Double Darling of the Day: Sophia

This bright eyed baby girl doesn’t need a candle to light up her pumpkin! Double Darling of the Day Sophia is positively glowing in her adorable Halloween costume.  Congratulations Sophia on being our Le Top Darling of the Day!  Wishing you a fun and safe Halloween celebration.

Find a pumpkin costume similar to Sophia’s for your little darling in the Halloween Shop of the Le Top online boutique.

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How to Take a Fab Holiday Family Portrait (all by yourself!)

With Halloween almost behind us and Thanksgiving just around the corner, mamas and papas are starting to think about holiday family portraits. Yes indeed! From ugly Christmas tree sweaters from the 90s to sweet velvet red dresses and ho, ho, ho hats, I wanted to pass along a few useful tips I learned on how to take a family photo for your holiday card this year!

Holiday family portraits are great to give as gifts, put inside greeting cards, or use on the greeting cards themselves.

Here are my tips to make them memorable:

1.      Make sure the kids are rested. Every parent knows and loves that magical time when their kids are in a great mood, so make sure you scheduled photo time hits that sweet spot. Have everyone eat a light snack before the picture taking begins; however, choose your snack food wisely since heavy greasy food can cause drowsiness and sugary food can cause, well, you know – sugar high craziness!

2.      Natural Lighting is great.  Shooting with natural lighting gives great color to photos, however it only gives you two windows to take the photos, early morning or late afternoon. Arrange everyone so the sun is behind them. This creates a nice hair light and adds depth to the shot, as well as helps to avoid squinting.

3.      Coordinate, but don’t be too matchy.  I never thought of this tip, but it’s pretty obvious.  Dress every family member in the same color or outfit.

4.      Avoid the plaids and patterns. That’s right! Go for solids – stripes, plaids or other patterns can be too distracting.

5.     Go Casual. If you get all dressed up and everyone is looking stiff and like a wax mannequin, your portrait won’t look natural and almost like a museum oil painting. If your child’s tie is a little crooked or someone is making a sweet, but funny face, go with it!

6.      Your family, not the background is the most important subject of your photo – keep your backdrop simple! It doesn’t need to be in front of the tree or fireplace. Mix it up where you take your photo – and don’t try to fit in more of the background than your family. What have been your most unexpected favorite photograph backgrounds? If you will be including your pets in the photo, be sure to create a special location for them to sit. Or have someone hold them so they will be still.

7.      Get closer than you think.  A great tip for any beginning photographer is to get closer.  Try getting closer than you think and compare the photo results.

8.      That’s a wrap! The most important tip to remember is that family photo shoots should be fun for the whole family. Christmas holiday portraits are a great way to capture your family that you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

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Cake Boss Buddy Valastro has another baby on the way!

Image by: TLC

We hear there is a 4th bun in the oven for TLC’s Cake Boss host and star Buddy Valastro. The baby is due in February 2011. “Lisa and I are thrilled to be welcoming our fourth child into the world,” says Valastro, 33, who is dad to Sofia, 7, Buddy, 6, and Marco, 3. We are always fans of the show and read on PEOPLE.com that the pregnancy will be a storyline on the latest season of Cake Boss. We wonder if he will make a baby cake for the little one on the way! Yum! Since we don’t know the sex of the baby yet, we think that Le Top’s miniature soft, soft blankies would be a perfect give for Buddy and his wife.  Le Top’s plush 12×14 inch security blankie is just the right size for your stylish baby to take along any and everywhere. Its solid satin picture-frame border and signature “soft, soft” feel is perfect for any precious newborn. It’s washable, resilient and a keeper. Here are a few colors of the blankie! Congratulations!

Le Top Soft Blankets

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Le Top Darling of the Day: Jesse

Jesse (9 months) loves the camera and the camera clearly loves him back!  Whether or not he grows into a modeling career, this photogenic October darling certainly harvests happiness. In these photos Jesse models rabbitmoon‘s navy pieced shirt, linen shortall and hat from Radius collection and the fashionable  Passage collection tracksuit.  Congratulations to our Darling of the Day, Jesse!

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Andrew Firestone and Wife Expecting 2nd Child

Image by: Denise Truscello/WireImage

Former Bachelor star Andrew Firestone and his wife, Ivana Bozilovic are expecting their second child in April. The couple both have a son Adam Brooks, 19 months. We hear the pair plan to wait until the delivery to find out the sex of their baby. “Ivana, Brooks, and I are thrilled to be adding another little Firestone to our family,” the proud papa says!

Congratulations!! We picked out a boy and girl Rabbitmoon outfit that would be cute for their baby to be from our Imagination (boy) and Neapolitan (girl) groups!

 

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