was so similar to the previous year that I didn’t feel compelled to spend a ton of money. Those long cardigans are an example. I think I have one in every color and style at this point and they’re in good condition. (Hopefully they’ll still be in style this year! 🙏😁) It CAN get exhausting for the entire month of July as the Nsale coverage is all over Instagram, but I think you handle it well without going overboard. It IS your business after all so of course you need to jump in and help promote it. 😉 

    1. I’m glad you think I do a good job at maintaining a balance. I try. 🙂 I enjoy seeing what others post, but admit it gets tiring after a while.

      October is a nice time to go to Maine — just try to time it right, before the leaves fall. Before my kids were in school, I took a trip with girlfriends in Oct and we had so much fun. It was cold, though, so bear that in mind.

  11. What a stunning sunrise/sunset photo! Happy early birthday! Your birthday falls on our national “birthday” Canada Day. Come on up to visit one year!😉 We will all be partay-ing it up! I’d take the $1,100 voucher too if it wasn’t a birthday. Flying has become quite stressful and too often feels like an ordeal to get through. Safe travels!! The Nordstrom sales are a bit too hyped up for my taste. I tune out after a while.

  12. Happy Birthday Jo-Lynne! And Happy 4th! Glad you enjoyed your time in Maine and safe travels back home. Just got back from a beach vacay with my tribe and headed to Paris ( first time!) in a few days. Always anxious flying around the holiday. Looking forward to diving into the NSale once back home! 

  13. Have a wonderful birthday. Gorgeous photo of Maine sunset. Looking forward to the Nsale coverage even though I’m not a card holder.  I have a list of things I’d like to purchase and some gift cards set aside for the purpose. I also look forward to your posts from other retailers. I like N but I like other retailers too and shop around. Have 4th week too!

  14. Happy Birthday to you tomorrow…… I think I would have taken the $1100 voucher and stayed another day and celebrated your b’day later tomorrow after you got home. 🙂  Don’t worry about the NSALE info. being too early, like you said you will be emailing it to those who signed up.  I do think things are getting out of hand with “too early” for this or that, but it is what it is.  I wish it would go back to how it was when we were kids.  They didn’t even decorate the malls for Christmas until after Thanksgiving…..LOL 🙂  We all made it though.  Christmas still happened on Dec. 25th and everyone got presents.  🙂  I think life needs to slow down a bit.  I like the NSALE, but its getting a little to competitive for me.  I don’t like having to rush online to get a sweater that will be sold out before you can even log on. 🙂  I’ll just catch one at LOFT later.  Ha Ha  Anyway, I like all the NSALE info. you give us, as its very informative, as things have changed some from back in the day.  Hope you made it home safe.  

    1. I agree about the competition. It’s really out of proportion with the importance of the product. I mean, it’s just clothes. There are always more, and good deals can be found if you’re patient and know where to look. That said, I always get caught up in the excitement. Whoever markets this sale does a dang good job!

  15. What a beautiful sunset!!!

    I’m with you…I had noticed that all my favorite bloggers have already been talking about the big N sale. My first reaction was that it was at least a full week too early. However, there are a few specific things I want so I am waiting to see if any of that will be on sale. Soooo, I suppose it was a good reminder to have. Those posts have put a pause on my buying. Plus, I think I read that early access starts July 7th, so why not talk about it?!? 

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