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.

Wicked Cute

Has anyone seen the new Erin Featherston collection at Target? If I had somewhere to wear this stuff, I would purchase the entire collection. It's all very fun and festive. I especially love this little number. It's super cute and can be worn over leggings, tights or even jeans. I am a big fan of the dress-over-jeans look. How cute is this with jeans, a turtleneck and black boots? Come to mama!

A few weeks ago I got my hair colored. I commented to the colorist that her hair, which she had straightened that morning, looked really nice and that I can never get my hair to blow out quite as nice. She recommended that I purchase this round, boar-bristle brush from Sally Beauty Supply and showed me a few tricks for blowing my hair out straight. Viola! I've been getting compliments on it ever since! Thank you, Christi, for the suggestion! Here's the brush that has changed my hair-life - called the Comare Flare Round Rosewood Brush.

And finally, today I had a quick coffee date with some girlfriends. We had a lovely conversation and of course I had to ask about the facial cleanser issue I am currently facing (no pun intended). One of my friends is an even bigger product junky than me, and she has worked in the beauty industry so I was very interested to hear what she had to say. In this group, I was kind of expecting that everyone would be using department store brand cosmetics. I was pleasantly surprised that they all use drug store brand, dermatologist recommended products! On their recommendations, I think I am going to go with either Purpose or Cetaphil for my cleanser and Neutrogena for my moisturizer and eye cream. My friend who worked in the industry had some interesting things to say about toner (we don't really need it) and serums (probably more than we really need if we take care of our skin). I am going to trust my friends' advice!

Oh Beautiful, For Platform Suede

Ladies - there's a new shoe on the block! It's the Yves Saint Laurent Tribute Pump and it's beautiful! It comes in black patent leather, violet suede (shown here) and red suede. I am actually lusting after the red suede, though since I already have a pair of red suede pumps, maybe the violet would be a better purchase? They are in a 4" heel for those not afraid to step out. For people like me, they also come in a 3" heel. I am saving up for these puppies!

In other fashion notes, I am still loving my Seven Ginger Jeans. Several (ok 3) of my readers have asked me about them so I wanted to just put it on the record.

I am taking a poll among my readership to learn what facial soaps/lotions/serums/toners you all use. If you have a product that you love, leave a note in the comments section!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

What are your favorite things? OK, What are your favorite things that cost under $10? Last week I found out! I had a fabulous little get together with some great girlfriends - a "My Favorite Things" party. I invited eight girlfriends to come, and to bring their favorite thing that costs under $10 to share with the other attendees. For the weeks leading up to the party everyone was very secretive about their items and the anticipation was killing us all!

So what were the favorite items among my very chic, cool and cutting-edge friends? My fave was super cozy Karen Numeier (or however you spell it) socks and CE Bigelow lip gloss. Other faves included:
-delicious tea and a sample of la mer facial cream
- boots products, a tide stain stick and salad dressing
- pedicure socks
- old navy fleece gloves
- lulu lemon head band
- Burts Bees and CE Bigelow lip gloss
- Sees Candy

Getting the goodies was lots of fun. But truthfully, just being able to spend an evening drinking wine and pomegranate martinis and eating yummy treats with my girlfriends was the best!