From A to Zulily

If you have children, obsess over cute kid clothes, and love a good bargain -- you've probably heard of Zulily.

If not, I'll give you the quick rundown: Zulily is an online store that offers daily sales on a range of things such as clothing, shoes, accessories, home goods/decor, games/books (all for babies, toddlers, kids, and moms). Members get up to 90% off the retail prices. Oh, and it's free to join -- all you have to do is enter your name, email, and a password.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Well...let me give you this warning:
Zulily is extremely DANGEROUS.

If you struggle with impulse shopping -- do NOT become a member.

There are only a certain number of items in stock, so you gotta make quick decisions if you see something you want. In five minutes, the item could very well be sold out.

There is a wide variety of brands -- some really trendy, some really traditional, some really cute, and some really ugly. And, for all my Southern Smock Addicts: you need an additional level of warning. The site features LOTS of smocked clothing each week. Try to avoid bankruptcy. Please.

I am a conservative shopper/spender, and Daniel had to stage an intervention after a few months of my membership.

Because I'm now at a "healthy" place when it comes to shopping on Zulily, I feel the need to pass along my acquired wisdom.

Here are my 5 Rules of Zulily:

1. I ask myself the following questions before completing an order:

• Is this something Aubrey needs or something I just want to buy her because it's so freaking cute?
• Does Aubrey already have something like this in her closet?
• Is this style something that would even look good on Aubrey?
• Will I have to buy something else (hairbow/shoes/leggings) to complete the outfit?
• Will I have to iron this after washing it? (That's usually the final deal-breaker for me.)

2. Don't forget you pay shipping costs, which is usually a minimum of $6. So, that adorable pink ruffled top marked down from $42 to $19.99 is actually over $25 once you check out. For me, it's always hard to pay more than $20 for something that has a 92% chance of getting stained within the first 3 hours of wear and will more than likely be worn a maximum of 2-3 times before it's too small.

3. From my experience, if I order something on December 5th, I won't actually receive it until January 5th. It's typically a full month of waiting. Keep this in mind when buying seasonal items* or items intended for someone's birthday. I ordered a precious Easter dress for Aubrey last year that came 9 days AFTER Easter. I also bought a cute cupcake necklace for one of Aubrey's friends that arrived one week POST birthday party. Not good.
(*Before Christmas, there were items marked with a guarantee to make it before Dec. 25th.)

4. If you aren't familiar with a brand, be careful of sizing. I've had two items (at least) that arrived and didn't fit Aubrey properly. It's one of those things that I would have known if I was at a store looking at the item, but online -- you just have to make a click of faith. This stinks, especially because you can't return these items. Big time bummer. Also, check the brands to see if your local stores carry it. One of the first purchases I made was an outfit that I later found on JC Penney's clearance rack. Nothing against JCP, but I felt like I had been duped. The outfit online looked so boutique-y on Zulily, yet there it was dangling from a broken plastic hanger with a marked down price of $7.99. Lesson learned.

5. Budget for it. I allow myself one purchase a month, and the whole order must be under $50. This way, I have to really think about the purchase before ordering. Is it really worthy of the one-time monthly allowance? Because of this, there have been months when I didn't buy anything. And that is absolutely FINE. Aubrey has never not had something to wear.

Okay, I think that's all the wisdom I have to depart.

Now, I'd like to end this post by giving back...

With a $50 voucher to the personalized stationery site: ErinCondren.com. 
The site offers lots of "organizational" items that would be a great way to start off the New Year -- especially if one of your resolutions is to stay on top of things!

I purchased this voucher on Zulily awhile back and realized I absolutely do not need a single thing from the website. Oh I want practically every single thing, but I don't NEED it. (I have a very deep and strange addiction to all things stationery.) So, I want to offer it to one of you! There's all kinds of cuteness that can be personalized with name and/or photos: gift labels, calendars, journals, address books, gift wrap, invitations/announcements, We've Moved cards, lucite trays, growth charts, book plates and more.
Here are just a few pics to see a sample of the goods...

 {Gift Wrap}

{Invitations}

{Address Book}

 

{Family Calendar}

{Jumbo Calendars}

{Life Planner}

 [More info on the life planner. It's pretty spiffy -- watch the clip.]

{Sorority themed items/stationery}

Okay, I must stop before I delete this post and order one of everything on that darn site!
So...
Just leave a comment, and you're entered!
(Make sure I know how to contact you in the event your name is drawn!)
I'll announce the winner on Friday, January 13th. 
Hopefully it'll turn that unlucky day into something fun!
Good luck!

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Overall, I think Zulily is fantastic.
If you want to join (and help a former addict out), you can click here.