cute Archives - Rave & Review

Celebrate the power of play with the Gymboree Hop ‘N’ Roll collection

I know play time for children is vital as it helps them learn about the world around them in ways I can’t teach them in a book, so I always make play time a priority. From unstructured playtime to working together to create a talent show, a fairy garden, or a circus, we fill our days with as much play as we possibly can. So, I was a little taken aback the other day when I told my kids I wanted them to wear play clothes if they were going to be out digging in our backyard and they both looked at me like I was crazy. “Do you mean dress up clothes?” my daughter asked. Clearly, they aren’t of my generation where we had two categories of clothing: play clothes and fancy. To my kids, everything is play clothes, even if they really shouldn’t be. We’re talking fancy holiday dresses year-round at the beach and white button-up shirts and dresses while gardening. After looking through their closets it became really clear that they could both use some new “play clothes” for summer that would allow them to swing on monkey bars, skip rope, and do all the other things kids should be doing all day without worrying about restrictive clothing getting in the way.

Spin into Spring with TwirlyGirl dresses and skirts {with coupon code}

My daughter will only wear dresses. Not shorts, not pants, not even skirts most days. All she wants is dresses. She’s clearly a little fashionista, but even with her eye for fashion, she won’t compromise with clothing that is uncomfortable and isn’t fun and girly. So, of course she fell in love with TwirlyGirl when she saw they carried cute dresses for girls like these, which just so happened to speak to her fashion side as well as her inner dancer. When I was growing up, my sister and I had a special spot in our closet where we kept dresses that were “spinny” {AKA cut so that they flare out when you spin}. Those dresses were the ones we returned to over and over again and I can still vividly remember the details in both dresses. Sadly, we only ever owned two of these dresses as spinny dresses are hard to come by. Apparently, boring and flat is the norm for clothing.

But, once I saw TwirlyGirl, I realized I was looking at what I would have designed back when I was a girl, you know, if I was any good at designing. Oh, what we would have given to have a dress from TwirlyGirl, a company designed to make cute dresses for girls that would put all of our spinny dresses to shame.

Back to School, rain or shine with Gymboree

Back to School rain or shine
I remember thinking that summer was far too short when I was growing up, but as a mom I feel summer is even shorter than I remember. Our weeks go by in a flurry of summer vacations, mini getaways around Puget Sound and playdates at the lake and ocean. All summer long you can find us with our toes in the sand, building castles and having picnics, enjoying ice cream as the sun goes down, and then just as quickly as it started, it seems like it’s fall again.

And, this year the coming of fall means a very big thing for us: the start of Elementary School. My daughter is really excited about going to the “big kid” school in our neighborhood and I’m excited to walk her there, hand in hand every morning and then pick her up every afternoon. But, with the arrival of school comes the changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, and the start of the rain that will be here on and off until April.

So, we’re starting school and kicking off the start of the rainy season with some new rain duds from Gymboree. That means rain boots, rain jacket, and umbrellas. But, it also means long pants for my son since he still goes to school twice each day to pick up his sister, and so far that has equaled a whole lot of wet jeans from puddles and rain.

Thank goodness Gymboree had everything we needed and more, including this gorgeous rain set that would make any rainy day seem brighter.

My daughter has worn it to and from school a few days now when it was sprinkling {or "sparkling" as she would say} and it was perfect for the warm days of fall. When she’s not wearing it, it stuffs nicely into the bottom of her school bag still leaving plenty of room for all the things that need to go back and forth to school each day.

Milk Nursingwear

Have you shopped for nursing wear recently? I have breastfed babies for 26 months in total and during that time I have owned exactly one cute nursing top. One. In 26 months. This means that 99.9% of the time I am wearing my “mom uniform”, a tank top with a cardigan or hoodie, so I … Read more

Display Your Everyday CUTE with Lizzie, Izzie + James

If you have a little fashionista like I do, then you probably spend a good deal of time searching for hair accessories that are spunky, adorable, and show off their personality perfectly. In my hunt for that perfect accessory, I found Lizzie, Izzie + James, a company that makes a whole collection of the most … Read more

The Perfect Nursing Bra from Bravado Designs

One of the most difficult challenges in any woman’s life is finding a good bra. If this isn’t the case for you, I envy your ability to fit into those predetermined sizes. Although bras for any purpose can be impossible to find, a nursing bra is even more so because there is so much that … Read more

Kiki’s Fashions Maternity Clothing

When I found out I was pregnant several months ago (it feels longer than the 7.5 months it has been!), I knew my husband and I had some serious discussions to be had about finances. The thoughts of diapers and baby products came rushing through my mind and I think it was a little scarier … Read more