an almost unmanageable collection

It will probably not surprise any of you that we have a huge collection of hair accessories. I’m always trying to cull our collection down – anything too pink or frilly or Hello Kitty usually gets passed off to girls with less fussy mothers – but our accessories drawer still always seems full to the point of bursting.

I can’t resist when I go back to Taiwan, though in recent times, I’ve purchased very little. Really, it seems downright silly for me to buy hair accessories when I MAKE the darned things. Shouldn’t Bee solely endorse hello shiso products? I mean, didn’t she sign some sort of exclusivity contract when she was born? I wonder what Teri’s girls do?

I still have fond memories of some of my hair accessories from childhood, in particular one hair clip that was a strawberry, and another one which was a teeny tiny straw hat. One of these days, I’m going to make an homage to that straw hat. Am I the only one who has fond memories of accessories?

i like: Indian block prints

Can you tell I’m already thinking about summer? We just bought our tickets to go to Taiwan, and I just can’t stop thinking about how hot it’s going to be. Everything is put into the context of the weather: I think about my Mom, and I think about sweating; I think about my Grandmother, and I think about air conditioning. You get the point. A visit requires a totally different wardrobe than what we wear here in the Bay Area so a little bit of planning is needed. I love Indian block prints, especially some of the modern patterns I’ve been seeing, and I think these clothes would be great for hot weather:

I love just about everything from Layla Brooklyn. I just bought this top from Nonchalant Mom (sold out, sorry!). You can’t tell so well from the pictures, but it has a print in a beautiful gold paint.

I recently discovered Roberta Roller Rabbit, who has great prints. I visited their store in New York and bought a dress with an Indian block print of a Liberty pattern (crazy, huh?). Unfortunately, their online selection is not as extensive as their brick and mortar stores.

Cute dress from Rikshaw Design.  Love the anchors.

I discovered Littl by Lilit while I was visiting Acorn Toy Shop in Brooklyn and LOVE. The wide straps on this dress really make it for me. This dress is available at Nonchalant Mom, and Poppy’s Closet also has a selection of their clothes (as well as hello shiso hair clips!!).

A great kurta from Clover New York. I love the giraffe print, and can imagine Otis wearing this.

I wish I could find some fabric with prints like these. They would be really fun to sew!

new rainboots

Bee and me, in our new rainboots, though there has been nary a rain drop since we’ve come back home. Don’t you love those red polkadot boots? My aunts bought those boots in Taiwan for Bee since they thought our yellow boots were looking a bit tired and I’ll have to say that they picked the cutest of the bunch. And my new boots were waiting for me when we came back from Taiwan. I ended up with the ones that look like a plain wedge boot. I bought an older version off Ebay, and I’m happy with them. I’ll admit, though, that I’m sad that the hunt is over – is that perverse? I still find myself checking out other people’s rainboots, and peeking at them in stores. It’s the same way I felt after we redecorated our house – I couldn’t stop looking at light switches, of all things.

Now we’re just waiting for rain. Can you believe that we’ve been having the most glorious no-jacket weather ever?

fashion show sunday

Mon Dieu!

I just bought this dress at Hijkids, which is another kids’ clothing store that I love. I generally stay away from the cutesy, but I actually really enjoy the clothes from this designer, Misha Lulu. I love their combinations and the surprisingly little details, and it manages to be fun without being loud or garish. It’s actually a size 4 dress, but I love it so much that we decided to wear it anyways, just pinned up in the back. I forsee getting a lot of use out of this dress.

And speaking of fashion, I just love how enthusiastic you guys were about the rain boots! It really did spur me to make a final decision and order a pair, and….. are you ready? Drumroll, please……

TADA!

Unfortunately, they’re a bust. They’re too small, and not the right kind of sparkly (I’m finding them a little garish rather than fun), and they have a very curious odor, which I think they add to mask the smell of plastic. Unfortunately, the scent, though not quite identifiable, strikes me as being vaguely port-o-potty-ish. Not good, right? A while back, I bought a pair of glitter rain boots for Bee that are so perfect and wonderful, except that they’re made for a small child and not an adult, and I think those wonderful Italian rainboots have spoiled it for the rest of the lot. So anyways, the search continues, and I’ll keep you updated.

EDITED TO ADD: If you want your own pair of shiny gold lame pants, American Apparel is having a sale right now through Dec. 9. Use the code EARLYBIRD for 30% off purchases. We use their shirts for freezer paper-printed and appliqued shirts for gifts, and Otis loves their comfy cotton leggings too. I’m going to stock up right now!

which rain boots?

Years ago, I bought a fantastic pair of rain boots from Martha Stewart, back in the days when she had an online store of random stuff that she liked, and they were fantastic boots – they were green with a faux bois pattern on them.  I loved them and I got so many compliments on them.  But sadly, at the end of last rainy season, after many years of faithful service, I finally had to admit that they were kaput when the rubber cracked.  So that gave me a whole summer and early fall to look for a new pair, right?

Sigh.  And this is where my debilitating indecisiveness has really made life hard.  It appears that I’d rather walk around in freezing rain in 10 year old plastic jellies than decide which pair of rain boots to buy.  Here are some boots I’ve been looking at.

Should I go wholly practical?

 

 

Kind of boring, right?  Maybe in a brighter color?  Or maybe I should choose fun?

I think these might make me feel like I’m a baby wearing a pair of those cute little Trumpette Mary-Jane socks.  OK, maybe I should grow up.  Should I go metallic?  I mean, I have really been digging the gold and silver lately after all.

Too astronaut-y?  Should I go sparkly?  I’ve lost my mind, I just love everything with glitter on it lately, as you can see with the hair clips I’ve been making.  I hate to admit how much I love these.

They come in gold, too.  Also, I love these too.

I can’t decide if it’s too cutesy or not.  Maybe I should just go with a sophisticated pair that just look like fashionable regular boots?

 

How’s a girl to decide?  Practical or interesting?  I just know I want a really nice pair that won’t crack and need to be replaced in a year.  I better decide soon – the rainy season’s really here.  I hate being so indecisive!