Gardening time!
This weekend we had such a treat: one day without rain and even (yes!) a few rays of sunshine!! Hurray for May! Seriously, the weather has been so lousy here in Amsterdam, we’re in much need of sun. Anyway, we decided it was time to spend a day in our little garden to plant all the seedlings we’d grown in the windowsill of the kid’s room the last weeks: tomato, pumpkin, courgette, sunflowers, nasturtiums, sweet pea… They had by now grown into little puppy plants so it was time for them to hit the rough Amsterdam climate outside.
Carrots, radishes, salad and rocket are best sewn in the full ground (outside). If you don’t have a garden or balcony, you can also easily grow these vegetables on your window sill. Just one word of advice (we keep doing this wrong!) — don’t sew the seeds too close together, or the carrots, radishes etc don’t have room to grow! Plain salad and rocket are also super easy to grow (even in the windowsill), and you can keep cutting their leaves for a long time.
Of course we set the children to work immediately. They love gardening! Obviously the small scale of our vegetable garden-to-be will far from feed our entire family, but it’s a real pleasure to harvest our own grows, little as it may be, and it’s educational for the children. Here are some really fun ideas for gardening with kids:
Sara received this super cute Gardening Giftbox (from French brand Moulin Roty) as a gift and it comes filled with little pots, compost, seeds, a watering can and gardening tools — all packed in an adorable little suitcase. So cool! Sara and her friend spent hours working in the garden, preparing the soil, sewing their seeds, watering the plants, etc.
I got some bags of seeds at the Balcony Gardener. These bags are really pretty and also make gorgeous gifts (I just ordered a few more of them!). They also sell beautiful quality kid’s sized gardening tools which we love.
Finally, if you live in the Netherlands or Belgium (or speak Dutch), this little Moestuinkabouterpakket is such fun and so very, very cute. It comes with seeds, bags to sew them in, labels, a little book about the garden gnomes that will help you to look after the seedlings (provided you make sure their hat and coat is hanging ready for them to wear!).
xxx Esther
Cushions from Yellow Velvet
We moved into our house a little over a year ago, and the project of decorating it is still an ongoing task. Walls need artwork, sofas need cushions, we still desperately need a mirror in our bathroom (the list goes on)! I only just managed to get some very much-needed hooks up in the kids’ rooms — it’s amazing how long it can take to do something as simple as putting hooks on a wall!
Anyway, in my quest to buy new cushions for our home, I have discovered the most wonderful webshop specialising only in cushions and pillows. Yellow Velvet is a stylish and well-organised site with an even more stylish selection. They have cushions for every setting: living room, bedroom, outdoor areas, children’s rooms, etc. There are so many great options, my only problem was choosing! I ended up buying a selection of these embroidered linen cushions for the yellow sofa in our living room (see below).
And now I’m super tempted to buy some cushions for the kids’ rooms. There is no end to decoration it seems! Do check out Yellow Velvet if you’re also in a decorating mood…
x Courtney
Waanaki
I recently came across this great online shop based in LA called Waanaki (which means ‘to live in peace’). Owner Nanette Sulano focuses on carefully curated vintage pieces for children age zero to six. Check out the shoes and accessories for some great one of a kind pieces!
-Elizabeth
Home made duvet cover
When we moved back to New Zealand I had grand plans of what the kids bedroom would look like. I had bought them matching beds to bring back and bought loads of dark grey gingham to make matching duvet covers. In my head it was going to look so cute! When we finally found a house to rent, the bedrooms were so small I couldn’t fit in their matching beds. Luckily, we had bought Mia’s toddler bed back with us so Kees ended up having to sleep in that. For a while he also had to use his sister’s girlie duvet covers. Last week I finally got around to making him his own duvet covers so his bed feels more like his own.
How I made them:
- I cut up an old white sheet.
- I printed Kees’ name on normal printer paper
- I traced Kees’ name with pencil onto the sheet.
- Then I hand embroidered over the pencil line.
- Finally I sewed on a matching grey gingham back.
I think his new duvet looks very smart and its always good to recycle old sheets.
Steph xo
Our little monster!
It’s not often that personalised art takes the shape of a cool looking monster with a very big mouth and a bright red background! I couldn’t resist this Little Monster print from KoKo Kids: very modern and fresh and cool (and very cute too, but not obviously so). The royally sized poster is giclee printed with archival print, so it has a very artisanal, matte look to it. Our little monster Pim is over the moon with his poster!
xxx Esther
Sharon Montrose Photography
I was feeling a bit blue the other day when I stumbled upon Sharon Montrose’s Animal Print Shop. There is nothing like portraits of bunnies, ducks, and sheep to instantly elevate your mood. I am still trying to decide which animal needs to come home with us. Maybe the two bear cubs?
Inaluxe Art Prints
I recently discovered the fantastic Australian-based shop, Inaluxe, while browsing Pinterest. I quickly ordered a couple prints (although I must admit, it was difficult to only choose a couple!), and I’m so pleased with them. What I like is that the prints can work in an adult’s space or a child’s room. I think the bright colours and birds would really appeal to children, while adults might like the more abstract pieces. (The prints I ordered are for me, not the kids!)
Inaluxe is run by Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd, two artists who met in school. Their attention to detail and quality is so immaculate — they use only the best archival fine art papers, and work with the best giclee reproduction print technology out there. And they ship all over the world — my prints arrived super quickly!
x Courtney
Looking Dapper
There is a little shop in Encinitas, California (where I used to live) called m.o.m that has the most adorable decor pieces, accessories and handmade clothes for children. They often use one-of-a-kind fabrics with fun prints for their items. I bought the most adorable pink striped tie for one of the favorite little boys in my life when I was last down there and he adores it. These would be darling additions to any easter outfit or to have around for a dress-up occasion. (They don’t show a big selection on their site, but they are great at taking custom orders and letting you pick out the fabrics.)
-Elizabeth
The Rocking Company — cool retro finds!
I think little Ava might have inherited my love of chairs! I got her one of these beautiful little Tica chairs from the new French Rocking Company and she can’t let go of it. She takes it to her bedroom at night, and back down to the living room in the morning. So cute! Don’t you love the look of these chairs? The retro design and cool colours (we have the red one) appeal to me big time. And the size is perfect for children, both for Ava (now 22 months) and also for her big sister Sara (a very tall 6-year-old).
The Rocking Company also has a selection of durable, cool bibs, made from thick and soft fabrics with an unmistakable retro feel to them as well. A very nice selection of first products — I wonder what else Sandra (the owner) will come up with next!
xxx Esther
Lovely trinkets from Rootsliving
Rootsliving is a new UK-based company run by Charlotte Kjeldsen, a lovely Danish mum who stays true to her ‘roots’ by sourcing all the products from Scandinavia (mostly Denmark). She carries one of my favourite Danish brands, Rie Elise Larsen, as well as other little Scandinavian treasures. Find everything from homewares and accessories to children’s fashion and decor. I like the selection of jewellery, I love these yellow candlesticks, and you’ll probably be interested to know that all the children’s clothing is now half off!
x Courtney
Where are you from?
Where are you from? Are your family roots from all around the world or perhaps you still live in your place of birth? As you can see from the image above my family’s origins are somewhat spread out, so it’s no wonder I fell in love with these prints entitled My Roots Collection created by Children Inspire Design.
What a lovely way to teach our children about their background, their roots or perhaps if you have family scattered around the world this can help them understand where everyone lives.
These posters come with heart stickers and are therefore entirely customizable; I really love the different available colors and the simplicity of the graphic design, cute in any room! You can choose from something more global like the world map, or narrow it down to a continent, a country or even an American state. To top it off, these are made from recycled card stock and printed with soy ink.
Which map would you choose?
-Celina
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope your day is filled with lots and lots of love. xoxoxo
PS — Hearts print is from the Laura George Etsy shop along with loads of other cute prints. (I bought this print for Ivy’s room and it’s so cute! And Esther has this cool print and I was so in love with it I bought one for myself as well!)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Wear your heart on your… pillow case!• All You Need is Love
• Happy Valentines Day!
Être et Avoir
If you have ever learned French, the conjugation of the verbs Être et Avoir must still be ingrained in your mind. They are the corner stone of the French language. This is why I love this massive room poster by the talented designers Ich&Kar. It looks so retro and great and is super practical too… in case you are ever in any doubt on how to conjugate a verb!
If you don’t speak French, I also like the multiplication poster which would be great for a kid’s room. In case of doubt your kids will just need to look up to figure out what 8×7 or 8×9 is! (Available from Smallable.)
- Emilie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Cute Party Invites from Little Baby Company• Dallas Clayton’s Top Ten List
Fig!
I love figs. To eat of course, but also, very much the smell of them. I’ve lined up a few of my favourite fig-scented products below — hoping of course that you will share yours!!
1. Zenology Sycamore Fig — discovered recently in a hotel and love the entire collection.
2. Company de Provence Savon de Marseille Extra Pur Figue — I love Marseille soap, I love fig, so this combination is hard to resist. The hand soap is a fixed staple in our house.
3. Diptyque scented candle — Very rarely I splurge on a Diptyque candle. Figuier is one of my favourite scents (I love Pomander too).
4. l’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier — a beautiful perfume, that I’ve never owned but always run to in shops.
5. Rituals Under a Fig Tree fragrance sticks — the best fragrance sticks, I think.
xxx Esther
Davina Zagury photography
If you’re looking for something truly special for your house, take a look at Davina Zagury’s website. She has a collection of beautiful still-life images with three main concepts. The first one is about the land of lost toys. Vintage toys, found at flea markets, second hand stores or in the garbage bin (!), make us wonder about the children that once treasured these toys, their home, their story, their life. The second series is about kitchen appliances. Not only are the objects so interesting and beautiful to look at, they also hold memories of our grandmother’s kitchens; they smell of home-made biscuits, chocolate cake, and warm milk. In the animals series that Davina created, little toy animals take centre stage and tell us a special story in which they play the main part.
xxx Esther
Tante Ted — just for boys!
Tante Ted (‘Aunty Ted’) is a Dutch brand focussing exclusively on boys bedding and accessories. I’ve known Ted for a few years now and I’ve seen his brand develop, and it’s so cool that his collection is now professionally produced by bedding company Damai! Well deserved, because Ted just knows what boys like. The bedding for starters, all very cool and with bright colours and graphics, inspired by traffic, travel, insects and other things boys love. But what about the lights (my son Pim LOVES this builders’ light!), or the carpets (made from moving blankets! And there are lampshades too!). Everything is just so very cool, just what boys love… and stylish too, just what their parents love. Way to go, Ted!
xxx Esther
P.S. The Tante Ted site is still just in Dutch, unfortunately, but just email Ted if you have questions or would like to order something!
Fabriko — a passion for patterns!
Swedish design company Fabriko was started last year by Lisa Erikkson, a Stockholm-based designer and mum. Her patterns are aimed at children but I’m sure they are as attractive for big people as they are for the little ones! The collection consists of wallpapers and a textile collection including bed linen, pillows, quilts and bags, all made from organic cotton and really super cool and decorative. Lisa currently works with 4 amazing patterns, but I hope we will see more in the future.
xxx Esther
Happy December!
Can you believe it’s December already?! Wow! It crept up quickly this year, didn’t it?!
This year will be the first year we stay in London for Christmas… which means we get to properly decorate the house and make it nice and cosy and christmasy (!!!). We’re all very excited about it and have already hung our stockings, set out the decorations, and of course, hung the Advent Calendar (which starts today!). And… I’m listening to Christmas music as I type! Oooh Happy December!
Have you caught the ‘holiday bug’ yet? Do you do an Advent Calendar? Any other little traditions you do around this time of year? I would love to know!
xx Courtney
Jeans and cords party bunting
So… Ideally this craft project would have been finished long before posting about it, but I have to face reality — it was started 3 years ago and didn’t progress much since. Maybe this post will inspire me to finish it before the next birthday in our household?
The idea is simple: don’t just trash old (ripped) jeans and trousers, but cut them into flags instead (a simple cardboard triangle will help you cut out the shapes). I personally like to create the bunting out of two layers so there is no front or back to it (leave the top of the triangle open so that you can turn the flag right side out). Next (and last!) step will be to sew the flags to bias band. I’ll post about the finished bunting soon I hope!
What I like about the idea of using jeans and cords besides simply re-using is that the colours are really cool and stylish — so much so that maybe this bunting can be left hanging all year long. Because really, shouldn’t every day be a little party?
xxx Esther
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Summer or winter, always in bloom• 10 things to have as a nursing mother
London Cushions
I loved living in London and it still tops my favourite city list. A while ago I saw this fabric in a Cath Kidston shop and had to buy a couple of metres. I love the vintage look and the colour and the detailed pictures. In fact I love everything about it! I ended up making a couple of cushions out of it for my bedroom so I will always have a little reminder of London when I go to bed at night.
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Acme Party Box Company• Water-resistant garlands from Hip Hooray
• Happy 3rd Birthday to us!
