It had been a while since I had been to one of my favorite shopping malls, and I happened to finally stop by a couple of weeks ago.  They have done some remodeling and taken out some kid-friendly features in order to appear more “upscale” so I hadn’t been in a really big hurry to go back.

But, a new store that I’d never heard about had popped up in my absence, and I have to say I was really, really impressed with the quality and design of the clothing. I know y’all like to see the goods before buying, but there aren’t a whole lot of these stores in brick-and-mortar form, so online is the way most of you will be able to access their stuff. 

And what wonderful stuff it was!  I liked many, many things, but here are a few of my favorites:

Little Peanut Dress

The fabric is soft and lovely, the garment itself well-constructed.  I adored all of their “little peanut” line.

Stinson Polo

The ultimate in surfer cool, I liked a lot of their shirts for boys.

Frida Skirt

The picture does not do this skirt any justice.  The embroidery is absolutely beautiful, and again, the skirt is well-made.

Junglie Elephant

Their whole line of Junglie and Bunglie animals were some of the softest, cuddliest I’ve ever felt.

Oh, and I always award bonus points to stores who emphasize books, and they had a large and impressive book display in the very front of the store.

*I am not affiliated with Peek…, nor am I receiving any sort of compensation for this review.  Good clothes are hard to find, and I wanted to pass the info along.

“Action, mommy. A really good book has lots of action.”

If you are looking for books that the boy in your life will look forward to reading, take it from my seven year old.  They love action.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan delivers exactly that.  Beginning with The Lighning Thief  and ending with The Last Olympian, even a fairly reluctant reader will be hard-pressed to put the books down.  Not only do they move along briskly, with plenty of the aforementioned action, but there is quite a bit of humor, topped off with a nice dusting of Greek mythology.  I should know,  because I read all of them before my son did.

For, uh, research purposes, of course.

The books follow demigod Percy Jackson through five years of living out a prophecy foretold by the Oracle of Delphi.  Who happens to be a mummy in an attic at the demigod summer camp.  Percy must battle gods and monsters in order to save Mount Olympus, which is located at the top of the Empire State Building. Natch. Throw in some centaurs, labyrinths, Mist, and capricious Greek gods, and tell me how you can possibly resist.

I highly recommend the books for that certain someone who is bound to be whining about being half-dead from boredom in about two weeks from now.

*I bought all of these myself at Target.  No freebies here. Now normally I don’t buy my books at Target, but I have a seven month old, so you’ve got to cut me some slack.

Remember those teething biscuits I raved about?

Well, the owners of the company were awesome, and sent me a few boxes of them, along with some of their other products, which are some lovely kid-friendly cookies called Dino Bites in different flavors. All of the products are 100% natural, vegan, and well, awesome. I have to admit that I am not a vegan, and love my butter, but even I really enjoyed the cookies. They are light, delicately flavored, and have just the perfect amount of crisp.

So, I’d like to give you some! I’ll be giving away four sets of teething biscuit/cookie combos, with a total of three boxes per prize.

Here’s how you can enter:

-One entry for adding Teeny Manolo on your RSS feed.

-Two entriesfor becoming a fan of Teeny Manolo on Facebook.

-Two entries for following Teeny Manolo on Twitter. (Be like Veronica Webb, who for some strange reason is following me! I will confess to screeching when I saw the name! Love her!)

-Three entries for blogging about the giveaway and linking back to the site.

The first three options are easily done by looking for the handy-dandy Twitter, Facebook, and RSS buttons at the top of the peach-colored middle column of the site.

The winner will be picked by random number generator on Tuesday June 22, 2010.  Unfortunately, contest winners must be from the United States or Canada.  I love you Aussies, but it would cost me a fortune!

You must leave a comment on this post so I know how many entries to give you! We work on the honor system here, so don’t make me disqualify you!

Have you seen Salma Hayek’s new shorter style? She is genetically blessed, though, with uber-thick hair. My hair would never do that. It would just sort of hang there, not swirl so impressively.

Like the delicious best of breakfast and lunch, there should be something for everyone!

Actors play dress-up for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.  And could I be any more jealous of Gayle King?

 Your Mama dresses down the press about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

Candy’s True Confessions.  My husband does the same thing, Candy, so don’t feel alone!

Nance exposes Einstein as a big, fat, liar.

Cynthia’s take on Food, Inc.

Kelley lays down the law to her family during her recuperation.

And finally, The Bloggess tells you that your zombie armor is ALL WRONG.

Oh yes, it’s that time again!  Time to look at all the pretty dresses!  I know some of these are a bit on the spendy side, but did I mention how pretty they are?

What do I look for in a dress? Vibrant color combinations, wearability, and uniqueness.  Because I have become intimately acquainted with the girl’s section of the clothing store, and there are just so many dresses that look awfully similar to each other, and I can only take so much pink and brown and pink and white.

Kate Mack – Copacabana Dress  also in Infant and Toddler So fluffy! So cute! Tiers of ruffles make this dress an irresistible confection.

O’Neill Kids – Layla

It’s got some wonderful colors and patterns, and a vintage vibe.

Roxy Kids – Check It Out

Love. It.

O’Neill Kids – Belle

Another ONeill with a wonderful print. And a halter dress for the win!

D&G Junior – Sailor – Dress

This is a dress that not many would buy due to the price, but I’m digging it nonetheless.

Clickety click here to

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Have you ever been just going along, thinking your life is pretty A-OK when blam! Something or someone or a combination of  somethings and someones happen to throw off your mojo?  Well, today that is me, and what can I say, I’m a bit verklempt.  And damn it, I can’t blame post-partum mood swings because after five months, those should pretty much be gone, right?

So, as a distraction, I went looking at some spring/summer shoes for the young ladies, and found some that lightened my mood a bit.  Ahhh, shoe therapy always works, doesn’t it?

Camper Kids – 80181

Stuart Weitzman Kids – St. Tropez (Youth) (Fuchsia) – Footwear

Lo, as the Manolo has entered the world of Twitter and Facebook, so has Teeny Manolo! 

Go here to find us (and me) on Facebook! Join the tens of fans!

Go here to follow us (and we’ll follow you, natch) on Twitter!

Do you have a blog? Would you like to be on the blogroll? Would you be willing to have Teeny Manolo on your blogroll? Email me at theglinda@gmail.com

No, none of this is an April Fool’s joke, just desperation, on my part!