Bella Chic & Bella Kids Spring Sale Preview!

I am for sure in my thrifting era right now, and last night I got to do something so cool.

I don't know what luck snagged me an invitation to a preview night of the spring Bella Kids & Bella Chic Consignment sale, but it happened, and I'm beyond thrilled that it did. It was such a cool night!

If you're not familiar with Bella kids or Bella Chic, allow me to introduce you to a seriously fun shopping experience! Those of us in the Buffalo area get the absolute joy of attending these huge sales to hunt for exciting secondhand finds while saving all kinds of money. When my boys were little, I used to go to Bella Kids sales all the time to stock up on affordable brand name clothes, toys, and baby gear. I was able to get so much for them at such great prices!

Now that they're bigger, I'm not hunting for as much for them (I'm still after some track pants and hoodies for them, though, because I feel like we can never have enough). Lucky for me, Bella Kids branched off to include Bella Chic for women. So now there's a little brand name (mostly luxury brands) resale women's boutique right there in the big Bella Kids sale! That's what I studied the most last night, naturally. ;)

First of all, don't underestimate the scope of this sale. It's absolutely, incredibly, shockingly massive. There are an actual department store's worth of retail goods in this sale space. You can get a much better view of this on my Instagram stories - I seriously couldn't get over how huge this sale is shaping up to be compared to the years prior! There is something (many somethings) for legitimately everyone!

While I combed through the Bella Chic area of the sale, I came across Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines,Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Draper James, Lululemon, Adidas, and so much more! All at more than fair prices. And by filling your closet with these environmentally friendly second-love pieces, you're supporting the local families who consign at these sales! Super cool, and it makes me feel better about my tendency to scoop up a little too much (lol).

As a perk for the event, I was allowed to set aside 10 pieces to come back for and pick up during their VIP day on Thursday. I didn't have time to find all 10, but I did grab some *amazing* Lilly Pulitzer & Vineyard Vines goodies that I am so excited to go back for tomorrow! When I brought them to the counter to be reserved, I was told that several team members had their eye on the Lilly dress I'd picked, and if I didn't come back for it, one of them was sure to give a good home. Sorry team, but I WILL be back for it. haha (Do you SEE that gorgeousness?! Wait til I show you it all up close tomorrow!!! Also: did I mean to shop in Bella Kids' color scheme? I did not, but clearly I was on their wavelength 😂)

As I mentioned, I didn't have time to look at absolutely everything, but I spied some seriously great things! I'm kinda hoping some of the things I couldn't make up my mind about will still be there tomorrow....eek! It's so hard when you find something and know there aren't doubles and triples waiting for you - as a thrifter, you have to scoop up those finds when you find them or you may never come across them again!!!

One thing I did notice, though, were these very full racks of seriously amazing purse deals. A couple that stuck in my brain: a super cute neutral Kate Spade Crossbody that was only $16 (sixteen dollars!!!!!) and a really great full-size Michael Kors in a versatile tan leather (or leather-ish material) for $25. There was also a really cute pair of Michal Kors casual sneakers that are my exact size and I talked myself out of reserving because I have a sneaker problem as it is (oops) but if they're still there tomorrow......fate, right? ;)

I am obviously very attracted to the women's side of things (what, with my rabid thrifting obsession and my household of messy teenage boys that don't know navy from black), but it would be a serious disservice to not point out some of the kids goodies for those of you that still get to have fun shopping for adorable little ones! I'm so sorry I didn't take more pictures of those things for you (I will tomorrow ahead of the public sale, I swear)...but there are racks and racks (and racks and racks and racks) of clothing for boys and girls from preemie right on through teens. My eyes landed on the boys clothing in sizes 16 & 18 and I got a little thrill realizing I could find some deals for my picky, growing-like-a-weed teenager. He is SO hard to shop for, so I love that despite Bella Kids being known for their goodies for the itty bitty kiddos, they even have pieces for my big guys!

Not to mention - toys? So many toys. So, so, so many toys. Plus bike helmets, life vests, bikes, trikes, wagons, more baby gear than you can even imagine! ALSO: there's an extra surprise announcement about something incredible that they're offering at this sale that will be shared sometime tonight! You won't want to miss it - it's the kind of deal I would have lined up for as a new mom! (Follow them on Instagram HERE and HERE!)

Oh, and while we're here, let me show you just a tiny snippet of some of the adorable things I did manage to grab a picture of:

You guys know with my Matilda Jane history and lack of girls in my household, I'm always drawn to the adorable girls' things! And um, yes...there's even Lilly for the littles! At the front of each rack of clothes is a boutique/boogie section so if you want only high-end brand names, you know where to go! 

I'm not sure why you wouldn't add this sale to your calendar this weekend at this point....??? lol ;)

I know, I've given you A LOT here, but before I go I just want to give a little special thank you to the ladies that put on last night's event to share this awesome sale with us! They were not only super sweet and great to chat with, they introduced us to some great local businesses by gifting us goodies!

Jo's Event Carts was there with their DIY floral bouquet cart, which was so adorable and so much fun to do! I've loved putting little bouquets together with grocery store flowers so this was totally up my alley and I was so excited to take home my own bouquet!

 


Eat Joe Cupcake was there with *amazing* cupcakes - I went for the chocolate peanut butter one, but I heard good things about all of them! So, so good.

And when we left, we got an awesome goodie bag from Oh Goodie Bags! There was a lot of awesome in here...love all the local businesses represented!!

We had a great time! It was so good to see how much this sale has grown, meet some really awesome women entrepreneurs, and you know...get a head start on the shopping ;)

Here are all the details so you can check it out this weekend!

 

24 Hours in Wintery Downtown Buffalo

 

Last weekend, we went on a little staycation to canalside Buffalo for our oldest son's birthday. It was kind of the perfect Buffalo in winter experience. Our youngest even asked if we could do it all again, but next time for a whole week. (ha)

(PS, my sister took the photo above and if you are eagled-eyed enough you can sort of Where's Waldo me, Matt, and Luke.)

We drove into the city as the sun was setting after a very stressful Bills playoff game. I'm so glad we won - I think the excitement of the evening would have been a little subdued if we hadn't.

It was pretty gorge seeing the sun dipping below the skyline. 

We stayed at a Marriot right in canalside, and barely checked in before we set out for our first excursion - ice skating! Our hotel was central to literally everything...the rink was particularly close. It took us no time to walk over there.

It was suuuper busy - likely because it was basically Saturday night vibes with the extra day off on Monday. Thankfully we all have skates, so we didn't need to go through the hassle of rentals.

I loved the view while we skated - I wish this existed back when Matt and I were dating! Not that we can't have a date night there now, but this would have been so perfect for the early days. We were busy keeping up with kids (my gahhh the way some people fly around on the ice and basically steamroll anyone in their path), but it would have been so nice to just have our own moment there.

It was not a warm night, but we were bundled up pretty well so despite walking around town not exactly being enjoyable, it wasn't terrible. There were some leftovers from the Ice Fest Weekend that had wrapped up earlier that day and we enjoyed checking some of it out. There were some cool ice sculptures up near where Shark Girl is that I would have liked to get closer to, but everyone was pretty cold and hungry after skating!




After a little bit of trying and failing, we ended up at Pearl Street for dinner - which honestly, was better than what we'd had planned, I think. It was so slow - there were very few people there (a first for Pearl Street...I've never been there when it wasn't slammed before) and the food was so good! The kids loved ordering lemonades from the bar, haha.

I got a salted caramel porter that was soooo gooood, split a cup of beer cheese soup with Matt (insane), and had a poached pear salad for dinner that was so big I packed up more than half of it and had it for lunch the next day. It was all top notch.

My birthday kid enjoyed his night...I just cannot get over him being 14. Sigh.

When we got back to the hotel, we were all too full to have the cookie cake I'd made for Luke, so instead, we opted to visit the pool. Nothing like a have-the-place-to-yourselves night swim! The kids had so much fun despite getting sleepy....it was hard to get them out of the pool.

The next morning, I met my sister in the lobby to get some Starbucks. It was such a pretty morning...we had a pretty packed schedule, but I kinda wish I'd had more time to kick back and just take in the view.

After we caffeinated, we walked across the street to Tim Horton's to get some breakfast sandwiches. Which we quickly followed with a a birthday song and cookie cake. And then another trip to the pool.

The kids swam for a bit, and then it was already time to pack things up and check out ahead of the Sabres game. Our hotel was just a couple blocks away from the arena, so after we loaded up the van with our things, we walked down the street for the game. Such a pretty day! It was fun to be in the mix of excited fans again - it had been way too long since my last game!

I fell in love with this sweater in the Sabres store...ugh. Obsessed. It was $105 (gross) so I couldn't charm my way into this one but omg...if anyone sees this go on sale as spring sets in, you must alert me.

Doesn't it just give you chills? The vibe in the arena is everything.

The Sabres didn't show up for us (booo), but we still had so much fun all being there together. My Jake keeps saying he's totally into sports now because of it (lol).

We had such a great weekend! If you want to see it in video form (plus more pictures!), I put it all into a highlight on my Instagram called Buffalo. (If that direct link to the highlight doesn't work, my Instagram is @jenn.rych)

We love you, Buffalo! <3

Lumagination 2019 at Buffalo Botanical Gardens

Whaaaat, two Buffalo outing posts in a row? I KNOW, I weirdly had plans on back to back nights to go out and do things last week - who am I?!

I'd heard buzz about this visually cool event at the Botanical Gardens called Lumagination for a year now. I totally missed the boat last year, so when I saw news of its return this year I insisted that my friends escort me. :)

We all met at my sister's house and stopped for some necessary Tim's on the way - gotta roll up those rims! (I won a coffee!!) Sorryyyy non-Buffalonians for the Buffalese ;) My friend Lynne drove through the blowing snow while we blasted Ari's new TUN album (OBSESSED), and we were all in the typically goofy mood we find ourselves in when we're together. Everything was a treat to look at from the second we walked up - including the guy in a head-to-toe light up suit and glowing mohawk.

The first room we went into was one of my favorites. The dreamy-ness of the white twinkle lights on all of the green leafy plants just makes you feel like you're in a magical, almost romantic place. Like something out of a movie!

Every room/greenhouse had a different aesthetic - different colors, different themes, different feels. Some of the areas felt like being in Disney world or Rainforest Cafe, others felt zen and dreamy. And ALL of it was gorgeous and interesting!

We had such a good time! I left some videos from our visit on the highlight reel of my Instagram if you want to see it (@jenn.rych) - it's cool to see the lights and features in action!

When we left, we stepped into a total whiteout! It's strange how a camera has a hard time capturing it, but snow was flying and the wind was blowing, and it was a challenge just trying to make it back to the car! It did make the greenhouses look so cool, though. The contrast of the colored lights and the white snow was so pretty!!

This is such a fun, pretty event (with happy hours on the weekends!), and it makes for a fun night out with friends or a perfect date night destination! This event doesn't last much longer, so don't miss it!!! I did last year, and had to wait a whole 12 months to check it out!!!

Lumagination is currently on display at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens from now until Februrary 24th. Get your tickets HERE or at the door!