Bargainista shape up for 2009 contest winner announced

The judge has spoken and Patricia is our lucky winner. She’ll be receiving a brand new Vata Brazil workout outfit.

"I would give it to Patricia. She sounds dedicated, she has clear goals, and if she's going to have another baby they'll fit." - Michael Allison

Congratulations Patricia! Please email me for details so I can send you your prize.

Thanks to the folks at Vata Brazil for their generosity. (Note: the top isn’t the same one pictured.)

Baby bedding bargains at Pottery Barn Kids

In this week’s baby bargainista column, I’d like to welcome Rebecca Atkinson who recently announced she’s expecting her first child later this year. She and her husband have already been doing a lot of shopping and thinking about what they’ll need when baby Atkinson comes along. Rebecca will be filling in while Jenny takes some time off to be with her newborn and pre-schooler.

My husband and I went to the United States (read: Buffalo) over the holidays to take advantage of the post-Xmas sales and avoid some of the crowds. For those who don’t know, December 26, known as Boxing Day here in Canada, is not a holiday in the U.S. so generally speaking you get the same post-holiday sales you do in Canada, without such large crowds.

Number-one thing on our list was looking for ideas and perhaps deals on baby things. While it’s still pretty early (I’m just entering my second trimester), this being our first baby we’re rather excited. We haven’t started decorating the nursery (read former games/storage/linen-closet room), but we’ve - ok, mainly I’ve - spent time in the room thinking about colour schemes and furniture placement.

Not knowing if it’s a boy or a girl yet, the plan was to go with some sort of green and yellow theme.

First stop was the outlet mall where we found a few great deals on sleepers and Onesies ($6 or less), then we were off to Walden Galleria in Buffalo. Wandering around the mall we spotted Pottery Barn Kids and figured that we’d head in to get some ideas that I, the bargain shopper in our house, could then figure out how to recreate for less.

After oohing, awwing and gasping over prices, my husband pointed to one small area in the corner of the store marked “Clearance.” We looked at each other and thought, why not? You never know.

If there’s one thing Pottery Barn Kids does well, it’s mark items down when on clearance. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we discovered that amongst the items on sale was a crib set, including three crib sheets, a quilt and crib bumper originally priced for $290 US total, marked down to $70 US.

Likely it was the last of some discontinued line, but we didn’t care. We felt like we'd won the lottery. For bargain hunters, saving more than 75% in Pottery Barn was the deal of the century.

The next question was, did we like it? Would it go with the colours we’d chosen? Upon closer inspection, not only did it go with our theme, it seemed made for it. Little green, yellow, orange and blue polka dots with a scattering of animals around. That cinched it, without a doubt. I had to have it. Luckily we both agreed.

As we walked out of the store, still giddy over our purchase, I looked at my husband and asked him what would we have done if it hadn’t matched our design ideas? His response: “Change the paint colour.” I had to admit he had a point...

Lessons learned from our U.S. shopping trip:
1. Be open to letting deals drive your design/paint colours. Paint is (generally) cheaper than most of the accesories that you have to buy for a (baby’s) room.

2. Shop early and often. Start browsing from the get go and when you spot a deal, jump on it.

3. You can have designer names for less, you just have to look and be open to change.

Best Bargains of 2008 - part 2

In this week’s baby bargainista column, I’d like to welcome the newest Bullough into Jenny’s family - a baby girl born last week - Congratulations Jenny! This week, in the second of a two-part series, Jenny reflects on her best purchases in 2008...

Along with the best buys of last year, I also discovered some fabulous freebies and bargains in 2008. The best of these are related to keeping our 4-year-old busy, engaged, and creatively fulfilled (with bonus points for activities that tire her out so she’ll fall asleep promptly at bedtime).

The first freebie is a simple thing, something available to everyone who lives or works in Toronto, and a benefit that I haven’t taken personal advantage of for years: a library card for the Toronto Public Library. As a child I used to practically live at our local branch, and now I can share that enjoyment with our daughter as she discovers the amazing array of books and DVDs available to her!

Needless to say, you can’t beat the price ($0); and giving our girl the opportunity to browse a multitude of books and movies for free certainly cuts down on the cost of buying new reading material and renting movies at the video store.

Another great bargain we found last year is the kindergym and ballet classes offered by the City of Toronto Parks & Recreation department. At just $29 for 8 weeks, the classes are a perfect way to test the waters of her budding interest in gymnastics and dance without shelling out the big bucks for a full-year program at a privately-run studio.

And best of all, the weekly classes offer enough activity and exercise that by the end of the day she’s exhausted and falls asleep right at bedtime with nary a murmur of complaint, leaving the bulk of the evening free for us to enjoy our few remaining quiet times before the arrival of #2.

What was your best freebie, bargain, or find of 2008?

Bargainista shape up for 2009 contest

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably been thinking of new goals for 2009. Maybe you call them resolutions, maybe you don’t.

One of my goals – and I have many – is to lose some of the weight I’ve gained back since the Nutrisystem Challenge last year. Fortunately, NutriSystem has kindly offered to give me another month of food. Now, if I would only get up the nerve to place my order.

What I really need to do is kick up my activity level.

Enough about me. I want to hear about you. What are you doing to help stay in shape this year?

Leave me a comment, photo or video clip, provided I have permission to use it on the blog.

What’s in it for you?
I have a women’s 2-pc. workout outfit from Vata Brazil. It’s supposed to be one-size-fits-all and claims to be made with fabric they call “10x stretch”. I think it’s probably for women sized 6-10 or 12. The pants sell for $89.99. I don’t have a price for the top but I think it’s between $30-$40. I’ve included pictures except the top I’m giving away is white.

Entries are due by Sunday, Jan. 25, 11:59 p.m. EST. (Open to Canadian residents only.)

Michael Allison will be picking the winning entry and here’s why:

We met in person when he was in Toronto last summer and we’ve stayed in touch. Last month he asked me if I’d like to run a contest with outfits donated by his (now former) client Vata Brazil.

He did an excellent job on the blogger outreach side of things. Why? He did his research. He didn’t schmooze me in any way and most of all, he built a relationship with me. When he had a client who he thought might interest me, he got in touch and tailored his approach.

Unfortunately, Michael lost his job due to downsizing since he was one of the new guys. If you’re in Vancouver looking to hire a sharp guy with a background in communications with a solid understanding of social media, Michael’s your man.