Weekend Recap: Shopaholics

With the baby coming soon, I’ve tried to take more time out of the day to spend with each of the girls individually. Avery and I get our alone time a lot while Harlan is at school, but the busy holiday schedule has left Harlan and me dateless this month.

As she gets older, our dates are becoming so much more fun. Her interests are changing and she is really starting to love all of the girly things that I still enjoy, including shopping.

Harlan wears a uniform to school during the week, so I don’t buy her many clothes throughout the school year. When we do buy her clothes, she really likes to be involved. She has requirements of only wearing dresses or skirts, it has to be pink, purple, or have some sort of sparkle to it, and of course she would love for it to “twirl.” Her constant stipulations can leave me wanting to rip my hair out on weekends when we really need to get out of the apartment quickly, but deep down I know I was the same exact way when I was her age (like mother, like daughter.)

This past weekend I took her on a very special date. We had an entire day that was filled with shopping. Tanger Outlets in Deer Park, New York invited us out for the day to check out the stores. I have always been a sucker for a good deal and outlet shopping.  Living in New York City for nearly four years has left me deprived of that kind of shopping.

I used to go outlet shopping all of the time with my mom, so it really does hold special memories in my heart. We would take the entire day to drive to Orlando, shop and spend quality time together. It’s special for me to be able to do the same with my daughter (as silly as it sounds.)

It’s hard for me to shop for clothes right now as I am so far along in my pregnancy, so this day was all about giving Harlan things to add to her wardrobe. Thankfully the outlets had so many children’s clothing stores that Harlan was in shopping heaven.

As you can see, even when looking for things for myself, she finds the most sparkly things to try on. This girl is never bored no matter what store you bring her to.

The ice skating rink was closed because it was unseasonably warm and rainy yesterday (close to 70 degrees!) But she still fell in love with the Christmas tree and lights.

This girl can help brighten my day no matter where we are. She wanted to be silly and try on hats together. Then she immediately told me to take a picture of it.

This girl is obsessed with these “rides” and insists on trying one whenever she sees them. We don’t see them anywhere here in the city. You would have thought she was at Disney World riding on this thing. I love how it’s the little things that make her so happy.

I couldn’t resist taking this photo. After many hours spent shopping, this was her passed out in the stroller. I am so glad that I brought the stroller, because usually I make her walk everywhere. I guess all the shopping just took all of the energy out of her. (notice the new shoes that she couldn’t wait to put on, so she insisted on wearing them the second I bought them.)

Our shopping date was such a hit that I can’t wait to do it again. I never thought shopping with a four year-old could bring so much joy, but I had the best time with my girl. On our way home I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and she told me “trying on clothes and shopping with you mommy.” And I couldn’t agree more!

Hope you had a great weekend!

If you love outlet shopping as much as Harlan and I do, check out Tanger Outlets for amazing stores with great deals! 

{Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a gift card to go shopping. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that help me support my family.}