Officially old

So I guess I’m officially old. I have bought my first pair of ultra comfy extra-cushioned Clarks shoes and that’s proof enough.

I remember reading about how people couldn’t fit into their old shoes after pregnancy.

I naively thought that they would grow longer, not wider. Boy was I wrong. See apparently all the ligaments in your body soften and stretch in anticipation of the birth. Which means that my earlier so slimline and narrow feet now resemble two flatfish (I’m also pretty sure this is nature’s revenge for all the times I’ve teased my mum with her feet).

And you can’t just squeeze two flatfish into tight sky high stilettos without squashing them into oblivion.

So I guess Clarks, Ecco and whatever all those feet friendly shoe places are called will be where I’ll be handing over my credit card in the future.

There’s one good thing about that though: Elliot and I can go shoe shopping together, and so we did. He came home with a pair of lovely brown Clarks sandals.

I hope this post doesn’t look too weird. It’s written on my phone as Elliot decided to water my computer.

Sheepish coffee and a bad Santa

Having a toddler in the house adds a little extra to your morning coffee…

What else is new. Elliot has said his first proper word (apart from “mummy” and “dadda”). The word is “knee”.  I tried to make him say it in Danish as well (knæ) but no luck, but who can blame him..and last week he tried to say “thunder”.

We also went to IKEA, Elliot was a bit tired so he started his nap while we were driving.

Only to wake up and find himself in toddler heaven = surrounded by soft toys. I’m sure he wanted me to buy all of them.

I want that one….

and that one and THAT one and…

We ended up buying a play carpet.

Then the weekend came and we all went Christmas shopping. There was a big sale going on at Expo (big exhibition hall close to where we live) and Elliot found a Cookie Monster teddy.

I found the perfect plastic tree, which of course had to be decorated with multi-coloured lights, inspired by this Chip and Dale Christmas video. I remember watching it each year at Christmas and wishing I could have a tree exactly like that one.

Elliot and I also went shopping at yet another mall (I swear when we leave here I will never want to set foot in one again) and E woke up from his nap being extremely grumpy, just look at that protruding lower lip:

A crisp at Swensen’s – which I found to be a horrible, horrible place (overpriced, crap food & service) but hey, they have crisps and highchairs – helped a tiny bit.

Pink balloons helped even more.

Thursday we went to a playgroup in the Danish Seamen’s *giggle* Church on Mount Faber. Elliot is still a bit shy as he was traumatised the first time we went, where we entered while they were singing a birthday song really loudly while stomping their feet on the ground. Poor Elliot, despite his Nordic genes he’s not used to the wild, wild ways of the Vikings 🙂

This is how he looked after the last session:

What else have we been up to. Oh yes, that’s right. We’ve been picking flowers by the handfuls.

We’ve been checking out butterflies.

And yesterday we said hi to Scary Santa after we visited dad for lunch at Changi City Point (yes, yet another shopping centre). Elliot was not impressed and there was no way in hell he wanted to sit on his lap (who can blame him).

High-street find: Coral coloured jelly shoes

The weather is just perfect at the moment, so Elliot and I have been hanging out with other mums and babies in London’s parks.

Being outdoors in the sun calls for bright, summery shoes.

I’m a big fan of jelly shoes, like these coral coloured ones that I bought in Kurt Geiger last month when it was still pouring down with rain every single day.

They cost 25 pounds and are really comfortable.

And I like that they are still quite elegant and not too casual or rubbery looking.

Kurt Geiger Maddy Jelly Shoes, £ 25. Buy them here.

Second-hand find: Pointy earrings

Pointy earrings from the Oxfam charity shop in St. John’s Wood. Price: 6 pounds. I love the bold, studded design as I don’t like my jewellery to be too cutesy & dainty.

I don’t really know what the material is, but the colour is something in-between silver and gold.

The old-fashioned clasp means that you have to fasten the screw until tight enough, which almost stopped me from buying them, as I thought they would be really painful to wear.

But they have turned out to be super comfortable, almost as comfortable as normal earrings – something I’m too afraid to wear at the moment, as I have a very active (and surprisingly strong) baby in the house, who happens to loooove grabbing shiny things.

He even managed to sneak himself into these pictures, while mum was busy taking pictures of herself. Can you spot him in the corner? I think he is pretending to help me with the laundry.

Second-hand find: quilted 70’s Laura Ashley bag

Dark grey vintage Laura Ashley bag from my favourite charity shop, St. John’s Hospice shop, in St. John’s Wood.

Price: 8 pounds.

I love the pattern and the fact that it is easy to slide over the pushchair’s handles.

It’s perfect for holding all the baby necessities such as wipes, drinks and food as I don’t have to worry about spillage. I’ll just chuck it in the washing machine…

Second-hand find: 2 x green Jonathan Adler vases

I love ceramics and pottery and have been collecting the fragile, hand-made pieces for many years.

When it comes to vases, Jonathan Adler is a firm favourite. (You might have spotted his pieces in Carrie’s flat in Sex and The City).  All Adler pottery is designed in his Soho studio in New York and then thrown in Peruvian workshops which have been found through Aid to Artisans, a non-profit organisation that promotes fair trade.

And what’s not to love about a designer with a an amazingly inspired and witty cv like this. And take a look at his manifesto.

I used to own only two Adler vases. A blue and a white. The blue one I don’t think is in production anymore and I bought it on sale in the shop Stilleben in Copenhagen. The white bulb vase (£118) is a gift from my former colleagues.

But then recently I spotted these two in my favourite charity shop, St John’s Hospice Shop, in St. John’s Wood:

I actually first thought they were cheap copies from Ikea, so I quickly turned them upside down:

“Yay me!” I silently shouted to myself and ran to the till. The were both £7.

The left one is called gourd relief (£98) and the one on the right is called abacus (£88). Both are inspired by “seeds, barnacles, pebbles and other natural wonders”.

Jodhpur boots….and a Swedish miracle cream

Wow, this blog post has been on its way since…forever. But here goes. The story about my – no longer so very new – practical boots.

When I was in Copenhagen, I couldn’t help admiring my always fashion-forward friend’s perfect pair of classic Jodhpur boots in the hallway. I asked her where she had bought them and, most importantly, how much she had paid for them.

And shortly after, this box arrived at my door:

Yes, it’s actually real riding boots, bought on equestrian website Horze.co.uk (they also have a Danish site Horze.dk). Price 48.95 pounds. Buy them here.

They’re perfect for this spring as they’re slightly too thin to be proper winter boots.  I put them on as soon as I received them and have practically worn them ever since. Not a blister in sight = ultra comfortable. And easy to slip on in 1 second, even when holding an over-tired baby.

And one more recommendation while you’re doing your Horze shopping. Do yourself a favour and get one of these Helosan ointments.

It’s a Swedish antiseptic, moisturising, skin ointment, which works wonders on dry elbows, chapped lips etc. It literally makes them heal overnight (Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream go home!).

The ointment is famous for its use on animals (farmers use them for cows with cracked udders etc…yumyum) and it’s neither organic nor free from parabens etc.

But it really works and I’ve been using it for skin emergencies since I was a child. 9.63 pounds for 300 g = dirt cheap. Buy it here.

Feeding frenzy and colourful bibs

Hello there. Soooo, what’s for dinner today?

Elliot has recently dived headfirst into the wonderful and dirty world of baby food. He loves it so much that orange, purple and green purees splatter everywhere.

So what a messy baby needs is a good plastic bib.

Luckily for him his mummi/farmor/grandmother has good taste (and a Finnish background) and Elliot can now eat in style, wearing these plastic-coated cotton bibs from Marimekko.

And I have a thing for monsters, so I had to buy this soft latex (BPA-free!) one where a blue monster gulps up all the goopy gloopy stuff, should it escape Elliot’s mouth.

Only problem is that he loves to turn it upside down and lick it. All the time.

The Marimekko Valpuri and Ruuturouva bibs are designed by Maija Louekari. I couldn’t find any online stockists.

The monster bib is by Babisil and costs 5.99 pounds. Buy it (and check out their other designs) on  Amazon.

Happy Hair Days

Three months after giving birth, my hair started falling out faster than you can say “hair loss”. I guess the hair Elliot’s scalp has been sprouting recently has had to come from somewhere 🙂

Previously I’d been using the Redken Extreme shampoo & conditioner in the hope that it’d work wonders on my hair. Well, it hasn’t. In fact I think it’s pretty crap, as I’ve spent every morning after the shower, desperately combing through my wet hair trying to detangle it before Elliot got bored of sitting in his bouncy chair.

So now I felt like treating my quickly receding hair line as gently and naturally as possible – no need to nuke the last remaining strands with parabens.

What I needed was a powerful de-frizzing shampoo and conditioner and when I spotted the Happy Hair Days products during my online shopping spree at Sainsburys I was intrigued. I love the quirky bottle designs and the fact that the products don’t contain parabens, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) or SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulfate).

And the price, oooh the price is just fine: £3.99 per bottle. I chose the Blueberry & Pear smoothing shampoo & conditioner and it smells great. But there are many other cool combinations, like the Marshmallow & Coconut one for coloured hair, or the Rosemary & Mint thickening one.

I couldn’t find a website for the Happy Hair Days brand, but you can find them in Sainsbury’s and Boots.

Multi-coloured spheres

I have a thing for spheres-as-jewellery so I recently saved up money to buy this amazing designer bracelet.

I love the avant-garde look of the over-sized coloured spheres – and it’s destined to lighten up an all black outfit.

What are you saying Elliot?

That it’s not a designer bracelet but your new toy, made of wooden balls, that you can move around with your little fingers.

I see.

Yes, I promise I won’t borrow it again…..just yet.

The Manhattan Toy Classic Baby Beads cost £10.47 on Amazon. Buy the beads here. (And, seriously, I am so gonna wear this when Elliot is done playing with it).