Easter Shopping

So, if you've read my blog very long you know that I love to find matching or at least coordinating clothing for the kids. I ESPECIALLY love Easter shopping! It's so fun to get the kids new things for a special day. This year I tried to find things that were both trendy and comfortable. I don't do a lot of trendy clothing because I pass most everything down the line of kiddos, and trendy clothing tends to be in one day and out the next. SO, generally I stick with more traditional styles, but every now and then I'll splurge and get some fun things which the girls always love.
Here are the outfits we found this year:

 

I can't for the life of me find a picture of Olivia's dress on the entire world wide web! Crazy. Well, imagine a shin length sleeveless dress. It's a beautiful royal blue dupioni silk-like fabric. It has wispy fabric over the neckline that make it look like it has a ruffle around the collar. It's so pretty. I'll post a picture of her wearing it soon. She'll wear a green flower clip and silver dainty sandals.

 

This is KK's dress. This picture doesn't look great, but it's really cute on her! It's hard to shop for her because she's SO skinny, but this dress is kind of stretchy, so it fits her really well. She's going to wear silver ballerina flats with it and a green flower clip.

 

This is Addi's dress. It's a nice silky fabric and is very twirly. It's sort of a baby doll cut. She loves it. She's going to wear silver sparkle flats and a blue flower clip.

This is Isaiah's shirt. It's that bright blue color, a mint color, and has a tiny yellow stripe. He'll wear this with khaki pants or maybe jeans and cute little slip on boating shoes mom and I found at Rhea Lana's.

 

This is Mia's dress. She looks kind of like a grandma in it, but it's REALLY cute. The colors are really trendy for the spring(mint is the color of the year if you couldn't tell!) Her dress is also twirly, and very comfy for her. She's going to wear silver ballerina flats and either a yellow bow or a blue flower clip.

 

This is the UBER cute tie I got for Eli. It's the same material as Isaiah's shirt. He'll wear this with a white dress shirt and khaki pants or maybe jeans. Oh, and the cutest little oxford "shoe" socks.

Rhea Lana's Matchy Matchy

So, I talk a lot about Rhea Lana's, but I wanted to actually SHOW you some of the fun things I've gotten for my kids there. If you know me, you know that I like the kids to either coordinate or match most of the time. I do this for several reasons; it looks CUTE, it makes laundry easier for me, it helps me keep up with all of them when we're out places!! When you buy mostly resale, buying matching or coordinating clothing can be tough, but it's NOT impossible. The key is if you EVER see an outfit that you already have at home ALWAYS buy it. Even if you don't have anyone in that particular size yet. I also will look up the "IN" color for the year before a sale, and buy lots of different things in that color so that it's easy to coordinate through out the year, and layer up with the "in" color. Hey, a momma's got to keep her kids in style!

SO, now for some PROOF that you can buy, save, match, and coordinate all while paying so much less!

Summer 2008

This is the three big girls. My mom found the two older girls shirts at WalMart. I got Addi's at Rhea Lana's.

Easter 2009

I got all three of these ADORABLE boutique dresses at a spring Rhea Lana sale for a FRACTION of the cost they'd be new. I still have all three of these dresses for them now. Such good quality.

Spring 2007

I LOVE these dresses! A friend of mine gave me the one that tiny KK is wearing. I bought the one Lulu has on at Rhea Lana's HALF price sale for $6.00! YES. It's a boutique brand too.

Halloween 2008

I always get all of the kids Holiday wear there. I can't see paying retail for a shirt they may wear three times during the Holiday season that they wouldn't wear the rest of the year.

Halloween 2009

Speaking of Holiday's! Ha! I buy costumes there every year. Sometimes we use them once and I resale them, sometimes they stay in my costume stash for years. BEST place to buy Halloween costumes and princess dresses!!

Easter 2012

This, by far, has been my BEST resale catch to date. Yes, oh YES, I did find ALL of these outfits resale! I paid, for ALL of them, what you would pay for ONE of them in a store. They are all wearing the EXACT same dress in their EXACT sizes. Bubb's little ensemble came together. What a STEAL!!! Seriously, every time I look at this picture I'm proud of myself all over again! Ha!

Christmas 2011

This is a sample of how hard it is to get five kids to smile at the same time. Ha! I got all three MATCHING shirts the big girls have on at different times, but finally had enough for all three of them to match. I got Bubb's sweater and Mia's outfit at this past fall sale.

Winter 2011

I had Addi's outfit from sale season at WalMart and Old Navy. I got Mia's at, you guessed it, Rhea Lana's!

Fall 2011

Another thing I love to buy resale is raincoats(or any coats) and rain boots! Love this sweet picture!

Halloween 2011

I love this because Addi is wearing the shirt that KK is wearing from 2008! Ha! All these tops(and probably bottoms) came from the fall sale.

Fall 2011

My mom got Brubb's these overalls from the fall sale before he was born(I think). LOVE this picture of my dad taking Bubby out to the woods for his first time(just to walk around outside of deer season!).

Mother's Day 2011

Black and white. Some of these were from closeout at Penney's my mom found. KK and Mia and Bubby are all RL finds. LOVE that dress KK has on. It's so so pretty!

Spring 2011

Look familiar? Yup. This is my three littlest girls. So sweet.

Easter 2011

This isn't a very good picture, but I still love the clothes! Ha! Even my dress came from the maternity section. Pregnant with Mia.

Christmas 2011

Yes, EVERYTHING the kids are wearing is resale. Even the tights and shoes. Bows too. Ha! I LOVED these DKNY dresses(the two little girls are wearing). So cute!

July 4th 2012

These are all resale outfits bought throughout the years. So cute!

Fall 2007

This is KK and Liv. They were such little dolls! Loved these sweaters. Got lucky and got them at the same sale. I still have them now for the little girls this fall.

So, I think you "get the picture." I'll stop now. Not because that's all the pics/outfits I've got, but because it's almost the end of naptime and I have things to get done. Remember this, buying resale does NOT mean that you have to sacrifice fashion or style. You can get CUTE affordable stuff for your children of all sizes and styles. Remember that as Rhea Lana season is upon us! Happy Shopping!!

Target, Rhea Lana's and Children's Place! Oh MY!

Shopping for kids can be a CHORE, especially when you have more than one little to buy for. Shopping for kids can also be expensive. It's my hope to help you save some money and find the cutest clothes for your kids at the same time!

First of all, I should mention that I never, we're talking NEVER buy anything retail at full-price. Anything I buy is on sale or is bought with a coupon. It's possible. It's not that HARD, it just takes a little time to get used to waiting for a good sale or for the "final price."

Couponing has become such a big thing these days that you can usually find coupons for just about anything and everything. One of the best ways to get retail coupons is to sign up for emails from stores. The Children's Place has a great email they send out with online and in-store coupons. On average I can save about 40% with coupons there. I love TCP jeans. They always fit my kids well and hold up nicely with wear. I can get them pretty cheap too, as they usually have sales on buying more than one pair. I also loooove the PJs at TCP. They are SO cute and always fit nicely!

Target has fantastic online coupons available for clothing most of the time and usually those coupons go along with a sale they are having in the store. The more you use coupons the more they'll send you via mail, too. I'll often get a coupon book or two each month. Usually one or both of them contain a free gift card if I spend X amount of dollars.

Target also has several racks of clearance things that are anywhere from 30-75% off. Target has such cute stuff right now for fall. I love that I can usually find matching dresses for the little girls(sizes 5T, 3T, and 6-9mths) and something that either matches or coordinates for Olivia(size 7). The girls love to match, so that's always fun for me to find things for them that are matchy. I'm also a fan of Target's shoes for the kids. The sizes are easy to fit my kids feet and their shoes hold up really well for us.

A little side note, if you haven't tried Target's Up&Up brand diapers you should for sure at least give them a try. That's what I've used for our kids for the past three years. There are times when I've had to go back to pampers(like with newborns), but overall they have a GREAT product with a really nice low price, AND they're cute! AND, no this is not one of our baby booties!

So, if couponing isn't your thing(it wasn't mine for a long time, and I still don't spend much time doing it) there are other options for getting cute clothes for cheap. One word: RESALE! My personal favorite is Rhea Lana's, but there are several other sales all around the country that have great merchandise at a fraction of retail cost. Most of these sales provide consigners(people who bring their items to sale) a pre-sale pass. Retail pre-sales are the best place to get the best selection at the lowest price. Check your local sale to see if they have volunteer opportunities. Usually workers get to shop first! I can find just about anything I need(except underwear/panties) at these sales. This is where I get all of the specialty brands that I would otherwise have to shop at expensive boutiques for. Some of my favorite speciality brands that hold up nicely with time and wear are Little Lulu, Miss Tee-V-Us, Matilda Jane, and Zackali.

Consignment sales are usually held twice a year with one sale in the fall and one in the spring. Go ahead and buy anything you'll need for the coming season. In order to best fit your kids get some good measurements before you shop then take your measuring tape with you to shop. Realize that you are buying used, so at these sales there are going to be some stained items that slip through Be sure to look over your merchandise before you buy, and if you find something stained be sure to take it to a worker. They don't want stained merchandise on the sales floor any more than you do!

Some people might turn up their nose at buying resale, but when you think about how fast your kids grow, buying used probably means that it's been worn only a few times before it was too small of the other child and your child might only wear it a few times before it's too small for them! It's a great place to find all of your kids Halloween costumes and accessorise! I usually get all of our bows and hats from consignment sales.

Consignment sales are also a great place to get all your toys and baby items(like swings and strollers). I recently got this amazing Joovy stroller that I'd been pricing at $240 for $75 and it was basically new! Gotta love saving that money. Bottom line=Buy use, save the difference.

Other places to look for good deals at the end of season: Gymboree, Old Navy(sometimes their jeans are hard to fit my kids), and Carters outlet. I can usually get a lot of play clothes from the Carter's outlet, and their stuff lasts forever! CUTE PJ's, too! I can usually use a big coupon at an outlet store and end up saving so much money I can go get my self some things for the upcoming season too! Most Toy's R Us or Babies R us stores will take carters coupons too, but be sure to ask before you stock up there, just in case your local store doesn't do that.

The last great option today for getting stuff for your kids is a clothing swap with friends. This is a great idea for mom's with kids of several different sizes. I have a friend who does this through her church. What a great ministry to mom's! If you've ever seen one of your friends kids and liked what they were wearing, this might be a good idea for your mommy circle! Just call up several moms and have them bring clothes that their kids are no longer wearing, bake some yummy treats to enjoy together and get to swapping! You may need to set up some ground rules so that one mom dominate the swap taking all the best items for herself. Be sure everyone knows this is a friendly event and a way to bless each mom.

Happy Shopping!!

Got Threads?

I've recently been following Money Saving Mom. I love that her site doesn't just have coupons. She's got lots of freebies and other good deals and information. I'd recommend that you add her feed to your subs.
Yesterday she posted a link to ThredUp.

I'm wondering if any of you have ever used or heard of anyone using it for kids stuff. You all probably know that I am the queen of consignment. Our kids wear mostly used name-brand clothing. It looks like you go online, pick out a box of clothes, pay a really low price, then when you are ready, you post your own box. Looks like a really great deal.
Anyway, I wanted to be sure and pass this idea along. Let me know if you decide to use it and how it goes!