Back to School Shopping Tips at The Mills at Jersey Gardens

I take my shopping very seriously, and that goes for our back-to-school shopping! So, imagine the elation when I learned that one of my blogging pals was going to be a featured speaker at a back-to-school luncheon hosted by my absolute favorite outlet mall in NJ. 10915046 10153528552209972 238288810995648385 o
Last week, The Mills at Jersey Gardens hosted a power lunch and featured lifestyle blogger and fashion trendspotter, Corine Ingrassia of Complicated Mama, and consumer and money-saving expert, Andrea Woroch. Together with several fellow NJ influencers, I got a guided tour and some Insider tips from The Mills at Jersey Gardens, as well as some great fashion and savings tips from the experts. 

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Since we’re all about spotting the hottest trends while saving some money, I thought I’d share some great insight from the experts.

 

 

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Back to School style tips from Corine Ingrassia:

 

Plan to layer- Think: cardigans paired with swing dresses, hoodies peeking through denim or leather moto jackets, crop tops over chambray button downs

Layering allows you to mix, match and stretch some of your kid’s favorite summer styles long into fall.

 

Choose quality over quantity

While we all love a good bargain—ultimately—with all the wear and tear kids give their clothes, we need them to last. Look for sales on brands you know will last the long haul.

 

Know your kid’s personal style

When kids are little we have more to say in what they wear, but as they reach the tween years, they develop their own sense of style (for better or for worse).

 

Top trends for 2015 BTS:

Mix and match prints

Jogger pants 

flannel, florals, moto/chunky ankle boots, just like the 90s!

Neon is still holding strong

Textures and prints

Slip-ons are top picks for kids: ballet flats, vans, Nike Roshe Runs, Bobs, ankle boots and moto boots

 

According to NRF’s Back-to-School Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average family with children in grades K-12 plans to spend $630.36 on electronics, apparel and other school needs, down from $669.28 last year. As for where consumers will finish their shopping, discount stores will see the most traffic (53.4%), while 46.8 percent will shop at department stores.

 

Money Saving Tips for BTS Shopping from Andrea Woroch

Andrea Woroch had some excellent tips on saving money while back to school shopping at The Mills at Jersey Gardens.

 

List and plan: always devise a plan when heading to any outlet mall. 

Research deals in advance

Hold out for Holidays: While outlet centers offer discounts of 30-40% on clothing throughout the year, the best time to shop for serious savings is over holiday weekends like upcoming Labor Day when you can expect deals to be as big as 70% off.

Look for coupons, including the coupon book that you can buy at the mall.
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Pay with cash

Buy off-season

Review the return policy

 

Tips for Shopping at The Mills at Jersey Gardens from an experienced (obsessed) shopper

Having been a loyal shopper of The Mills at Jersey Gardens even before I became a parent—or a blogger for that matter—I was quite thrilled to learn several things that I didn’t know about this mall. (I had no idea about the coupon book!) I do my major shopping trips here, such as back to school and my Christmas shopping because I get the best bang for my buck. Here in the northern NJ and the NYC area where retails stores are plentiful AND top dollar, maximizing your money on name brands is a big deal, and to me, so worth the few extra miles.

 

 

When shoe shopping goes awry. #4hrsofcrazy

A photo posted by Jen Rabulan-Bertram (@jenrab) onAug 29, 2013 at 11:41am PDT

 

Timing: Get there early on a weekday if you can swing it. Weekends can be crowded and overwhelming, even moreso at an outlet mall for BTS time. If possible plan to spend a long time at the mall. Bargain hunting takes time! Definitely don’t shop at this mall if you’re on a time crunch because you will be late! (speaking from experience!)

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Parking: I never park at a mall’s main entrance. I always park at larger store’s entrance and walk into the mall that way. I always park at Bed Bath and Beyond along the right side of The Mills. Parking doesn’t fill up as fast and it’s centrally located. I’ve been known to drop off bags to my car often because I buy so much here, so closer parking can be key!

Coupons: Like Andrea’s tips above state, be sure to look for coupons before shopping. Since I shop at this mall so often, I’m on mailing lists for most of my favorite stores. In addition to printing out coupons from online, make sure to grab those coupons from the mail. Also, check out your memberships for extra discounts. In my AAA newspaper, I found a coupon for 40% off at Reebok! Also, be sure to mark your digital coupons as favorites on your phone so you can pull it up when you check out. The mall has free wi-fi, so if you find yourself in a long line, Google “current coupons” for that store.

 

Discount stores: These stores have the best selection for name brands! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scored deals upon deals for brands that we love at this Marshalls or Saks off Fifth Avenue. We’re big into surf and skate brands; considering the demographic and popularity of these items in northern Jersey, we tend to score them on clearance racks because they’re just not that popular here.

And speaking of deals, since I finished most of my boys’ schools shopping earlier this summer, I splurged on a few items for myself for our trip to Va!
 

 

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The Mills at Jersey Gardens is located at 651 Kapkowski Rd., Elizabeth, NJ 07201, a few minutes from Newark airport and right by the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

Full disclosure: I received a generous gift card and gift bag as part of my partnership with The Mills at Jersey Gardens. As always, all opinions are my own. 

 

 

 

So Cozy: Back to School Hairstyles and Hair Products for Kids

With many of us starting school either this week or in the coming days, there’s an equal mix of excitement and anxiety about starting with a clean slate.  Like many of you, we use the new school year as a chance to refresh our wardrobe and update our look.

 Just the other week, we learned firsthand about some easy back to school hairstyles. 

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Biggie was asked to participate in a segment on the Today Show that focused on hairstyles for kids.  But before we get to his hairstyle, here are the tips we learned from Cozy Friedman of Cozy’s Cuts.

 

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1. Turn a braided ponytail into an easy updo by wrapping it up in a bun.  You can accessorize with clips on the side to dress up this easy updo.

 

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2. Turn a side ponytail inside out with a Flip Tail by parting the hair above the rubber band and then flipping the tail through the part.  This is an easy alternative for a regular pony.

 

3. Tame bedhead with detangler and then comb it through.  Add a drop of styling product to polish off a surfer look, and voilà!

 

4. And for the one that is most relevant for my guy, clean up a longer summer cut in lieu of a more conservative look and adding spikes in the front. From what I’m learning, boys this age are starting to become more aware of their appearance. 

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While my guy and I loved his longer locks, his hair got a lot of wear and tear this summer from all that swimming he did. So, one of the talented stylists from Cozy’s Cuts for Kids trimmed his hair, added texture with some layers and then styled with some product, such as Cozy’s styling gel. 

 

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Cozy’s tip about spiking the front of boys’ hair like J’s:  just use a drop of gel and massage into the roots and style as you’d like.  For shorter cuts like this, Cozy says you don’t need product in the back since the hair already goes in its natural direction.

 

Cozy not only has a chain of hair salons geared to kids, but also has a line of excellent hair products called So Cozy Haircare for Children.  This line of hair care products has all kinds of good stuff and much less of the bad stuff. So Cozy Haircare boasts that their products are non-toxic, has no parabens, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic color, propylene glycol and are free of gluten, wheat and nuts.

 

 

1.  The 3-n-1 shampoo/conditioner and body wash is ideal for simplifying bath time, especially on hectic school nights.  The 3-n-1 formulation lets you lather up the kids in one fell swoop: from head all the way down to their toes.  

 

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2. Behave Styling Cream helps to tame frizzies and defines curled hair with a softer hold.  The aloe barbadensis leaf extract helps to moisturize and soothe the hair and scalp.

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3.  Behave Styling Gel with medium hold helps to style those spikes or keep those slicked back styles smooth.  The tropical smell is a fresh twist for kids and the fruit acid complex helps to promote a healthy scalp.

 

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4.  Cinch Detangler and Leave-in Conditioner helps with hair that’s prone to knotting.  It moisturizes as it makes combing hair easier.  It contains Keratin which helps to strengthen and protect hair.  The soy protein helps to promote growth and make hair soft.  This detangler is something I could’ve used as a long-haired kid, and to this day as a knotty-haired mama!

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So Cozy for kids is a fun line and ideal for streamlining those back to school routines at home!  In the NYC? Head over to Cozy Cuts for Kids for those back to school cuts!

 

 

And, in case you missed the Back to School segment on the Today Show the other week, here’s Cozy demonstrating her tips on the kids, including my guy at the very end!

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