A couple of weeks ago, amidst the Art Basel madness, I took a little break, or as I like to call it, a 'Mommy's Time Out,' to indulge in some holiday shopping at The Falls in Miami. The kind folks at the outdoor shopping mecca, invited me along with a guest, to enjoy a beautiful afternoon at their mall.
It's been years since I had been to The Falls and I had forgotten just how nice it was! The last time I was there, I was 17 and had gone for a movie and dinner with friends so this was a nice refresher visit to get reacquainted with all the great stores and restaurants the mall has to offer!
Our first stop on our holiday shopping adventure was to HSI Professional, which had just opened that day. We were officially the salon's first customer! I brought along one of my dear friends, Sole, as my shopping date, who like me, really savors those mommy time outs. Plus, we always have a good time when we get together!
The salon is small, but has so much girlish character, with pops of color -pink, gold, and white- and imported Italian furniture adorning the space. The stylists are eager to make your visit memorable and are very knowledgeable on the products and happy to show you how they work. What makes this blow dry bar extra special comes down to two things: First, they have a self-serve styling session! So after a long day of shopping if you wanted to get your hair touched up before dinner or a movie, you can pop in to the salon and help yourself to their styling tools ( curling wand, flat iron, blow dryer). There's even someone on hand to help you out! Secondly, if you purchase one of their products, the money you spend turns into points/credits, and they are applied towards any styling service on your next visit. So let's say you bought the curling wand for $70, you would have 70 points on your account and if you came in a few weeks later and wanted to get a $40 blowout, 40 of those 70 points would be used and you don't have to pay an extra dime!
Getting your hair blown out and styled is one of those simple pleasures in life! I like to treat myself often to them because they're an insta-feel good pick me up. Sole and I had such a great experience at HSI getting hair pampered, that we plan on coming back!
Just look at the final results!
After getting primped, it was time to refuel! We were treated to an incredibly tasty lunch at P.F Chang's at the mall. I haven't been to a P.F Chang's since I was a teenager so this was almost like coming for the first time and it exceeded my expectations! Our server was on-point and made excellent recommendations for our meal. We feasted on everything from tuna tartare, to crispy lettuce wraps and Mongolian beef. And no dish went to waste! We got some of it to-go!
And these well-deserving mommas enjoyed a delicious glass of pinot noir with the meal! By the end of our lunch, we were pleasantly full. A pit stop at P.F Chang's is a must on your next shopping expedition at The Falls Miami.
We popped into a few stores after lunch and picked up some gifts for the kiddos and husbands but I was most excited to score some goodies at the Gap, like these comfy turtlenecks that were on sale for $15! Yes, I know what you're thinking, 'turtlenecks in Miami?' Those are almost an urban myth. But these Gap special are soft, stretchy, and thin. They're perfect for a 60 something degree day. I went with grey since it's a classic neutral.
Turtlenecks are easy when it comes to layering (think blazers and flannels) and extremely versatile when it comes to traveling for cold-weather holiday destinations. And because Gap was having a 'buy one, get 50% off' sale going on, I bought Maya the cutest outfit for our upcoming trip back home to New York!
But no visit to The Falls during the holidays is complete without a visit to the big man on campus himself, Santa Claus! I actually came back for a second shopping day at the Falls just so that I could bring my baby girl to meet the man in the suit! She's at that age where she's beginning to understand what Christmas is, why we give presents on the 25th (Happy Birthday, Jesus), and who that jolly old man with the snowy beard represents! And I knew it would be something special and probably the first time she would really enjoy getting some one on one time with Santa!
And I was right! She ran up to him with open arms and snuggled up to him. Santa was very engaging and even though she really didn't have anything on her Christmas wish list to give to Santa, she was just thrilled to play peek-a-boo and give high fives. Two days later, and she's still talking about her visit with the big man and showing everyone the picture.
Santa mission accomplished!
A BIG Thank you to The Falls (www.facebook.com/shopthefalls) for a wonderful afternoon and a special thanks to P.F Changs (www.facebook.com/pfchangs), HSI Professional, and Gap (www.facebook.com/gapatthefalls) for the extra personalized service! I look forward to coming back in the New Year!
In Style,
Kat
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