Dear Blog ...

To my dear blog friends,

We are a little snowed under right now as we are having fun helping our customers find their gorgeous gifts this Christmas (2009!). We want to keep up our great customer service record and in order to do that we need to say farewell for a few weeks. It really is a matter of priorities and right now we need to spend the 10 minutes a day elsewhere. I hope this doesn't offend you.

I will leave you with some photos of some of the things we have been wrapping this week. Our rubbish bins at the end of the day look so Christmassy and happy. We are loving the red and white spot theme!! It is such a joy to find products on the shelf and pack them. It makes me smile when I do the final check of a box before we tape it up when we see what combination of delights someone has chosen to give their special family and friends.

Take care. We hope you enjoy the silly season, which by the way can be made so much easier and less stressful by having the postman arrive on the doorstep with a box of goodies.

With love,

Jen x

Belle and Boo Review by Belinda Graham

When I was pregnant with Layla, I had a few things on the to-buy list if the baby was a girl: an Oobi Baby dress (done), Country Road leather ballet flats (got ‘em) and Belle & Boo prints. I found them so gloriously girlie, so Holly Hobby-ish and somehow so carefree and innocent, they appealed to my inner child as well as to my adult self. It’s not often you find children’s illustrations that are stylish, but all of Belle & Boo’s are. Beautifully illustrated, all of the prints reflect a fun, pure time in a child’s life, which is why I think I like them so - who hasn’t swung from a tree, chatted to a bunny or fed the birds? I know I have, and I know my children will. And so my collection began with three little prints - I even framed the thank you note that came with the purchase - and I know there are many more to come. The latest addition is Flowers for Mummy. Not only is it cute, it’s signed by the illustrator Mandy Sutcliffe! And if that’s not reason enough for me to love it, here are three more…1. Layla loves to pick me flowers and bring them to me. (She picks weeds too, but it’s the thought that counts, right?).2. Layla’s middle name is Belle (yep, named after me. How narcissistic of me!) 3. Steve and I often tag “O-boo-boo” to the end of Zak and Layla’s names. I’m not sure why, but we just have since Zak was tiny. They get Zakky-o-boo-boo and Layla-o-boo-boo.I have a feeling Layla already loves her collection too - she points out the birds and bunny and makes their noises, and I’ve caught her a few times talking to the picture wall when she’s meant to be sleeping. Good to see they’re keeping her company…

Find them here