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.

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…

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.

‘Skwish, skwish’

And while we’re talking about wooden toys: I found this other classic Manhattan Toy the other day in one of the second-hand shops in St. John’s Wood. It only cost 99p.

It’s called a Skwish because the black cords are elastic, so not matter how hard you ‘skwish’ it it always snaps back into shape. This is the classic version, where complementary coloured wooden poles and balls meet.

It costs around 12 pounds on Amazon and comes in other versions too, like the colour burst one. There’s even a natural coloured one for the purists.

Elliot seems to like it so far…he particularly likes to throw it on the floor.

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).

Matryoshka dolls

When I was 6 years old and in kindergarten I was deeply fascinated by this set of Russian matryoshka dolls (also called nesting dolls or babushka dolls). I could spend hours peeling off the outer “doll layers” until I got to the amazingly tiny baby one in the middle.

I’ve never owned any of these myself, until a while ago, when I spotted a set of these in a local bric-à-brac shop. They cost £1, so although they looked nothing like the classic ones from my childhood I had to buy them.  They’ve been cheering up our mantelpiece ever since.

And then when I read a post on Liberty London Girl’s blog about how she had bought one of the more traditional sets while in Moscow for around £8, I decided it was time to invest in the “real thing”.

Luckily for me Sam has a very nice Russian friend & colleague, who was just about to go to Moscow on holiday. And this is what he came back with:

The perfect set, which instantly takes me back to kindergarten.

I excitedly pulled them apart to see who was nesting in the middle: and yay, there it was, the teeny weeny little baby. How cute (sorry pregnancy hormones taking over here).

The dolls make great gifts for kids too (over 3-years-old though because of the small bits). If a trip to Moscow isn’t on the horizon you can buy cheap ones online at for example Amazon or Play.com.

Or if you’re a real aficionado you can visit matryoshkastore.com, which is 100% dedicated to nesting dolls in all shapes and genres. Here’s something for everyone, from cats to Little Red Riding Hood matryoshkas.

The sensible tan leather sandals

I haven’t worn high heels since the beginning of the pregnancy. It’s not comfortable, definitely not healthy and it just feels wrong to totter around in stilettos .

So I’ve been on the hunt for a pair of very simple leather sandals in a decent quality, that can replace my beloved jelly shoes,  and live on my feet for the rest of the summer.

And yesterday I found the right pair.

These Silas sandals from Office are both cheap and comfy. And they have that perfect durable rubber sole which guarantees a long shoe life and steady feet, even on the most slippery of surfaces.

They cost £58 and come in navy blue too. Buy them here.