Shopping Archives - Page 12 of 19

New Years sales at Simon Malls

Did you think all the sales and deals ended with the holidays? If so, you’d be wrong, because the sales are in full swing at Simon Malls. This past week I took the family out for some post-holiday shopping at Northgate Mall in north Seattle and we found good deals everywhere we looked.

Gymboree is having their Red Balloon Sale, Victoria’s Secret has their Semi-Annual Sale, Nordstrom has their men’s sale, Lane Bryant has their Ring It Up, Ring It In sale event, Eddie Bauer has their Semi-Annual Sale, Old Navy has their Active Sale, Things Remembered has a New Years’ Sale, and even Starbucks has a year end sale going on. And the sales go on and on and on…

Educational and fun toys from Museum Tour

Toys these days are just so cool. Sure, you can still find cheap, plastic junk at just about every big toy store, but there are also a handful of companies still making classic toys and gifts that will delight for decades. The problem is finding those companies is a full time job. Thank goodness I can turn to Museum Tour to find those companies without having to search high and low.

The Museum Tour catalog and website were created by a former museum director and educator in order to help take learning beyond the museum and science center walls. With items chosen to help parents teach their children essential life skills at home, the Museum Tour collection of products includes many previously hard-to-find items and learning toys.

Museum Tour believes that children will want to learn if presented with toys that have been created with both education and fun in mind so they have packed the pages of their catalog with the best of the best in terms of high quality learning toys.

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed when shopping for kids toys, wondering what’s just going to collect dust in the bottom of a toy bin. When I found Museum Tour, it was as if I had curated the catalog myself and I was in heaven with page after page of the good stuff. It’s got the classic, the unique, and the toys that really wow.

World Vision: give back while giving this holiday season {Prosperity Cinnamon Box}

The above display for World Vision was found at Northgate mall, nestled in between clothing and shoe stores. Every time we passed it this season we would stop, take pictures with the goats, and I would talk to the kids about what we can do this holiday season to give back.

We all love to buy something for someone to open for the holidays, even if it seems like the recipient has everything. So, why not give them a gift that will make you both feel good? Something from World Vision is always the perfect present because it truly is more than a present – it’s a way to give back with each gift given.

I’ve talked before about how much I love World Vision for what a worthy cause they support, and how it’s one of my favorite go-to places for those that are impossible to buy for. With an option to do a donation in anyone’s name or to get a small gift with a donation, it’s perfect for bosses, co-workers, relatives, friends, acquaintances, and those that live near or far.

Corolle Dolls holiday gift guide

Have a doll-loving little one like I do? If so, you are going to want to bookmark this page filled with my favorite holiday picks from Corolle Dolls. With prices from $30 on up and for every age and stage, you are bound to find the perfect gift for the holidays.

Holiday shopping with Simon Malls

I can’t believe it’s already time for the holidays, again. It seems like just last week it was summer and now here we are with only weeks left until Christmas. Crazy, right?!

While I’m not looking forward to all the wrapping {which is my least favorite part of the holidays}, I'm dying to go holiday shopping at Northgate Mall. I love all the lights, all the good cheer, and I love it when stores switch over to "holiday hours" for us night owls.

Fun OshKosh fashions for fall and winter {25% off coupon}

I participated in an Influencer Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for OshKosh B’gosh. I received a gift card to facilitate my shopping trip and to thank me for participating.

I grew up an OshKosh kid. I vividly remember at least a dozen favorite OshKosh outfits that I wore from toddlerhood on up. I was so thrilled that of all my baby and toddler clothing, my mom had saved a few of my old OshKosh favorites in my keepsake box.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I discovered an OshKosh store that had just gone in a few months earlier, and I made the trip with my sister in law who also had little ones. Together, we loaded up on basics, PJs, and fun stuff from newborn to 12 month for our little ones and had a blast. Even though our baskets were full when we went to check out, I remember being surprised by how low our bills were.

I’ve shopped at the OshKosh b'gosh store numerous times since then, but those first clothes I bought will always be the most memorable. In fact, I can’t bear to part with 90% of the clothes we bought that day as those were the clothes my daughter ended up wearing the most. Since she didn’t grow for so long, our memories in those small sizes span about a year in total, so my daughter literally wore most clothing into rags at that stage.

But, not her OshKosh clothes. Those look as good as new, or as new as baby clothes can look after being worn for so long. And, that’s the reason I have such a hard time parting with them. So, instead of donating as I did with all of her other clothing, I kept quite a few pieces for her keepsake box just like my mom did before me.

So, knowing what big fans we are of OshKosh, you can bet we were excited to find out we were going to get a gift card to shop the store this fall to see all of their new styles. Armed with a few pieces from home that we were going to match with, the kids and I headed off to our local store this week.

Clinton Kelly came to Seattle, and it was awesome.

You wouldn't know it by searching my closet, but I love the show What Not to Wear. I found the show during my early 20s as I was making the awkward transition between teen and adult, and I'm very glad I did. Clinton Kelly and his cohorts taught me all I know about fashion, and I find myself still heeding the advice of how important fit is when choosing clothing – style isn't everything.

So, when I heard that Clinton Kelly was going to be at the downtown Seattle Macy's and the event was going to be catered by Macy's Culinary Council Chef Tom Douglas, I knew I couldn't miss it. I planned a girls’ day shopping event with my step mom to celebrate since we were both big fans of the show and it only seemed natural that we go see him together.

But, even before the day of the event we were trading texts about what we should wear. Not knowing how the event was going to be run we weren’t sure what kind of attire was going to go over best. In the end, I decided to go with the safe route. My step mom went adventurous. In hindsight, I wish I would have put a little more thought into my outfit but I really didn’t want to land myself into a What Not to Wear situation.

As I said, I was a big fan of What Not to Wear, but up until last Saturday I didn’t think that I was a huge fan of Clinton Kelly himself. Sure, he was funny and he knew his stuff, but he also dispensed criticism for a living. Talk about a rough gig.

But, what I found out is that I adore Clinton Kelly. He’s one of the most entertaining and fun speakers I have ever seen {and that’s saying a lot}.

Want to be a brilliant gift giver this holiday season? Try Brilliant Sky Toys & Books!

My aunt buys the best kids presents, ever. Growing up, I never had to give her a list of what I would like if her daughter drew my name in the Christmas exchange, because she always just knew what I would love better than I did. Now, when she buys for my daughter, I am always grateful that she includes the gift receipt – not because I’m going to return the present, but because I am dying to know where she shops.

So, want to know where she shops? Hint: it’s not the big toy stores with aisle after aisle of the “popular toys” that changes every week based on whatever movie or TV show is coll at the time. It’s the small stores run with one goal: to offer kids a diverse and eclectic mix of high quality toys that they will treasure for years.

Stores like Brilliant Sky Toys & Books, an amazing toy store that operates in 15 states {and counting}. The first Brilliant Sky Toys & Books was founded by a husband and wife team in 2002 and their goal was to be the finest upscale specialty toy store in America and offer amazing and personalized service with a smile.

In the past 11 years, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books has grown from a single location to one of the fastest growing toy retailers in the country, which just goes to show you that what they are offering is what people really want.

So, what are they offering? They feature more than 10,000 high-quality specialty products and offer a place where everyone can find their way to play. They describe their approach as “vibrant yet warm, exciting yet comforting and exploratory yet safe.” Their stores are designed with rich colors and woods and low sightlines and custom fixtures, to make the Brilliant Sky sensory experience unlike any other.

They say, “Discover, experience, explore, interact, and enjoy. That's the Brilliant Sky way, and it's the way to play”. Seriously, who wouldn’t love to shop here?

Back to School, rain or shine with Gymboree

Back to School rain or shine
I remember thinking that summer was far too short when I was growing up, but as a mom I feel summer is even shorter than I remember. Our weeks go by in a flurry of summer vacations, mini getaways around Puget Sound and playdates at the lake and ocean. All summer long you can find us with our toes in the sand, building castles and having picnics, enjoying ice cream as the sun goes down, and then just as quickly as it started, it seems like it’s fall again.

And, this year the coming of fall means a very big thing for us: the start of Elementary School. My daughter is really excited about going to the “big kid” school in our neighborhood and I’m excited to walk her there, hand in hand every morning and then pick her up every afternoon. But, with the arrival of school comes the changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, and the start of the rain that will be here on and off until April.

So, we’re starting school and kicking off the start of the rainy season with some new rain duds from Gymboree. That means rain boots, rain jacket, and umbrellas. But, it also means long pants for my son since he still goes to school twice each day to pick up his sister, and so far that has equaled a whole lot of wet jeans from puddles and rain.

Thank goodness Gymboree had everything we needed and more, including this gorgeous rain set that would make any rainy day seem brighter.

My daughter has worn it to and from school a few days now when it was sprinkling {or "sparkling" as she would say} and it was perfect for the warm days of fall. When she’s not wearing it, it stuffs nicely into the bottom of her school bag still leaving plenty of room for all the things that need to go back and forth to school each day.

Kmart makes fiscally responsible Back to School easy

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the Kmart Back to School commercials with the kids on the playground telling “Yo Mama” jokes to compliment each other’s new Kmart gear. Just like the infamous “Ship My Pants” commercial of earlier this summer, it’s clever and funny, and every time it comes on, I find myself stopping what I’m doing to watch it.

I mean, who doesn’t want to be so fashion forward and fiscally responsible that the kids are talking about it on the playground? Well, now you can be that cool mom simply by shopping at Kmart for back to school.

And, their fall sales and deals couldn’t come at a better time, because in addition to back to school items and school supplies, fall means the start of many different activities that all cost a good chunk of change. With so much going on, your budget can get pulled in a lot of different directions, and it’s easy to realize you’re over budget before school has even started.