The Big Egg Hunt in London

Fabergé is sponsoring a really fun Big Egg Hunt all throughout London right now. I came across the giant eggs during an impromptu walk around Covent Garden today (more about my tour later). Once spotted, you can check in via text for each egg. I think you are then entered into a contest to win an actual Fabergé egg.

However, I just felt like a kid running around looking for these things. It was great fun!

These were all spotted around Covent Garden. The furry one in the middle was my favorite.

It's Biscuit Time!

I came across this really lovely tin at my local Marks & Spencer a few weeks ago and just had to share. It's just a regular tin for shortbread biscuits but I just fell in love with the design inspired by London landmarks.  Once the biscuits are gone, I'm going to use the tin to organize some sewing supplies but I plan to enjoy the contents first :)

And for my American friends out there, "biscuit" = "cookie" out here in the UK.  Funny enough, one of my little one's favorite phrases is "BIS-KIT? PLEASE MOMMY!"

Here she is trying to get her fix...

Project Simplify 2012: Little Girl's Closet (week 3)

This week's target areas for Project Simplify 2012 were closets, countertops and drawers (oh my). I decided to focus on the remainder of Little Miss' closet and possibly some kitchen cabinets if time allowed.

1. Little girl's closet - I wanted to tackle all the shelving in Little Miss' closet. They've become a total dumping ground for baby stuff both old and new (oh hello breast pump...that's where you've been!). So I literally pulled everything out and started from there.

From the bottom shelf to top:
- Extra toiletries: I gathered all the daily baby supplies onto the bottom shelf. I call this the "baby pantry" where I stock up on nappies/diapers, body wash, etc. when they go on offer in the stores.
- Books/storage:  Parenting/baby books, books for when little one can actually read, unopened gifts, misc.
- Linens/Gifting: I found an extra IKEA storage box (b&w floral, 2nd shelf) and used it to hold extra linens, crib bumper, extra diaper bags, pram hood, etc. I also like to re-use any gift bags for future gift giving, so I went through my stash and only kept the ones that were in good condition.
- Other stuff: things not used every day like nursing pillows, humidifier, etc.

                                  (Before)                                                                           (After)

- Clothing: I managed to go through all of her clothes over the weekend but forgot to take before photos. I spent an afternoon pulling out all the clothes that no longer fit. Some went to charity but the rest are sitting in these huge storage bags and await a new home (somewhere!). The rest were organized by size and type of clothing.

Extra clothes for storage.

 This drawer holds all current clothes.

This drawer holds clothes for next year (L) and the upcoming summer (R).

Until next week...happy organizing :)


                               

My Mommy Wardrobe

When I came across this page in the April 2012 issue of Red magazine, the conversation in my head went something like this:

- "Hey! that's what I wear nearly every day (i.e "The Outfit")."
- "I'm so glad to see that I can spruce up and accessorize my usual every day outfit."
- "Wait, is this a cool fashion tip or kinda sad?"
- (sigh)

Gone are the days of power suits and high healed shoes from my former corporate life. I've traded that wardrobe in for a selection of stripe shirts (more than I care to admit), skinny jeans and comfy flats.

Oh well, you can't chase after a little one through muddy puddles wearing 4" heels and I suppose I'd rather be running through muddy puddles more than anything else right now :)

Indoor Painting Fun

Uniqlo for Kids (aka UU)

Wow! More cool kids fashion is coming this Spring.  Move over DVF & GapKids!

Uniqlo, one of my favorite utility brands, is launching a new family clothing line along with their first kids and baby line. "uniqlo undercover" launches on March 16th, 2012 and will be available online as well as in stores.

I am just loving all the cute girls dresses, tops and leggings. They are feminine, edgy and affordable too!

(all images via uniqlo)

Simplify 2012: Kids Spaces

I didn't really get a chance to do so much organizing this week. I had a feverish/teething toddler so I spent quite a lot of my spare time looking after the little one. The main kid's space that I wanted to tackle was Little Miss' bedroom closet. It needs a big clear out (clothes that don't fit anymore especially) but that generally takes an afternoon while child is not around. So instead, I managed to just reorganize her play area in the kitchen, and do some general tidying around the living room area.

Here's what I did:

1. Kitchen Play Area - moved around the play kitchen and art easel, added microwave station to play kitchen since little one is tall enough to reach it now and this provides storage space for some of her tea sets. New set up also opens up some floor space in the kitchen.

 (before)

(after)

2. Quick Bookshelf Tidy - removed and put aside unread books for charity shop, consolidated favorite books and placed in basket on the floor next to the couch so that she can grab books on her own and chill on the sofa.

3. New Play Table - I thought it would give me extra storage but quickly realized that I need more! Currently houses small doll house, puzzles and other boxed toys.

4. Small toys and art supplies organized into plastic bins - crayons/markers, instruments, Peppa Pig figures and tea sets. The different bins make it easier to sort and keep track of small pieces. I also encourage Little Miss to do "clean up time" and put things away. I bought these at local diy store but I'd like to spray paint the lids of the bins white one day (just to blend in a bit more) and make some diy chalk board labels just to pretty things up.

That's all for now. Happy organizing :)

Hello Kitty Baby Blanket

I finally made my very first minky baby blanket!  I've wanted to make one of these for a long time but minky fabric is very hard to come by here in the UK and it is much more expensive then it is in the US. However, when a dear friend of mine found out that she was going to have a little girl AND since she loves Hello Kitty, I just had to make one. Remember this post on Hello Kitty fabric from Liberty?

There are a ton of tutorial out there on the internet so I didn't use one specific one. I got the basic idea from reading a few and went from there. However, I did use these helpful tips on sewing with minky from delia creates and Sew Much Ado.

A few important take aways:

• Pin your fabric like crazy (I ended up pinning every 1"-1.5").
• Use a walking foot if you have one to avoid puckering (my machine is lucky enough to have one of these settings).
• Minky tends to stretch and there were a few moments when I thought I'd end up with a lumpy mess. But is also very forgiving. By the time I sewed the finishing seam all the had lumps worked themselves out.

The finished product. I know the pictures are horrible but I can often only sew at night when Little Miss is asleep! Plus my friend really liked it so I guess that's all that matters.

(hello kitty fabric is from liberty, coral minky fabric is from theeternalmaker)