….go check out my sister-in-law’s etsy shop. Aside from all her play food, she also has some new produce that is sort of food, sort of a doll and very cute. Think Christmas shopping people…

This Christmas, I’m going to try really hard to buy handmade for everyone’s gifts. Even took the pledge to buy handmade.

If you want to buy handmade but don’t know where to start here are some of my favorites:

Ten Thousand Villages. Everything in the store is handmade by artisans around the world. And it’s fair trade. Double bonus.

Etsy.com. About a zillion talented people who make just about everything you can think of. Plus, my sister-in-law has a really cute shop.

A couple of my favorite etsy shops: SewYummy, Flaky Friends, Project8256, Junk Posse

The Black Apple. Art work. Very Cute.

Global Girlfriend. Shopping here helps fund microgrants for women. All the products are hand made by women around the world. Another fair trade organization.

Happy Shopping.

I’m not the biggest fan of dress codes. At my previous job I worked there for almost 4 years before a dress code was implemented. The rule was no jeans. Actually, no denim unless is was a skirt. We could wear what ever tops we wanted and apparently cargo pants, sweat pants, and any other style pants were O.K. as long as they weren’t denim. Now as a toddler teacher no jeans is not the best plan. Jeans hold up against paint, markers, various body fluids, sand and crawling around on the floor for most the day. But they did one better on the dress code, we had to wear a lab coat over it. A full length, pale blue lab coat. We looked like dental assistants. It was ridiculous.

Now, job number two has decided to implement a dress code. Pretty much the same thing - no jeans. Although I think colored jeans are allowed and we don’t have to wear a stupid lab coat. We do have to have nicer tops, t-shirts aren’t outright forbidden but they are strongly discouraged.

The good in all of this is that I get to go shopping (well, got to go shopping but I’ll probably go again with birthday cash). I went to Kohl’s yesterday and tried on almost everything in the store and came home with a few pairs of pants and a new tops - that I love. I hate shopping for shirts because they always look cuter on the hanger than on me but I actually like the way these tops look - now I just have to stop myself from wearing the same three shirts over and over.

Hmm…this was a really long post just to be able to say: I got cute new clothes!

A couple days ago I decided I wanted to find a site that I could put all of my “wish list” items in one place. I wanted a site that would let me include anything and everything I found online. And I found one. Wishlist.com allows you to do just that. I signed up add a bunch of fun stuff and moved a bunch of my stuff from my amazon list to the new list. Then a couple hours later I logged back in to my amazon list and saw a huge banner that said “you can now make amazon.com your universal wishlist.” Seriously? How did I miss this? Is it new? I’m sure it’s not new. I’m never that ahead of the game.

Well, anyway, for those of you in gift-giving moods, I’ve added links to my blog with my wish lists. My amazon list contains only books, DVD’s & CD’s. The list on wishlist.com contains everything else. There are also lists for Lexi and the new baby. Same deal - the amazon list is a children’s book list and everything else is on their wishlists. Happy shopping.

Tonight we took Lexi shopping for a pair of summer shoes. I get her shoes at REI because they hold up, their cute and I know they are good for her feet. First she tried on Crocs (in orange) which she liked because they were orange but we weren’t sure if they would stay on her feet. Then she tried on Tevas but we couldn’t find her size.  I was really hoping to find them in her size because she had a pair last year and they were great. Last she tried on Keens first in purple and then in aqua. She ended up choosing the aqua. While trying to fit her feet I realized that she’s getting really big. She didn’t fit into the toddler sizes. She’s officially in “kid size” shoes. And she and Kevin have matching sandals. I was hoping to find sandals that would look cute with a skirt or shorts but she really liked the Keens and didn’t want to take them off, so there’s probably another pair of sandals in coming soon. Or she’ll just wear these all summer (which is probably more likely).

The best part of the shopping trip? Getting to the check out counter and discovering we had a $45.00 dividend credit on our account. Free shoes (sort of).

My sister-in-law now has fake food in her etsy shop. Lexi just got a box of it and it’s as cute as it looks. Plus, if you order a bunch, you get a fun little tote to carry it all around in. Oh and the hair clips are fun, too.

I’ve talked about this site before but it’s worth mentioning again. I love, love, love etsy. I’ve purchased pictures from here, the same wallet (twice) from here, a purse from here, and a baby sling from here. I am wanting things from here, here, here, and here.

And now my sister-in-law has opened up her own etsy shop. If you are in need of a cute (and very well made) gift, check out her shop. Lexi has gotten something homemade every year for Christmas and loves the dolls and blankets that have been made for her.

…a Tiny Rock Star! Check out this website. Fun clothes. Affordable Prices. Good Cause. ‘Nuff said.

These don’t support our adoption but they are cute bears that support another adoption. A woman in the process of adopting from El Salvador is making and selling these. Personally, I think they would make great gifts for a family in the process of adopting.

My mom bought me a couple of new cute skirts from a shop below her frame shop. Which means I have nothing to wear with the skirts so I went shopping for some tops. While I was shopping I realized that I hate trying on clothes. I’ve decided I want to be one of those rich ladies who don’t shop, they have entire stores brought to their house and everything is already made to their measurements and all that is left to do is hold them up and decide on a color.

It’s also no fun to shop when the only affordable clothes are on the clearance rack. It really limits the choices.

But even with the bad dressing room lighting and the clearance racks, I still managed to find a couple cute sweaters and several new shirts. And I only paid full price for one thing. Be happy for Labor Day sales.