Tin Trunks from Toast
I must have a thing for trunks. We have a few scattered around the house storing all sorts of things: dress-up clothes, toys, my knitting supplies, winter scarves and hats, etc. I like that you can use them as decor (they look cool just placed on the floor!), but they’re also handy for storage. I stumbled upon these tin trunks on the Toast website this week and just thought I would share my find. They’re available to pre-order, and I have a feeling they will sell out quickly.
-Courtney
Gorgeous fabrics and must-haves at MondaysMilk
Dutch online boutique MondaysMilk is a little gem. I’m telling you. Please have a look at the gorgeous fabrics, the beautiful quilts and pillows and the hand-crochet bags and hats and I dare you to say you disagree! (Ava has a cat hat in green and it’s really ridiculously cute…)
I’m thinking about re-doing parts of my house, and I’m going to start with the couch pillows. So I have been ‘window-shopping’ at MondaysMilk and I love this fabric here, these cute flowers, this neon yellow… With this depressing fall weather here in Amsterdam, it’s time to get my sewing machine out and make the house cosy!
xxx Esther
Coral and Tusk
I am absolutely in love with Coral and Tusk, a husband and wife design studio based in New York. I first discovered their products on the Smallable website a few months ago, I then got to see them in person in the Sweet William boutique, and then finally I got to meet the lovely designer, Stephanie, at Playtime last week… and I could not be more impressed with everything about the brand. How darling are the designs? I love all the feathers, the many different animals, the natural linens and the colourful embroidery. Take a peek at the website to see the full range of products (you can also purchase directly from their site).
x Courtney
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Little Nutty Helmets — for the coolest bikey in town• Sweet for baby: Toffee Moon
My house on Design*Sponge!
I am a huge fan of Design*Sponge (well, really who isn’t?!!), and I look forward to their Monday sneak peeks each week. In fact, when we were renovating the house, I often browsed through all the past sneak peaks for a bit of design inspiration — it’s so fun to see all the different interior styles. Well anyway, I am so super excited to have my very own house featured on this impressive design blog. It’s a little bit like hearing your own voice on a recorder, a bit bizarre, sort of funny… but also really exciting! The image above is my boys’ bedroom, and you can check out the rest of my house here. (Please say nice things! It’s still a work in progress.)
x Courtney
(Photograph by Darrin Henry)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Win! Play-Doh Fun Factory• I Dreamt I was a Dinosaur
• A week devoted entirely to BOYS!
Batchi Batcha Quilts and Bedding
With three little children in our house, it’s very nice to discover items that work for them as well as for me. Batchi Batcha is one of those finds: these quilts are beautiful! Made in India out of thick, organic cotton, with gorgeous coloured hand-printed designs inspired by Indian Warli Art (a Tribal Art depicting scenes of nature: trees, birds, animals), these quilts make me happy as well as the kids — to use as play mats, as a blanket on the couch, or as a picnic rug… Or just for decoration.
xxx Esther
Insekt desk from BB+++
I am in love with this beautiful Insekt desk designed by Kellie from Buisjes en Beugels +++. So simple in shape, but so strong in concept! The desk is available in 3 sizes (kids, table height and kitchen counter height), and three vibrant colours. It’s now available for pre-order on Kellie’s (cool) webshop. Are you as tempted as I am??
xxx Esther
Tissue box holders from Sparkly Pony
I am in love with these tissue holders! Esther gave the whale to my son for his birthday and it is so cute. What a great way to hide an ugly tissue box. I just love that the white tissue acts as the whale’s spout (or the horse’s tale!). Isn’t that so clever? They’re available from the Sparkly Pony Etsy shop.
-Courtney
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Serena and Lily Moses Basket• Sweet for Baby: Bonnie Baby Vintage Fun Collection
• Celebrating all things BABY!
Around The World Print
I just got this Around The World print from the recently re-designed site, L’Affiche Moderne, and I love it. It’s one of those prints you can look at for hours and still find something new. My kids are especially fond of it — and I think it’s such a clever way to teach kids about the world and the different regions. All the cute little creatures and colourful details are so fun to point out.
We’ve mentioned L’Affiche Moderne before (here)… but the whole site has recently been re-designed and I’m loving this spiffy new version. If you’re looking for affordable art for your house, this is a good place to start.
-Courtney
Little Fashion Gallery Candle
Little Fashion Gallery have done it again. Now that they have started their own line, called LFG Editions. Nothing can stop them! After the beautiful poster I wrote about, they have recently brought out this lovely candle.
I have to admit that I am a candle addict. I love putting the kids to bed, tidying up the flat and putting on a candle and some good music. This candle fits right into this ritual. I can’t wait to see what else LFG Editions are going to come up with next!
-Emilie
The Royal Wedding
Have you caught Royal Wedding fever yet? The wedding is this Friday! I haven’t really paid any attention to it… but everyone I know is starting to get excited about it (my mom even came to town for the event!). Every store front in London is devoted to the wedding, and there are commemorative gifts and objects available to buy everywhere (my mom came home the other day with a deck of cards, each card with a different photo of Wills and Kate — too funny!). Here are a couple of my favourites.
- Of course I love the ‘Keep Calm It’s Only A Wedding‘ print — funny!
- I also really love the William and Kate tea towel available on Etsy
- And of course Belle and Boo have made something beautiful as well — I love their Royal Party Parade Poster!
Do you know of any other good commemorative gifts?
xo Courtney
Introducing Morley at Couverture
Morley is the brand new label by Anouk Robyn, the former designer of cult childrenswear label, Quincy, and is launching this season with lovely, understated pieces for children aged 6 months to 12 years. I’m loving the washed-out cottons and summery pastel colours — it is all so effortlessly cute, so easy to wear (I suppose you would expect nothing else from the woman who spent more than ten years designing for Quincy!).
All of the pieces above (and more!) are available from Couverture, one of my favourite London-based boutiques. Have a look at the rest of the childrens collection — all SO cute! And then… if you can stand the temptation, take a look at their womens and homewear collection as well — flawless.
-Courtney
Bookrest Lamp
Yesterday I stumbled across a very cute shop here in Amsterdam, Tangram. It’s one of those shops where you stop to peep in the window, decide to quickly step inside to have an inspirational look around, and end up chatting with the cute owner while buying something from her lovely selection of gift items (including a great selection of toys in the back of the store). This little Bookrest Lamp is what I came home with yesterday. So cute, I just couldn’t resist! It’s quite literally brilliant: a light fixture, bookrest and cute design item all in one… Available online through Amazon (UK
xxx Esther
Exquisite prints from Missemai
I have something with tree prints, and ‘The Old Oak’s last Dream‘ by Missemai is among my favourites. It has something magic, and is as lovely in a kids room as it is outside of it. Missemai also makes the most beautiful bed-linen, which I love. I have the pink stripy one for Ava’s bed, and it is gorgeous. It’s made of a lovely thick and soft quality organic cotton, and the print is whimsical, and again, beautiful in children’s rooms without being childish. I’m now saving my pennies for this yellow (!) Old Oak Pillow… Exquisite!
xxx Esther
World Maps
At the moment, I am on the lookout for a good looking world map to hang up in our flat. We have family and friends spread all over the world and my 5-year-old, Coco, is trying to understand where everyone is. But the main reason is that I have a huge love for maps — they make me dream and plan lots of adventures. About 99% of those plans stay in my head, but I have the best time planning anyway.
So far I have found this lovely map by Famille Summerbelle which Courtney blogged about a while ago and this great design by Oliver Jeffers. I already have a set of 1950’s French school maps which I love (though though they are not very accurate anymore). If anyone has any other suggestions, do let me know!
-Emilie
Wear your heart on your… pillow case!
I was browsing Etsy the other evening (watch out, it’s dangerous! it sucks you in!), and stumbled upon these lovely pillowcases from Hazel & Hunter. Can you tell I’m in home decor mode? Our house renovation is nearly complete… and I’m dreaming up ways to decorate!
Anyway, I thought they were cute… and the perfect thing to share on Valentine’s Day.
xoxoxo Courtney
All You Need is Love
Happy Valentine’s Day! Are you celebrating… with your kids? with your husband? In any case, I hope your day is filled with lots of love.
P.S. The Love Print (pictured) is from Bold & Noble, a UK design firm specialising in hand-pulled screen prints lovingly made in England on recycled card. It also comes in pink. Cute, don’t you think?
Love Bugs Print from Famille Summerbelle
Julie from Famille Summerbelle has done it again — another beautiful print of her hand-cutting genius. This Love Bugs print is so pretty — and how cool is that little spider hanging down?! I love it! And just in time for Valentine’s Day (I hope my husband is reading).
PS – If you haven’t seen it already, you can watch a video of Julie working her magic — what talent!
-Courtney
Kalma & Violeta
We recently got an email from Mar Gómez of Kalma & Violeta introducing us to her newly launched webshop. Mar has created a collection of decorative accessories for children’s bedrooms, including book racks, magnetic boards and decorative hooks. Isn’t it all so lovely? All the items are hand-crafted in small amounts using recycled materials, and each piece is unique. I got the birdhouse hook for Ivy’s room and it’s darling with that little felt birdie on it. And now I’ve got my eyes on the book rack…
-Courtney
Balloon Party
My daughter just turned 2, and this may be the last birthday party I have control over so we kept it simple — balloons were the theme. We obviously had lots of helium balloons around the house but we managed to find some more unusual balloons to spice up the theme.
- Stripy/beach-ball Japanese paper balloons (which we hung in an alcove and gave away in party bags) available here (thanks to Irene from Bloesem, who helped me track these down!), and I love the animal versions available here.
- Large paper baubles (which hung from our stairs) which come out for practically every party we do. I bought them from RE over 2 years ago — a great party-staple!
- The best ever huge round balloons which I could only find in the US, here, so leave some time for shipping. A big hit though!
- Rabbit shaped balloons and Balloon whistles for party favours. Sadly my balloon shaped cookie cutters didn’t arrive in time (Christmas post!) so I had to improvise (see pictures).
- We didn’t play many party games as I find cake, music and friends is almost all a 2-year-old can cope with but here are some to play with older children.
And I like these ideas as potential prizes or presents for a balloon themed party…
- The beautiful book, Emily’s Balloon by Komako Sakai
- These gorgeous wall-stickers by Belle & Boo.
- This Up, Up and Away print from Pedlars (a rather tenuous link to balloons but I like the print and it’s currently on sale!)
- A balloon powered racing car from Cox & Cox.
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Our favourite travel game — Djeco Bingo• Plümo — (this one is actually for the mums)
The Wild Unknown
My sister gave me this calendar from The Wild Unknown for Christmas this year and I am IN LOVE with it. I love the hand watercoloured feathers (twelve of them for twelve months) and the fact that all the months are on one big page so there’s no flipping pages to look forward or back. I think I will keep it forever… despite the fact that it only ‘works’ for this year.
PS — I just checked and there are only ten of these limited edition calendars left. So hurry and snap them up!
-Courtney
