Entries from May 2014

Kids and babies don’t actually need a lot of space.  Their things need space but they are happiest in cosy little spaces.  So I’m really loving the idea of creating a little space for your child within your bigger space.  Maybe taking a corner of your living room and putting in a cute desk or carving out a small wall area in your bedroom and placing your new baby’s cot there.  I love that doing this allows you all to be in the same space but you can still be doing different things along side each other.  And this a great way to maximise the space in your home especially if it’s limited.  I’ve picked out a few inspiring examples of where this is done really well:

"creating a nursery corner in your bedroom"

When Anya was born, we didn’t decorate a nursery for her because we knew we wanted her to be in our room for quite a while.  So instead we decorated a small area of our room with a cot, a mobile, a storage basket and a poster.   That was not only much easier to do but it was also really nice to be all together.  I didn’t take any pictures at the time but I’ve found these two baby spaces that are lovely.

"create a nursery corner in your bedroom"

Just as these two beautiful nursery spaces pictured above show, you don’t need to take up too much room to create a little haven for your baby within your bedroom.  And you can easily choose a style to complement the rest of your room.

"vintage and modern desk spaces for kids"

Another great way to share your living space with your kids is to create a desk or play area in your living room, your kitchen or wherever else you spend a lot of family time.  I love the first picture that has used the corner of the living room so well and the washi tape house helps to creatively mark out the space.  But if you prefer to keep it simpler and use even less space, you could create a more minimal and contained spot like the second and third pictures. 

When I enter a home where I know there are kids, I like to see some evidence of them.  I’m not talking about being untidy and having toys strewn all over the place, but of seeing a little play space or a shelf full of kids books and toys;  something like the spaces above.  Kids things add character and charm to a space and besides it’s lovely to be able to share all your living spaces as a whole family.  With the lovely and budget friendly kids furniture and decor available at the moment from high-street brands like George Home, there’s no excuse to hide it all away.

This post is brought to you in partnership with George Home.  All content, words and ideas are my own.  Thank you for supporting my work with carefully selected partners that allow me to bring you content like this.

Image credits: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

"6 etsy favourites for kids"

Here are 6 things I’m currently loving on etsy:

1.  Cute animal alphabet cards…  2.  a bouquet of pom pom flowers…  3.  organic cotton raindrop baby blanket…  4.  Mog the cat lambswool soft toy…  5.  double sided bunny ears hairband…  6.  hand-knitted detachable baby pierrot collar.

"illustrated board games for kids"

In the UK, we’re on half term school holidays this week and after having a glorious week of sunshine last week, this week is rain, rain and more rain.  So we’re inside more than out and one of our favourite indoor activities is board games.  We’ve been playing all our old favourites like checkers and snakes & ladders but I love finding new games to play too.  So I went looking and came across these beautiful board games from Hungary.  Inspired by the magical world of fairy tales and the vivid imagination of a child, these games are beautifully illustrated in great detail.  Mostly made by hand, these games are made to last through generations.  Even the counters aren’t the usual plastic pieces but instead the bases are made of wood and they come with detailed drawings on cardboard that slot in to the bases.  These captivating board games are made by Marbushka who only have retailers in Hungary but they ship worldwide.

"where do babies come from?"

Last week, Anya and I had this conversation:

Anya:  Mama, where did I come from?
Me:  You came from my tummy.
Anya:  I already know that!  But where did I come from?
Me:  I don’t know what you mean?  You came from my tummy…
Anya:  No mama, how did I get inside your tummy?!

I wasn’t ready for this conversation as I never dreamed that I would be having it with my 5 year old.  Maybe I’m naive but I always thought these questions come up much later.  I quickly changed the topic and distracted her but I know that this will probably come up again soon.  And I’m really wondering what to say.  Do I go down the creative route and make something up or do I keep changing the topic?  I know I’m not going to tell her anything even close to the truth yet.  I do think it’s good to be honest with kids but this is just too young for me but I still do want to give her some answer.   So I’ve been trying to think of a few and the one I’m leaning towards is when you want a baby, you wish really, really hard for one and it just appears in your tummy! 

Have you had this conversation with your kids?  At what age?  What did you say?  Can you think of a better explanation?  I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Have a lovely weekend and I hope it doesn’t come with any awkward questions! x

{photo by ebabee: Anya aged 10 months}

"cute hair clips for girl"

These have got to be the cutest hair clips for little girls, don’t you think?  From fruity ones to funky ones, they’re all so fun.  Those crocodile ones are just the best!  These hair clips always make me smile and I think they would delight any little lady.  And they’d also be a fab addition to a party bag.

"hand knitted baby sweaters""hand knitted baby clothes""hand knitted baby sweater"

I just had to share the cuteness that is tricot retro.  I don’t know anyone who isn’t partial to hand knitted baby clothes and these retro inspired knits are so adorable.  They are mostly knitted in cotton so can be worn in any season.  And besides the sweet styles, I love the way they’ve been presented.   Each piece is made to order which means that you can request a specific colour, a different sleeve length or change any other detail.   That green and white striped outfit worn by the alligator is probably my favourite piece but really I love everything. 

{via zigouis}

"ideas for baking with kids"

I love cooking but I’m not nearly as keen on baking or making sweet stuff.  I guess I’m just more of a savoury person.  Anya though loves baking and so lately I’ve been thinking that I need to do a bit more with her.  A couple of weekends ago she and I made some bunny cookies and she loved getting involved.  The look of pure excitement on her face when I told her we were going to be making cookies together made me think I need to do this more often.  It also made me realise that it doesn’t have to be a complicated exercise, in fact the simpler the better.  Sometimes it can even be about decorating some shop bought cakes or cookies.  Or making simple fairy cakes and just decorating the cupcake liners.  So with half-term coming up I thought it would be handy to have a few easy baking ideas up my sleeve:

"ideas for baking with kids"

1. Making cookies in different shapes like we did a few weeks ago is always fun.  I found a very simple cookie recipe and showed Anya all the cookie cutter shapes we have and she chose to make bunnies.  I didn’t have time to make icing so instead we made little tails from the same cookie dough.  She had great fun cutting out the shapes and getting flour all over herself.  Next time we might try cloud, star and moon shaped ones.

"easy ideas for baking with kids"

2.  This is such a cute idea!  Make simple shapes with filo pastry and then bake the pastry.  In this filo boat recipe they’ve also made a chocolate pool (yum!) but if you didn’t want to do that, you could just fill the boats with chopped red berries and dust with icing sugar.  Or for an extra sweet treat, fill will little M&M’s.   This is top of my list to try soon. 

"easy cupcake decorating with kids"

3.  Make simple cupcakes or buy them and have fun decorating them.  I especially like the idea of making little paper decorations to adorn the cupcake liners and to top them rather than using sprinkles and icing.  Just like these mustache cupcakes, they’ll look so much more unique and you can be as creative as you like.

"easy baking ideas for kids"

4.  Baking doesn’t always have to mean sweet things.  Like these teddy bear rolls, making bread can be just as much fun.  Kids love playing with dough of any sort so why not try making fun shaped bread.  You can make any shape you like and then give it ears, a tail or anything else that your kids can imagine. 

"win baby products giveaway"I remember the crazy buying I did before Anya was born.  I bought way too much because somebody somewhere convinced me that I absolutely needed it.  Of course I never ended up using a lot of the things but at the time I didn’t know any better.  Recently I came across the Finnish concept of all expectant mums receiving a baby ‘starter pack’ and I thought it was such a sweet and practical idea.  The State sends all mums to be a cardboard box filled with baby essentials like bodysuits, sleeping bags, bathing products, bedding and more.  Once emptied, the cardboard box with a supplied mattress becomes the baby’s first bed.  Isn’t that a lovely custom and so helpful for a new mum?

"almondella baby gift box""win baby products giveaway"

Almondella (a new-ish Finnish brand) has taken this concept and created a range of beautiful boxes to suit various ages from newborn to 3 years old.  Depending on the age and sex of the baby, Almondella put together a box with stylish toys, clothes, books, bathing products and more.  I think this is such a lovely idea so I’ve joined hands with Almondella to giveaway one box of goodies to one lucky reader.  The winner’s box will be tailored to their childs age and sex and will be full of the cutest goodies as you can see from the pictures. 

"win Scandinavian baby products giveaway"

Most of Almondella’s products come from small, independent Scandinavian brands which offer beautiful design and products that are practical and built to last.  You can order these boxes on a 3, 6 or 12 month subscription which will be delivered to your door or they also have one off gift boxes.  The idea of getting a beautiful little package for your baby tailored to their developmental and physical needs is lovely.  Much like the Finnish State concept, it takes the hassle out of buying and choosing.  These gorgeous boxes of goodies also make a wonderful gift especially for a new mum.

The giveaway:  One lucky winner will receive one Almondella gift box that has been put together specially for them based on their babies age and sex.

To enter:  Simply leave a comment below with your babies age and sex.

One entry per person and this competition is open to all my readers worldwide – yay!  The competition closes at midnight (UK time) on Sunday 25th May 2014.  Any entries after this time will not be counted.  The winner will be announced on this post and on my facebook page on Tuesday 27th May 2014.

This giveaway is now closed.   The winner is Maxine.  Congrats Maxine!

The mixed family

May 16, 2014

"how to raise kids in a multicultural family"

As I’m Indian and my husband is British, Anya is a mixed kid.  These days I’m seeing more and more mixed families which is a wonderful thing.  Many of our friends are multicultural as are Anya’s.  Especially in and around London, the multicultural family is very much the norm and I love this aspect of my adopted city.   Recently a friend in a similar family asked me how I was exposing Anya to the Indian side of her culture and this got me thinking.  Am I doing enough?  As Anya is getting older, I am getting more and more conscious of the need to make sure she understands her Indian roots too.  As her father is British and she is growing up in London she will naturally understand and experience the British culture but exposure to the Indian side is up to me.

Anya has grown up eating a lot of Indian food at home and has visited India several times.  I’ve tried to teach her Hindi (the Indian language) but she resisted my attempts because she felt no one else speaks it so why should she.  She would cover her ears and tell me not to speak in ‘that funny way’.  Of course we all know that no kid likes to be different.  Instead, I recently enrolled her in Hindi classes.  This isn’t just to learn the language but also to give her an opportunity to mix with other Indian kids and let her see that there are other people in London who speak Hindi (which came as a bit of a shock to her at her first class!).  I’ve also started making an effort to celebrate the biggest Indian festival of the year and I even went to her school to give a talk about it to her class.

I’m learning as I go along and trying to do things so that she has a balance of both cultures.  My husband Richard is totally supportive of this and like me, completely believes that if you do happen to be a mixed family it’s so important to have a good understanding of both your cultures as that can really widen your horizons.

Since I’m still finding my way, I’m really curious to find out if you are a mixed family, how do you do it?  Do you have any tips on integrating the second culture in to daily life?  I’d love to hear your suggestions and ideas.

Have a wonderful weekend! x

{photo by ebabee – an old one from when Anya was just a baby}

"best colours to wear in Summer"

How gorgeous are these shades for Summer?  When I saw those women’s dresses I totally fell for the colours.  Fresh, soft and flirty, perfect for those glorious sunny days ahead (I hope!).  And the kids clothes are no less beautiful, especially those lemon yellow dungarees.  Seeing colours like these in the shops makes me happy and hopeful for a long, hot Summer.

I’ve linked up to Mummys Got Style’s Fashion Friday.

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