For those who don’t know, my sister had a baby in August. The most beautiful, blue-eyed, dark-haired, albeit slightly Asian looking baby EVER!

My parents went to visit not too long ago, and above are a few pictures of the constantly smiling, bundle of joy. Seriously…I’ve never seen a baby so happy! Of course, the only other baby I’ve really been around is My best friend’s daughter, Maddie, who was colicky for the first five months of her life.

When I first heard that my sister had gone into labor with Ms. Adelynn Mitchell…it meant one thing in the mind of this young New York woman. It meant it’s time to shop for welcome home gifts! Did it matter that I already spent hundreds of dollars on gifts at the baby shower? And when my sister first announced she was pregnant? And basically any time I passed an adorable boutique in the West Village? And that I knitted her a blanket and a hat and a scarf regardless of the fact that Bridget’s due date was August 7th? NO, of course not! This is my niece! And she deserves all that I can afford to give her!

I suited up in my most comfortable pair of heels and headed to the darling little store I had passed a few times, but never had the chance to go into. Live It Up! is located on Ave B and 13th St in the East Village. With a small door hidden behind a big flea market, it was easy to miss. Luckily, they have painted their name on the window in big pink letters. Upon walking in, I was greeted with hot coffee and cookies in celebration of their one-year anniversary. The young married couple was sweet and hip, looking like they definitely belonged right there in the East Village. Everything in the store was unique (and not all baby stuff…household appliances, towels, etc too), brightly colored, and classy with an air of funk to it. There were terry cloth robes for the baby with hoods like animals. And a bumblebee onesie that I couldn’t resist buying…it was going to be perfect for Halloween! But the thing that stood out most were the pacifier clips. I didn’t realize when I bought them, but they turned out to be the best gift my sister received. These pacifier clips were made of soft material, similar to the terry cloth robes, and had adorable designs, like ladybugs and flowers. All of the other pacifier clips my sister bought were hard or rubbery and Adelynn had a tendency to bonk herself in the face with them. But these Live It Up pacifier clips were, not only soft against her neck and chin, but brightly colored and stimulating for the baby as well as cute with any outfit!

Bridget called me within days of using the clip, begging me to buy more and send them to her. Then, her sister-in-law, also pregnant, asked for some. Then her sister-in-laws best friend wanted some. I found myself making a detour to this store every week to fill yet another order.

I guess I’ll just have to go find something else equally amazing so that I can spend my time in a different store for a change…