After living 3 years in New York City (where she got engaged), 1 year in Brussels (where she got married) and 3 years in London (where she got a couple of children and met the co-writers of this blog), Esther moved back to her home country to live in the real sin-city: Amsterdam. Trained as an architect, she likes things to be organized, functional and good-looking. As a mother of three, that seems hard to achieve, but at least her husband makes an effort. She loves cooking and having her friends over, who in return, love to spend time on her couch. She is fond of little creative projects (drawing, sewing, baking) and has a weakness for shopping and ‘finding the best deal’ – she’s Dutch, after all.

COURTNEY ADAMO IN LONDON

Courtney is an American-turned-Brit who was raised on a tulip farm north of Seattle. She now lives in London with her husband and three kids, aged 5 and younger — it’s busy in their home! Despite having lived in London for 7 years, she still complains about the winters (a stint in sunny Los Angeles has spoiled them for life). But rainy days aside, she really loves living in London and can be found marching her family up to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath nearly every weekend. Courtney is an unrelenting neat-freak who loves her dustbuster. She also loves dark chocolate, her husband’s homemade pizza, and flip-flops.

EMILIE WALMSLEY IN PARIS

Emilie is a freelance animation producer in proud possession of a French and an Irish passport… but it’s actually not that simple. She grew up in Germany and in the States, and then finally landed in London. Having lived there for 10 years, she moved over to Paris four years ago, where she lives with her two daughters. Paris has not been without its trials, but the whole family has gotten used to fresh croissants in the morning and dog poop on the pavement all day long!

SARAH GIBBONS OUR ADVERTISING SPECIALIST

Originally from Seattle, Sarah just moved to sunny Los Angeles after spending two and a half years in London. She has now traded in her tube pass and wellies for her flip-flops and hybrid, and can be found biking along the beach with her son, husband and Hank — their Labradoodle. Sarah has worked in digital media for more than ten years now and has become an expert in online advertising. She joined Babyccino Kids in 2009 following the birth of her son — finding it a great way to mix her media skills with her new interests in the baby world. When naptime comes, she can be found clearing out her inbox, sampling a new recipe, and going to the end of the Internet and back to track down a unique find.

SARA IN MELBOURNE

Sara is a typical Melbourne Mum. Trolling the city’s café’s for the best weak soy late, meeting girlfriends in the park with her two kids and, she loathes to admit, making more reservations than gourmet hot dinners. A trained Lawyer with a specialty in Intellectual Property Law, Sara’s true passion lies in home-making or ‘nesting’ as she likes to call it. This includes an obsession with order and cleanliness (which strangely her charming English husband seems to compromise more than the kids), a passion for collecting beautiful homewares and art and decorating – constantly indulging her creative drive. After having traveled the world she realised that there really is ‘no place like home’. (Oh, other than Harvey Nichols in London where she was a regular during her 4 year London stint in early 2000. She felt very at home there. Did we mention that she loves to shop?)

KAELA IN LA

Kaela transplanted from Boston to the west coast nearly twenty years ago, finally settling near Los Angeles in Malibu, CA. She lives with her two children in a house nestled in canyon mountains populated with coyotes, deer and snakes – the latter attempting to become indoor guests on more than one occasion! Her rustic home life is complemented by extensive travel abroad, where she has nurtured and celebrated her deep love of European cities. Besides travel, Kaela is passionate to fanatical about nutrition (organic, organic, organic! – with some exceptions, like pints of Ben & Jerry’s and french fries from In-N-Out burger). Her great appreciation for food, art and design has led her to study and work in all three disciplines — including culinary school in London, and interior design and art history in San Francisco & Los Angeles. For the time being, Kaela puts her culinary and design training to use mainly to solve mama’s mysteries, like how to create a menu to tempt a picky toddler and how to draft an eco-friendly kids’ bedroom design.