I told you back in January that we bought Finn a Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 instant film camera for his birthday. A couple of people have asked about it and I thought I'd write a review of the camera. Finn LOVES it. That might as well be where the review ends, but for [...]
This adorable growth chart ruler is from Little Acorns on Etsy. It's a little tradition we're starting. There was a door jam at Robbie's grandma's house on Cape Cod that had pen marks all the way up it, showing how tall her grand kids were at different ages. She'd kept that part [...]
I'm forty this year. And as soon as I stop having to breathe into a paper bag whenever I say that out loud, I'll tell you about how I'm feeling about it. I have had to come to terms with the fact that my skin is no longer as bouncy and elastic as it [...]
My little camper is five years old. If it's even possible, I think I get more emotional every year around the boys' birthdays. To Finn, it took an eternity to get here. And on Wednesday at 7:14am, when he officially turned 5 years old I told him he'd never-ever-ever be four years old again and [...]
We had a camping themed party for Finn's fifth birthday this week. It's winter in New England, so we thought it would be fun to bring the great outdoors, indoors. We started with the Modern Camp theme from Harlow & Grey and expanded from there. DECORATIONS The Modern Camp party [...]
I love winter. I know I say it every year and I know it's probably starting to sound like I'm trying to convince myself, but it's the truth. I love the snow when it's big and clumpy and blanket-y, I love having a fireplace and actually using it and I love over-dressing. Robbie does [...]
Prana Chai has been at the top of my "bring home from Australia" list for years. A while back I wrote to Prana in Melbourne and asked them if they would please, please, please come to the USA. Turns out they had found a distributor and they were already on their way. In celebration of [...]
When I think of my favorite food blogs, I'm not thinking about cooking. I have Ina for that. My favorite food blogs tell stories from beyond the kitchen. I want to be there in the Tuscan Autumn, along side the hunting dogs when white truffles are unearthed from between the roots of oak trees in [...]
I've been wanting to post a Bugaboo Donkey review since April. When we bought ours, I was pregnant with Jules. We got it because with three boys under four, we liked the idea of the Comfort Wheeled Board (we call it the skateboard), so Finn can walk some and ride some. We've used it all [...]
If you have children you know that a tidy house is really only minutes away from being a messy house as long as the kids are awake. The smart mama's secret weapon against clutter? Baskets, bins, buckets and hampers. Keep them in every room that the kids use. At the end of the day just [...]
Every time Bennett has one of his fevers I panic and overhaul a different part of our routine. A few months ago I put all of his stuffed toys in a hot dryer to kill any dust mites that might be contributing to his allergies. Last month I threw out all of our bath toys [...]
A couple of weeks ago, Comcast put on an Xfinity event for Boston influencers to learn about their X1 platform and Xfinity Home. I left Jules with Robbie for the first time and it felt so good to be out meeting adults. The Comcast staff were so nice. They ushered me from my car. [...]
➕ WINNERS HAVE BEEN CROWNED ➕ The winners of two signed copies of The Danish Way of Parenting were drawn this morning, all the way away in Rome, Italy. Congratulations to @yesteacher (Instagram) and Lauren Gordon (Facebook entry). I will be in touch shortly! Thank you to everyone who entered!! As promised, I've teamed up [...]
Bush-walking is Australian for hiking in the woods. I was never much of a bush-walker in Australia until my friend Sam got me into it in the summer of 2006. Sam is a bush-walking kind of girl. She's also a baby-wearing kind of girl. I've been living as an ex-pat in the USA for nearly [...]
Yesterday I left Finn painting in the kitchen and Bennett watching Max and Ruby in the lounge room while I nursed Jules. Five minutes, max. I felt secure knowing that law and order was in the hands of my very capable four year old. I Instagrammed the aftermath of that decision and I'm re-posting the [...]
Residents of Denmark continue to rank as the happiest people in the world - why? What makes Danes so well adjusted compared to the rest of us? I interviewed Jessica Joelle Alexander, the author of The Danish Way of Parenting, which looks at the Danes' use of respect, empathy, reframing and authenticity to foster trust [...]
I love the Danes. Back in 2007 to 2009, I was reviewing foreign films for the World Movies Channel in Sydney and my favorite films were from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. I saw in these films, cultures that were both gentle and intentional and I dreamed of living my life that way. (Mads Mikkelsen played [...]
This cute little thing that Jules is bouncing in is the Baby Bjorn Bouncer Mini. It arrived at our place a few weeks ago and it's making me wish I had one when Finn and Bennett were babies. This is my Baby Bjorn Bouncer Mini review. Robbie told me, while I was assembling this beauty, [...]
When we brought Jules home from the hospital, things at home looked strange. My mother was staying with us and she had tidied areas of the house I hadn't touched for a year. Also, Finn's vocabulary had increased and he was somehow more well behaved. But the most profound change was in Bennett. It [...]
UPDATE: For those who have asked, the rug is from Arhaus but I can't remember the name of it! We've been doing some re-arranging of furniture at our house. Mum is coming from Sydney to stay for a couple of months in March, so we've made the office into a guest bedroom. [...]
Months before Finn was born, I had my labor plan written and my hospital bag packed. I was taking birthing classes and listening to hypnobirthing CDs. I bought anything that anyone suggested and ignored anyone who started a sentence with the words, “you really don’t need a…” With Bennett I was a little more relaxed [...]
I have a not-so-secret desire to live in a Scandi country. When I reviewed foreign films, my favorites were from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. I dig the way those people live (and raise their kids). The boys' names list for every baby we've had or are about to have is heavy on the [...]
To Bennett, the spice drawer is a crazy adventure. He carefully takes the lid off each spice jar, smells it and says, "Ooooooh-woowwww!" like every one of them is the most amazing smell in the world. And he’s a toddler, so maybe it is. Finn and I used to play this game when he was about [...]
Like so many parents of toddlers, Robbie and I have a complicated relationship with the iPad. Finn would happily play it all day if given the choice. Even with advice from pediatric associations that limited use of learning apps can be beneficial, our gut feeling is that any more than very limited use is not [...]
Last week I discovered Aēsop's travel sized Resurrection Rinse-free Hand Wash. I love the Resurrection line (mandarin rind, rosemary leaf, cedar atlas) so I bought it, bringing my hand sanitizer collection to 7926 bottles. I don't even use hand sanitizer on my own hands. But I do use it on the boys hands after the [...]
So that trip to IKEA a couple of weeks ago produced something positive. Yeah! I'm happy with the RIBBA picture ledges I bought to use as bookshelves. The books add color to the room displayed like this and the shelves seem quite sturdy (nobody has tried to pull them down yet). Here's how they [...]
I'm not much of a product girl. I have started using a Clarisonic two to three times a week, but apart from that I don't do a lot. But lately my skin looks tired. It needs something more than I am giving it. For me, the prospect of buying cosmetics is so overwhelming that I [...]
What’s in your makeup bag? This month has been a big one for makeup changes! As I’ve recently moved to Manila my favorite Dior Capture Totale Foundation was just too moisturizing. So that will be kept for cooler weather trips. After much testing of foundation (8 at last count), the new winner is Guerlain Lingerie [...]
What is your daily skin care routine? I'm a beauty junkie - I like to chop and change products as I research the latest technology. I trial new products A LOT! My skin is sensitive with an oily t-zone (read: large pores) and dryness around the eyes (too much squinting at a laptop). I [...]
Project New House is in full swing. Speaking from experience, this nesting bug will last about another two to three weeks. After the buzz wears off, the house will stay looking pretty much the same from that day until we move again. I'm pretty sure most of my family will be thrilled when I [...]
When it comes to rapid weight loss programs, I’ll try anything once. I’ve done the cabbage soup diet, the South Beach Diet, the Master Cleanse; and the very controversial Atkins diet (back in the day when all you could eat was bacon - it was pretty awesome). I've had the BluePrint Cleanse in my bookmarks [...]
Blue Apron Tilapia Meunière with Moroccan-Spiced Lentils & Rainbow Chard Life with toddlers is pretty crazy at the best of times. My wing-man is down with a back injury, so things have been especially hectic around here. I decided to try a meal delivery service to take some of the pressure off. No shopping for [...]
My blog post San Francisco Guide for Guilty Mamas tried to justify my decision to abandon my husband and children for 48 hours of debauchery with a bunch of girls from Cali. That post kind of highlighted the negatives. It’s true, I did develop a plugged milk duct (as well as a hole in my [...]
When one of my Cali girlfriends sent out an invite for a girls weekend in San Fransisco, I was pumped. For nearly 3 months my life had been changing diapers, sleepless nights and sore nipples. It had been a year between martinis and I was ready to get my party on (read: take a [...]