Friday, March 26

Liberty of London (for Target), Baby Gap and vintagey hat from the local street market has been combined today to create a boho chic spring look. Leaving the house, I was pretty dang proud of myself. Until Riley was trying on her new shoes (Lelli Kelly's and SKR's) and the child next to Riley asked her mother if Riley was Amish.


.......Awesome. Nothing against Amish people, but long dresses, buns and bonnets are just not my thing. Needless to say, I was a little annoyed that this tween girl didn't understand my vision for this outfit. Minutes later, I realized she was a kid and while attempting to devalue her opinion in my head, I took the hat off of Riley and left the public eye. I usually ignore any comments about wardrobe as I live in Iowa and don't take much offense to what anyone says here anyway (No offense, for those who live near me and ARE fashion savvy, I still love you ;)).....but I don't want to have Riley get weird looks from other children. So enjoy my failed attempt, you will not see this hat again my friends.


CONTEST INFO: Please enter our randomly generated Coach keychain fashion log drawing by checking out my post from Wednesday and posting your ideas! I'd love to get some more people involved before the deadline this upcoming Wednesday, so be sure to check it out & tell your friends! :)

Thursday, March 25 OOD & Contest News!

First of all, thank you to Riley's fabulous nanny who aids me in the capturing of pictures for this blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays. :)

Today she wore the Naartjie layered asymmetrical dress with an Old Navy tutu underneath for added layers. I think it's a fun little combo, and it incorporated the tutu in a new way- which has become a challenge since it seems to be all Riley wants to wear lately. The matching bows were made by the lovely Sara last year for another Naartjie set, and imagine that...they still work perfectly for this years Naartjie!

Contest news! Joanna is the only contender so far-- the contest will end WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31ST! Look back at the previous entry for all the specifics and keep posting! :)

Wednesday, March 24

I have an unrequited love of pintucked/stitched/gathered shirts. I buy them, loving them, but finding out shortly after tearing off the tags and making them mine that they are manipulative little tricksters who never quite hang and stay the way you would like. Though aesthectically pleasing on a hanger- it is all a deception, once you make actually purchase the shirt it shows you it's true colors and rides up and becomes a nusance all day. This shirt is the John Mayer of shirts. Nice to look at, but quite the pain in the ass when the day is done.


This shirt is from Janie & Jack, picked up during my Friends & Family Event trip in Omaha. The headband is also J&J, from the same line: Spring Celebration. Though the pants are not J&J, I found them to be a perfect match from Target, and a great solution to our unfortunate issue with J&J pants. They run very slim, and sometimes little girls "junk trunks" as Riley would say. So we ditched the yellow capris from Janie and paired up with the Target ones, that were a lot cheaper also. Bonus.


I am considering other options for this shirt however, because I do love it dearly. Anyone who can comment and post an accessible (not sold out, not from out of the country, not a local only shop) link for a yellow high waisted toddler skirt in a 3t-5t, or any color you think would look cute with this shirt has the potential to win a NEW COACH KEYCHAIN. Blog FOLLOWERS ONLY. (But 'following' is quick & easy, so newbies welcome) Based on the number of entries, I will generate a random number from random.org to pick the winner. Tell your friends. :)

Monday, March 22

She dressed herself today. Again. And yes, she went out in public like this. I fear my days of forcing my fashion sense on her are coming to a close. Please say a prayer for me tonight, dear readers.


Riley's pick: Hot pink pettiskirt, tights, Target M&M knockoff shoes, Old Navy tank top, Naartjie shrug and Forever 21 "beeper" ('Riley' for headband).

Friday, March 19

For days when there are no cameras or cooperative toddlers- there is Suri Cruise.


We debuted this gem from Janie and Jack's Little Paris line today for our trip to Janie & Jack for the Friends and Family event. It was stunning, but of course I didn't manage to get a picture today. Isn't that always how it goes when they are wearing something you absolutely love?


To recieve 25% off your order through the weekend use promotion code JJEMAIL. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 18

Another gorgeous day, Spring may finally be making its debut here in the gloomy midwest! There was still quite a breeze though, so to the park Riley wore Gymboree knit pants and a Baby Gap Junk Food Hello Kitty shirt. This has been deemed her "play outfit". I generally let her play in all of her clothing, but this outfit is especially practical for the park- and I don't really mind if she destroys these pants, honestly. The shoes are the M&M knockoffs from Target, and she is wearing a m2m bow that you cannot see but I assure you is absolutely darling. Riley had a blast today! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Riley wore this same exact dress, The Matilda Jane Damsel in a Dress (Betsey Apron), last year on St. Patrick's Day- and since it was one of two green items in her closet today I decided it would be the perfect day to debut it....again. The differences in one year in the same child are just extraordinary, she's grown up so much.


This time we paired the dress with Gap undershirt & leggings as well as Gap boots....that amazingly still fit. We really need to find these in the next size up. Shameless plug for size 10! The bow is from our good friend, Sara. She's such a sweetheart, always sending us piggie bows and asking for nothing in exchange. We love our bows, Sara! But not as much as we love you :)

Tuesday, March 16

Some days it truly is impossible to capture a decent picture of a toddler. Today was one of those days. She's in head to toe Gymboree today, minus the Target shoes. This is the new turtle line from Gymboree-- what is it called again? The ruffle detail on the shoulders is adorable and turtles are a little bit of a clothing obsession in this house. This will be a great play set when Spring decides to stick around.

Monday, March 15

Gymboree vest and shirt, Gap jeans and flower from our friend Cathy. Bad picture, not a real exciting day here.

Friday, March 12

Today's outfit is a result of the most stubborn toddler ever. Meet Your Highness, the princess miss Riley Cadance. Not only did she insist on wearing this....unique....combination- she decided I was only to address her as Your Highness today. I jokingly handed her the tiara we had purchased recently at Disneyland and she was delighted to wear it all day. Though I probably discourage such behavior, I indulged her for the day. She's off to the grandparents tonight, anyhow. :)

The tiara is from Disneyland, the shirt is from Naartjie, the skirt is the Molly from Matilda Jane, and the leggings and white undershirt are from Baby Gap. This answers the age old question of: What would a two year old wear if she could pick her own clothing?

I'm not loving the answer here. Does anyone else allow their toddler to pick out their own outfits? I'd love to hear feedback on the topic, and Riley would LOVE to know how you like her "pretty outfit" :)

Thursday, March 11

Today's outfit was brought to you by the nanny, Lindsey. They like to play dress up while I'm gone, and I think it's nice for both Riley and her nanny to have a creative outlet once in awhile. The shirt is from Matilda Jane, the tutu was made by our favorite, Michelle :) and the headband is from LittleBeautyBoutique on etsy.

Picture #1 is "pretty face", Riley is in training for her first pageant this summer. We have A LOT of work to do, but she's starting to cooperate! Her newest personality/phase, Baby Gaga, channels the new Lady of Pop. Hopefully that craziness will come in handy during her first performance. :)

Wednesday, March 10

I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. A lot of things have changed in the past two months since I've posted regularly, but I'm back, and hoping to stay that way. For those of you who have been there for me, your support means the world to me and I cannot thank you enough.








On to the clothes! Outfit of the day: Meet my boyfriend, Marc Jacobs.

You may be in the "buying children designer clothing is ludacris!" camp, but you can't deny how perfectly sweet and simple this dress by the Little Marc Jacobs label is. Layered with a plain Gap undershirt and Matilda Jane brownie ruffle leggings, the "Wow Theory" pulls together yet another favorite of mine.

Designer labels don't have to cost you an arm and a leg if you know how to search for them. Froogle it. eBay it. No one knows, nor do they care. Sure, I could use that same theory applied to dressing a child in general, but don't children deserve the best you can offer them? I mean you wouldn't let a child sleep on an infested, uncovered mattress underneath another child in a crib, would you? Why wouldn't you dress them to the best of their ability and raise their confidence early in the game? I know this isn't the thinking of everyone, but it is mine- hence the blog. Feel free to share your views in the comments. :)

Naartjie

For those of you unaware, Naartjie is a South African kids clothing company that isn't too spendy and is all about layering. We have had Naartjie sets before, but only when they were gifted to us were they truly adorable. I never understood why I couldn't put together an outfit online to save my life until the moment I stepped in my first Naartjie store in Mission Viejo, California. Though the customer service at that location was less than stellar, I know that Naartjie prides themselves on excellent customer service and I recieved such at the second location I visited, Irvine Spectrum. Once in the store, I figured it out. Everything was prettier in person, and the matches were so much easier to make. I had to shop in store from now on. Problem: I live in a cornfield. We're lucky to have the stores we do, praying for a Naartjie would probably go unanswered eternally. Everything is built on layers, making it the perfect clothing for vacation or living in the midwest with it's fickle seasons. After being able to make outfits in person, I'm in love. We took a few sets home with us, and I couldn't be happier! Must haves: Lawn ruffles, "essentials" (layering shirts) and for some, the Jie Jie line. GO ORDER :)