Shopping Archives - Adventure, baby!

Christmas Gift Guide For Preschool Girls

November 10, 2014 / Family, Kids, Shopping / 10 Comments

How is it possible that Christmas is upon us already? I’m actually really excited for Christmas this year as Missy E is finally the right age to “get” it, so if her excitement over Halloween was anything to go by, she is going to be out of her mind with anticipation for the big event of the year.

It’s only been lately that Missy E has started to ask for things that she wants, too, so I’m excited to be able to get her a few things that her tiny, enthusiastic heart desires. If you have a princess and pink loving little girl at home or in the family to buy for, here are a few things little Miss E would very much like for Christmas this year.

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics
These magnetic letters attached to the fridge and play the sounds of the letters when you put the letters in the bus. It also plays songs like Wheels On The Bus and ABCs. Great for teaching early vocabulary. (RRP $29.95 AUD)

Smiggle Goodies
Every kid who is headed to daycare or school needs an adorable backpack. The Konnichiwa backpack (RRP $44.95) from Smiggle one is great for day trips as well – it’s a fantastic size to throw in everything little kids need, with lots of compartments for putting things like wipes, extra clothes and toys in so they won’t get lost. Bonus: the adorable kitty design is fun and girly without being too “baby” for E. I also love the Smiggle media pouch (RRP $14.95), keyring mirror (RRP $7.95) and double-decker lunchbox (RRP $24.95).

Cabbage Patch Kids Twinkle Toes
I loved my CPKs when I was little so it’s really cool to see Miss E enjoying them too. This particular model is so cute, with replica Skechers shoes that light up. The CPK range is great as they’re not too pricey but are fantastic quality. (RRP $89.99 AUD)

Anna and Elsa Singing Dolls
Missy E’s life is all about princesses, particularly Anna and Elsa. These singing dolls would blow her mind. (RRP $39.95 USD each)

Madeline Tea Set
E loves playing pretend tea parties of late, and this 24-piece set is just adorable. Each piece is illustrated with characters and scenes from the Madeline series. The set includes a tray, teapot, four cups, saucers, plates, spoons and napkins, plus a tablecloth, in a cute little carry box. We will be taking our tea party on the road with this one. (RRP $35 USD)

Kinetic Sand
Sand play without the mess. Kinetic Sand is 98% sand and 2% magic, where the ‘magic’ a bonding agent that causes the sand to stick only to itself in a soft clump. (RRP $29.95 AUD)

Disney Princess Magiclip
E is obsessed with the magiclip toys. She already has an Anna and Elsa magiclip and she plays with them obsessively. When she saw this princess set with Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Tiana, she flipped out. The dresses clip on and off and can be switched between the dolls. Literally hours of entertainment here. (RRP $39.95 USD)

Rapunzel Tower Play Set – Tangled
Like most three-year-olds, Missy E is really into doll sets and doll houses. She’s been begging for this one for a while now and even I have to admit it’s pretty cute and looks like it wouldn’t take up too much space. (RRP $49.95)

Farm Duplo
A huge set of lego with plenty of bricks for building (unlike a lot of small sets which are limited in terms of the general bricks included). Included are cute characters like cows and farmers. ($89.95 AUD)

Olaf Pillow Pet
This is a double-whammy toy favourite – it’s Olaf, so, duh, and it’s a pillow that folds into a toy. An instant hit with the preschool set. (RRP $34.99)

What do your kid want for Christmas this year?

Collette Dinnigan & The Australian Ballet For Target Collection

November 4, 2014 / Shopping / 0 comment

I don’t usually do fashion posts, but I am in LOVE with this new ballet collection for little girls from Target. Collette Dinnigan has once again created a gorgeous line of tutu-inspired dresses (and a skirt!) with The Australian Ballet, selling exclusively through Target.

Little E is obsessed with wearing ballet outfits, and she is going to loose her mind with these gorgeous dresses. I just wish they came in my size too!

What do you think of the collection? Does your daughter love to dress up in ballet oufits, too?

Images from here.

petiteParade and Stride Rite at NY Fashion Week

October 10, 2013 / Kids, New York Life, Shopping / 2 Comments

The kind folks at Stride Rite invited me to attend their show at the petiteParade, the junior branch of NY Fashion Week. From my first row seat (wooo!!) I watched two parades – the showcase featuring collections by Andy & Evan, Floatimimi, Oil & Water, Stella Cove, SUOAK and Sweet Lola, and then the Stride Rite Children’s Group runway showcase.

The hosts of the showcases were twins Tristin and Tyler – two very sassy kids with their own website about their adventures in the big city.

It was impressive seeing little kids confident strutting their way up and down the runway, showing (for the most part) no hesitation at the wall of cameras at the end.

The Stride Rite Children’s Group runway showcase was a sneak peek at their Spring 2014 collection – full of floral accents and pops of bright color.

Flowers in the hair, spring sandals on the feet.

Denim, flowers and pretty sandals.

Superheros! Love this nod to Kill Bill.

I really enjoyed the show, seeing these gorgeous children modelling trends for next spring. I’m a big fan of Stride Rite shoes (Cheese has basically worn them since she started walking), so it was really fun seeing the spring line before it hits stores (and also before winter hits – I’m totally in denial).

Oscar de la Renta for Kids Trunk Show

October 10, 2013 / Kids, New York Life, Shopping / 2 Comments

I was excited to receive an invite to a trunk show for Oscar de la Renta for kids, hosted by Rosie Pope.

The clothes were just gorgeous – super pretty dresses and outfits, with delicate lace and beautiful floral prints.

Snacks! Love some sweets to eat while perusing lolly-coloured clothing.

Lots of floaty, fluffy dresses in pretty pastel and vibrant hues.

This dress was a favourite – the hand stitched lace was just exquisite.

I splurged and ordered this dress for Cheese. I thought it would suit her personality – easy to wear, super soft fabric, bright print that will compliment her bright blue eyes. Um, spoiled much??

I really loved Rosie’s diaper bag range, particularly this bag – I’d totally use it as a regular bag!

Sydney Fashion Weekend

June 3, 2010 / Shopping / 0 comment

A few weeks back I went to Sydney Fashion Weekend for the first time. It was chaos! So many stalls tightly packed with discounted stock. There was simply too much stuff and not enough time to get around to everything.

There were a lot of brands there and bargains, but too hard sorting through everything. It was super hot and crowded, so not a great shopping experience. As part of our tickets we had included a catwalk show. It was not bad! Nothing extraordinary that I wanted to run out and copy or buy, but entertaining to watch the skinny giraffes walk up and down the catwalk.

So very tall and expressionless …

They all had great hair 😉

After the catwalk we had another prowl around the stalls and had a makeover at Napoleon. I got completely punk’d by my make-up girl, but thankfully Fadz had a fabulous job done and looked stunning.

Fadz gets a touch-up at Napoleon.

All-in-all, I think it was a bit of a waste of money. I don’t think I would go again. It was too stressful tearing through the clothes to find something I liked, too hot and too many people. I don’t need a bargain that badly!

Hawaii Shopping

May 29, 2010 / Hawaii, Shopping / 2 Comments

I wasn’t planning on doing a post on my Hawaii shopping, but Beverly wanted to see my purchases, so here we are. I reserved basically all shopping till the last day and went a bit berserk at the outlets and Alo Moana Centre. Thanks Alec for your supreme patience…

Honeymoon gift from the Hawai’ian mothership.

New charms from Juicy Couture.

This fab bag from LeSportsac was 50% off and served as my extra bag to bring my loot home.

Tissue and make-up pouch from LeSportsac.

Cute little money and travel pouch.

Little evening bag from the Coach outlet.

I love the logo.

Some interesting looking sandals from Crocs.

Overload at Sephora and Mac.

Urban Decay eyeshadow primer – it’s amazing!

Laura Mercier make-up – I’ve been wanting to try it for a while. So far, it’s fantastic.

Body wash from Philosophy. It smells fantastic.

My fave mascara from Fiberwig. Pricey, but looks great and doesn’t smudge.

Shopping

October 19, 2009 / Shopping / 1 Comment

Shoes from Nine West (justification: one of them was on sale, promise!).

New Tokidoki bag – last one, I swear …

Tiffany & Co, Why Do You Mock Me?

November 20, 2008 / Family, Shopping / 1 Comment

I’ve had a relationship with Tiffany & Co much like a love affair. It started with instant attraction, transformed quickly into obsession, then evolved into the deep respect and admiration I have for her (it’s a jewellery store, of course it’s a “her”!) today.

My first Tiffany purchase as made on eBay. A second-hand Elsa Peretti Open Heart charm and necklace. Over the years my collection has grown, and my love for each piece has matured into a life-long passion that I fear can’t be abated.

Why Tiffany’s? Who knows. Could be the Audrey factor, could be the adorable little blue boxes, or it could be, as said by Holly Golightly about the iconic store on Fifth Avenue New York, “(Tiffany’s) calms me down right away… nothing very bad could happen to you there”.

Tiffany’s have recently opened an Australian online website that is e-commerce enabled. I’m not sure if I approve! While it makes it easier to look at prices and impulse buy a pretty piece or two, it takes away from the buying experience that is what I love about Tiffany’s – the calm, elegant store with its graceful, polite attendants and row after row of sparkly jewels.

However, the new website is how I have ended up falling in love all over again with their new range of delicate pieces. Pictured below is a bracelet that I am lusting after to be the next token of my long-term relationship with Tiffany’s – another Elsa Peretti piece coincidentally. As it’s quite $$, I think I might either save up for this one a little at a time, or wait until I feel I can rationalise taking my relationship to the next level … is it delusion that comes next?

Tokidoki Goodness!

November 14, 2008 / Shopping / 0 comment

My new Tokidoki Graziosa in Celebrazione print.

Retail Therapy

September 22, 2008 / Shopping / 0 comment

A few recent purchases! No more, seriously!

Coloured gladiator sandals at Nine West. I have the pink pair on layby.

The taupe and black sandals – I bought the taupe ones and wore them today. They were super comfy.

I also bought a new Lesportsac back from DFS store in The Rocks. I bought it so I had a bag that my Mac laptop would fit in for travel as well as to cart my sports clothes to and from work instead of in the Coles green bag I’ve been using up till now. Print is called “Charmed” and it’s supposed to only be on sale in Hawaii. Not sure what it’s doing in Sydney! I have tried to step away from the obsession I was developing with Tokidoki bags as they’re so expensive. This range is about half the price and just as cute! They also are completely man-made – no leather. Woot!

Front side – I love the hula girl in the centre.

Back side.

Close-up of the cute print.

I also bought these shoes fro Nine West. They are dual purpose. I needed to buy silver shoes to wear with my bridesmaid dress for Shelley’s wedding next year, and I thought I would get them now as I needed a pair to go with my new pink Alannah Hill dress that I am planning on wearing to two weddings in the next few weeks. I love how they are more of a pewter than straight silver – I think it makes them more wearable. The cute little stones match the beading on my AH dress pefectly.