I don’t know about where you live, but in DC it feels like we’ve jumped right over spring and landed in summer—it was 93° outside today! Luckily, we’ll be returning to true springtime temps by the weekend. With spring weather comes spring dresses for my little lady. She LOVES wearing dresses, but there’s no way I’m spending $50 on a dress she’s going to wear to daycare and get craft paint on. So I set out to find some seriously adorable (and affordable) toddler dresses. Here are five of my favs under $25!

Tea Protea Print Wrap-Neck Dress, $24.50

Target OshKosh dress, $15

Old Navy Pleated Sundress, $15

Gap Striped Terry Dress, $22.95

Carter’s Shift Dress, $13.20

Heidi Klum’s new line, Truly Scrumptious, will hit stores on September 15th and will include everything from clothing to bedding to strollers. The first adjective that popped in my head when I saw the collection was “colorful.” My next thought was, thank goodness this is a children’s line that actually looks like it should be worn by children. I can’t stand those outfits that make toddlers look like they’re two going on 17!

This new collection is appropriately playful and whimsical, and you can tell it’s designed by a mom with young kids—everything is made to mix and match!

Here are a few of my favorite looks, but you can click here and sign in with Facebook for a sneak peek of the entire collection.

I love the Olympics! The competition, the tradition, the ceremony. . . speaking of ceremony, how awesome was the Opening Ceremony?! I thought Danny Boyle did a fantastic job, and hats off to the costume designer/team because they had their hands full and delivered beautifully.

The second most entertaining part of the evening was the commentary from Bob Costas and Matt Lauer during the Parade of Nations. My husband and I considered making a drinking game out of how many backhanded complements and digs they gave the other countries as they walked in, but I wasn’t sure we had enough alcohol in the house to finish such a game, haha.

The whole “made in China” controversy aside, I liked Team USA’s uniforms. They were certainly very Ralph Lauren, but I appreciated the sharpness and formality of them—it matched the occasion. While we can’t all wear the official Team USA uniform, we can still show our USA pride, and where better to start than with the littlest Americans?! Here are some adorable ways to support Team USA during the 2012 Olympics (and bonus, many of them are on sale since the games have officially kicked off!).

Team USA Polo Romper, $30

The Children's Place Team USA Graphic Tee, $2.99

Ralph Lauren Olympic Polo Dress, $69.50

Team USA Onesie, $15.99

Baby Gap Olympic Vintage Tee, $24.95

JC Penney Distressed Flag Tee, $6

Ralph Lauren USA Ringer Tee, $29.50

 USA! USA! USA! 

I went to Target yesterday for the first time in a while and was surprised to see that they have adopted “shops” much in the way the new JCP has done. It must be the latest thing in retail. Target’s shops include The Webster (Miami), Privet House (Connecticut), Cos Bar (Aspen), Polka Dog Bakery (Boston), and The Candy Store (San Francisco).

The Candy Store’s collection of gourmet and nostalgic candy would make a cute and quick hostess gift for all those summer barbecues, and some of the Cos Bar nail polishes are bright and trendy but a little out there for me.

The real stars of the shops are Privet House and The Webster. The kitchen and housewares from Privet House are great. A few of my favorite pieces:

Warren Orchards Black Fig & Honey Candle, $15.99

Open Storage Box, $34.99

White Embossed Pitcher, $24.99

White Round Basket, $34.99

The Webster shop features men’s, women’s, and girls’ clothing, as well as shoes and accessories. I scored this great sheath dress, which doesn’t look like much on the hanger, but it fits really nicely:

Sheath Dress, $39.9

A few of my other Webster favorites:

Infant Girls' Swim Suit, $14.99

Dress, $42.99

Men's Button Up Shirt, $29.99

Cap Toe Flat, $29.99

The prices are a tad higher than you usually see at Target, but they are on par with some of the other designer partnerships Target has done in the past. In any case, it’s nice to see a little something different for a change!

Make sure your little one is feeling blue this summer in a good way!

1. Finally, ballet flats for toddlers that have a prayer of staying on! Joe Fresh Ballet Flats, $14
2. Zara Boys’ Fine Stripe Trousers, $25.90
3. J. Crew Girls’ Folly Dress, $48
4. Pumpkin Patch Dungaree with Bow, $24.50
5. So cute and preppy—Ralph Lauren Bal Harbour Slip-On, $28
6. Ruffles AND nautical stripes. Hanna Andersson Little Star Two-Piece, $28
7. Zutano Crab Polo Shirt, $30
8. Tea Collection Boys’ Roll-Up Safari Shirt, $36
9. I love this little umbrella! Hatley Blue Whales Umbrella, $20

Republishing an older post since today is perfect leg warmer weather. It was 55° this morning when we left the house, but it’s supposed to get up to 85°! My daughter’s leg warmers kept her warm and toasty under her skirt this morning and can come off in a jiff as the day heats up!

Ahhhh, leg warmers. . . they bring me back to my “Get In Shape Girl” days of getting up at 6 a.m. to do Mousercise on the Disney channel. I’m not kidding—I would get in full workout gear (headband, leotard-with belt, tights,blue legwarmers) and go all “Jane Fonda” in the living room. I am sure that, somewhere, there even exists a very embarrassing video of me doing a rhythmic gymnastic ribbon routine or something equally hilarious. But I digress. . .

Leg warmers are back! Don’t go rush out and get some for your next trip to the gym (they’re not that back). But they have been given a new lease on life in the world of baby and children’s fashion. They are perfect for crawlers and for those days when it’s chilly in the morning and warm in the afternoon. You can also extend your child’s summer clothes by pairing them with a romper, skirt or even on their arms under a t-shirt. I love the super soft ones from BabyLegs! There are tons of patterns, and they aren’t too expensive at around $12 a pair.

I am not usually one to jump on the latest trend (mostly because I’m too cheap to spend a lot of money on something I’m only going to wear for one season), so I surprised even myself when I decided to jump on the red pants bandwagon. Unless you’ve been living in a hole, I’m sure you’ve noticed that everyone and their mother is buying, selling, and wearing this trend. Even my daughter has an adorable little pair of red flared sailor pants. So this weekend, I went out in search of the perfect pair of red pants.

First Stop:  Gap
The Broken-in straight khakis were exactly what I was looking for, but apparently so was everyone else. I searched 3 Gap stores and the Gap web site and couldn’t find any of these bad boys in my size (or even close to it) in red. Bummer.

Slim Cropped, $49.95

Modern boot, $59.95

Broken-in khakis, $49.95

Next Up:  Target

I bought these coral-colored jeans thinking I found a steal (nevermind the fact that they were from the juniors section). I played it safe and bought a couple sizes up from my usual.  While I managed to get them on, they nearly cut off the circulation to my legs, and I have what my dad calls “chicken legs.” RETURN.

Mossimo Skinny Jean, $22.99

Third Try:  JCPenney

These bright MNG by Mango skinny jeans looked great on the mannequin. Note to self: the mannequin didn’t push a baby through her hips. Next.

MNG Ella, $40

Stop #4:  Old Navy

The Rock Star skinny jean wasn’t as bright and springtimey as I was looking for, but it didn’t matter—it was all sold out anyway.

Rock Star, $19

Fifth Stop:  MNG by Mango

I figured if the ones at JCP didn’t fit, maybe I’d have better luck at the actual store. Super cute on the web site; not so much on me.

Cropped Skinny, $59.99

Last Attempt:  J.Crew

I saved the best (and most expensive) for last, probably because I knew I’d find the right pair and I was hoping I’d come across something just as good somewhere else for less. I was right. I loved both the Toothpick Jeans and the Bennett Chinos.

Bennett Chino, $79.50

Toothpick Jean, $125

And the winner is. . . the J. Crew Bennett Chino! Bring on spring! 

Diane von Furstenberg has partnered with GapKids to design a collection for girls that will debut in stores and online on March 15th! The patterns and pieces are so adorable, classic DVF with a playful twist—I only wish they were for mamas too!

To catch a sneak peek of the collection, go here and click on “Get a Sneak Peek Now!” Even though I’m not entirely sure what it has to do with the clothes, I love the line in the video, “. . .to empower a little girl is to empower the woman she will become.” Looks like I will be  empowering my little one at GapKids in mid-March!

We just booked our vacation for this summer, so I’m in a beachy state of mind! I’ve noticed that baby bathing suits are already popping up everywhere (yes, even as the snow falls), and ruffles are a big trend this year. One of the best things about having a little girl is getting to dress her in stuff like this—so stinkin’ cute! Check out some of my favs:

Gap, $24.95

Carters, $16.80

Gymboree, $24.95

Gap, $24.95

Carters, $16.80

Janie & Jack, $42

Kate Mack, $52

Ralph Lauren, $39.50

Courtesy loft.com

When I was pregnant, nearly all of my maternity clothes came from Gap and Target. This was mostly because, other than maybe Old Navy, Motherhood, and A Pea in the Pod, there was nowhere else to go. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Gap and Target had really cute, inexpensive maternity clothes, but there’s only so much variety when you can count the stores you can shop in on one hand. Of course, now that I’m no longer pregnant, so many more stores are launching maternity lines. So, for all my pregnant mama and mama-to-be friends, here are a few more shops you can check out to dress the bump!

Loft Maternity  Just like the regular store, Loft’s maternity line offers great options for the office that are classic and versatile.

Courtesy hm.com

Forever 21′s Love 21 Maternity It probably feels a little weird shopping for maternity clothes here, surrounded by 13-year-olds, but they do have good inexpensive basics. There are a few items online, but you’ll need to find a participating store to get the most out of this maternity line.

H&M H&M’s Mama line is a good bet for cute jeans and tees. Several stores, including the Tysons Corner store for those in the DC area, have a pretty good selection.

There are also a few online deals sites that have great maternity selections, including. . .

Zulilly This site is mostly known for their great deals on things for the little ones, but they nearly always throw in a few deals for moms and moms-to-be as well.

Totsy Similar to Zulilly, this site offers daily deals on maternity brands in addition to their other deals.

Know of any other great places to find cute maternity clothes?