Hi friends! Happy Happy Friday!

I’m so so sorry that I wasn’t able to get a Friday Five to you guys last month! I just couldn’t make it happen with my travels and such but I am so excited that I was – just barely! – able to squeeze one into the month of June! Today, I’m excited to share the five things you need to know about the upcoming Nordstrom Sale, the five travel app’s you need to make traveling easier, my five current Summer indulgences and five cute Summer accessories under $50 that I’m loving!

Enjoy! xo.

Five Things You Need To Know About The Nordstrom Sale

It’s so hard for me to even wrap my mind around the fact that we are just a couple short weeks away from one of the most exciting sales of the year! Earlier this week, Nordstrom released the much-anticipated Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog, which showcases some of the merchandise that we can all expect to be aiming to get our hands on when the sale launches!

If you are a new Nordstrom customer, and new  to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I thought it would be helpful for me to give you a little insight into the sale and then share some of the most important bits of information to know so that you, and repeat sale shoppers, are as prepped and ready to shop and save as they can be! So, here are the five things you need to know about this years’ Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!

• Nordstrom cardmembers shop 8 days earlier than everyone else!

Beginning on July 12th, Nordstrom cardmembers will have exclusive Early Access to all of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale merchandise before non-cardmembers. After shopping the sale over the last five years, I can definitely say that it truly does pay to be a cardmember.

There are always a lot of popular pieces that you will see sell out during the Early Access sale and not be restocked when the sale goes live to everyone so definitely consider becoming a cardmember!

Nordstrom offers two different cards to its customers, the Nordstrom retail card and the Visa signature card. Both cards provide the same benefits in regard to the Nordstrom sale allowing the card holder to shop during Early Access. If you are a Visa signature holder, you will accrue additional points on purchases when you use the card. There is no annual fee. You can apply for a card here before July 8th to use during the sale.

Early Access ends on July 19th.

• The sale is popular because it discounts brand new pre-Fall merchandise.

If you are new to shopping at Nordstrom or the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I think it’s important to understand why there is so much hype around this sale. When you hear about a sale, you typically expect it to be a discount on merchandise that is relevant to the current season and has been sitting out on the rack for awhile. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is unique in that most of what is included in the sale is brand new merchandise that is relevant to the upcoming season. On top of that, the discount on the items is quite generous between 20 and 40% off.

If you want a preview of some of the merchandise that will be included in this years’ sale, take a look at their Anniversary Sale catalog!

• There’s a much better selection of merchandise online versus shopping in the store. 

Although I will absolutely be shopping the sale in person at my local Nordstrom on the day Early Access begins, I will mostly be doing so in order to give you guys some insight into the fit and quality of some of the items included in the sale. However, in my experience, shopping the sale online offers a much more extensive selection of merchandise as it’s almost impossible for most stores to carry all of the best, most sought after products. I would highly recommend buying most of your products online. I’d also suggest using a normal desktop computer or laptop as it will allow you to see more products on the screen and shop much quicker.

• I will be covering the sale on multiple channels and in multiple ways. 

Every year, on the first day of Early Access and the first day of Public Access, I round up my favorites from the sale to make seeing what is available and in stock much easier than digging for multiple individual products yourself. So, be sure to stop here first thing on the morning of July 12th and on the morning July 20th to see my picks to get you started a lot quicker. Plus, there is ALWAYS a huge giveaway for you guys to enjoy!

In addition to that, I’ll be doing a try-on haul on either IG stories or IG TV on the first day of Early Access. There will also be multiple Instagram posts that day to showcase how I would style some of my picks from the sale. The SHOP on my blog will also be changed out to include all of my favorites from the Clothing, Beauty, Shoes, Handbags and Home departments!

I love being a resource for you guys during the sale and always get the sweetest feedback from you guys about my coverage so I’m really excited to put it all together for you guys again this year! Please let me know if you have any coverage suggestions that you’d like to see!

VERY SERIOUS QUESTION: How do you feel about restock alerts on products?

• Follow my Alyson Haley newsletters leading up to and during the sale!

Those of you who choose to be a part of my closer knit community will be privy to so many more giveaways during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale because I appreciate you guys so much! I’m not going to give it away but there may be one coming up in the Monthly Favorites newsletter going out next Tuesday! If you haven’t subscribed, you’ll need to click here and input your information then select All Access!

Five Current Favorite Summer Indulgences

SHORT HAIR: I made a pretty impulsive decision the other day after arriving to my hair appointment with a deep desire to chop off my long locks for a fresher, shorter do! I honestly got so frustrated with my hair on my last two trips between spending time doing my hair and also accidentally pulling it out when I’m in a situation where I have to move quickly and put my tote on my shoulder.

I have had long hair for so long that I was just ready for something different for awhile and cutting it just as the Summer heat is really starting to climb was such a good move! I’m loving it so far and thank you all so much for your kind words when I shared this photo with y’all the other night on Instagram! Feel free to like all my photos that passionately 😉 hah!

TAKING SOME TIME OFF TO RECOUP: I’ve shared with my newsletter community my struggle with fatigue. It’s something I’ve dealt with for a long time and I don’t think it’s because I don’t sleep enough or because I’m always so busy or because I’m traveling all the time. I can literally sleep for a solid nine hours, wake up and drink coffee, then take a nap two hours later with absolutely no problem. When I get home from travel, I am absolutely drained and, most of the time, there is no time to recoup because there are endless emails that are sitting there waiting for me to respond and deadlines for posts that need to be shot for, edited and shared.

Thankfully I have an amazing team, Justine and Stacy, who really help keep things afloat while I’m gone. But since I just did two trips back to back and I’ve had so many collaborations and projects underway lately, I am looking forward to cutting out some time for myself over the next week. I’m taking today off of work and going away for the weekend with friends to just hang out, catch up and relax! [I’ll likely still share on stories because … well … I’m a sharer but Stacy is going to be posting Instagram’s for me so I’ll be mostly hands off!]

On Wednesday, for the 4th, I’ll likely go down to hang out with my parents in Palm Coast and spend the night down there. And, next weekend, I’ll be catching up on just hanging out at home with the boys and getting my house all tidied up before the Nordstrom sale craziness begins! 😉 So, I’m really looking forward to just unwinding and recharging a little bit after this trip. I’m really ready for it. I’ve been feeling a bit fried and it’s so important to take care of your mental health so I’m going to make sure I pay close attention to that this Summer!

TRULY SPIKED SPARKLING WATER: I shared with y’all yesterday on IG stories that I was looking for a Summer cocktail that is light, hydrating and refreshing to take with me this weekend. My friends at TRULY sent me a few of their flavors while I was in Portugal so Justine suggested I give those a try! I was so excited to read so many positive responses from you guys. It seems like a brand so many of you love and are familiar with. I can’t wait to share which one is my favorite!

• CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS’ I HAVEN’T SEEN IN AWHILE: After college, it’s really hard to keep in touch with all of the people you were close with and enjoyed spending time with. Everyone moves. People meet their significant others’ and start families. I’ve been doing my own thing, running my business / blog and really embracing this new love of travel. This year, I told myself that I wanted to be intentional about seeing some of my friends that I haven’t seen much of in the last couple of years. So, instead of jetting off to another bucket list destination, I’m excited to hang here this Summer and make some weekend trips to see those people. 🙂

• READING: I’m trying desperately to slow myself down and make myself read. I always love what I learn and get out of it when I do but I am just so go go go from the minute I wake up everyday. I always feel like there’s so much to get done and I don’t gift myself time to just be still and be. I need to be better about that. Before the end of the Summer, I want to read ‘Everybody Always‘ and ‘Come Matter Here‘. The latter is the one I was reading on my way home from London that made me almost have a breakdown on the plane. It was also the one I referenced in this Instagram post from the other day.

Anyway, I’d love to know what you’re reading this Summer! Will you share it in the comments below, please? 🙂

Five App’s That Make Traveling Easier

CityMapper – If I had a dollar for every time I have recommended this app to people … hah! It seriously was the most helpful app when helping me navigate how to get from Point A to Point B when I moved to London in August of 2016.

It continues to be my most used app when I travel to big cities. I used it in Paris and a couple weeks ago in Lisbon. It provides you with multi-route options for getting to a particular destination from where you are standing. It also tells you how long each route will take, how long you have to wait for the next train or bus, etc.

It has the BEST walking directions out of any navigation app I’ve ever used. I can’t tell you how many times Google Maps has gotten confused about where I am when I’ve been walking straight for 10 minutes and then tells me I’m going the wrong way. So, CityMapper is the only navigation app I use for walking directions, if it’s available in the city I am in.

Hopper – Hopper is for all you deal finders out there! This travel app helps to predict whether or not you should buy your flight now or wait and it alerts you when there has been a change in the fare so that you can make the best decision. It also helps you find hotels at a great price, as well! I’m looking forward to using this app more in the future but, from what I’ve seen so far, I really like it!

Mobile Pass – So, international travel is all amazing and glamorous until you get home and see that four other international flights have arrived at the same time you have and then you have a two-hour line to stand in to go through customs. Well … this little gem has been my golden ticket to skipping the ENTIRE line without needing Global Entry and it is officially authorized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

All you need to do is set yourself up as a traveler. You take a photo of yourself and enter your passport information into the app. Whenever I arrive back into the States, the second that I land and have service, I open the app, select myself as the ‘traveler’ then fill in my Travel Information including the Port of Entry [the airport you arrived at] and the Airline you flew to get there. Then, you’ll fill out the five standard customs questions like you would at the kiosk. You submit it through the app and it’ll show you a receipt along with a scannable label. When you get to the customs area at the airport, you will go into a completely different line, typically the same one that diplomats and airline personnel go through.

I have used this app the last three times I have come back into the country [in January, May and June] and it prevented me from having to stand in a line that would have taken almost a couple of hours to wait in. I was literally one of the first people to arrive at the baggage claim carousel last week. So, yeah … you NEED this app, especially if you are traveling internationally soon and don’t have Global Entry! There is a small downside to this app and it’s just that it’s not available at every airport yet and only one train station but a lot of the major ones DO know about it and accept it!

Rome2Rio – This is one of my favorite app’s to use either before my trip to plan the best travel route to take before buying plane or train tickets but it’s also really helpful if you’re wanting to change your trips’ itinerary and go somewhere new that you heard about while you are traveling. So, if I was in Salzburg with intentions of going to Hallstatt next but met someone from Vienna who made me want to go there instead, you could figure out whether or not that’s smart, feasible and if there is an easy route to take from Salzburg. This app / website is what I use when I am planning my trips out that have multiple destinations.

TripCase – TripCase is an app that organizes all of your itineraries for you! You simply send your hotel, train, plane and even restaurant reservation confirmation emails to the services’ email address and then the app will send you your itinerary with all of your important information there for you to easily access when needed! Justine always prints out my itinerary for me but I just shared this with her after I got back from Portugal so we are going to use it for my next trip instead of wasting paper!

My Five Favorite Summer Outfits I’ve Worn Lately

These leggings are so comfortable and a great price! And this sweater was the first thing I washed and wore when I got back! So comfy!

SALE ALERT! This eyelet top is under $22 right now, with other colors available for even MORE of a discount!

A perfect summer outfit for walking around Porto! Love this eyelet top!

SALE ALERT! This jumpsuit is under $50 right now! It’s so cute in person and super comfortable.

Five Cute Accessories Under $50 For Summer

I will be spending my Fourth of July at the beach so, chances are, I’ll be throwing my hair up in this cute little red & white striped scrunchie! 🙂

I’ve been wearing these earrings like crazy. They sold out at one point but I just saw that they’ve been restocked yesterday so, if you have been trying to get your hands on them … now is the time!

I think this black bow situation is a super cute and chic addition to an elevated casual night out look.

These cat-eye mirrored sunnies look so fierce and it’s shocking to me that they are only $36. They look like they could be designer!

I wore this striped backpack last year on a couple of my trips and really, really liked it. It holds a lot more than you think it would!