Sveta has already given you a brilliant encapsulation of our great NAS adventure, and I have shared my boot woes with you at tremendous length.

Tonight's instalment concerns my other "misses" from the sale. But first, allow me to tell you about the overall Nordstrom's experience. It was my very first visit to a Nordie's (other than the Rack in Union Square NYC) and I was dangerously impressed. Seriously --- can there be any better place to shop?? High end, but not in the least forbidding. And sales associates practically jumping all over themselves to make the experience a better one for you. Although, truth be told, part of their eagerness in this case might have been to make the experience better for themselves, too.

Sveta and I were the stereotypical polite Canadians who even cleaned up the entire change room after ourselves, but honestly, by ordering as we were forced to do, we quite unintentionally created a lot of work for them. So their suggestion that next time, we could have our rooms stocked in advance with the items on our wish list was one we're eagerly looking forward to taking up!

Most of you know how much I admire Sveta's style, so it won't surprise you to learn that we actually ordered quite a few of the very same items!

I ruled a few items out without taking photos. Not that they were bad in themselves. I just realized right away that they were not what I wanted.

Here are the "ones that got away" -- the near misses that it almost broke my heart to leave.

Pic 1: Tahari Minka jacket. LOVED how this looked and felt but to Sveta's eye it seemed like a skirt jacket only, and I need one that is more versatile. I was afraid it would turn out to be an expensive fantasy life purchase. I am wearing the larger of my two possible sizes here....I could just barely button it. Angie had actually suggested I size down in it but they could not obtain my smaller size for me -- turned out it would not have been necessary.

Pics 2-3: Mural bomber. Once again, I adored the look of this jacket. Loved the colours, the shape, the cut, the detailing --- everything about it was fab and perfect for my style.

But I could not get past the plastic-y feeling of the faux leather. It felt very hot on my neck. Plus, the neckline itself was a bit wonky on the one I tried -- wrinkles that would not unwrinkle.

Add to that the fact that I would have needed to narrow the sleeves to make them stay scrunched. Also, I did feel that in some ways the style was quite similar to my washed leather jacket from Danier. That one is not a bomber, but the collar and colour is similar. So, taking all those factors together, I regretfully bid it adieu.

Pic #4: Theory Jillian sweater in navy. Again, I adored everything about this sweater. Everything but the price tag, that is. The texture is extremely soft -- like a cloud! And I loved that. Until I noticed that even fresh out of the bag it was showing signs of pilling. I have another Theory sweater from last year that I adore, but it has already pilled a bit. All knits pill -- that is the nature of them. But Sveta wisely commented that if it was a choice between the plain navy Theory and the DVF sweater (and it was, as both were splurge items for me) then the DVF was the one to take. Her idea was that I could find something similar to the Theory at a lower price point.

I hope she is correct, and if she isn't, I'll make her eat her words at next year's S&S NAS extravaganza! Because you KNOW we will be doing this again!

Stayed tuned! On the weekend I will post my "hits." I am travelling until then so won't be able to take good pictures of the items I kept, and I would like you to see them styled a bit so you will appreciate their full fabulosity!

Thanks again to Angie for behind the scenes help and suggestions and to Sveta for being the world's best shopping partner!