Where to find Cute Toddler Boys Pants?

So, now that it's getting chilly in Chi-town, we're switching (sadly) from shorts to pants....

Except, all of buddy's pants are now well above his ankles. Think capris.
So, time to get new pants. Sounds easy, right? Not as easy as it seems.

While I love cords and jeans (absolutely adorable on a little boy), for everyday wear, I prefer soft and comfortable and easy to play and run around in.   But don't love the really thin, not super soft, cotton pants, or the "stiffer" type of track pants.  And, I prefer not to pay $40+ for a pair of 3 yr old pants (which eliminates Boden, Splendid, Appaman).

So where does that leave us?

Until now, my go-to brands for pants have been Gap Kids and Mish Mish.  I Usually buy sweats at Gap. But a boy must have more than just Gap sweats! Plus, looking for something slightly nicer looking.

Which leads me to my favorite favorite pants.  Mish Mish.  But I cannot find them anywhere above a size 2T. However, I highly recommend them IF you can find them.  They are slightly pricey, but you'll get great use out of them and they are super cute.  They are soft, slightly-lighter-than-sweatpants material but thicker-than-cotton-pants, cut like cargo pants, and cute as can be.  And they aren't babyish.

Anyways, now that I'm done raving about the pants that I cannot find, back to pants we're needing.

So, as I'm writing, I'm also looking for pants. Just found a really cute pair from Bit'z Kids (never heard of) HOWEVER, they are $48!  Let's share the cuteness, but unless these orangies are going on sale, I cannot buy these.

Any suggestions for brands?

I'm back.

Hello.

Usually people start resolutions, new activities, projects, etc. on January 1st.  I, however, did the opposite.  I stopped writing my blog after my January 1st post.

I intended to continue writing into Year 2 of my blog and had high hopes. But a few things were going on in my personal life and I just wasn't into writing for a bit.  And I just never started up again.

Until now.

But all is well, and I'm back - 8 months and 9 days later. Back to Sesame Street....

Thanks for having me.

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips.

We went to a friend's house for NYE and I wanted to bring a fun dessert. So, after looking through my Yum Yum & Fun pinterest board, I happened upon ..... chocolate covered potato chips.  And alas, my fun dessert was found.














Unfortunately, the link to the recipe didn't work, but the picture inspired me, so I decided to make up my own.  And away we go....

Ingredients:
12 oz bag Lays Lightly Salted Potato Chips

1 bag of Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Grinder of Coarse Sea Salt

Directions:
1. Pour entire bag of chocolate chips into double boiler over boiling water
2. Stir chips frequently with a spatula until completely melted
3. Dip approximately 1/3 of each potato chip into chocolate mix
4. Place chips onto wax paper and grind a pinch of sea salt onto each chip
5. Chill in refrigerator
6. Enjoy!!

Here's a look at the finished product. They were delicious!

Some Observations/Takeaways:
1. Must improve my double boiler/melting experience (had a few incidents of water bubbling over and it seemed to take a long time to really melt/get smooth) - any tips, reader friends? Advice, please!
2. Might try with Ruffles (or another thicker chip), just to see how that impacts the chocolate/chip ratio
3. Consider unsalted chips, or without sea salt (if looking to keep the sodium intake down)
4. Loved the semi-sweet chocolate, but want to try milk chocolate and dark chocolate for other variations

YUM. Highly recommend!

Happy New Year!

Last year, one of my New Year's resolutions was to start and maintain a blog all year long. I think (aside from the fact that I took a bit of a long sabbatical in November and December) I've done a pretty good job for a newbie blogger -- I've published 110 posts and had over 6000 page views! Yea and thanks for being one (or more) of those page views.

I'm sorry I disappeared for a few months and I'm glad to get back to posting.  And, it seems quite timely that it's exactly one year after my first post that I get back to blogging and make this one of my 2013 resolutions.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy year full of joy and may all that you wish for come true.

Here's to a wonderful, happy and healthy 2013. Happy New Year!

Moments of Joy.

Just documenting another photo of buddy that I submitted that got posted!! Kinda exciting! This is on a Fisher Price FB page.

#almost famous