Nordstrom Tomato Basil Soup and Parmesan Garlic Crostini and Anniversary Sale, Oh My!

Today is not only our Mom’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Lori!) but also our first day to shop the 2021 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! Much to our husbands’ chagrin, Mallory and I completely buy into Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale tag line “Its more than a sale, its an event.” And while boggers everywhere will likely break the Internet today posting all of their sale picks, I thought it would be fun to celebrate Nordstrom by sharing a funny related anecdote about our Grandma Barbie before diving into our this year’s Sale picks. Skip to the bottom of this post if you are just here for the Sale picks (no judgment!).

Growing up, Grandma Barbie loved to shop (which her granddaughters very much appreciated!). But perhaps even more than shopping, our grandmother loved to lunch. We all knew that an invitation from Grandma Barbie for a “quick trip to Nordstrom” actually didn’t exist. No matter the time of day, a shopping trip always had to include lunch, typically at the Nordstrom Café, with a cup of soup, a salad or half a sandwich, hot tea and often a glass of white wine or maybe even just a latte with an oatmeal cookie. And it was always a sit-down affair. She really would have struggled in today’s era of online shopping. Because for Grandma Barbie the act of shopping truly consisted of more than running into a brick-and-mortar store to pick-up something you previously purchased on-line, it was indeed an event.

This nostalgia is what led me to save Nordstrom’s Instagram post for its Tomato Basil Soup and Parmesan Garlic Crostini. I was excited to relive my childhood Nordstrom Café cup of soup with Grandma Barbie. In honor of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I planned to make their Tomato Basil Soup for the first time but, alas, Seattle has had 80-degree plus weather for over three weeks and Ryan looked at me like I was nuts when I told him I was going to make soup for dinner. So, I am saving the soup for cooler temperatures and made the Parmesan Garlic Crostini to accompany a spinach salad for dinner. The crostini were DELICIOUS – I highly recommend. Emma’s comment was “These are awesome!” Very high praise from my daughter.

So, for posterity, and just so you don’t have to dig back through @nordstrom’s Instagram posts to April 8, 2020 like I did, Nordstrom’s recipe video for its Tomato Basil Soup and Parmesan Garlic Crostini is linked here and memorialized below:

Tomato Basil Soup

• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8 oz. Yellow Onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 8 oz. Carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tsp. Basil, dried
• 56 oz. San Marzano or Italian-Style Plum Tomatoes
• 1 quart Vegetable Stock or Water
• 16 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 sprig of Fresh Basil
• Fresh Basil, julienned, for garnish

In a Dutch Oven or stock pot, add your olive oil and heat. Once warm, add in onions and carrots and stir, cooking for 3-4 minutes to soften carrots and onions until caramelized. Then add salt, dried basil and pepper to the pot and mix. Once combined, add all tomatoes (with juice) and then the vegetable stock. Stir it all together then allow to cook for 20-25 minutes at a low simmer. Following this step, add the heavy whipping cream to the pot and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the fresh spring of basil, then puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Once the soup is completely pureed, ladle into bowl and serve garnished with julienned fresh basil.

Parmesan Garlic Crostini

• 2 sticks (1 cup) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup packed Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. Granulated Garlic
• 2 Tbsps. Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
• Baguette cut into 3/8-inch thick slices (approximately 24 slices)

Cut bread into slices about 3/8-inch thick. Then make your parmesan butter. Place softened butter in a bowl. Add garlic, salt, and parsley and stir until incorporated. Then, fold in all the parmesan cheese. Take a tablespoon of the parmesan butter, place on heel of one crostini and slide it forward. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden and crunchy.

And, without further ado, here are our Nordstrom 2021 Anniversary Sale picks for women and children. There are some good ones this year!

My parents gave us our first IVL Collective sets for Christmas last year. We are big fans and excited to see them included in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this year! The tops seem to run small and the pants big, so keep that in mind while making your Nordstrom sale purchases (here, here, here and here). Mallory lives in athleisure being home with her boys, so she has her eye on this Adidas Sweatshirt. Unfortunately athleisure does not work in my office, but Mallory turned me on to this oversized Free People Swim Too Deep Turtleneck Sweater last year which I love, can wear to work, and is perfect for Seattle fall and winter. We have posted several times about who much we love these Nordstrom Moonlight Pajamas. Now they are available in LEOPARD and I could not be more excited. Check them out in the short set as well. Mallory wants these budget friendly Caslon Miller Water Resistant Chelsea Bootand plans on stocking up on this Oribe Magic Duo Hair Set and Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow Sticks that she loves. My running shoes look good for about ten minutes after I buy them so I love to pick up a new pair at the Anniversary Sale. Love this Nike Free Metcon 4 Training Shoe combo. Supergoop! Full Size Play Antioxidant Body Mist SPF 50 Sunscreen is my favorite. Stock up while you can. And, I love Zella but have never bought their shorts. Excited to try Zella Run In Camo Print Shorts this year.

As we have posted about over and over, our kids LOVE to wear Nike. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is a great time to stock up on children’s Nike apparel and shoes. I always buy Sam and Emma new Nike running shoes to wear for back-to-school (see Nike Air Presto Sneaker, Nike Presto Sneaker and Nike MD Valiant Sneaker). This year there are also some great Nike jacket options on sale ( Nike Filled Jacket and Nike Windrunner Jacket), Nike sweatpants for boys and girls, Nike Leggings, always pick up a new pair of Nike Basketball Shorts for Sam while they are on sale, Nike Nike Kids’ Triple Threat Jumpman Long Sleeve Graphic Tees, and Nike Socks. I also like to pick up a non-Nike shoe option for “dress-up” for the kids. And, last but not least, linked above are two shoe options that Sam and Emma can to wear to church or other occasions in which Nike running shoes are just not going to cut it.

Last year, Mallory and I celebrated the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale by making the retailer’s signature Vine Street Cocktail. The recipe is linked here just in case you need something more than a crostini to celebrate your sale purchases. Cheers!