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Disney celebrates Summer with Red, Black and White

Red, Black and White might not be the first color scheme that comes to mind when thinking of Spring or Summer, but the Disney Store is bringing it to the forefront with some absolutely charming Minnie, Mickey and Cars Characters Spring/Summer wear!

Leave it to Disney to not only have us all wanting the red, black and white colors for Spring and Summer, but with our favorite characters front and center, they are a must have for your little ones this season! The trends are great for by the pool or spending the day running around the happiest place on earth. Below are some of our favorites in this bold color scheme that we are just LOVING!

All Images via Disney Store

Apr 29, 2013 Posted by Alli In Kids, Kids Fashion Tagged black and white, Cars, Disney, Girls Clothing, Kids Clothing, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Minnie Mouse clothing Comments 0

Behind the Scenes with Christina Applegate and FabKids

We at Savvy Sassy Moms has been singing the praises of FabKids for quite some time. If this is the first you’ve heard of it, then you are in for a treat (also see our previous FabKids review). FabKids is a monthly “subscription” based children’s clothing company where for $39.95 your child receives three pieces of good quality clothing.

With the recent launched their Spring/Summer collection, Savvy Sassy Moms was behind the scenes with Christina Applegate and Denise Kalinowski (head designer) to get a first hand look at the clothes, accessories and incredibly cute girl models. We had an opportunity to sit down with Christina and Denise to find out more as to what drew them into children’s clothing and what makes this different than other online shopping?

Christina, who is and EXTREMELY down to earth mom, has the same concerns as the rest of us when it comes to time and resources. She spoke about how it makes her sick to think of spending $50 on a t-shirt for her daughter, Sadie, who would wear it, inevitably get dirty, and then she has to worry about whether its going to shrink in the wash or fray from poor quality. Christina also talked about how its important for clothing to not be so on trend so that you shell your child’s college fun for something and the next minute its out and they don’t want to wear it. According to her, FabKids is the balance of trend, function, quality and takes all the busy tired moms just a few clicks of the mouse to have one less thing to have to worry about it.

In speaking with Denise, FabKids head designer, she spoke about how she appreciated how clothes give children a way to express themselves, and how the survey you and/or your child take at the beginning of picking of the registration process work to fit your children’s style. LOVE THAT!

I got to take a look at the clothes and accessories first hand and they are really great! The colors are bright and bold and as they like to say they are all playground tested. Great for active little girls (and boys coming soon).

Below are some pictures from our day behind-the-scenes. Check it out!

Apr 24, 2013 Posted by Alli In Kids, Kids Fashion Tagged Christina Applegate, FabKids, Kids Clothes, Spring/Summer 2013 Comments 0

Story of You App – Digital Baby Book for the Busy Mom

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I remember asking my mom if she had my baby book because I wanted to start looking into timing of my milestones and see what I looked like at different ages. The answer I got was a “well…umm… hmmm..” and with uncertainty I followed that answer up with a “you do have my baby book right?”

I very vividly remember seeing my older sister’s baby book and how each of her milestones were marked with dates and pictures and so what is with this response? A few minutes later, my mom, looking very somber, appears with an old book in her hands! Woooh, you found it! “Well, yes babe, I found it, but… ” excited I grab the aged pale pink book and open it. Getting even more giddy, I flip open and on the first page is my name and birthday and how much I weighed written out in a beautiful cursive! “Oh Mom, this is great!” and I look up and she still has this saddened look on her face. Still confused I turn the page… EMPTY! I flip to the next page… EMPTY! Wait, what?

Well it didn’t take much longer after that for it to set in that my poor baby book had only had the first page filled out… DOH!

My parents had what I had always heard as the “When the second kid comes around, you are so busy, that we didn’t have time to write down and scrapbook a picture at each event.” Oh man!

From that day on, I vowed that I was not going to let that happen to my children! I mean how busy could you possibly be?

My daughter was only a month old when I realized, that is was going to be crazy hard to make sure I kept track of all her milestones and pictures. It took me a few months to complete, but after my daughter’s first year, working on it with all my free time, I finished her baby book. Wooh!

Fast forward to our second baby! Two in diapers and you can barely find time to get yourself showered. Let alone transfer all the pictures and milestones you’ve captured on your phone (our primary camera these days) to your computer, printing them out and writing in the book. WHO THE HECK HAS TIME?

Oh man, is my son going to suffer from the same no baby book syndrome that I did?

Guess what? They have an app for that! No, I’m serious! Its the best thing to happen to busy moms and dads in a long time! And its FREE! Even better!

The Story of You App is a digital baby book where busy parents can record milestones as they happen and add pictures. The app includes six different design templates, its Facebook integrated (SERIOUSLY AWESOME), and includes pre-built time lines and milestones from first words to the first step. There is even room to create your own! “And since no two families are alike, their templates can specify single, adoptive and same sex parent households” According to the co-found Mike “JB” John-Baptiste. How fabulous is that?

The best part is that when you’re finished, you can post it to your Facebook wall, email it to family and friends or print out a hardcover version to give as gifts to the grandparents!

Its SOOO EASY!

1.) Download the FREE APP HERE
2.) Open the app and they guide you through the rest!

Four simple steps to get it started and its just a few clicks to add your child’s name and pictures and lastly pick a template and voila, its created for you!

Then its a matter of adding each of the milestones:

Some other great features this app has that I’m loving:

Milestone reminders: You will receive relevant reminders to add data as specific milestones are approaching.

One Click Printing: They offer beautiful hardcover books through a simple process done right inside the app. Change the colors and content of your baby book and print different versions for various family members and yourself. **Available in February**

Sharing: After you’ve finished your baby book, you can share it privately via email to family and friends. Although your book is best viewed on an iPad, even loved ones that don’t own the device can view the book via our secure website. Even better: You don’t have to wait to finish your book to begin sharing. Special moments can be shared at any time via email or by posting them to Facebook.

Finished product is awesome!

From one busy mom to the other… download now and get started!

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW

Disclaimer: This is a paid sponsored post. The above opinions are my own.

Mar 21, 2013 Posted by Alli In Apps, Tech Tagged App, Baby Book, baby milestones, digital baby book, free baby book, iphone, iPhone apps, itunes, on line baby book, Story of You Comments 1

Celebrating “The Honest Life” Book Launch

As you may have heard, in 2012, Jessica Alba launched The Honest Company. A company dedicated to bringing family products that are safe, Eco-friendly, stylish, convenient, and affordable. They launched with a collection of completely toxic-free cleaning products as well as baby diapers and wipes.

This past week, she launched a further extension of this passion for healthy family living with a book, “The Honest Life”.

Savvy Sassy Moms was excited to attend an event where The Honest Company and The MOMS Celebrate Jessica Alba and her new book “The Honest Life” at the Mondrian Los Angeles.

The event was great! We spent the afternoon at the swanky Mondrian Hotel LA we were each able to sit down with Jessica to talk about the book. She is not only beautiful actress, but more importantly a down to earth Mom who really is out for the best interest of her family!

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for The Honest Company

She provided tips on how create a healthy environment in your home including: Taking your shoes off at the door so that you do not track in the chemicals from the world, open the window to let the fresh air in, and to read labels so that you know what you are bringing in your home.

When I asked her as one working mother to another what she does to prioritize and what she feels she has to let go to the waste side. Her very genuine answer was that her kids happiness was her number one priority and that everything else falls a very low second. She mentioned that by juggling so many things she has learned to give up perfection and to cut herself some slack. Both very important lessons that we think all Mom’s need to remind themselves!

In her book she not only reveals tips healthy living but how to make it fun, real and stylish. She also shares strategies for maintaining a clean diet (with recipes), tips on beauty, fashion, and DIY kids activities. Basics for living everyday naturally and authentically!

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for The Honest

Was a great day to celebrate Jessica and her book!

Mar 20, 2013 Posted by Alli In Celebrity Moms Tagged Eco-friendly living, Jessica Alba, The Honest Company, The Honest Life Comments 2

Oscars 2013 – Best and Worst

Pantone’s color of the year might be emerald, but for the 2013 Oscars, pale was absolutely the color (or lack of color) of the year!! The pales ranged from silvers to beige to pink undertone and all kinds of beautiful in between. The other trend that hit the red carpet in a big way was the metallics. Statements were being made with blacks with pewter, blacks and silvers, golds, and so much more. There were a few who went with the bold colors but for those that did their presence was commanded!

The Academy Awards are a time to showcase the work of Hollywood’s actors and actresses. More importantly, its a time to shine a light on the true glitz and glamour of Hollywood and this years Oscars were certainly no exception. We saw dresses that sizzled the red carpet and those that may have been better off swept under it!

Here are SSM’s Picks for Oscars 2013 Best and Worst Dressed:

BEST

Kerry Washington when against the trend this year and came in the oh so hot color of spring, coral Miu Miu Gown. We love the simple belt and embellished bust and cannot get enough of the darker colored coral/orange clutch and shoes!

We loved George’s arm candy, Stacy Keibler, who marveled in metallic wearing Naeem Khan!

Sandra stunned in this lacy sheath dress by Elie Saab

Jennifer Garner in wine colored Gucci was simple and elegant and the necklace made the look.

Naomi Watts magnified the metallics in this cutout form fitting Giorgio Armani.

WORST

We think Daryl Hannah was channeling her 1984 mermaid character in Splash with this coral “mermaid” shaped gown. Its more of a sink than a swim!

Kelly Rowland in the A-symetrical Donna Karan Atelier was a bit too choppy of a look and the top looked like it may have a wardrobe malfunction.

The typical best dressed Anne Hathaway disappointed in this pale pink Prada. Questioning A.) what’s going on with the bust area(rhymes with ripples)? B.) why the necklace with such a high neckline?

And then there is Fan Bingbing! Beautiful shade of pink, but there is a whole lot of pink for not a whole lot of lady.

Lastly, there appears to be just a bit too much going on in the neck area of Salma Hayak’s dress and leaves us distracted!

Who were some of your favorites of the night?

Photo Credit all images: Andrew Evans / PR Photos

Feb 25, 2013 Posted by Alli In Celebrity Moms, Entertainment, Fashion, Style, Style Events Tagged 85th Academy Awards, Best and Worst, Celebrity, Oscars 2013 Comments 2

Caped Kate Middleton

The first picture of the royal “baby bump” has surface and of course Princess Kate is dressing her “barely there bump, oh so stylish. The caped coat is not always the coat of choice, but we are loving how the Princess makes it look so effortless with the skinny jeans and suede knee high boots.

Image by TopStar

Added bonus, a the cape is one of those versitile articles that can be worn pregnant or not. Here are some great capes found (relatively inexpensive) around town.

1.) Double Breasted Apt. 9 Wool Cape ($64) - Kohls 2.) Wool Two Buckle Grey Hoodie ($79) – SheInside 3.)Double Breasted Red Fur Hooded Cape ($76) – SheInside 4.) Michael Kors Hooded Toggle Orange Cape ($157) – Neiman Marcus 5.) Fur Military Cape ($55) – GAP

Feb 12, 2013 Posted by Alli In Celebrity Moms, Maternity, Style Tagged Capes, Celebrity Moms, Fashion, Kate Middleton, maternity, Maternity Clothes, Neiman Marcus, Old Navy, Pregnant, Royals, SheInside.com Comments 0

Organizing your unruly playroom

If you are like many of us, you vowed that this year was the year to get your house organized!

What is it about the minute you have kids and the amount of “stuff” you have quadruples? Well, I would like to say that as they grow that stuff becomes less, but unfortunately its in most cases its the opposite.

Have you found yourself in a predicament like this where the playroom has become uncontrollable?

I came up with three basic rules that can take this unruly room to this and get us all organized and stay that way!

1. STORAGE!!! – If you do not have storage, then there is no hope! There are so many options ranging in price range. Keep it simple.

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The toy box is from Target and I found these clear bins with lids at IKEA for just a few dollars. We’re loving the bins and they are especially great for the 1 year old because he’s able to get the lid off easy and able to roll it around to where he wants to play with its contents.

2. Keep it visual – The saying “out of site, out of mind” really is the case with kids. If they can’t see it, then they will most likely not play with it.

So you’ll notice we went with the wire bins on the shelves and the large open green containers for the stuffed animals. The wire bins keep toys contained and organized, but allows little eyes to see whats in them. The green containers were a deal from Crate and Barrel for $10 each and we love at the end of the day just scooping everything up and putting them back in the big container.

3. PURGE- How many times have we heard that when organizing a closet, if you haven’t worn an article of clothing in 6 months, they you need to get rid of it? Well that is the case with toys too! If it has sat in that room for however long without being played with, I hate to break it to you… its most likely not going to get played with again.

That goes for art too! You don’t necessarily have to throw it away, but every piece does not need to be displayed. There are so many ways to organize kids art whether it be bind it or make a picture book out it. Keep what is displayed to a manageable amount and when there is a new piece ready to be displayed, then another piece comes down.

One thing that has helped us in the purging is that our kids birthdays are pretty evenly disbursed throughout the year. Before any birthday we’ve implemented the 5 rule. We pick 5 toys that we would like to donate to other kids. This gives them room for new toys they might get at their birthday!

Just remember to keep it simple! It shouldn’t be a burden room its a playroom! Have fun and get organized!

Do you have any great tried and true tips to share with us?

Feb 1, 2013 Posted by Alli In Kids, Toys Tagged Crate and Barrel, IKEA, Playroom Organization, Target Comments 1

How To Make Your Own Heart Origami Garland

There are so many great ways to decorate the house for Valentines Day. They don’t have to break the bank either, be super complicated, or require massive storage once the holiday is over. What I have found that not only satisfies the want to decorate, but also keeps it simple, and disposable after the holiday, is a paper garland to hang throughout the house. Whether its across the fireplace, large mirror or buffet/hutch where you are able to make it feel like you haven’t let the holiday go without notice.

A few years back, I saw these origami hearts, and figured why not give my crafting skills a try. One thing that goes without saying is that I’m pretty obsessed with all things paper, so any chance to find fun paper, I’m on it. One sheet of 12×12 scrapbook paper yields 8 hearts, making this project extremely inexpensive as well!

I found some this great SASSY glitter paper that I knew was going to be perfect for this project. Side note: Target has 10 sheets of valentines scrapbook paper in the dollar bin, so no excuses

Then it was a matter of cutting and folding. You can find diagrammed folding directions on here, but my condensed instructions are as follows:

Cut paper into 3inch x 6inch pieces
Fold paper long wise to where the pieces meet in the middle
Fold paper in half where the two short sides meet – unfold
Fold each piece diagonal to meet the line you just folded in the middle
On each of the two short side fold each corner down to meet in the middle
Turn over – you have a heart

Okay, it may seems a bit more complicated then it really is. Diagram here. Once you’ve made one, the rest will only take you a few minutes.

I then used some red and white baking twine left over from Christmas and strung them up.

Super cute, inexpensive and fun to make with the kids. Keeping in simple this year!

Share with us some of your easy crafts for kids.

Jan 29, 2013 Posted by Alli In Kids, Living, That's Crafty! Tagged craft for kids, Crafts, Crafts for Kids, decorate for Valentine's Day, heart garland, Origami, origami hearts, paper hearts, Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids Comments 3

Get Busy Philipps Maternity Look

Award season is upon us and rocking the baby belly has never looked so good!

We are loving the ever fashionable Busy Philipps looking fabulous in this great striped dress and Isabella Oliver Everyday Blazer!

Image by FaynesVision/Wenn.com found on Mail Online

Check out these great striped maternity dresses that are just waiting to be paired with your favorite blazer.

From Right to Left, Top to Bottom: A.) Motherhood B.) Motherhood C.) H&M D.) Gap E.) Old Navy F.) Old Navy

Don’t forget to add the great blazer over any outfit to complete the look.

Isabella Oliver The Everyday Maternity Blazer

Jan 29, 2013 Posted by Alli In Celebrity Moms, Look For Less Tagged Blazer, Busy Philipps, Celebrity, Isabella Oliver, SAG Awards, Striped Dresses Comments 0

That’s Crafty! A colorful Holiday craft for the kids

Who doesn’t love this time of year? The weather has finally cooled down and decorating the house with all kinds of goodies is perfectly acceptable and encouraged. We are excited at our house because this will be the first year where our daughter is understanding and wanting to help with picking of the tree, the trimming and the decorating.

Just this past weekend we went to the local Christmas tree farm and picked out this year’s family tree. While on the way out, the woman checking us out asked if my daughter would like a few pine cones to take home with her. Smiling ear to ear, she excitedly accepted the gift. For the next few hours while mom and dad wrangled to get the tree on the car and home, those pine cones never left my daughters hands. She was so excited to play with them.

Later that afternoon, as the tree was getting its finishing touches, we realized the house needed some added holiday decorations. Turning to my daughter, I suggest we craft something together, possibly out of paper, sticks, glue, etc. She comes running in with her pine cones asking if we could use her pine cones for decoration? Knowing we have a few hundred more outside our house, we decided this year’s craft was going to be with pine cones. (keep it simple and fun)

So first we went on the hunt for some more pine cones to add to our collection

Then it was just a matter of digging through the craft closet for all kinds of fun things. We pulled out some small fuzzy balls, glue, paint, and glitter! And then we were off!

The great thing about decorating pine cones is that you can let the kids imaginations run wild

We made some that were full of fuzzy balls, others were covered in glitter paint. Other we painted some with brushes and glitter and other a combination of them all. So much fun. After we had gone to town decorating up all the pine cones to our hearts content, we decided ours would look great as garland! So we grabbed a few small eye hooks from the garage and some ribbon. We screwed the eye hooks into the bottom of the pine cones (more of a mommy/daddy activity) and there you have yourself some good looking, hand-crafted holiday garland!

***Our holiday decor is non-traditional with all kinds of bright colors, so I conveniently pulled out those colors for this craft. This works with whatever color schemes and themes you are going for in your house. These definitely would have looked just as great in reds, greens, even golds and silvers!

We even used the left over pinecones for decoration in other parts of the house.

Simple and so much fun! Happy Crafting!

Dec 5, 2012 Posted by Alli In Kids Tagged Crafts for Kids, Holiday Crafts with kids, Holiday Decorating, kids holiday decor, pine cone art, pine cone craft Comments 2