It was so fun to celebrate spring with Splendid on Saturday! I hadn't yet visited the Chestnut Hill store, and while I generally prefer to shop online (efficiency model!), there was definitely something to be said for being able to paw all of Splendid's ridiculously soft knits + get dressing room consults in person! I wanted to share some fun photos from the event, as well as my favorite picks for easy breezy spring/summer dressing.

So, first, this has nothing to do with clothes, but isn't this candy bar AMAZING? Splendid engaged Sweet Indulgence to set up this beautiful display + some candy crafts. I love how bright and cheerful it was! It took all of my restraint not to eat 10 cupcakes.

I walked in wearing what I was planning on wearing but then I couldn't help but shop a little! And though I never, ever imagined a romper would work on me, I am now a convert thanks to this jersey jumpsuit. I literally walked out of the dressing room and asked a staffer to clip the tags off me. I especially love that you can dress this romper up or down and it feels like you're wearing PJs. WIN.

So much beautiful, soft clothing -- not just for women, but men and kids too.

I was thrilled to co-host this event with my friends Audrey of Mom Generations and Roxanna of Everyday Treats. These ladies are so smart and talented and kind.

So now, for my picks. There are tons of great mix and match separates at Splendid, but one of my favorite ways to simplify getting dressed is one-piece items. To date, this has meant dresses for me, but now I'm a fan of rompers/jumpsuits! In addition to my jersey jumpsuit, here are 6 pieces I recommend: 1) I pawed this v-neck maxi dress (in flamingo) a dozen times. It was so silly of me not to just go ahead and buy it at the store! I'm going to order it online. 2) Roxanna was wearing the cowl neck jumpsuit and it looked phenomenal. Flattering + comfy. 3) One of the staffers was wearing this desert rain tie dye romper and she looked adorable. 4) This jumpsuit is super chic; I want this one too. 5) This stripe bubble dress is a perfect kick around dress for spring/summer. You can never go wrong with stripes! 6) If you don't mind taking a risk on final sale, I love this strapless maxi dress in apricot. So flowy and elegant!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the event and if you haven't tried on Splendid's wears, I highly recommend it! They totally nail the comfy chic niche!

Image credits: all images by the talented (and adorably pregnant!) Chelsea J. Photography, with the exception of the shot of me alone in my romper + the Splendid clothing graphic that I created.

I'm thrilled to share another Local Gems post today (be sure to check out the Arlington Center, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Lexington, Medford, and Watertown features)! Today's Jamaica Plain recommendations come from my rad friend Casey, who writes about her city adventures with her wife and daughter over at Life with Roozle. Thanks for sharing these 10 local gems in Jamaica Plain, Casey!

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1. Arnold Arboretum. Dog walks. Bike rides. Hikes. Sledding. A view of the July 4th fireworks. Arnold Arboretum has it all. Not only is the Arboretum easy to get to (accessible by both the Orange Line and has loads of parking), once inside, you feel like you've stepped out of the city and into a magical green space.

2. The Dogwood Cafe. The Dogwood is a staple in Forest Hills. When I first moved to JP 11 years ago the pizzas were square and named after trees -- perfect for our big roommate meetings, as we had a lot of roommates in a large Victorian house overlooking the nearby Forest Hills Cemetery. Now, the pizzas are circles, but still named after trees. We've exchanged our late nights of beer and baseball and pizza at the bar for my daughter's favorite giant $3 pancake at brunch and live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

3. Fazenda Coffee Roasters. There are two things I love most in the world (besides my family, of course): writing and coffee. Fazenda is a coffee shop and bakery in Forest Hills that brings my two loves together. Well, my three loves often too, as it's one of my daughter's favorite spots as well. At Fazenda, the wifi is strong (and never shuts off!), the tables are big enough to work, but not too big that any space is wasted. People stay for hours drinking coffee and writing or reading or working, but the turnover is always just fast enough to never have to wait long for a table. Sandwiches are tasty and the lattes are perfect. It's my favorite.

4. Salmagundi. You might not know you needed a hat. Or a fancy bow tie. Or all the fancy things. But when you enter Salmagundi, you become aware of all your needs. You suddenly need a lot more fancy in your life.

5. City Feed and Supply. Do you need a fair trade latte and a few groceries? Look no further! City Feed is the place to be! Local produce, Equal Exchange coffee, Batch ice cream, amazing sandwiches (including my favorite, the Farmer's Lunch), and now even beer and wine make City Feed a one stop local shop.

6. Bikes Not Bombs. JP is known for being progressive, hipsterish, and full of families. And what do all progressive hipster families need? A refurbished bike from Bikes Not Bombs! My family has a bit of a bike hoarding problem, thanks to BNB. Bikes Not Bombs rules as a non-profit, of course, but is also a bike retail shop, and the best place in JP to stop in to get that sidewalk sale bike you picked up for your kid all fixed up with purple grips. I'm speaking from experience here.

7. Southwest Corridor. The Southwest Corridor is a bike path that runs all the way through JP. It splits in several places with walking sides too, great for jogging or walking. We love to playground hop our way through on our bikes as there are six playgrounds along the Corridor.

8. The Brewery. The Sam Adams brewery is a staple in JP. Boston invented awesome. And beer. Or we can pretend. The brewery building isn't just beer, though. Ula Cafe, Bella Luna, Mike's Fitness, Tony Williams Dance Studio, and the Sam Adams Brewery are just a few of the great spots in the Brewery building. Parking is a bit of a disaster, but the ramp out front is my 5-year-old's most favorite place in all of JP.

9. Hatched. Hatched is JP's own eco-friendly children's shop. They carry cloth diapering supplies, wooden baby toys and books, and the most adorable children's clothes ever.

10. Vee Vee. No neighborhood is complete without a perfect date night spot. Vee Vee is it. For our date nights, I tend to be a vegan-leaning wine drinker and my wife enjoys oysters, steak, and seltzer. Vee Vee is perfect for both of us. We both leave happy every time. Especially since we stopped trying to share dessert. You definitely each need your own here.

Do you have other Jamaica Plain gems you love? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you want to pen a Local Gems guest post, contact Christine at editor@bostonmamas.com to check on availability.

Image credits: all images via linked websites or associated Facebook pages

Take a gander in my closet, friends, and you will see a whole lotta knits. As much as I like my fancy clothes, knits are comfy, cute, and WASHABLE -- basically, an essential part of the mom arsenal (anyone else find toddler food ground into their clothing at the end of the day?). Which is one reason why I'm thrilled to be hosting Splendid's Chestnut Hill Spring Celebration along with my dear friends Audrey McClelland and Roxanna Sarmiento.

Bring the whole family (Splendid has stylish picks for women, men, and kids!) and your friends too, Saturday, May 31 (2:30-4:30) for an afternoon of fun. The event is free, but please RSVP to rsvp_ChestnutHill@vfc.com so we can get a head count (read: procure enough treats). I can't wait to meet you!

Though Laurel and Violet differ in many ways, one characteristic they most definitely share is their love of books. While I was collecting their beloved but outgrown board books to hand down to my sister, I made a list of the picture books that have received request upon request by both girls. These picks will be wonderful for your library; they shine in wording, messaging, and illustration. Enjoy! And feel free to add your favorites in the comments below!

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
2. A Birthday for Frances
3. Bread and Jam for Frances
4. Caps for Sale
5. The Cat in the Hat
6. Doctor DeSoto
7. Duck on a Bike
8. Ella Takes the Cake
9. The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit
10. George & Martha: Best of Friends
11. The Gigantic Turnip
12. Great Day For Up
13. Guji Guji
14. Harold and the Purple Crayon
15. I’ll Teach My Dog 100 Words
16. The Kissing Hand
17. The Little House
18. Llama Llama Red Pajama
19. Make Way for Ducklings
20. Madeline
21. Miss Nelson is Missing
22. Miss Rumphius
23. Olivia
24. Penguin
25. Penguin and Pinecone
26. Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore
27. A Pocket for Corduroy
28. The Shape of Me
29. The Snail and the Whale
30. Stone Soup
31. Swimmy
32. Tillie and the Wall
33. Toot & Puddle
34. Where is the Cake?
35. Zen Ties

Image credits: book jackets via Amazon; compilation graphic by Christine Koh

I love having two sisters to share baby hand me downs with (I was fortunate to receive amazing hand me downs at my secondhand baby shower!), and as I've been collecting Vi's outgrown board books to pass along, I thought I'd share a roundup of 20 great board books for babies and toddlers in honor of Children's Book Day (today). These picks are perfect for gifting or expanding your own library!

1. Barnyard Dance

2. Bear About Town

3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See?

4. Boston 123

5. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

6. Doggies

7. Go Dog Go

8. The Going to Bed Book

9. Good Night, Gorilla

10. Good Night Moon

11. Guess How Much I love You

12. Harry the Dirty Dog

13. How Kind

14. The Hat

15. I Love You Through and Through

16. Little Blue Truck

17. Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

18. Sheep in a Jeep

19. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

20. Who’s In the Forest?

Have other favorite board books to share? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below!

Image credits: book jackets via Amazon

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Today, Lindsey shares some great book recommendations:

My daughter is 11, and in her independent reading has found a rich vein of chapter books with strong female protagonists (see my earlier post on books for strong and smart girls). Island of the Blue Dolphins, A Wrinkle in Time, Harriet the Spy, and even The Hunger Games series: all of these share gutsy, brave, intelligent girl narrators.

We have been somewhat less successful finding strong female lead characters in picture books, which we still read. Perhaps because I love the category so fiercely, my children do too, and many nights we curl up on the couch to read a new find or an old favorite. I am always looking for books that feature passionate and interesting female characters, to offer a counterpoint to the many picture books written about fascinating, strong-willed, and bright boys. Personally, I care about presenting both my daughter and my son with a balance of girl and boy role models; I think it's equally important for both of them. Here are some of my favorites:

1 + 2. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch and Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole are two books that have long been in our rotation, and which I've given to both of my goddaughters. Each is an explicit attempt to re-write the common princess narrative, which can often emphasize helplessness and a lack of autonomy.

3. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio and LeUyen Pham makes me cry every single time I read it. Elementary school-aged Grace discovers that there has never been a female president and after getting over her shock, decides to run for president in their school's mock election. Her male competitor assumes that all the boys will give their electoral votes to him (as an aside, this book offers a terrific introduction to the electoral college). The close election comes down to Sam, who represents Wyoming's 3 electoral votes. I'll let you read it to find out the ending, but suffice it to say I adore this book.

4. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts was under the tree for my 9-year-old son this year, and we all have enjoyed reading it several times. Rosie, who dreams of being an engineer, remembers when her audacious imagination was squashed by the teasing of an uncle. Then she recalls her great-great aunt Rose who built airplanes (from the looks of the illustration, in WW2) and sets her mind to creating a machine that will make Rose's dream, to fly, come true. The book reminds us all that failure is a necessary part of success, and that we can't possibly make our dreams come true if we don't even try.  Rosie's heroism has nothing to do with her gender, but instead for her grit and gumption, her dedication and hard work.

5. The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer is about a young princess, raised by her father and brothers after her mother's death. She is told by her family that she needs to get married, but what she wants to do is joust and compete like her older brothers. Finally, she disguises herself as a boy to enter a tournament. When she wins, she is able to free herself from the traditional "girl" path and also to demonstrate how strong and capable girls can be.

Do you have favorite picture books that depict strong female leads? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Image credit: Lindsey Mead

March is National Craft Month, and given how much I love crafting + the fact that I have some seriously crafty friends, I thought it would be fun to share a roundup of awesome craft/DIY books. The amazing thing? When I queried these creatives, they all shared different recommendations across different craft types. LOVE. I can't wait to add all of these titles to my craft library!

1. Decorating Cookies by Bridget Edwards. “I love a DIY book where I can learn something completely new. When it comes to the most adorably decorated sugar cookies you've ever seen and the best step by step instructions to help you get it right every time, this book rocks! Bridget is the Michael Jordan of cookie decorating.” -Kami of No Biggie

2. Fabrics A-Z by Dana Willard. “This sewing and fabric book from the lovely Dana Willard of MADE is the perfect guide for choosing the right style of fabric for your project!” -Marie of Make and Takes

3. Hand in Hand by Jenny Doh. “This book includes gorgeous and doable projects that parents and children can craft together. The photography is beautiful and colorful and the projects are inspiring.” -Caroline of Salsa Pie

4. Knitting New Mittens & Gloves by Robin Melanson. “A great option for when you're ready to try something more advanced. The patterns are gorgeous and reflect different ethnic and cultural traditions, including Icelandic, Celtic, and German. The patterns are sized for adults and children, and include a good range of mittens, gloves, fingerless gloves, mittens with fold-over flaps, and and even arm warmers. I've made several patterns from this book and wear and enjoy them all.” -Kate of Boston Mamas

5. Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. "This book is replete with adorable and stylish projects ranging from quick (coasters) to more involved (quilts). It's one of my go-to inspiration points when I'm thinking about starting a new sewing project." -Christine of Boston Mamas

6. Make and Takes for Kids by Marie LeBaron. “As much as I love to make things and craft, I fall short when it comes to simple and cute kid crafts, so I love Make and Takes for Kids as a quick go to when it comes to kid crafting...and as a bonus, I happen to love the author.” -Kami of No Biggie

7. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts by Martha Stewart Living Magazine. “There are so many good ones — most that we keep tend to be very specific and niche and we pick them up as my kids interests change and develop. But if you're just starting to build your crafting library, my favorite general book is Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts. It's the real deal. Great information. Great visuals. All from a crafting team that knows their glue glitter.” -Gabrielle of Design Mom

8. Modge Podge Rocks by Amy Anderson. “The book features more than 40 fun and fantastic projects using the wonder-supply that all crafters adore: Mod Podge!” -Caroline of Salsa Pie

9. New Dress a Day by Marisa Lynch. Marisa is a self-taught seamstress and yet is able to turn thrift store castoffs into covet-worthy & current pieces, like her "As Seen on TV" runway copycats for Hello Giggles & the Goodwill-to-gala pieces she upcycled for the sisters in The Fighter to wear on the Oscars red carpet. Her unassuming attitude and inclusive tips make even a total amateur feel at ease ponying up to her sewing machine for the first time.” -Melissa of Shoestring Magazine

10. Oliver + S Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson. “A pleasure just to look at, the patterns in this book are a compilation of the best from the Oliver + S company. Skirts, jackets, backpacks, and wonderful hats, all sized for children but in designs that will appeal to adults. The patterns indicate their level of difficulty, and the instructions are illustrated and pretty easy to follow. A fun book for sewing for kids.” -Kate of Boston Mamas

11. POM-POMS! 25 Awesomely Fluffy Projects by Sarah Goldschadt & Lexi Walters Wright. “I love all the unique and fun tutorials to make yarn poms from this Pom-Poms book. From little creatures to flowers to garlands. It makes me yarn happy!” -Marie of Make and Takes

12. Put Your Stamp On It by Meagan Lewis. “This stamping book is one of my favorites to get project ideas on things to make with my 5 year old daughter Chloe. We love to stamp to make pictures, wrapping paper or cards so it's a great way to try new techniques.” -Natalie of Coquette

13. Sewing for All Seasons by Susan Beal. “I am a sewer at heart and this book has lots of easy year-round small sewing projects you can make such as placemats, aprons, ornaments, slippers and more.  The fabrics used for the projects in the book are just gorgeous so I sometimes just find myself just flipping through the photos when I don't have time to actually sew.” -Natalie of Coquette

14. Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg & Cheryl Arkison. “This book is a great beginner's guide to quilting. Pretty patterns, good inspiration, and easy-to-follow instructions that actually make quilting seem within reach. A great place to start out for a first quilt (as I did) or to try something a bit more advanced.” -Kate of Boston Mamas

Image credits: book jackets via Amazon; compilation image by Christine Koh

I know it's tough to fathom since it's 12 degrees out right now, but remember how balmy it was last weekend? The rapidly melting snow banks coupled with the Marimekko event left me hungry for spring! If you're ever in a grouchy mood, just walk into Marimekko and your happy neurons will start firing; it's pure rainbow awesomeness. Don’t believe me? Check out the evidence below:

The spring/summer runway show was awesome thanks to my blogging friends and their adorable kids. Audrey showed how well Marimekko dresses go with leggings and flats. Her son Henry looked adorable in stripes + critters (and dragon face paint).

Casey shared that this was her first time in a dress since prom! She looked amazing and I love that she integrated her style with black sneakers. Her daughter Riley (with an awesome unicorn on her face...girl after my own heart) was simply adorable in Marimekko leggings, long sleeved tee, and tank dress.

Sharon looked awesomely elegant in this dot dress. Her son Bennett (he was such an adorable ham!) rocked the layers, with a striped collared shirt topped with a gorilla tee.

I love how chic and modern Sharon's geometric print is; she dressed this look up with peep toe pumps. Her daughter Sienna looked so cute in leggings, a tee, and my favorite of Marimekko's raincoats for kids. Also, Sienna's red glitter shoes were to die for!

Here's a shot of the moms, which I insisted on because usually we're busy taking pictures of our kids and aren't in the photos. These ladies make the internet such a good place!

Also, I love this photo with Audrey. Audrey is one of the first people I met after I started blogging; she's pure generosity and kindness. Her family is amazing and I often joke that I'm totally crashing their next family gathering.

Thank you Zac of Zac Wolf Photography for these amazing photos! And also, have you heard of The Danger Booth? Zac and Becca are the brains behind this operation and their booth set up at the event was the funnest. thing. ever. I want to hire them for all my parties! These photo booth shots are hilarious; the booth was touch screen so the kids were able to operate it themself and go nuts.

And finally, as someone who has an awful lot of black, white, and cream in her wardrobe (I tend to infuse color via accessories), wearing that insanely awesome Tasma dress was a fun way to step out of my comfort zone and wear the rainbow. Subsequently, I thought it would be fun to close by sharing a rainbow assortment of Marimekko offerings. So cute! And I love that their wares span clothing, accessories, household, and tech! (Names of items are underneath the image.)

Murina t-shirt | Converse Mustakottarainen | Media makeup bag | Sukellus bathing suit | Pitkähiha long sleeved t-shirt | Päärynä coffee cup | Kurjenpolvi pillow sham | Sääpäiväkirja plate | Ärrän raincoat | Hennika sham| Räsymatto apron | Telmiä pajamas | Kaivo phone case | Kaivo scarf

Image credits: product shots via Marimekko; all other photos courtesy of Zac Wolf Photography

Today's Friday Find is actually one of Jon's discoveries and it's a great find for any age and gender: parachute cord crafts. Jon bought Laurel a bracelet kit for Christmas and they had so much experimenting with knot and braid techniques that we've purchased separate cord + accessories (Laurel wears her bracelets constantly and has a whistle on one of them). You can make everything from compass bracelets to dog collars; I'm thinking about picking up this paracord project book for Laurel and Jon soon!

Image credits: images via Amazon product links above