Shopping with Rack Room Shoes

I had the opportunity to check out the new Rack Room Shoes at The Outlets of Des Moines, which opened it's doors on October, 19th as the first store of it's kind in Iowa. It does not disappoint! The store is located just down from the cozy fireplace, with plenty of centralized maps to get you to where you are wanting to go. The store was incredibly clean and set up perfectly with lots of staff to accommodate your shopping needs. It boasts all types of shoes and styles for men, women and children, with plenty of sizes available and in stock. If you are not familiar with Rack Room Shoes, they have their own private brands such as Franco Fortini, and feature premium details, materials and the latest design styles, especially on boots! You can also check our their website HERE as there you will find a fun little surprise over on their site 😉 Below are the styles that I ended up buying on my first trip in! Under each image, I have added a BLUE shoppable link. Click this link and it will take you directly to the shoe pictured, choose your size, and there you can add it to your cart! 

FRANCO FORTINI CARLY BOOTIE 

How cute are these boots? And I swear they are the most comfortable pair I own! They have super soft inserts and this rust brown color is the perfect neutral bootie for any season!

NEW BALANCE

This color has my heart. Burgundy and rose gold are really the perfect pairing and I love how you can dress these up with a sweater or dress them down to and from the gym.

LIMELIGHT MONIQUE

Velvet.... also know as the hottest trend right now! These are 1/2 the price of other look alike booties, which I love, because I don't like paying a fortune for shoes that are not your standard shoe. These booties are fun and will spice up any outfit, anytime!

NIKE FLEX

I need these in every color! Grey goes great with everything and these sneakers are so lightweight making them really easy to pack for vacations too! Of course I love the added touch of gold 😉

BLACK VELVET BOOTIES

What made my shopping experience even better, was that they offer free shipping in store to your home so you don't have to carry around bags. Who doesn't love shopping, bag free? Such a nice perk since a lot of people traveling from out of town may not want to haul a ton of bags home, and trust me, you will leave this store with a lot of bags!

I was impressed with all of the brands and athletic shoes they carried in the store and online. Brands like Nike, Converse, Adidas, and New Balance. And they weren't just selling plain white Converse shoes, they had them in all styles and a variety of colors, making it hard to choose just one pair. 

Some of you may be wondering why or how a store like this could be such a great addition to our community? I personally like to collaborate with companies who give back, and each back to school season, Rack Room Shoes hosts a Shoes That Fit fundraiser event, empowering customers to give back to their local communities by supplying children in need with shoes. The money raised is channeled through local school liaisons who identify students and school systems in need, while also coordinating the distribution of new footwear. Since 2007, Rack Room Shoes has raised a total of $5,604,113 and donated a whopping 206,201 pairs of shoes to children in need. So amazing right? Also, through a newly unveiled Kids Club, Rack Room Shoes encourages parents to submit photos of their children wearing Rack Room Shoes, simply by using the hashtag #iamrackroom, for a chance to be featured in the brand's Kids Club advertising. If you are already wearing them, why not share them? 

Make sure you are following all of their accounts on Social Media so you can stay up to date on the new styles and specials! Here are the links below:

Facebook Link: www.facebook.com/myrackroomshoes

Twitter Link: @myrackroomshoes

Instagram Link: @myrackroomshoes

Pinterest Link: http://www.pinterest.com/myrackroomshoes

If you have any questions about sizing or shoes, I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below! Happy Shopping!

THE Hair Tutorial- How I Use a Curling Wand

Ok, before I start I must say that I was blessed with good hair! Thanks Mom. Hopefully my daughter will thank me later on too 😉

This is my most requested tutorial or blog post to date and I know it has taken me forever to do, but mustering up the courage to do a video, plus technical problems, and a few more requests later......here it is! It is not professional so I guess that means there is room for improvement!! Haha. I will link everything I use on my hair at the bottom so you can just click on the image and it will take you right where to purchase it! Also, since I feel like I didn't want the video to be too long, I decided to answer questions in a Q&A format instead of on the video in fear I may miss something! I hope this helps some of you and it is what you are looking for!

Question and Answers!

1.) Where do you get your hair done, and who does it?

-I get my hair done at Sahar's salon in West Des Moines, Iowa. My go-to girl is Jenny Keese!

2.) How often do you wash your hair?

- I wash it usually every 3-4 days but I can sometimes get 5 days out of it! The key is to "train" your hair. Slowly stop washing it so often and add in dry shampoo. My favorite is linked below, plus it smells so good! I use the light toned one.

3.) What tool do you use to curl your hair?

- I use a wand, again linked below, and I found it on sale!! I like the 1 inch barrel. I used to be a die hard curling iron gal and once I bought a wand, I used it for a few weeks then went back to what I knew, the curling iron because it took less time. But I decided to give it another try because the wand holds my curl so much better! And I haven't looked back since! 

4.) What products to you use on your hair?

-I have linked everything below for you but I start with just shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I only condition the ends of my hair. I then apply oil to my damp hair and if I forget to do it when it's wet, I just add it on once I have dried my hair. I love that it doesn't leave my hair greasy looking or feeling. Then I just use hairspray once I have curled my hair and run my fingers through it. That's it!

5.) Do you ever get a crease from leaving your hair up?

-Yes! And I hate it when that happens. I usually avoid putting my hair up the fist day I have washed it. Plus if I do put my hair up, I either leave it super high or super low 😉

6.) What type of hair do you have?

- I have super thick, fairly course hair and if I do not dry it right away, it gets wavy and not the pretty kind of wavy either. When it is humid, my hair has a mind of it's own as well.... hello frizz ball. 

7.) Do you ever straighten your hair? What do you use for that?

- I rarely straighten my hair because honestly I can't get 3-4 days out of my hair when it is straight, I am not sure why but it looks too flat, plus I love my hair straight better the day after I straighten it. But I use a 1 inch straightener linked below!