Shopping Archives - Page 13 of 19

Crayola for Back to School

Don’t shoot me, but I’m actually looking forward to Back to School shopping. I’m excited about walking the aisles and aisles of notebooks, protractors, pencil boxes and art supplies looking for the perfect supplies to send my daughter off to school with. Maybe it’s my love of office supplies talking, but I love digging through all the brand new school supplies and taking in the scent of new crayons and freshly sharpened pencils.

Yes, I know all you seasoned moms are now shaking your heads at me.

It’s not that I look forward to plunking down cash for brand new crayons when our {slighty} broken ones are just fine, it’s just that school is more fun when you have a backpack full of new school supplies. I’m looking forward to loading up my art-loving daughter with all the fun stuff for school {and for at home} that can make her entire school year exciting.

In fact, I didn't even mind that we had to store-hop a bit in order to get everything we needed, er, wanted, because it was as much about the adventure as it was about our crazy awesome Crayola haul we came home with. Seriously, just look at all this fun stuff we get to play with!

Back to School with Fruit of the Loom “Underwear for Overachievers”

Sponsored Post 2

Every mom of school aged kids is aware of the infamous school supply list at the start of each year. If you’re not familiar, these lists typically involve large amounts of cash and leads to a bunch of questions about why your child needs 25 individual toothpicks, red yarn, and three tennis shoe laces, amongst other things. While I have no doubt that these items are necessary and will lead to awesome learning opportunities, I’m much more excited to back to school shop for things that don’t come on that list.

Things like fun t-shirts, jeans, and new kicks that will make getting dressed for school less of a chore each morning. Fruit of the Loom thinks that if you’re going to the trouble of refreshing your wardrobe that you should also consider the basics – like socks, underwear, tees, and tank tops. Even though these items won’t be seen at school, it makes all the difference in how your child views getting dressed each day and can take a morning struggle and make it far more peaceful.

The Fruit of the Loom Underwear for Overachievers program was started to help parents upgrade their children’s basics while stocking up for school. By offering seasonal bonus packs that include FREE underwear, t-shirts, socks, and undershirts in each pack, it maximizes your back to school dollars while making it each to prepare for the school year ahead.

Lee Jeans rocked at BlogHer ‘13 Chicago

If anyone out there has never been to BlogHer before, you’d probably think it was ridiculous how much people obsess about clothing beforehand. I am along the lines of “if it fits” and I’m definitely in the minority at a big blogging conference like BlogHer. It’s not that I think those that plan way ahead are silly {I mean, there are literally thousands of socially connected women with cameras at the ready}, but high fashion has never really been my forte.

Really, I’m just a jeans a t-shirt kind of gal… unless it’s scorching hot, and then I’m a skirt and tank top kind of gal. And, this year there was so much talk of how hot Chicago is in the summer that jeans seemed a little silly. In fact, I almost turned down the chance to try out a pair of new Lee Jeans thinking that they would just be taking up space in my bag and I would never get a chance to wear them.

Thank goodness I didn’t turn down a brand spanking new pair of Lee Jeans, because Chicago turned out to be freezing in comparison to our Seattle summer this year. I wore a dress exactly one day of my 7 day trip, and was freezing that entire day. As for the rest of the time? I was rocking my Lee jeans and loving it. I wore my Lees with flip flops, wore them with sneakers, and wore them with my favorite new accessory – my Tieks by Gavrieli foldable ballet flats with the bright blue soles. I wore Lee jeans to a wine tasting, a dinner with one of my favorite brands, a boat cruise, a BlogHer session, and a whole bunch of private parties.

This is me with Xenia from Thanks Mail Carrier {left} and Liz from A Nut In A Nutshell {right} at the Sheraton Social Hour that kicked off BlogHer. The strangers thing was a joke, I'm pretty sure we've been friends forever.

Presents they will never forget at Memorable Gifts

Is everyone you know having babies, too? It seems like the past year has brought more babies than the past 5 years combined. And that, of course, means a whole lot of shopping for baby stuff.

But, where do you look when you want something more than the generic baby blanket, booties that the kid will never wear, or rattle? You start shopping at Memorable Gifts to check out their selection of personalized products that make finding the perfect new baby gift easy and fun.

With wooden name plaques, engraved jewelry boxes, piggy banks, plates, birth certificate holders and more, you are sure to find that perfect keepsake for any baby at Memorable Gifts.

When I was offered the chance to review something from Memorable Gifts, I knew right where I would start searching. Since I love getting babies piggy banks, I was thrilled to find that Memorable Gifts carried more than the standard pig design and even had some I had never seen before.

Like this gorgeous pirate ship piggy bank I fell for with one simple glance.

Summer vacation shopping tips {BlogHer shopping at Northgate Mall}

It is summer vacation time, and everyone knows what that means: shopping. Whether you are ditching the rain and heading somewhere tropical or you are beating the heat and heading for cooler weather, chances are you need some new clothing and gear for whatever climate you’re headed to.

I like to view this as an invitation to splurge a little bit on myself to make vacation packing easier. Since I love vacation shopping more than any other kind of mall trip, I tend to plan one a few weeks before any big trips to refresh my wardrobe before fully deciding on what I will be packing. So, amed with a complimentary gift card, my daughter and I headed to Northgate Mall in Seattle to prepare for my upcoming Chicago trip for BlogHer.

Packing for BlogHer is a bit different than any other vacation for me, because I need to be professional and put together in addition to staying cool and comfortable, so it’s not like I can pack a few shirts, a pair of jeans and some shorts and skirts and call it good. I need fancy dresses for at night, put-together outfits for day, and coordinating pieces that can do double-duty so I don’t end up with three suitcases.

Naturally, I was really excited to get my shopping started at Northgate Mall, but before I started shopping, I did a little pre-vacation prep. Having become a pro at shopping for trips in the past, this time I knew exactly what I was doing and I followed these guidelines:

Birthdays, holidays and more: growing up a Gymboree kid

You know how sometimes you just look at your kids and they seem so grownup all of a sudden? Never is that more true that during the summer months when I dig out all their warmer weather clothing from the previous year only to find that everything is a few inches too short and we’re due for yet another clothing run.

With so many birthday parties for friends and family this time of year, I find I’m constantly searching for something nice for the kids to wear that still looks festive and fun. And, with events ranging from pool parties to pony ride parties, my daughter thinks there’s always a good reason to get dolled up.

In my search for kid-approved clothing that can go from event to event, I always turn to Gymboree as their clothing tends to be the kids’ favorite in terms of fit, style, and flair. This year was no exception, and I found so many awesome styles that are the first clothing pieces that the kids grab each day.

Items like the Glitter Star Cowgirl boots, which my daughter would wear every single day if she could {and she pretty much does, even in record high temperatures or when we’re going to the beach}.

Upgrading my wardrobe with a Simon Malls shopping trip at Northgate Mall Seattle

A few months ago I realized that almost every single pair of jeans I wear was either badly worn or had a gaping hole on the right knee. The exception to this rule was my two pairs of “good” jeans, which I only wear a few times a month. But, my pile of holey jeans … Read more

Awesome and unique gifts for Mom from RedEnvelope {with coupon code}

I’ve had a bit of a love affair with RedEnvelope since my teens and I now have numerous pieces I’ve gotten as gifts or bought for myself from them throughout my home. Many pieces of jewelry are from them, and they are nicely stored in a wooden RedEnvelope box. My wedding photos are in shadow … Read more

Coordinating sibling clothes for everyday from Gymboree

I constantly have my camera out, so I love my kids to wear coordinating outfits most days so they don’t clash with each. For this reason, I’m a huge fan of Gymboree’s mix and match collections that come out each season. I love visiting one of the many Gymboree stores near me and grabbing a few things … Read more

Toast to the Newlyweds with Personal Creations

With lots of family and friends announcing upcoming weddings, I can’t help but start searching early for personalized bridal shower gifts and wedding ideas. When I got married, it was well before Pinterest and even before people went online for everything, which made it hard to get truly special items that everyone else wasn’t going … Read more