HOME AND DÉCOR
My Worm Farm
I was brought up in Germany, so recycling is in my DNA. We had at least 4 different bins in front of our house, one for general trash, one for plastic and paper, one for glass and one for organics. It was a massive shock when I moved to Paris as recycling is way, way ...
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FOOD
Leek Tarte, a simple French recipe
One of the things I love doing when I am on holiday is taking the time to cook. You see, during the daily routines of school, work and activities I tend to stick to the same recipes. But it gets so boring! When we were in our little French country house this summer, we ...
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FOR MUMS
An electric bike -- my favourite mode of transport
A year and a half ago, we moved away from our little flat around the corner from our school, to a bigger flat a good 20 minutes walk from the school. None of us are morning people, so I knew I had to find a solution for getting young Vivi to school on time. A friend ...
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PARENTING TIPS
Teenagers -- let them vent!
When my girls were small, their problems seemed smaller. A cuddle and a kiss solved most problems. But as they grow bigger, so does the complexity of their problems. I cannot just rush in like Batman anymore and make everything okay. One new development I have noticed as my kids getting older is the need ...
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THURSDAY THOUGHTS
Teens - Navigating the rocky waters of social media
Teens and social media is a 'hot potato' topic (as we say in French). The fact is: as much as I love the idea of a totally unplugged childhood, we will not be able to avoid social media forever. We ourselves use social media, and for good reason -- it is a simple way to ...
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BOOKS
Mrs Wordsmith
I find teaching kids how to read and expanding their vocabulary such an interesting subject. There are so many different theories and there are so many different methods out there, which makes it hard to figure out what works. Children are also so very different. One of my kids picked up a book at age ...
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SHOPUP
A recap of our 2nd annual summer ShopUp in London
London - I love this city. It is pulsing with creativity and energy around every corner, and there is always something happening! This past weekend, the event that drew us all to London was our 2nd annual spring/summer ShopUp, and it was such a beautiful event! Honestly, it was so fun and so inspiring. We ...
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KIDS
Smock dresses for special occasions, by Charlotte Sy Dimby
Remember when we were kids and had a special outfit for special occasions? Maybe it's a European thing, but kids over here hardly seem to dress up anymore! I love being casual and relaxed, but part of me misses the excitement of dressing up and making an effort. Even I don't have a special outfit ...
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TEENAGERS
Clones / Not Clones
For me it has been a real learning curve to realise that my children are, in fact, not just clones of me! I think I genuinely thought that they would be, when they were newborns. Turns out that they are in fact 2 very distinctly different people. Who knew? I am finding this especially interesting ...
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FASHION
Nostalgic baby clothes from Van Beren
Babies do seem to come in waves! Just when all the babies I know have started walking and talking, there is a new bunch of cuddly little ones that have turned up in my life (most important of all, our little Bram ;)). So I have had the pleasure of re-discovering the world of baby clothes ...
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FASHION
Alice à Paris -- French fashion for kids and tweens up to age 12
Oh sunshine, how welcome you are after this cold, cold European winter! It is glorious to be able to shed shoes and sweaters and to lap up every sun ray possible! The exciting thing is that for the first full year we have been able to take advantage of our little courtyard. We have planted ...
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HOME AND DÉCOR
Creating space for play in apartment living
Full confession: I am actually a country girl in my heart of hearts. But living in this beautiful city of Paris is amazing: we walk everywhere, the city is full of life and stimulation, we live in a vibrant neighbourhood and the mix of different people from different walks of life is incredible. My kids ...
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PARENTING
Our Sunday constitutional
We have a routine in our house, which, until now, I hadn't even identified as as routine. On Sunday I drag everyone out of the house for a Sunday constitutional, as I like to call it: a Sunday stroll. We do this in most weather conditions and it is one of my favourite moments of ...
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PLAY
Butte de Chaumont
The Buttes de Chaumont, is possibly a bit off the beaten track from the normal tourist route of Paris but it is worth a trip up to the 19th arrondissement. It is lovely and one of the rare grassy spaces in Paris. It was built about 150 years ago on what used to be the ...
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WEEKEND GETAWAYS
Weekend Getaway: Ibiza!
Oh Ibiza! If you've grown up in Europe you know the reputation of Ibiza: the best party island to dance from dusk 'til dawn. I'm sure many of us have had good times there in our pre-kids days. Discovering the island with kids sounds intriguing to say the least and there is no one with ...
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FOR MUMS
Luna & Stella -- beautiful, timeless jewelry
At last September's ShopUp in New York, Esther and I were having a great time meeting and mingling with so many interesting people. But I have to say I was missing my girls back home a lot. It was just after the summer holidays and we had such a good time together travelling around France, ...
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THURSDAY THOUGHTS
Teenagers and resisting fast fashion
One of my pet peeves is fast fashion -- buying heaps of cheap clothes on impulse only to discard them after a few wears. But, as my girls get older, I'm finding it more and more challenging to avoid the fast fashion pitfalls. Up 'til now, dressing my children was pretty simple. They are easygoing ...
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TRAVEL
Kid & Coe - the perfect place to stay
We love traveling as a family! Ever since the kids were small, getting out of our daily environment, spending time together and discovering new things has been our favourite thing to do. Some of our best memories have been made while we've been on the road. Sometimes things don't even go to plan, but that ...
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MAMA
Merci Maman -- prettiest hand engraved, personalised necklaces
I don't tend to wear a lot of jewellery, I actually don't even have pierced ears! Every piece of jewellery I do own has some sentimental value. A little trinket bought on a holiday, or a present for a special occasion. Possibly not worth much, but very valuable to me nonetheless. For our 10 year ...
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PARENTING
My New Years Resolutions 2018
I actually had completely forgotten to make New Years resolutions until I read Esther's post earlier this week! It inspired me, so I decided to write down my very own resolutions and share them with you. I am totally aware that some of these ideas will fall by the wayside (see above photo where I ...
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FOOD
Tomato Paste -- spread it onto bread and call it dinner!
This recipe actually comes from one of the most remote parts of the world! My lovely friend Nadine is from St Helena, an island in the middle of the Atlantic that hardly anyone has ever heard about. We stayed with her over the holidays (not in St Helena as it takes days to get there, ...
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KIDS
Teen Breathe - a new magazine for teenagers
One of my favourite things to do on a plane or train is to pick up a magazine at the newsagents. I sit down and take my time looking at pictures, reading articles and seeing what is up and what's new. I get anything from fashion, interior design to current affairs. The great thing in ...
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BOOKS
What we are reading right now
As we are nearing the shortest days of the year and, as a result, spending more time indoors, I thought it might be fun to share with you what we are reading right now in our little home! Coco, who is 11, is on multiple books (as per usual). She is devouring the Generation K ...
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