If you’re in the Seattle area, chances are you probably have heard chatter about a new Nordstrom Rack opening at Westlake in downtown Seattle. No, not the old Rack, the one that has sat a few blocks west of the main shopping downtown for over two decades, remodeled – 
this is an entirely new store. This new store is set to open right in the heart of the shopping center and just steps away from their flagship Nordstrom store.
Last night, Kerri {aka @_themaven} and I got a chance to hobnob with many local bloggers and tweeters in the Seattle area while we shopped one of my favorite stores – with a gift card. Sounds like heaven, right? It really was a fabulous time and it gave us 2 ½ hours {child-free!} to sip cocktails, shop the latest fashions, and tweet about all the things you can buy us to win our hearts.
No, seriously. Check out our tweets with #RackOpening and you will know exactly what to buy us for any and all upcoming holidays. Go. Now.
Some great new things we both loved about their new location {as well as, you know, the awesome location}:
• The store is no longer spread out over 4 floors like the old Rack was. For a family with a stroller, this means no more waiting in line for the elevators or having to split up and go to different levels to shop in everyone’s favorite sections. Yessssss!
• The new store will be utilizing On The Spot checkout where you can quickly make your purchases and get your receipt emailed to you. Quick, easy, and paper-free!
• No more Shoe Mate window! As someone with two different sized feet with a husband who is the single pickiest shoe shopper in the world, this means not having to stand in line numerous times in the same trip for shoe mates while shopping, which means I can spend more time actually shopping.
• Fresh flowers for purchase at their Pine Street entrance – this would be so much nicer than trekking down to Pike Place and fighting the crowds to get fresh flowers all spring and summer.
Just look at Kerri's and my purchases from the night. I think we did pretty good finding some classic accessories and updates on a budget… and of course we found some fun stuff, too!
Want to be part of the festivities tomorrow and be one of the first inside the new store? Simply enter to win their $2,000 ‘Race Through the Rack’ shopping spree. One lucky person at the opening will have 90 seconds to run through the store and select up to $2,000 worth of merchandise. Are you already planning your route like I am? The drawing and race will be held Thursday, March 15, at 8:45am, before the store opens so be sure to get there early!
How to Find It:
Westlake Center – 400 Pine Street
Downtown Seattle, WA 98101
206.448.8522
Nordstrom Rack at Westlake Center Facts and Trivia:
42,500 square feet
32 registers and mobile checkout devices
23 women's dressing rooms
3,000 men's ties
2,600 handbags
5,000 pairs of premium denim
Source: Nordstrom
Check out The Maven's post about the Rack Opening and see some of the {many} tweets we were sending throughout the night. You can also read all about even more great promotions they will be running throughout opening day!
Also, make sure you are following @Seattle_Rack on Twitter… I hear there's going to be some more clues about even more awesome ways to win! 
A big thank you to Nordstrom for having us out to see the new store two days early. We were given a gift card to shop and tweet but no post was required, I just thought you'd like to hear about how much we loved it!
Oh I can’t