strawberry picking.

Top. Jeans. Shoes. Bag.

Hannah’s pants, shirt, Ava’s dress, Ethan’s shorts, Carter’s shirt: Joe Fresh.

Last week I took my kids strawberry picking out in Carnation.  It was a perfect overcast afternoon, a welcome reprieve after the hot, hot start we had to the week, the weather was perfect for the activity.

It’s funny.  All the whining I endure making my kids weed, and they were basically filled with glee picking those twenty pounds of bright red strawberries.  But I guess, how many instances of work directly pay off in a delicious vat of fresh strawberries and 8 jars of homemade freezer jam?  So I guess it makes sense, but I was kind of laughing to myself the whole afternoon about how happy they were to be out there in the dirt picking strawberries…

Today is the last day of school before summer break and man are we ready.  Since the rest of the planet has been out of school for the last three weeks, we are pretty excited to join in on all the summer festivities.  I sat down with the kids the other day and we made our own little summer bucket list.  All the fun little adventures we want to have before they go back to school in the fall…

Now lets talk kid clothes, shall we?  I know it’s not something I focus on a lot on here, but I get a lot of emails about where I like to buy my kids their clothes.  So here we go.

The funny thing is, before I had kids I didn’t realize how time consuming just keeping up with their clothes would be.  Laundry aside, (because I could write a novel about how much work it is to do laundry for 6 people) every time the season changes I basically have to buy 4 entirely new wardrobes.  Because kids grow over six months and the thing that fit them at the end of last summer more often than not doesn’t fit them at the beginning of the next.  Why did I not realize this before I had kids?

Anyway, buying new clothes for 4 little people every time the weather changes can get pricey, so I’ve collected a few go-to places over the years that are really great options, and help me stay on budget when it comes to the expense of buying kids clothes.

There are a few things I look for when buying kids clothes. 1. Price.  I don’t spend a lot on my kids clothes.  It’s the same reason I don’t sew kids clothes either.  It’s not worth the investment, because if kids are doing childhood right, then they are rough on their clothes.  They’re going to get dirty, stained, worn out and grown out of, and there is just no point investing a lot of money in children’s clothing when they aren’t going to wear them much past a season. 2. Durable.  I’m not saying they have to stand the longest test of time, but I want them to be able to take a hit and keep on coming.  (Especially if it’s my boys, cause they are rough on clothes! #boymom) 3. Functional. I want my kids to be comfortable enough in their clothes to play and move and act like, well children.  I also want them to work with a lot of different things.  Mixing and matching is key to spending less and having a lot of wearable options.  4. Fun.  I want my kids’ clothes to be fun and colorful, with cute, interesting prints.  My boys could care less what they wear and they wouldn’t put on something super trendy if I begged them (and those tennis shoes, yikes).  I like to find fun clothes that I think are super cute but that they’re also going to love wearing, like Carter’s shark sweatshirt or Ethan’s striped shorts.  Now that my kids are getting older it’s really important to me that they’re able to be independent and dress themselves in a way that expresses who they are, but still not have them look like homeless street urchins either.  It’s a delicate balance…

So here are my four favorite places to buy kids clothes:

Joe Fresh.  This is a fairly new find and I am already obsessed.  Their prices are so good, their prints are the cutest and the pieces I’ve ordered were all big hits with my kids.

Old Navy.  Bless you Old Navy because year after year, season after season their stuff is awesome and prices are fresh.  I’m a little bit obsessed with all the black and white prints in this season.

H&M. Always tons of great, cute fun stylish pieces at amazing prices.  I mean summer dresses for girls for $4.99?  Boys jeans for under $10.  This is where I go to get a lot of bang for my buck.  

Zara.  Oh hello Zara.  (they have two in Seattle now-happy dance)And seriously, best kids clothes ever.  Little bit higher price point than the other three, so when I want to pick up something a little more special that’s where I go.  And double bonus, they have phenomenal end of season sales every six months and that is the time to stock up.

some of my favorite kids pieces this season:

girls:

boys: