Baby Jungle

Oh Pinterest is one wonderful and a very dangerous place at the same time. There’s sooo many great things to discover but it can easily suck you in and you end up spending hours up there. Today I found this cutest little boutique called Wit & Whistle full of gorgeous stationary items like notebooks, stamps and prints – something I know all women love. Gorgeous or what?
 

Tila was never a big veggie lover (gently put) but now it’s a lot easier to persuade her she needs to eat them in order to get big and strong like her daddy and so her tummy is then ready for an occasional treat – I know, I know I’m awful!

Anyhow, when she was too small to fall for my super smart persuading attempts I tried to get some fresh vegetables into het tummy with fruit & veggie smoothies (I still do that) and with these awesome fruit&veggie pouches when we were on the go.

Now a few days ago I discovered that you can actually get reusable pouches and therefore make and pack your own smoothies! Genius!

Now there are several brands but I think I like Infantino’s the most. You can get their Squeeze Station from Amazon and it comes with 10 pouches but if you’re in the need for more you can buy those separately as well
 

I always cared about having cute bibs for Tila. I realize it’s a thing that’s meant to get disgustingly dirty but I want it to look good at least in the first half of the “process”.

What about you? Care or couldn’t care less? If you do, I know you’ll love these Les Pascalettes. The designer is Charlotte, a mom blogger from Paris so the site is in French only for now – but that will surely change soon.

The bibs are made of waterproof material and can be easily cleaned. That’s one of my favorite features in bibs, the other one – cuteness of course. And who could not love these adorable collar bibs?

They cost from €19 to €29 which certainly can’t be called cheap but on the other hand – they last a really long time!
Shipping to France is €5.90 (free when spending over €55), €15 for rest of the Europe and free when spending more than €70
 

Did you know that aden + anais recently added a line of fitted cot sheets made of, yup – muslin? Even though it says it fits standard cot mattresses that measure up to 140 cm x 70 cm I had to try one out on our Leander Junior bed that is 150 cm long and guess what – it fits perfectly!

They already have them in most of their cutest prints and just like with muslin swaddles, they get softer with every single wash!

I hope we can expect something like this from the most darling La Langerie in the near future! Wouldn’t they look gorgeous?

A single sheet costs between €32 and €45 depending on material (classic, bamboo and organic) so not cheap at all but truly worth every single penny!
I bought mine from the Little Green Fairy (if you can’t find them on their site yet, just contact them) but you can also buy one from their site (EU and US).

Now we wait for bigger sizes…

Ps. for all you baby mommas, they also have chaning mat covers, did you know that?
 

I remember when I first tried dry shampoo many, many years ago. It was a total disaster, which ended with gray hair and about 10 extra-thorough washes in order to get it all out. So this experience stuck with me ever since. Until my dear friend Masha enlightened me with this post on Klorane dry shampoos. Now this little buddy on the right is a part of my morning routine.

This magic bottle of white powder doesn’t only make my hair look like freshly washed without a single trace of powder residue but it also gives it volume like no other product (especially the Sebo-Regulating one with Nettle)! Plus it smells really nice and natural. Genius, genius, geeeenius!

It doesn’t end here just yet. All Klorane Dry Shampoos are also paraben free and their whole range is NOT being tested on animals.

A 150 ml bottle costs £6.15 (€7.50) at Luton Pharmacy and shipping across EU is apparently free – all four thumbs up!
 

Olivia from Fun*das bcn wrote me an email because she thought I might like their work. She was wrong! I absolutely LOVE it! It’s a fabulous idea that (to be honest) I have heard about before but it’s the designs that really stand out from the crowd.
Fun*das bcn was found last summer by a fashion designer Arianna in order to create a line of stroller and carseat covers for leading European brands like Maclaren, Bugaboo, Maxicosi and Cybex plus some other baby accessories like Babybjörn bouncer covers, footmuffs etc. And like I said – I’ve seen it before but not even remotely as stylish as these. I just love the minimalistic, fresh and completely gender neutral prints. We have both the Bugaboo and Maxicosi that crave for new outfits whenever they get their second chance – but please don’t tell the you-know-who! It will be a surprise (witch laughing in my head)

All products are designed and produced in Spain but can be shipped worldwide

Ps. Take a peek at their Facebook photos of their products in action – you will fall in love if you haven’t already!
 

This year, instead of a list of my favorite Halloween costumes I decided to do a couple of easy & fun DIY’s. I think these turned out quite ok and since they are truly done in about an hour or so and only require things you most probably already have at home fit perfectly into the last-minute costume category without looking like crap. So today – animal noses, snouts and muzzles:

Thing you need:

Egg carton
Paints
Elasticated string
Knitting needle, thick nail or a skewer
Thick paper for the whiskers
And the basic stuff like scissors brushes and glue

1. Cut out the shallow parts for the cat and dog muzzle or pigs snout etc. And the pointy parts for animals with long faces like a mouse, fox, a crocodile and so on.

2. Make some holes into the shallow ones for breathing (use something like a knitting needle or a thick nail). The pointy ones usually have one already.

3. Now paint them with basic colors and leave too dry for about an hour and then draw the details like a nose, mouth, teeth…

4. Cut the whiskers out of thick paper like on the picture (first one in the second row) and glue them on. I helped myself with getting the right color and positions of the whiskers by googling the animals.

5. Now finally thread the elasticated string on each side at the bottom of the nose and tie a knot at the end.

Now put it on and emulate the animal! Not you daddy, come on –  just give it to the kid!
 

School (ok, nursery for some of us) is starting next week and I thought I’d share a few of must-have items of my choice. Most of them are already tried, tested and approved by Tila herself, some have been ordered and are already on the way and there are also some if-I-had-a-little-boy items added, hope you don’t mind.

1. I have heard one praise too many about these Sun-San sandals not to finally try them out. A pair of Surfer’s in red are on their way as we speak ordered from their own new UK’s web shop. A pair of Sun-San sandals cost £35 – £38 (€44 – €48)

2. Are these little star pencil cases darling or what? Exactly what I’ve been looking for! €28 each at My Little Square

3. If I had a little boy…he would definitely wear these slippers! So 70’s don’t you think? And they are down from whooping €118 to only €47 at Little fashion Gallery

4. Tila has to bring her own lunch to “school” and she’s doing it in style! I hope this Goodbyn’s lunchbox will make her think that eating the content is just as fun as the lunchbox itself – including the veggies! I got our from Nest Shop for only £11.95/€15 (reduced for £5/€6)

5. We still love this Skip Hop’s Owl backpack that we received from Pookie & Peach! It’s super roomy and cute as can be! It costs £19.50 or €24.50

6. I think we’ll soon buy our third pair! These are one of the best sandals out there! When it comes to shoes Tila needs something extra durable and with Birkenstock’s, even after months of constant wear, we could simply pass them down. Panache Kids have a nice sale on their whole range!

7. Same with Collégiens – I think it’s our 3rd or maybe even 4th pair now! Extremely soft, practical, cute as slippers get…do I need to go on? We ordered them for €23 from their own web shop

8. We love this Moulin Roty satchel bag (it has a strap!) when we only need to take a few things. £41 (€51) at Cottontails

9. Tila literally doesn’t leave the house without this Bobble Kids water bottle – ever! And I even ask the teachers to let her have it in school. I found this site eChimist that offers free delivery Worldwide! How awesome? Price for the bottle with one filter is €12.59

10. So now that we managed to loose our last ponytail Tulip holder it’s time to place a new order. We need like additional 100 to get through the rest of the year! And HelloShiso is the place to get the cutest hair accessories out there!

Do you have some school must-haves to share? I’d love to hear!
 

I was asked to share my top 10 items from VUPbaby for their blog and of course I was very thrilled to do it because what’s more fun than to take a little virtual trip through their amazing selection of hand-picked products that you know are checked for any kind of toxins and then imagine you really bought them! Ok, maybe that’s just my way of putting together such edits?

Anyhow, I thought you might want to see it…

1. Hevea Panda Teether – I just love this vintage-looking panda teether made of natural rubber, truly one of the cutest out there!

2. Green To Grow Baby Bottle I have always loved these bottles because they are completely free of any kind of chemicals and toxins (count the nipple and the packaging in) plus one of the cutest ones on the baby bottle market.

3. Moover Wooden Pram – how could anyone not fall in love with this gorgeous WOODEN pram? Even I want one just for me!

4. Brio First Highchair Toy – we bought one about three years ago and up to this day I still haven’t found a more beautiful one – usually they scream cheap plastic splashed with all the colours in the world and as many squishy-squashy things the poor toy can hold. But not this one!

5. Baby Safe Feeder was one of the most used items when Tila began nibbling on solids – you simply throw whole pieces of food into a mesh bag and observe your baby sucking, biting and licking on its own! It’s also a miracle soother for growing teeth if using frozen food.

6. Janod Magnetic Rocket – it’s great for little hands to train some fine motor skills while the magnets make it very un-frustrating to assemble and it’s (yup!) super cute again!

7. Svan Scooter – this is what I call one very stylish ride-on that compliments any household! LOVE!

8. Goodbyn Original Lunchbox – as perfect as a lunchbox gets. It’s super cute and it has enough compartments to squeeze in the veggies, fruits, a drink and even the sweet treat with the main course!

9. Playspot Tiles Skip Hop – I had a whole virtual speech about the yucky, tacky and just outdated letter foam mats once. There’s really no more excuse not to get a darling one as this plus it helps learn the animals – who’s teaching their baby the letters anyway?

10. Green Toys Dump Truck – I hate (almost) everything plastic. Unless it’s recyclable and super cute like this old school retro dump truck that reminds me of my childhood toy
 

I know that probably every mommy says that but Tila truly has the best daddy in the world! You should see the way these two play together – and NO one (I mean NO ONE) is welcome to join their little party! She simply throws me out of her room and closes the door so I wouldn’t interfere in any way. Seriously!

Papa bear (some even call him Primoz) comes up with best games ever! And this one is their favourite. It’s so simple and even educational. I love it!

So, like I said – simple: Tila has to leave the room while Primoz hides her Schleich figurines all over the room, then she enters the room (carrying the snacks mommy gave her to take with) and finally he calls out the animals she needs to find! So simple and incredibly clever and fun!

Now I’m thinking about suggesting them to do the same with coloured objects and letters and/or numbers… I wonder if that means I’m interfering?
 

How darling is this tape dispenser? I’ve been looking for a non-plastic one for a while now and quackity-quack, here it is! And at £15 (€19) it’s not even expensive!

To all UK buyers I recommend SUCK UK as shipping comes free for you. And to the rest of us Europeans Fred Aldous shows kind heart with shipping at only £5 (€6)
 

You should see Tila parading around with her new “body art”! Everyone has to look and no one can touch – and I mean NO ONE!
I’m talking about the Party Bunny and the genius Fruit and Veg tattoos from Tattyoo. How cool are they? And not only that – their temporary tattoos are also safe and non-toxic plus incredibly easy to put on and wash off! But most important – extremely cute!

You can get a piece of their first collection from their web shop at €6 for a set of two. Shipping across Europe cost only €3 or free on orders over €20! Super cool!

Which one do you like best?
 

Oh my dearest of the dear you need to see this! I found this site via Le Little Blog and I was instantly smitten! Maria Alejandra Carles aka. Mayi is the name behind the brand and her magic fingers are responsible for the cutest sets of printable gift tags, invitations and to-do bookmark notes I’ve seen! Ever!
Sets cost either $5 or $10 (€4/€8) and after your purchase you receive a pdf file of the set which you can then print as many times as you want.

You should also take a peek at her most adorable collection of hair accessories, cupcake toppers and the genius DIY headband kits.
I don’t know where to start clicking (i.e. shopping)…

Btw. Is her site super sweet or what?
 

This toothpaste from Green People came in the mail for Tila about two weeks ago and we absolutely love it! She’s crazy about the sweet mandarin taste and I love the fact it’s completely natural and made of organic ingredients, without any kind of chemicals like fluoride, phthalates, sorbitol and other unknown nasties. There’s also no artificial sweeteners, colourants or other awful stuff that most of other baby and children’s toothpastes have.

So there’s no need to rinse either, as it’s completely safe to swallow! As a matter of fact the newest research show that it’s better not to rinse as this will only prolong the effect of the toothpaste.

Another thing I love is that the tube contains 50g of toothpaste and you truly only need to use a tiny bit as it foams and spreads perfectly! There’s also the Spearmint & Aloe Vera taste and both can be used with babies and children. Love! And I’m so getting one for me and the papa too!

You can get it from Green People for £3.50 (about €4) plus shipping to UK £3 or free if it’s your first order and £7 (€8.50) for the rest of the EU
 

So this girl’s been up to something and that is the main reason for the missing posts. It’s that time of the year and I have I-don’t-even-want-to-think-about amount of thing to do before we go back home to Slovenia for the summer.

We’ve been away for 4 years now – we started in Denmark where Tila was also born and now it’s going to be one year since we moved to France. I have always wanted to leave Slovenia as I kind of thought it’s too small and too limited in many aspects and ever since we left I have never really missed it. Up till now that is…
I was trying to find some nice photos too show you where I really come from and I could not believe how beautiful my country really is – I honestly could not find a single picture that ‘s not simply breathtaking.

I feel a bit sad and ashamed for not appreciating and being more proud of my own country. It’s such a small county with a population of only about 2 million people, you can travel from one side the other in about 3 hours but we still have it all – the see, the mountains, gorgeous cities, most beautiful lakes you can imagine, freaking castles, plenty of forest, you name it – we have it!
There is just one thing missing though – pride! I don’t believe we appreciate what we really have just enough and I’m the first one to admit it! I’m not saying I’m going back to live in Slovenia but I will definitely go back more often and with a lot more joy!

I am a Slovenian and I come from this gorgeous land you can see above! I am one truly lucky girl it just took me a few years to realise that!

Ps. You will excuse me the lack of posts here and there, shorter texts and a few days of absence, right? I promise you I will do my very best.

You can see more of Slovenia here and here