Happy Halloween!
Although it’s certainly not as big of a deal here in London compared to the U.S., it’s a big deal in our house, so we’ll be celebrating today. We’ll head to the fancy neighborhoods of Kensington where you can find some of London’s best trick-or-treating streets. My two boys will be dressed up (the younger one as a lion, and the older one as a shark!), and I’m sure we’ll indulge in loads of sweets! Hooray! I hope you have a Happy Halloween, wherever you are…
-Courtney
P.S. I made these cupcakes this morning from my new Cupcakes! book, and they are soooo tasty! We’re already off to a sugary start!
Michela’s favourite five!
Here are my favourites. It was hard to choose — I learned so much this past year from these other three women!
Here we go:
1) Courtney’s “Book Binge” because that’s how I discovered Oliver Jeffers, and my son and I are very grateful for that.
2) Esther’s “Make a bus” because that’s one of the best kid’s projects ever.
3) Emilie’s “A Time and a Place“, because it made me laugh and made me realise I will have to explain a few things in the future.
4) Courtney’s “Kids and jet lag” because it took away some of the fears I have of crossing many time zones with my children.
5) Esther’s “Snow white“, because it made me cry and made me realise how poetic the view of an innocent child on death can be.
What a great year!
-Michela
Ideas for a party
When I was little, my mum made sure my birthday parties ended up in ‘days to remember’. Although they were never overly organized and they never cost a whole lot of money, they were always great as they were primarily aimed at me and my friends (instead of my parents and their friends)!
I remember a homemade cake (helping my mum make the cake was already half of the fun), the obvious presents, and an afternoon spent in the garden with a small group of friends, playing simple games like ‘musical chairs’, ‘drop the handkerchief’ or ‘donkey’s tail’ — old fashioned games with little prizes as a reward for the proud winners! The grand finale would be a dinner just for kids, and it was always my choice of menu (I usually chose lasagne)!
I was talking to Emilie the other day, and her daughter’s third birthday is approaching rapidly (well, it’s in December but her daughter is already talking about nothing else). She was asking me for ‘third birthday tips’, or birthday tips in general.
Now, I prefer to have my kids’ birthday parties in my own house and prepare my own food and cake, but if your house is too small or you’re afraid of the mess (because a mess there will be, you can count on that!), it might be a safer bet to rent out a place, or to take the kids to an activity center of some sort. There are loads of great choices around these days!
For home birthday parties (for smaller kids), here are my tips: (more…)
Make your own Birthday Bunting
Bunting has had a serious revival in recent years. For me it evokes birthday parties, village fêtes, country weddings and general wholesomeness… and is so easy to make yourself!
To celebrate Babyccino’s 1st birthday my friend, Purvika Patel, who runs her own bunting making business, put me through a bunting master class. We spent a great evening putting together a simple bunting-making guide!
You will need:
-a piece of cardboard
-a pen
-scissors (pinking shears if you have them)
-scraps of fabric
-bias or ribbon
And here’s how to do it: (more…)
Eco My Party!
I’ve already written before about my anxiety over the amount of waste we create with every birthday party… Can you imagine all those plastic cups, plates, cutlery, balloons, decorations, and party favors that end up in the bin with each party we throw? It really makes me sick to think how easy it is to be so wasteful.
It’s a good thing Helen Thomson, an English mom to two boys, decided to create a company which would make it easy to be eco. Helen’s company, Eco My Party, is a no-fuss party supply shop which sells only eco-friendly products which will decompose in your compost bin after use. It’s brilliant.
She sells everything you need to create the perfect party: balloons, candles, cups, plates, decorations, stationery, wrapping paper, etc. All of it is biodegradable, and not to mention, also very stylish (think simple wooden cutlery, cute bamboo serving bowls, organic and fairtrade bunting, etc.).
This is one party supply store we should all be using. After all, we want our kids to have many, many birthdays to come…
-Courtney
Crostata
Crostata is a very simple, yet delicious, Italian cake. It has a base of pasta frolla which is similar to shortcrust pastry (but less buttery) and usually a top of jam, but you can also find it filled with apples, fresh fruit, custard cream and even nutella. You could consider it the equivalent of the American pie, and the many versions of it!
It is quite easy to make, not very messy to eat and all children love it – that’s probably why it is quite often the cake of choice at children’s parties. My son is not into cakes at all, but he loves an apricot jam crostata.
You can find hundreds of recipes for crostata, all similar yet all different. They will vary in the amount of sugar and the number of eggs, and maybe also in the flavour you can add to the crust.
Just one warning: it’s a dessert that is nearly impossible to get wrong but is very difficult to get perfect. Like with all things simple.
What follows below is the recipe of my friend, Gianmaria (a man!), who has baked an incredible amount of delicious crostate. (more…)
Emilie’s favourite five!
And here are my favourite 5 posts. These were sooo hard to choose!
1.)A week in London because it reminds me so much of living in London and going to all the places Courtney describes. It makes me want to move back!
2.)Super Maman or Monster Mom?? I just loved this article as living in France and having lived in the UK for a long time, the cultural differences in kids’ behaviour hits me every day.
3.)Kid-proofed holiday because my parents have a house about 15 mins drive from this Italian hotel and I cannot wait to send them with the kids there.
4.)A Romantic Evening? because I love the story and I can so see the same thing happening in our little family. We do all try hard to have romantic evenings and not always do we succeed.
5.)Blueberry Muffins because we love, love, love these blueberry muffins and they have become a must for a weekend breakfast.
-Emilie
Cupcakes!
Last week we went to my friend, Liska’s house for her daughter’s birthday party. Apart from being a lovely friend and a great mother, Liska is known for her cooking, and is especially famous for her cupcakes! (She made the most yummy cupcakes for a baby shower she threw for me a couple years ago, and I’m still raving about them). The cupcakes she made for her daughter’s party were so tasty, I helped myself to a second and then continued to polish off the remaining crumbs of my boys’ cupcakes! They were so yummy — moist and perfect with the most delicious frosting. (Honestly, better than anything you can buy!)
Want to know her secret?? This Cupcakes!
Esther’s favourite five!
OK, it took me a while to figure out which posts of the last year were my favourite, because I liked them all!
But here we go…
1. Courtney’s ‘Say no to drugs?’, because she describes so vividly how it was to have her babies, one with an epidural and the second one without. Beautifully written, and very informative too, in my opinion!
2. Emilie’s ‘To kiss or not to kiss and how many times? That’s the question’. Because it makes me laugh every time I read it. Brilliant, and very recognisable.
3. Michela’s ‘I had to fire the nanny!’. I don’t want to start the whole discussion all over again, but I thought that post was very well written!
4. My own post, ‘Oma’. Because.
5. Courtney’s ‘Pumpkin pasta’. I love that pasta!
xxx Esther
Pop-up toy
This Pop-up toy from Galt has been one of our favourite first birthday presents for a long time, and now we finally own one too! It’s a very simple toy that entertains children for a really long time. The little coloured sticks bounce back up when you press them down, and pop out of the wooden holder. Younger kids will love to watch, (and they can also chew on the pegs and bang them together). Then as they get older, once they improve their hand-eye coordination, they can play on their own! And it’s also good for colour recognition! It’s really so fun to watch their faces when they await the bounce-back!
It’s made of good quality durable wood, is made in England and is also available through Amazon.
Oh… and it does not cost a fortune (it could make a nice stocking filler!).
-Michela
Babyccino Birthday!
It’s an exciting week for us on Babyccino! While we have only been ‘public’ for 10 months now, it was exactly one year ago that Babyccino was started when Esther wrote our very first post. What initially began as a private ‘diary-type’ conversation between four girls in four cities, has turned out to be quite a fun and very public discussion.
In truth, when we began writing for Babyccino, none of us were particularly computer-savvy. It’s amazing all the things we’ve learned, and how much progress we’ve made. It’s been a big year for us, and we are thrilled to continue with what will hopefully be a very exciting year ahead with many new developments!
To give our ‘birthday’ its proper attention, we will devote this week to all things birthday related. We will also each list our top 5 favorite posts from this past year. So stay tuned…
-Courtney
Cumin cheese
The Dutch are pretty famous for their cheeses. The ‘normal’ Gouda cheese is well known internationally, and also the plain Edam cheese is pretty much available in better cheese shops all over the world.
A cheese I have never found abroad though is ’komijnekaas’ (‘cumin cheese’) — basically a Gouda or Edam cheese with cumin seeds in it, and a cheese we love in the Netherlands (at least I do)!
The cumin seeds give the cheese a mild, nutty flavour and it is very good on a slice of fresh bread or just as is on a cheese platter.
If in Amsterdam, make sure to step in to one of the many cheese shops (don’t worry — although they are certainly ’cheesy’, they are not at all ‘just for tourists’)! They will gladly let you taste cumin cheese – and any other cheese you would like to try (and there are many)!
xxx Esther
Duchy!
Nearly 20 years ago, long before the huge wave of organic foods began to arrive at our local foodshops, HRH The Prince of Wales believed we needed to think about the long-term future of our environment and our rural communities. It was this thought that launched the idea of Duchy Originals, and in 1992 the company began with its first product, the oaten biscuit.
Duchy Originals is now a rather booming company with more than 200 quintessentially British food products. It also has made and given over £6 million to The Prince’s Charity Foundation in support of local farmers and with the intention of tackling climate change.
Aside from the interesting history (and the fact that its founded by a Prince!!), Duchy Originals food products are delicious and unique. In fact, I’ve never bought a Duchy product that didn’t impress! (more…)
Panettone, not just for Christmas!
Although it is now the symbol of Christmas lunch and dinners all over Italy, Panettone is the ultimate Milanese Christmas dessert. Its origin is the subject of many legends, but what is certain is that it dates back to the XV century. It is shaped like a cylinder with a rounded top, it can be high (30cm) or low (15cm), and in its original recipe the dough contains eggs, butter, raisins and candied oranges. These days you can find it without candied fruit or raisins, or with chocolate chips and custard cream. But, as any true panettone lover would say, those may taste good…but they are not the real thing!
Italians normally have it at the end of a special meal (lunch or dinner) together with coffee or a sweet wine. When one feels really indulgent you can have some fresh mascarpone cream on the side. 
Panettone should not be heated before serving, but does, especially in the winter, benefit from a few minutes in a warm place, like in front of an open oven or on top of a radiator. Left-over panettone makes for a very delicious breakfast. You can find loads of industrially produced ones, and some of them are quite good but nothing beats the panettone which comes from one of the traditional patisseries in Milan. (more…)
Ladurée Macarons
I really could not decide what to recommend as my Parisian try and buy’. It was such a tough choice but in the end I reckon the macarons from Ladurée win!
They are a must try, not only because they are so delicious; but also because they are delicate, beautiful, retro and soo Parisian. You can get imitation macarons in patisseries all over Paris but none of them compare to their Ladurée competitor.
The delicate pastries are made out of 2 crispy macarons sandwiched together with a ganache filling. In other words they are made out of a concoction of eggs, sugar and almonds and a couple of secret ingredients which are only known to the Ladurée pastry chef. The flavours range from the simple vanilla, chocolate and pistachio ones to the unusual Lily of the Valley and Java Pepper flavours. Every season Ladurée invents a new flavour. If you are in Paris in the next couple of months I strongly suggest you try this season’s creation: Mango Jasmin!
There are several Ladurée locations in which these little treats are sold. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
- Emilie
Baby Disco
The Palais de Tokyo is one of my favourite museums in Paris — a fantastic avantgarde modern art museum which, by the way, is open from mid-day to midnight (in case you are ever in Paris without your charges).
Not only is it a great museum, but at the moment it also hosts a Baby Disco. By this I mean a full-on, proper disco, complete with poles for dancing, disco balls, live DJs and a revolving dance stage: it’s like a mini studio 54.
The door policy is stricter than in most exclusive private member clubs! Only kids from 4-7 get to go to the disco for an hour and dance around at their heart’s content. No one else is allowed, except to look through a discreet little window. (more…)
A real submarine
The Science Museum in Milan hosts, in its backyard, a real war submarine. The “Enrico Toti” was built in 1967 and was used during the cold war to spy, and possibly destroy, the big missile ships of the Soviet army. In 2000, after 30 years of service, it was decided it would gloriously end its career and reside in the Museum named after Leonardo da Vinci. Children, but not only they, could not be happier.
Visits are organised in groups of six, helmets must be worn, and children below 3 are not allowed. Once you are in, the first thing you realize is how cramped it is inside. (I couldn’t imagine actually living in one of those!) Then you are shown the periscope (and get to see the nearby roofs!), the sonar and the big slots to launch torpedoes. Admittedly the explanations may be a bit complicated for 3-year-old kids, unless they are already acquainted with the terminology, but I would think that a 5-year-old would really have a blast here. (more…)
Bugs, Frogs and Fish at the London Zoo…
The ZSL London Zoo is not the largest zoo I’ve ever seen, nor does it have a very impressive range of large animals (no elephants or rhinos, etc.). But, for a zoo in the middle of such a dense city like London, the zoo does exactly as it should: it places emphasis on the smaller creatures in this world, like bugs of all sorts, butterflies, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and birds of the jungle. All of these different exhibits, each in their own separate building, are located indoors, which means even on a rainy day you can still enjoy a long day at the zoo!
In fact, I have to say that I think my kids actually prefer these indoor exhibits. My son, with a particular fondness of sea creatures, could spend hours inside the small but extensive aquarium. He also really loves the reptiles and amphibians, with loads of large snakes, lizards, turtles and frogs. And if you arrive in the later part of the afternoon, as we usually do, you may even get to see these animals at feeding time, which is great fun! (We once spent a good 20 minutes watching a lizard chase around all the crickets in his cage!) (more…)
Het Huis van Aristoteles
Amsterdam has a new attraction for kids and it is so great we immediately added it to our ‘top five things to do in Amsterdam’.
Het Huis van Aristoteles (‘The House of Aristotle’ – named after the famous philosopher and inventor of the senses), is a children’s museum which offers activities ‘that challenge the senses and stimulate creativity, fantasy and curiosity’.
The first exposition in the museum is called Heldenstad (‘HeroTown’) and is inspired by the famous Dutch children’s book, ‘Pluk van de Petteflet’. There’s a 6-meter-high building envisioning the ‘Petteflet’ (see picture), with all sorts of great things to be explored: various little bedrooms furnished by children from different cultures and backgrounds, dress up clothes, dolls, trains, etc.
There is even a kitchen with ‘Mrs. Helderder’ (‘Mrs. Clearer’ – a character of the book), who vigorously tells all the children to help her clean, because ‘it is all so filthy’. My daughter was polishing shoes and mopping floors for nearly one hour; she had rosy cheeks and a big smile on her face!
Luukie/Xsmall
One of my favourite kiddie shoe shops here in Amsterdam has always been, without a doubt, the super cool shop Luukie.
At Luukie, they always have shoes in their collection that I love. (And I am picky!) I like kids’ shoes to be quite traditional, but with a modern twist, which is why I love Italian brands like PéPé and Rondinella, who do this brilliantly. (I know these shoes are not the cheapest, but my mother raised me to believe it is essential for the health of children’s feet to wear good shoes with sturdy, leather soles.)
One of my favourite kid’s clothes shops here in Amsterdam is the extra stylish shop, Xsmall. Here, they sell my absolute favourite (Dutch and Belgian) brands, like Imps&Elfs, Quincy, Simple Kids, KidsCase, Maan, and more! I guess I will just have to say that these clothes are cute, extremely stylish and of very good quality with extreme attention to detail…
Imagine my surprise (and extreme satisfaction), when I discovered that these two shops had actually joined forces! The combination of two of my favourite kid’s shops, both to be found under one roof! Brilliant! (more…)
