Friday, February 11, 2011

Family Friday

Valentine's Day weekend is upon us, and even though our house has been decorated for almost a month, we don't yet have our Valentines made for Taylor's Kindergarten class.  While browsing the last couple of days, take a look at these cute homemade lovelies I came across. 
Adorably simple paint chip bookmarks, stamped with love and with a simple signature on the back. 
The best part is I have plenty of V-Day stamps, I'd just have to make a quick trip to Lowe's
And look at what this simple color block artwork turned into via mer mag:
Absolutely brilliant, and tres chic.
I'm almost thinking a combination of the two would be absolute perfection.  Color-block artwork bookmarks.  No need to actually run out and pick up the paint chips or buy the vellum envelopes, although I do love a vellum envelope.  By gosh I think I've found it!

I worked from home today which is always a treat and was kept quite busy.  We did take a little break for some post school frozen yogurt though :)  I'm looking forward to a family weekend filled with my nephew's 7th birthday party and another birthday party for one of Taylor's classmates on Sunday.  And then the big day on Monday!  Anyone have any special plans for the day or night?  It's a regular work day for Art and I, but I plan to make a lasagna for dinner and just be together as a family.

I sadly found Leslie's Valentine Day Advent calendar too late to make one of my own this year, but its not too late to head on over to her blog and read her thoughts on Valentine's Day together as a family.  I love, love, love what she has to say.  Please stop on over and say hi if you get a chance.
In between parties I do have to make my way over to get Taylor some new shoes.  I have a policy that when it comes to shoes, I go for quality vs. quantity.  I used to buy her shoes from Baby Gap when they were on sale, Target and Payless, but they're just not comfortable for her and she doesn't end up wearing them.  I don't blame her, I can't stand cheap shoes either.  Too many years working retail and standing on a cold showroom floor.  So for about 2 years now I spend $40 on a good pair of Stride Rites or Pedipeds.  Her 1 of 2 pairs of school shoes have had it and they stink up her feet so bad the whole room smells.  It is no exaggeration.  I was a little embarrassed when I picked her up from Nana's house yesterday and she politely told me the shoes have to go.

All this to say in a very roundabout way, where do you shop for nice quality children's clothes and shoes?  I really want to enact the quality vs. quantity policy for all their clothes and shoes now that they are a little older and aren't getting so messy.  I find that when I do buy quality, it obviously lasts longer, but they seem to enjoy wearing it more and are even more comfortable.  Besides, the Target girls section now that Taylor is in a 6x leaves much to be desired.  Have you seen some of the clothes in that department?  Biting my tongue.

Oh, there was one last thing that I had to share before I go!  Have you heard of Knitty Bitties?  Well she is a fellow Andrea and we have become friends through this wacky world of social media.  The girl has mad sewing skills and her work is flawless.  I can personally attest to it.  Come back on Monday, the big big day for a special something from Andrea.  I promise you won't want to miss it!

And I will leave you with this fun snippet.  I was reminded of this video I saw last weekend when I used the term roundabout. Watch it.  I promise you will laugh, even if you're not a Star Wars geek.
Happy Weekend Friends!

11 comments:

  1. I cannot wait to read the comments on this post... I have the same problem for my daughter (shoes & clothes).

    We shop LandsEnd and MiniBoden for clothes and shoes. My kids always were LE shoes and they hold up remarkably.

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  2. first of all, you're so sweet. thanks for the link, rad lady. second, here's my justification for quality vs. quantity. i consign the better kids clothes (which are always the more expensive, longer lasting items) and make about $500/year back on them. seriously. it's awesome. so that counteracts my SALE-ONLY purchases at gymboree, crewcuts, miniboden, gap, or nordstrom. btw, this works for girls only. my boy thrashes pretty much everything, so he gets target. holes in a matter of days. for shoes, we love vans and pumas and discount stores that sell better brands, like marshalls.

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  3. For quality shoes i shop at Meggie Lou's. They have pedipeds, see kai run and a couple other quality brands and if you get on their e-mail they let you know when their big shoe sales are coming up. As for clothes i LOVE gap, but i do not love their prices. Two things i did that save me a lot of $, friend them on facebook & open a gap credit card. They frequently have promotions(usually on thursdays) where you get 40% off your entire purchase and 45% if you use your gap card, not too shabby!

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  4. We actually do Zappos for a lot of the kids' shoes. The selection is great, the reviews are helpful, there is no fighting in the department store, return shipping is free... I could go on. I usually order a couple of different styles in different sizes, have a little shoe fashion show, then send back all but one or two pair.

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  5. I have also found a lot of cute stuff at Carter's lately. Their styles are more modern-kids these days.

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  6. I had to call my fourteen-year-old in to see that video. We laughed. Thanks.

    Never underestimate the power of the dark side. Hilarious.

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  7. I only buy shoes from Zappos. Mostly See Kai Run, Pedipeds and Converse (Chuck T's). Love Baby Gap for clothes, as well as Gymboree and Target. He grows out of clothes so fast, they barely get worn out. Going to check out that consignment idea!

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  8. Crewcuts for boys is just not great quality (shirts) but the girl stuff is super cute! Albeit pricey. Good quailty is mini boden...I usually wait for a sale (when they have buy 2 items get the third free) and free shipping and then I buy from them. The quality is unmatchable - I have 3 boys so I know what true quality is (if it can be handed down to the third child you know it is quality!!)

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  9. I went in to Target the other day and gasped at some of the clothes in the big girls section. We'll just leave it at gasped. The clothes have also been an issue lately with us. I was buying at Target and Kohl's (although I still love Kohl's clothes for kids.) Bailey thrashes her clohtes at preschool. Next year though I will be with you on the transitioning into less is more. She will be wearing uniforms to school and will need only a few nice outfits to play around in. I love Gymboree. I'm with you on the shoes, Bailey refuses to wear something that is not comfortable, so we too go to Stride Rite, Meggie Lou's, or this kids shoe place in Fashion Island.

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  10. oh my word I wish I could only afford to buy clothes for Syd from Mini Boden. Browsing online right now and am loving everything!!! Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

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