When I lived in NYC, I was a major designer shopper. I would walk into Prada or Gucci or some other ridiculously expensive boutique, and although at the time my salary was well under $50,000, I would buy whatever I saw that I liked and fit. Oftentimes, I wouldn’t even look at the price first. That’s exactly how I ended up with a $700 nylon backpack, $400 red patent leather loafers and an entire wardrobe of other things that weren’t really “me,” but that I was hoping would present the “me” that I wanted the world to see. It was the nineties, I was young, had many credit cards and no clue.

And then I woke up one day, wise and frugal.

I still love nice things and I’m a firm believer in buying quality not quantity. I collect art and have a home full of antiques and beautiful furniture. My girls are both immaculately dressed and I myself am just starting to rebuild a wardrobe from the ground up. I am determined not to continue to live my life in sweatpants and flip-flops.

But I am a smart shopper. I have lists of things that I’d like, for myself, my girls, my home, my husband. And I update these lists regularly. And when I find the item I am looking for, I either buy it or watch it for a while until it goes on sale. I often find that when it finally gets marked down, I’m no longer interested in it anymore. And if it’s something I must have, I just make the investment.

But shopping for my girls is tough because while I want them to have beautiful things, I also now how hard they can be on their clothing day-to-day. I have been known to splurge on special items now and again, a Puella dress or a Twig cashmere sweater from Lucky Jade. But today, while passing through Macy’s, I decided to take a brief detour through the children’s department to see what they carried, and I stumbled across this line called “Green Dog.” I think it’s their store line. Or maybe not. But either way, this stuff is seriously cute. And not in a babyish way. It’s cute as in kind of chic for little people. The colors are fantastic – sage green tee-shirts with tiny brown polka dots and puffy sleeves, thermal hoodies with a precious flower print. And cargo pants that roll up and button into shorts. And the cotton is amazingly soft. Feels like silk. I admit I went a little nuts, but my gosh the prices were incredible.