could it be fall already?

well our summer shoes are offically worn out and stinky - so it is time to start looking for some Fall shoes.

Last weekend I snatched up a pair of Morgan & Milo slip ons for 60% off which I can't seem to find a picture of anywhere.

Today I fell hard for Keep shoes. Now if I could just pick a favorite.

Pack Pack

Ell calls a backpack a "pack pack" and I have been on the look out for the perfect one for him for a while. Especially now that we are potty trained - its nice to have a bag that is just his size to throw a change of clothes (you know, just in case) and a snack or two in when we are heading out for the day.



While out shopping in Nashville last weekend I stopped into Snap- which is one of my favorite children's stores. While there i stumbled across the bags by Four Peas. At first the lunch bags caught my eye- but I ended up actually puchasing a back pack.





The Gray Biker Toddler Backpack to be exact. I'm so happy about this purchase. The price is right, quality is great, for a toddler bag it is surprisingly roomy, and the graphics are perfect for Ell. My favorite part is that there is nothing babyish about the bags so hopefully we will be able to use it for a few years.



Now I am daydreaming about the duffel bag...

swoon!

i am the queen of finding pieces i can NOT afford but love nonetheless.

the alphabet drawer by Kent and London is one such piece.

but damn it would be nice.

Wedding Style

Wedding season is upon us and we are the types who always try to take our little man with us because weddings are a great opportunity for him to see friends who we havn't seen in a while.



We aren't the church goin' type- so Ell rarely needs dress clothes- so I wanted to show you what we decided on for his 2009 Wedding Attire.



I found everything I needed at Baby Gap- and it didn't really break the bank.



The shirt I chose was a lightweight white button down with short sleeves. I bought it at Gap last week- but I can't find it on their website. I actually also saw something similar at Old NAvy yesterday but it is ALSO missing from the website.



But here are a couple of similar shirts that would work.



the Striped Roll Up on sale for $19.99



Or the Embroidered Cargo shirt


we paired this with some basic khaki cargo shorts and white chucks.

My favorite part though was the Contrast Woven Fedora- seriously adorable.



Comfy, cute, and classic. And I think it will serve double duty for some beach portraits next week when we hit Florida.

And here are a few shots of the little man in full force:

Madsen

One thing we have talked about over and over is getting one of those bike trailers to pull Ell in behind our bycyles. But like most items on our wish list we keep putting off making the purchase. The main problem- we are down to one bike- so if we bought the trailer we would still have to buy a 2nd bike in order to ride as a family.

Thats why when I saw the MADSEN Cargo Bikes I fell in LOVE.

The pale baby blue. The big tub that could be used to haul toddlers or groceries or just about anything. swoon.

Monster Gallery

I am really really digging the prints from Monster Gallery. I think they would look awesome in E's room framed and clustered together. And at less than $5 a piece I can afford to buy several of them.

Birthday Recap

So the big birthday bash was last weekend and I have been meaning to post about how happy I was with the way it all turned out.

We have had his first two birthday at a local park.  Which while fun- have also been pretty stressful and the weather a bit unpredictable.  This year we had the party at the big chain indoor bounce place and I was VERY leery of the whole shebang. Luckily the party could NOT have gone better.  The kids had a BLAST and the adults seemed to enjoy themselves as well.

a rundown:

• The strict schedule (2 hours total) kept the kids from turning into monsters and kept the party from dragging on too long
  
• the employees were AWESOME really taking charge of the event and totally running the show.
• i didn't have to do ANYTHING- from writing down who gave what gift to washing E's face after he ate cake- they did it ALL
• which meant i got to take LOTS  of pictures and actually enjoy myself
• the inflatables were fun for ALL ages- infants, toddlers, preschoolers, grade schoolers, and grown ups ALL had smiles on their faces.
• the limits on what I could bring kept me from overspending- the only thing I could bring in was the cake.  I could've bought pizza from them but i chose not to and nobody knew the difference.
• the employees went the extra mile with all the kids- from band aids and pep talks to a 3 year old with a boo boo, to paying close attention to the quiet kid who was feeling slightly left out.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.
• E had the time of his life (and was completely worn out)

Even though we went the big chain route- I did try to add a little DIY to the bash.

I made E's cupcakes which turned out AWESOME.  I modified Omnimocon's Rainbow cake instructions into cupcakes which were a big hit.

I topped the cupcakes with some sprinkles and custom toppers made by Bug & Boo.  Shelley did a FANTASTIC job creating exactly what I asked for.  I couldn't gush enough about what a great experience it was buying from her- and I think they turned out perfectly.  Shelly also created little custom treat bags for me which i filled with bulk candy.  ADORABLE.

momma wants to do some quiltin'

Lately I have been really drawn to the idea of making a quilt. Something for snuggling up under on the couch on cool nights with little E.


I have been drooling over fabrics. I like the idea of buying fabric off of etsy because I can buy bundles of color coordinated fabrics in small amounts which would be perfect for what I want to do.


fabricworm on etsy is a really great source

did i mention the fact that my sewing skills are subpar at best? Im still optomistic that I could make something pretty cool looking.

OR i could just save myself the trouble and buy one that is already made (which is way way more likely)

The quilts by etsy's A Stitch in Dye are exactly what the Dr. ordered.

yum.

dressing a boy is so much fun

I am convinced that dressing a little boy is more fun than a girl. With little girls cute clothes are EVERYWHERE but finding cute boy clothes takes a little more legwork.

I did a quick mock up on Polyvore this morning of my favorite Look for little E right now.




snips and snails by jettesette featuring True Religion jeans


The shirt is by Appaman- and we are huge fans- the shirts are a great quality and hold up with the frequent laundering a 3 year olds wardrobe requires. I have had a lot of luck buying Appaman for good prices on 6pm.com


The jeans are by True Religion- though I will be the first to admit that I simply can not afford to spend $80 on a pair of jeans that may or may not have a hole in the knee or grass stains within 15 minutes. For E, I prefer to go the Gap route- and for a savings of $50 who can blame me.

I have no experience with the hat pictured here- but it is a style that E really likes. E loves hats but he can be SO picky about which ones he will wear on his head- but thats a topic fo a whole other post.


And the shoes. Ell has had multiple pairs of slip on canvas vans over the years. I am a huge fan of how that look but they just do not hold up to the wear and tear of the summer months. The slip on style gets too small WAY WAY faster than a lace up shoe resulting in wrestling with the shoes each morning trying to mash tiny toes into them. So when I spied a photo of the Jolie-Pitt crew sporting LACE UP canvas vans a few weeks ago I freaked. A quick search of Vans website showed me that they had FINALLY started making the popular shoes in toddler versions and I plan to snatch up a couple for E's summer wardrobe.

i think this color combo is my favorite

E turns 3 years old today.

Unbelievable.

His current obsessions are:

Wonder Woman

Vampire Weekend

Cheese Quesadillas from Moe's

Thundercats

"Big Big Trucks"

The word "Coconut"

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Pixar movies

His best buddy Trevor

Barack Obama

His Blankie

The Ramones

Dislikes:

Foods that don't involve cheese or chocolate

The news

Coloring

2 was big year-

you moved out of the crib into a big boy bed.

you got potty trained- (which was freakishly easy).

you discovered Super Heroes.

you made your first best friend.

you got your first drum set.

you figured out how to use a big boy swing.

you fell in love (with Wonder Woman).

you were in your first wedding.

you lost your great grandmother.

you learned to count to 15.

you got your first bike

you saw your first circus.

and you were loved oh so much EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Kideko

I stumbled across Kideko a while back and fell in love with their simple (and pretty affordable) children's bedding sets

my instant favorite:  Monster

But Im also a fan of Action (especially at 60% off right now)

E is almost 3

and i still haven't really hung much art in his bedroom.

I've been leaning towards an alphabet poster for a while now and i may have found the perfect print.

The ABC's and Me Print is perfect. I love the fact you can personalize it with your child's name or just a message that appeals to you




available at Modern Lola

I have a running list for future baby shower gifts

and these blankets from Olaf's Daughter are at the top of that list.

Made of 100% Austrailian Merino wool and painstakenly hand felted- they are a steal at $38.00. And the color combinations are to die for.







Now someone I love enough to give one fo these to just needs to get knocked up (hint hint)

Livie and Luca

I can not sing the praises enough for Livie and Luca's amazing line of children's shoes.

E has last year's version of the Paulo and they have held up SO well- and for a kid who destroyed a pair of canvas Vans in 2 months last summer- that is saying a whole whole lot. I actually think that after extensive heavy wear since October we will grow out of them before we wear them out which is a first in our house. Looks like someone may get hand-me-downs.

They are such a soft leather. The soles are flexible and rubbery. And the velcro has held up great. I don't think there exists a more perfect toddler shoe. I'm digging this cream colored pair of Paulo's but I'm totally in love with the line of little girl's shoes. I mean little birds and elephants- it doesn't get any cuter.