Urban Suburban Mommy

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My 5 Bargain Hunting Tips for Moms

Posted on by Posted in Urban Suburban Mommy .

I remember the first luxury bag I ever purchased. I paid cash from the back of a panel van in a deserted Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot. It came in a grey dust bag marked “Chahel”. That night, my cat clawed it to death. Thinking back on it, I’m thinking: a) it wasn’t a real leather bag, let alone a designer one, and b) my cat thought I was dirt.

While I’ve evolved from a traditional hunter/gatherer, the instinct to seek and find remains unchanged (I’ve also retained the sloping Cromagnon brow and slack jaw.) My search for pretty things has always been tempered by a restricted budget. Rarely do the two intersect. However, as I grow older and (marginally) wiser, I’ve found ways to circumvent the wallet drain by bargain hunting. While my curated collection is unenviable by Kardashian standards, it satisfies my love of lovely (and affordable) things. Here’s a list of my fave haunts and awesome sites. Now get shopping!

  1. Winners: love them or hate them, Winners has a plethora of chic finds and designer duds at every price point. Yes, you need to wear your patient panties. Yes, you need to hunt. Yes, you need to wear elbow pads and, the odd time, carry pepper spray. You can thank me when you find a pair of designer jeans for 60% off and there’s one left in your size. Winners.ca
  2. Facebook: I’ve joined local buy/sell/trade groups and have scored some incredible deals at a fraction of the price. Most sellers require pick up only, but because it’s local, you won’t have to go far.
  3. Thrift shopping: My favourite thing to do on my birthday? Spend an afternoon in Kensington Market. I’ve haunted that ‘hood for 30 years. From Exile and Courage My Love to Vintage Depot, the finds are one-of-a-kind. I found some of my favourite items there (Guess leather knee-high boots, “like new” for $35? Burberry trench for $85? Yes please!) If you’re skeeved out by wearing second-hand goods, just go for the Dim Sum and Vietnamese coffee.
  4. Sample sales: I used to work on a street in the west end that housed dozens of fashion distributors. About twice annually, they would release their off-season samples at ridiculously low prices. You can sign up for sample sale notices and quite literally fill your closet with high-end finds without the high-end prices.
  5. Haute Look: There’s a ton of member sites out there offering discounts on luxury brands: Zulilly.com, Overstock.com, etc. Haute Look is my favourite. It’s a veritable Nordstrom clearance rack. Premium denim, kids’ stuff, menswear and home décor (even beauty products!), this site has it all. They have an excellent return policy and all shipping is tracked. Hautelook.com

 

Social media and me – the lost years…

Posted on by Posted in The Struggle is Real .

We grew up before social media was a thing – sometimes I think this is a good thing and sometimes I think I missed out.

I was 35 when I started my Twitter account and 36 when I joined Facebook. I resisted Facebook for a while, but decided to join when I went on mat leave so that I could share my pictures of my new baby with friends, family and colleagues. I quickly realized that it was a great way to keep up – and I was hooked.

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At the same time my sister, who is 11 years younger than me, was using social media for everything from making plans to go out to networking to find her next job. She never picked up a phone and I actually knew that it was easier to get a hold of her on Facebook than it was to leave her a voicemail. She grew up online.

I was a bit of a wild child when I was younger, and though we have a few photos, there’s not much evidence! Most people weren’t carrying cameras around with them on nights out – we didn’t yet all have camera phones – so there are only pictures of special occasions or weekends away. They’re printed away in albums and rarely circulate unless someone gets inspired on a #ThrowbackThursday. And I’m glad we didn’t all have camera phones so that embarrassing pictures could not be turned into memes and go viral. I think that would be one of my biggest fears if I grew up in the golden age of social media!

blue boy - better

But I am glad I joined when I did. Now that my boys are 5 and 7, I show them the albums and share the videos I posted. It’s better than any family album, it’s completely the highlights of their early years. They love seeing the baby pictures, the funny things they did, the cute outfits I’ve all but forgotten, the pets who are now past, previous homes. And more than just an album, there’s commentary. With dates and timestamps, there’s not only an explanation of the moment, there’s reaction from everyone I know, and they love hearing the responses.

So while I’m glad I missed growing up on social media, it’s among my most favourite inventions of my adult life!

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Suburban Mommy Michelle adds:

I am in total agreement. I am still learning how to communicate in abbreviations and few words for social media. LMFAO, LO, OOTD, QOTD, MIL, FIL, FML (just learned that one – that’s a goody) I am still learning.  There are times where I was just too embarassed to ask and Webster’s couldn’t define (I should have checked the Urban dictionary).  Have we done away with speaking English properly?  (Sorry my mom is an English professor).  And hashtag…who invented that word and what does it mean?  Nope wasn’t born into the hashtagging generation.  But, it has certainly been an experience expressing how I feel with a number sign prior to every word that I write.

I miss writing letters, picking up the phone, having proper catch ups face-to-face – I wonder if anyone under 30 even knows what I pen pal is?

So a part of me like Elisa, is glad that social media didn’t exist while I grew up – I had some really bad outfits and really bad hair.  The debauchery in my 20’s was not caught on Instagram thank heavens! A few gems can be found in an album hidden away in a box buried in my basement.  Don’t get any bright ideas!

And on the other hand, I too relish the times when Facebook sends me a “memory” of my children to remind me how blessed I am.  So much easier than sifting through an envelope of photos or making a print from a negative.