Boxing Day Sales FAIL...

Next year, I'm not going to go shopping until the new years sales. I bought a few things at the 2013 boxing day sales, but EVERYTHING was in stock, and further reduced in the new year! So super frustrating.

(1) Portmans dress, paid $50 from $99. Further 30% off from Jan 2 - should have paid $35!

(2) Jeanswest capris, paid $30 from $50. Further 40% off from Jan 2 - should have paid $18!

(3) Victoria station - I bought various wallets at reduced prices on boxing day. From Dec 27, they had the same reductions AND you got 50% off the second sale item purchased.

I could not deal with the above, so I rebought everything at the discount prices and now need to return the stuff I paid a higher price for.

I know, I'm a spoilt bargain hunter and I just need to let go!

Post Beijing DFO Bargains

 

 Bargain of the year: Tigerlily dress, reduced from $170 to $5! This will look great over bikinis. I love the pattern and colours! It was from a store called Parliament at Canberra DFO.

 

Just Jeans shorts, reduced from $70 to $20

 Typo drink bottle (with mustaches, how cute!) $5 and cards, $1 each

 Joanne Mercer shoes - 2 pairs for $30! I wanted the studded wedges which were reduced to $20. They had 50% off your second pair, so I snapped up the jeweled flats for $10 too.

Beijing Shopping and Prices

I am back from Beijing, and had a wonderful holiday! So many laughs and stories to share, this trip will be filling my blog posts for many days to come :)

I consider myself to be quite a seasoned Asia traveler. I have traveled throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and India, and I have made multiple trips to Singapore and Bali (from Perth, who can resist?). I am yet to visit the shopping capitals of Hong Kong and KL, but Bangkok (which I have visited multiple times) is not too shabby for a good shopping spree.

In comparison to the places I have already been, Beijing was a little disappointing shopping-wise. I expected it to be dirt cheap, but I have been able to find cheaper (and better quality items) elsewhere in Asia. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it meant I didn't accumulate as much as I would otherwise have. We shopped at the big malls (the China Zara collection which I was swooning over online didn't look good in real life!), touristy markets (the Silk and Pearl markets) and the more local markets (which is where a lot of smaller shops buy their goods to sell, and where I bought most of my purchases - if you want to go there, they are opposite the Beijing Zoo subway station). 

I really enjoy bargaining and am a pro-haggler. On the one hand, I enjoy the thrill of getting a great deal, on the other hand I am not interested in haggling over a dollar (they need it more than I do!). These prices could be used as a guide for visitors to Beijing, or an indication of the prices over there generally. However, I paid a lot less than my friends did for similar items (we tended to split up and do our own bargaining) - you definitely need to bargain and be confident and assertive. 

 Inside Joy City, one of Beijing's big malls where prices are on par with Australia (no bargains to be had unfortunately)

 The mass of people outside of Joy City. I found mall shopping to be a lot less pleasant than in Australia or even elsewhere in Asia- some shops were so crowded, it was difficult to move. Lines at change rooms seem to be expected (and no, there weren't even sales!).

Here are my purchases:

 

These long skirts are big business in Asia. This leopard print one (because who doesn't want some leopard print!?) cost 35rmb, or approx $6.

 49rmb or approx $8

 35rmb or approx $6

 50rmb or approx $8

 39rmb or approx $6.50

Cute umbrella with jewel handle (25rmb = $4.50), Engrish coin pouches (5rmb each, or 80c), hanging dragon (4 for 10rmb, or 40c each)

 Faux leather shoes. I was dissapointed that I didn't find any well priced real leather shoes, and I broke my usual rule that I only buy leather... L to R: 40rmb ($7), 50rmb ($8), 40rmb ($7) and 50rmb ($8).

3 pouch bag (39rmb = $6.50), snake twist necklaces/bracelets (10rmb each = $1.70), freshwater pearl necklaces (15rmb for the ones on leather = $2.80 each, 30rmb for the all pearl one = $5), rings 10-20rmb each ($1.50-$3.50) and earrings 15rmb = $2.50.

Cute bow cardigan, 49rmb = $8

 3/4 length sleeve jacket (a present for my Mum), 49rmb = $8

 Silk summer robe, 30rmb = $5. They had cheaper polyester ones, this is supposedly real silk. To give you an idea of how they like to take tourists for a ride, my friend paid 250rmb for the same item. Luckily she was good humoured about it!

Cute dress, 39rmb = $6.50.

One area where there are real bargains to be had are in the tights/stockings department. These ranged from 15rmb-20rmb each ($2.50-$3.50) for patterned designs, depending on the thickness. Underwear was also cheap, but you have to be lucky enough to fit into the one size fits all range - I'm not! I bought some for gifts, ranging from 16rmb a pair ($3) to 3 pairs for 10rmb (55c each!).

Also pictured are fake Ralph Lauren Polo shirts, short sleeved cotton (50rmb each = $8.50), silk dress for Bub (20rmb = $3.50), and various other kids dresses, tops and a cardigan (ranging from 15rmb to 40rmb, depending on the item).

Coming tomorrow- sightseeing in Beijing (part 1)!

A busy weekend

This weekend I:

• Visited an op shop
• Had a lovely brunch for a friend's birthday (french toast, mmm!)
• Went to a delicious BBQ
• Made playdough (we used a 'no cook' recipe so that Bub could get totally involved. She tired of having sticky hands after about 1 minute and I ended up making it all anyway)
• Cooked enough dinner for the next 2 nights
• Went retail shopping
• Had some drinks at a newish Canberra bar

 Very busy indeed, and much more social than I usually am! Unfortunately I haven't been sleeping well so I am exhausted, work will be a struggle tomorrow...

My thrifted finds were as follows:

 What could these be?

A vintage pleated midi skirt ($4), a tie with a cute penguin print ($3) and a bunny rabbit oven mitt (50c).

I'm linking up with Sophie and Apron Thrift Girl to share my finds :)

My non thrifted buys were:

 Genuine leather outer heels from Target (perfect for work), $35

 Retro bell for my non-existant bike, which I might one day get (or will otherwise gift this) - $2.50 from Sportsgirl

Sparkly brown necklace from Katies, Free! (You get a $10 voucher for joining their club and making a purchase... mine was about to expire, so I had to pick something in store. I didn't like anything that much so I just chose a simple necklace).

I love casual BBQs - good food, company and stories to share. This weekend's was one of those events, and the spread of meats and salads was overwhelming:

Typical Aussie BBQ - an awesome summer feed. Plenty of meat for the boys and delicious salads for the girls.

 

Dessert- homemade chocolate mudcake, tasted as good as it looks.

For my girlfriend's birthday, we checked out 'Honkytonks', a newish bar in Civic. I loved it - casual vibe, plenty of seating including couches, very reasonably priced drinks (plenty of wines and beers for $6 each) and you can even buy a mini "gourmet" hotdog for $5 if you're feeling peckish (I was):

Funky retro decor, love the flamingo!

What did you get up to this weekend?

Purchases of late - oh how happy shopping makes me

First of all, I can report on my first ever Bluefly.com purchase. As per this post, I ended up paying around $220 AUD including postage for 2 leather bags and postage. This super duper bargain was possible only because my grandparents were at a wedding in NY- I could get the bags express posted to them and they brought them back to Australia for me. That way, postage only cost $25 USD for next day service. How much did Bluefly want for postage to Australia? A ridiculous $155 USD. That's right, one hundred and fifty five USD, almost the cost of the bags themselves. Unless I have family visiting the US in the future (which is unlikely), I will not be browsing Bluefly anymore. That shipping fee is too ridiculous for words, and I can't be bothered using a parcel forwarding service.

Hype William shoulder bag - $106 USD. This puppy is made of very good quality leather, and check out the super convenient compartmentalization:

 STEVEN by Steve Madden walnut lambskin BPariss shoulder bag - $84 USD. This lambskin leather is really soft. At first I was a little dissapointed, as I don't think it's going to be very durable, but it has grown on me (and is currently my everyday bag). It's nice to be able to stroke your bag to calm yourself with super softness (just joking... sort of)

But wait, there's more (as usual). Katies had a special promotion where you got $20 off any purchase over $20. With free shipping on their website, I just had to buy something. These (non-leather) flats cost just $5 delivered:

And next, kitty related items. Some safety collars with bells - we have had some incidents where our kitten has pounced on Bub and scratched her. This bothers us more than it bothers Bub. I think a warning bell might assist:

My Sydney shopping adventures during a recent weekend away were limited to the purchase of this hilarious 'Bathing Beauty' money box, which is going to be positioned as a piece of artwork instead of a functional toy:

 Who will know that it only cost $6 at Victoria Basement's pop up clearance store? Only you, my dear readers!

At the Kirrbilli markets, I found this lovely embroidered bird skirt for $10. It is brand new with tags, and the stall seller said she purchased it online at Modcloth:

Loving the detail!

And in Melbourne, I discovered a boutique called 'Duchess' which has the most darling Asian fashion. I couldn't resist buying 2 cardigans, at $45 each. They remind me a little of Alannah Hill, without the exorbitant price tag:

Little lady eat your heart out!

This is a timely find as I am quite unimpressed with Alannah Hill, my ex-favourite maker of cute cardis. Just look at the official Alannah Hill store on Ebay's feedback. Shocking! Now we all know that eBay is an unethical, money grabbing company... but I didn't expect deplorable customer service from Alannah Hill as well. Uncool behaviour by both eBay (in keeping the store running, when any other eBayer with such terrible feedback would get the boot) and of course Alannah Hill. Tsk tsk!

Bub starts school soon. Well not really, it's preschool at an early learning center three days per week - but it's the same campus she'll go to once she's older. And she already gets to wear a uniform (no more early morning fashion disagreements, hooray). I'm looking forward to taking a first day of school in cute little uniform photo. For the occassion, I bought this cute backpack by Skip Hop Zoo:

 

 "Whimsical details and durable materials make this the perfect on-the-go pack for kids on-the-go!"

After I bought it, I found out that all the cool kids apparently have said bag, or a variation of it:

Honor Warren with her Owl lunch bag

I could totally be a celebrity child stylist. Maybe this is an untapped niche market, and I should move to LA.

My Boxing Day Sale Purchases

I went to the boxing day sales *in a wheelchair*. Big thanks go to my Mum and Dad for pushing me around all day, and their excellent steering skills. People are also super polite and move out of the way for wheelchairs, and I got to skip the lines and use the disabled change rooms at Target and Kmart - the silver lining!

This would not have been possible if we were in the city. We were South of Perth in Rockingham, which is not busy like Perth city/Melb/Sydney. It is quite a low socio-economic area, so there are no designer stores and they don't have a Myer, DJs or Country Road (which was a little disappointing)... however, I am not complaining as I had a great day anyway.

The boxing day sales were definitely better than last year in my opinion. I was pleasantly surprised that most of the chain stores had decent sale sections, and some bargains. My massive haul of the day was at Target of all places. The best thing about Rockingham is that there are always heaps of sizes 8 and 10 left, and they don't sell out of corporate/office clothing like the cities do. Shopping in a satellite city has its advantages :)

This maxi dress (my favourite purchase) was reduced from $80 to $20 at Katies:

 

We actually started by visiting Kmart. I would have skipped it, but Dad was my steerer and he wanted socks. I'm glad we went in, because I managed to find two basic work blouses, for $5 and $10 respectively (score!):

I couldn't resist getting the $35 mega box at Hairhouse Warehouse. It contains an RPR My Hydrating shampoo, conditioner, thermal protector spray, My Quick Fix dry shampoo, My Argan Oil Elixir treatment, a basic cheap hairbrush, a mini travel hairdryer and a Models Inc lipstick. The only thing I really need in the pack is the dry shampoo which I was going to buy anyway, but it was such a bargain I got the boxed set:

Then at Target, I picked up:

Linen fully lined pants and 3/4 sleeve jacket set - $10 for the pants, $18 for the jacket

Hot options trousers with belt, approx $30

Tea dress $25 (50% off) - I tried this on at full price and decided that I would resist, so I was chuffed to get it on sale!

Straight leg black jeans, $10

 Black cardis, $22.50 each.

Finally, at Valleygirl I picked up this cute beaded black mini dress for $20:

My grandma's comments when looking at my purchases was, 'Do you wear any colours other than black and white?'. It was an honest, serious question. It made me realise that I did buy a lot of boring classic stuff (apart from the maxi dress). What did you buy at the sales?