Koka Mama Maternity Wear
I am so excited for all you pregnant mamas to announce the launch of Koka Mama. Finally… here is a maternity label which is perfectly spot on in every way. It’s stylish and modern, it’s also quite practical and it’s very thoughtfully designed with clever cuts and special details to fit and flatter the pregnant body.
Tamara Hema, the (very stylish!) founder and designer, came over to my house recently with a big suitcase filled with her collection. She set each piece out on my kitchen table and walked me through all the tiny details which make each piece wonderful. All the trousers, for example, have not one elastic band in the waist, but two — to support the belly from below, and also to rise a bit high in the back to fit, support and stay up. Clever!
Each piece is better than the next, and all available to purchase directly from the Koka Mama website.
x Courtney
Weekend Getaway: Rome
Rome is one of my favorite European capitals. When I visited I was so impressed that so much history, from the Romans to the Renaissance and turbulent 19th century, can be found on a relatively small scale. But how easy is it to explore all this history with the whole family? Sarah Petrucci, a true Roman and the owner of the newly opened toy boutique Il Pesciolino Rosso, was kind enough to write down her recommendations for a trip to Rome with familia!
Rome must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Maybe because of the warm light so unique to this city which makes its palazzi in hues of gold and terracotta glow at sunset. Perhaps it has to do with the beauty of its flowering balconies and rooftops or the regal stance of the pine and sycamore trees that line the river and fill the parks. Of course it could be the abundance of wealth in monuments and churches, important ruins and treasures. And to top it off, that balmy climate, so mellow in each season giving a romantic feeling you can’t get enough of as you walk the cobblestone streets and listen to the sweet sounds of Roma. Here are some ideas for a weekend in Rome… (more…)
House of Balls
Ava has a new favourite toy: the ‘House of Balls‘ from stylish French toy company Vilac. The concept is simple: four coloured balls (perfectly sized for a toddler’s hand) and a house-shaped track with a little bell on the end. It’s amazingly addictive for babies and toddlers! They love to see the ball roll down the track, over and over again. The toy is really cute looking, nice and sturdy and easy to carry around, and such a perfect present for little ones aged 12 months and up!
Available through VUP baby.
xxx Esther
(Photo of Ava and her friend Luka, by Elke Mendelsohn)
Little Warrior
Little Warrior is a sweet children’s line out of Los Angeles. The Spring/Summer ‘12 Lookbook is adorable and perfectly captures the feeling of endless childhood days. I love all of the super-soft unique silhouettes and the muted palette. Little Warrior just opened a boutique in Hollywood over the weekend. If you are in the neighborhood, you should absolutely stop by!
Little Warrior Boutique (inside Filth Mart)
1038 North Fairfax Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90046
This month’s cool give-aways!
This month, we have some amazing give-aways again! Two gorgeous quilts from MoochicBaby, block-printed by hand in India with a sweet little penguin pattern. The amazing flexi-bath, so handy! Whitestep is giving away four, and the winners can choose their preferred colour. A darling summer outfit including a dress, matching headband and warm hoodie from Boutikids, in the preferred size of the winner. Which little girl wouldn’t love that? And last but not least, we have 4 sets of two amazing hand-sanitizers from Pureberg to give away as well. It’s moisturising, smells so good, and kills 99% of the germs on your hands — perfect for in your handbag or car.
So enter now for your chance to win!
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Japan — call to action• Black for a Kid’s Room
• Esthex Travel Collection
Indoor driving fun
We were hit by a ‘weather bomb’ on Saturday! I had never heard the term before and it turns out a ‘weather bomb’ is the name for very windy wet weather. I’m not sure why they just don’t call it a storm….Anyway I’m not a meteorologist but I do know wet windy weather means the kids are going to be stuck inside all day.
My husband is fantastic at making things out of furniture, blankets, pillows and anything else laying around the house. This weekend he put his building skills to use by making a car. It kind of reminds me of Fred Flintstone’s car. Its such a simple idea and the kids loved it.
Stephxo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Japan — call to action• Black for a Kid’s Room
• Esthex Travel Collection
Katvig
I do admire the Scandinavian love for bright, crisp colors and simple, sweet shapes. They also often have a much more forward thinking outlook on the environmental impact of their clothing than us mainland Europeans. The Danish label Katvig takes sustainability very seriously. Their whole collection is made out of high quality organic or recycled fabrics. Katvig can pride itself on being one of the world leaders in the production of sustainable clothing, which is not bad, right? On top of that their clothes are funky and fresh, using bright colors and lots of stripes which I have a real soft spot for. I especially love their baby collection, super soft and very cute. Katvig is available from Babyccino Kids Boutique Yellow Lolly!
- Emilie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Japan — call to action• Black for a Kid’s Room
• Esthex Travel Collection
Dinner with Courtney from Babyccino Kids
I am going to admit straight away that I actually don’t really love dinner time. In fact, I sometimes even dread it. My kids are tired, my patience is usually gone by then, and trying to keep three kids at the table until they finish their dinner is exhausting (remember this post?). I’m also not like Esther — I’m not super passionate about cooking. I mean, I do it… but it’s not something that I really love (my husband is the passionate chef in the family). But, I think dinnertime is incredibly important for a family, and the lessons of sitting at the table together, using proper table manners, trying different foods, taking turns in the dinnertime conversation, etc. are all such important lessons to teach our children.
During the week, I usually make the kids their dinner and serve it to them around 6ish. I usually give them a bath before dinner, so they eat dinner in their pyjamas (see photo), and then when my husband comes home around 7pm, he can read them a book and put them to bed. I usually make something simple for them or I give them the left-overs from our dinner the night before. My kids are pretty good eaters, although there are some meals which go down better than others (pasta is usually a winner). After dinner I usually let the kids have a little square of chocolate if they’ve eaten their dinner. We’re not big dessert people, but we do like our chocolate! (more…)
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
The single mother’s survival guide
My daughters’ father and I separated a few years ago and, while it was not what I had planned in life, it is a thing that happens to many couples and families. After a bit of an adjustment period, with some rather rough patches, I have actually learned a ton of new life skills and have possibly become a stronger person because of it. I thought it might be interesting to share a few things I have learned along the way: things that have made my life as a single parent a lot easier and actually quite enjoyable!
BE ORGANIZED: I think it was Courtney’s husband who once told me that the reason he was so organized was because he was actually quite a lazy person (Apologies Michael, if I am quoting the wrong person). A truer word has never been spoken: a bit of organization makes life a LOT easier. Now people knowing me will laugh at this point, as I am one of the least organized people on the planet. But everything is relative and even at my very low level, being organized has made life a lot less stressful. Small things like setting the breakfast table in the evenings, getting clothes for the whole family ready at night, having a shower at night and not in the morning, ordering food online and pre-cooking dinner for the following days is important to a single-parent household. We can’t just pop out quickly to the shops if something is missing nor do we have the spare time to choose an outfit for work when we are trying to dress and feed two children in the morning. At one point I started putting my girls to bed in a a pair of leggings and a t-shirt so that in the morning I just had to slip a dress on top of them and they would be ready — basically I try to come up with things that will just make life run a little bit more smoothly with a bit of forward planning.
LOWER STANDARDS: I think it’s quite normal for single parents to try to do way too many things to compensate for the lack of a traditional family set-up, as we (or I) constantly feel guilty. But it’s not worth it. I have tried to decide on what is important to me and what isn’t. Turns out that a lot of things are not that important. My kids have turned up at birthday parties with the present wrapped up in magazine pages because I had run out of wrapping paper — nobody cared. We have had pasta with olive oil for dinner, because I didn’t have the time to buy food… and the kids survived. Sometimes their clothes are not ironed and perfectly co-ordinated or their hair is not properly brushed. Sometimes guests have turned up and the beds have not been made yet or the dishes washed and stashed away. I have officially decided that this is totally ok!
GIVE YOURSELF A TIME OUT: This point is essential and yet the one most of us totally fail at. Because most single parents work full time and deal with kids and everything else, we have relatively little time for ourselves. It is very important to somehow find the time even if it seems impossible. The problem is that if we don’t find some space to do something for ourselves we burn out, which is no good for anyone. I have tried many things: yoga, tennis, weekend away, massages and going out. I have not been able to keep one thing up consistently, but I have found that even just trying out new things and planning adventures has kept me a little bit more sane. The one thing that is easy to do is to simply walk for a good 20 mins with some good music on. Even if I am just walking along the metro line to work, it does clear my head!
Anyway, these are just little things that work for me. If you have other tips for what works for you, please share!
- Emilie
A video interview with Alexandalexa!
The team from AlexandAlexa came over to my house recently for a little interview (!!) about the children’s fashion world. They wanted to know about Babyccino Kids and how it started, and about how online shopping has shaped the way mums can buy for their kids. They also asked what sort of considerations I make when buying clothes and toys for my kids and to share some of my favourite brands from the AlexandAlexa shop.
So…. I got to put on a bit of make-up (a real make-up artist came over!) and I sat down for a bit of q&a. It was a fun afternoon! I’m slightly nervous about sharing it with all of you — it’s a bit like hearing your own voice on a recording machine — but if you’re interested, you can watch the video here!
xx Courtney
Decorate your own shield — a knights’ party
For Pim’s ‘knights’ themed birthday party last week, we had the idea of letting the boys decorate their own shields. I always like to do something a bit creative with the kids to offer some ‘downtime’ before the more active games we played later. My husband had made 8 shields out of thin beech plywood, with bands (from cheap winch straps), and rivets. He used a round plate to make the design, and an electric jigsaw to saw out the shields. I was impressed by how fast he made them, by the cool-looking end results, and by the sturdiness of the shield! Oh, and the materials we used were really cheap — I think we didn’t spend more than 10 euros for the 8 shields together.
Shields in the making
I printed some different images of coats of arms like dragons, lions, and unicorns, and bought carbon paper (didn’t know it still existed, but it does!). As a first party activity, each boy transferred a drawing onto their shield using the carbon paper. Taping the printed paper and carbon paper to the shield helped to keep everything in place. The magic of tracing the drawing and automatically transferring it to the shield kept them interested! Afterwards, they used markers to colour and personalise their shields. I was so impressed by their concentration — they loved this activity and were so serious, and so proud of the results!
Transferring the design using carbon paper
Colouring and decorating
Of course we couldn’t resist sewing 8 tunics for the knights the night before the party (including a tiny one for Ava!), and to get a few plastic party helmets to go with the outfit. (Swords were forbidden — for obvious reasons…)
Baby knight
Games (or ‘knight’s challenges’) included: Obstacle course in the kids’ bedroom (under the bed, over the bed, jump 10 times, somersault, etc.), pin the fire to the dragon’s mouth (like pin the tail to the donkey), mastering the yoga warrior pose, and killing the piñata dragon (finally they were allowed to use a sword!). All the kids got a score card around their neck, and each time they had surpassed a challenge they earned a sticker. Only with a full card did they earn their official ‘knight certificate’, which, printed with a Medieval type font on brownish paper and with burned edges, looked impressive enough!
Pin the fire to the dragon
The party bags (do you remember the stamp we made?) and the knight certificates
It was a fun party and the kids loved it! We were pretty exhausted though. I’m glad I don’t have five overactive 5-year-old boys in our house every day!
xxx Esther
Cute Stamp Sets from Little Scout
I’m loving these fun stamp sets from Little Scout. We have the Seascape stamp set and my boys went crazy stamping out sea and beach scenes this past weekend. Each set comes with a set of five rubber stamps on a maple block and they come in a cute, handmade birch box so it makes a cute little birthday gift.
x Courtney
Dinner with Esther from Babyccino Kids
Dinner time usually occurs around 6.30 pm in our house, because that’s when my husband comes home from work. Cooking is my thing — my husband usually takes care of breakfast (I’m worthless in the morning!), but dinner-time cooking is my task and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love to cook, I love the creativity of it! With three little and hungry children it’s not always a relaxing time though, so I often turn on a movie when I start to cook so they can relax a bit and I can focus on what needs to happen in the kitchen. Or, when I have enough patience and time, they like to give me a hand. Six-year-old Sara already makes a fantastic salad Caprese, and Pim (5) is quite proficient at slicing cucumbers and other salad ingredients. I also quite often ask our nanny Katherina to stick around ’til my husband gets home to help me keep little Ava (1) entertained. This is a huge help and it makes this time of day much more pleasant than what it used to look like: me cooking with an upset, crying one-year-old on my arm, and often ending up overly tired, frustrated and angry. Not worth it!
Because I work full-time and often don’t start cooking until 5.30 or 6 pm, I usually cook something within an hour, or even half an hour. But since my work is fairly flexible, on occasions I am able to prepare dinner beforehand and I can make more time-consuming dishes. Sometimes I’ve had such a crazy day and I’m un-inspired to cook, and we order in: usually pizza, Thai food, or sushi (our favourite!). Or we prepare an easy dinner like cheese fondue (exception to the homemade rule: this comes from a package — always handy to keep in the fridge for an easy and quick dinner that we all love). On weekends, we occasionally take the kids to a restaurant, a treat! (more…)
Dinnertime Series
Dinner time can be a stressful time when you’re a parent. The kids are hungry and tired, YOU’re hungry and tired, but dinner needs to be served in order to bring the day to a good end. How do other people handle this time a day? Do they cook in advance, do they order in, do they organise help… What do they cook? Could they share an easy recipe?
Because of our rather curious nature, we decided to start a little series called ‘Dinner with…’, where we will invite other mums (or dads) to share their dinnertime with us. But to be fair, first we’ll give a peek into our dinner rituals ourself. I’ll go first! Hope you love our new series!
xxx Esther
Kickle from AlexandAlexa
Kickle (isn’t that such a cute name?!) is the new private label by AlexandAlexa launching with a fun range of children’s tees. Capturing the spirit of ‘fashion made fun’, the tees feature quirky little characters and funky designs kids will love to wear. My boys got the Cat-Fish tee and the Knuckles ‘n Beebop tee and they’re really cute!
x Courtney
Shake it up
Lately I have been using juice and smoothies as a way to get my daughter the extra nutrients she might be missing from her meals. She’s sometimes dubious of the green juice but if I add a striped paper straw she’ll usually drink it right down! Here are some of our favourite recipes…
Simple Green Smoothie/Juice:
-add a handful of spinach to 125 ml of pineapple juice
-2 ice cubes
-blend
(If your child likes kale you can use that, but blend it really well!)
Coconut/Pineapple Shake:
-a handful of pineapple (fresh or frozen)
-almond milk (soy or cow’s also works)
-2 teaspoons shredded coconut
-1 tsp flax seed oil
-¼ of a banana or avocado
-2 ice cubes
(You can also add coconut water if this is too thick from the avocado.)
Almond Butter/Date Smoothie:
-one tbsp almond butter
-almond milk (soy or cow’s also works)
-2 dates
-1 tsp flax seed oil
-½ of a banana
-2 ice cubes
I’d love to hear some of your favorite smoothies and juices!
-Elizabeth
Lego Friends Series
I love Lego and I bet there isn’t anyone out there who doesn’t like it. Well apart from cursing it when you stand on a rogue piece that didn’t get put away and you look down and can’t believe that a little square of plastic can cause such pain! Anyway… there is no need to write about how cool Lego is.
But let me tell you how shocked I was when I was introduced to the new Friends
Steph xo
Marie Puce gets ready for summer!
Sweet bubbly baby outfits, retro overalls, Liberty fabric blouses, sweet little linen shorts… We’re spoiled for choice at the new Marie Puce summer collection! Cute, happy, easy to wear but stylish — all these pieces are just perfect. And what I especially love about Marie Puce: the collections often run up to 18 years (which might fit some lucky mamas as well)! I have my eyes those sweet sandals, those cute red jeans and that darling playsuit. Uhhh, for my daughter, of course…
xxx Esther
Dust Bunny Round Up from Pinterest
With Easter just around the corner, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite little bunnies found on my Pinterest. If you like what you see here I highly recommend you check out my board solemnly dedicated to bunnies entitled “Dust Bunnies”. You will find some cute DIY projects, jewellery, room décor, clothing and much, much more. Some of the images above are old, but nevertheless inspiring — you can discover some great artists and other amazing blogs through them…
1. Kenzo 2009:
2. Mr &Mrs rabbit plushies by Little Miss Loolies
3. Mustache Rabbit Print by Andrew Bannecker
4. Rabbit Clock by Misako Mimoko
5. Rabbit Friend by Fox and Owl
6. Mrs Bunny by Lieschen Mueller
7. Mr. Lewis by Le Train Fantome
8. Hop & Pek Egg Cup via Handmade Charlotte
9. Krys Kirkpatrick Bunny pillow via Kickcan & Conkers
10. Kanae Entani Embroidered Rabbit heads
11. Pohadky book from Cedok
12. Circus Bunny by Evangelione
