brodie and the yeti visit the rbb shoppe.

it was raining cats and & dogs on the 18th! literally! well, not so much cats but we did have a pair of pooches show up. the shoppe hosted a special reading of the adorable little books brodi and the yeti and it was a great success despite the horribly wet weather outside. the only sad thing about our day was my big beauty was missing. she was home with a bad cough.

so let me tell you a little bit about the books...

the brodie and the yeti books are the heartwarming tales of two doggies {dennis' own dogs} and their adventures in learning important values about family, adoption, friendship, and love.

 dennis komik, the author, and i met during a chance encounter at the shoppe a few months earlier and got to talking about all things adoption related {and you know that topic is close to this mama's heart!}.  he impressed me so much with his passion for raising awareness on the issues of adoption that when i found out he writes children's books i just had to have them in the shoppe. 

{an adorable little fan listening to the story}

{a signed & paw printed copy of the book}

{daisy, our wonderful shoppe manager, having a moment with nylah and the pups}

{nylah and i loving on the boys}

{nylah was bummed the event was over}

you can find your copy at the rbb shoppe in hollywood or if you are not from the area you can find them online HERE.  they make a great gift for children of all ages so make sure to pick up a copy for your lil ones!

second annual christmas cookie slumber party.

a few weeks ago we got together with our dear friends the reyes' and their adorable kiddos to decorate christmas cookies. we had so much fun last year {as seen here} that we decided to make it a standing tradition for our families to come together, have the babes wear matching pj's, decorate cookies, watch a christmas movie, and spend the night. my beauties can't get enough of the reyes fam and neither can the hubby and i! here's a little glimpse into our night...

what are some of your favorite holiday traditions? i would love to hear about it!

christmas presents.

i've mentioned before-buying tons of toys for my dolls is not my favorite thing to do but it's christmastime and these items had samirah & nylah written all over them...

retro kitchen

corolle doll

madeline travel case

palomino horse

 remember the days when a simple toy would just change your whole life?? i sure do. i'll never forget the christmas when my mom and dad gave my sister and i the cabbage patch doll EVERY little girl wanted at the time. i can't put into words the feelings of joy and love and excitement and every other great feeling a little girl could possibly feel that came over me the morning i opened my present.{insert an "i LOVE you mom & dad for being the best parents ever" here} i remember running to my best friend anjelica's house to show her what i had gotten and how her eyes lit up when she saw that i had the highly coveted doll in my hands! 

 the sheer thought that my husband and i can give those kinds of feelings and memories to my own beauties humbles and fills me with great joy! i can not wait to see the happiness on their faces when they open these up on christmas morning. 

most importantly however, i can not wait to share with them the reason why they are receiving gifts at all... 

i will let them know that these gifts are a mere symbol of the greatest gift mankind has ever received.

i will let them know that mommy and daddy will always give them the best that they can give them just the same way our father in heaven gave us the best that he could give us.

i will let them know that the greatest gift of all is not one that is wrapped in christmas paper and placed under the tree but is one that was wrapped in tattered blankets and placed in a manger.

a simple moment. a morning with ellie.

ellianie 

aka

 ellie belly peanut butter and jelly 

is my delicious little niece{my sister's daughter}. i just adore her. my beauties can't get enough of her either!!

she is such a joy to be around...

always smiling.

 always dancing. 

always in a great mood. 

she is especially in a good mood in the mornings.

this past weekend, my dolls and i spent a few days with her to celebrate the fact that she is now a big sister {or "tister" as the girls would say it}.
 rayda {that's my "tister"} gave birth to another beautiful baby girl, aneesa, earlier in the week while i was in europe and since i missed it i decided to pack up the dolls and spend a few days with her to help her get situated. we had so much fun taking care of ellie jelly while the new mommy and baby rested. we took her out to eat with grandma and grandpa and the next day we played and danced and watched madagascar and wore our pajamas all day long.
our day was filled with simple moments, my favorite being when ellie woke up saturday morning.  i heard her chit chatting with herself in her crib and immediately ran in to her room to scoop her up. she was soooo cute and snuggly i hardly resisted the urge to bite her. the minute samirah and nylah heard her coming down the stairs they rushed us in excitement.  they jumped and screamed and hugged and kissed and spoke in little baby voices to her. it was the cutest thing ever.  ellie couldn't contain her excitement either. she smiled and waved and said, "iiiiiii-eeeeeeee" {her version of hi} for 5 minutes non-stop. when i placed her in her high chair to get her breakfast ready, the girls hung on to it and continued their morning discussions and giggles.
 it was a simple moment. a special moment between cousins that made me realize how thankful i am to my sister for giving my beauties such a special baby cousin.

livie and luca.

i have a love affair with shoes. i hoard them. sometimes i buy shoes that i know i will never wear but they are just too beautiful to pass up. i know. it's so wrong but it's my vice and what's a girl to do? 

anyway, as you can imagine, my love affair with shoes does not end with me. it's become a three way affair now between the shoes, myself, and my beauties. i seriously caaaaannnooooot resist a cute pair for them. lucky for me i have two girls and two nieces that are all exactly one year apart so the shoes are not going to waste after six months {BEST justification EVER by the way}. also, to justify my obsession even more...i tend to buy shoes that are unisex so when my little mister comes along he gets to enjoy them too! am i freakin' brilliant or what? 

{insert my husbands frowning face here}

with that said, one such brand of shoes that i simply caaaaaaannnoooot resist would be 

live and luca.

i adore the supple leather that each shoe is made of and am a HUGE fan of the creativity in each design.  i have also had the pleasure of meeting the lovely ladies behind the brand and you KNOOOW i'm a sucker for a momma owned business!

check out some of my faves...

and here are some of my unisex picks...

there are soooo many more adorable styles to choose from so to shop live and luca go HERE.

the rbb shoppe and s8ved photography do it again.

a few weeks ago we ran our ever so popular photography promotion at the shoppe. we teamed up with the amazing george reyes of s8ved photography {i've told you all about him here, here, and here} and did a full on photo shoot in the shoppe. the promotion went as follows: spend $150.00 and get a free photo shoot with george. how cool is that? clothes and awesome pictures...can't get any better than that in my opinion! anyhoo, the day was a great success and the best part was george couldn't sit still for a second and would insist on taking pictures of the kiddos {and us!} in between sessions with our customers. 

here are few of the results...

{part of our right bank babies team}

thanks again george for all the amazing work! 

sister style. mommy's very first design!

i LOVE flowy tops. 

they are functional,

they are comfy,

they are perfect for layering,

and best of all they hide the junk in this mama's trunk.

so of course, when i first starting thinking about some of the things i wanted to design for the spring 2011 collection, a cute flowy tee for the girls was at the top of my list...

 {just substitute the "junk in the trunk" reason with "perfect for playing in"}

after sketching it up...adding a lace detail to the pocket...and choosing fabrics...

the handkerchief hem tee was born!

so without further a do...here are my beauties in one of mommy's first designs.

 

On Nylah:

Target Bow

Target Shorts

Baby Gap Distressed Brown Belt

Converse Slip On Sneakers

On Samirah:

Hand Made Denim Bow by me

Zara Jeggings

Zara Ballet Flats

***the tee will be available in early spring for purchase, i'll keep you posted on when it's out***