Win a beautiful bracelet by Arabelle!
I must admit I’ve never been the biggest fan of children’s jewellery… but having seen Arabelle’s beautiful children’s collection, I’m afraid I have to eat my own words! The jewellery is so sweet and so tastefully done, all handcrafted in 18ct yellow gold (or silver if you prefer). The collection is inspired by traditional childhood toys and associations. (The bracelet pictured was inspired by a traditional abacus counting game with five beads — four pearls and one gold — which slide along a gold bar.)
What really wins me over about her jewellery is that all the pieces are adjustable in length (with different clasps incorporated into the pieces). So they really are a keepsake which can be worn forever. It makes a great gift for a special occasion (baptisms, Bar Mitzvahs, birthdays, etc.).
And the exciting news: Arabelle is very generously giving away a Ricochet bracelet (pictured) worth £190 to one lucky reader! Just leave a comment below by January 20th, and we’ll pick one winner at random!
Good luck!
P.S. You can find the Arabelle children’s collection at Dragons of Walton Street in London.
P.P.S. Congrats to Siobhan from Germany who won our last give-away: the fabric wall stickers by I Love Mae.
This give-away is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Naomi (and her daughter Roo).
Christmas tree ornaments by Maileg
I am so in love with all the lovely ornaments by Maileg this year! They could not be any cuter. Last year I picked up some of the little soldiers, which I loved because they look so British, and this year I discovered the darling birds and mushrooms!
They’re the perfect ornaments for a house full of kids because they won’t break if they fall off the tree — plus they just look so playful and fun.
Maileg is a young Danish company which also makes lovely toys and decorative objects. You can find Maileg pieces in London at Elias & Grace and Petit Aimé, or buy online at Nordinary.
Merry Christmas!
xoxo Courtney
Hello from South London!
Hello! It’s so nice to meet you and get this chance to chat to you all. I’ve been enjoying my daily dose of Babyccino ever since Courtney told me about it nearly 2 years ago – it has been a fabulous companion to my own personal experiences of having children and has increased my spending online about three-fold (these girls just find some really great things!). So when Courtney asked me to step into her London shoes whilst she is away I was so excited. Followed by a slight sense of dread… you see Courtney’s shoes are not easy to fill — both literally (she’s a petite one) and metaphorically speaking — but I will do my best. As Courtney mentioned I’m south of the river here in London, so let’s see what we can find to play with down here!
-Mo
Introducing Mo
Next month my family and I are going to take an extended holiday to the sunny southern hemisphere. I’ll be away for exactly 100 days, swapping the entire winter season for another summer. I could not be more excited! (More about my trip later.) But we thought it would be a good idea to bring in a fellow Londoner to ‘hold down the fort’ while I’m away, to become the voice from London for the next few months.
You will have heard me mention my friend Mo numerous times on Babyccino. I wrote about her cute birthday party ideas and goodybag gifts. I’ve also raved about some of the cute little gifts she’s given us. Mo is, without a doubt, the most inspiring mum I know. She is crafty and clever, she’s fun and stylish, and she is the only person I know who is as obsessed with children’s books as I am! I have loved every suggestion she’s ever given me, and I know you will love her ideas just as much.
She’s an English girl married to a German, she’s a mother of two, and she lives in an old mill house in South London, so she’ll offer a new perspective on this enormous city. Welcome Mo!
-Courtney
Muji Christmas
I just popped into Muji this week, and I have to say just how great all their Christmas items are! I was so impressed with all the cute little wooden toys, holiday decorations, gift-wrapping items, cards, stamps, etc.
I filled an entire cart full of little gifts (including the items pictured), and I bought one of their wooden christmas tree decoration pieces too!
As it goes with Muji, everything is pretty reasonably priced… perfect for little stocking stuffers or nice gifts for your kids’ friends. I definitely recommend paying a visit.
-Courtney
Ver de Terre outdoor wear
It’s mid November already! Where did time go? Suddenly the holidays don’t seem very far away, and I’m already thinking about snow… Last year it snowed almost every day of our Christmas holiday in the states, and when we returned to London it snowed some more! This year we’ll be prepared. I’ve discovered the most amazing line of outdoor clothing. Ver de Terre is a Danish brand which makes everything from snow suits to mittens to babywear, all in really nice colors and fabrics.
I have the double face fleece body suit for my baby, and it’s not only cozy, it’s really well designed. With two zippers running down the front, it makes it really easy to get your baby all bundled. And both the legs and the arms can fold back to cuff your baby’s hands and feet to protect them from the cold.
You can find some Ver de Terre pieces from Kidsen here in London, or contact Ver de Terre for retailers near you.
-Courtney
Tantrum-free hair products
It’s funny the things your kids notice. I recently tried out the new Tantrum range of hair products, and instantly my boys pointed out the ‘yummy’ smell of the bubbles! (I was more attracted to the ‘paraben and allergen-free’ qualities, but of course kids know nothing about that!)
Tantrum is a children’s hair salon here in London specially designed to make the hair-cutting experience a good one, both for you and for your child. As well as their King’s Road location, they have just set up a boutique in Hamleys, taking hairdressing to a whole new level.
The new range of hair products includes a shampoo, conditioner and a detangle spray which, according to a friend who has a daughter with super curly hair, actually works! (Emilie, you should check this out!)
-Courtney
Babyccino party recap
Our party on Friday night was a hit, and we just wanted to say a quick thanks to all the people who came out, despite the rain. It was so lovely to meet our UK readers, sponsors, designers and friends. A big thank you to Elias&Grace for hosting (and for the generous discount!), and also to Milk Magazine for all the glossy magazines. It was a great collaboration and a fun party (see photos below)! We really must do it again!
A Babyccino Party!
We’re having a party and we would love for you to come!! The five of us are meeting in London for the weekend and we thought it would be the perfect excuse to throw a party, meet and mingle with our readers, drink champagne, eat fancy canapés… and shop! We’re teaming up with the cool children’s boutique, Elias&Grace, and the uber hip Milk Magazine for a fun get-together. Enjoy a 20% discount at Elias&Grace for the evening, and pick up the latest copy of Milk.
So, if you live in London (or you need an excuse to travel here) we would love for you to join us! Please meet us at Elias&Grace in Primrose Hill on Friday, November 6th from 7-9:30pm. Click here for official invitation.
We’re so excited to meet/see you all!
xoxo, The girls at Babyccino
P.S. Please RSVP (just so we know how much champagne to buy!)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Luukie/Xsmall• Fungo Matto
• Elias and Grace
• Sons & Daughters
• Lilli Bulle
Olive Loves Alfie
Although it’s a bit off the beaten path, it’s worth a trip to London’s Stoke Newington neighborhood if, for nothing else, a visit to the lovely children’s boutique Olive Loves Alfie.
This small but charming shop is chock full of children’s toys, clothes and accessories. Not your normal mass-market toys, but the sort of things that will inspire you to spruce up your children’s toy basket or run home and redecorate the nursery. It’s the perfect place to find a unique birthday gift, a piece of art to cover a bare wall, or even vintage chairs, globes and toys for your home.
You’ll find Djeco toys, Katvig clothes, Rice accessories, and the list goes on. And there’s something about the way it’s all displayed that makes you really notice the attention to detail and the heartfelt selection. A really lovely neighborhood shop that makes you wish you lived in the neighborhood…
-Courtney
Elias & Grace SALE!
The sales have started, yippee!! And there are loads of great deals to snatch up.
I’ve never been great about shopping the sales, but now that I have two growing boys and a baby girl to shop for, I have some buying to do! Plus, I’ve learned from Esther how to take advantage of the sales… (waiting, plotting, planning, convincing your husband that it was such a good deal you really ‘had’ to buy it, etc.)!
My favorite ‘deal’ of the season? The sale at Elias & Grace with up to 50% off! And what’s more — Babyccino readers will get an additional 15% off the sale price! Now that’s more like a steal than a deal!
Either enter the code BS09 on the website at check-out or present the code in the store. (Offer is good for one week, until next Monday July 6th.)
Happy sale shopping!
-Courtney
The Nursery Window hooded towels
I bought the sweetest little hooded towels for my boys when they were babies, and they worked perfectly for swaddling them up and drying them after bath time. However, the problem I find with most hooded bath towels is that they’re often very small and very thin, so they don’t last long (in size and in quality)! Both my boys have had to graduate on to normal adult-sized towels.
I wish I would have known about the hooded towels from The Nursery Window. The towels are large (even big enough for big kids!), and nice and thick. Plus, they’re as cute as can be with their signature bunny print in either pink or blue. I received a pink one as a gift for my baby girl, and we love it!
The Nursery Window is a cute little shop here in London which specializes in baby bedding, furniture, blankets and bedroom accessories. We bought our moses basket from them, and I couldn’t resist their darling little bedding sets with their beautiful traditional prints. All their products are made here in the UK, and they pride themselves on fine quality and timeless pieces. And they’re now available on-line!
-Courtney
Under the Sea in 3D!
Taking young kids to the cinema can be risky business. No matter how great the film is, it will probably end up being too long to keep your kids’ attention, they’ll likely spill the popcorn, talk too much and too loudly, and need several trips to the toilet. (Can you tell I’ve learned the hard way?)
Last weekend, however, we risked it all and took the boys to see the Under the Sea 3D film at London’s BFI IMAX theatre, and it was a huge, huge hit!
You put the funny glasses on (which my kids loved), take a seat in front of the UK’s largest cinema screen (taller than 5 double decker buses!), and spend roughly 45 minutes feeling like you’re swimming under the sea, literally face-to-face with exotic sea creatures! My kids thought it was the coolest thing they’ve ever seen!
The IMAX films are short, they’re 3D, and they’re educational. Perfect for kids! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before now…
-Courtney
Lizzie Allen’s ‘London’ wallpapers
I’ve never really been one to use wallpaper in my house, possibly because the options are endless and it is too difficult to choose, but also because I just like the look of a simple wall lined with cute paintings and prints.
But there is something about Lizzie Allen’s beautiful hand-screen-printed wallpapers that have really caught my attention. I especially love this ‘red buses and black cabs’ design from her ‘London Collection’. I love the 1950s style ‘routemaster’ buses and black cabs. And how cool is this life-size London telephone box? Or the city gents design? Really, really cool…
I love the idea of lining a small accent wall with one of these iconic London scenes, or as I spotted in Bobo Kids last week, sticking a square of wallpaper onto a canvas and hanging that on a wall.
-Courtney
No tantrums here…
My experience with kiddie hair salons has always been the same: the place looks cool, my kids love it and sit still and happy in their seat, BUT they still manage to walk out with a less-than-stellar haircut. Too much glitz, not enough guts.
Thankfully, this is NOT the case at the new children’s hair salon, Tantrum, on the King’s Road, where I took my youngest son for his first real haircut last week. (I’ve been dreading the risk of cutting off his baby curls, so I was delaying the inevitable!)
He got a great cut, and we both left happy… curls in tact! (more…)
What a whale!
Thanks to a recommendation from one of our readers, I popped into a new (and very cute) children’s store here in London called Bobo Kids. With its overwhelming amount of cute decorative pieces for kids’ rooms, it’s amazing I only walked out with one item (I loved it all)!
But… it’s one item I LOVE: a beautiful whale lampion from cute French brand, Petit Pan. This beautiful silk whale will hang from the ceiling in my boys’ room adding to their funky (and somewhat random) assortment of fish-themed accessories. Cool!
Petit Pan makes loads of other fish lanterns and other decorative pieces which you can buy on-line. Or, if you live in London, it’s worth taking a peek at the lovely collection at Bobo Kids.
-Courtney
Raise the curtains for the Babyccino City Guides!!!
Can’t believe how excited and proud we are. It was a full-term, healthy pregnancy, and after a long but painless delivery we have finally given birth to four wonderful, beautiful city guides!!!
Their names are Amsterdam, London, Milan and Paris and even though they are still tiny, all the features are present. So with a lot of love and nurture from their mummies, they will soon grow up to become big, complete travel guides!
No kidding. Visiting cities with kids in tow doesn’t mean you have to spend your days in the swimming pool of the hotel (if it even has one) feeling guilty about disturbing the other hotel guests who, without a doubt, are hoping to spend their first romantic weekend-away-from-kids in 15 years.
Or… ending up in the local Rainforest Café or McDonald’s restaurant because you’re hungry and frustrated and all those fancy-looking local restaurants didn’t look very kid-friendly.
No way. From now on, just check out the Babyccino city guides with inside information of all the cool places we like to visit in our cities, carefully selected and tested and proven to be kid or parent friendly! Discover the coolest kid-friendly restaurants, the cutest kiddie shops, the best parks and playgrounds, the most interesting museums, the best local products and more!
Of course, this is a work in progress so we will keep updating them — and we would love to hear back from you with feedback and tips!
Enjoy!
Love, the Babyccino girls
(Phew – time for a beer now!)
Koka Mama
Has it ever happened to you that you find a clothing label, love the entire collection, and feel as if the designer must have had your personal style in mind when the pieces were created? You know… where you just love everything the designer does, and if you could you would buy it all? (This has really only happened to me once before; I’m normally not such a slave to one particular designer.)
But… it has happened again, and I’m completely head-over-heels in love with a brand called ‘Koka Mama’, a super stylish, wonderful maternity line! (Seriously, since when do you ever really love a maternity piece, let alone the entire collection?!!)
I have about a hundred good things to say about Koka Mama, but probably what I love most about the collection is that while it was very much designed for pregnancy, the clothes are stylish and simple enough to wear even if you’re not pregnant. (Who doesn’t need a great white blouse which fits over the bump, but still looks good when the bump is gone?) The clothes are comfortable, easy to wear, flattering… and not even exorbitantly priced. (more…)
Belgo — for mussels and frites!
Twenty years ago London had a reputation for having bad food (let’s be honest, ‘bangers and mash’ are not the most innovative of foods). Now however, thanks to an influx of new British chefs, even traditional English food can be tasty. But, what truly makes London’s food so interesting in my opinion, is the growing number of international restaurants in this city. You can now find some of the world’s best French, Italian, Spanish, Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese restaurants across London. (My only complaint is the lack of good Mexican restaurants!) Seriously, if you’re craving it chances are you can find it!
Belgo is one such restaurant… where you can walk from the rainy streets of London straight into a Belgian world of traditional (and tasty) mussels, frites and hundreds of Belgium’s best beers.
There’s nothing really fancy about it, but the food is good and the atmosphere is authentic. And what’s more? It’s extremely kid-friendly with loads of highchairs and a kid’s menu which includes a mini pot of mussels and an activity kit. And, want the best news? Kids eat completely free!
-Courtney
Leon Cookbook
I have a new addiction and it is the food from my new favourite Cookbook: Leon.
Lets wind back a few years when we were all living in London. I was working in Soho and deploring the fact that it was almost impossible to get good take-away food. Try as I might, I never managed to get up in time to prepare sandwiches to take in with me. So my options were greasy spoons and sandwich chains that put so much mayonnaise into their sandwiches that it was had to figure out what else was in the sandwich.
Then, one fine day, Leon opened: fresh salads, soups, wraps… all I ever could have dreamed of was suddenly available just around the corner from me! I never went anywhere else…
Finally my favourite take-away has published a cookbook and I am loving making my own take-away food (The family is loving it too, by the way)!
- Emilie
