La Queue du Chat — organic children’s clothing
There’s something about cute, crisp underwear for kids. I just can’t stand old, over-washed knickers and I admit to throwing out those once-white undies that were accidentally washed with the dark load. (If only I were as picky with my own underwear, but it seems that for myself I prefer those old pieces!)
I find it quite difficult to find good quality, cool kids undies, especially for boys, but I’m loving the superman undies pictured. I love the tight fit, and I love that the superman logo is in fact made out of little red birdies, giving them that tasteful twist. So cute for my little boy! The grey girl’s set is lovely too, and in fact La Queue du Chat has many more adorable pieces, not at all just for ‘under’, and all made out of 100% organic and fair-trade cotton. Check out the collection on the website, also for points of sale…
xxx Esther
Crazy pinecone creatures
It’s technically still summer here in Amsterdam but in reality it’s been autumn at its worst these last few weeks. Crazy! The one advantage of autumn (the only one, really) is that there are loads of cool things falling from the trees, like for instance pine cones, which are fun to gather on a forest walk. And from which one can create very cool creatures like these pink hedgehogs. In the past we’ve made acorn men and chestnut chaps too. Fun!
xxx Esther
Olive & Moss, classy retro baby clothes
Can you believe that little Ava is 3 months old already? Yesterday I put her in a sleeping bag for the first time (we’ve been swaddling her so far), and she looks so cute in it! The sleeping bag is from Olive & Moss, a brand which reminds me a bit of the ’70s. (Sometimes I just need to step away from Liberty and luxury for a bit, and these funky designs really bring a smile to my face.)
Ava is in a Margot and Mo sleeping bag, which I thought was cute for a girl, but if I had a boy I would definitely go for Louis the Lion, I mean how cool is he? Margot and Louis and more crazy characters are available from the Olive & Moss website.
xxx Esther
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Back to School with Babyccino – on Etsy• Fruit Tiramisu (sort of)
• Travel bug
Planter’s Crema Riparatrice
A true discovery this summer has been the Viso Mani Corpo repairing cream from Planter’s. Made from all natural ingredients, and with a delicious, gentle smell, this cream is equally suitable to put on your body, hands and face. Perfect for when you’re traveling!
It’s lovely for after bath or shower and rich enough to give nutrition to dry skin. And good for children’s cheeks too! A summer favourite, but this cream will from now on live in our house the whole year around. Available in Europe through Soap.
xxx Esther
Eponime, beautiful baby wear
Eponime is a French baby brand that I just love giving to newborn babies. Designed by Fanny Chretien, a young talented designer based in Normandy, these baby beauties are seriously something else. The designs are simple, but absolutely exquisite and the fabrics are beautiful, natural and soft with gorgeous prints. And they are functional too! As far as I’m concerned, Eponime hits the nail on the head with original, elegant and luxurious baby wear. Bring on more babies, friends!
xxx Esther
Il Tutto: stylish baby bags
Being a new mum doesn’t always bring out the physically best. For instance, after three babies my belly looks like a cross between gelatin pudding and a hot cross bun. My hair is a constant explosion of dry and frizzy dullness (and I’m losing it as we speak) and well, now that I’m at it: my bikini line looks like a Brazilian… rain forest.
Not the best ingredients for feeling like a yummy mummy. But, help is at hand: the moment I throw my uber-glamourous, luxurious Il Tutto Layla over my shoulder I instantly convert from tired looking, un-cute mum to a cool, hip and stylish mama. Or at least I feel that way! My back automatically straightens, my hair seems to look ‘interesting’ (Tina Turner looked good too after all) and surely soon the seventies will be sexy again. (more…)
16th century dress-up doll
I love this free down-loadable dress up doll from Ce Que Je Veux — do you remember their wonderful pyjamas?
xxx Esther
What’s in a name?
Unless they’re called William III, or Jesse James Junior, you might have gone through nine months of nervous brainstorming — what should I call my new baby? I found it to be a very difficult task, and my husband and I have spent more than a few hours debating about it! I guess I like short, catchy names, because all our kids’ names have no more than 4 letters. I also like names that work in multiple languages. And they should work well with our family name (van de Paal).
Our first baby is called SARA van de Paal. I’ve always thought Sara is a beautiful name, very old-fashioned, but at the same time very simple and modern. I like how there are so many As in the first and last name. (more…)
Sweet for baby: Toffee Moon
Love the sleep suits from Toffee Moon! The baby girl outfits are absolutely beautiful with all the old fashioned smock work and special details, and the baby boy selection is so cool with the double layers, pockets and pin-tuck fronts! They’re made of thick, good quality cotton and are very comfortable and soft to wear. I also really like the hooded shawl cardigans — they have them for boys and girls. Cute!
xxx Esther
Craft garden
Do you remember those cool rock animals Courtney made with her boys a while ago? I’ve been meaning to make them with my daughter ever since, and we’ve been building up quite a collection of stones. Yesterday we finally decorated them, and it was easy and such fun! My creative daughter insisted on adding a gold-fish, and when we were done with the animals she thought it was a good idea to make them a little garden to roam around in. With a fish pond, obviously, and some waterlilies, for the frog. And flowers, for the bee. It turned out nicely, and my daughter has been playing with it for hours and hours. Not bad for some pebbles and an old pizza box!
xxx Esther
Apünktchen — very cool caps for boys
I love, love, love these hats from Apünktchen! My 3-year-old looks so cool in it, I just want to eat him up. And I’m going to get one for my big boy (= husband) too! Apünktchen is a German brand, and besides the caps they also have a very nice collection of clothes. I’ve been secretly checking the winter collection already, and I feel I will order some pieces here as they are very very special and cute… The website is in German, but it’s easy to navigate (TIP move your mouse over the bright green dots) and if you’re interested in ordering pieces just send an email to Anette, the owner and designer.
xxx Esther
Battlefield backpack from Chicken Rhythm
I got this cute backpack for my son at the Kleine Fabriek trade show. Isn’t it cool? I love the fact that it’s drum-shaped, and I love that cute image of the little rider on the horse. My son has been so much into fighting, and knights, and guns these days, without really knowing what he’s talking about… so it’s very appropriate for him! I have no clue where he gets the fighting obsession, but my husband tells me not to worry — it’s very normal for boys, apparently.
Anyway, the backpack is from Chicken Rhythm, and there are also some other prints available.
xxx Esther
DIY Stick Horses
Before the birth of Ava I had already concluded that my soon to be 5-year-old daughter should have a proper birthday party — no excuses. For months and months she’d been talking about a ‘pony’ birthday (probably secretly hoping we would get her a real horse), which is not an easy theme for a party, especially if you don’t want to end up with loads of plastic trash!! So, 9 days after giving birth, my husband (still on paternity leave — this is Europe!) and my mother-in-law and I spent a whole evening making 7 stick horses for my daughter’s party. I got some rough instructions from This Vintage Chica, went to the market to get broomsticks, stuffing, and decoration, and to HEMA for some groovy socks, biggest size. We worked hard and stayed up late, but the result was a HUGE success! Part of the party was about personalising the horses with letters and glitters, and part was a horse racetrack, and of course all the girls got to take their own stick horse home. The kids absolutely loved their horses and are still playing with them today.
If you feel like making your own stick horse — it’s pretty easy, you don’t need a sewing machine at all. An (old) broomstick and an (old) sock will do. Here’s the how-to:
Nina’s House
I’m so impressed by the design of this little house. How clever it is: crib, playpen, storage cabinet and changing table all in one! Such fun, so super innovative and beautiful!! The Dutch designer, Dave Keune, thought about all the little details: the entire roof can be opened with bright yellow ropes. The base can be lowered and the rails removed to create a bed when the baby gets older. And (I love this detail), the chest of drawers below the changing table can be opened and closed with a slight push of the knee, so that both hands can still be available while changing the baby’s nappy. Good thinking, Dave!!
xxx Esther
Berry season
I remember as a kid I came home during lunch break and my mum sent me to the neighbours (who had a strawberry farm) with a very little amount of money and I came back with a wooden crate filled to the top with strawberries — the reddest, sweetest, biggest and tastiest variety you can imagine. Before I came home I had eaten about a third, for lunch we had another third (on bread, with a little sugar), and the rest was eaten with yogurt for desert. Bliss.
Last week, in my father-in-law’s Mr. McGregor-like garden I picked a generous amount of raspberries, and quickly made raspberry jam (my favourite ever jam)! And yesterday I picked the few redberries from our neighbour’s shrub that came peeping through the hedge, and made blue redberry muffins of them. I just love berry season! Can’t wait for the blackberries to be ripe (blackberry jam is my second favourite jam)…
Have you been eating berries? Any good recipes to share??
xxx Esther
P.S. That cute cutting board is from Tas-Ka
Babyccino kids on Ohdeedoh
Ohdeedoh featured our newly designed city-guides — check out what they say for some insider information on Paris, New York, London and Amsterdam!!
Mamascarf, for discreet breastfeeding in public
Little did I know that breastfeeding a 5-day-old baby in the front row of a jam-packed circus was going to be a bit of a… challenge. Yes, you’re reading that right: 5-day-old, and: jam-packed circus. Thankfully I was wise enough to bring a Mama Scarf, so the spotlights on my boobs were cleverly avoided. The Mama Scarf is a stylish scarf that becomes sort of a hammock for your baby, allowing for discreet breastfeeding in public. What I like about it that it’s made of thin, cute fabric, and it doesn’t scream for attention. (It’s not like one of those, ‘hello everybody, I’m breast-feeding, but I’m covered up, as you can clearly see, so don’t look’ kind of covers.) Thanks, Mama Scarf, for saving my day at the circus.
xxx Esther
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Bonnets for babies — vintage handkerchiefs for brides!• Wonderous Wovenplay
Bellieboo — sweet things from Japan
Although I’ve never been, I have a fascination with Japan. I love the food (sushi), I love the architecture (Tadao Ando), I love the writing (mysterious), I love the products (Muji) — I must make my way over there at some point because I’m pretty sure I’ll discover a whole lot more that I will love…
Yumiko, who moved from Japan to England in 1996, started her online business, Bellieboo, after she had her daughter in 2004. Since she was unable to find clothes she liked for her little girl in barbaric Europe, she started bringing back special pieces from her home country of Japan. In her shop you can find sweet little girl clothes, and shortly there will be sweet little boys clothes too. There are also a few lovely toys and accessories to be found in the Bellieboo shop — like this retro, reversible sling that I think is cool beyond words, and that Ava is currently very happily residing in.
xxx Esther
Room Seven: Sweet dresses for playing and parading
I already knew that the beautiful bedding and bag range from Room Seven was absolutely stunning, but I had never heard of their clothing line until very recently. Maybe for the better, as it probably did save me some money! But now I’m in trouble… How sweet are these baby dresses, how perfect are the daring combinations of patterns, colours, frills and flowers, making them romantically old-fashioned but at the same time fresh and contemporary. Who can resist? Not I.
These dresses are just as perfect for playing as for parading, and they can easily be machine-washed, so not just for weekends.
BTW, is there something familiar to the Room Seven style?? Well Room Seven is the brand of Brechtje Olsthoorn, the talented daughter of Willem and Marieke Olsthoorn, brains and creative designer behind world-famous Oilily. Like mother, like daughter, we say.
xxx Esther
Nyp Balm, food for your boobs (and baby’s bottom)
The third time around, breastfeeding was easy. I knew exactly what to do, and the baby also got it immediately — she was breastfeeding within minutes after she was born, as if we both had been doing nothing else for years. Life is beautiful.
I also knew exactly what to expect a few days after the birth. Painful boobs the size of melons, hard, hot and with red blotches. Sleeping sitting up. Sore, cracked nipples, feeding bra size 100Z (too small). Have you ever had to pull a cracked nipple sticking to your bra? Ouch. Life is a bitch.
Enter Inlight Nyp Balm. A natural, 100% organic, wonderful smelling soothing balm that does the trick. Before birth, it’s used to help stretch the skin and prevent stretch-marks. After the birth it soothes and heals sore nipples. And, what I possibly like best about it is that now that I don’t need the Nyp Balm myself anymore (yay), I can use the rest for my baby’s bum. No spills! Because it also calms red and irritated baby bottoms wonderfully well.
All ingredients in Nyp Balm (like moisturising olive and coconut oil, protective beeswax, anti-inflammatory lavender and restorative rosehip oil) do not alter the flavour of the maternal milk and are easily tolerated by babies.
xxx Esther
