Little Dudes Only!!!

The other day I took Benjamin to play at the playspace at The Westroads. It doesn't take long to spot the other "cool moms" in the crowd. Immediately the mom of the little boy wearing the Nine Inch Nails t-shirt approached me to ask if our Appaman shirt had been purchased in Omaha (it hadn't). We got to talking and she told me about this great web site www.littledudesonly.com. It's a great little site for anyone looking for fun stuff their little dudes.

I hope everyone enjoys shopping for their special little dude this holiday season!

Three is History!

My baby girl turned four on Thursday. She is such a big girl! She uses words like "absolutely" and "seriously" in sentences. She is hilarious and sweet and caring and best of all, she's mine! Here's to another great year, full of learning, love, laughter and probably a few tantrums.

I love you Schmabby!

Back in the Saddle

Our Von Maur store re-opened on Thursday, just two weeks after a tragic shooting rampage. As loyal Von Maur customers, Benjamin and I went to the store to participate in the opening morning. I was happy to see the store jam-packed with customers. People were shopping, and they were happy. There were some bitter-sweet moments - store associates hugging customers - but I think everyone here is happy that we can all move on. Benjamin brought a bouquet of flowers tied with a snowflake, which he gave to the associates in children's shoes.

Of course, no trip to Von Maur is complete unless you make a purchase. I finally was able to replace my original Ugg Boots with a new pair of chocolate brown classic tall Uggs.

Yay! For those of you last minute suzy's who are looking for a new pair of Uggs, and who have small feet, check out the children's shoe department. Mine are a girls size 5! I am thinking I might have to get a pair of the crocheted ones as well, since they are sooo cute!

When You Don't Have the Words

I try not to write about anything of any substance on this blog. This is my fun place. But sometimes I just can't help myself, and it really doesn't seem appropriate to write about anything else in this space, which is usually reserved for thoughts on shopping and style.

Here in Omaha, we've got some pretty decent shopping. We have the usual big chain stores and some very nice boutiques. For the most part our department stores are lacking, with one exception: Von Maur. Von Maur is one of my favorite places to shop. Their shoe department is fabulous, I love the contemporary fashion section (where I got my petite Joe's Jeans) and the handbag section and cosmetic sections are also noteworthy. The Von Maur employees are top notch - always courteous, knowledgeable and smiling.

For those of you who live under a rock, a massive shooting took place at our Von Maur store yesterday. At the end of six horrific minutes, nine people were dead, including the gunman. If you want to read more about this tragedy you can log on to www.omaha.com and read full details. I wish I could eloquently write about my feelings on this topic. Unfortunately, there aren't words in the English language that would allow me to appropriately say what I think.

I hope that we can all find our way back to Von Maur. I know it will take time before I am ready to go there, and while the first trip will be scary, I think it is very important to support the store and show people everywhere that we will not let one troubled person ruin one of our great retail destinations. We can't let this guy with his gun win. We just can't. And, we won't.