Maud & Mary-Jane
A few weekends ago we went up to the Matakana Farmers Market which is about an hours drive north of Auckland. There was so much yummy, fresh, locally produced food. Its worth the drive just for that! As well as food they had some craft stalls and I came across Maud & Mary-Jane. Sandy who is the founder of Maud & Mary-Jane designs and makes everything herself. I just love the vintage wool blanket cushions and how cute are the Blankiesauruses? Check out her website here.
Steph xo
Home made duvet cover
When we moved back to New Zealand I had grand plans of what the kids bedroom would look like. I had bought them matching beds to bring back and bought loads of dark grey gingham to make matching duvet covers. In my head it was going to look so cute! When we finally found a house to rent, the bedrooms were so small I couldn’t fit in their matching beds. Luckily, we had bought Mia’s toddler bed back with us so Kees ended up having to sleep in that. For a while he also had to use his sister’s girlie duvet covers. Last week I finally got around to making him his own duvet covers so his bed feels more like his own.
How I made them:
- I cut up an old white sheet.
- I printed Kees’ name on normal printer paper
- I traced Kees’ name with pencil onto the sheet.
- Then I hand embroidered over the pencil line.
- Finally I sewed on a matching grey gingham back.
I think his new duvet looks very smart and its always good to recycle old sheets.
Steph xo
Canal houses
A while ago my friend asked me if I could make something to go above her daughter’s bed. She asked that it not be too girlie, pink, princess-related or too young… oh and she asked if I could sew a picture of her on there too. Not too much of an ask then! As they live in the Netherlands we decided on a canal house theme. I must admit I’m pleased with the result and the most important thing is my friend’s daughter loves it. I have to thank my dear friend Becky for finishing it off for me by doing the quilting part as I haven’t learned that skill yet. For my part I simply just cut out the canal houses and sewed them on then added on the other items (windows, curtains, trees etc) layer by layer and finished with the hand sewing. Now for my next project…
xo Steph
Hot Cross Buns
So what’s your favourite Easter treat? Personally I’m a hot cross bun addict! Chocolate eggs are fine, but if I had the choice… a nice, toasted hot cross bun, dripping with melted butter would get my vote every time! The other day I decided to try and make them myself. I will not lie to you — it takes time to make your own hot cross buns. But if you are having a lazy day at home this Easter, have a go. They are really delicious.
Here’s the recipe for 16 buns!
Hot Cross Buns:
- 375 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons active yeast
- 565 grams flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3/4 cup sultanas
- 3/4 cup currants
- 1/4 cup chopped mixed peel
Crosses:
- 63 grams flour
- 6 tablespoons water
Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon gelatine
- 1 tablespoon water
Heat the milk until almost boiling. Stir in first measure of sugar and butter until butter melts. Set aside until lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over and leave in a warm place for 15 mintues or until frothy. Combine 500 grams of the flour, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in second measure of sugar. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour yeast mixture in. Beat to a soft dough, adding more flour if the dough is sticky. Mix in sultanas, currants and mixed peel. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic or until dough springs back when lightly touched. Lightly brush bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl. Brush top with oil. Cover and leave in a warm place until double in size. Punch dough down in the centre and knead lightly. Divide mixture into 16 even-sized pieces. Shape into balls. Place buns 2cm apart on a greased oven tray. Cover and leave in a warm place until double in size. Pipe crosses on each bun. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and brush with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
Crosses: Mix flour and water together until smooth and able to be piped. More water may be needed. Place mixture into a small plastic bag. Snip across one corner to form a hole for piping. Twist top of bag to hold dough firm, and squeeze to pipe.
Glaze: Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat until sugar and gelatine have dissolved, stirring constantly.
(Recipe from The Edmonds Cookery Book)
Steph xo
Dinner with Stephanie from Babyccino Kids
We try and sit down at 6:00pm everynight and have a family dinner. I would like to be able to have it earlier during the week but my husband doesn’t get home until 6:00pm and I think its important that he gets to have dinner with the kids and we can all talk about our day. We always have dinner at the dinner table. Our dining room is off the kitchen and has windows that completely open all around it so in the summer we have the windows open so it feels like we are outside. It’s a really relaxed place to eat. I love it!
Dinner is usually fuss free in our house. I don’t spend a lot of time preparing dinner and we mostly eat homemade food. If we have take-away we would buy fish and chips. My husband makes a mean pizza which is far better than a take-away pizza so if we feel like pizza we would have homemade. Eating out in New Zealand is expensive so for us we only eat out for special occasions. I have no problem with taking the kids to a restaurant though as we would often take them out when we lived in Holland and they are well behaved (most of the time!).
We are quite strict on manners at the table and the kids have to ask to leave the table. They also have to eat everything on their plate. Unless they really don’t like it and they have at least tried it. My daughter will eat pretty much anything (except lettuce!) but my son is a bit more picky. He is getting better the older he gets though. If they don’t eat much dinner they know there is no more food until the morning. The kids usually have plain unsweetened yoghurt with chocolate sprinkles for dessert. In the weekends we may have ice-cream as a treat. (more…)
Indoor driving fun
We were hit by a ‘weather bomb’ on Saturday! I had never heard the term before and it turns out a ‘weather bomb’ is the name for very windy wet weather. I’m not sure why they just don’t call it a storm….Anyway I’m not a meteorologist but I do know wet windy weather means the kids are going to be stuck inside all day.
My husband is fantastic at making things out of furniture, blankets, pillows and anything else laying around the house. This weekend he put his building skills to use by making a car. It kind of reminds me of Fred Flintstone’s car. Its such a simple idea and the kids loved it.
Stephxo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Japan — call to action• Black for a Kid’s Room
• Esthex Travel Collection
Lego Friends Series
I love Lego and I bet there isn’t anyone out there who doesn’t like it. Well apart from cursing it when you stand on a rogue piece that didn’t get put away and you look down and can’t believe that a little square of plastic can cause such pain! Anyway… there is no need to write about how cool Lego is.
But let me tell you how shocked I was when I was introduced to the new Friends
Steph xo
School lunchbox
Its that time of the year again and all the kids in New Zealand and Australia are getting ready to go back to school. Something I have discovered since returning to NZ is most primary schools now have compulsory uniforms and as far as I can see they ain’t pretty! Polo neck t-skirts and polar fleece as far as the eye can see, arrrgh!!! Well if I can’t have a say on what Mia wears to school I can at least give her something stylish to put her lunch in. Thats where Penny Scallan comes in. We bought her this cute lunchbag, and I now have my eye on the boy version… and I’m sure I need the wine cooler for picnics!
Stephxo
Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunblock
We are enjoying lovely hot sunny days here in New Zealand and as much as I love the sun I am so over applying sunscreen to my children’s pale white skin. I am paranoid that they are going to get sunburnt and if it wasn’t for me applying copious amounts of sunblock throughout the day they would easily burn in the harsh New Zealand sun. So I was very relieved to find a new sunblock on the market. This stuff is amazing — you can spray it on your kids even when they have just stepped out of the swimming pool dripping wet. I especially like to use it when we are at the beach and I can just spray the kids while they are still playing in the sand without trying to get all the sand off them first. Its making my life so much easier!
Steph xo
The tooth fairy visit
There was a lot of excitement in our house last week. My daughter (a few days shy of her 5th birthday) lost her first tooth. I remember when I was little, wiggling and twisting my loose teeth until they fell out. However, when my daughter had the same fascination with her wiggly tooth it made me feel so queasy!
When the tooth finally came out there were a few tears from her as I think she got a fright, but when I mentioned that she could put it under her pillow that night for the tooth fairy to collect, the tears stopped. So that day Mia drew a picture for the tooth fairy and left the picture with her tooth under her pillow. In the morning the tooth fairy had taken her tooth and picture and left her $2. How much does the tooth fairy pay for teeth at your house?
Stephxo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Pixie Lily — heirloom clothing, for baby• Natural Paint Kit from Shak-Shuka
Springfree Trampoline
We’ve moved back to NZ… and for the first time in many years we had our first summer christmas. I do love a cosy winter christmas but there is something to be said for a hot christmas day where the kids can run around outside and burn off all that energy. As soon as I knew we were moving back I planted the idea in their heads that they could ask Father Christmas for a trampoline. My older sister and I had one when we were growing up and I think we played on it every day. They are great for kids as they improve flexibility, help develop their balance and co-ordination, it’s a great workout for their muscles and it develops their motor skills among many other benefits.
Trampolines have come a long way since I was a kid (we had no safety mats or nets!) but now you can buy springfree trampolines as Sara mentioned in an earlier post. I am proud to say these were invented in New Zealand by a father who wanted a safe trampoline for his children. Our trampoline was a huge hit and the kids have been playing on it ever since. I can not recommend these trampolines enough!!
Stephxo
Saturday night sushi
Apparently my daughter’s favourite food in the whole wide world is sushi. Usually we go to our local Japanese restaurant but I have made sushi in the past and decided that since she wanted to eat it she could ‘help’ me make it. Sushi is actually super easy to make and is a fun activity to do. We used 5 ingredients to fill our sushi and mixed and matched them. The ingredients we used were; cucumber, smoked mackrel, salmon, avocado and toasted sesame seeds.
This weekend we went all out and even made our own vegetable tempura with a batter mix bought from our local supermarket. It was also very easy to make. Probably not the healthiest way to cook your veges but they sure were delicious!
Steph xo
Easy-to-make dress
I’ve been doing a lot of crafting lately, but not so much sewing. However this weekend I made a sweet little dress for my daughter (pictured). There is something very satisfying about creating clothes for your children, although let’s face it: it’s usually much cheaper and easier to just go to the shop or order them on the internet!
I used the Butterick 4176 pattern for this dress and it is a very simple and straight forward pattern to follow, even if you are a novice. There are no zips or button holes involved! I bought the material in a little shop called Fanny Mia when we were in Copenhagen earlier this year… I’m really going to miss travelling in Europe when we head back down under in a few weeks!
Steph xo
Homemade Muesli
I am a huge fan of homemade muesli. I make tray loads of muesli every few weeks as it’s super popular in my house — the kids love it with greek yoghurt, but I like mine with milk. The best thing about muesli is it’s really filling, so you don’t get hungry again until lunchtime. Also, you can add what you want to it and you know exactly what you are eating, there is no hidden sugar in homemade muesli! I’m not a fan of raisins but love chopped up apricots and I love big chunks of toasted almonds. Yummy! (Can you tell I really love muesli?!)
This is how I make it but you can take out and add as you please. Just keep a close eye on it when you are baking it so it doesn’t burn.
- 500g oats
- half cup ground linseeds
- half cup seseme seeds
- half cup sunflower seeds
- half cup chopped almonds
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Then melt half a cup of honey and mix it with half a cup of olive oil — mix through the dry ingredients. Cover a shallow oven tray with baking paper and spread out the mixture. Bake it at 150 degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes, taking the tray out every 5 minutes or so to stir so it all gets evenly toasted.
When it’s toasted take it out of the oven and sprinkle dried apricots or cranberries or whatever fruit you like. I also sprinkle over a large handful of shredded coconut.
It’s the perfect way to start your day!
Steph xo
London Cushions
I loved living in London and it still tops my favourite city list. A while ago I saw this fabric in a Cath Kidston shop and had to buy a couple of metres. I love the vintage look and the colour and the detailed pictures. In fact I love everything about it! I ended up making a couple of cushions out of it for my bedroom so I will always have a little reminder of London when I go to bed at night.
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Acme Party Box Company• Water-resistant garlands from Hip Hooray
• Happy 3rd Birthday to us!
Baby Knits
When I had my first baby I had an urge to knit. Now I didn’t actually know how to knit nor did I have anyone near by to teach me. My friend suggested I buy Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss. This is a great book if you are a complete novice like I was. It starts by teaching you the basics of knitting like how to cast on and off and knit and purl. With each new technique you learn there is a new baby item to make. I started by knitting a scarf then moved onto a baby blanket (still haven’t finished that!) and then to my amazement I made a simple jersey. In the book there are some gorgeous patterns including a little dress, cardigan and hat. I would highly recommend this book if you have never knitted before and would like to have a go.
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Stripes! From Organics for Kids• Retro-inspired Personalized Lunchboxes
Sock Monkeys
How cute is this little guy? I’d like to say I made him for my kids… but in fact he sits on our bookshelf in the living room keeping an eye on family life. I wanted a quick craft project one day and found some instructions on line. Have a look here for some instructions on how to make one.
I love the fact that every monkey is different — from the way you sew them up to the positioning of their eyes, they all have their own personality. I think my sock monkey looks a bit bewildered but then he does have to watch our family all day!
Steph xo
Sunday Waffles
A few years ago our really good Canadian friends moved back to Canada from Amsterdam leaving with us their waffle iron and amazing waffle recipe. Now every Sunday for brunch without fail we have waffles. There is nothing better than fresh waffles, fruit, bacon and gallons of maple syrup. The other month I upgraded our waffle iron to this beauty from Amazon (UK
Here is the recipe for the best waffles ever:
- 250 grams of flour
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 450 ml of karnemelk (buttermilk)
- 75 ml of oil ( I use rice bran oil but olive oil works just as well)
- 2 beaten egg yolks
- 2 well beaten egg whites
Take all the dry ingredients and sift together, make a well in the centre. Measure out the milk and oil and mix together with the egg yolks. Then, pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Then fold in your egg whites until just combined. My favourite topping is bacon, sliced bananas and maple syrup. Delicious!
Stephxo
Junior Chair from Ikea
I’m kicking myself now, but I never bought Stokke Tripp Trap chairs for my children when they started on solids. I wish I had looked to the future and realised they would last them for years to come!
So I was very excited when I happened to come across these chairs in IKEA the other day. We have a very high table to accommodate the tall Dutch folks but sitting at it with a normal height chair was a bit of a problem for my 4½- year-old. Now that she has this chair, she can sit in one spot without wriggling around trying to reach her plate. I will buy another one for my son when he grows out of his high chair. I love the simple design and the fact that they are super easy to clean!
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• London shopping guide for Small Magazine• Cute, cool and practical. The DRIA cover.
Hello from Haarlem!
Hello from Haarlem… Where??? I’m just down the road from Amsterdam. I’m so excited about becoming a member of the Babyccino Kids team. I have a very hard act to follow though — it’s a bit daunting joining the girls! I have been reading Babyccino daily ever since its debut back in 2007 and love the mix of things they passionately write about.
Currently, I’m in countdown mode for our big move back down under to New Zealand at the end of 2011. We’re down to less than one hundred days left — eeek! I’m looking forward to sharing all the great things Auckland, New Zealand has to offer, and in the meantime I hope I can share some cool things about life in Haarlem.
Steph xo
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• London shopping guide for Small Magazine• Cute, cool and practical. The DRIA cover.
