Palo Alto, CA is well known throughout the world as home to Facebook, Stanford and Linkedin.

It is not just a place for Stanford college student espresso shots  and venture capital lunches, downtown Palo Alto offers an array of hip boutiques, shops and restaurants. Despite the multi-million dollar homes that surround the downtown University Avenue area, locals are surprisingly casual and unassuming.

Best Clothing Boutiques:

In Her Shoes - Great place for shoes, bags and jewelry. All proceeds benefit Global Fund for Women and Single Moms Connect.

Romi Boutique - Great selection of denim, sweaters, tops and dresses. Love the store layout. They have great sales.

Nalej - Clothing, accessories and GREAT gifts. Reasonable prices. Another store in nearby Santa Clara.

Best Outerwear: Patagonia - Not unique to PA, but just a great brand for the whole family.

Best Eats With the Kidlets: Peninsula Creamery - LOVE the milkshakes! Kids will love the diner feel and kid-friendly menu.

Best Italian: La Strada - Great outdoor seating and classic Italian fare. Great for families. Moderately priced.  Osteria is another great pick.

Best Thai: Tamarine - One of my favorites.

Best Asian Fusion: Three Seasons - DELICIOUS! Great outdoor seating. Green beans are delicious!

Best Greek: Evvia - Great ambiance and good food. Some locals have said the quality has slipped a bit, just a very little.  Still a good choice. Kids may enjoy this as well.

Best Indian: Junnoon - light and fresh Indian fare or Mantra - bold and spicy, great environment. Leave your little kids at home.

Best Brunch: St. Michael’s Alley - delightful, intimate hidden gem. It’s been around forever and  consistently delicious.

Best Bar: Nola’s -  Great cajun food.They have private rooms with plasma screens and a great bar. Lively and fun, especially at night.  Kids will like the fun decor. Try the crawfish dumplings.

Best Toy Shop: Palo Alto Sport Shop and Toy World - from bathing suits to Lego’s, board games to footballs. They have a little of everything.

Best Deli and Bakery: Prolific Oven - They have been around forever. Try their lemon cake. Light and just a little sweet. Yum! They also have sheet cakes for parties.

Chocoholics: Try a meal at Shokolaat. An “experience” and especially fun if you love chocolate.


One of the hottest frocks this summer is the Splendid Littles Stripe Dress.

Violet Affleck, Suri Cruise and Ruby Maguire (Spiderman’s Toby Maguire’s daughter) have all been spotted out in this cute summer dress.

Violet pairs her dress with white socks and navy sneakers, Ruby with blue Crocs and Suri with a pair of dainty gold mary janes.

Cute!

Available at Lisa Kline Kids, $58.

36-year-old Jennifer Garner recently announced that she is 5 months pregnant with Violet’s little brother or sister and hosted a little soirée this weekend.

Violet was photographed in a cute blue floral top by Splendid.

$44, available at Lisa Kline Kids.

Not sure who picks out Violet Afleck’s wardrobe - Jen, Ben or does she have her own stylist?

Regardless, this summer, her style is casual and comfortable, just as it should be for a 2 year old.

Recently photographed in brands, Splendid, Teva and Naturino, little Violet reminds us a lot of our little ones. Lots of simple cotton tees, leggings and light summer dresses.

Navy canvas T-strap Mary Janes by Naturino, $50 available at Piperline. Check out the cute polk-a-dot version available from Naturino Los Gatos.

She seems to love those mismatched pigtails too!


There’s no doubt that  motherhood is a transformation, both physically and mentally. Strangely enough in Hollywood, motherhood is great for your public image as well.

Former wild child, Nicole Richie is a prime example of the benefits and blessings of having a baby.  Gone are the papparazzi pictures of her all too skinny frame stumbling out of nightclubs and causing trouble like some other notable Hollywood IT girls.  No longer are the gossip sites bashing her for DUIs and reckless behavior. The 26-year-old former Simple Life star has mellowed out and many closest to her have remarked at how “conservative and protective” she is now. Richie’s daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Richie-Madden was born on January 11, 2008.

Maybe having a baby makes you more human and your flaws acceptable. Maybe we can relate to her more as a mother.  Either way, there’s no question had she followed on the track she was on prior to Harlow, who knows where she’d be.  Richie even says herself that, “Harlow saved me.”

Very true, in more ways that one.

Richie shares her views on motherhood, Harlow and mellowing out in a recent Bazaar interview .

On motherhood: “It’s so surprisingly fun.  Everybody talks about how difficult it is in the first three months, but I absolutely love it.”

On her post-baby body: “Half my wardrobe is already stretched. Not all my clothes fit the same. I don’t even think it’s a weight thing; I think your body just changes after you have a baby. I don’t care either way, but I’m not used to having a tank top or bra underneath my clothes [regarding her new cleavage]. You always hear that people with blond hair or larger breasts get more attention, but I never really thought that was real! I like wearing shirts that are a bit see-through because before it didn’t really matter. But now it’s like, Uh-oh, I could get arrested.”

On her pregnancy style: “It’s not like I blew up overnight. It gradually happened, and then I wasn’t pregnant anymore. When my jeans stopped fitting, I wore the Balenciaga riding pants.” She is deeply in love with Balenciaga and brimming with excitement about the new boots she was recently sent. “I like to be comfortable,” she explains. “Luckily for me, I’m completely comfortable in six-inch heels.”

On Harlow’s dad,  Joel Madden lead singer of the rock band Good Charlotte: “He has a different way of thinking. But at the same time, he’s never tried to change me. And if anything, we were friends first. We just have fun together.  Joel is  the family diaper changer. He is a family boy and one of four children. He is very conservative. I want five children, twin boys and three girls. I’ve wanted that since I was a little girl.”

On how motherhood has changed her: “You know, I went through a stage of thinking that once you had a baby, you moved to Brentwood, had a white picket fence, and it changed your entire life. But I love where I am right now. Every single thing is for Harlow. Joel took me out last week, and he was like, ‘Why don’t we go out and have a shopping day?’ But I ended up only going to kid stores. I didn’t get to buy shoes or anything.”

Both are wary of bringing up a child in Los Angeles as it can be difficult not become jaded. Despite the papparazzi, Nichole loves Los Angeles and ironically enough shares that “it would completely break my heart if she got a tattoo.”

Funny how our perspective changes as parents.

Source: Bazaar

Online boutique a là TrigMom

Some of my favorite picks all in one place. Click to see larger pictures and price.

Happy Shopping!

CrewCuts

Online shopping is my guilty pleasure and arguably the better way to shop - The stores never close.  You can shop in the bathtub. No lines. No mess. And no driving -  We’re green!  We’re helping the planet and the economy. And the gas money saved can now justify your purchases, right?

My bookmarked and favorite sites for our kidlets are:

  1. CrewCuts - A staple for casual prep. Cute ties for boys. LOVE their shoes for kids. Decent selection of uniform polos.
  2. Milk Shop - Great selection of clothes. My favorites:  Splendid for girls and baby, Petit Bateau for baby, Melissa Odabash suits for girls, Kingsley and Trunk tees for boys
  3. Garnet Hill - Great variety of reasonably priced clothes. Fun PJ prints for kids.
  4. MiniBoden - Bright and fun patterns. Cute skirts and dresses for casual play.
  5. Babystyle - A little of everything
  6. Gap - Great uniform selection at a reasonable price. Cute designs. Some of the cutest baby/toddler PJs although they are arguably very thin. Great sales.
  7. Nordstrom - Love them for their great customer service. Great holiday and church dress.
  8. Neimen Marcus - Need I say more.
  9. Hanna Andersson - Love their PJs. Great quality, cotton. Lasts forever!
  10. Piperline - Shoes

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