Posts Tagged ‘Shopping’

By Betsy, Editor, Funky Mama Bird (@funkymamabird)

If holiday shopping in the malls isn’t your thing, consider these five tips for holiday shopping online. As more online retailers offer discounts, and more holiday shoppers choose to forgo the malls you may just find the best deals in the comfort of your own home.

Holiday Shopping Online

The traditional day to kick off holiday shopping in the stores is the day after Thanksgiving. The day is known as Black Friday to retailers, because this is the day most finally pull into the black. Online shopping, however, does not typically begin until the following Monday, dubbed Cyber Monday by many retailers.

Because most online shopping occurs when shoppers are at their desk on Monday, or the kids are back in school, most online retailers hold off the best deals until this day. Whether you choose to join the virtual masses, or you just want to fill in the gaps of your traditional shopping spree, these five tips for holiday shopping online will help.

Shop Indie

Do you have someone to shop for that enjoys the unusual or seems to already have everything? Try shopping at indie sites such as Shana Logic or any great Etsy shop. Indie shops typically have lower prices, handmade, artisan items and items you can’t find in traditional stores. Perfect for your Emo niece or your grandmother who loves handmade knits.

Sign Up for New Letters

Get on the email newsletter list of your favorite stores. Coupons, free shipping codes and deals on select items are frequently emailed to consumers the day before the product goes live. You can always unsubscribe again once the holidays are over, if you don’t like the idea of dozens of retail newsletters clogging your inbox come January 1st.

Ask Questions

If you are purchasing an item from an Ebay or Etsy seller, make use of the “conversation” buttons and ask questions of the seller. Request measurements, additional photos or anything else that is stopping you from making the sale. Watch out for clothing items that are photographed folded; you may not know what’s being hidden. If the seller has nothing to hide, he or she will usually comply with reasonable requests.

Don’t Get Caught Up in Bidding Wars

Overstock auctions and Ebay have made it easier than ever to get an item at a great price. It can be addicting to keep bidding on an item until you’ve made it yours, so set an upper budget limit and stick to it. Just because someone else is willing to go over the top, doesn’t mean that you have to. Blowing your whole budget on one item makes no sense; instead, set up an alert to tell you when the item is posted by another seller and try again.

Use Comparison Sites

Sites like Froogle and Nextag allow you to compare the prices on one item from multiple sellers at once. Rather than just purchasing an item that looks like it has a good price, run a search for this item through a comparison shopping site. Just make sure to take shipping into consideration and look at the bottom line to find the best deal.

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Shopping for the holidays can often seem like a competition. Make sure to remember that it’s the thought that counts; after that, by all means, go after that deal.

Have you gotten a great deal on some internet shopping? Have a coupon code to share? Know of a site that’s offering free shipping? Come by the Our Mommyhood forum where we have a thread running on just that. If you have nothing to share, come by and see what others have; when you hear of anything, come back and share it with the others!

By Shannon Henrici, Special Guest, My Baby Clothes Boutique

The baby bump is hotter than ever these days. Over the past few years, there’s been a growing trend among celebrities and everyday women to flaunt their little bump with fashion picks that accentuate their new curves. Fitted tees and bikinis are the norm, while shapeless frocks have been left in the garbage with the dirty diapers. However, a new trend is giving expectant mothers yet another option – loving and hiding the baby bump.

Many celebrities have managed to keep their bumps under wraps, but still look amazing. Isla Fisher, has been hiding her second pregnancy from the press with stylish but flowy dresses and tops. In May, Alicia Keyes announced her pregnancy wearing an amazing fluffy flowery strapless dress. How do they do it?

If you love your baby bump but want to be discreet, here are some of the secrets. Look through your closet to see what stylish pieces can easily transition to maternity wear. Loose-fitting dresses, baby doll tops, or anything with an empire waist are great as a transitional top. The new asymmetrical, bubble tops, and long tunics are made for baby bumps. One favorite of all pregnant moms is leggings, comfort stretch waist bands, topped with a long flowing shirt are very flattering. Maxi dresses are a must and a fashion staple for before and after pregnancy. As your bump grows, you will have to break down and buy those maternity pants. I guarantee you will love the comfort of the bump snuggling fits. Topped with flowy shirts, you will still look as beautiful as before.

While maternity stores now offer a great selection of trendy styles, don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to their selection. You can still find great clothes at your usual shopping destinations, though you may have to pass on those skinny jeans or that tight little black dress.

Below are some faves of those pregnancy fashionistas:

These styles can be found at Nordstroms -

For those on a budget- here are some adorable (affordable) outfits too:

Chadwick’s of Boston and Belks-

This article brought to you by Shannon Henrici. She writes for My Baby Clothes Boutique. They specialize in the most fashionable baby headbands, baby hats and so much more.

Laura from Gift it Onward has offered us a fantastic giveaway.

Gift it Onward specializes in custom burp cloths, blankets and bibs. There are tons of cute fabrics to choose from and each item is embroidered with the baby’s name or initials.

I have personally given these burp cloths to many family and friends. Since they are stylish, useful and affordable they’re my go to gift when people welcome a new baby.

I’ve also got a set for my son. They are adorable and super absorbent. By far, they were my favorite burp cloth when Alex was born. They were essential for cleaning up all the yuck that comes out of tiny people. Plus, they made us look adorably put together even when we weren’t!

As such, I am hugely excited for the opportunity to share this product with you. Just look at how cute these are!

Gift it Onward has also recently added a new product to their arsenal. These custom bibs are super cute and also provide the opportunity to choose the fabric you like best.

Gift it Onward is including two custom burp cloths and one bib to one lucky winner. The winner will be able to contact Laura to choose which fabrics they’d like to use.

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Entries for our Gift it Onward giveaway include:

- Follow Our Mommyhood (blog) in some way, and tell us how you do.

-Follow Our Mommyhood on Twitter, and leave us your Twitter handle.

-Visit Gift it Onward and let us know which fabric(s) you’d choose if you won.

-Tweet about this giveaway, including @OurMommyhood in your tweet.

This giveaway will remain open until Saturday, July 3rd at 1 pm EST.

*Please leave a comment for each entry

**This giveaway is open to US residents only.

By Toni, Contributor, Hemp and High Heels (@ToniSue)

Ask any random group of 100 women what their number one New Year’s Resolution is, and I am willing to bet that at the top of that list “Lose Weight”. I would know, it was mine for many years.

After reaching a personal (non-pregnant) high of 195 pounds on my 30th birthday, I was fat, bloated, and miserable. Embarrassed with my reflection, and disgusted with myself – I vowed I wouldn’t start another birthday feeling this way. I began dieting and exercising, and within two months I had lost twenty pounds.

I kept at it, and eventually, I managed to lose a total of sixty pounds through hard work and determination. I feel so much better than I ever have about myself. With every pound lost, a gained a new found self respect.

What I didn’t find was the small fortune I would require to clothe my now smaller self in. Here’s what no one ever tells you. When you are actively dieting and shedding pounds – it costs a LOT of money to replace your wardrobe. In my case, I was having to replace my entire wardrobe every season there for a little over a year and a half.

At first, to celebrate my new-found smaller self – I took myself on a rewarding clothes shopping spree at a high-end fashion boutique. I spent more money on clothes for myself in that one trip, than I have in several years combined.

Guess how long they fit? Exactly two weeks. Then, my butt shrank.

Reality check – when losing weight it isn’t always the smartest choice to buy your clothes at the more “name brand” stores. In fact, “Roll Back” store might be your best friend while you are in between sizes.

Let me give you an example. If you go shopping in mid-spring, you can buy a wardrobe that will last you until early fall (depending on where you live). At the place with “Smiley faces” I recently bought and entirely new Spring/ Summer/ Early Fall wardrobe for $100. I know that for some people $100 is a lot to spend on oneself, especially for us mother’s on a budget. However, I had no summer clothes that fit, so $100 is a bargain for a whole new wardrobe if you ask me.

Wanna know what all I got? I got four sun dresses, two pairs of shorts, three tees, five tank tops, and a pair of capris. For a single Benjamin. That’s twelve brand new pieces of clothing – you can’t beat that with a stick. And no, they are not ugly, tacky things. “That” store has BCBG, L.E.I., O.P. and several other designers now. It has come a long way from muu muus and camo.

My two cents is that when you are working hard at slimming down, save your pennies for when you cross the finish line. I took a year off, but am back on the weight loss express with a twenty pound goal in mind. When I reach it, you can bet that my budget is going to be more than $100 – though I doubt I’ll get a better deal than I have at the “discount chain” store.

By Honey B

I have an obsessive relationship with Amazon….and one of the reasons why is because it keeps me updated on all the baby crap that is available. LOVE it!! And one of the most entertaining things is explaining all these things to Marmot. I didn’t realize that if you’re a guy, you didn’t grow up knowing what all this amazing baby stuff is!

Now I just ordered my first Hooter Hider…omg but I love that thing. I got it in the mail and immediately modeled it for Marmot. He laughed, until I told him that not only are boobs fun to play with, but they could also save him over a $1000 on formula in the first year….suddenly, he felt that the Hooter Hider was not only a great investment, but stylish as well.

The first time Marmot saw the Tie Chair, he about fell out of his chair laughing. Let me get this straight, he says…you can tie your child to a chair? I explained that it’s portable, and good for restaurants, and uber-convenient….I explained all of that to him! But Marmot still refers to it as the baby straightjacket.

A diaper sprayer….Marmot gagged when I explained this one, and said bad words, and then swore that a cloth diaper will never cross the threshold into our house. Apparently the concept of scraping and/or spraying poop off a diaper is just more then the guy could handle. Even with the handy-dandy toilet attachment.

A doorway jumper swing. He took one look at it and said you can hang your kid in the doorway? I said yep, its fun for them, they love it, they get to bounce! He said oh you can get two of them and put them next to each other, its would be like a shoe organizer from Ikea.

Orthodontic pacifiers…ohh, it aligns their teeth before they have them he says…

Baby slings…ohh, you tie the baby to you instead of the chair he says…

The G-diaper…ohh, it’s a cloth diaper with a maxi pad he says…

All I can say is….wait until he sees a Diaper Genie…

There is never an end to the crazy baby stuff on the market…what is the craziest baby item you’ve ever seen??

Honey posts regularly at the Honey B. Blog, keeping you apprised of Baby Bucket List progress and the life of a wanna-be mommy!