So we have been thinking about what to buy Little O for her birthday. She (like many her age) are into helping in the kitchen, pretending she's Mum or Dad for that matter, tending to her people (Happy Land) playing with Lego and of course making cups of pretend tea.
Hours and hours of pretend tea. She has this very cute little tea set she was given last year for her birthday and she loves it.
It's by Playskool and sells on Amazon. The tea cups change colour when cold water is added.
Olive loves it. There are loads of other tea sets for kids out there and I think it'd make a great gift.
Here are some of the things I looked at,but didn't buy this time round for Little O's birthday...
Some Lego Duplo... Little O has one set of Lego and currently loves that too. She has the Toy Story 3 train set with Woody, Buzz and Jessie. It is pretty cool the train pulls apart and of course her favourite hero, Buzz is there to put things back together. If they only made a Handy Manny set we'd be good to go. Oh, and the zoo the Lego zoo is super cute. Super Cute.
Ok, so I also had this bowling set on my list of things I almost bought... We have friends who have an adorable set they found at the zoo, which I haven't ever been able to find. But this monster bowling is pretty cute. It's Melissa & Doug and available just about everywhere for roughly $25.
There were a bunch of other Melissa & Doug things that I had added to a wish list at the height of my obsession!
And then there's the Happyland wishlist... Fire Station, Farm, School, Vet, Police Station, Cherry Lane Cottage, Fun Fair, Roaming Rose Caravan and toy shop... Not that we're fussy. Just disappointed that Diapers.com began to stock my favourite things right before we pack up to go! Though to be honest, I think Olive probably has enough and she will never know she's missing all of the other parts of the land! It's more of a Mummy wishlist I think!
We did buy the Chocks Away airport (right) - so that she can play with it before we fly, and perhaps even when we're on the plane too. This is more a travel gift really, and not for her birthday. Rather something new to play with as all her things get packed into boxes!
The real present is the dolls house... and some furniture for it.
I did realise this morning that I neglected to buy any people for the dolls house. But I think we can get by with the people we have for now.
Hope this has given you some ideas for your Miss Two's gifts... Christmas is right around the corner!
Happy Shopping
xo S Images from: Amazon, Diapers.com, LeToyVan.com
Ok so I often find very random products and have a giggle... but this website is full of giggles.
I am a little bit sad that we wont be in the US for the husbands next birthday becaause I always imagined that he's make a great Ukulele player - and now he could learn how with the "Learn to play the ukulele kit" - $149.95 and includes the Ukulele.
Maybe the roll up drum kit would be better? There's also a learn to play the Banjo Kit, as well as a Marble Glockenspiel and a Maui Pocket Xaphoon to name but a few of the items in the music section.
Who knows you might be the next best Banjo player!
So in the US it's not really on sale unless the discount is great than 50%... any less than that and you can probably do better!
I thought I'd put together a bit of a bargain list... so there's Bargains for Mommys all over the place, more often than not these sites sell babies and kids things, however there are coupon crazy bloggers out there too...
Remember this list is just a few that I've found... add your favorites in the comments if you like!
...Here goes!
Mamabargains.com - how does it work? Well the short story for this one is that it is or can be more than one deal per day day, at between 40% and 80% off retail,. The catch?! There are no specific sale start/end times, or any clues as to what is coming up... Essentially if you're there and you want that item then lucky you! Right now they have diaper bags... but by the time you read this who knows?! They advertise the "new" sales on their Facebook Fan page as well as the website...
The "invite only" stores...
These all work in much the same way - they have multiple sales running over multiple days but a relatively limited stock of each item. You have to be referred or 'invited' by someone, or request an invitation from the store. It's not exclusive, just an extra step in my opinion! On the upside, like diapers.com when you refer someone you get a store credit if someone you refer buys something.
Here are some of the ones I know about and look at from time to time, as well as invitation links for those that allow invites that way (others you have to enter an email address to send the invite - which I can do if you want me to just email me at weeklyolive@gmail.com) ...
bTrendie... right now they have Carseats and strollers... lots of them.
Totsy.com... right now they have rebelle bags, and bposh clothing with FourPeas, Sage Creek, The Deglingos, Our Childrens Gorilla, Funkoos and Zoobie products coming up (to name just a few).
Zulily.com... right now they have Kidkraft (last day), Mini Muffin, Oomfy, Pedoodles
The Mini Social... right now they have nursery works bedding and furniture, frenchy baby organics clothes as well as a few other sales...
Happy Shopping - and remember, its not really a bargain unless you NEED and or WILL USE IT!!
xo S Images/logos from The Mini Social, Zulily, Totsy, bTrendie, TopMommyBlogs, MamaBargains, BabySteals
A lover of modern design I had to share this slideshow from glo.
Full of cool designer toys for kids ranging from these Eames blocks ($175 from House Industries). Granted, these sit a little outside of the magic number I'd be prepared to play for blocks but they are beautiful and educational, no?
Then there is this stunning dolls house by Brinca Dada... graded for kids aged 13+ the Emerson house is described as "...perfect home for the modern family." I wish!
This large open plan dolls house has has a living room, kitchen, library/office, master bedroom, bathroom and child's bedroom.
Oh, and the dolls house with floor-to-ceiling windows and extras "including mitered-glass corners, two fireplaces, sliding glass doors, solar panels, and recessed LED lights. Finally, the house is easy on the environment with only non-toxic and lead-free wood stains and paints."
Um, does it come with a view of Sydney Harbour? Please?
Also included are the Muji "City in a Bag" blocks. Which we have, and love. Little O is too small to play with them just yet but our New York, Paris and London cities look gorgeous on her bookshelf.
I originally saw them in an LMNOP magazine - where they featured the "World in a bag"pictured left.
This might just be the greatest piggy bank ever... pop the photo of what you're saving for in it and start saving.
While I don't think I'll be saving for my next holiday in here, I think it's a fab idea for kids.
It's available from the Photojojo store for $27 or $50 for two.
There's some other nifty gift ideas in the store be sure to check that out while you're there!
A short one this time because I'm busy studying, studying, studying...
Last time I mentioned Mothers Day, this time it's Fathers Day in the US (not in Australia) so you should either celebrate now, or buy a card and keep it to send home to Oz in September!
If you're celebrating now & not later... try the Spoon Sisters for ideas including this "Sportula" (left) or maybe the Golfbag Umbrella is more his style? They have a Father's Day list of suggestions to make it really easy too. The Spoon Sisters have plenty of gift ideas for everyone... Mums, babies and kids included!
This isn't new but it's an incredibly cool... and well, make me want a pie just looking at it. I found it on the Museum of Happiness blog but it was food flags designed for the the Sydney International Food festival in 2009. You can see more of the pictures on the Daily Telegraph website here, some are just incredible. Not only are they food, but they're also the food of the country the flag represents.
6pm.com have some amazing sale stock and a new deal everyday... over the memorial Day weekend they had adult's converse sneakers for $28 and kids for $13... they also have Marc Jacobs... like this Marc Jacobs weekender bag for $208 (left) - please tell the husband I want it/need it. They have everything from high end brands like Missoni & Chloe to more accessible brands like Converse and Steve Madden. Fun shopping for all (men, women & kids).
More luxe, for less more your thing? Try - The Outnet. 200+ of the best high end designers and oh my gosh are they serious prices. Like the Emilio Pucci silk blend kaftan (right)... normally $1500 on the outnet it's 65% off only $558.25 not your everyday shopping site, but fun. Yes very fun. I'd like to say yes please to this one too, but I know a $500 kaftan is not in my future. It just wouldn't look good with a Vegemite hand print. Or that's what I'll tell myself.
I am just to excited for words so I'm just going to post this from Babyology.com.au:
"British Designer Cath Kidston comes to Australia
One of the things I miss about living in the UK is the weather! Just joking, it’s actually the opportunity to easily get my hands on these beautiful retro homeware products.Well no longer, because the wonderful people at Lark in Daylesford are the first in Australia to stock a wide assortment of Cath Kidston’s coveted creations.
The Cath Kidston story started with the designer opening a small shop in London in 1993 selling vintage inspired fabrics and wallpapers. Now her name is an international, iconic, lifestyle brand..." (You can read the rest on the babyology blog)
Ever since I found the beautiful catalog in a friends house in London, I've been in love. And now, when I'm almost ready to go home, Cath will be there. Almost. I'll still have to order things online, but I wont have to pay the £30 international delivery fee from the UK.
I followed the links in the Bablology blog to the Lark store and blog. I love it so much I'm considering a little holiday to Dalesford, Victoria when we get home! Seriously though - the store and the blog are awesome, check it out!
I wonder how much convincing it would take for me to talk M into frogs for little O?
Check out this cool low (almost no) maintenance frog kit... Only $30, It comes with everything you need - including two frogs! - the water needs to be changed twice a year and the frogs only need to be fed twice a week! How fantastic... If I could only find someone who'd take the frogs when we leave in 8 months...
There is a video on the daily grommet website where you can see the tank in action and buy it on the spot if you want to. You can also buy direct from the Wild Creations.
There are so many ways now to keep in touch with family and friends at home. I thought I'd share some ideas about how to do it easily and a bit differently, so that your family and your friends can see what you're up to, what the kids are up to and what it really looks like when there are 18 inches of snow around.
Here are just a few ideas...
There's the old Fashioned...
Postcards, letters and the phone (I'm young enough to believe the phone is old school).
This can be fun, postcards from the places you visit are fun for people to receive especially if you travel somewhere super cool like New York, London or Paris.
You could also create custom postcards to send on photo gift websites like Snapfish - in the US you can do this for as low as $0.75 each.
Regular sized photos make great postcards too - you can buy appropriately sized stickers to place on the back to turn your regular print into a post card. Somewhere like The 2 Buds buy the sticker, put on the back of your photo, write, add a stamp and you're done. I've also seen the stickers in photo stores. You could also print your own sticker too - Avery have a few options and templates on their site.
Here's a thought for those of us with kids we could have our Picasso paint or draw their own art, scan it into the computer print onto postcard sized card and mail that to family back home. Doesn't come much more personlaised than that does it?
Letters are a great way of sending (non urgent) info home. It can also be quite cathartic I think to write rather than using more modern means. I think too it can be great fun to write on beautiful stationary or note cards. It feels a little special and a little decadent, especially if you go for some personalised stationary, like this note card (left) from Tiny Prints. Everything from Thank you cards, to Address labels and note cards...
In Australia there are just as many options, though in my opinion it can be a little more expensive to go personalised. Shutterfly ship internationally, Snapfish have an Australian online store, then there's this beautiful collection from Lily and Cino which I found on an Aussie blog called 'A Natural Thread'. More about that later! Big W have some surprisingly good prices and options in their photo store, though not quite stationary as such. Kikki-K have some lovely things (not personalised), Note Couture is divine and I also found Personality Stationary not so polished but an option none the less.
Then there's the phone, enough said? Not quite, but that crosses into New Fashioned - tune into Part 2 when you've got yourself a nice cup of tea and a few moments.
So I am a little delayed with the new year wishes but I have an excuse. I promise.
I had a milestone birthday. Oh, and yes we traveled by minibus to Savannah and Charleston.
We hired a mini bus and piled the visiting family into a minibus and drove all day to Savannah stayed a few lovely (yet unseasonably cold) days there before piling back into the minivan and heading to Charleston.
So there are some great sales online both in Australia and in the US... here are some I've had a little look-see at.
In Australia:
First up - SHOPHOUSE, which has become a bit of a favourite for me. We bought Olive's birthday outfit from there - Oobi Baby and Baby Bloch oh-so-cute. They sent an alert for a sale for items which I think I must buy for Olive for Summer. Oooh so cute.
Or I could buy it from Little Styles...
Where did you get that? are having a sale too. Babies Galore in Sydney are having a Massive Million Dollar Clearance (online and in store).
And I read an article on KidStyleFile with some recommended reading and I must agree, so read about it here and follow the link to Fishpond.com.au to buy your discounted copies of the famed series of books by Czech author and illustrator Miroslav Sasek - This is Australia/Paris/New York and others!
In America:
There's The Pajama Squid very cute and interesting toys, clothes and shoes. Online and in store, the store is located in Takoma Park near DC. Nordstrom, Cusp, Victoria's Secret and Ralph Lauren have all sent emails this week advising of their sales... Hooray for sales!
(The image of Sydney ringing in the New Year is from the Sydney Morning Herald).
Paperartzi Boutique have FREE Express Post (For Australia) on Pre Xmas Orders - so there is still time to buy for the little ones in your life.
They have a great range of toys and gifts for babies, toddlers and mummies. As well as stationary and scrapbooking needs.
My pick for a baby or toddler would be the Alimrose Monkey Rattle. He's cute, and his limbs are the perfect size for little hands, and he comes in pink, red, navy and baby blue. Of course, Aussie brand Alimrose Designs have tons of other really beautiful toys for babies and kids!
Another Aussie favourite is top3 by design, they too are boasting that there is still time to order before Christmas. They're offering free wrapping!
They have the design best of everything from key fobs, to baby bottles, beach towels, watches and jewelry trees.
And finally, Kiki-K's (beautiful stationary & gifts) members only 20% off exclusive offer ends Thursday midnight. Enter code santa09 at the checkout - and yes there is still time to post things to loved ones. But maybe if you've left it this late might be time to buy yourself something to get organised? I know I will be!
Firstly, I'd like to say it is well worth flying with Virgin Atlantic, even if it is just so you can watch the safety video. Or you could just have a look here:
They were fantastic in both directions, and the plane wasn't really full which was also a bonus. Little O got her own seat too, which was great for both her and us. It meant she had her own space and could watch the TV.
For more domestic travel there’s the train Amtrak (Remember to book at least 14 days in advance for the cheaper fares). Or maybe bus it to New York, we recently traveled with DC2NY and found it to be a really great service. It leaves from Dupont Circle, was only $25 each way and was clean and quiet, though I wouldn’t ever recommend traveling by bus to New York over Thanks Giving again. There’s also Vamoose and Bolt Bus amongst many others.
Something you might not have have thought of when researching your travel destination is looking at Flickr, by searching for your destination like New York, you can see the photographs that others have taken and perhaps get a good idea of what you might like to visit when you’re there. If you’re a hobby photographer too you might find some ideas to take some interesting and creative snaps of your own. Here's just one of the images I found by searching for New York, right.
We also discovered recently that you can purchase individually chapters of the Lonely Planet guides so you could either print them out, or just read on your phone while you’re there. A great idea if you don’t want to be carrying a giant guide book with you wherever you’re going. Lonely Planet also have extra content available online for your travel research.
I think I may have given enough hints on where to find kids gifts so how about cards? Real Simple have some great ideas for ‘10 Joyful holiday cards’ in their ‘Daily Finds’ section. You could also find Holiday decorating tips and ideas as well as recipes, gift and gift wrapping ideas too.
My favourite Mummy find of late is the Clementine Art Products. They have all natural soy crayons, and soy crayon rocks for little hands as well as modeling dough, paint, glue and markers. If only the rocks were a little larger Olive might not think they’re food. I found these at Whole Foods (Arlington), just $5.50 per packet, more expensive than regular crayons but far more kid friendly!
We also used a fantastic American site called Birthday Express. We had intended to buy some cheap and fun party ware for a little holiday party and found that it was great quality and wasn’t nearly as tacky as we’d hoped - a pleasant surprise really! Who’d have thought that Pink Parisian Poodles and Eiffel Tower cups wouldn’t be all that tacky?
Daily Candy recently featured this website www.greenvalleychristmastrees.com in their daily newsletter. They actually deliver Christmas trees to your door. You pick the type (white pine, noble or Fraser fir) and size (up to nine feet); Green Valley packs it in a protective, moisture-resistant carton with a predrilled trunk and removal bag. Shipping is free, and prices max out at less than $250. Good news for Mr H who now won’t have to carry the Christmas tree home from Whole Foods, better news for me because I can ‘accidentally’ order a bigger tree than we have agreed upon!
Babyccino (another daily email/blog) I love, ) had an article about where to find cookie cutters in London so here’s my pick for DC - www.williams-sonoma.com, www.surlatable.com, you can also find some on www.amazon.com - like this Kangaroo cookie cutter I found - a great idea for Australia day!
One last one a great product I’ve found recently is The Flip. It’s a HD video camera roughly the size of a mobile phone and the easiest piece of technology to use. You can share videos simply and easily with just a few mouse clicks. I bought mine at www.giggle.com but it’s available at www.amazon.com. www.bestbuy.com, www.target.com, www.staples.com and many others. You can also customise your Flip at www.theflip.com by designing your own, or uploading a photograph it’s completely up to you. I love it and I wouldn’t be without it now! It’s especially great for sharing short video clips of Olive with the Grandparents. The picture (right) links to a USA Today review of the product.
In the interests of fairness here are my gift ideas for a boy. I have three nephews all around the age of two so there is some need for this research!
First, and probably what I will go with is the Bilibo. It's is designed for Children age two to seven, and it is an award winning Imagination Toy.
KidStyleFile reviewed the toy in 2008, you can read the review here. Probably the most important part of the review -
"Pros - Encourages imagination. Can’t get much safer. Not battery operated. No moving parts. High quality, lasts well. Can be used indoors and out. If you have more than one, they stack, and you can store things inside them. Good range of colours. They look cool!
Cons - None"
There are also some cute videos on YouTube of the toy in action... there really are no limits!
So what does a toy that has no limits cost? In Australia it will cost you approximately AUD$39, in the US it is approximately USD$30
Where do you buy? Australia: You can buy from Urban Baby, metro mum and IQ Toys and many others. Urban Baby are giving a free bag to go with the toy. USA: There are a stores in and around DC that stock the toy - Giggle (Friendship Heights, MD) Toys R Us & Target (online only) and Home Rule at 1807 14Th St NW (not available on their website). There are of course plenty of other sites/stores that stock it.
The Bilibo also comes in mini (above right, approximately US$10 for two)...
Green Toys have a great line of classic children's toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. The dump truck has a workable dumper, no BPA, no coatings, is non toxic and durable. See Green Toys for a list of stockists both in the USA, Australia and beyond.
They also have many many other designs - Frisbee, Tea Set, Bucket & Spade sand set...
For the little traveler how about a Trunki? UK designed Trunki is the ideal luggage for a little person. It has a hard shell, wheels and a lead, why you ask? Well, that's easy - it is the world's first ride on luggage. Yep, ride on. So load them up with all the gear the little one needs on the plane, wheel the Trunki and the child through airports and stow the Trunki safely in the overhead locker.
Trunki's come in many colours, er, sorry Characters... Harley the limited edition Ladybug, Tipu (right), Trixie, Terrance and Towgo. This is perhaps less a 'boy' specific gift and more gender neutral.
There is a Trixie (hot pink, green ears) living in little O's room anxiously awaiting our holiday.
How much? Approx USD$50-$60 (depending on character) the USA and around AUD$80-85 in Australia.
So, my inspirations are probably a little old for Little O, but I've found some things I just love.
There's this amazing tent by Haba, which I think may actually come and live at our house. Little O loves to sit under tables and things, so I think she may actually really enjoy a nice place to 'hide'. Haba have a small range of very cute tents for both boys and girls. I found this one on moolka.com, it's also available on Amazon and loads of other sites.
I've found that I quite like the Haba brand, it is "a German toy manufacturing company known for high-quality baby and children's toys, as well as for children's games, furniture and room decorations. Well known around the globe as "..toys that last generations..." (from Moolka.com)
This morning I am quite excited about "The Fairy Door" from Monkeytail & Wellington. Oh, how cute. Monkeytail & Wellington are an Australian company based in Queensland, and we do love to support Australian companies.
You can design your own fairy door - I am quite partial to the one I've pictured left, however there are a few different shaped doors. Best of all the doors are one of a kind and painted with child friendly glues and paints.
"Not all fairies like to live in the garden. Some are metropolitan dwellers who take to suburban homes and apartment buildings. But how do they get there and where do they live? Well, if you want fairies to enter your home, you need to install a fairy door and we have just the ticket!"
From the fairy door, I followed a link to the Monkeytail & Wellington blog and found an adorable DIY project. There is a store on Etsy (which I've mentioned before I guess the best way to describe Etsy is to say it's a sales website for cottage businesses) called "Goose Grease" which sells customisable do-it-yourself wooden pocket people. So after painting the family Monkeytail & Wellington made a fabric doll house, using this FREE tutorial. Here's a picture of the finished product.
This leads me to the next Etsy find - and now I'm really looking for someone who can sew! After looking at the felt food in Pottery Barn kids, in particular the cupcakes I thought this can't be that hard, I wonder if I can find the items cheaper? So I googled and found Haba do some amazing felt food ever thought you needed a felt weiner schnitzel? How about a roast chicken? Not satisfied the googling continues and then this:
Golf Coast Cottage sell patterns for a pantry and fridge full of cool felt food and other fun things. The patterns are just US$5.99. Buy 4 get 1 free, or you can buy 10 patterns, of your choice for US$45.00. Felt sushi anyone?
Let's hope Little O likes to play in a kitchen when she can stand on her own...
I think you know you have officially become a mother when you begin thinking about Christmas gifts in September. So here are some ideas...
Australian Based Sites:
Let's save on the shipping and handling and just have something shipped straight to the recipient. You say lazy, I say eco-friendly! My plan is to ship everything to the mothers and have them do the distribution on the big day.
Western Australian based "The Good Store" prides itself on its useful present ideas. Believing that "to be genuinely cool, things worth owning should last for ages, do something worth doing, look good and provide a simple pleasure in their everyday use", and that concept works for me!. www.thegoodstore.com.au
An awesome concept, Top 3 By Design stock the top three items in many many categories www.top3bydesign.com.au
Myer has a 'limited' range of products for sale on their website too. I wonder if we can still earn Myer One points? This is probably a good starting point for those who really don't know where to start, as it's split into categories: Gifts for Home/Him/Her etc. http://gifts.myer.com.au/default.aspx
At the risk of going overboard I have a huge list of Australian Baby and kids blogs and online stores. Let me know if you'd like to see some (more) of those.
American websites...
Of course there are plenty of other sites, here are just a few.
Perhaps a good place to start the search for the perfect gift might be: www.gifts.com/ you can search by occasion, recipient, personality type or take the easy road and look at the top 10 gifts.
Looking for something a little different? Maybe handmade? Try http://www.etsy.com/buy.php I don't think there is anything you couldn't find here.
Have you given any thought to those? It's a guaranteed Grandparent pleaser... Here are some of the sites I know about -
www.Shutterfly.com (This is my personal favourite, I find it quick and easy to navigate the books are a great quality and production and shipping is fairly quick)
So we have been thinking about what to buy Little O for her birthday. She (like many her age) are into helping in the kitchen, pretending she's Mum or Dad for that matter, tending to her people (Happy Land) playing with Lego and of course making cups of pretend tea.
Here are some of the things I looked at,but didn't buy this time round for Little O's birthday...
Some Lego Duplo... Little O has one set of Lego and currently loves that too. She has the Toy Story 3 train set with Woody, Buzz and Jessie. It is pretty cool the train pulls apart and of course her favourite hero, Buzz is there to put things back together. If they only made a Handy Manny set we'd be good to go. Oh, and the zoo the Lego zoo is super cute. Super Cute. 
And then there's the Happyland wishlist... Fire Station, Farm, School, Vet, Police Station, Cherry Lane Cottage, Fun Fair, Roaming Rose Caravan and toy shop... Not that we're fussy. Just disappointed that Diapers.com began to stock my favourite things right before we pack up to go! Though to be honest, I think Olive probably has enough and she will never know she's missing all of the other parts of the land! It's more of a Mummy wishlist I think! 
The real present is the dolls house... and some furniture for it.
