25.4.12

Ash Cool Wedge Trainers- love! love! love!

You may remember me banging on a while back about the Isabel Marant Perkins Trainers- my ultimate shoe for pram pushing, if not then HERE's a reminder. Well, I finally managed to get my hands on a pair of wedge trainers/ sneakers/ whatever you want to call them!

Nope not the Isabel Marant ones, instead I bought these from Ash on the Kings Road.



Introducing my Ash Cool Wedge Hi-Top trainers.....

Ash stock many different types of wedge trainers but I totally fell for chunky sole of this style, there is another version called Bowie which is very similar but has a slightly different sole.



I actually think I prefer these to the Isabel Marrant version, these being a little less clunky. I also much the prefer the price tag, these were less than half the cost!!


They are by far the comfiest heels I have ever owned and perfect for strolling around with the little one, I love them! So much so that I may even invest in a black pair for winter ( ahem, thinking a bit ahead here!) These are described as yellow and are part of the limited edition pastel collection, but to me they are more of a sandy colour.

Say Hi to Phoebe everyone!!
Phoebe is my sisters gorgeous  little Boston Terrier pup who we are looking after for a few days, we have two more lurking around the house somewhere. All three are brilliant with the babies!

Back to the trainers..

Here's a link to the Ash website although their wedge trainers seem to sell out fast!


24.4.12

My Baby Travel Essentials

We have been travelling with little E since she was just five weeks old, and there are some things that I just cannot do without. Here are a few must have items that keep us all happy during the flight.

Stokke Pram Pack

You don't have to own a Stokke Xplory to love this, it has been designed to suit pretty much any type of travel system, bugaboo included. It's on wheels too so no heavy lifting involved





Our main reasons for buying this rather over a collapsible pram were

a) It's airline approved so you don't have to worry about your beloved pram getting damaged in transit

b) When not in use, it can be very conveniently rolled up so it doesn't take up much storage space.



We bought ours from back in action Here

The Baba Sling

I bought this initially when little E was teeny because I was paranoid that I would fall asleep on the plane with her in my arms and drop her. Then, it allowed her to sleep horizontally whilst being carried around now she sits upright in it. I find it's much easier to use than our Baby Bjorn ( which Mr J is a bit obsessed with) especially when you are being rushed off a plane, it's also very light and portable and comes with it's own drawstring bag.

This is our Baba Sling on it's first outing last year, Mr J looking very sleep deprived!






We bought ours in Lavender, direct from Baba Sling themselves Here


Ipad/ Iphone Apps

Initially I wasn't all that keen on the little E using my ipad as a toy, but for travel it is brilliant! There are so many educational apps out there to keep little ones entertained during a long journey and when they finally fall asleep you can use it to watch films or read books and magazines- I'm pretty much surgically attached to mine!!

 Below are Estella's favourite apps.

1. Peekaboo Barn

Little E amazed her parents and fellow passengers by working out how to open and close the barn doors on this brilliant app. She giggles at the different animal noises and even tries to mimic them!

Do I think that my eight month old is a genius? Of course :)


2. It's a Small World

I'm not sure who loves this more, Estella or her Grandma who adores the ride at Disney of the same name. The app follows a hot air balloon around the world, it's super cute, interactive and education all at the same time, teaching kids to say hello in a multitude of languages. Although I was unimpressed that this didn't include Greek or Welsh, can't have everything I guess...


3. Bubbles Magic

Popping the bubbles on this app is a bit addictive, in a bubble wrap kinda way! I bought this one on the recommendation of a friend who has a 20month old who's obsessed with this this so it should keep little E entertained for quite a few months. You can even upload an image of your choice as a background just to keep things interesting.


I'm on the look out for fun apps now, which ones does  your baby love and what are your travel essentials?


23.4.12

Easter Part 2

Last weekend we celebrated Easter once again with my family in Greece as Orthodox Easter fell on a different weekend to ours this year.

Easter in Greece isn't merely about eating a ton of chocolate, it is a huge religious event and is celebrated kind of on the same scale that we celebrate Christmas here in the UK. Apologies if I have made any mistakes in describing the traditions but here's how we do things chez Jones........

On Easter Saturday at around midnight, everyone gathers at the church for the resurrection, holding candles which will then be lit from the holy flame. Many people will buy elaborately decorated candles, or even decorate them themselves. Here are some that we bought, mine is the one with the evil eye in the middle.


Once children are baptised, then their godparents will buy them their candle or Lambatha as they are known in Greece. Often, godparents will  also buy the child a pair of new shoes ( love this custom!)  This year, we bought E's candle as she has yet to be christened.

  




Of course, she was far to young to go to the church at midnight. Apart from the fact that it's too late for an 8 month old, there are usually fireworks and firecrackers which would scare the hell out of her. So, we asked her soon to be godmother ( who incidentally has great taste in shoes, lol ) to hold her candle instead!




On Easter Sunday, our family usually gathers at a Taverna for a big feast of traditional greek food.
This year we swapped the Taverna for my Aunties lovely summer house. I exactly didn't relish the thought of Estella being stuck in a smoky taverna all afternoon- the smoking ban hasn't exactly been embraced in Greece, a country where rules are made to be broken!



The Chef!




Unfortunately it was a bit to cold to eat outside, so we brought outside in!




We also had traditional red eggs,





Easter Monday, we got together with some friends back in Athens and headed over to Balux House Project which is a very cool cafe and bar on the beach. It's great for people watching ( erm what austerity measures?) and there's also a kids area which I'm sure we'll make use of in years to come.

The sun was shining but only the brave went anywhere near the water!



Uhm, I don't think so..........


Beach life is just exhausting!!





20.4.12

Ten Things I Tell Myself Every Day

We're finally back from our trip to Athens for Greek Easter. Although the sun didn't shine every day, we managed to see our family and many of our lovely friends which more than made up for the weather.  I didn't get around to posting much while I was away but I have plenty of photos to upload and new posts planned so please stay tuned. In the meantime, here's a meme to keep you going.

 I was tagged in this great meme quite a few weeks ago by the fantastic Zena-Marie of the Fabulous Mom's Guide  and I'm a bit ashamed that it has taken me so long to post my own version but..... better late than never I guess!

If you haven't been around to check out the Fabulous Mom's Guide then you absolutely must, it's jam packed with scrummy cakes and tips for fabulous Mamas. My description by no means does this great blog justice so please take a look for yourselves HERE

Here are ten things that I tell myself everyday:

1. Starbucks skinny lattes with sugar free syrup are definitely allowed on the Dukan Diet

2. I will find time to go to the gym, tomorrow

3. Going to the gym makes me more hungry anyway and therefore makes me fat

4. I must become more organised

5. I will blog at least every other day

6. To treat people how I would like to be treated myself

7. If people are unpleasant for no reason then I should leave it to karma rather than trying to handle them myself. There's only so long someone can go around treating people badly without it coming back on them in some way.

8. It's ok to let E watch a few minutes of baby TV, it's educational!

9. It's fine to spend money on my hair, after all I wear it every day!

10. Expensive shoes are a necessity not a luxury.

My next job is tag some more lovely bloggers, as always if you've already received this/ don't have time/ can't be a***d then please ignore. Otherwise, I look forward to reading your lists:

@AlisonDuveen

@sthurley49

@AimeeSawyer

14.4.12

Nails of the Week- Peaches and er Caviar

For the past couple of weeks I have been scouring Pinterest for images of peachy nails. I eventually took the plunge and ordered some more Orly Gel FX, this time in First Kiss. It's a very elegant neutral peach tone but perhaps a little bit too subtle for me.


Instead I ended up using the gel as a base coat for Barry M's Peach Melba with a layer of my trusty Seche Vite top coat- a MUST for mamas on the go, it dries polish quick as a flash and leaves them super shiny!!


But that wasn't enough.....




I also attempted a caviar manicure! Ciate's Caviar Manicure has taken the beauty blogs by storm, but of course it sold out in record time. Whilst searching for other options, I came across this brilliant tutorial on Coleyyyful's Blog.



The teeny glass beads which you can see above were ordered from eBay. 

I am constantly rubbing dentinox into E's teething gums at the moment so I didn't think it was a good idea to cover all my nails with the beads and opted for an accent nail instead.

The finished effect looks kind of like those penny sweets I used to have as a child.





Update: Whilst I loved the caviar effect, I'm glad I didn't fork out for the Ciate version. 24hrs later it looked a mess, most of the beads had discoloured or had fallen off. 

Mama Verdict: for one night only!

P.S. The Orly Gel has doubled up as a FAB base coat allowing me to wear regular polish far longer than I normally would :)

13.4.12

Read of the Week- Fish!

Ok, so this is more Estella's read of the week rather than mine. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to read anything blogworthy!
This little book by Usborne has fast become a favourite and it really feels as though E is beginning to understand the concept of reading now. As soon as we open the book she immediately settles down and seems to listen to me reading. She loves following Freddie the fish through a sea full of iridescent Jelly Fish and Neon Pink Crabs, there's also a little rattle in the book which she loves to shake. It's pretty lightweight and portable too and what's more, it's a damn sight more reasonable than cloth books by other brands!


The other great thing about this book is that it's chew proof!We also have a few board books but these have been placed firmly out of her reach for now seeing as she decided to give our Boston terriers a chew for their money!!!



You can pick up this book plus a range of other cloth books by Usbourne on Amazon HERE! 

10.4.12

Super Kawaii Easter!!

When I was a little girl, whenever my father came back from a business trip the Far East, it was like Christmas once again in our house. It seems that Mr Jones has decided to carry on this tradition with little E. Check out all the Hello Kitty goodies he brought back, I have no idea how it all fit in his suitcase!






No Mikimoto pearls for me this time despite my very unsubtle hints, instead I received this rather gorgeous perfume from Shanghai, it smells delicious and will be perfect for summer. Shanghai Tang is one of my favourite stores, I especially love their buttery soft leather handbags. 
Here's my attempt at an artistic photo!


My mother has been staying whilst Mr J was away, she has been an enormous help and even made Easter bonnets for E and her cousin. I thought this would fit in with CJ's  #ArtAttackTuesday over at amummysview. Both girls are still a little small to wear their bonnets but they had fun plucking the eggs and chicks off their hats and then playing frisbee with them despite all Grandma's hard work!



We're off to Athens tomorrow to celebrate Orthodox Easter with our family next weekend. I'm not sure how easy it will be to post from my ipad but will do my best!




7.4.12

Coral Fever

I have been losely following the Dukan Diet for the past four months now and I have lost around 2 stone of baby weight!! I say losely because phychologically, if I feel I'm restricting myself certain foods then I always seem to crave them even more so I'm just adapting it to suit me.
I still have a way to go until I reach my target weight but I thought that this milestone deserved a little treat, I love anything peach or coral toned as you can probably tell from my blog background, so I've been browsing for jeans in these shades. There are heaps around at the moment thanks to this seasons trend for brighly coloured jeans:




 8. Uniqlo 9. Gap

During a shopping trip with my mother earlier in the week, I tried on the pair above by the aptly named brand, Mother Denim. I was ridiculously pleased with myself because the shop assistant insisted that I try on a uk size 12, and guess what? They fit! (I think the sizing must be generous) Nevertheless, my mother managed to burst my bubble by declaring that they would look better in black! I get it Mama but that kinda defeats the object!!
So back to the drawing board I go! If all else fails I'll just have to make do with some peachy nails, check out my Pinterest board for some inspiration.

Hope you're all having a lovely long weekend x
  

5.4.12

The Last Days of Baby Yoga

If you've been following my blog you may remember from my last Read of the Week post that we were about to finish our Mother and Baby yoga classes sob sob.
Well, we had our last class earlier this week. Both Estella and her cousin Melina are getting a bit to old for the baby yoga section now, preferring to fight over toys in class rather getting on with the downward dog pose and making everyone in the class giggle!!




I began pregnancy yoga at just 10 weeks in. A little early I know, but the plan was to keep my sister company who was about 9 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy. So weekly yoga classes have now become the norm for us and we're really going to miss it. Our yoga teacher Veronique has been fantastic, she always takes time at the beginning of class to find out if anyone has any specific problems such as pelvic pain during pregnancy, throught the course of the class she then adapts poses to help with the problem and even explains how it may be treated using yoga.  Here is the lady herself with the two little monkeys:


I would absolutely recommend pregnancy or Mother & Baby yoga to any mum to be/ new mum. Aside from the physical benefits, I found pregnancy yoga to be a wonderful way to de-stress and have some much needed me-time during what was an exciting but stressful period in my life. The classes that my sister and I attended were at Yoga Therapy London.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend
xxxx

3.4.12

The Versatile Blogger Award

I was a teeny bit excited the other day because, look what I received.......


Isn't it lovely? This gorgeous award does of course come with some conditions ( what doesn't!)

1. Thank the blogger who has awarded you and link back to them.
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass the award along to 5 [insert your own number here if you fancy more or less, I won't tell] other newly discovered blogs

I am a bit of a drama queen and have always wanted to win an award and give an acceptance speech so here goes:


I would like to thank the very sweet  Bubba Babble  for nominating me for this award which I am most flattered to accept.

Seven Things About Me:

  1. I am convinced that I could quite easily live off ice cream, and that alone!
  2. I am fluent in four languages: English ( debatable) Greek, French and German
  3. I read magazines from the back to the front, a trait I picked up from my mother- Thanks Mama!
  4. My feet seem to have grown half a shoe size since Estella was born, although I am secretly hoping it's still a bit of baby weight so that I can wear my favourite once Louboutins again. Do feet even gain weight ?
  5. No matter how tired I am, I always wide awake by about 11pm - I blame my fathers Greek genes for that one. So if you ever see me blogging or Tweeting late at night, you know why....
  6. After my first degree in languages, I went back to university and completed an MSC in finance, it was one of the most difficult and demanding things I have ever done but I felt a huge sense of achievement on graduation day.
  7. I was once stopped and asked for directions to Sloane Street by Kylie Minogue! Living in central London, celebrity sightings are pretty common but I have been a huge fan of hers since the age of about 7. Nevertheless despite being stupidly starstruck, I replied very calmly, walked away still pretty calm and then then once around the corner I squealed down the phone to my mother, sister... anyone who would listen. P.S. She really is the tiniest person I have ever seen, I felt like a giant next to her and I am only 5'3!
Now I'm going to admit that I am a teeny bit behind with my meme's and posts that I have been tagged in. So, I apologise to anyone who has tagged me and I completely understand if the lovely ladies who I'm nominating don't have time to continue this or perhaps have already received this.
Anyhow, here's my choice of fabulously versatile blogs. I couldn't decide so I have chosen 6:


Beyond the nappy bag
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