The great thing about Foccacia is that you can garnish it with whatever you have handy in your kitchen: cherry tomatoes cut in half, cheese, olives, any kind of herb or just plain salt and olive oil. I do love this kind of recipe — it’s super simple and whatever you do with it, it always turns out great.

- Emilie

You can’t help but feel better if you step through the doors of a Jonathan Adler design store.  His bright and quirky designs make for great housewarming gifts, and recently I’ve noticed they are trying to launch a new “Junior” line for kids  (although between you and me — most of it is not really my taste). I did however spot, and now worship, this giraffe lamp!!  It kills me that the head sticks out of the top!  Kills me.  Not only is it perfect for a kids room but could work easily as a desk lamp.  Selfishly, I am getting it for myself… not my kids.

-Dina

If you are visiting Melbourne, the Gold Coast or Sydney check out locations here ! If you live elsewhere in the world and you are hankering for your own sampling of Igloo Zoo  — I apologize profusely for the tease!

- Sara

The book about manners was actually written in 1958 and re-released in 1986 so I have no idea how it has escaped my attention for so long but I am sure glad I have found it!  It is slightly on the old-fashioned side when it comes to manners (but then so am I) but what I love is the bizarre and surreal scenarios the children reading are faced with in order to suss out what manners would be appropriate — for example; “You are at the Princess’ ball, and she is telling you a secret, but her orchestra of bears is making such a fearful lot of noise you cannot hear what she is saying.  What do you say, dear?” Well as anyone knows faced with such a situation the only polite thing to say is, ” I beg your pardon”.

You can buy it from Amazon (UK and US).

-Mo. x

There’s something about cute, crisp underwear for kids. I just can’t stand old, over-washed knickers and I admit to throwing out those once-white undies that were accidentally washed with the dark load. (If only I were as picky with my own underwear, but it seems that for myself I prefer those old pieces!)
I find it quite difficult to find good quality, cool kids undies, especially for boys, but I’m loving the superman undies pictured. I love the tight fit, and I love that the superman logo is in fact made out of little red birdies, giving them that tasteful twist. So cute for my little boy! The grey girl’s set is lovely too, and in fact La Queue du Chat has many more adorable pieces, not at all just for ‘under’, and all made out of 100% organic and fair-trade cotton. Check out the collection on the website, also for points of sale…

xxx Esther

I love this little school bag by the french label Miniseri — it is so simple and cute and the perfect back-to-school bag. In fact it is so cute I am trying to figure out if my laptop might fit into it… don’t you think it would make a great laptop bag? Though I am not sure my kids will be willing to share…

- Emilie

I know, I know… It’s still August and here I go writing a post about winter jackets! But last year I waited too long to buy my kids their winter coats and by the time I got around to it, all the best ones were sold out. So this year I’m on it early. I love the Berlingot Jackets from Bibaloo. I got this reversible one (pictured) for my daughter and I love that it’s long, hooded and puffy — it will keep her nice and covered in cold weather.  I also like the Button Parkas for boys — so cute. Bibaloo is a UK-based webshop dedicated to French fashion. Their Autumn/Winter collection is now in (including the new collection from Petit Bateau)!

-Courtney

If there is one thing out there that can instantly transport me back to being a young child, it’s the soundtrack to “Really Rosie”. Carol King’s bell-bottomed clad voice is forever burned into my memory bank and for those of you who remember the songs “Eating chicken soup with rice”, “One was Johnny” and “Pierre” I urge you to share them with the next generation. I recently purchased the soundtrack on Itunes and also picked up this boxed book set called “The Nutshell Library” so I could share the 1970’s magic with my girls. Maurice Sendak (The Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are, etc;)  really was a creative genius and there is a reason his stories have stood the test of time — I love that these sweet little books are not only wonderful stories, but you can sing them! Download the soundtrack on itunes.

-Dina

It’s technically still summer here in Amsterdam but in reality it’s been autumn at its worst these last few weeks. Crazy! The one advantage of autumn (the only one, really) is that there are loads of cool things falling from the trees, like for instance pine cones, which are fun to gather on a forest walk. And from which one can create very cool creatures like these pink hedgehogs. In the past we’ve made acorn men and chestnut chaps too. Fun!

xxx Esther

After mentioning my love for bread baking last week, I received a couple emails asking which pizza dough recipe I use. The good news is that both the No-Knead bread recipe and our favourite pizza dough recipe come from the same source: Jim Lahey’s My Bread. We have a large stack of bread-baking recipe books, but this one is definitely our favourite. What I really love about the book is how he uses photos to walk you through the recipes, step by step, making it nearly impossible to mess up.  And his pizza dough really is the best.

The book is available from Amazon (UK and US).

-Courtney

The summer in New York City has been brutal.  I’ve heard that it was the hottest July on record but August was pretty unbearable as well.  Meanwhile, I have been outdoors most of the time, forgetting to re-apply sunscreen and definitely not taking care of my hair which now is the consistency of straw.   So… the other day while sitting around making guacamole with a friend, she suggested I mash up an avocado, mush it around with an egg yolk and put it in my hair.  So next thing I know I am massaging in the green goop and wrapping my head in saran wrap (sexy!) and after sitting with it for 45 minutes I was shocked!  It really did give my hair a noticeable boost as it felt suddenly thicker and healthier.  I am going to do it with the kids because I think they would love it — especially after a summer of chlorinated pools!!!  I also hear that Mayo works well — I will try that next and let you know.
Just to recap: mash up avocado, mix in egg yolk,  apply to hair (more at the roots), sit for a bit, rinse it, done.

-Dina
(Image from For The Birds)

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

Can you believe that little Ava is 3 months old already? Yesterday I put her in a sleeping bag for the first time (we’ve been swaddling her so far), and she looks so cute in it! The sleeping bag is from Olive & Moss, a brand which reminds me a bit of the ’70s. (Sometimes I just need to step away from Liberty and luxury for a bit, and these funky designs really bring a smile to my face.)
Ava is in a Margot and Mo sleeping bag, which I thought was cute for a girl, but if I had a boy I would definitely go for Louis the Lion, I mean how cool is he? Margot and Louis and more crazy characters are available from the Olive & Moss website.

xxx Esther

How cute are all these little handknit pieces? I just love that red pom-pom hat! They come from Biisoo — a New Zealand-based label for infants. All the products are handmade from merino wool which is grown and processed on certified organic farms on the south island of New Zealand.  The wool is super soft, non-irritating and oh-so cozy, making it ideal for babies. I know it’s still technically summertime here in the Northern Hemisphere, but I’ve just returned to a very dreary, cold London… and I’m in the mood for cozy! You can shop online at the Biisoo online shop.

-Courtney

A true discovery this summer has been the Viso Mani Corpo repairing cream from Planter’s. Made from all natural ingredients, and with a delicious, gentle smell, this cream is equally suitable to put on your body, hands and face. Perfect for when you’re traveling!
It’s lovely for after bath or shower and rich enough to give nutrition to dry skin. And good for children’s cheeks too! A summer favourite, but this cream will from now on live in our house the whole year around. Available in Europe through Soap.
xxx Esther

Gosh, I am a sucker for beautiful knitwear — for myself and my kids.  When I discovered Weebits at Magnolia Square recently I was mesmerized by the quality, texture, colors and design and just a tiny bit peeved that they didn’t come in sizes big enough for us! Pure merino wool from New Zealand is the world’s most exclusive natural fibre and it is as scarce as cashmere. Because of its natural elasticity, lustre, resilience, density, strength, warmth and softness, it is perfect for newborns. I totally love these hoodies (pictured) but the rest of the range (especially the ponchos and loop scarves) are equally drool-worthy. The colors are just superb and produced using eco-friendly dyes. Definitely worth checking out. The good news is they ship world-wide. For more details, click here.

- Sara

Elephant Elements is a must have book for any parent teaching their child opposites.  It was actually the first book I ever bought my first child (when he was but a mere tiny dot in my stomach).  I fell in love with it when I saw it in Daunt Books in Hampstead but it has really only come into its own in the last few months, since my son turned 3 and is able to understand it better.

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

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we’ve been spending the past week at our beach house on Bainbridge Island. The house has no television, no internet, no fancy electronics — just good old-fashioned entertainment like cards and board games… and Jenga! What a fun game for the whole family to play (something even my 3-year-old was in to), and not to mention, so multi-functional — those blocks can also be used for building towers and other imaginative things.

Jenga is a simple game consisting of 54 wooden blocks. You start by building a tower using all the blocks, then each player takes a turn removing one block from the tower and sticking it back on top. Over time the tower gets taller and more wobbly until eventually it topples. Last one to remove a block without knocking over the tower wins. Simple as that!

You can purchase Jenga from Amazon (UK and US).

-Courtney

I was quite inspired by Natalie’s  post a while back when she wrote about this absolutely beautiful bunk bed from Australia.  Like her, I am somewhat obsessed with the idea of a bunk bed and it got me to thinking about getting one for my girls.  When their recent birthday loomed, a plan was hatched to get one, and after months of hard-core research I decided to get this particular one from Room and Board (which is simple and beautiful in person).

We talked about its arrival for weeks on end – nailing out the details of who was on top, who was on bottom. Talking about how we would drape a sheet and make a cave out of the lower bunk AND how exciting it would be to have a bigger room with more space for toys! The excitement could barely be contained….Then it arrived…

So – the reality is this: the first issue that I was not aware of is that you need a special “bunk mattress” for the top. Did you know this? I did not.  Turns out that if the upper bunk bed is more than six or seven inches thick your kid can roll over the top bar and come flying over the side. Somewhat jail-like in the comfort department if you ask me. Second….what if the bunk bed situation is a complete bust?… After two nights of pride and revelry  “top bunk” decided she hated being up there and demanded her regular bed back.  Uggh.  

Maybe I started too early? Anyone else have a similar issue? How did you handle it?

All that aside… their more spacious room looks amazing and I absolutely love this bunk bed and I am not letting it go. If you are looking for something modern, sturdy and expertly made I have searched high and low, compared them all, and I think this one is perfect in so many ways.  They also started making them in great colors!!!  Only wish my kids loved it as much as I do. Boo-hoo.

-Dina

Eponime is a French baby brand that I just love giving to newborn babies. Designed by Fanny Chretien, a young talented designer based in Normandy, these baby beauties are seriously something else. The designs are simple, but absolutely exquisite and the fabrics are beautiful, natural and soft with gorgeous prints. And they are functional too! As far as I’m concerned, Eponime hits the nail on the head with original, elegant and luxurious baby wear. Bring on more babies, friends!

xxx Esther