Online Shopping - My Top 5

Online shopping is a mother's modern day equivalent of a therapist, a glass of gin at the end of the day and gossiping about your neighbours COMBINED. It is so accessible, so FUN and so entirely therapeutic that I'm surprised we're not all in gazillions of dollars debt. Oh, that's right - we are.

But it's so fun and hey, it's only money right? I mean, we're all gonna' die one day, live it up while we're here yeah? (Things I tell myself)

I find my favourite sites are fluid, with so many new ones popping up constantly that it's difficult to maintain loyalty to just a few. On the other hand, with a hubby who works in the ecommerce bizniz and my own copywriting background I find I am hypercritical of bad sites and will never visit a site again if it is clunky. Still, I have some FAVOURITE FAVOURITE ones that I want to share because if you don't know them, you should:

1) Lark - www.larkmade.com.au

 I really really REALLY love this site. Like, really. First of all it just embodies my style (or the style I wish to have). They have free shipping and, I think, are super reasonably priced. But also, they have just done a site rebuild and it is now a really neat little site. They have frequent offers for registered members and a Facebook page where they keep fans up to date. My fave things are the party goods and the kitchen wares - sooooooo cute!

Lark Store

2) Urban Baby - www.urbanbaby.com.au

Since I am so urban, it goes without saying that my baby is also urban. HA! But in all seriousness, this site is chock full of all the coolest, trendiest gear, gadgets and otherwise. With everything from feeding equipment and furniture to carriers and prams, Urban Baby is pretty much a one stop shop when it comes to getting ready for a new bub or updating for a new stage e.g. baby to toddler. The site offers free shipping on orders of $100 or over.

Urban Baby

3)  Oii Design - www.oiidesign.se

A (very cool) friend gave me the heads up on this Swedish site, which offers a range of the funkiest kids brands including Mini Rodini, Noa Noa and lots of other great Scandinavian brands. Scandinavians do style very well and this site is oh so cool. The great thing about it is that our seasons are opposite, which means their summer gear is going on sale just as we begin buying it - this makes the fairly pricey threads a lot more affordable, although you will get stung on shipping. Putting together a big order with some friends and splitting the postage cost is a great way to get around this. Meanwhile, you'll need google translate to help you navigate!

Oii

4) Next - www.nextdirect.com.au

Next is a UK site that stocks lots of basic clothes for women, men and kids, and they've recently entered the booming Aussie market. The link above is their site that's catered to Australian buyers, so the products are slightly more seasonal (they still offer basically the same range as the UK site but extend the summer line) and prices are in Aussie dollars. Next's clothes are affordable, GREAT quality and on trend. I buy HEAPS from here, and it has the added bonus of free shipping and guaranteed delivery within five days. This is the perfect site for when you suddenly realise all your child's pants are stained, too small, etc. - simply restock.

Next

5) Kido Store - www.kidostore.com

Another great little Aussie company, I stumbled upon Kido Store when I lived in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and visited their Clovelly shop when I was pregnant. Immediately, I fell in love. There isn't a thing in Kido Store I wouldn't buy, they've just done that well with their buying and styling. The online store is great if you can't get into a shop (they have two in Sydney but ship throughout Australia) and offers free shipping on orders over $150. They sell very cute clothes, furniture and gear but I love their room accessories, having bought lots of prints, decals etc. from them and also my BELOVED Little Lam Freckle Rug. Look out for their Family and Friends weekends, with discounts and special offers.

Kido

Z xx