SAWGRASS MILLS OUTLET

I managed to escape mommy duties few days ago for half a day - Mrs V and I went shopping to Sawgrass Mills outlet, a gigantic mall about 40 min drive from South Beach.

You could easily spend your entire day in this place, there's hundreds of shops. Something for everyone.    
 

We were a little time pressured so we did only a small part of the mall. Neiman Marcus Last Call was the best stop for both of us. I found few pairs of one of my favourite beach sandal brand heavily discounted and some other things. They also had pretty good selection of sunglasses: Ray-Ban, Olivers Peoples, Prada, Miu Miu and Tom Ford just to name a few.  

I also got t-shirts, polos, pyjamas and underwear for the little ones from Gap and Ralph Lauren.

Checking out Valentino.

I would definitely recommend to visit this place if you are into shopping or are looking for something specific. Again it's a matter of luck if you happen to find something in your size and your taste. But you'll have a good chance as the selection is huge.

Heidi x

OUTLET SHOPPING OUTSIDE PARIS

I'm currently spending time in Paris and I thought I'd post about this place where I went yesterday, La Vallée Village. Few friends of mine managed to convince me to go there with them. I have to say, I love the idea of outlets but I've never really found anything from them. I don't have the patience to queue up, I don't like to try things on several times and I never seem to find anything in my size.  

However, this little village can be a cute place to visit if you are planning a trip to Paris and you are into shopping (and you have more patience than I do). It reminds me of Bicester Village, another outlet where I once went outside London.

You'll find young and cool French high street brands there: Maje, Sandro, Zadig & Voltaire, Vanessa Bruno etc. amongst others such as Céline, Valentino, Givenchy, Loro Piana, Marni, Jimmy Choo, Ralph Lauren, Monclair and so on.

I bought few T-shirts, so not worth the trip going there for me, but I think it's a matter of luck what you'll find in outlets. You never know!


Heidi x

HANGING OUT IN NOTTING HILL

I haven't posted any London pictures for a while now so let me fix that by sharing some pictures of our beautiful neighbourhood Notting Hill, which I'm totally in love with. It's very central however has a village feel to it. A buzzy, happening village at that. 

It's home to some of the most beautiful streets in London. When the weather is nice I like to take a stroll and admire all the stunning houses along them. 

Notting Hill is also a great spot for fashion lovers. Westbourne Grove has some of the coolest shops such as Sandro, Maje, James Perse, Zadig & Voltaire, Joseph and Club Monaco to name a few. Just around the corner on Ledbury you also have Matches. The Westbourne Grove / Ledbury corner has great shops for children too. You'll find Bon Point, Petit Bateau and a Marie Claire discount store plus a few other really cute children's boutiques. 

I've already told you about a restaurant called The Granger, which is now my favourite local for breakfast or lunch. Other good eateries in the area are The Oak (that's where we are in these pictures), E&O, Mediterraneo and Assaggi. There'll be others worth mentioning, for sure, as I explore more but right now these are the ones I keep on going back to. 

The thing is I'm not sure for how long exactly I get to live in this beautiful part of London so I want to enjoy it as much as I can. This year could bring with it a few changes for us. I promise to fill you in as soon as everything is 100% confirmed ;-)

Minna x

SATURDAY IN PARIS

My Paris posts are somewhat delayed (sorry, I wanted to post them as soon as I got back) but I couldn't let anything, even blogging, get in a way of my Christmas shopping and wrapping as I had to get it all done by yesterday. Reason being that right now I'm writing from the middle of a desert. Well pretty much at least. More about that in a day or two but let me tell you about last Saturday in Paris first. 

We got up rather late and by the time we were up and about it was not far from midday! After a couple of shops we were headed to l'Avenue for a fabulous lunch. What a fun place (not one to be taken that seriously though...). Great food (I had a tuna carpaccio followed by salmon, both seriously tasty), great atmosphere and the most amazing people watching. Very bad light for pictures though hence I only have these couple of random shots. And I don't even like oysters!

After lunch boys and girls went their separate ways. You guessed it: girls shopping, boys not.

Not before we had taken a couple of snap shots though! Wide smile is obviously due to my birthday present! Oh and due to being in Paris in an amazing company!

We also had to get a picture of the girls looking rather silly as we all wore the same trousers. What are the chances?

But then off we went along Avenue Montaigne.

We browsed a couple of shops (one of them being Montaigne Market, OMG) but I must say my shopping stamina is not great. Not before long I was very ready to head back to the hotel to sit down and lift my feet up instead.

And so were the girls.

I don't know why on earth I hadn't been to Paris for so long? I totally fell in love with it this time and am not going to wait another five years to visit it again.

Back to the hotel we went. 

Tomorrow I still want to give a couple of Paris dinner recommendations but after that we'll move onto a very different kind of place; Oman! Right now I'm going to collapse in bed after pretty much missing a night's sleep. There wasn't much space for me to sleep on the flight after my girls had made themselves comfortable! ;-)

Minna x

PARIS, AZZEDINE ALAIA OUTLET STORE

In a tiny alleyway on rue de la Verriere in the cool Paris district The Marais there is a very well hidden gem in the format of Azzedine Alaia outlet store. As we arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon it was our first stop. Even before getting to our hotel! 

The store is tiny but if you're an Alaia fan (which, I suppose most fashion lovers are) you're quite likely to find something you like heavily discounted. We are talking at least by 50%!

Happy but very dishevelled Paris traveller on the streets of Le Marais. I had planned to arrive relaxed and at least with brushed hair but the morning before catching my train turned out to be rather hectic. And no, this time children aren't to blame but an BT Engineer!

Next door to the Alaia store there happened to be a photography exhibition by a local art school. Of course we had to have a little peak.

Then off to our hotel (more about that later) to have a glass of bubbly. A start of a great weekend! Sorry about a couple of days blog silence but here I am again. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Minna x

DONNA IDA JEANS

I have yet another couple of Helsinki posts to post but let's get back to London for a moment. A couple of weeks back I visited a Donna Ida store for the first time ever. I don't really know what took me so long... laziness probably as I'm so stuck in my ways when it comes to shopping. However I finally decided to make the effort as I had heard that they have a great collection of jeans plus more importantly that they are great at finding the most flattering pair for you. 

I didn't know that they also sell a very good collection of other clothing than jeans.

I was on the lookout for a new pair of dark blue skinnies. All my old ones are so old that they're not dark anymore. I normally go for J Brands (see, stuck in my ways) but got tempted to try on Donna Ida's own label this time.

I was doubtful after I was told they are high waisted. Pear shape doesn't normally go well with that but these made the exception because the pockets are positioned as low as they would in a low waisted pair.

Sorry my bottom is not something most people want to see but I just wanted to show those pockets to you :-)

They are just perfect! And the good thing about high waisted is that if you've eaten too much they help you hold your tummy in! These are called IDA Audrey Ankle Zip Skinny Jeans. Next time I'm shopping for jeans I'll definitely head to their store again.

Minna x

JOSEPH SAMPLE SALE

I don't often post about what I've shopped but I'm making an exception. I went to Joseph's sample sale today at the Music Room on South Molton Lane. It was AMAZING. The stock was vast... I had been expecting there to be mostly the small or large sizes but no, a lot of the items had plenty of sizes available. I picked up a few knits (Joseph just does the best ones) and this bag that I'm totally in love with. It's my first piece of leopard and I already know how much I'm going to wear it. Messenger is no doubt the best style for us who push a buggy daily. However you can also carry this tote like as it has a short handle too. 

The point of this post is; if there are any Londoners out there reading this do go if you have the chance! Today was the first day but it's still on tomorrow and Thursday. Doors open at 10am and you don't need an invitation, just show up. Apparently they bring in new stock every day. All the items I bought were discounted by at least 60%. 

(Excuse the gym clothes! :-))

Minna x