King of the Jungle

On Sunday mornings for about 40 minutes, Henry and I play in a little room about 3m x 6m with 6 + other babies & their mums or dads. It is a room at our church dedicated for parents and bubs during the service with audio streamed in. It is great. We are welcome to be in the main room, but it is so much more relaxing in the baby room. Henry is almost old enough to be in the creche, but I am LOVING having some 1:1 time with him so am in no rush to hand him over. Henry crawls around making boofy boy sounds like a lion, knowing he is the biggest of the pride. It is adorable.

Watching the other babies on their backs kicking their little legs and reaching out for objects makes me wonder where time has gone! It wasn't long ago that Henry was lying on a mat like this entertaining himself whilst I was on the computer next to him.

Summer Entertaining

Over Winter my French Bull Salad Bowl was given a workout with popcorn infront of the Saturday evening Disney movie. I reclaimed it this weekend with Summer Salads! My favourite one at the moment is one that I found on the back of Creative Gourmet (nope - mistake they are the berry people - great site though!)I meant to say the Gourmet Garden site. It has great non fuss recipes. The kids love the Chicken Pasta. It is a meal in itself and left overs make a great next day lunch. Find it here

Find our French Bull range here

More gorgeous Sambellina photos!

My eldest, Thomas is not into cars. I find it quite curious - his dad works in the automotive industry and drives the sort of car that makes other boys (big and little) stop and gawk in awe. Thomas is not fussed. Not into cars, trucks & the like (except for a brief flirtation with vw 'herbie'). He is more into adventure - Indiana Jones style, lego construction etc.

I am making a point of pointing out trucks with Henry, I take him to see the garbage truck first thing in the morning. Play with cars, make brrrmmm sounds. It will be interesting to see if by his second birthday we choose the Sambellina invitations shown above! For a truck design - they are cute! Click here to see the range ...

Daily Shipping to NZ

My cousin gave birth to a baby boy yesterday morning Auckland time. He looks ADORABLE don't you think! I can't wait to see him. My maternal grandma has 5 great grandsons now and 1 great grand daughter. How fabulous would it be to get to that age and watch the family continue to grow.

We send express post to New Zealand every day. Makes it so easy to stay in touch with family and friends. It can arrive as fast as standard mail to Perth!

For every mood ...

These mugs might look simple, but they are anything but. Perfect size for a decent cup of tea or coffee and a colour to suit every mood and every occasion. My preference is the pink but I have surprised myself at times with the colour I will choose for someone else or what I have even chosen for my drink.

Last month I gave a set to my sister for a combined housewarming / birthday present. She is young, flatting with friends and lives overlooking a popular Sydney beach. The mugs so suit her and her lifestyle. Friends all know which mug is theirs and they look awesome in her cupboard! When I gave them to her, it was infront of lots of my family. It was FASCINATING which colours people chose as their favourite. I would never have guessed my grandparents selection. I love it when people you think you know surprise you.

At the moment I am feeling a little orange, or maybe purple. Then again, maybe green - make that 3395C green!! :)

Click here to find them online.

Running out the door but have to share ...

Amy Butler's new range of fabric!!! Better get back to getting ready for the school day ...

Have a great day! x

Q & A with Kate from Sambellina

We have had a great response to the Sambellina range (see our cover of yesterdays magazine). I love it! Fresh, young, fun, stylish. Click here to see the range.

I happened to have Milly (3) with me at the warehouse the day the range arrived. She has her next 3 birthdays worked out (she is a little planner ...)

I am so pleased that we get to meet Kate from Sambellina ...

How long have you been running your business? We started up the company a year ago - and officially launched in July 2009, but I have been thinking about it ever since my daughter was born and found how much I loved children's birthday parties - planning them, styling them and being at them, eating fairy bread....

What were you doing prior to your current venture? I was an IT "nerd" - a software designer / developer for 12 years .... It gave me the opportunity to travel a lot, but going back to the corporate world in between kids even part time was really challenging - as much as I tried, my heart just wasn't in it. Somehow, along the way - probably at a party - I had the "light bulb" moment and decided to develop Sambellina. I have worked three times as hard ever since, but am completely passionate about the elements of what I work with now - graphic design and stationery....I feel so lucky to be able to say that about my "job".

If you had to choose your favourite product from your range, what would it be & why? I think the pink and white polkadot partyware - I'm obsessed with the classic spotty pattern - I can't even really say why - I think they make me feel happy - and they seem to be loved by kids but also by the adults (read - other polkadot addicts)
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I also have a very soft spot for the Choo Choo invitations as there is a little person in my house who talks about his "choo choo rain set" all day every day .

What do you do to relax? Drawing, reading magazines, shopping, eating chocolate, drinking champagne, going out for a yummy gourmet dinner with my husband (dreaming here) - all followed by a massive session at the gym or walking the dog... ( or not !).

If you were able to go wherever you wanted to this weekend, where would it be?
My most favourite place in the world - Sunshine Coast - or somewhere warm. Melbourne is like living in a fridge (be it a stylish fridge) at the moment.

What was the last thing that you purchased? Chocolate

Who lives at your place? My husband Chris, our two cherubs - Samantha (5 yo) and Christian (2 yo) - and our very patient cuddly golden retriever, Cody. xx

Mummy's Favourite Magazine ...

Our latest magazine issue came out today, full of gorgeous new designs!!

Click here to sign up to our fortnightly edition.

Gourmet Getaway

One of my favourite actresses is Jennifer Garner. I loved her in Suddenly 30. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it came out the year I turned 30 and it seemed to be talking about my thoughts (fears?) at the time. I pulled it out last week because Thomas wanted to learn the dance to Thriller and I didn't want him watching Michael Jacksons film clip with Milly around. It was a good excuse to have a little dance!! :)

Jen was spotted leaving Violets Santa Monica preschool carrying a Built Gourmet Getaway in the new French Bull Multidot pattern. Click here to have a closer look.

An Angel at my Table review by Belinda

This month we welcome Belinda Graham, aka gorgeous mummy to 2 and reviewer extraordinaire. This is how she describes herself: "I’m a wife, a mum, a freelance writer, a blogger, a renovator, a decorator, a redecorator, a crafter, a chocolate addict and sometimes - sometimes - I can be a total bludger. But that that doesn’t happen very often because I like being busy."

Belinda is over qualified as a reviewer of our range - she was the deputy editor at Real Living and their online editor until recently. Welcome Belinda and Thank You!

Her first review is the An Angel at My Table (click here)

“Oh wow, that’s a really, really, really nice tent mummy. You like it?” asks my two-year-old son, Zak.“I do like it Zak,” I say. “And I’m so glad you like it. You’ll like it even more when it’s out of the bag and actually made into a tent.”And so begins Zak’s love affair with his brand new “house”, also known as the Angel At My Table Teepee. His crazy grin once it was all up said it all: “AWESOME”. And awesome it is for me too – both he and his little sister, Layla, 15 months, zoomed in and out for hours, locked themselves in (and the other out) by doing up the Velcro straps, had lunch in there, played shops where little plastic balls were selling at the highly inflated price of $50 each, and actually gave me a chance to do sit back and relax (when I wasn’t being demanded to “buy something”.)

I’m a big believer in toys that have a purpose: those that teach them something, encourage creative and/or imaginative play, and develop fine and gross motor skills. Funnily enough, this cute little teepee does all of the above. Zak wanted to help me put it together, and seeing as it was simply connecting a few poles together via “tunnels” (plastic pipes), he could, which helped his fine motor skills; he asked me a hundred things about it – “how does the bell ring” “how is it closing” “something more about Indians?” which taught him all sorts of things he will relay back to me next time it’s up; and it instantly made them creative - it’s a shop! A house! Layla’s bed! A reading spot! A garage for the ladybug!

As for the parent test (ie, is it easy to assemble?) I passed that one too. I deliberately didn’t look at instructions the first time and worked it out in just a few minutes, being the clever person that I am. There’s also two ways to erect it – the lazy way as I call it (and as pictured in my images) which means you can simply push back together and lean against the house without taking it apart for the next day’s play; or the sturdier way with the extra posts at the bottom which is ideal if you have the space to leave it out all the time – it keeps it in perfect teepee shape.

A final test? When it was time to pack it away, I just closed it up and brought it inside past Zak who was sitting on the couch reading . “No, mummy, put it back out.” “But it’s getting late, time to pack up outside.” “I might go play again in a little while. I might.” So out it went again. Out he went again and if it wasn’t for the rain, they might still be out there…

Read more about Belinda over at her blog

& to see the teepee on our site click here



Aren't these photos just the sweetest?!