Almost everyday, someone asks me if I have any good ideas on what they should get as a gift for a 1st birthday for a boy.

And, yes, since I have two girls, this and other boy related questions stumps me.   Completely.

That is, until I was tasked with finding THE. perfect. gift for my little nephew, who just turned 1 a few weeks ago.

And I knew exactly what to get him.

Note the ultra long green grass in their yard, in the middle of February. This should not make me jealous but it does. Also note the complete look of concentration on this little guy’s face. I think he likes it.

My nephew was a super early walker, but if your baby is not quite to the running point like Taj is, not to worry, the caddy could double as a walking tool.

Click here to purchase the Little Tikes Totsports Easy Hit Golf Set

1. See Kai Run

On trend colors, soft buttery leather, and more sizes added each season, See Kai Run hits number 1 on our list.

2. Pedipeds

These were my favorite baby shoes for both of my daughters, and now that my 6 year old is in school, she wears Pedipeds every day. They have outlast most of our other shoes, even after spending hours on the playground.

3. Jack and Lily

The cutest soft sole baby shoes on the market. You will absolutely adore their funky and cute prints.

4. Tiny Toms

Tiny Toms, cute, soft, go with everything, plus your kids won’t complain. Need I say more. Or Buy Toms directly from their website and save $5!  Use code SHARETOMS to receive $5 off your TOMS.com purchase

5. Converse

There is seriously nothing cuter then baby high top converse. The eye catching pops of color are absolutely delightful. Plus, the older kids can wear them to school, and still be able to run on the black top.

6. Livie and Luca

Cute, cutting edge prints, made from ultra soft leather. I love this line. Plus they have women’s shoes.

7. Coastal Projections

If you need a sparkly and fancy shoe, there is none other then Coastal Projections. They come in hundreds of styles and colors, but they are kind of hard to find.

8. Nike

Air Jordans, starting in a Baby size 2! Plus tons of other awesome styles for girl and for boy. These shoes are quality.

9. Wee Squeak Shoes

Some of you may not like the squeak, but fortunately you can take the squeak out, and you still have a super soft, affordable, super cute shoe.

I had to share a special order that we made last week for a bunch of lucky little ladies that are having a Valentines Party tomorrow.

We made them using our Felt Rosette Tutorial.

On these we choose to use hot pink and light pink, rather then red, so that the little girls can use them for more then just Valentines Day.

What girl doesn’t love pink, right?

Also, we used a green satin ribbon for a leaf, and lots of random lace trims to add a vintage touch.

We used a larger size pink rhinestone for the center, which is perfect since these girls are over the age of 3.

On the subject of lace trims, I wanted to add that I have a huge bag that I keep all of my trims and extra pieces of ribbon that are left over. They come in super handy for little projects like these.

If I have not said it before, gosh I love felt.

Check out some of these other felt hair accessory ideas.

Have a Happy Friday!

Aden and Anais just came out with a brand new line of baby bath products called Mum and Bub.

We have not had the luxury of trying it yet, and cannot wait to get some samples in the store.

If it is coming from Aden and Anais, I am sure that it will not disappoint.

Our friends over at Simply the Sweet Life are having the most awesome giveaway going on right now. Click on over to their Sweet Valentines Giveaway facebook page and like their sponsors to be entered to win an Iphone 4s, A trip to NYC, or a years supply of Cake Bites.

Some of my favorites from around the web. For you to make. Or to drool over.

Felt Hydrangea from Mama says Sew.

Floral Headband from Twigs and Honey.

Rolled Fabric Flowers from Craft Snob.

T-Shirt Flowers from Matsutake.

Hairbow Bouquet from Me and My Insanity.

Vintage Inspired Felt Bows from I heart naptime.

Felt clippies from duitang.

Felt Blooms from Skwuns.

Both of my girls were 95% Potty Trained by 12 Months and 100% Potty Trained by 18 Months old.

When my husband suggested we start potty training my first born when she was around 5-6 months old, (flash back to 2005), I thought he was absolutely crazy. You see, before we were married, he had spent quite a bit of time traveling around the world, in places like Thailand, East Africa, Tibet, and Costa Rica. His argument was that, in all of these third world countries, where diapers were not available, little babies, were potty trained earlier, much earlier then their American  counter parts.

I did some research, and discovered that as soon as washing machines were invented, the appropriate age of potty training got later. And then once disposable diapers were introduced, well, that 12 month old age that our ancestors were accustomed to, quickly became 2 and even 3 years old.

So, at about 5-6 months old, right when my first born was able to sit up unassisted, we started putting her on a little potty every single time we went potty. We put her on the potty right when she woke up in the morning, and right when she woke up from a nap. We also payed super close attention to when we thought she was going to go poop, and then we put her on the potty! Alas, it worked. She stopped going poop in her diaper from about 9 months on, and although pee-pee was a bit more difficult, she was completely out of diapers by the time she was 18 months old. It was actually kind of hard to find panties that fit.

We did this again with my second born, and potty training her was seriously effortless.

The two tricks to make this work are this:

1. Start as soon as they can sit up. Around 6 months old. If you miss this early window, they will be established into a routine of going in their diapers, and it will be much harder.

2. The person that is with the child has to be devoted to putting them on the potty at the right time. I became very precise about when I put her on the potty. She gave off signals, and I payed attention to the cues. It would be hard if both parents worked all day.

Oh, and one other thing, I have 2 girls, not boys. All of my friends have a harder time potty training their boys, but none of them have tried this method either.

This tutorial is jam packed with tutu making tips and tricks, plus some Strawberry Shortcake Birthday party ideas too!

Start your tutu, by picking up four colors of tulle and a strip of 1 inch elastic.

The four colors that you will need are red, green, coral, and pink. You will also need some ribbon for the tutu.

Next cut your elastic to the size of your child. I either measure it directly around their waist, or I use the tutu size chart on my other website.

I use my regular sewing machine and set it to a zigzag stitch to attach the two sides of my elastic. Overlap them and zigzag both sides.

Now measure how long you want you tutu to be and then multiply it by 2 plus a little bit. So if you want it 7 inches long, you will cut your tulle 15 inches.

I use a piece of cardboard or a box to wrap my tulle around a cut it. This saves a TON of time.

Wrap it around the box a ton of times.

Cut one side. Take it off the box.

Make your two sides even and cut the other side. Now you will have lots of pieces in the exact length that you need!

Repeat this with all of your colors so that you have a big pile going before you start to tie your tutu.

Put your elastic around something to keep it tight, and start to tie your tulle around the elastic until it is really full and puffy. Keep adding more and more, and make sure that your elastic stays super flat.

And your done!

When it comes to children’s birthday parties, try not to over complicate things. This party was so easy. I sent all of my daughters friends an invite that I downloaded off of etsy, that asked them to come in their favorite strawberry shortcake character. When I have a party, I don’t want it serious, so involving the guests makes them have a good time too. And luckily there is a ton of stuff out there that is strawberry themed. We shopped at Etsy and Zurchers, and had plenty to choose from.

I made strawberry flavor cupcakes with little Characters stuck into them. The kids loved these.

We had lots of strawberries, and red and green balloons and tulle everywhere.

I pulled out all of my vintage strawberry stuff, and we had pizza for lunch.

And of course the Strawberry Shortcake balloon stayed with us for weeks.

She wouldn’t exactly sit still for me to get very decent photos, but I love this back shot how the tutu flares up and she has the tulle in her hair! Plus, can you see the strawberries on her socks.

Have fun with you little strawberries!

The rest of the Winter Hats are 50% off! Only available in store, not online, so you gotta come in to see me if you want this deal.

Or you can call me on the phone, and I will send you a paypal invoice.

What you see above is all we have left.

2 Black and grey stripe beanies. 1 infant 1 toddler.

Red amd Black stripe beanie 1 Toddler

Brown Skater 1 Toddler

Black Skater 1 Toddler

Brown Cabbie 1 Toddler

2 Grey Mohawk 2 Toddler

1 Pink Brim Beanie

My little lady turned 3 on Monday, which resulted in my Mom flying in from California for the weekend. On Monday we made Marilyn a birthday breakfast including these absolutely delicious Sticky Buns from scratch.

My Mom loves to cook as much as I do, so I was very happy that she brought this recipe with.

You see, I have a seriously weakness for those Cinnamon Rolls that come in a tube from the grocery store, but my Mom is not a fan. So she whipped these up, and I loved them!

They took a little bit longer then my Tube-rolls, but it was worth the wait. And, after, I got to clean out my oven, joy, from all the butter and cinnamon that spilled over. So, note to self, use a cookie sheet under the muffin tin.

Ok, on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 package of Puff Pastry

Brown Sugar

Butter

Cinnamon

Raisins, Cranberries, Nuts, or what ever else you want to put inside

Start by mixing 1 stick of softened butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a bowl. Then divide it evenly into muffin tins.

Next unroll your semi-thawed puff pastry sheets and spread it with brown sugar. Do this to both of the sheets of pastry.

Next add cinnamon and dried fruit. We added raisins and cranberries that my Mom conveniently brought in her suitcase from Trader Joe’s. Also, if you want to add nuts, you can put them here, or directly into the muffin tins on top of the butter.

Now just roll it up tightly, and…

…cut each piece into 6 even slices, and….

…place them on top of your butter. Cook them at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Yum!

I absolutely loved these. They were flaky, buttery, and felt to be much healthier then my can version.

Birthday girl liked them very much, with her bacon and eggs.

Linked up to Tatertots and Jello.