Cheryl Shops

Back when I first started writing Cheryl Shops, I used to list all of the weekly sample sales in NYC; if you’ve been reading this blog since the dark ages, that’s probably how you first found me. Nowadays, there are many sites out there who track the sales better than I do—Madison Avenue Spy being one of my favorites—but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d show my gratitude to you, dear readers, by sharing the best deals on my favorite sites. Let me know what you got in the comments below!

I was compensated with free lodging and meals for this post, but all opinions are my own.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California sounds like a magical place from its name alone, and once you’ve visited, you realize the magic is real. Conceived as an artists’ colony in the early 1900s, the town’s character is that of a village in a forest overlooking the beach, and it’s filled with straight-out-of-a-fairytale houses that all have imaginative names. (Fun fact: there are no street numbers in Carmel-by-the-Sea; residents go to the post office to pick up their mail.) The town is vigilant about preserving its beauty—trees cannot be torn down to accommodate new construction, buildings cannot be more than two stories tall, signs must be wood (or wood-like), and as a matter of public safety on its uneven sidewalks, you are required to have a permit to wear heels over 2 inches high (yes, that is an actual law!). It may sound like a lot of regulation, but the result is that Carmel-by-the-Sea is a truly special place filled with people and businesses that feel so devoted the unique character of the town. And what makes Carmel even more dear to my heart is that it’s the most dog-friendly town I’ve ever visited—in fact, all of the visitor maps note which businesses allow dogs!


Carmel is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from San Francisco, which makes it perfect for a weekend trip (although we'd happily spend a week—or longer—there). Here’s what Sean, Zuni, and I did on our visit in November.

I was #blessed to spend a weekend in Carmel again—as you may recall, we go every August for car week, which I love, but this time was a totally different experience. For one, the town was waaaaay less crowded. For another, the weather was absolutely gorgeous; it’s normally foggy and chilly in the summer, but it was clear and crisp and surprisingly warm. I have a more in-depth post on my trip coming later this week, but in the meantime, here’s what I wore in Carmel last weekend.

My Pinterest followers have been busy repinning fall-transitional outfits, and even though it feels like winter-transitional weather at the moment, I think this is a great look to wear right now (and later). The most-pinned look from my Outfit ideas for ageless style Pinterest board looks very Bottega Venteta, but let's create it for way less (mostly).

When I was young, I had a babysitter named Carrie who was very cool in a Joan Jett–meets–Stevie Nicks kind of way. Her style was boho mixed with punk—lots of silver and black and denim—and I was pretty much obsessed with her. She almost always wore black suede boots, and in all my years of shopping, I've never found a pair that reminded me so distinctly of her until I tried on the Giorgia boot by Calla. They came in the mail last week and I literally wore them for three days straight. I channeled Carrie all weekend long, but this was the look I think she'd approve of the most.

I had meant to publish this last week, but life (and Halloween) got in the way, and even though it's November, it's definitely still fall. Plus, this trend is kind of seasonless, so it almost doesn't matter when you buy it—although now is always a good time. When it comes to bags, I'm definitely more of a minimalist—I usually don't go for a lot of bells and whistles in terms of hardware, but lately I've been gravitating toward something with a nice big buckle. It's a step above minimalist, but by no means maximalist. Here are my favorite buckle bags for fall.

The first year I moved to California, I had no idea what time of year it was until I went to a department store in late November and realized it was almost Christmas. It was sunny, it was still relatively warm…and it’s kind of like that all year. Of course, I’ve since realized that we have seasons here—they’re just very subtle. That said, fall tends to drag on for a bit, and by fall, I mean summer. So while everyone in the rest of the country is gladly breaking out the sweaters and boots, Californians are still in sandals and sundresses. But thankfully, as of the day I’m writing this, it appears true fall is finally upon us: it’s foggy again, my nose gets cold when I’m waiting for the bus in the morning, and I’m thinking about adding another blanket to my bedding. And it’s just in time, because I have a Friendsgiving dinner this weekend and it just doesn’t feel right to wear summer clothes to a very autumnal event. Here’s what I’m planning on wearing this year.