If you are looking for inexpensive children clothing among the Woodbury Commons outlet stores, pop over to Carter’s. The whole outlet is packed pretty tight with all kinds of children clothing.

The sheer amount of clothes packed so tightly together makes the whole experience to feel cheap. Maybe that’s the purpose, or then they need to utilise the floor square meters as effectively as possible.

The prices are good, but some of the clothes are not. There are items worth buying, but some other clothes look cheap or are of bad quality — or both.

www.carters.com, Woodbury Commons Outlet, Store #576, Central Valley, NY, USA

Banana Republic outlet is an easy place to buy smart clothes while running from outlet to outlet. The stuff is a bit more classy than in GAP, and most people are familiar with Banana Republic’s style and design. In a sense, it is a good compromise between price and style, hovering somewhere in between of GAP and Calvin Klein.

The prices can go quite high, for example, an overcoat can easily cost around $150-$200. There is usually a good selection of clothes available for him and her, and also some accessories. No clothing for children, which is a shame.

www.bananarepublic.com, 422 Evergreen Court, Central Valley, NY, USA, +1 845 928 1819

The art museum Ateneum has been hosting a big Picasso exhibition for a while, and last weekend we got a spark (from a friend) to visit the show. Today was the day. After gently waking Niilo up from his nap, we got everyone dressed, out of the door, and to Helsinki city center.

Ateneum enjoys an excellent location in Helsinki, next to the central railway station, and thus it is easily accessible from all directions. They was a queue already outside — something that rarely happens in Finnish museums — and it took about fifteen minutes to get in and pay the fare. We met our friends while queuing, and their presence probably toned the boys down a bit; Aapo is not that fond of strange people…

The exhibition was crowded, too, but fortunately not overly so and you could enjoy the works. I was walking with Niilo and his stroller while Sanna took good care of Aapo. Our friends enjoyed much bigger freedom of movement, as we were only ones that have kids. That said, boys behaved really well, and Aapo showed some interest in the works, too. Niilo was just happy to sit in the stroller or climb on the chairs.

The works of art are from Paris — the museum there is being renovated and the collection is loaned to other museums during that time — and it was a good retrospective throughout Picasso’s career. There were numerous paintings for all his artistic eras, and a good amount of sculptures, too.

We visited also a café on the third floor, and then the boys vent off their steam by running and fightning. Nothing major, but Sanna decided to take them to a walk — that ended into a playarea built in the museum. The rest of the museum tour consisted of Finnish modernists and some more traditional Finnish art.

If you are visiting (or living in) Helsinki, do pop over to Ateneum while the works of Picasso are there.

If you are looking for comfortable clothes and some accessories with reduced prices, GAP Outlet is a worthy destination. It is packed with all kind of stuff with very reduced prices. The outlet in Central Valley is quite big, especially when compared to the other outlets in the area, but the selection is not the greatest.

Thus, you may find a lot of good items or then return with empty hands from the store. They have sections for men, women, children, and babies. There are some accessories, but not that much. The outlet is cheaper compared to the high street stores, but not dirt cheap. We bought five items (clothing) and ended up paying about $75.

Do note that some of the items are specifically (one would not say exclusively here) for the outlet stores only. This might have consequences on the quality or durability of the product. Or then not, I don’t have enough experience to be a judge here.

www.gap.com, 470 Evergreen Court, Central Valley, NY, USA, +1 845 928 3122

Petit Bateau brings French charm and design to children’s clothing. Their range is typically colourful, but still a bit subdued so that the clothes do not jump on your face.

The clothes are usually quite expensive — especially when compared to GAP Kids or such — and thus the outlet in Central Valley is worth visiting to grab the stuff with heavy discounts. We ended up buying three products with less than $40. Usually that amount would maybe give you one (or just half an) item. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on the available offers and sale periods.

www.petit-bateau.com, 822 Grapevine Court, Central Valley, NY, USA, +1 845 928 8850

My younger sister’s and our families have a mutually beneficial agreement that the boys spend one night every other month with their cousins. This month it was Aapo’s and Niilo’s turn to go to Järvenpää, to meet Onni, Eino, and the rest of the family there. I drove them to Järvenpää yesterday after lunch, and Sanna picked them up today, again after lunch.

For me and Sanna, this was a hassle-free weekend. We spent it by going from shop to shop in Helsinki downtown. Stockmann was having crazy days, so we ended up buying some stuff there, and then generally just store-hopped. Nobody got tired or cranky, and there was enough time to browse through the whole selection, and not just some parts before rushing to hush someone.

We paid a visit to an excellent sushi restaurant (Umeshu) in Töölö, and spent the night watching 2001 A Space Odyssey from DVD. This morning we could wake up whenever we felt so, and read the morning newspaper without interruptions. I could even code a little while Sanna was driving to and fro.

The weekend was nice, but it was also pleasant to spend time with the children. While Sanna and Aapo were watching movies — Up — I and Niilo cooked a magnificent dinner: duck, potatoes sauteed in duck grease, carrots cooked in butter, and peppermint chocolate fondant. It was surprisingly easy to cook while Niilo was toying around the kitchen. Although besides cooking I had to build a Brio train track, and help Niilo out countless times with the trains that didn’t stay on the tracks.

And being able to update Nomadig.com was sort of icing on the cake… If money would buy more of these weekends, I would not hesitate to spend it.

If you have issues with stinky or too warm feet, Geox might be the answer for you. The Italian shoe company has invented a shoe that has a breathable sole. There are, in fact, small holes at the bottom of the shoe, and still your feet does not get wet in them. The principle is simple: Moisture goes out, but water does not go in — due to unidirectional membrane inside the shoe.

Geox produces a wide variety of shoes, all with the same kind of sole. Their outlet in Woodbury Commons has a good selection of shoes with discount prices. We usually end up buying their children shoes, as they are good for the feet (as discussed earlier), and they have excellent designs that children love.

www.geox.com, 684 Bluebird Court, Central Valley, NY, USA, +1 845 928 5260

If you are fond of British fashion design, subdues colours, and a specific tartan motif, Burberry might be a good choice for you. Originally established for making overcoats, and then continued with delivering trenchcoats (that were named by trenches they were used in) to British military during World War I. Nowadays they are crème de la crème of British couture.

The airy and very not-outlet-like store has a good selection of clothing for both genders, some shoes and a decent selection of bags. Scarves can be recommended from the selection of accessories. Everything is heavily discounted compared to the high street prices, but they may still be considered expensive compared to the rest of the outlets in the area.

www.burberry.com, 269 Red Apple Court, suite 269, Central Valley, NY, USA, +1 845 928 4500