Bright Summer Patterns from Kenzo!

Ugh, why is it only mid-January?? The only silver lining I am seeing to this situation is that it means I still have about four months to get "bikini ready" as they say. The holidays once again caused me to loosen my belt a notch... but that's what it's all about right? In any case, I am loving the colorful sunny patterns that Kenzo is showing for their spring/summer 2013 collection. My favorite is definitely the strawberry print headband pictured at the bottom. Also in this print you can find dresses, hats, you name it. So so adorable. Tons of bright bathing suits too, both one pieces and bikinis. Now all we need is some sun. Get ready for it and find these and more at Children Salon!

More Cute Swim Stuff from Juicy Couture

So... the movie Beaches is on TV right now. I have never seen Beaches. I know, I know. I have also never seen The Bodyguard, Pretty Woman, The Sound of Music, and about 1000 other movies that all girls are supposed to have seen by their late 20's. Maybe I'm a freak, maybe I don't mind that. But Beaches randomly came on the channel my TV was on and I was hooked in about one minute and thirty seconds. Sticking to the beach/summer/swimming theme, Juicy Couture's swim collection for this season is pretty amazingly impressive. Not only do they have a ton of genius styles of swim suits, they have towels, cover-ups, and terry rompers that scream, "You need me for your tropical vacation!" These are three of my favs, especially the hooded towel. Now all we need is summer. Or a tropical vacation. Who am I kidding; I'm not ready for bathing suit season yet! Find all of these at juicycouture.com.

The New Dolce & Gabbana Butterfly Print = GENIUS.

One of my favorite things to see during the changing of the seasons are the new prints and trends that designers tend to favor. So far for Spring 2012, my favorites are Roberto Cavalli's floral print (can be seen here) and D&G's vibrant butterfly print. Maybe I am gravitating toward things that are warm-weather related at the moment, but these prints are great nonetheless. I love how the accents of the butterfly print clothing are all orange, my favorite. I'd love to see a D&G towel in this... maybe orange on one side, butterflies on the other. Ugh... is it summer yet? Find all of these at Lavish Kids!

Swim 2012!

Sonia Rykiel

Baby Dior

Burberry

Juicy Couture

Juicy Couture

I want to go to a tropical island RIGHT NOW! Find all of this adorable new 2012 swimwear at Children Salon!

New Monnalisa Bathing Suits!

Well... I guess one of the good things about seeing bathing suits in January is knowing that you still have four months to whip your body into shape before you have to be seen in one. Or, you can be a baby and completely oblivious to the horror that bathing suits instill upon many adult women. I envy those ladies who could take a phone call right now, "Hey Sarah! Yeah, it's Melissa. Frankie is having people over, and they have that indoor pool so bring your bathing suit!" And Sarah could toss a bikini in a bag and be good to be, like immediately. The thought of putting on a bikini right now makes me want to run five miles then eat an entire bottle of green tea diet pills (that don't even work). 

Okay sorry for that rant. So here we have some absolutely adorable 2012 bathing suits from Monnalisa. As if we would expect anything different from this untra-feminine and attention-to-detail-gurus brand. I love how daisies always seem to pop up somehow, somewhere. There is just something cheerful about daisies, that you can't exactly put your finger on but you can surely appreciate. All of these (and more!) can be found, ranging between about $80.00 and $100.00, at Children Salon.

New Juicy Couture Swimsuits!

You know what sucks? When you send someone a work email around the holidays and get their auto-reply: "Sorry, Jean Smith is celebrating the holidays with her family in Tahiti! She will respond to you on January 5 when she is tanner, has cool pictures, and is more cultured than you." Damn you Jean Smith! Why am I not vacationing in Tahiti? Why will my boss not let me have three days off in a row but you are allowed to take two weeks? Arggghhh!!! Not that I am speaking from personal experience or anything...

So along these lines, of warm vacations and oceans and sunshine, let's talk about these new swim suits from Juicy Couture. I think it says that they know their audience by marketing them in late December; people who buy Juicy are not waiting for a season to chancge, they are waiting for their Caribbean cruise to launch. So why shouldn't your teensy fashionista have the cutest bathing suit on the block? With so many styles and colors to choose from, Juicy has me impressed already, and we are just now getting our first now in the Midwest! Find these for $58.00-$68.00 at Nordstrom.

Roberto Cavalli Baby Floral Swimsuit

Sale sale sale! The vast majority of summer stuff at Lavish Kids is ALREADY on sale. Kind of crazy seeing as it is only the beginning of July, but hey, who can complain about a great sale? So this feminine little bathing suit may be one of the most adorable things I have ever seen (I know I know, I say that about a lot of things). The tie straps and big floppy flower? Fabulous. And the best part? It is on sale for $135.20, down from $169.00! 

Aaaaaaand... We're BACK!

Okay people, here is the deal. And I am totally okay with this making me sound like a crazy cat person. This is the timeline of events that caused me to take a month off of anything that I didn't absolutely HAVE to due, due to having to get my feet planted again.

My kitty, Ellie, became sick back in April. I had her for 8 1/2 wonderful years: all throughout college and throughout much turmoil. She was a long-haired all white beast who loved licking feet and ranch dressing. She passed away on April 25, my mother's birthday.

That week, a stray kitty showed up at my mom's work. She was pregnant. Two weeks later I agreed to give her a foster home. I picked her up on Thursday, took her to the vet on Saturday, she had one single kitten in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He was impossibly small, maybe the size of a mouse, but with a voice so loud I was afraid my neighbors would complain. He was doing great for the first week, then seemed to stop squirming and crying. 

I took him to the vet and they said that he was born very early and at eight days old he only weighed 2.7 ounces. They said there was nothing I could do for him but keep him comfortable. Two days later, he passed away in a blanket in my arms. 

It wasn't fair. It wasn't how the story was supposed to end. Once again, a hard lesson learned on the fact that, well, life just isn't fair. Crappy things happen all the time, and you just have to stand up and move forward. Long story short, I am keeping the mama kitty. Her name is Lucy. She is fascinated by the toilet and also has a foot fetish. She was spayed on Monday and of course her incision is infected and she has an arsenal of antibiotics and a lampshade collar that she just loves. 

ANYWAY, I am excited to get back to blogging and get back to doing all the stuff I normally do. Pictured above my extensive ramblings are two swim nappies by Archimede that I thought were just cute enough to be my first post in a month. The patterns are adorable and I am pretty sure the way these things work is you just put them over your baby's diaper and then it's swim time; no top necessary. Oh the things little ones can get away with... find these for $56.00 at my always favorite Children Salon.

Roberto Cavalli Baby Boys Swim Trunks...

I am a sick and immature individual. Sick sick sick. I am a 28 year old woman and laugh at things that 13 year old boys would laugh at. For example, I work in an office that deals with things in the medical field (yes, it's just about as exciting as it sounds). There is a surgeon who works in the area. His name is Dr. Penix. One would thing that after years of seeing this name, I would quit the giggling. No, not this girl. So I see these adorable shorts from Roberto Cavalli baby. First thing you see? The rocket ship. Today of all days, with the space shuttle Endeavor's launch (I actually DVR'd it because I think space shuttle launches are so cool), one would think that if the rocket ship on these shorts reminded me of anything, it would be of that. But noooo, not this girl. I immediately think of how absolutely phallic rockets look and how this one just so happens to be blasting across the middle of these shorts. I told you, I am a sick person. These swimming shorts really are cute, and I hope that my immaturity did not ruin them for you... see more details of these $64.00 trunks at Children Salon.

Baby Swim Suits: You Are So Ridiculously Cute.

So I have to go to Florida next week for a work conference. Guess who has already planned on "accidentally" forgetting to pack a bathing suit? This girl. Maybe all of the rain we have been getting in the Midwest thanks to my best friend La Nina has given me this false sense of security that summer is just soooo far away and I have all the time in the world to get in shape... not so much. It always creeps up on you. Summer is sneaky like that. I wish I could be like a baby and wear fat thighs like an adorable fashion statement. This sweet little bathing suit is new from Armani and is just about as girly as it gets: pink, ruffles, bows, and a fun lolly pop on the side bearing the logo. Find it for $95.00 at Lavish Kids.

Juicy Couture Baby Terry Romper

Red fabric with white polka dots is kind of like a peanut butter and jelly combination for me. It works, I love it, anytime, anywhere. Just one of those weird things I guess. So obviously this romper is an instant win in my book, especially paired with the ruffly hood and pockets... and notice that the zipper pull is a gold "J." Come on, this is adorable. I would be more inclined to throw this on over a bathing suit rather than wear it as the outfit of the day, but to each his own. I am never taking a week off of blogging in the middle of a season change again; I am overwhelmed with the amount of things to catch up on! See this $78.00 terry cloth romper and lots more new Juicy at Nordstrom.

Dolce & Gabbana Beach Towels

I was wondering when these were going to make an appearance. Dolce & Gabbana has rolled out their own raft and floaties bearing the famous D&G, why not dry off with one of their luxurious towels after using them? Coming in two of their seasonal patterns, Exotic Fish and Lemon Garden, these towels are BIG (61" x 30"), and so is their pricetag: $93.00. Good thing I can't afford tropical vacations, because I definitely could not afford to buy and bring these towels. You can find these and the rest of the swim collection at Children Salon.

More Dolce & Gabbana Swim Suits!

They just keep coming! I was a little weirded out by the realistic fish print at first, but when paired with a little ruffle and orange trim, it's not so strange. I don't know that I have ever seen a tube top bandeau swim suit for a baby, but I kind of like the idea. It's different. You can find this fancy D&G swim suit for $70.00 at Lavish Kids.

Juicy Couture Infant Girls Polka Dot Swim Suit

Have you ever been sitting at your desk at work, minding your own business, when a friend who is on vacation texts you a picture of the beach/pool/grotto/paradise they are at? Even worse, they include some obnoxious message like "Wish you were here!" or "Heard you were having snow!" Definitely got one of those texts today from a friend who is in Belize. Meanwhile, in the midwest US, it took me almost two hours to get home from work due to a snow storm. So, so, so bitter. So thinking of warmer times, here we have an adorable ruffly polka dot swim suit from Juicy Couture. I am loving the little gold buttons up the front. I bet somewhere, someone is on a luxurious tropical vacation and their baby is wearing this suit. I want to be that baby. This can be found for $58.00 at Bloomingdale's.

Dolce & Gabbana Ruffle Swim Suit

Perhaps this is the definition of cute. Flowery rose bud patterns never seem to get old for me, and when paired with bohemian-esque ruffles of different print? Now you've just gone too far. In a good way though. If this swim suit is this adorable off, I can barely imagine what it would look like on a pudgy little baby, maybe with a little sun hat (hopefully there is a matching one about to make an appearance somewhere). This can be purchased for $101.00 at childrensalon.com.

Dolce & Gabbana Lemon Garden Bikini

Alright... some people may think I am weird when I say this, but I don't think a lot of bikinis are appropriate for young girls. Maybe I read the news too much and am over-exposed 1) the number of sick perverts that are out there, 2) the exploitation of children, 3) the exploitation of women, OR 4) am being way too sensitive and dramatic. I don't know, there is just something odd to me about a 4-year-old wearing a triangle bikini made of 2.2 square inches of material. My children will most likely wear one pieces until they are old enough to tell me what they want to wear, and even then I may use some censorship. I really hope I don't turn out to be a psycho over-protective mom. But in any case, I saw this little Dolce & Gabbana bikini and thought it was cute (and it also comes in a one piece). Bright colors, little ties on the sides and front, and I am a big fan of the lemon pattern. More details of this $80.00 bathing suit can be found at childrensalon.com.

Dolce & Gabbana Arm Bands

Swimmies. They still kind of terrify me. When I was a child, I was pretty chubby. We had a pool in our back yard. I have brothers who are younger, brothers who wore swimmies. When I was maybe 8 or 9 I put on their swimmies as a joke, and they got stuck on my chunky arms. I absolutely panicked and cried and carried on; my mom just deflated them and pulled them off. It makes me kind of hopeful that summer things are already popping up in some stores... sometimes I need a little push to make it through the winter. These Dolce & Gabbana arm bands are definitely cuter than the standard bright orange version we always had, but you must pay the price: $62.00 at childrensalon.com. Ouch.

Loss For Words. Dolce & Gabbana Raft.

I know that summer is long since over in my neck of the woods, but this has to be mentioned. So this thing is advertised as the "D&G Leopard Logo Swimming Mattress." It is a child-sized raft. Made by Dolce & Gabbana. Now I know I have really seen it all. (Sidenote: if anyone is interested, there is a matching bathing suit, cover-up, and sandals that go with this.) Rafts pop. They fade in the sun. They get bleached by chlorine. They start to smell after a while. This is why they only cost like $6.00 at Target. But not this raft... for this you must pay $110.00 to lavishkids.com before you child can float around your grotto in style.