Janie & Jack

I stumbled upon the store, Janie and Jack , entirely by accident during the Christmas shopping season.  I walked in and two thoughts hit me simultaneously:

1.  Yes!  I can’t believe I’ve never seen this before!  I have five daughters!
2.  It’s a really good thing I’ve never seen this before!  ($$$ in my head) So, it’s my new favorite children’s clothing store even though I can’t afford it.  Their clothing is beautiful, high quality, and well, the style I love.  I scoured the clearance rack and came away with new dresses for three of my girls, all at a great price.  {thank goodness for clearance racks!}  With shopping bags and coordinating gift boxes that look like vintage wallpaper, I was smitten.


I had already decided I didn’t want to buy more “Christmas” themed dresses; we have enough of them.  But I did want to get all of the children something new to wear to church.  So on Christmas morning my younger three girls went to church in these:






And for Easter I would LOVE to be able to put my two year old in this dress .  Sigh.  Having seen it in person I’m pretty sure it’s the cutest dress I’ve ever seen.  If you can afford $150 per outfit, you should head there.  If you’re like me and you only think of $150 in terms of utility and grocery bills then you can join me in drooling.  Either way, pretty is pretty.

Let’s get something straight.  I know that clothing and stores and dresses mean very little in the big scheme of things.  But I also know this, that every girl who grows up dreaming of having a family has, included in her dreams, little pictures of the cute clothes they’ll wear, pictures of little girls twirling in pretty dresses and little boys looking dapper in their shirts and ties.  I had those dreams.  I want to remember that I lived them, too.   My children don’t wear a lot of high end clothes, but they look nice.  They look clean.  And the dresses, oh the dresses.  I have been so blessed to watch many a girl twirl in their pretty dress and felt that clench of joy in my heart that accompanies it.  I want to remember that feeling.  Soon everyone will be choosing their own clothes, then buying their own clothes, and then I’ll be watching them twirl in white wedding dresses.  My heart will break a little, but in breaking I hope it will also burst with joy, and that I’ll discover the bursting allows it to grow even more.

Until then, I’m treasuring all the little girl moments with cute clothes and pretty dresses that I can get.  Because I love it, and I guess part of me is still a little girl, too, except that they look a whole lot cuter in their dresses than I do in mine.

HH