Nailed It

There have been headlines and detailed news articles aplenty about the CPI increasing, a high inflation environment and in a nutshell higher costs for just about everything. According to the U.S. Labor Department, May 2021 showed the largest increase in the CPI since August 2008. (Bonus points for you if you fully understand the CPI.) I've been experiencing increased costs for a growing list of items in recent months.

Therefore today I was pleasantly surprised to see a price decrease. The nail salon I've been going to since salons reopened last spring in New York City had some changes to the price list. Missed going there last week. When it was time to pay I learned the price of a manicure fell from $18 to $15. The price drop puzzled me. In fact I felt I was cheating by paying less than usual so I had to ask if I was charged the right amount. The manicurist told me the lower price is the new price.

This $3 put back in my pocket isn't much. The fact the cost of the manicure dropped is something big. Well maybe not big, but something that stayed with me all day. Have you seen any price drops in recent days?

I'm not an influencer but...

I love these sneakers. Like other pandemic fatigued New Yorkers, in recent weeks I've been thinking about dressing up a bit. Saturday decided it was time to move in that direction and felt a spring sneaker refresh would be the first step. First and turns out the only stop was Bloomingdale's. Noticed a scalloped sneaker on display (and now this pair is mine. Note-- sneaker difficult to photograph!) It was interesting seeing how Chloe expanded the Lauren scalloped shoe line. A few years ago I purchased Lauren flats and Lauren pumps. They were comfortable and yes, I do like the scallop details so thought I'd try the sneakers.They feel great! No, I'm not an influencer and in fact I hardly ever pay attention to them. But a shout out to Chloe for these super sneakers and a mini review for those looking for sneakers. Sneakers aren't much of a step up from slippers. Hope is I'll get to a small heel by fall. But no promises making it back to my Jimmy Choo's Anouk pumps. With very pointy toes and a 4.7 inch stiletto heel, they were moving further and further back in my closet before the pandemic.

Successful shopping with @FValentineNY

When it comes to a key case it turns out I'm fussy. The case can't be too big; yet, must be big enough to hold several cards, some cash and a few coins. And since I see and use a key case every day it should be pretty and of course have a sturdy key ring.

For such a small item, I spent loads of time searching for the one -- hours looking online and walking many miles in Manhattan. Finally, on an early Sunday morning walk down Madison Avenue the perfect key case was in the colorful window display at Frances Valentine. The store wasn't to open for hours so decided to buy it online. But, after searching the Internet was unable to find it any place.

I returned to the store the following Saturday and this great green patent leather key case was still there. Had the choice of bright pink or light blue, but the lively green won me over. Learned this item has been around for some time so that's probably why couldn't find it online. I always like to buy the newest but in this case it did not matter. This shopping trip was a success.

What made my shopping experience especially nice and memorable was the customer service. Not only was the sales associate and her colleague welcoming and friendly, the sales associate offered to take off the keys from my current key case and place the keys on my new key case. I loved that she did that for me. My nails thank her too! I look forward to visiting the store again.

Doesn't it look great resting on a jacket made by @samstailor in #HongKong. This #Samstailor and #FrancesValentine combination make me happy.