For Just One Day
I haven’t shopped in nearly four months and the first place I went, upon being back, is… a bookshop! I was desperate to see what’s new in the children’s section and happily found a few new titles that I love. This book, For Just One Day
The book is illustrated by the same guy who created another favourite — Around the World with Mouk, and it shares the same bright and cheery design. But really it’s the story that sold me on this one.
The book is available from our Bookshop both in Europe and the US.
-Courtney
Baby Bloch
Oh, here I am talking about footwear…. again! Baby Blochs are just too cute to ignore though. For a bit of background, Bloch (pronounced ‘block’) was founded in Sydney in 1932 producing handmade ballet and pointe shoes for ballet dancers. Bloch’s reputation as a leader in technical dance shoes is known the world over, and they’ve ventured into the women’s fashion shoe scene with resounding success. For me Blochs conjures up images of my first ever ballet lesson at the age of 4… for the very reason that I was the only one without ballet shoes! I remember feeling so left out and so… unprofessional! In any case, eventually I got my own pink pair of Blochs but by this time I had discovered a complete ineptitude for the dance and only lasted a few weeks.
Baby Bloch produces delicate ballet flats for pre-walkers made from 100% leather and carefully crafted to ensure the protection of a baby’s developing feet. The range includes patent ballet flats, lace-ups, mini taps and booties. And they are all so very irresistible! (more…)
Decorating Easter Eggs
Last week I got inspired by the lovely hand-painted Easter eggs by Laikonik that I saw on the Famile Summerbelle website. I had visions of sitting around the kitchen table with my kids producing one egg gem after another and hanging them all over the flat… But turns out fantasy and reality could not have been any different — our egg painting experience was a complete bust!
Right from the start I came across some barriers: most eggs in France are not white but brown, so it is really hard to paint them and get a nice colour. It is also impossible to find those little tablets you dye eggs with over here! But I was not going to be deterred but such minor details, so I started looking up natural ways of dying eggs. I came across loads of different suggestions, including: onion peel, rose petals and spinach which, according to the internet, all give eggs wonderful, delicate colours. I got very excited and raided my vegetable box. (more…)
Coola Sun Care
Is there anything more mentally taxing then applying sunscreen to small kids? I love the summer and all, but the one thing that really causes anxiety during the morning routine is when we have to apply sunscreen to the family. I hate it. The chase….The begging them to stand still…The sudden jerky movements while you try to rub the pasty lotion back to the color of skin tone. I am sure you have all been there.
In the past I have opted for the spray-on kind but I have found that they are very drying and don’t protect nearly as well as the thicker lotions. A friend of mine from home had told me about Coola Sun Care and I decided to pick some up before heading out on vacation this year… and so glad I did! It’s a lotion but it is not greasy and it rubs in very quickly! It’s also made with 100% organic ingredients but it’s not holier-than-thou about it. I really like the simple sleek packaging and they carry a full line for the body, face and lips. So far it’s the best sunscreen that I have come across and I am definitely loading up on it for the summer months!
-Dina
Long-haul flights and jet-lag
I am by no means a medical expert, but I have done a ton of traveling with my kids, have survived more long-haul flights than I can count and have dealt with jet-lag more times than I would like. On the whole it is never easy, especially the flights. But I do find that it’s more daunting in theory than in practice (I usually start to dread the flight, especially if I’m flying on my own with the kids, about 3 months before the day… plotting out all the possible worse-case scenarios in my head). In general, the nightmare scenarios never happen and the flights go more smoothly than I imagined. I think my biggest tip is to be super organized — have everything you might need during the flight in an easily accessible carry-on. Bring healthy snacks (like raisins, pretzels, fruit) to keep your kids happy and distracted at the crucial times like take-off and landing when you have to be seated. Have your kids’ favourite books on-hand. And make sure your kids use the toilet BEFORE you board the plain. The more organized you are, the easier the whole experience will be. Oh, and I really think it makes a world of difference to buy your kids their own headphones — ones that actually fit them and stay on. (more…)
Safe to be polished, with Priti Princess
Things change when you become a mum. You start behaving differently — you suddenly do things that you’ve previously thought you’d never do. Like changing a nappy in public. Or buying loads of pink for your little girl. Or letting them sleep in your bed. Or letting them use make-up.
I think if you had told me 3 years ago that I would allow my nearly-5-year-old girl to use nail polish, I would have fainted. How vulgar!
Well…
At least the nail polish my daughter has is completely non-toxic and safe for children, and the nail polish remover I use on her tiny nails is completely soy and corn based (infused with coconut, soybean esters, and essential lemongrass oils). No nasty aceton, no petroleum… And 100% biodegradable!
Both are from Priti NYC, a NY-based company that aims to decrease the amount of chemicals poisoning the earth and supports organic farmers. Check it out, they also have over 100 colours of grown-up nail polish available.
Through fabulous eco-boutique Shak Shuka (ships worldwide).
xxx Esther
Bacsac — a garden on the go
I have been hankering for my own vegetable garden for some time now. Whenever I hear stories of the home veggie garden type, the abundant yield of fresh, nutritious and ripe fruit and vegetables that costs so little and provides endless enjoyment for the whole family, I am, pardon the pun, green with envy. But living in a townhouse with a little sandstone courtyard leaves very limited scope for such endeavors, especially one swamped by a huge trampoline. Briefly I considered converting the rooftop into a garden until my husband talked practical matters. Undeterred, I did some research and that’s how I came across the simple brilliance of the Bacsac.
The Bacsac, a French creation, is a simple, portable planting bag made from a permeable/porous geo-textile that prevents asphyxiation of the soil — allowing you to plant just about anything, anywhere. They are available in an array of shapes and sizes, 100% recyclable, UV-resistant, frost resistant, tear and traction resistant, adaptable, hang-able, stackable … and just genius! (more…)
Folkmanis puppets
What is it about puppets? I feel like there isn’t a single kid out there who doesn’t love them. My boys were each given a Folkmanis hand puppet for Christmas last year and it was by far their favourite gift. In fact it was the one toy they insisted we bring with us on our trip to Australia — which means we traveled around the globe with an alligator and a shark in tow!
Anyway, I can surely vouch for the quality of the puppets and also the appeal, as my kids carried those puppets everywhere and never got bored of playing with them.
Folkmanis is an award-winning American company which has been making puppets since 1976. They now offer more than 200 different puppets, all carefully detailed to look like realistic creatures. Which means there’s a puppet for every child’s special interest, from sharks to birds to bugs…
-Courtney
Talc, easy Parisian chic from Smallable
“Passing on to our children the taste of audacious Parisian fashion, without dressing them up, and the whole at a small price, that is the Talc philosophy”, I read on the Smallable webshop. And yes, since I don’t have that automatic French flair that Parisians seem to carry naturally, I’m glad that somebody else figured it out for me. For my daughter at least. I love the latest Talc collection — the muted colours, the easy chic, the affordable prices…
I got my daughter this sincerely superb dress, a cloudy dream, very romantic and lovely (but still 100% cotton and machine washable, thankfully!). It is divine and we both can’t wait till it’s finally warm enough to run around in cute dresses with flip flops. In the meantime my daughter is happily wearing it in the house… feeling like a princess!
You can find Talc amongst many other fabulous brands at Smallable’s chic webshop.
xxx Esther
Easy Biscuits
Sometimes there is just nothing better than a nice cup of tea and a good biscuits to accompany it (how Anglo-Saxon do I sound?).
I like these biscuits because they are really easy to make and I always make enough dough so that I can freeze half of it. That way when I, or any other member of my family, suddenly gets a craving for biscuits I can just grab the dough out of the freezer, let it defrost for 10 min while the oven is heating up and an additional 10 minutes later we have freshly baked biscuits.
The other thing I like about this recipe is that it is really versatile. You can cut thin slices off the sausage and sandwich them together with some good jam when they come out of the oven. You can paint the sausage with a beaten egg and then roll it in broken nuts or even just in brown sugar. You can add lemon or even orange zest to the egg/sugar/butter cream before you add in the flour. In short, the sky is the limit with this one and I love this kind of recipe as I can make it according to what I happen to have flying around at home. Here is the recipe: (more…)
Re-live the 17th century in Rembrandt’s House
Last weekend we did something unexpectedly fabulous: we took the children to Rembrandt’s House. Rembrandt, as you might know, was a very famous Dutch painter who lived from 1607 till 1669. From 1625 onwards he lived in Amsterdam. For a big part of his live he was very rich, already well known in his time, and he lived in a beautiful house that is amazingly well conserved and restored and can be visited today.
I didn’t really know what to expect with two little children, but they were SO impressed. Our daughter (4 yrs) listened to her own audio tour, aimed especially at kids, and I can say that at the end of our visit she could give me specific information that I didn’t pick up myself.
If you’re in Amsterdam and want to combine some culture with history and a fun family activity, the Rembrandthuis comes recommended. There’s no restaurant, but walking down to the Staalstraat takes less than 5 minutes and you’ll find Pucinni, with great coffee, good sandwiches and amazing cakes. In the same street you’ll find cute kids gift shop Beestenwinkel, my favourite grown-up gift shop Klevering (that happens to stock some really lovely kids items as well), and a bit up the road there’s Droog Design, a showcase of the famous Dutch design group.
xxx Esther
Egg Heads
Last Easter we decided to make some Egg Heads with the mustard & cress seeds we got in our lunchbox from Kew Gardens. Now I’m not in any way saying this was an innovative idea — most of you probably grew some of these little men/women yourself as children. But for some reason my childhood missed this particular activity… something I now plan to take up with my Mum and Dad as it is a reaallllllly cool thing to do!
I am not the slightest bit green-fingered and manage to kill all plants/greenery in my care (even cacti have a hard time living in our house and my husband doesn’t understand why I still buy herbs in pots as they always die within days), but mustard and cress are stubborn little plants and grow despite a lack of due care and attention. And they grow very quickly so you see results on a daily basis — appealing to my impatient nature.
So if you never made egg-creatures as a child then I urge you to take this eggcellent (terrible – I know!) holiday as an opportunity to redeem your deprived childhood just as I did. Your kids will love it too! Here’s how to make them: (more…)
Third Drawer Down
I do appreciate a nice tea towel… and I’m fussy with mine. Perhaps it relates to my textile obsession. Nonetheless, I like them to be made of good quality linen, aesthetically pleasing… and generally I find, the more use they get, the better they look. Now, because of this ‘pseudo fetish’, much to my husband’s amusement, and at times sheer frustration, I am always scouring the shops for tea towels.
Recently looking out of the car window at the lovely window shop display, waiting for the traffic lights to change…
Me in passenger seat: ‘Wow, is that…are they…my goodness I think they are tea towels!’
Husband in driver seat: ‘No, no darling, that’s just a painting…’
Me: ‘No husband, I really don’t think so… they look like linen… I’m sure they are tea towels. Yes, yes they ARE tea towels! Quick…STOP! I’ll be really quick!’
Husband rolls eyes and pulls over. And that was how I came to acquire 3 tea towels from Third Drawer Down. (more…)
Back to Blighty
I’m home. Sigh. I’m jet-lagged. Deep Sigh. And I’m slowly settling in to ‘real’ life again. I can’t believe our big adventure is over — that was the quickest 3 months of my life — but I must admit that it feels nice to be back in London and back to our familiar routine. (I missed my washing machine, my kitchen, my bed, my grocery store, my friends, my babysitter, my city, etc….)
It feels nice to be back and to have a fresh perspective on things. I really feel like our time away was not only a nice, long, sunny holiday, but the time spent together was really good for our family and has shifted our focus on how we want to live our lives, parent our children, etc. I know it’s an enormous luxury to be able to take an extended leave, but I really recommend doing it if it’s something you can swing. It’s so worth it.
Anyway, I’m back in London and will return to normal blogging. But if you have questions about traveling with kids, traveling Australia, touring by campervan, long-haul flights, or dealing with jet-lag, etc…. please fire away. Especially now while it’s all fresh in my mind.
-Courtney
Wrapped up well with Isabella Oliver
Michela wrote about this dress a long time ago, but I’m currently enjoying the wonders of it so much that I had to rave about it again. I must say that I sort of live in a few outfits at the moment, the only ones I can stand on my very pregnant belly! The Tie Knot Dress from Isabella Oliver is definitely one of them as it is totally comfortable, flattering (as far as one can be flattering in the third stage of a pregnancy) and is a really interesting, vibrant purple colour. I wear it with leggings or pregnancy tights (it’s till cold here in Amsterdam!), and my ever present pair of Shabbies. Voila pregnancy uniform number one!
Do you have any pregnancy favourites?
xxx Esther
A possible saviour called Cupcake
My friend calls winter ’soft-play-season’ and she dreads it every year. Year one of having children I thought she was just being miserable, and I loved watching my baby boy smile as some slightly clownish adults sang nursery rhymes to him in a church hall. In Year two I was too preoccupied with the new baby in our lives to care much where we were or what we were doing. Now in Year 3, with two children and myself desperate to leave the house on these typical English drizzly days, I am pulling my hair out about where to go and dread the inevitable soft-play options. It is true — the kids have fun, but at the sacrifice of my sanity. I find myself looking around wondering sometimes what has happened to my life? I know that I’m lucky to be hanging out with these two brilliant people, but is it a requisite that places for children should totally alienate adults? I realise I’m sounding grumpy (seriously … if you could see the weather!) but do not fret, here I come to the good bit…
Since moving South I have often heard of the place ‘Cupcake’ (in Putney and Wandsworth) in association with descriptors such as ‘haven’ and ‘God-send’. And so last week I asked whether it was OK to come and check it out (Cupcake is a members only club and I’m not a member …. yet!). The minute I walked in I felt a sort of happiness come over me. This didn’t feel loud (from noise or from an interiors-carnage) — no this felt like being in a (stylish) friend’s living room… only a bit bigger and with a bar to order lattes, brownies, babyccinos or something for lunch — perfect! (more…)
Kimmel Toys
Craft, craft, craft… I don’t think there is anything kids like more then a good old craft project. I wish the creative juices would flow into adulthood like they do when you’re a child — kids have such exciting imaginations.
We recently discovered the Kimmel Kids Exchange Collection by LA artist Karen Kimmel, and it is a huge amount of fun. The great thing about this set is that it allows your kid’s imagination to flow without restricting them. The stencils that come in the set are organic shapes, so for one child they can be a flower and for another they can be an insect, and on another day they can imagine the same shape to be a sea shell. We have been using this set a lot, especially on plane trips where quiet, clean crafting is essential.
The Kimmel Kids Exchange Collection is available through the following retailers.
- Emilie
Win three Jeff Friesen Wild Life Prints!!
Maybe you’ve seen his work featured before on Bloesem Kids or Design Mom… Jeff Friesen is an award winning photographer, with a seriously impressive portfolio (check out his website). After the birth of his daughter he felt the urge to combine his more serious professional side (he calls it his “Bert” side) with his more playful parenting side (his “Ernie” side), and produced a seriously cool series of amazing animals in their new ‘natural’ habitat.
The hand-signed archival prints that Jeff sells at this Etsy shop are really lovely, and we have three of them (as pictured) available for one lucky Babyccino reader!
Just leave a comment by Sunday, March 28th Wednesday, March 31st and we’ll pick a winner at random.
Good luck!!
xxx Esther
P.S. The winners of INKE’s vintage wallpaper birds are: Virginia from New Hamburg, NY (USA), Libby from Pougskeepsie, NY (USA), Melissa from Durham, NC (USA), Susan from Reading (UK), Hanke from Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Jonna from Breda (The Netherlands), Ann from Stanmore (Australia), Vlasta from Malaysia, Rebecca from Caulfield South (Australia), and Jennifer from Boston, MA (USA). Congrats, girls!
Kulinary Kids NYC– The Playdate of Champions
Ahhhhh……now this is the kind of extra-curricular activity that suits my lifestyle.
1) Small group of kids in a comfortable, non-chaotic setting. Check.
2) Easy commute (my apartment builiding). Check.
3) Healthy dinner included (and eaten! and provided by someone other than me!). Check.
For the past few months, thanks to Kulinary Kids NYC, we have found an after school experience that we all love!!! A few families in the neighborhood came together to do this amazing drop-off cooking class that meets once a week in one of our apartments. From 4-5pm, the kids put on adorable little aprons and work together to whip up something healthy and delicious to eat. (more…)
Honey Oat Biscuits
My friend Stephanie made me these cookies a while ago (like last year), and even though they were AMAZING and I asked her for the recipe immediately, I only today made them for the first time. And they were AMAZING (ask my kids and husband!), and very easy to make!
Here’s the recipe:
-125g butter
-1/2 cup/125g sugar
-2 tablespoons honey
-1 cup/125g flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
Cream butter, sugar and honey together until pale. Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon together. Add sifted ingredients and rolled oats to creamed mixture, stirring well. Roll tablespoon of mixture into balls. Place on greased oven tray. Flatten with the use of a floured fork and bake at 180 C (360 F) for 15 minutes or until golden. YUM!
xxx Esther
P.S. To print this recipe, click here.
