Baby #2 : Recent Purchases

Nesting mode kicked in so much quicker this pregnancy than before.  I feel like I'm checking things off the list a lot sooner this time around, but part of that could also be because we started out with more--re-using the nursery furniture and already having lots of baby items.  

There have been a few things that I've bought lately that we found great deals on!

DOUBLE STROLLER--
I periodically check Amazon and Target to see if anything we need for the baby is on sale, and finally our double stroller hit an all-time low price so I snagged that up today!  I love the style of this tandem stroller for a toddler & baby.  This is the older model, which sells for $100 less than their new "ultralight" version and it has all of the same features but it is 7lbs heavier.  Both are light enough for me to lift with one hand so I figure this stroller was a great way to get all the features but at a lower price.  AND--today it went on sale $40 off the normal retail which is the lowest I have seen it over the last several months.

Joovy Caboose Graphite Stand-On Tandem Stroller

After reading reviews and comparisons on several tandem sit-stand strollers, this one was the winner!  We bought it in red to match our red Britax infant carrier, and because #gobulldawgs.


NEW MATTRESS--
This one was a little switch-a-roo.  Instead of purchasing a new nursery crib mattress (the one we love that Ryleigh uses is the Lullaby Earth Healthy Support 2-in-1 Mattress) we bought a much more affordable toddler bed mattress and we will move the current mattress to the nursery.  I found this Kolcraft foam toddler mattress (fits a crib/toddler bed) with fantastic reviews and it is 40% off right now.  The only negative in the reviews was that the waterproof cover wasn't as soft/comfortable, so I bought these extras which are 50% off right now and will also be good to have on hand for the accidents that are probably in our future because of eventually #pottytraining.


POSTPARTUM WARDROBE--
I've made several purchases for my postpartum/nursing wardrobe.  I did this last pregnancy too, and I think that (1) It gives you something to look forward to in the midst of newborn craziness, and (2) buying new items that you know are going to accommodate a postpartum body help to avoid being sad that none of your pre-prego clothing fits yet.  I've got a lot of cardigans (including three of these thick sweater cardigans that feel like heaven!) so I aimed my focus at good transitional tunics and sleepwear.

Penguins // Polka Dot // Plaid 

All of these pajama sets were on sale under $15! 

Wearing nursing sleep bras like these was a necessity last time, so I bought a couple new ones...

Nursing Sleep Bras

I'm in love with these sleeveless tunics that I found on Zulily. The prints are gorgeous and can easily be dressed up or down. They are a nice shape that isn't low cut or tummy-hugging and will look great under a cardigan. They are the perfect 4-season shirt that I think I will be continuing to wear long after my postpartum months.

That's all for now! I've got some free time the next two weekends so I'm hoping to make lots of headway on the nursery :)

Products of Penrose: Shopping the Sales - Maternity

I'm excited to be having a fall baby.  Fall has always been my favorite season, and especially October not only because it is my birthday month but also because it is the perfect fall month. There is a fall festival almost every weekend, PSL's are back at Starbucks, leaves change color, weather starts to cool down (at least here in SC), and the world is wonderful.

So, although I am so excited about having an October (or possibly  beginning of November) baby, my current maternity wardrobe options are all wrong.  I have a couple pairs of work pants that I can wear, and I have a few light sweaters or long sleeve tees that I will be able to wear at the very end, but I have nothing for warm weather months.

I was very excited when I came across these sales a couple weeks ago...

I have a feeling maxi dresses will be my go-to all summer long.  I picked up these three Pinkblush Maternity dresses from a Zulily deal where they were 50% off.  Still pricer than I paid for any maternity clothes last time, but I guess I'm giving myself a little bit of wiggle room this pregnancy because we will be saving money with all of the baby gear we can reuse.  And if this child is a girl, she will have QUITE the wardrobe already! You never realize how much clothing your little one has until you pack it away in storage tubs that are now filling the entire closet of Baby#2's room.  

The items I picked up from target were all $7.99 or less on a clearance sale and they are some good summer staples. 

I'm sure sometime in the next month or two I will make a trip to Destination Maternity to pick up some additional pieces. I'm thinking a few pairs of capris will be good for work this summer and a few cute tops. 

  

Products of Penrose: Shopping the Sales - Toddler Girls

One of my favorite things to do is shop the clearance section of my favorite stores to get off-season deals on clothes.  This is especially great for fitting my $5 or less rule for children's clothing.  I just do not see the point in spending more than that on an everyday clothing item when kids grow so quickly!  There is a great sale going on now until March 4th at The Children's Place online!

Ryleigh has lots of t-shirts but needed shorts/skorts and tanks for summertime.  Everything above was $3.97 or less and I love that the items mix & match very well to create so many outfits.

We also scored a deal for a 3T warm winter coat for next year...

This Wisteria color probably would not have been my first choice, 

but for $12.25 and free shipping, it will definitely do!

And some sweet jammies for $7.25...

Another habit that I have is checking clothing clearance when I am purchasing anything from some of my usual stores, like Target, Nordstrom or Amazon.  Side note--since becoming a mom, about 95% of my shopping is done online, including groceries. It's called sanity, and I like to keep it.  

These stores have great shipping and returns policies to make that easy!

I found these cute chinos for Ryleigh at Target and thought the 3T's will work well for her this fall because her legs are so long.

After cleaning out Ryleigh's dresser and realizing many clothes that I thought she had for spring and summer were actually 24m size instead of 2T's, I was worried and knew we needed to add some items. These were the perfect finds!

Philanthropy & Penrose: Cyber Monday Deals!

I'm pretty much bursting with excitement for our Angel Tree child. This little boy scored so many gifts on Cyber Monday!  Check out all of the loot that we were able to get for him off his wish list, thanks to Cyber Monday deals from Crazy8 and Amazon...

What we know about him....He's from our hometown, and he's a 7 year old little boy that loves action figures, especially Superman!

Now, I like to pride myself on my bargain-shopping skills, but I am so impressed with all that we could find for him.  I used the code CYBERWK20 on Amazon to get an additional 20% off the jacket, sneakers, socks & undies, and got at least 50% off the action figures and books there as well.  We also have Amazon Prime so all items ship for free!  The rest of the clothing items are from Crazy8, which was having a great cyber sale and emailed me coupon code for an additional 20% off my purchase with free shipping.

Total, we purchased everything above for under $160.00.  The shoes and jacket alone would have cost almost that much!  I am so excited to start receiving the packages in the mail so that I can get them all wrapped up :)




 

Parenting Penrose: Independence Day Sales!

I'm big into shopping a size up on the clearance racks.  I can confidently say that I have never purchased clothing for Ryleigh that was not on sale, on a sale rack, clearance, or hand-me-downs.  Nothing wrong with it if you do, but I just can't reason with myself to purchase at full-price when it will be worn for 6 months at best.  It was even worse the first year because Ryleigh would only wear a size for 2-3 months and with all of the clothes that she somehow accumulates ;) she would only wear an outfit maybe 5-6 times max.

So, I was very excited about this loot that I picked up thanks to some July 4th sales--online of course, where 85% of my shopping is done these days.

She's still wearing 12-18month clothes, but these are all purchases of 18-24 or 2T size....

I thought those peplum tops were so sweet, and I am in love with the sandals!  All of the items above I purchased in 2T size so she should get great use out of them during Spring, Summer & Fall next year.  The sandals I purchased in size 6, which was a little bit of a gamble but Ryleigh's feet don't seem to grow that rapidly (she's still a size 3-4 in sandals at almost 17 months) so these should hopefully get her through Spring & Summer 2016 :)

Normal Retail Total:  $131.04          Sale Purchase Price:  $47.63

I mean can we talk about a deal?!  Everything was $4 or less per item, and if you are a parent you know how insane that is for PJ's let alone name-brand PJ's.  I felt like I hit the jackpot with these items!  I got a mixture of sizes 18-24m and 2T.  I'm pretty much dying over the milk & cookies PJ's!  Such fun patterns.

Normal Retail Total:  $161.20          Sale Purchase Price:  $43.91

I can't help but think back to my baby shower when I find deals like this...The guests filled out "wishes for baby" cards and under "I hope you always..._______________" one of Ryleigh's silly Aunts wrote "shop the clearance rack first" which always makes me laugh.  So true!