Monthly Archives: June 2011

Vintage Kiddo Retro Round Up!

Kiddo Style: Vintage

I don’t know what was going on in your neck of the woods, but summer weather was not to be had in the Bay Area this weekend.  That didn’t stop me from having fun. Especially at this little estate sale where I bought more than 100 pieces of vintage flatware for $25.00. I can’t wait to shine ’em all up. They’ll go so nicely with some vintage willow ware, which I’m a bit in love with right now.

But I’m also happy with the grand goodies I found this weekend online for today’s Vintage Kiddo Retro Round Up! Enjoy, friends!

I am completely in love with this little ditty of a vintage dress. First off LOVE the red. And the little applique… Killing me.  From Ebay seller, mooses12951.

Well, Etsy seller, the Robot Parade did it again—found something so awesome that it is nearly killing me that it isn’t the Peach’s size. Because every now and then you need a piece of clothing that says what it is made out of–amirite?

As you know we do have something of a weak spot for seventies prairie dresses and this little vintage brown one is killing it! And I totally dig how Ebay seller Kingston Avenue Vintage styled it up.

You know we are big fans of the vintage Fisher Price toys. So, you can understand my delight when I saw this fully decked out airport! Please let me wipe the drool off the screen… from Ebay seller Saks 5th Thrift.

I love plaid and when it is the summer time, I love madras!  And I certainly smitten with these sweet little 4T overalls. Swoon! From Etsy seller, Little Reader Vintage.

I am quite intrigued at what would be involved in playing a game of The Waltons. Saying good night to everyone? Making moonshine? Fixing the chicken coop? I have no idea, but perhaps Ebay seller, cars8158 will know.

We are also tremendous lovers of Irmi lamps here at Modern Kiddo. So, we couldn’t say no to this whale of a lamp from Etsy seller Fuzzymama! Also, don’t forget that you could buy this lamp with the $50 gift certificate we are giving away this week with Fuzzymama. You can enter it here!

Miss Lish finds the best stuff! Like this great vintage children’s book of Peter Pan. Looks like it could be by Japanese master Kihachiro Kawamoto. Sweet!

I love yellow for babies. Both boys and girls. And this widdle two piece of vintage cuteness is adorable for a boy with its little boat, train and rocking horse. From Etsy seller, Ms. Tips!

I am still mourning the loss of my Dan Post cowboy boots that mysteriously disappeared. So it is only a matter of time before I buy a new pair of me and for the Peach. But until them, I have to share these red hot beauties with ya’ll. From Etsy seller, Fresh Lavender.

What a bang-up selection of goodies to start your week off right!

Happy Monday!

Friday Link Hootenany :: Cool Stuff to Browse

Link Hootenanny


image: 3 Ring Circus Vintage

Ahh it’s Friday! Wow there were sooo many cool things that caught my eye this week. It was hard to limit it to 10! But hey, it means I already have a jump start on next week right?

1. GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR DOLL

Ahh, nothing says fun like a droll paperdoll! Dottie sent me this link and we were both cracking up. Not sure which i like better, the Grey Gardens doll or the David Bowie? Hmmm, decisions decisions.

Little Edie/Grey Gardens Paperdoll {note: these aren’t practical paper dolls for playing with, they’re meant to be framed like a piece of art…although you could cut ’em up if you wanted to, I suppose!}


David Bowie Paperdoll

2. CAMPER VAN COOL
The VW camper is the ultimate in iconic cool. Now check out this rad  VW Camping Tent. HAH! I love it.

3. CHITS AND GIGGLES

If you’re like most sassy women, then you probably think Zooey Deschanel is the bees knees. Well little Miss Zooey is now hitting the blogging work. It’s called Hello Giggles and is packed with fun stuff. Founded with her friends, producer Sophia Rossi and writer/Internet personality Molly McAleer, Hello Giggles is the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. “Everything hosted on the site will be lady-friendly, so visitors need not worry about finding the standard Boys Club content that makes many entertainment sites unappealing to so many of us.” Sounds good to me!

4. SUPER 8 IS SUPER GREAT
I’m a huge fan of the camera apps on my iPhone. (I’m hooked on instagram!) My latest fave is the 8mm App that allows you to film with the wonderful quality of an old 8mm camera. See a sample here, here and here. It’s only $1.99 in the app store!

5. HOW DOES YOUR GROOVY GARDEN GROW?
My friend James, of bleubird, is a fabulous mama. She recently posted about a gardening project she is doing with her kiddos and I’m TOTALLY intrigued!  I think these gro-PODs are super cool. The gro-POD is a “revolutionary yet simple raised bed gardening system” which seems perfect for city folk like us. Imma have to give them a try!

6. SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID POSTCARD

These are clever little thangs. Take a photo, insert it into the polaroid postcard sleeve and VOILA! You have a postcard that looks like an old skool photo. You can buy them at 25 to go. The site is cool although it’s all in Japanese and I can’t figure out how to order.


7. SECRET MESSAGE ENVELOPES

While we’re on the topic of letter writing, how charming are these envelopes? The secret message is revealed when youhold it up to a window or light. Sweet.

From Sweetie Pie Press

8. EASY PILL TO SWALLOW

My lovely friend  Virginie is super creative. We featured her awesome nursery a year or so ago. She recently launched a shop with the cutest, coolest little crocheted critters she calls The Pills….I’m really loving this Mr. T!! Those chains are brilliant! We’ll have more from Virginie next week, but for now head over to her shop to see more!

9. YOU LOOK MAHVELOUS

These wee little “Instant Comfort” boxes by Kim Welling are so cute. Matchbox size and filled with sayings like “everything will be ok”, “you look wonderful today” or “you can do it!” they would make a sweet little gift.  Available at her Etsy shop.
{Found via my lovely  friend Toria from the fun blog, Tiny-Reads}

10. FAMOUSLY CASUAL

Ain’t nothing better than Awesome People Hanging Out Together. Well ok. It’s better if they’re famous. This site rules.

Have a super happy weekend my friends!

Real Life :: Big Changes for Alix

Real Life, Real Life : Alix

So this week was a big week for me. It was my first week off of work. “Off” because I gave my notice. Eep. This was a big deal. I’m an associate creative director at a big time ad agency. Or rather. I was. hee. Still not used to saying that. My job is both amazing and amazingly hard…it gives me a fantastic creative outlet. I get to travel and work with all kinds of interesting and talented people. Over the past 5 years I’ve worked with amazing directors, photographers and animators. I’ve been really lucky to have worked with cool people like Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Vera Wang, Jake Burton (snowboarding king!), Petra Nemcova, Mariah, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and taken a couple of meetings with Kanye. (And for the record, he was on time, super cool and smart. truly.)

OOF

Sorry , just tripped over all those names I dropped. So yes. I consider myself super lucky!

{We weren’t allowed to take a photo in our meetings, not very professional you know, so I saved the candy wrapper he left on the table. Which is verrry professional.}

But as amazing as my job can be, I can’t lie. It’s really tough being a working mom. I feel pulled in a million directions. I’m always exhausted. Our house is a disaster. And I’m burnt out. In a bold move, I decided that I needed to focus on the one thing that I was always neglecting. Myself.

Sooooooo, long story short. I’m taking a sabbatical. I’m spending the summer recharging and reconnecting. Yup. I’m taking the summer off.

Packing up everything was very bittersweet….I had a lot of stuff and a lot of memories. I’m really going to miss all my friends. I worked with a really cool bunch of characters.

Everyone has a shoe drawer, right??

My little helper!

So what’s next on the horizon? A combination of things. Focusing on some exciting new Modern Kiddo projects….organizing our crazy house (and doing things I never had time for)…spending lots of quality time with my family (trips to South Carolina and Michigan already in the works) and of course just recharging. It’s exciting, exhilarating and to be honest a little scary! We won’t have my income for the summer, and living in Pricey Town USA (aka San Francisco) we need my income.

I won’t be totally flying without a net. I’ll be freelancing over the summer and also having some massive sales to purge our house of all my beloved kitsch and clutter. Come September, I’ll re-evaluate and see how I’m feeling. Will I be stressed with my new free-form lifestyle and craving the steadiness of full time? (and that full time paycheck, lets be honest!) OR will this be a new and exciting chapter in my life? Only time will tell!

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to visit some of our best friends, Dan & Lisa. Wolfie is extremely close to their kiddos (we call them “the cousins”) and it’s the perfect place to relax and unwind.

Dan is a professor and just got tenure at his university….and with my big news too, well we decided a celebration was in order. I’ve never had a champagne shower before, have you? Gotta say they’re pretty fun!! {Dan wussed out and wore a rain coat. Ahem.}

It was ironic that my last day of work was May 25. The same day as Oprah’s last show. Ironic because the one time I am actually home to watch her show, and there’s no more Oprah! I will say it was interesting and inspiring to hear all her reflections over where she’s been these past few years and where she is going. While I’m certainly no Oprah, the timing was perfect and her final show really resonated with me.

Somewhere along the way she mentioned a terrific quote by Mary Oliver:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

I love it. Life is wild and precious and beautiful. And we only get one shot. It’s scary to make big changes but in the end, I think change is always good. Moving forward….onward….and upward!

PSST! For those of you curious about my job, you can see more here. And here are some of my favorites:

HP Catch of the Day // ePrint commercial from Alexandra Tyler on Vimeo.

HP Backpacker TV Spot // Director’s Cut from Alexandra Tyler on Vimeo.

Reel from Alexandra Tyler on Vimeo.

Frito Lay Dips // Circles from Alexandra Tyler on Vimeo.

Frito Lay Dips // Love and Sockets from Alexandra Tyler on Vimeo.

Meet Emma Natalia! Our Weekly Kiddo

Weekly Kiddos

Last week we met the fabulous Giacamo, from Mexico City. This week I’m thrilled to present another Latin Kiddo, the gorgeous Emma Natalia! Emma Natalia is a grand three years old and hails from Monterrey, Mexico. Her lovely mama Eri is extremely talented and creative and makes many of Emma’s amazing clothing. Just you wait and see! I think you’re really going to love this one. Presenting, the marvelous Emma Natalia!


+ Petal Dress, handmade by her clever mama, Eri.
+ Plastic bow hairband, handmade by Eri.


+ Floral blouse by Zara Kids
+ Frayed Levi’s shorts
+ Hairband feathers and wings, handmade by Eri. You can see the full tutorial here!


+ Jumper and shirt, vintage
+ Toy drum, handmade by Eri


+ Shirt embroidered by artisans in Mérida Yucatán Mexico
+ Pants, Children’s Place
+ Necklace, Old Navy
+ Gnome hat, handmade by Eri

{Um seriously….this little kiddo is more stylish than most grown ups I know! I looooove her little gnome hat!}


+ Shirt with suspenders, Zara Kids
+ Trousers, Zara Kids


+ Dress, handmade by Eri
+ Sandals, Rilo


+ Pants and shirt, Zara Kids
+ Vintage shoes
+ Vintage beret


+ Dress, Target
+ Sandals by Rilo


+ T-Shirt by Zara Kids
+ Frayed shorts by Levi’s
+ Schwinn Tricycle
+ Sandals by Rilo

Que linda! How beautiful! I just love that amazing smile. The lovely Miss Emma loves listening to music, and her favorites are “They Might Be Giants.”  She also loves fun and creative shows like “Yo Gabba Gabba”, “Olivia” and “Charlie and Lola.” Emma is a stylish little senorita and among her hobbies are visiting the flea market or thrift stores to find vintage toys. She also loooves to go for long rides on her  Schwinn tricycle. Like many little kiddos, she is a big fan of sweets and she never goes to bed without listening to a fairy tale.

Muchas gracias, Eri! Your Emma Natalia is so wonderful!

Be sure to stop by Eri’s blog where you can find more photos of the amazing Emma and other handmade tutorials.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY!

Uncategorized

Yesterday was a special day for a certain young somebody.  When I first met Henry he looked like this:

He was so cute and sweet! I didn’t have Wolfie yet, and I  loved hearing stories about all his adventures from his mama Jenny. And then that little cowboy started to grow. And soon he was this little dude:

Henry is Master of 1,000 Faces! Always up for a photo shoot with mama. {And as an aside, Wolfie is now the proud owner of that cowboy shirt….the next generation of cute indie boys continues! I’ll be sure to pull these photos out when they are in their teens…}

Then suddenly, that little guy became a bigger guy. He was now an awesome older brother. An awesome student. A great friend. AND a musician! He started playing violin (and very well, I might add!). Then somehow, unbelieveably…..

That’s right. It’s someones birthday.


We are so proud of you and all your accomplishments….you are fun and goofy and smart and kind. The best things to ask for in a son. Ten is a terrific age to be! I can’t wait to see what the next years bring for you. You can bet I’ll be asking your mama for updates!

Friends, swing by frecklewonder and wish this awesome kiddo a happy birthday, won’t you?