Alex and Ani bracelets caught my eye while shopping in Nordstrom last fall. When I saw their stylish charm, I instantly knew I had to add them to my growing collection of arm candy. I was a good girl and rather than buying them right then and there, I waited. During the holidays, my husband and I went Christmas shopping together. When I went to point them out to him–so he could “surprise” me with a couple Christmas morning–well, that’s when I realized just how popular they were. These fashionable bangles had sold out in record time! After Christmas came and went, I made several trips to Nordstrom, hoping they’d be back in stock. It took until early spring to finally find the ones I’d wanted and were welcome gifts on my 40th birthday. Now, I wear them daily.
Last month as our family traveled to Boston and New York City, my husband gave our three children the grand tour of his old stomping grounds at Boston College.
While there, we took the children into the college bookstore–[one] to give them a sense of college life, [two] to cool down from the intense heat and humidity outside and [three] to see if we could find anything worth buying to show our BC team spirit back home.
As we wandered around, we really didn’t see anything that jumped out at us. Except for a mini fan/mister contraption Katie had spotted. She and I both knew that with the soaring summer temps outside, it’d come in handy. Yet, we left the bookstore empty-handed. Instead, we grabbed a few drinks from the vending machine and sat in the student lounge where we sipped our refreshing drinks, recharged and Gary shared with the kids all his cool college stories. Right when he was in the middle of a super funny one, suddenly I heard Katie whispering in my ear. She politely said, “Can I get that fan?” Since I thought it was a smart idea and wanted it just as much as she did, I took her back into the bookstore and grabbed it off the shelf. On our trip to the register, we passed by the jewelry department {which I’d accidentally skipped earlier}. Immediately I spotted BC charm bracelets that looked exactly like the Alex and Ani ones I adore. When I picked one up off the display, I was elated to discover it was!
Of course, I purchased it along with our Boston College fan. How could I not? I proudly support my alumni! Plus, it brings back many fond memories of our time in New England raising a young family. All the while, Gary managed to attend night school at Boston College while working full time. That was an incredible life experience we shared. One I will never forget and be reminded of each time I wear my Alex and Ani BC bangle.
Before heading to NYC, we took the family to Newport, Rhode Island. This seaside town is quintessential New England. It’s simply gorgeous. The boats. The bridges. The mansions, quaint old homes and church steeples rising high above the tree line leaving you feeling like you are walking around inside a picture perfect postcard.
When we lived in Boston, we visited this little slice of heaven quite often. Every visitor that came in from out-of-town, we made absolute certain to take them there. You know, Newport is one of America’s original playgrounds for the rich and famous. It’s packed full of luxurious charm and is very well known for their larger-than-life mansions.
Rather that touring each mansion, we simply drove past each. As we did, we joked about their monstrous size and had lengthy discussions as to what we’d do with each room in those mansions if we were the ones living in them. It’s fun to pretend. Especially, when many of those mansions had upwards of 70 rooms! We came up with some pretty crazy ideas.
Back at Newport’s Seaport Village there are lots of unique little stores. As we window shopped, we were lured into Ben and Jerry’s for a scoop of ice cream by the sweet smell of homemade waffle cones pouring out an open store window.
We sat and enjoyed our treats by the harbor while admiring all the multimillion dollar yachts. We tried guessing who owned those floating resorts. Really, we had no idea. It was just fun playing guessing games together as a family.
On our way out, I spotted an Alex and Ani STORE. That’s right. An entire Alex and Ani store! I had to go in. Katie and I sauntered around admiring all the beautiful pieces. Somehow we left without buying a single bracelet. Miracle of miracles!! However, while walking back to the car, I stopped in my tracks and told everyone, “WAIT! I’m not done yet!” Grabbed Katie by the hand and ran back to the Alex and Ani store. {And yes, I’m seeing a pattern in my shopping behavior writing this! It seems to go something like this–don’t buy anything initially, change my mind and then hurry back with Katie–funny, huh?}. I knew if I didn’t buy the bracelet, I originally had my eye on, I’d later regret it. What I went back for, was the store special of the week–which so happened to go right along with the theme our trip. The charm on this Alex and Ani bangle was that of an oyster shell with a pretty pearl inside.
I asked one of the sweet employees to wrap it up for me, along with a treasure Katie had picked out for herself.
While paying for our souvenirs, I shared with the woman helping me, the story of how I’d fallen in love with these recently, bought a couple from Nordstrom and was thrilled to see an entire store. She cheerfully informed me that Alex and Ani started in Rhode Island! This fact alone made me even more happy that I had listened to that silly voice inside my head that said, “Lisa, if you don’t go back to that store you will regret it later!” I realize that may seem a bit crazy, but when I buy souvenirs, I like them to have meaning. It’s always awesome finding gifts for yourself on trips you love and want to take home to remind you of your travels. It’s even better when it’s something you’ll actually use, represents the area you are visiting and brings back nothing but mountains of memories. That Alex and Ani store provided just that. And it brings me great satisfaction knowing that in the process of buying a souvenir, we were also supporting a company with local roots and a company ethos I couldn’t agree with more. Making it the perfect present to take back home!
Looking for a little positive energy in your life and want an Alex and Ani bangle of your own? Tell me what souvenirs you love collecting on vacations…it’s as simple as that! Hats? Tshirts? Christmas ornaments? Spoons? Shot glasses?
Please leave a comment for a chance to win an Alex and Ani bracelet {a $40 value} of your choice. You have until Wednesday, August 6th, at 11:59 PM PST to enter. GOOD LUCK!
For a glimpse of their jewelry, please visit the amazing Alex and Ani website.
{Please note: [1] This is NOT a sponsored post. I just love Alex and Ani bracelets! And thought it’d be fun to share the love. [2] Please–just one entry, per person [3] I moderate all my comments to avoid spam. Thank you for reading and playing along!}
