Meet Violet! Our Weekly Kiddo:

Weekly Kiddos

Hello friends….whoo hoo, we have a three day weekend on the horizon and I couldn’t be happier! I’m so looking forward to a little BBQ-ing and hanging out with good friends.

Speaking of good friends I have a very special little Kiddo for you this week. Earlier this year, we were thrilled when my little man Wolfie was a finalist in the NEXT Direct Children’s Modeling Competition. I had never entered him in anything like that before, but with a $100,000 College Scholarship as part of the bounty, I couldn’t resist. I was nervous as we flew to L.A for our weekend of fun and photo sessions—would Wolfie even enjoy the experience? Would it be stressful? And most importantly, would there be CRAZY STAGE MOMS???? Thankfully Wolfie had an amazing time and I met so many lovely mamas.

One of those was Kirrily and her simply gorgeous daughter Violet. You’re going to think these photos are all professional modeling shots, but Kiri took them all herself. Wait til you see this child! Kiri is extremely stylish herself and loves to play around with fashion—she says she is a sucker for Dutch and French children’s wear and you can tell that Violet (aka Vivi) is a little stylista in the making! Violet often models for the Darling Divas Boutique (which, as an aside, has fab prices right now) and her mama has worked out an awesome trade system where she takes photos and often gets to keep the clothing. I love it! OK friends, on with the show!


OK sassafrass, check out this little charmer rockin’ her Oilily tank and skirt! The amazing boots are by Catimini.


Violet’s “signature” trademark is her sassy flower hair clip (made by her clever mama!). We hear they are all the rage at her preschool and all the little ladies are dying to have one now too! (Is it wrong that I enjoy wearing a large, preschool style flower in my hair too??)


This cool look is from Aussie brand, Paperwings.


This hot pink sun dress is from Eliane et Lena and is so gorgeous on our girl, Vivi!


This cutie Polka Dot Romper from Mim-Pi has a very vintage look—check out that smocking on the top! Violet looks cool, comfy and adorable.


I love the headband twist on the flower…and the little kissing deer tee is adorable.


This is just about the chicest little kiddo I’ve ever seen, my friends. This modern dress is from Euro brand, Jottum. (via Mode Kids)

What a beauty! Violet’s style is lovely but I think what makes her so fab is that she still looks like a little girl—one who likes to run, play and laugh! Her mama tells us that she loves to stand out in the crowd and while pink and dresses are top of the list, she also enjoys wearing funkier things. We asked Kiri to tell us a little bit more about Violet:

“Vivi is just the sweetest little girl with the happiest, most delightful, joyous and loving personality! Despite her enjoyment of all things pink and pretty, she is kind of tom boyish in a lot of her activities. She is super athletic and loves running, playing soccer, swimming, and gymnastics. She has a 6 year old brother she plays hard with and tries very hard to keep up with! She loves building with Legos and is also a major puzzle junkie.”

How awesome is it that this little lovely slip of a girl is also athletic and can run with the best of them?? HURRAY Violet! Kiri, thank you soooo much for sharing this sweet little girl with us.

The Kiddos Hit the Road: EVO Conference 2010!

Real Life,

Hi friends! Alix and Dottie here….yes it’s really BOTH OF US POSTING AT THE SAME TIME!

If you checked in with last Friday’s Weekly Kiddo, then you might have heard that we took a little bloggy jaunt to Salt Lake City to speak at the EVO ’10 Conference. EVO is an amazing event celebrating the evolution of women in social media and hoo boy what a trip it was! We thought it would be fun to take a wee break from the usual and tell you a little bit about our fun time there. So pull up a chair while we chat together and share a little bit about our fun experience in Utah.

ALIX: What a weekend, lady! Even though we “work” together on our beloved kiddo, we don’t really get to hang together all that much. I was totally excited about our lil getaway. Our flight wasn’t long but I love how we came prepared with Kindles, iPhones and enough trashy mags to last a trans-atlantic flight!!

DOTTIE: I always enjoy a little easy reading on the plane, but because of my job I have to read these charming journals. No New Yorker for me, right now!

ALIX: Don’t let Dottie fool you friends…this mild-mannered crafty minx is a PR Bad Ass by day. I’m not ashamed to admit that US Weekly became our Pop Culture Manifesto as I tried to grill her for info on various celeb appearance rates. (Note to self….Kristin Cavallari… far more affordable than you might think. And if you book Tori Spelling they just might throw in the hubs for free…plotting next birthday bash)

DOTTIE: But back to the trip….


ALIX: OK OK….you’re right. So how gorgeous was Park City, Utah? Like, WAY more beautiful than I ever thought it would be.

DOTTIE: Agreed! It was wedding day perfect weather with not a widge of humidity in the air!

ALIX: Look how sassy you looked Miss Dottie…I was in love those vintage eye glasses. You have THEE best spex in the biz, lady.

DOTTIE: Oh stop! Let’s chat about our fabulous hotel, The Canyons, shall we? The place was just huge—I mean, look at those chandeliers in the lobby! I like the picture of Buffalo Bill about to ski down the mountain in thigh-high boots.

ALIX: Are you sure that’s Buffalo Bill?? I was thinking it was some sassy ranger guy who built the city. His S&M boots are quite the look. Ya know, I have to say I’m not really a rustic gal, but the Cowboy Chic was totally workin’ for me.  I kept wanting that gallery of horse paintings to talk, Harry Potter style though. There were horse portraits EVERYWHERE. A brief homage to my fave….the horse with the flat-ironed hair. SASSY!

HORSE: I’m a cowboy, on a steeeeeel horse I riiiiiiiide…..wait a sec….whooooooaaaa nelly, WHAT’S that sound? It’s like someone’s settin’ off firecrakers up in these here parts!

ALIX:  Hewwwww. OK guys, I have to fess up. I have no idea what happened when I landed in Park City but suddenly I turned into rootin’ tootin’ Alix. Yes, I’m about to go there. I COULD NOT STOP FARTING THAT FIRST NGHT!!!!!  I think it was the altitude…and I swear they weren’t stinky it was ALL AIR. But lawd have mercy, I was a fartin’ machine. I’m SO SORRY Dottie. You were a saint. When you weren’t weeping with laughter while I said things like, “No no….you go ahead. I’m just gonna hang back here and um…..stretch.”

DOTTIE: Darling, I love you even more because you were comfy enough to let it rip around me.

[insert hug between DOTTIE & ALIX]

ALIX: Oh, the other thing that cracked me up was my name tag. They smartly listed everyone’s Twitter ID on them, but since most people use their blog name as their twitter ID it looked like a business card. Like, yours said “Dottie, Modern Kiddo.” Mine, on the other hand, made me look like I was a dang psychic:

ALIX:  So BY FAR the best part of this shindig was meetin’ up with the ladies (and handful of gents). Talk about some quality people. I knew I was going to meet some amazing ladies, but they really just exceeded my expectations. For starters, Jyl and Rachel (the phenomenal masterminds behind this whole shindig) kept us so entertained, well fed and busy round the clock….it was kind of amazing. For those of you who have never been to a conference, it goes way beyond lectures and chit-chatty parties. There is so much listening and learning and really connecting with other groovy chicas.

DOTTIE: I know, right? We bloggers aren’t just these silos standing alone—but we all connect and we all talk and you realize that the blog is just one aspect of how delightful these people are in real life. We met so many new friends too, like the mega talented Alma from Ollibird, the sasstacular Carina from The Jet Set and of course my Kombucha soul sister, NakedJen!

ALIX: NakedJen! We loved that girl. I admit I was totally smitten by the ladies in my Vlogging Workshop (shout out to Lizzie  (LizzieBtv), Kim Orlando (TravelingMom), Meredith Sinclair (Hoo-Dee-Hoo), Kadi Prescott (www.kadiprescott.com), and Danielle Smith (Extraordinary Mommy) WOOT!) and this is hereby a warning to you dear readers—expect to see and HEAR more from me in the future!!! (Just in case you aren’t familiar with the term, “Vlogging” = “Video Blogging” ya’ll. Get ready!!)

DOTTIE: And let’s not forget our favorite girl Allison from Petit Elefant, who we both just adore.

ALIX: Allison is one of those people that just lights up a room—I remember meeting her at the ALT Design Summit earlier this year and thinking, “I need to hang out with this woman more!” Aw look, there she is down there in her sassy purple tunic. Hey, this is a FAB segue into the amazing sessions.

DOTTIE: There were so many good ones…business-focused topics, creative topics and even hands-on workshops. You could take Food (styling and prep), Photography (which included a ride in the gondolas up the mountain) and even a Crafting workshop (where we talked about propping and taking photos for tutorials and what not). It should come as no surprise that I chose Ze Crafting Session!

ALIX: And you didn’t even mind that your third-rate crafting buddy tagged along! (Hey I love getting artsy craftsy, but I’m NOT a sewer/knitter. That’s Dottie’s domain!)

DOTTIE: That is one sweet bag you rocked, Alix. I think YOU are the crafty minx!

ALIX: Hah! Well, I can’t lie….that ribbony, ice creamy style of crafty stuff  really isn’t my bag (hyuck hyuck) but I still had a GREAT time. Of course my favorite part was how I kept touting you as our crafty half …. only to have you execute a splendid CRAFT FAIL on yer cupcake topper. Upside down sign? Aw yeah….this is why I love ya.  *toot!*

DOTTIE: I personally LOVED the Craft Workshop. The panel was made up of these fantastic crafty bloggers and we actually got to craft in the middle of the session! How great was that?? OK, maybe I did put the sign on upside down on my cupcake, but it was still an utterly fab session. And to meet such wonderful online crafters in person—it was like my dream come true! I wish we could have had a quilting bee!

Our lovely panel: Cindy (Skip to my Lou), Marie (Make and Takes), Elizabeth (Dear Lizzy) and Lucrecer (Art Slam)

ALIX: After all that crafting I was exhausted and ready for a lil’ refreshment.

DOTTIE: Thank heavens for the terrific Manis & Martinis party! I swear those weren’t all our glasses. Ahem.

DOTTIE: Hmmm… I sure do look tipsy.  What’s with my red tongue? Do cosmos normally turn a lady’s tongue red?

ALIX: Maybe those really were all your glasses up there. Hee. All I know is that I loved my peach-pineapple martini you procured for me. Mmmm… so tasty. Of course we couldn’t get too tipsy because we were both speaking the next day.

DOTTIE: Oh yes! I was so nervous.  But you were fabulous, Miss Lady!  Alix was on quite the power panel (“The Evolution of Storytelling”) with blogging goddesses—Catherine of Her Bad Mother, Laura Mayles of Blog Con Queso/Kirtsy and Maya from MemeTales. Truly wonderful people and an A+ crew!

ALIX: Seriously, my panel was made up of the smartest, coolest ladies ever. It was *such* an honor. There was a lot of laughing but so many great issues came up as well. It was part of what I loved about EVO. There were some pretty heavy/bittersweet moments as people shared life stories, and yet a whole lot of laughing too. But let’s talk about you my sassy little PR maven.  PR really is an important part of running any business and I was loving all the re-tweeting of your “ABC” quote! [And no, I’m not going to tell you guys what ABC means—you’ll have to check out Dottie’s next panel. Heh.]

DOTTIE: There were so many incredible sessions the whole weekend, it was often hard to choose which one to go to—not to mention the outstanding key notes.

ALIX: And then there was OPRAH. Well, OK. She wasn’t there. But two of her top peeps were: Andrea Wishom, a 17-year veteran Supervising Producer with the Oprah Winfrey Show, and Jon Sinclair, VP of Development and Creative Services for HARPO Studios. They were fabulous. It was a totally fascinating keynote.

DOTTIE: Oprah really is one of the most influential people around—who knew she has been on every TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people list since its inception more than 20 years ago??  Oh, I’ll miss her when her show ends.

ALIX: But Dottie….at least we’ll always have Nate. (sigh)

………………………….

We can’t tell you how fun and rewarding this experience was. We’re leaving out so much stuff, like even more amazing speakers, the generous sponsors and goodie bags (YAY for Lisa Leonard and her gorgeous jewelry), the zip line, the mountain top gondolas and so much more. If you have the chance to check out a blogger conference, by all means GO!

PS from Alix: GREAT NEWS PEEPS! Dottie has had a Twitter renaissance! I am pleased to report with minimal nagging from yours truly she TOTALLY got into twittering during EVO and has trotted out her old ID. Please add @missdottie to yer feed! Of course I’m still @galexina (mystic to the stars). And can I just say your aura looks marvelous?  xoxo

Widdle Wednesdays: Kiddo's First Birthday

Kiddo Parties, Widdle Wednesdays, , , , ,


If you’ve been around Camp Kiddo for a while, then you already know all about our conflicted stance on The First Birthday. On the one hand….your child is ONE, my friends. Will they reeeeeally remember (or even care?) that you personally captured marzipan owls from the sugar plum forest and handcrafted 73 different types of petit fours to replicate an authentic Parisian patisserie for the dessert table? Mmm. Prolly not.

Then again, HALLELUJAH sistah! you made it past the first year raising your beloved child and YOU DESERVE TO HAVE AN AWESOME BLOWOUT TO COMMEMORATE A YEAR OF NO SLEEP AND POOPY DIAPERS! We like to think of the First Year Birthday Party as more an homage to the parents. And frankly, I can’t resist a good party…soooooo guess what? We’re going to check out some awesome little parties today. Whoo hoo!

First up? Sebastian’s Spectacular Sailor birthday. I feel like parent’s of boys need to be even more creative than girls when it comes to parties. For some reason most people think little boys are all about dump trucks and dinosaurs and little girls get most of the sassy SWAG. That’s why I was totally head over heels when I saw this little man’s gorgeous fete over at Twig and Thistle.


Sebastian’s mother is graphic designer extraordinaire, Katie Phipps. I thought this little crafty invite was just amazing.

Ahoy matey….the lovely Katie made all the decorations herself. I love the nautical flag banners and thought the simple newspaper hats were  crazy charming (and who doesn’t love to wear a fun paper hat, I ask ya?).

Hand crafted pom pom tissue flowers add lots of color—and are really fun-n-easy to make.

Mmmmm. I love Swedish fish and these made a super cute cupcake topped—I think I might even like them better than the fancy shark! But of course the best part was little Sebastian himself, in his vintage sailor suit.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet Sebastian! Yer mama did ya proud! To see even more of this adorable party, please swing by Twig and Thistle.

OK, next up we have something completely different:

Aubrey’s Milk and Cookies Birthday Party
Everyone knows cupcakes are hot, but really nothing beats the most basic, delectable cookie. I’m really loving the new trend of throwing Milk & Cookie Parties and I was completely taken with Anne Power’s amazing First Birthday for her little girl Aubrey.

I thought this was an especially clever idea: the party favours were little mini Frappuccino bottles, turned into milk jugs—served on ice, of course. Also, can we please discuss how awesome Baby Aubrey’s mock-cookie “Smash Cake” is??

Anne explains:

“The favor bottles were re-purposed Frappuccino bottles. I washed them and removed the labels. The lids were kind of tricky to get completely clean – some elbow grease needed for sure. I printed new labels for both the side and lid. I used 1% milk for 1st birthday – get it!? I also used the bigger side label to thank the guests for coming. Attached to the bottles were little bags of cookies and a brown and white pattern straw.”

Anne offers up this great tip: LAMINATE all your bottle signage! When you’re tucking bottles into ice, the condensation will turn your labels to mush in no time.

Mmmm. Is it wrong that when looking at all these pictures I just want to holler, “MMMMmmm COOKIE, cookie cookie cookie cookie!!!!” in a Cookie Monster voice??

Such a sweet day….and I have to say Anne’s little girl Aubrey is crazy cute—check her out in her little polka dot dressie!

I think what I love best about this party is that you can go as fancy or as simple as you like. Sure the cake and all those details were spectacular, but you could easily create a totally delicious simple cookie bar with a big tub of mini milk cartons too. Have you thrown (or been to) any creative kiddo birthday parties lately? Please let us know!

To see more of Anne’s fun designs, and get even more details on this party, be sure to swing by her blog A Party Style. Thank you Anne for sharing sweet Aubrey’s day with us.

OH and PS…..don’t forget that this whole post is coming from the woman who SKIPPED HER SON’S BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR. Yes, poor Wolfie never had a party this year, so I’m officially giving you license to not do much of anything when that first birthday rolls around. I promise you, your bebe will NEVER remember….and when you tell him or her that you rented a flying dragon/unicorn for their first birthday, Dottie and I will TOTALLY back you up.

Widdle Wednesdays: Sassy Swimsuits for Babies.

Widdle Wednesdays, ,

Yes, my friends, it is that special time of the week:

I know we are already in swimsuit season, but I’m always looking for a good sale in July before the stock goes way down and can be enjoyed throughout the summer.

There is something so cuddly and cute about these  vintage styled swimsuit from May Oleon or should I say “Modern Kiddo Heaven”.  They have quite a few charmers like this one to choose from at Meme du Pariel.

A is for apple–but I think in this darling swimsuit I think it stands for awesome! And the fact that it comes with a matching swim cap.  Well, excuse me for a moment while I buy this one. From My Rocking Wardrobe.

You gotta love Old Navy for combining great style with great prices. And in the swimwear department they do not disappoint.

I’ve written about the extreme cuteness of Pink Chicken swimsuits in the past, but I haven’t written about them being on sale at ChiChi Bean.

With the name Dottie, you know I got a thing for polkadots, so when I saw this little dotty gem from Banana Cabana I had to giggle with delight and include it in our round up. And TuttiBella has them on sweet sweet sale to boot!

Quicksilver is a great brand for boys swim trunks and I’m totally crushing on this lightly tiki inspired goodies that are now on sale at Honey & Heroes.

Although I’ve been passing some of the cutest swimsuits ever at Target, I’m happy to say, they still have a grand selection and at great prices too.  For boys and girls!

These  koi trunks from Moster Republic will have Daddio wanting a pair in his size. Too bad–all this cool fashion is for the under one set.  And on sale right now at ArtBebe.

My friend Meredith calls  her sweet fair-skinned little one her sweet little piece of chalk.  For these little ones, coverage is key.  Fortunately idat has these terrific sunsuits that keep little ones skin safe from the harsh rays of the sun.

And Euro favorite, Boden is having a sale on some sweet baby swimwear too–like these great lobster swim trunks and these button koot swim pants. With the ruffle. And a full belly.

Even the most pristine penny pincher needs to splurge every now and then–so why not on one of these swimsuits from Floatimini.  I just can’t resist a ruffly bottom. Can you?

What is your little  wearing when they hop in the pool this summer? Do you know of any good baby swimwear sales?

Brilliant Giveaway—from Draw Pilgrim!

Giveaways, Sponsor Love

If Alix and I are the masterminds behind ModernKiddo, then Pilgrim is our outward smile. The reason you probably stayed past your first glance and hopefully read on for a bit.

You see, Pilgrim made the ModernKiddo logo and for that we are eternally grateful. She captured our hearts in graphic design and was the spark that started it all for us.  But now you can have that smile too. Did you know Pilgrim has a grand Etsy shop full of graphic go-go goodness that you can happily get your hot little hands on fer yourself? Yup–she does, AND with her help, we are giving away a wonderful $50 gift certificate to Pilgrim’s  Etsy shop so you can splurge and bring a bit of down under goodness from Pilgrim for yourself.

Alix hipped me to the amazing  Aussie graphic artist, Pilgrim, awhlie ago and I just fell head over heels for Pilgrim’s deliciously fun style and highly addicted blog, Draw Pilgrim.   She is also clearly one of the sweetest as well as most talented ladies out there.

Her style is a big bear-hug to my favorite and most delightful parts of the sixties and seventies.  I crave her joyous and colorful designs on a gray day. Or a day when I want to smile. Or actually any day.

I mean, how could you not smile when you see this matroyshka card?

Don’t you want to choo choo choose this widdle train full of circus animals?

And let’s not even get started on her utterly brilliant alphabet series that should be in every little cherubs room?

Mmmhmmm… Exactly.  Pilgrim is one talented lady.

Now, how do you win this wonderful giveaway, you ask as you wipe the drool off of your computer screen from looking at all of these wonderful bits of beauty from Pilgrim?

Enter by doing any of the following:

  • For one entry, add Pilgrim to your Twitterfeed. Trust me, she’s a most charming twitterer, so you’ll enjoy her on your feed!
  • For another entry, leave a comment on Draw! Pilgrim and tell her we sent you! You’ll be utterly smitten with her blog.
  • For a bonus entry, and of course only if you agree, click on the SocialLuxe 2010 BlogLuxe Awards and vote for ModernKiddo under Best Eye Candy Award. Whoohoo! Then leave us a comment, so we know you did it.  It’s the black top button in the far left column. It can be done once a day, so if you do it on another day, leave a comment on MK and we’ll count that as an extra entry.

Thank you Pilgrim for giving my heart a home here at ModernKiddo. You took our sweetest dreams and changed our lives with five smiling kiddos that makes me raise my hand to my heart with joy every time I click our URL.

Good luck and hurrah for Pilgrim!