Belle"shopping"

So, a belle's gotta do what a belle's gotta do -- and that means SHOPPING!!! We are of course away from home and we just have to see what the local scene has to offer. What we found is Main Street in Park City is THE place to shop!

I think it is important on trips to not look for the chain stores that you love for home but rather to patron the local merchants. This is definitely the best way to get the local flavor and style. You know me however, and I am the "bargain" belle so before hitting Main St. I did a little research and planning of course :) Once again I used my favorite website on this trip: www.parkcityinfo.com because it offers a tab for shopping. I had a list in hand before we even set out!

Mary Jane's was my top pick!!! This is a totally chic boutique right in the middle of Main St. and all the action during Sundance but you would never know it! The prices are totally affordable and the look is unique and defined. The perfect place for a great accessory or two and it won't break the budget. I found an adorable hat ( a necessity for the weather) and a great pair of fashion sunglasses and my total was $36. WOW!!! They also have a great website and facebook page so check it out at www.maryjaneshoes.com -- You are gonna love it!

Ok, so the other big part of my plan was to go vintage! This is a favorite past time for all the belles and a great way to save money! Two great places again right on Main St. in Park City: Changing Hands (580 Main Street, Galleria Mall) was a great find and The Xchange (350 1/2 Main St.) was another fabulous treasure! Changing Hands owner Paula Etherington had an infectious personality and was great at welcoming us to Park City. Lise found the most amazing outfit -- purse, hat, and coat -- I on the other hand found a great vintage turquoise necklace that is going to be a lasting memento of the trip! At the Xchange, Angela got into the act with a great blue fur (not a typo :)) and I found a Coach purse and North Face jacket for my daughter all for under $60. The great thing about both of these stores was that they specialized in ski wear, accessories and trendy styles. They both were well organized and up to date styles only with great timeless accessories that you could afford! At the Xchange there were lots of vintage furs also -- a love of the belles if you haven't noticed. If you visit make sure and check these out!

You can't attend the Sundance Festival and not take home a great token. My advice is to buy early and not wait! On Main Street there is a Festival store (a few others at certain theatres also) -- merchandise is brought in for this week only and in limited quantities. We all went for shirts, hats, and pullovers! Everything is themed around the Festival theme this year of Rebel -- great look and pretty good prices but quality is great! Remember that purchasing festival merchandise is contributing to the a nonprofit -- making a contribution and no tax! If you want to look at any of the merchandise go to www.sundance.org and it will link you to the online store. Check out the pictures from our group as they are posted and you will spot many of the items!

So, to say we had fun shopping is an understatement! As always when shopping with friends we shared lots of good laughs and great memories. This day was one of my favorites and know it was for all the belles!

So...I am FINALLY putting my thoughts down for all to enjoy! I am new to the blogging thing but everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to talk...so I truly feel that once I start blogging about my wonderful BELLE moments, I will have tons to say!

I can hardly believe that SUNDANCE 2010 is literally right around the corner. I am so excited to finally venture to that part of the country and see REAL snow! Being a true Southern Belle, we don't see alot of the powdery stuff around here...and so I know skiing will be amazing on slopes where it snows all the time!

I am looking forward to trying the slopes out...I may be on the bunny slopes the entire time but I cannot go all the way out there and not do it! I have to at least try and say that I did! I definitely think I will at least "look" like I know what I am doing and I must look fashionable on the slopes!

The hardest part for me right now is the packing! As the Belles know, I am NOT a light packer!

I really stink at the whole packing for an airplane trip! For our Vegas trip I brought TWO...yes TWO suitcases...both checked in...and had no idea you had to pay for your luggage now! Then I find out not only did I have to pay to fly it out there but I had to pay it AGAIN to get it back home! My problem in the packing is that I truly am an accessory and shoe person. So for this trip...and I am putting this in writing...I, Angela, promise to NOT bring dozens of necklaces, rings and earrings on this adventure! That's right folks...I said it and I mean it! I am also not bringing tons of shoes. Two...maybe three at the most...all boots of course. I am trying and I am ONLY checking in one bag. I can think of many other uses of my money than paying for a suitcase to fly!

Speaking of boots, I found a great deal on the snow boots I ordered. I have been looking online for weeks to find the right one I wanted. I seriously love the two pairs of Uggs I already own, so I thought I might look into some snow boot type Uggs. After checking on their website I find the pair I wanted...but really didn't want to spend that much money on them. After doing some research online I found a website...cozyboots.com...which sells Uggs. Low and behold they had THE pair I wanted...in the color I wanted and they had three sizes left...one of which was MY size! Even better, they were fifty dollars less..with free shipping and no sales tax. Uggs are very rarely discounted or put on sale so this just made my day! But beware....there are SO many websites that say they sell Uggs and they are actually selling fakes. Make sure you get them from a site that is an authorized dealer of the Australian boots! On Uggs official website I actually went to the page that listed all their online authorized dealers and cozyboots was one of them. I love finding a great shopping deal...and I never try to pay full price for anything. Always take advantage of free shipping too! It is awesome! I can't wait to be sporting them in Park City!