Lauren Loves: Back To School Shopping at Woodfield Mall

Okay so I love shopping and when I have the opportunity to take the whole family it’s weirdly fun for me. Don’t get me wrong, it can be mildly annoying, but I spent a lot of time dragging Little Mark to stores in the city until he was in preschool so it’s all nostalgia for me. That’s why I was super excited for some back to school shopping action at Woodfield Mall, home to some of my favorite stores. Check out a a glimpse of our day, what we bought, what we ate and the fun we had!

First stop, Starbucks! 11am Whoopie Pie for Little Mark, squeeze applesauce for Valentino and extra caffeine for the hubs and I. Then off to Kids Foot Locker for some kicks!

Valentino gets her first official shoe fitting at Kids Footlocker, super cute, but I’m partial.

Little Mark checking out his gold Adidas—a la Erika Girardi—and himself in the mirror.

The bros left with matching Adidas kicks thanks to Kids Footlocker! Little Mark also snagged a black Adidas backpack for school that I might just steal. Then, after a “quick” stop at the Lego Store where I built a Big Blonde Lego character, we headed off to Rainforest Cafe for some lunch at the request of LM. I must say, my Cobb Salad was pretty decent and everyone else was happy with their meal!

After lunch at RC—yeah, imma call it that now—there clearly had to be a quick stop for me, even though technically I’m not going back to school ever unless I stumble upon some insanely bad luck. A few months ago my super fashionable, smart and kind nieces Mary and Kate Sebastian, who are both in high school, took me in to their favorite store called Altr’d State, which is where I wanted to stop to see if they had some of my fave tee’s . Said tee’s just happened to be 2 for $40 so I scooped up two, bringing my collection up to 5. I legit wear them almost everyday so I need a rotation! It’s a great back to school spot for girls, but there ares some cute staples for mom too.

We did a quick stop at H&M where I buy tons of my boys clothes. This time they didn’t get anything but my hubs got a cool sweater for all. Then, after a far to quick peek into Zara and Akira, two of my favorite stores, we reached that moment when it was time to go home. Or, more or less, it wasn’t time for me to go home but it was time for the men in my life to.

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And finally, at Nordstrom, we sleep. I was hoping to wake up alone in the shoe department, but it just didn’t happen. Cheers to fun day back to school shopping at Woodfield Mall and many to come! You made us complete…