IF YOU LOVE LILLY...

...then you'll love this! My friend over at Cancer Sucks Even With Lilly Pulitzer On Your Side is having a fun giveaway in honor of Spring being just around the corner. If you would like to have a chance to win this fabulous Lilly Pulitzer Easter/Spring Basket:

All you have to do is head over to her site, and post to her blog entry. Good luck, Lilly Lovers!

SIGNS OF SPRING (AND SOME EXERCISE, TOO!)...

Spring has sprung in the DC area, and we couldn't be more thrilled to be outside having fun. Flowers are popping, green is everywhere, and we even had our first Spring thunderstorm last night! After a nice weekend and a birthday party for Steve's 90-year-old Aunt Phyllis, this week started off chilly, with a playdate The Little Gym with our cousins (which was inside, but still fun), but for the past 4 days, the weather keeps getting warmer and warmer, which means we're breaking out the bright colors and getting out into the fresh air. Here are some pictures from our week...

Caroline, Josh, and Aunt Melissa had fun playing on the hammock at Jeannie and Michael's, where we had the birthday party

It was great to see Steve's cousin Brett, and finally meet his wife Elif and their kids Gracie and Blake!

Sunday bubble-blowing with Mommy and Daddy

Having fun with the hoola-hoop, bars, and tunnel at The Little Gym

Cousin Cammy's (and our new) friend, Megan

Cammy's a seasoned vet at The Little Gym, and can do a fabulous somersault all by herself!

Picking "flowers" for Mommy while out in our yard

I am beside myself that Caroline can walk this year (last year, she was crawling and dresses were too tricky), because she can now wear girlie stuff like this fabulous madras skort from Tommy Kids. Isn't it too cute with her Crocs from Aunt Suzy?

HAPPY EASTER!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday, and we hope you did, too! Since I'm Catholic and Steve is Jewish, I have to give him some pretty big props for pulling it together to not only help get things set for our day, but also to be in the car so early this morning. After 7:30 am mass, we had a nice breakfast for just the three of us, followed by a dinner at our house for 40+ (thankfully with some help from all our guests)! That's how we roll around here... Even though it was 53 degrees outside, it was a gloriously sunny, clear day and the heaters on our deck kept us warm so that it didn't feel too claustrophobic inside (or so we hear...). We also had a quick Easter egg hunt on our lawn for our littlest guests and neighbors - here are some pics from that portion of our day:

Steve starts the hunt with a head-start for the little kids, and cousin Josh finds an egg...

Cousin Camryn and our neighbor Charlie are on the hunt!

The best part about having sisters: cousins Camryn and Morgan pose in their matching dresses!

"Uncle" Marc gives Caroline a ride around the hunt.

Caroline, as always, is on the move - I tried to get a cute pic in her

Tiffany blue and brown dress, but to no avail.

A blue egg for her blue dress... and her "Bunnies by the Bay" coat from Aunt Suzy!

We tried to take a picture of all the kids together, but no such luck. Oh well - there's always next year! No matter what holiday you celebrate, we hope it's as memorable as our was. Happy Easter, and Happy Spring!

FIVE FUN THINGS FROM THIS PAST WEEKEND...

1) I got to meet my cousin Eileen and her husband's new baby (and my Godson), Nicholas!

2) Saturday afternoon's weather was so fabulous that I joined my other cousins, Mikey and Brian, Brian's fiancee' Kara, and our friend Bob for delicious margaritas on the rooftop patio at Tia Queta - sans baby (she was with Steve's parents). The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Steve could have joined us, but he was working on his thesis - sigh. Later, drinks at our friends' Christy and Mark's house, capped off the night for both of us! A fun day, to be certain!


3) American University (my alma mater) finally made it into the NCAA tournament for the first time in the history of their basketball program! Go Eagles!


4) Caroline's lime green Crocs from Aunt Suzy finally fit - and now she won't take them off. They really are too cute on her.


5) I got to take TWO naps - both Saturday and Sunday (and anyone with kids knows that this IS something to get excited about)!

All in all, it was a good weekend. How was yours?

BRIGHT IS BACK

This past late-summer, early-fall, my mom and I took my daughter Caroline on a little day trip to Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets, which is about an hour away from our house. My goal was to get a little bang for my buck in terms of Caroline's wardrobe, as she continues to grow like a weed! Fall fashion was full of browns, creams, oranges - typical for this time of year, and not necessarily my favorite choices for my baby girl. Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely love brown as a color, and use it all the time in my stationery designs and in my own accessories and clothes. As we speak, I'm in search of the perfect brown coat for myself. And I don't really mind a bit of it in Caroline's Fall spread but I longed for something a bit brighter to cheer us up as the weather turned cold. She needed clothes, though, so I had to settle, and I have to admit that it was nice to find mixy-matchy stuff no matter where we went - Baby Gap, Ralph Lauren Children, Carter's, Osh-Kosh... Without even noticing, I bought 3 pairs of brown pants for her - I mean, how many brown pants does a baby need?

Over the next few months, Caroline got a lot of wear out of her stuff, and I was able to pick up some cute stuff at Mini-Boden to satisfy my color cravings, but I somehow couldn't get past the fact that I was actually longing for Spring and Summer to be here. I found myself practically pacing in front of my computer, waiting for the post-Christmas online sales to be over (because pacing in front of the actual stores with Caroline practically requires that she wear a baby leash these days so that she won't take off...), as I knew my dreams would soon come true.

You know how you go into some stores or the mall in August and they are already getting the Santa "throne" set up for the Christmas holiday, only to be followed on January 2nd by the Easter Bunny? That kind of eagerness to move the calendar forward drives me nuts, with one exception: the launch of the Spring clothing lines at my favorite stores. I know that if I can just wait until mid-January, the marketing gurus at said stores will, much like the proverbial groundhog, use splashes of poppy pink and grassy green to signal that warmer weather is just around the corner. Not much makes me happier than buying a cute madras dress for my daughter from Baby Gap on January 8, even if it will be a bit before she'll be able to put it on. And while they are burning a hole in my pocket, I am resisting the urge to spend the fabulous J Crew gift certificate Steve gave me for Christmas on yet another sweater so that I can pick up something that makes me look more like I should be out on a boat or sitting on the beach at our house at the bay.

We're heading to our friends Christy and Mark's house in Bethany Beach, DE this weekend. While Steve and I were discussing the idea of making the trip, he asked casually, "What exactly are we going to do at the beach in 30+ degree weather?" Aside from relaxing, playing with the kids, and having a few cocktails at night, the answer is clear: outlet shopping! After all, I just got the signal, Spring is just around the corner!