What do you say, dear?
There are some books that you just know you will love before reading the first word. Maybe it is the front cover? The illustration style? The title itself? Or maybe the author or illustrator’s name gets you? This one got me on all levels — a beautiful front cover, an intriguing title (with an equally appealing sub-title: “A book of manners for all occasions”) and with Maurice Sendak illustrating there was little that could keep me from rushing to the till, copy in hand. (more…)
Bembo’s Zoo
My friend, Al, told me about this wonderful website which has apparently been running for years and years and years but I never knew about it. Bembo’s Zoo actually started life as a book, designed by world renowned graphic designer, Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich (I know, fabulous name!). The concept used the letters of the alphabet to create animals (using type font, Bembo). It was turned into a flash-animated website and is utterly mesmerising — you can spend hours just clicking through the alphabet and watching the animals unfold. My children love it and it is a great way to start familiarising them with the letters. Enjoy!
-Mo
Elephant Elements
Elephant Elements
What I love about this book is it goes much further then your normal book on opposites — yes you have your ‘big & small’, ‘long & short’ and ‘top & bottom’ but you also have the unconventional ‘visible & invisible’, ’solid & liquid’ & ‘broken & mended’ — and the book always uses an elephant to illustrate them! It is very, very funny and imaginative and appeals as much to adults as to children (beware of the rotten elephant though – urghhhhh!).
-Mo
Mila’s day dreams
If you haven’t seen it already — please check out Mila’s day dreams blog. I defy you not to make it one of your favourites. Since I read about it I am totally hooked and check it out daily. A truly wonderful and imaginative maternity hobby! What a cool, cool mum.
-Mo
Not a Box
Have you ever used a cardboard box as something else? A space-rocket perhaps, a television, a doll’s bed? My kids certainly fall into the category of finding the box more exciting than whatever comes in it. That is why we love Not A Box
We have also ordered the follow up title Not A Stick
Mucho Moustache Fun!
I can’t resist a bit of silly fun! When some family came to stay recently I decided we should make some silly pictures of the kids pretending to be Grandpas to send to their Oma and Opa in Berlin. I bought these ‘cheap as chips’ stick-on moustaches and away we went with our role-play. What was hilarious is they didn’t behave at all like their Opa (who actually doesn’t have a moustache) but they all pretended to be the stereotypical grumpy Grandpa that you see in films (like the ones who work at the bank in Mary Poppins). Good summer holiday fun!
-Mo
The Papered Parlour
I am so, so ‘can’t stop moving’, ‘ants in my pants’ excited. A couple of weeks ago I was reading one of my favourite blogs — do you know it? The blog of author, stylist, photographer, all round uber-chic gal Pia Jane Bijkerk. She wrote about a wonderful sounding place, the Papered Parlour in Clapham. I had to check their website out. The Papered Parlour is a new craft venue in London, which offers classes in classic crafting techniques such as silversmithing, dress-making, photography, screen-printing and quilting as well as offering subsidised studio-space for practising artists. It was set up last year by visual artists Claire and Louise, who met working at Battersea Arts Centre. The space has already received much critical acclaim for not only the skills they teach but the style in which they do it — they have a wonderful looking cafe and most workshops include a proper tea and cake break (you can see why I have been drawn into their ethos!). They hold regular exhibitions and can be hired for parties and events (their ideas for hen-parties are brilliant!).
So why am I so excited? Well I just booked myself onto one of their Summer dress-making workshops — maybe I will finally learn how to make this darling dress for my daughter that I have been cooing over from Oliver + S.
-Mo. x
Ladybird Prints
As you may have figured by now, I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to children’s books and I have a particular passion for old ones. That’s why I love this idea from Ladybird Books …
Ladybird Books started during the First World War (actually near my home-town in Leicestershire). Their aim being to publish ‘pure and healthy literature’ for children. Most of my generation will remember reading Ladybird books at home or school, especially the Peter and Jane series. They had some classic titles like ‘Learning is Fun’ or ‘Books are Exciting’.
Now Ladybird have put over 4,500 images from their archives (mainly from the ’50s and ’60s) online to order as prints or canvases. It is such a brilliant idea and with the array of sizes available it is so adaptable to any nursery or child’s room. Prints start as small as a photo and go up to A0 poster size, and canvases start at 20cm and go up to 125cm. Both can be ordered framed as well.
The images are not just front covers but pictures from inside the books and even the pencil sketches from the endpapers (like this adorable one from Bunnikin’s Picnic Party). The site is well worth a browse (even if just for the sake of nostalgia) but as there are so many to forage through, here are my favourites to get you started: (more…)
A Balloon for a Blunderbuss
I really enjoy writing for Babyccino Kids. My favourite bit is reading the comments people leave on my posts — it is so great to have a dialogue with like-minded mums and dads. Back in February I wrote about a great book I’d found, Sparkle & Spin. Tina left a comment and it was clear to me this was a lady with a similar book-obsession. Not only had she already discovered Sparkle & Spin (and the other books written by the same authors), but she also had some suggestions of other books I may like.
Now I don’t need much persuading to order a few books on Amazon so I ordered Tina’s suggestions and of course they were all fabulous, but my particular favourite was A Balloon for Blunderbuss.
An imaginative tale of exchange and how something tiny can grow into a big dream. Written by poet Alastair Reid and illustrated by world-renowned graphic designer, Bob Gill, it is a truly beautiful book and we all love reading it here in this house. So thank you Tina!
(Available from the Babyccino Kids Bookstore — both UK and US.)
Mo. x
Light Painting
I bought a Digital SLR camera (Nikon D80) shortly after my first child was born as I realised that this most beautiful of subjects had to be captured in every conceivable pose possible. However, for two years I wasn’t quite sure how to use the camera. Not much of a manual-reader, I pottered along happily with the pictures I was taking on the auto-modes. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to finally learn how to use it and so I have been going to an evening class to learn. I love it and look forward to it every week — I can’t wait to get the home-work so I can go out and play.
A couple of weeks ago my tutor taught us how to do light-painting. I came home and tested it on the family and now it is one of the kid’s favourite games — and makes for some really interesting family portraits. It may seem complicated to do written down but once you’ve done it it’s really easy and only takes a few minutes to set up. So let me see if I can give you a simple how-to guide …. (more…)
The Elephant Parade
I happened to be in the heart of London, on Oxford Street, the other day when I came across some wonderful painted elephants at Selfridges. As I continued my stroll through town I saw more and more … on Bond Street, in Green Park — what were they all about?
London has become home to The Elephant Parade. During May and June, 250 colourfully painted elephants will be dotted around the capital to shine a spotlight on the plight of the endangered Asian elephant. The campaign is from the charity Elephant Family, whose aim is to try and protect the elephant’s habitat which is increasingly threatened by human expansion.
The elephants here in the capital have each been painted by an artist or celebrity and together they make up London’s largest outdoor art event on record (with an estimated 25 million people viewing them over the next weeks). (more…)
Bear foods
I can spot a new kids snack a mile off — it’s like I smell something new in the air as soon as I enter the supermarket. I spotted Bear yo-yos last year and immediately my fruit-loving daughter was a fan. Now we are all fans of the Bear snacks (I especially love the Cocoa Cherry Pie nibbles). They are not just for children — their selection of nibbles are delicious combinations of fruit and granola and come in bags that are all under 100cals — so perfect for my 4pm sugar-fix.
Bear was started by personal trainer, Hayley, last year in an attempt to find a tasty alternative to chocolate, biscuits and treats — clearly a lady with my needs in mind! She chose the name ‘Bear’ after she read an article which said that bears who had found their way into cities and therefore foraged for foods in bins behind fast-food joints ended up being 30% fatter and 30% less active then their wild counter-parts. They also died younger.
So Bear produce all their nibbles as nature intended — no fiddling, no air-freight fruit and fairly-traded. You can buy Bear goodies through Ocado.
-Mo. x
Pick your own
May is here — we can officially start the count-down to Summer (which I have been doing since 1st Jan but now the goal is in sight!). With May comes the start of some of my favourite Summer activities (eating outside, picnics, French cricket, boules, paddling in pools to name but a few). The best of these has to be ‘picking your own’. The very brilliant Garsons Farm in Esher (Surrey) opens up for ‘pick your own’ this month and the season continues until October. Over the next 6 months there will be 42 different crops, in a total of 106 different varieties, available for picking. Whether you are in the mood for gooseberries or cucumbers, cherries or cabbages, Garsons can accommodate (seasonally dependent of course). It is such a fun day out — all the kids getting their own punnets and picking which crop to collect… with the occasional cheeky fruit ’scrumped’ (picked and eaten) on the way round the fields. (more…)
A Supermarket find
I know it is a pretty hellish activity to do with kids but I love going to the supermarket and I love it when you find a new whizzy product. A while back I discovered Method cleaning products — a range of non-toxic, environmentally friendly products for cleaning the home. I can sometimes be a bit skeptical of these kinds of things; whilst I love the principle, I find the products to not be as effective as their Earth-destroying counterparts. I soon discovered that this wasn’t the case with Method — their products clean brilliantly and always smell good too — I was soon a loyal convert.
A few months back I noticed, whilst cruising the baby-aisle, Method’s new range of baby and kid cleaning products — genius! We immediately filled the trolley with the Rice Milk & Mallow Hair & Body Wash (with a practical water-scoop lid to wash bubbles off bodies) and the cute Penguin matching bubble-bath. Both smell gorgeous and clean well and I can feel like the good Earth-conscious Mama I desire to be when using them. They are available from most UK supermarkets – hoorrah!
Mo. x
Decorating a kids room (part 1)
We are in the process of buying our first home after 13 years of renting. For the girl who was still playing ‘house’ when she was 13 (!) this is a big deal. Most evenings I drift into sleep dream-decorating and imagining how each room will look. The room that gets most of my ‘dream’ time is the kids’ bedroom. It is a small room but we have decided to put our 2 children in together — they like each other’s company and we like the idea of having a spare room for guests with the other bedroom. Over the next weeks I’m sure I will be posting various of my dream-decorating ideas but yesterday I made one of these ideas a reality — uh huh… I have made the first purchase for the room.
I found these lights from Swedish company, Nud Collection in Skandium. They are such a simple idea but beautifully executed (isn’t it always the way with good ones!). Textile cables with a porcelain lamp holder which takes an E27 light bulb*. My idea is to get 5 or 6 different colours (and my do they do great colours!) and group them together hanging them at different heights for a ‘chandelier’ effect. (more…)
Roooooooooobarb!
I made this today and feel so wholesomely brilliant that I just had to write and tell you about it. It is a rhubarb compote and it is my new favourite thing for these reasons:
1. So easy to make!
2. Makes delicious dessert when served with yogurt, ice-cream or whipped cream.
3. Stores in the fridge for ages (well at least a week/10 days) so is a great fall-back for unexpected visitors.
4. It’s fabulously pink (and looks great in one of those old-fashioned jars!)
5. Soooo in season (that is Rhubarb but I hear pink is too).
The recipe is based on Nigella Lawson’s Rhubarb Fool from her book ‘Forever Summer’, which I have been making for years now. But it wasn’t until I left it in the oven for too long that I came across my own version of it… (more…)
Toothbeary
Here in the UK we get free dental care when we are pregnant and for a year after the baby is born. I knew when I was pregnant with my second child that there was something wrong with one of my teeth and I was right — I needed a root-canal. Scary! It had to happen after the baby was born and took 6 (yes that is S-I-X!) sessions to complete. Now I think the dentist did a good job but the experience was pretty shocking. The place was like a flashback to the dentists I went to as a child in the early eighties — the same furniture, the same smell, the same vinyl coated weird chair to sit on, the same bright lighting, the same ‘trying to be all smiley and friendly’ posters telling me to brush my teeth. I could not imagine taking my tiny children to a place like this to check their teeth; they would immediately know something was up — this is not a place where good things happen. Definitely not.
Luckily for my children, I had heard of Toothbeary, a dedicated children’s only dentist based in Richmond upon Thames. (more…)
Metrotwin
I was recently approached by Metrotwin to do a guest-list for them of my favourite places in London with kids. I said “hey! I can do one better than that — I can ask our fabulous Babyccino NY contributor (Dina to you and me) to do a NY list too”. They were very excited.
You see Metrotwin is a site powered by British Airways to offer reviews of all the best things to do in the London and NYC. It is a fabulous resource if you happen to be travelling to or even if you live in either of the cities.
You can check out the Babyccino Kids London Address Book here and the NY address book here.
Enjoy! Mo.x
Lucky Voice at home!
Working in an advertising agency was hard work … and hard play! On those Soho nights when we had had one too many after work, we would often end up in a karaoke bar called Lucky Voice. Based on Poland Street in the heart of Soho, LV is super cool with private rooms to enjoy your own glitzy karaoke party.
However, I am a loyal ONLY-in-the-shower singer and NEVER-in-public (even after one too many!) so I spent these evenings laughing at my friends’ renditions of a Dolly Parton classic, while secretly wishing I had the guts to get up and belt out my best ‘Love Cats’ (see I even worked out which song I’d sing).
But now there is Lucky Voice Home — sign up on their website to get 50 free song credits and your computer turns into a glamorous karaoke machine. Buy the Lucky Voice Party Box and you get a (brilliant pink) mic and a mixer for the ultimate experience. So, so, so much fun! I just sang Vogue, whilst writing this post (well I needed a pic). (more…)
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…)
