среда, 30 сентября 2015 г.

Bellerose, a favourite label for boys!

boys smiling
boys in garden
quin picking berries
yin and yang
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Shopping for boys is definitely more challenging than shopping for girls, or at least I find it slightly less exciting. For one, there is less variety in the types of clothing for boys (no adorable rompers or pretty dresses), but I also find it trickier to find simple, timeless pieces without the stereotypical ‘boyish’ texts and colours. For my boys, I like solid tops and bottoms in nice, neutral colours, and I also try to find good quality pieces that will stand the test of time and last long enough to be worn by both active boys. (I typically buy new clothes for my eldest son and then pass down to the younger one, and the same goes for the girls.)

Bellerose is a brand I discovered years and years ago in a shop in Antwerp, back when the boys were really little. I bought a pair of shorts for Easton that ended up becoming a favourite pair worn by both boys, and I’ve returned to this brand again and again over the years, both for the style and the quality.

I like the laid-back effortless style of the Bellerose pieces, and the quality is always really reliably good. I also like the way the pieces fit both boys: their loose-fitting shorts and trousers really suit Easton, and yet still look good on Quin who is smaller framed than his older brother. It’s also one of the rare children’s brands that goes up to size 16 which is a relief as many of the other brands stop at size 10 or 12. 

We got some photos taken of the kids earlier this summer and I couldn’t resist putting the boys in their matching tees and shorts from Bellerose. My two boys, such sweet little pals — so different from each other, but somehow such a perfect pairing of personalities. I love the yin/yang feel of these photos.

Courtney x

All photos by Sara Welch



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вторник, 29 сентября 2015 г.

This month’s awesome give-aways

Win! September 2015 Babyccino Kids

Here in Amsterdam the first leaves are colouring, and temperatures are slowly dropping. I love this time of year, nature is so beautiful and every ray of sun is so magical! October is rapidly approaching, but you still have time to enter in our September give-aways, which are spectacular as always. Here goes:

Babyshower are giving away a beautiful maternity bag including a portable changing mat and a fleece blanket. So gorgeous — a must-have for every (new) mama!

Molly & The Wolf offer 3 subsciptions to their craft-club: over the course of 3 months, a personally addressed, top secret parcel containing a brand new craft kit will be received in your mailbox. How fun (and perfect for rainy October days)!

Lollipop are giving away one complete back to school bundle with all of their different planners, notebooks and tape, plus a moon & stars platter! So functional (and sooo wantable)!

This month MORI are offering one lucky winner a store wide credit of £100 worth, to be spent on their durable, soft, high quality and deliciously darling baby essentials.

To read more about the individual give-aways (and to enter each or all of them), visit our win page now! Good luck!

xxx Esther



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Tuesday Tips: removing stubborn stains

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We’ve had a few emails come in lately requesting a Tips post on how to get rid of stains, and while none of us consider ourselves to be stain removal experts, we thought it would be a fun post to encourage readers to share their tips and tricks (so please do share!).

What I’ve learned is that it’s really important to treat the stain (even small ones) before you attempt to wash it in the machine, and that the sooner you treat it, the better luck you’ll have at removing the stain. Here are some other tips that quickly come to mind:

  • Soak stains as soon as you can.
  • Dish soap works well on grease stains like butter or oil, and then it’s best to wash with the warmest water that’s safe for the fabric after you’ve let the soap soak into the clothes.
  • Ice cold water is best on blood stains (and again, try to soak as quickly as possible).
  • If stains don’t come out in the wash, don’t put clothes in the dryer (that will set the stain and it will never come out after that). I usually hang-dry clothes that were stained, just to be sure the stain is out completely when dry.
  • Hanging washed clothes to dry in direct sunlight helps to naturally bleach stains (especially fruit and berry stains).
  • Lemon juice, baking soda and vinegar are natural stain removal agents that have been used for years and years.
  • According to my mum, white wine is great at removing red wine stains (who knew?!).
  • When Easton was a baby we spent a week in Paris with my family. My mom and I went to the supermarket to ask for a small container of laundry soap to hand wash some clothes and the lady handed us a bar of basic Marseilles soap and told us to wet the clothes and scrub with the bar of soap. I was skeptical, but I tried it out and it worked SO WELL. It’s a perfect laundry soap to travel with because it’s not a liquid, and it really works! (Esther and Emilie both keep a bar of Marseilles soap in their laundry rooms for this reason.)
  • For sticky stuff like chewing gum or silly putty, you can stick the clothes directly into the freezer and then pull the sticky stuff off the clothes once it’s frozen.
  • For very stubborn stains you can, of course, use a chemical stain remover like Vanish or Oxi Clean (though we usually try to avoid these harsh cleaners because they’re not good for the environment or your clothes).

I think that’s it, but again I’m really excited to see what other tips you all have up your sleeves, so please share!

xx

p.s. Photo above is of the sink in the laundry room of my old house. Oh how I miss that laundry room! : )



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понедельник, 28 сентября 2015 г.

Our next ShopUp event: London this December!

The ShopUp at Chelsea Town Hall
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The ShopUp copy

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Following on from the excitement of our recent ShopUp event in NYC, we are thrilled to announce our next event which will take place in London on December 10th and 11th, just in time for Christmas and holiday shopping!

We’ve already lined up an awesome selection of shops (start your Christmas lists!), as well as food and fun activities (including Santa!). It’s going to be so good.

Mark your diaries now: December 10/11 at the Chelsea Town Hall. More info here.

xx



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Colourful Kapla

Colourful Kapla

I’ve written about Kapla before, and they are also on the list of evergreen toys we published for a Tuesday Tips in the beginning of the year. Kapla is such a beautiful and extremely creative toy — the simplicity of the wooden blocks, with their perfect dimensions, makes it possible to build all sorts of structures over and over again.

Colourful Kapla

My kids have had the basic set for quite some years, but a friend of mine recently gave them a set of colourful blocks, ‘Kapla Octocolor‘. The same blocks, but in 8 beautiful, natural colours. A perfect addition, as it really gives another dimension to their play!

xxx Esther



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суббота, 26 сентября 2015 г.

Matchbox Treasure Tracker Review AAA Review Matchbox Treasure Tracker by ToysForFunxyz

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пятница, 25 сентября 2015 г.

Momo, by Michael Ende

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Do you remember the first book that you read from cover to cover as a child? My first page turner was a book called Momo and I read it on a long, long car journey across Europe one summer. I remember not wanting the journey to end until the book was finished! It is by German author Michael Ende who is most famous for writing the Neverending Story (another one of those magical page turners).

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I had totally forgotten about this book until I recently found it in my favourite children’s book shop L’Enfant Lyre here in Paris.  Coco, who is nine now, read it this summer and also could not put it down.

The thing is, this book might have been written in the early ’70s, but its subject is more relevant than ever before. A little girl saves her city and its inhabitants from ominous grey men who are stealing everyone’s time – no one has time to play and talk anymore, which is as much a subject now as it was 40 years ago apparently!

-Emilie



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четверг, 24 сентября 2015 г.

Shortstitch, a personal shopping service

Shortstitch -- personal shopping service

Personal shopping — it sounds expensive and luxurious, doesn’t it? It makes me think of those slightly hidden areas on the top floors of high-end department stores. Luxurious… and definitely mysterious.

But fact is: parents are busy. Very busy. Although we love (virtual) shopping and browsing, we don’t always find the time to scout the high streets (or the internet) for the best buys and coolest finds… even though new outfits for the children are desperately needed. Wouldn’t it be ever so handy to have someone (with great taste, obviously!) doing most of the work for you? Who would suggest a few outfits for your child, narrowing down the endless amount of items available to some great quality pieces that you can actually see and feel, and even try on? With no strings attached? Enter Shortstitch — a personal shopping service for busy parents.

Shortstitch personal shopping service

Shortstitch recently asked me to test their service, and I was intrigued by the concept and impressed by their cool, clean and professional looking website. So yes, sure! (Please!) Since Shortstitch focus their service on children aged 4 to 10 year, we decided to ‘pretend’ shop for Ava, who is 5 years old, and is developing quite a fun personal style.

After answering some inquiries on the website sign-in, I received a prompt email with a request to put a time in the agenda for a style consultation over the telephone. I was asked a range of specific questions about Ava — are there any particular items she is in need of this season? Does she practise any sports? Are there other occasions she needs clothes for? We also discussed sizing, colours and general style preferences. The consultation took around 10 minutes, and was quite fun (don’t all mothers love talking about their children?).

Shortstitch personal shopping service

Within 2 days I got a notification that my ‘box of YAY!’ was on the way. And how fun it was to receive a big package on my doorstep shortly after!

Inside, there was a gorgeous selection of clothes, shoes and accessories, all put together with the utmost care in separate packages and carefully wrapped in tissue paper. There was an accompanying personal letter, written full of enthusiasm and confidence, explaining the selections and suggesting combinations that could work for an array of occasions: ‘The navy skirt with the brick polo neck and brown boots will be a great everyday staple for school.’ ‘The leggings are quite versatile too. She will look super stylish arriving at swim class in those.’

Shortstitch personal shopping service

Shortstitch personal shopping service

Shortstitch personal shopping service

There were jackets to choose from, a pair of gorgeous shoes and sturdy boots, adorable tights and socks, hair accessories, and then, of course, a selection of clothes for different occasions. All of exquisite quality, all beautiful, fun and unique, and quite daring — as daring as one could get away with within the ‘style boundaries’ I had set (timeless pieces, muted colours, tasteful patterns, no logos, etc.). I would say, definitely more adventurous than I would have selected myself — which makes it actually really special!

Shortstitch personal shopping service

Shortstitch, personal shopping serviceOK, it’s clear that I was impressed with Shortstitch so far, but, most importantly — Ava absolutely loved what Shortstitch had picked for her as well.

Shortstitch personal shopping service Shortstitch personal shopping service Shortstitch personal shopping service

The luxury of getting to see and feel the garments, trying them on, and returning them to the Shortstitch box if it’s a ‘no keep’ is truly great. Unwanted items can be returned to the box which will be collected by a courier by appointment and free of charge. (However, I can already tell you that it will be quite difficult to return anything in the box!).

Now… of course one wonders, what does this fabulous service cost? Well: nothing! Nothing extra, that is —  you only pay (recommended retail prices) for the items you want to keep. The styling service, the delivery and collection are all on Shortstitch. Nothing mysterious about it. How cool is that?

xxx Esther

This post is sponsored by Shortstitch, a personal shopping service I tested and loved.



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среда, 23 сентября 2015 г.

Review Crayola's Color Alive Easy Animation Studio Review by ToysForFunxyz

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The new Hatch collection and some photos from NYC!

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Last week when we were in NYC for the ShopUp, we met up with the talented team from Hatch and had a little photoshoot with some of our favourite pieces from the new Autumn/Winter collection. It was so, so fun to play dress-up in all the stylish clothes, and Esther and I had a blast pretending to be models (haha!) on the streets of Brooklyn.

Esther and I have been long-time fans of the Hatch maternity label since we discovered it during our last pregnancies with Casper and Marlow, and I still wear many of those original Hatch pieces three years later. What I love about Hatch is that you can feel better about investing in stylish maternity clothes knowing that you’ll wear these pieces after pregnancy and for years to come.

The clothes are comfortable and effortlessly stylish, and I love how the shapes seem to fit women of many different sizes, pregnant or not pregnant. The Union Jumpsuit is a perfect example — it looks great on Esther with her tall, skinny body, and then it also works on me (I just had to roll the cuffs a few more times). I also love that you can dress the pieces up or down depending on how you accessorise. I wore nice flats with the Isabel Pants for a dressier look, but look how cool they are paired with trainers!

The Hatch website is really quite fun to browse for style inspiration — I love the way they style all the pieces and show different versions (dressed up or down) of the same piece. We had so much fun putting our own twist on the clothes, and I hope you don’t mind us sharing so many photos from that day. : )

And two more, just for fun…

Hatch in NYC

sleeping guy

We were laughing (and admiring) this guy’s ability to sleep in the middle of bustling NYC, below the bridges and amidst the noisy sirens and taxis whooshing by. So good! So New York!

Courtney xx

All photos taken by Marko Jokic. Thank you, Marko, for making us feel so at ease in front of the camera! 



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вторник, 22 сентября 2015 г.

Nature Notebooks from Mrs. Booth

Nature Notebooks
Nature Notebooks 1
Nature Notebooks2

Before I left London, I spent some times searching the web for fun journals and activity books for the kids to take with them as part of their home education and documentation of their travels. I stumbled upon the sweet Nature Notebooks at Mrs. Booth which are absolutely perfect for what I had in mind. These little A5 notebooks are thin and lightweight (perfect for travels!) and include 40 pages to fill however you wish. We’ve been using them to draw our discoveries and then write down our observations.

I like that it provides a guideline for how to fill in the pages, but it’s not too rigid so the kids can still find their own way of filling the pages. Easton loves drawing so his book includes a lot of drawings, while Quin has mostly filled the pages with text.

Mrs. Booth offers nature notebooks for town, country and seashore (each only £5!), so I grabbed some of each theme and we hope to fill them all out over the course of the year.

Courtney x



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понедельник, 21 сентября 2015 г.

New video: a French braid tutorial

french braid tutorial
Ava with french braids

Our newest video is now up on our YouTube Channel! We figured it was easier to show you how to French braid in a video rather than in photos, so here’s our first video hair tutorial. We shot this video a couple months ago when I was in Amsterdam visiting Esther, and sweet little Ava was the perfect model.

You can watch it here. We hope you enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions. I’m happy to answer!

Courtney xx



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Syma X11 Hornet RC Quadcopter Review WOW Review Syma X11 Hornet RC Quadcopter by ToysForFunxyz

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суббота, 19 сентября 2015 г.

The ShopUp NYC: a re-cap in photos!

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We’ve just received so many great photos from Nicki Sebastian of our NY ShopUp. We thought we would let the photos speak for themselves and paint the picture of those two fun-filled days. So here’s a re-cap in (loads of) photos. It’s so fun to look through these and be reminded of what a great event it was! (An enormous thank you to our wonderful event manager, Miraya Berke of Pop Productions who did an amazing job.) Here are the photos: 

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So many adorable little ones, all having so much fun!

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Cute temporary tattoos from Rattly

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Glittery face paint and nail polish by Lucie Hélène

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A Brooklyn-themed giant colouring poster from OMY

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Such a fun activity centre for the kids, run by Urban Sitters

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Live music for the little ones by Michael Parker of Great Caesar band.

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Ice creams from Blue Marble

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Pizza from the Neapolitan Express food truck parked outside

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Free healthy snacks for kiddos from Bitsy’s Brainfood

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Coffee from Drift Away

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So much fun at the press breakfast sponsored by Passported. Thank you to all our blogger and media friends who came to support (and shop!)

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An exciting raffle prize to benefit mothers2mothers. (Congratulations to Cory Lee who won the family trip to Saint Luca and Stewart Todd who won the Paper Culture $100 gift certificate!)

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Thank you SO much to everyone who showed up, to all our sponsors and to everyone who helped to promote the event. We really loved meeting everyone, including many long-time readers, and we’re already looking forward to doing it all over again!

xx



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