even though the weather is rainy...

There is a rule I learned very clearly last year. If you want to buy your daughter uber cute summer gladiator sandals, jellies and swimsuits you MUST buy them as soon as they come out. If not you will be subjected to always looking at them on the shelf in only one size that is not your daughter's size. This last week I was at Babies R Us and they got in their summer stuff. I was forced to get Piper two pairs of gladiator sandals and a pair of jelly shoes for the summer because I know they won't be there soon. Even the cashiers told me so. I am also shopping for her bathing suits now so I can have first pick of all the styles. We take summer shoe wear and swimwear very seriously in our house!

Places to check out now for good stuff: Babies R Us, Old Navy, Nordstroms.com and Baby Gap.

Don't forget to look for board shorts for your boys too!

so fun!

I was at Paper Source yesterday purchasing round labels for some wedding invites I am designing. I took home their catalog and came across a fun page with all these great chalkboard items! Top left: Chalkboard Coasters, $12.95 for a set of 4. Top right: Chalkboard Wallies, removable panels for cupboards, the fridge or on the wall. $19.95 for a pack of 4, 9"x 12". Bottom left: Chalkboard Frame, $29.95 for a 3 x 5. Bottom right: Chalkboard Placemat, includes one placemat, four pieces of chalk and a felt eraser- $15.95.

I find it funny that I love all of these since I hate writing with chalk on a chalkboard. But, the wallies definitely pulled me in. How fun to stick these up in your kitchen or around the house!

it makes me feel happy just looking at it

This bag is like $1 at Michaels. I swear it's my favorite reusable tote ever. I have all my sewing stuff in it and it sits next to my sewing machine. It makes me feel happy every time I look at it and I want to buy more of them to take everywhere.

cute addition to any outfit

I'm really into tights and leggings for Piper right now. So far I love the ones from GapKids/Old Navy and Target. I'm looking for more places to get cute ones so keep your eye out for me. I swear they make any dress extra adorable!

ebay

Ebay is obviously nothing new. I use to go on it and occasionally search for some things. But now that money is tight, and my love of certain brands has not diminished, I am on Ebay all the time. I mostly search for Juicy for myself & Piper and Small Paul & Quiksilver for Brody. Let me tell you, I have gotten some awesome things for pretty cheap! And, I only buy BNWT (brand new with tags). The best thing is that I know I am only looking to score a great deal, so before I bid on anything I give myself a limit of how high I will go and I never go past that. I was also really stoked to find my favorite pair of Roxy flats on there, mine are so old and ready to kick the bucket, so now I have a new pair being shipped to me, and I would have never been able to find them in the stores. So if money is tight but you can't let go of some brand names, look on ebay and maybe you will score yourself a good deal!

Nordstrom's Half-Yearly Sale for Women & Kids

Starts today! I am on a major budget, actually I don't think I even have a budget amount for clothes anymore. But, Brody's fall clothes from last year are a little short in the sleeves and a little short in the length so I know it's a great time to pick him up just a few things to get him through Fall (yes I think Fall might be here in California finally). If you don't have a Nordstrom's near you, shop online!

Splendid

I love, love, love Splendid clothing. I first coveted it when I saw their baby clothes at Nordstroms. Beautiful and simple dresses in the softest cotton. I love the bright colors and the stripes. But mainly it was the appeal that I wanted to wear it too so I knew it would be cozy for Miss Piper. I heart their women's clothing too and their website is delicious. But it's better to find their stuff at Nordstroms or online at Tutti Bella. Or if you are lucky, as I have been once, you can get it at Loehman's.

Pottery Barn Kids Holiday Stuff

Pottery Barn Kids sent out an email with some of their holiday stuff on it. I pretty much already have everything from them including stockings, tree quilt, advent calendar, ornaments, Santa bag and I'm sure more. These four items were my fav's from the new stuff! I usually only buy one or two things a year so I think the large Santa below will be my 2008 purchase!

Large Santa

Santa Hat

Turkey Headband

Thanksgiving Plates

A quick fav from Whitney

My sister has great taste! Whitney found these cute tin birds that would be so cute in a child's room or even out on the porch. Check out the website she found them at here, she says they have lots of cute stuff!

White House Black Market

Just saw these in the White House Black Market catalog and I think they would be so fun with a cute little back dress! $98.

Oh my gosh!

I just came across these adorable crowns here and I am in love! You better bet that Piper will be wearing one of these on her first birthday! Too cute for words.

Haute Stuff Tutu Bodysuits

I just posted about one of these tutu outfits on my other blog. They are ADORABLE! I found them on Nordstroms.com and I love them. Just wanted to share.

Williams-Sonoma Soaps

These are a family favorite. If you are in our family it is mandatory that you have these in your guest bathrooms and kitchen. They smell delicious, feel great on your hands and look good. My husband hates that I love these because, after all, you can buy soap pretty cheap. But they are a must have and they last a long time. They run $12.50 for hand soap, $12.50 for the lotion and $10 for the dish soap. They come in lots of different scents like Lemon Parsley and Ruby Grapefruit Ylang Ylang and they are friendly to our environment and made in the USA. These are great to give as game gifts for showers too. Click here to get more info. Enjoy!

Williams-Sonoma Vegetable Chopper

We use this vegetable chopper from Williams-Sonoma almost every day. Not only does it slice and dice vegetables, but the compartment also measures everything for you! And it's dishwasher safe. It was well worth the $29.95 we paid for it. To see it online click here.

Boden boots

I just saw a picture of these boots in the new Boden catalog and I wish I had a pair. Unfortunately I don't have $268 to spend on them, but if I did I would buy them for fall. On the bright side, I can probably afford a pair of the cute wellies pictured below, only $48. Too bad they aren't very practical here in Southern California. To see all of Boden's new stuff click here.

Anthropology Aprons

My neighbor Lauren was wearing an apron the other day and looked so cute! It reminded me of all the aprons at Anthropology that I always go ga-ga over. Sometimes they even have matching oven mits and accessories. Will someone please buy me one of the adorable aprons for my birthday or Christmas next year! It's just one of those things that you love but never buy for yourself. The kids ones are adorable as well. Check out all the yummy Anthropology aprons here! That store is heavenly.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Get ready, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale starts this Friday, July 18th at 7am! Prices on all sale items goes back up on Monday, August 4th.

I love Small Paul

Ok so if you know me, you know that 99% of Brody's wardrobe is Small Paul and now even Piper's wardrobe has a large collection of it as well (thanks to the warehouse sale 2 weeks ago). I love Small Paul so I have to give the lovely people at Paul Frank a shout out. My love of Small Paul began the day I could fit Brody into a 2T and I never looked back. We have purchased most of it from Nordstroms, however the warehouse sales, Ebay and a once in a lifetime 50% off the entire store in San Francisco shopping spree has helped contribute to our collection. Now they also make baby sizes too! So here are some photos to showcase some of our Small Paul outfits of the past!

http://www.paulfrank.com/clothing/smallpaul

Nordstrom's Half Yearly Sale

The Nordstroms Half Yearly sale for women and kids started May 21st, but you can still pick up some items online or in the store. Yes I got there at 7am on the first day of the sale...as a mom it's a great day to pick up clothes for your kids at 40% off. This year I got a lot of Quiksilver for Brody, LAMB shoes for Brody and Piper and lots of Juicy Couture for mom. I'm not a huge fan of the Anniversary Sale so I look forward to this one twice a year! June 13th is the half yearly sale for men and the next half yearly sale for women and kids is November 5th (yes it's already on my calendar)!

www.nordstroms.com