Show Us Your Life: Kid's Clothes Shopping

Kelly at Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life: Where do you shop for your kids? Shopping for Ella Grace is one of my favorite things to do so I thought I'd link up and share where I buy her clothes. I live in Seattle and they don't carry the Southern-style clothing I like, so most of my purchases are through family members shopping for me or online.

Little English 
This is where I get the majority of Ella's clothes. They are pricey BUT the key is to sign-up for their emails because they are always offering %off sales. Even better, they have warehouse sales all over the Southeast a few times a year offering major discounts (~40% off) on the current season's clothing line! By the way, buy one size up and you can get 2 season's of wear. This clothes are super durable!!


Shrimp & Grits Kids 
Another favorite. They have the cutest reversible jumpers, Christmas pajamas (order early because stock runs out fast), summer bathing suits....honestly, everything they offer is adorable!

Facebook stores such as Lolly Wolly Doodle and Izzy B Designs (for the applique shirts). I have had great experiences with both stores - easy to order and speedy delivery.

Memphis Boutiques - again, family doing the shopping for me:) It's awesome! Some favorites are The Woman's Exchange and Spoiled Sweet.


I recently had a woman sew some dresses for Ella. Best thing I ever did and not pricey at all. If you can find someone who sews near you, I highly recommend because you get a one-of-a-kind piece. I'll be doing more of this in the future.

Another new thing I've tried is custom ordering through children's clothing companies that have house parties. My newest one is Alice Kathleen & Co. A friend I went to college with had a party in S.C. and I saw the cute photos on her Facebook page. She was so sweet and stayed up until after midnight her time one night to help me put my order together. You get to pick the fabric, piping, ribbon, etc. It was really fun! I ordered 3 dresses and a top and pants set. I can't wait to get them in Nov!!! The blog shows some pictures of the fall line.

http://emilyjoydesigns.com/blog/?p=375

For school/every day clothes, I get leggings from GAP and pair them with the Boden or Little English applique tops. Another new favorite is Tea Collection.  And for shoes, I'm 100% Keds, Sea Wees sandals, Stride Rite, and below are my new favorites. You can get them at Shrimp & Grits Kids.

And, last but not least, another great everyday clothing store is Boden. Nordstrom carries some of their line. So cute!!! Our recent purchases were:

I hope this helps and would love to know where other Mom's get their kids clothes!!

Words of Wisdom from Ella

I've been horrible about documenting the little things of Ella's life over the last 4-5 months...blame it on no downtime, I guess. But, I have kept notes of funny things she has said, so here we go:

minnie house = minnie mouse

buttchee = butt cheek

I asked her where the gum went that I had just given her. Her response "gum lost in tummy."

One day I said "hey ella guess what...chicken booty." she said "noooo chicken booty." then she fell off the couch and told "minnie house"...bad minnie house, not nice as she put her on the couch, put a blanket on her, and beat her back to death...not sure what that was about.

New songs she knows: 

- bringing home my baby bumble bee

- head and shoulders knees and toes

hopsicle = popsicle

One night when lying in bed she kept kicking me. I told her to stop but she wouldn't. I finally said "Ella, why are you kicking your mommy, that's not nice." She said "because my feet too big."

I Love You game:

Mommy: I love you

Ella: I love you more

Mommy: I love you most

Ella: I love you most

Mommy: I love you the mostest

Ella: I love you the mostest more

and it goes on and on back and forth until we both give in:)

From my iphone notes:

"Hey cat, don't bite Ella" as we were climbing in the car and a cat was getting near the car.

Kippa = Kipper the dog on Sprouts

Haliou = Caliou on Sprouts

She'll put blankies on me and say "Mommy covers, comfy cozy."

I asked her if she grew a little bit last night and she responded "tiny bit."

One day while on the couch I said "Ella I don't feel good."

Ella: What's wrong?

Mommy: My ears hurt.

Ella: I need you.

Mommy: I need you.

She then climbed on the couch and looked in my ear.

Mommy: Do you see anything?

Ella: I don't see a flower.

Mommy: Do flowers make your ear hurt?

Ella: Yes.

Mommy: Oh, I didn't know that.

Loss = floss. She loves to brush and "loss" her teeth.

When watching the part on Finding Nemo where he goes to touch the boat, Ella says "he's going to go touch the butt!"

Ella had thrown an apple she had eaten on the floor. She looks at it and says to me "my hands are dirty, I have lots off stuff. Put it over there and points to trash can.

When seeing a mailtruck she yells "Mailtruck! We gotta get our letters!"

When watching The Lion King she said "Lion King, I'm so excited!"

At school, I learned she had a bad day. I asked "'why did you hit someone over the head with a baby doll?" 

She said "because I wanted my Mommy."

The other night when we were in bed, she was playing around in the bathroom. She came out and said "Stop talking Brian!"

Ona = Fiona

That is all I have captured for now!

Friday Harbor - San Juan Island Part IV

Various pictures from our downtime at the house...

 Family picture with the view outside our backdoor

 Ella playing with an old fashioned phone

 Just a picture of Dad's arrangement on the loft ladder. I think I got my organization/house cleaning skills from him. We like our things to be neat and off the floor!

 Dad starting a fire in the wood burning fireplace - the best kind!

 Passed out

 Watching The Little Mermaid

On our last day, we parked our car early at the ferry and walked around town.

 Little alleyway. We had breakfast at The Bean coffee shop.

 View from ferry dock

 And, we're headed back to Seattle.

Such a great getaway from our crazy, stressful lives! We hope to be back the same time next year!

Friday Harbor - San Juan Island Part III

During the day, we went on a whale watching tour, checked out the cute little town, indulged in chowder and crabcakes at lunch, and drove around the island hitting up the state park.

 Whale watching was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. Of course, when you go on these tours, you aren't promised to see any wildlife. About an hour in, all we had seen were porpoises and seals - I think the naturalists were getting worried. All of a sudden one starts screaming "we've found orcas, we're headed to Canadian waters and all 3 pods have been spotted together!" Yippee! Only 8 could sit up front on the boat and since Ella, Mom, and I were already up there, we sat down and stayed put.

 With her seal. This child is a water baby. She loved being up front in the freezing cold taking in the crisp air and viewing the water. Mom and I talked about that later and she's just like me and Emily. We grew up on  the water. My grandparents lived in Savannah, GA and our favorite thing was to go out into the Atlantic Ocean, find an "island" at low tide and park and play until high tide came, then we'd bounce to the next island. We loved the waves, crabbing, the water sports, all of it. Most of all, we loved sitting on the front of Pop's boat! Ella was just the same.

 

And, there they are!!! How painful was it to not have a long lens for this extravaganza. What was I thinking! 60+ whales - J, K, and L pods - and I have my dinky lens. I was able to crop a few and felt I secured a few good shots. But those with the long lens' had some amazing up close shots!

 This one was 21 years old supposedly.

 Their dorsal fin is 6 ft tall!

And, somehow, one Orca got in our boat. She was friendly though.

 After the tour, we got some ice cream.

 And, did some jumping.

 World's skinniest latte shop

We checked out the state park

 BIG trees!

Tree bark. Cool, huh?!