Oh Baby: Walking

Notice anything different in these photos?

She took her first steps at the end of November but it took all of December for her interest in toddling to return. Then bam, January's mode of transport is two feet! As you can guess, she wants to walk everywhere which means a lot of walking behind her. I don't mind but please excuse a slight delay in my project updates while I chase after one darling girl.

Tired of baby updates?  I have a super fabulous giveaway next week that is sure to please the childless and parents alike.  Happy Weekend!

Cherrio! London with Baby

This trip recap is quite late in coming but I really wanted to go a little more in depth on our experiences with traveling to London with a baby.




Back in October, we spent five fabulous days in London with baby Aggie in tow.  We have been to London several times before but it never loses its charm. There is always something new to discover here but that is especially true when traveling with an infant.  In general, London is a very easy place to enjoy as an English speaking tourist but gets extra gold stars for being so very baby friendly. Dare I say, it was easier to spend time in London than it is in NY!








Obviously, a 10 month old has no clue where she is so we didn't travel to London for Agatha but for us. That meant we got to enjoy all our usual favorite spots in the city including Notting Hill and Borough Market as well as adding some new favorite spots like Columbia Road Flower Market (big thanks to those of you recommended a visit there) and the Brick Lane Backyard.  I also loved our shopping stops at Liberty, Hoxton Street Monster Supplies and Selfridges. Old or new, experiencing them as a threesome definitely gave us some new perspectives. Yes it does take longer with diaper change stops and making sure she is taken care of but we still got to do almost everything we would do anyway.  In other words, we didn't really do many child specific activities.




Having had great experiences in staying in apartment like hotels in Germany, we went one step further this time and rented a full on apartment.  We used a company called One Fine Stay and stayed in this flat.  This particular company is a little pricier than other vacation rental companies like airbnb, etc. because they give you a few extra amenities like an iphone, but it was well worth it for us. We specifically picked an apartment that had a washer and dryer which was key.  Highly recommend!

Another fabulous thing about London is that the place is loaded with drug store/grocery stores/baby clothing shops which means that you could essentially forget just about your entire suitcase and you would be able to restock easily.  (Even before baby, I loved spending time in foreign supermarkets and drug stores so this gives me a great excuse.) Practically speaking, that meant we didn't have to use up precious room in our one suitcase (yes, we take 1 suitcase for all 3 of us!) for diapers and other necessities. It also meant we wear the same few outfits the whole trip.




We are very fortunate that Agatha enjoys a relatively early bed time but that can sometimes cause some issues in eating dinner out while on vacation.  So we master the art of "linner" - a single meal a little late for lunch and a little early for dinner that happens to be at the perfect hunger apex.  That helps in a couple of ways. First, we get to enjoy a relatively relaxing meal when most restaurants are empty, servers have plenty of patience for us and no one is annoyed by stroller toting patrons.  Added bonus: its much cheaper than eating out 2x.  We stumbled upon the Princess of Shoreditch pub that does a lovely Sunday roast, is baby friendly and has enough cache to keep a foodie happy - definitely a new favorite stop for us.



Traveling around the expanse of London with a stroller is so easy with a bus pass. They allow you to roll your stroller right onto the bus without collapsing it (which is definitely NOT allowed here in NYC).  The bus pretty much takes you everywhere and you get to enjoy the view of the city for the ride.  Its not quite as speedy as the tube, its far more enjoyable in every way.



And finally London has some really fabulous parks which you can spend lots of little one time.  By far the best playground I've ever been to is smack dab in the middle of the city - the Princess Diana Memorial Playground.  It's absolutely beautiful and such a joy to spend time in, it really should be an attraction in of itself.  While Agatha was too young to really get the most out of it, she still had lots of laughs on the swings - I can't wait to take her back!




We had such a wonderful time re-exploring London and making lots of new memories with Agatha that I really can't recommend it highly enough for family travel. Despite my concerns about ruining her sleep schedule or dealing with a crying nightmare on a transatlantic flight, everything worked out well.  Which just reminds me that I should just stop worrying in general and get on with life.  (A lesson easier said than learned!)

For those of you that have made it this far into the post: we are thinking about a trip to Korea later in the year.  Anyone been?

Phew..that was a long one.  I hope you didn't mind so many details.  Want to see more of our travels and photographs? Head over to the travel section.

How do you Hang? (Hex Mirrors)

Did you know Ikea sold hexagonal shaped mirrors? I'm a little obsessed with them and I really want to apply them to the back of my bookshelves.  The only problem is I can't quite figure out a way to do that in a temporary way (so they can be easily removed when I eventually tire of them).

Honefoss Mirrors, set of 10 for $14.99 @ Ikea

So I thought I'd ask you lovelies since you were so helpful when I asked a similar question about my beloved Fornasetti plates in my home office.  Anyone have any clever ideas for this application?

In the meantime, feast your eyes on some beautiful examples of the hex mirrors in action.

sources: 

sean & sara via apartment therapy / jerid & jessie via apartment therapy / loving living small

Man Room: Sources

Thanks for the kind words on the man room / man cave makeover.  Even though its much more for the Mr. than me, it does feel like a mini vacation when I go down there.  All clean and toyless.   Speaking of the Mr., he will be overjoyed to see so many of you chided me for my resistance to a larger TV.  I will definitely never hear the end of it.  I guess he has to be right sometimes. :)



For those of you that commented/emailed, I've put the sources of all the objects of the room in one place.  Hope you find it helpful.  If you have any other questions about this or anything else, don't hesitate to ask.

Sources

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Metallic Silver  which is not at all metallic and more blue than silver.

Floors: Porcelain faux wood tiles purchased at Classic Tile. Sorry I don't remember the brand but they have a good selection of wood look tiles there so it would be pretty easy to locate.

Rug: NuLoom Chevron in Gray - which actually looks quite blue - purchased at Overstock but RugsUSA has it as well.  The prices between the two seem to fluctuate a lot so price checking pays off.

Couch: sectional purchased from Jennifer Convertibles primarily b/c their delivery service will rip the couch apart and put it back together again in order to get it down here.

Console: Craigslist score

Posters: Purchased from ebay (seller: noahimage), framed in Ikea Ribba

Map: Vintage, purchased from Hoof & Antler

Alligator Head: Hunters & Gatherers at the Brooklyn Flea 

Coffee Table: CB2

Safety Sign & Globe: Found at Brimfield

Hanging Display Boxes: Boxes made right here, vintage cameras collected over time.

Passport Art: Made right here.

Finshed for Now: The Man Room

It seems like ages ago we started working getting the cellar into a reasonably comfortable man room but I'm finally calling it finished.  There are a few more things I'd like to change and Mr. Limestone seems to think the TV is not large enough (this is a perpetual debate in our house) but I'm happy with how its looking today.


This space is mostly for the Mr. so he picked the finishes (specifically the paint color and floor tiles) and I did the rest with his approval. Obviously its a totally different style than the rest of the house but I like to think it reflects my husbands sense of adventure. Despite there being some pretty big limitations (those poles!  no natural light! lots of doors!), it still feels open and has a good flow.



Added bonus: Its just about the only room in the house where there are no toys or other evidence of living with a 1 year old. Only time will tell how long that with last.

Sources can be found here.

Mentioned: Family Circle Magazine

Thanks so much to Family Circle for including a couple of my organizational tips in their January issue. So many other great bloggers contributed making it especially lovely to be in such good company.



Ironically enough, the mag hit newsstands just as was sharing my scary mess of a craft closet so maybe not the best timing to reveal my dirty secrets.  While I'm not an especially organized person, I like to think I sometimes have some good ideas to share.  So to redeem myself, please enjoy some of my past organizational triumphs.

DIY Door Gift Wrap Organizer 
Vertical Mail Center
Organize your paint stash with free labels
Junk Drawer Overhaul

I saw a sign.

As I'm waiting for the last bits of water damage to be repaired at our shore place, Ive been thinking about how I want to update the living room.  The biggest question mark was what should I hang on the walls - specifically over the couch.  I was leaning toward some kind of vintage signage but I'm not too keen on shelling out the dough for something large enough that would suit. I spotted this image and was digging the Rooms for Tourists sign but I'm not too sure if I could recreate it on the cheap.


image via houzz, taken by ken gutmaker

Well guess what appeared on garbage day?  Two huge wood frames!!  Thanks to my neighbors who parted with them, they are sitting in my hallway taking up way too much room, waiting for their destiny.


Is that a sign or what? So I guess I'll try my hand at making a reproduction sign.  What do you think of the "rooms for tourists" wording?  Anything more appropriate for a living room by the beach?  I could use your suggestions/inspiration.

Passport Invitation

A quick drive by post to share a invite I created for a friend's travel themed wedding shower. They are the most adorable couple and I like to think the invite was nearly as cute.

If I were a hoarder...

I would be all over this vintage school desk I stumbled upon on craigslist.  I know they are pretty common but there is something about them that is just too adorable.



Maybe when Aggie gets a bit older I'll have reason to buy one but until then, restraint is my friend.

Help! I'm trapped in the closet...

Ok, so when I say trapped I mean it figuratively but I still am feeling a little overwhelmed with cluttered storage spaces lately.  I'm pretty good with keeping open spaces tidy but I'm definitely an "out of sight, out of mind" type of person - once its in the closet, I let it all loose.


You can really see the ghosts of posts past in here: back of door gift wrap organizer, balloons from Agatha's Christening party (that are still semi filled with helium 7 months later!), left over molding from the nursery, vintage camera display boxes that I made and can't bear to part with etc. 

It's gotten so bad that I don't even like opening my beloved craft closet anymore!  Dastardly!  I don't want to throw most of this stuff away because I do/will use a lot of it.  At the same time, if I can't find what I need, its kind of pointless having it in the first place, right?

I know so many of you have gorgeous, perfectly organized closets so I'd love to hear your best organizational tips.  In other words, please share and inspire me to be less of a behind closed doors slob.

Winter Birthday Party - Baby, It's Cold Outside

Well, we made it!  As of the end of the year, we are officially the parents of a one-year-old! Of course, we had to celebrate in style with a Winter Birthday Party.  Since we were hosting at home and the guests were primarily adults, I didn't go too crazy with a theme but rather kept it sort of loosely tied to the cold weather that would be expected this time of year.  It was a bum rush getting Christmas stuff down and birthday stuff up just a few days after Christmas but I think a good time was had by all.   Enough blabbing, on to the photos...

How to Throw a Winter Birthday Party with a few Repurposed Chrismas Decorations

I bucked my natural instinct to do a more elaborate invitation and went with a simple card that asked guests to "come in from the cold and have some fun, Agatha is turning one...".  I also repurposed the abominable snowman Christmas centerpiece into a birthday party decoration and left the "Baby It's Cold Outside" sign I made earlier this month to welcome guests at the front door. It was a little hard to see here (next time I need to use black window marker, not white!) but I put up a few fun Agatha facts on our dining room mirror.  Winter Birthday Party Favors were "Make Your Own Snowmen Kits" found at a discount shop that I added some fill and hot cocoa packets to before adding a tag that read: Thanks a million for coming, here is something to take.  Just add some fresh snow and a snowman you'll make. We hired a local puppeteer to perform for the kids and set up our own makeshift puppet theater using some tiny Ikea chairs and a sign made of cut out cardstock strung on fishing line.  Lastly, I decorated the house with as many photos as I could fit on my walls.

What to Serve at a Winter Birthday Party

Since a good number of the guests were adults, we knew we had to feed them well.  At our winter birthday party, we offered a hot cocoa bar with all the fixings served alongside homemade marshmallows.  I made the hot chocolate sign on the wood slice using some chalk paint and white gel pen.  A marshmallow tree finished off the tablescape. In terms of winter birthday party food, the highlight was certainly the delicious Belgium waffles made by food truck masters, wafels and dinges (if you are in NY, do not miss your chance at trying these!).  To finish off, my sister in law made a simply delicious and beautiful cake.  I don't think anyone left hungry! The kids all seemed to enjoy the puppet show, all of the guests seemed to enjoy the food and we were so happy to have so many people join us to celebrate Agatha's first birthday at our Winter Birthday Party. Looking for other Birthday Party Ideas? Check out Agatha's Paris Birthday Party or her Birthday Slumber Party.