Pumpkin Carving Time

Paulo is wearing a long-sleeved shirt from the Imagination collection and 5-pocket jeans from the Guitar collection from rabbitmoon's 2010 fall/winter collection.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins… I just love fall! After going to the pumpkin patch to select our pumpkins, it’s time to carve them into Jack-O-Lanterns (a few days before Halloween so they don’t rot away too early). It’s always so interesting to see what faces we come up with each year. Miranda, being 6 years old, considers herself an expert pumpkin carver with two years under her belt. She even showed me the “templates” she drew for her round orange pumpkin and for her white ghost pumpkin. So cute! I didn’t even realize she knew what template means.

My favorite part is smelling the fresh aroma of the pumpkin as you cut open the top. Mmmm! It smells so sweet. My daughter’s favorite part is taking out the seeds. I think she likes feeling the slimy mess inside. As for my husband, I think he likes the power he feels when he uses his drill to poke holes in the soft flesh of the fruit. (Men!) And my 18-month old son… as long as he has his little pumpkin, he’s good.

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Kids and Their Pets

Lilah (wearing a short dress and capri leggings from the rabbitmoon 'cupcake' collection) and Ozzy

Throughout my childhood, we had a total of 2 dogs, 4 cats, a guinea pig, and fish. I loved them all. I had to learn how to care for them by feeding, bathing, walking, and playing with them. I hated having to clean their litter boxes or move their doodie (my term for poop at that time) to a place in the yard, and bury it.  Despite this, I loved playing with them!  It taught me to be gentle, kind, loving, and responsible.

Lilah is so pleased to be carrying her Kasha kitty

A few years into my husband and my relationship, we adopted 2 sibling cats to practice being a family. We gave them tons of love and eventually they came around from their feral ways. When I became pregnant (6 months later) my female cat, Kasha, would sleep up against my stomach (which she had never done before). She seemed to know there was a little life inside me. Obviously when my daughter Lilah was born, it was a huge change for all of us (including the kitties!). Most cats don’t take well to crying babies (plus they get much less attention), but since my cats were still young themselves, they seemed to get used to it pretty quickly. Kasha stuck close to Lilah, but slightly out of her range. Ozzy (my other cat) generally stayed at least 10 feet away from her.

What I can say now is that Lilah adores her kitties. They tolerate her laying on them, carrying them around the house, and throwing balls, Frisbees and whatever else she thinks they’ll like. So far her responsibilities are just to love and play with them, retrieve them if they get out in the yard, and know exactly where they are at all times (she took this on without being asked). Eventually I will give her more tasks like I was given as a child.  Maybe in a few years we could add a dog to mix, but for now, I think our family of 5 is just …purrfect.

VISIT THE LE TOP HOME…
www.letop-usa.com

VISIT THE RABBITMOON HOME…
www.rabbitmoon-usa.com

 

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Le Top Doggie Couture Update!

It’s no secret that we LOVE clothes at Le Top! We are the invariable audience that goos and gushes over the sweetness of the le•top baby collection and laughs with delight at whimsical Le Top styles.  But we have a little secret here, behind the scenes…it’s the wildly creative fashions that our employees dream up for their four-legged friends (and sometimes office mates!)

Cengx (our wonderful “style supporter” and A+ girl-Friday’s) incredibly energetic Pomeranian Charemie is always prancing in with the newest le•top outfit – an ‘original’ design that Cengx has customized in a truly unique kind of haute couture.  (We always know when Charemie is in the house – his little voice carries through walls!)  Karen loves to dress Olive (the wonder dog) in her New York Yankees outfit – whether to flaunt her loyalties at her sons’ baseball games, or make a simple fashion stroll around the office, aimed towards torturing loyal Giants and A’s fans!  Riley, Marilyn’s rambunctious rescued German Sheppard mix has long made his mark – he loves playing in his le•top namesake costume (Halloween will be a big day for Riley!) We would be amiss if we did not mention our more contemporary collection…Rolando, the head designer of rabbitmoon, is always pushing the trends! He loves creating fashion-forward garments for his Chihuahua Rooye. Why copy another rabbitmoon style – he creates chic styles for this fashion forward pup that we just had to share!

We know you adore clothes as much as we do – and we are betting that you dress your pets… just like this critter and fashion focused group!  Share with us! Send us a photo of your four-legged friend wearing a fashionable favorite!

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Creative Baby Shower Gifts: The Diaper Cake

My cousin, Joslyn, is getting ready to have Baby #2 (a girl, Haven Bella) soon and this weekend, we are holding her baby shower! Since I work at a baby and kids clothing company, it’s no secret that most of my baby shower gifts are going to be our gorgeous baby clothes from le•top and rabbitmoon, but sometimes I like to mix it up a little. “Surprise” is a big thing for me, and because my gifts are generally predictable, I like to throw a zinger in there.

• For Jess’ baby shower gift, I put together a HUGE basket of clothes, along with some great products I have come across since being in the industry (Nookie pacifiers, Baby Legs, Pedipeds, etc).
• For Erin T’s, I did the basket and a Starbucks Frappuccino 4-pack filled with clothes instead of drinks. (Erin T. LOVES Starbucks!)
• For Joslyn (since she already had a similar gift with the first baby), I decided my “surprise” would be a diaper cake.

I have come across a lot of these online, but was never sure exactly how they did it. So the other night, I YouTube’d it, and sure enough there was a cheesy – though resourceful – How-To video. I bought the diapers, the ribbon, the jewels, the rubber bands, and the pins (my variation from double-stick tape), and went to work. I had to roll the diapers slightly differently than the video explained because the cute “character scene” on the front was turning my white cake into a blue one. All in all it took about 45 minutes to roll 92 diapers (size 1 & 2) and assemble them in the cake layers; about 30 minutes to put the ribbons and the jewels on; and 5 seconds to lay the shoes on the top as the cake topper.

Remember, this was my first time doing this, and I have learned some lessons:

1. Use ALL white diapers, if possible.
2. There is an advantage to using the double-stick tape (my ribbons are falling down because I only tautly pinned them — and in one place for that matter)
3. I need to figure out a way to secure the shoes on top (double-stick tape?)
4. Use a circular cake stand to start out the bottom layer. My bottom layer is too big for the cake stand.

Have you done a DIY shower gift? Please share your ideas and/or pictures!

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Calling all cuties! le•top is doing a CASTING CALL!

Our Spring 2010 photo shoot is fast approaching and le•top is looking for children to model our unique clothing!

We are searching for babies and toddlers between the ages of 7 months and 4 years that wear sizes between 9 months and 3T (unwashed).

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and your child loves to be on the lens side of a camera…read on!

Please provide the following information to skelly@letop-usa.com and we will send you all the pertinent information regarding the go-see and photo shoot:

* Child’s Name
* Guardian’s Name
* Boy or Girl
* A couple of recent photos of your cutie 
   (snapshots are ok)
* Age
* Weight
* Clothing size
* Email address
   (please send one email per child)
* Can your child walk or stand on their own?

IMPORTANT DATES AND INFORMATION:

GO-SEE: July 9th at our Richmond, California headquarters
What is a go-see? It’s a day when children come in for an audition (to try on clothes!)

PHOTO SHOOT: July 20th, 21st and 23rd
If your child is chosen they MUST be available for one or more of these photo shoot dates.

REQUIREMENTS: All children must secure a valid working permit – we will supply all the information necessary – and sign a usage agreement. Information regarding compensation will be included in our return email.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: July 3, 2009

On Set

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We’re the Daily Exclusive on BabySteals!

Our limited-edition rabbitmoon plush blankets are the exclusive steal-of-the-day on BabySteals — these four beautiful, plush, double-layer blankets are soft chenille on one side and deluxe velour on the reverse. They come in colors: rose, blue, pomegranate, navy (reverses to tan). 30 x 36 crib size. Washable and snuggly! Go to BabySteals and get a steal on this exclusive — for yourself, or as a very special baby shower gift (or, an effortless replacement of a magic blanket, as we did for Nadine)!

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Oh, They Grow Up So Fast…

Hey batter, batter, batter...

Faith (of Klassy Kids in Waldorf, MD) really knows how to make my day. I just sat down to my computer to go through the lot of emails flooding my inbox this morning (combined with a sinus headache from our lovely allergy season), and hers was the first one I opened. She attached pictures of my favorite le•top and rabbit moon model, Trey, from Mother’s Day! “He loves to play ball”, she captioned, and it really shows. I started cracking up when I opened the second picture. Trey’s facial expression is priceless, he really looks like he is about to throw a tricky slider and strike out batter #1 “Daddy”. I reminisced about the first pictures I received from Faith when Trey was born (not too hard, since they are posted just to the right of my screen), and marveled at how amazing it is to watch a child grow up. Trey is not even two years old yet, and he is already getting “So BIG!”  They grow fast, don’t they…!?!

OK, now of course, I have to talk about the clothes! 🙂 Trey is wearing (and expertly modeling, I must say!) the striped Submarine collection shirt and terry short (shown below) from rabbit moon. Click on the image to see the entire Submarine collection and use the store locator to find a rabbit moon retailer near you (if you don’t live near Klassy Kids!).

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Seams to Last in Port Townsend, WA

Seams to Last in Port Townsend, WA (a touristy little mecca outside of the Olympic Forest) is getting ready for a BIG bridge closure. We’re all too familiar with the bridge closures here in the San Francisco Bay Area, as the Bay Bridge, our main “crossing” to San Francisco, has been closed every Labor Day Weekend for the past three years for earthquake retrofitting. No matter where it happens, when these kinds of closures come, it can definitely create some retail headaches for local shops. But store owner Michelle seams to be rising to the challenge! She is gearing up for local shoppers and making sure she is stocked with items that will fill the needs for their little ones, so they won’t have to face the limited ferry options, or go out of their way to get them. Learn Michelle’s strategy on Seams To Last’s TV debut (and for your budding engineers who are fascinated with bridges, it’s pretty interesting to see just why they’re closing the bridge)! Best wishes to Michelle, Seams to Last and everyone affected by the Hood Canal Bridge closure the next six weeks!

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Do You Let Your Kids Dress Themselves?

“I’ve got all I need…my le•top hat, my rain boots and my bb (blanket).”

I have, ahem, some difficulty putting clothes on my daughter, Lilah. Considering her modeling “gigs” for our beautiful le•top and rabbitmoon children’s fashions, you’d think she’d be a budding fashionista, but, nope. She likes wearing nothing, or, when I “let” her choose, she comes up with ensembles such as this! It’s beyond ironic that I work for a children’s clothing company and my only child has clothing issues. On the other end of the spectrum, when she loves something, I can’t get her to take the clothes off, even though it is a major triumph when it’s an outfit I really wanted her to wear. I often wonder if I’m the only one who has such issues with clothing a young child. It’d be really fun to see photos of “interesting” ensembles that kids put together when they’re allowed to do so.

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le•top Birth Announcement: It’s a Boy!

Jake and big sister, Kate, with Daddy

We’re very excited to learn that one of our le•top and rabbitmoon Favorites Contest winners, Marissa C., gave birth to a tiny bundle of joy recently. Jake Thomas arrived on Monday, March 23 at 7:43 am. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 18 1/2 inches long. Happy Birthday, Jake! Marissa wrote to say he is still too small to wear the clothes she chose as part of her contest win, but as soon as he’s big enough, we’ll be getting more photos. Thanks for sharing, Marrissa, and congratulations to you and your family!

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