SHOPS WE LOVE: SMALLABLE (FRANCE)

girls looking out to the water from beach

Smallable is the ultimate concept store for kids, as well as parents! When I first discovered this beautiful online shop from France, I couldn't stop scrolling! With a range of adorable kids room decor, including the Numero 74 canopy that you see in some of the rooms I design as well as the sweetest selection of clothing for babies, toddlers, kids, teens and also women, this is a one-stop shop for all things kids (and Mom too)! Smallable carries some of my favourite brands, like Emile et Ida, Pom d'Api, Buho and Hundred Pieces as well as dozens and dozens more. I'm especially in love with the sweet romper you'll see Kaia wearing from our beach day last week and the white top on Noelle has to be felt to really know how soft it is! I wish the chambray pants came in my size!

Smallable is helping to make your shopping adventure a little sweeter with a $10 discount for orders over $100 on fashion items at Smallable. This offer is valid now until Mother's Day (Sunday May 14th) using the code WINTERMOM at checkout. 

Stripe Romper
Buttons on back of Hundred Pieces top from Smallable
kids on beach
beach romper
children's chambray pants with white top
playing on the beach

* This post was created in collaboration with Smallable. All words and photos are my own.

HERSHEL SUPPLY: BACKPACKS FOR KIDS ON THE GO

Please let me introduce you to the cutest way to get your kids to carry their own stuff...these adorable backpacks from Hershel Supply!

kids walking on beach with hershel backpacks

Founded right here in Vancouver, and thoughtfully designed for kids and youth, the Herschel Supply Kids Collection features sized-down offerings of classic Herschel Supply silhouettes.

Kitsilano Beach picnic spot for kids
Hershel Supply Kids Collection backpacks on beach

The kids pack (toddler sized) is perfect for my just turned 4 year old and the youth pack is the perfect fit for my 6 year olds.

Xavier lunch bag 

The lunch box is roomy and easily fits a small drink bottle and a full lunch. Xavier loved having his very own lunch box inside his pack that he could bring by himself.

toddler hershel backpack close up

With sweet design details like the leather pulls and carefully chosen colours, these backpacks will carry you from home to the beach or to school and through childhood. You can shop these adorable bags on the Hershel site or find in many local stores around Vancouver and now globally!

*This post was created with Hershel Supply. Thank you for supporting a local blogger! 

A SOFT AND SWEET 6TH BIRTHDAY PARTY!

6 year old girl birthday party table

I can't believe it...my twin babies Kaia & Noelle turned 6!!! The past six years have flown by, as any parents understand. The girls birthday each year is an annual reminder of how lucky I feel to be their Mama and how proud we are to be raising two gorgeous, creative, kind-hearted, clever and loving girls. Last year, we held their 5th birthday at Stanley Park and this year, they decided on a creative art studio, Luminous Elephant.

Kaia & Noelle
happy birthday cake
family photo 2017

They still love nature and decided on a fawn party with a few of their friends. I wasn't nearly as prepared as usual this year and for the first time we decided to have a sweets table instead of a lunch to keep things very simple! Although we didn't go all out with the food, the decor for this party, although simple, turned out to be one of my favourites!

blush carnations, baby's breath and eucalyptus
happy birthday naked cake

My husband made the cakes, we popped some blueberries into ice cream cones, and Noelle asked for deer cookies and Kaia wanted brownies. We made everything hand-sized so that it would be easy to taste each thing but not have leftovers. The deer cookies were a DIY and took a good part of a day and although are far from professional, they do resemble little fawns so the girls were thrilled!

6th birthday dessert table

The flowers were a lucky last minute find the day before and I just popped different arrangements into mason jars and vases. The lovely silver star banner is from Pearl & Jane and provides the perfect pairing with the gold circle one I picked up at Michael's. The Happy Birthday cake topper is beautifully made and I found this on Etsy. I can't wait to use it on birthdays each year!

DIY deer cookies
champagne glasses
happy birthday wooden letters on party table
blueberries in ice cream cones

As the kids were arriving, we had little necklace stations set up for them, with these sweet deer charms and initials for each child in their bead palette. This was a great starter activity and gave the kids something special to bring home and remember the party by.

kit to make necklaces

Once everyone arrived, the kids moved onto canvases and created a painting to bring home with them. Fresh plants had been picked to be used to make prints, which were a fun way to explore texture and printmaking. I look forward to trying this again with the kids at home.

kids party table
plants for paint printmaking
painting

After the painting and necklace making, it was time for the sweets. Everything was devoured and we were thrilled to have celebrated another year of these two. Another fun addition was taking photos on the Instax camera. It belonged to the art studio but I think I will have to get one for parties and gatherings from now on! The kids loved the instant photos and I love the sweet keepsake to pop into their memory books. 

girls on their 6th birthday
instax polaroids

We had a lovely morning surrounded by friends, celebrating two of the biggest loves of my life. Happy Birthday Kaia & Noelle!

SHOPS WE LOVE: FRESHLY PICKED SHOES FOR SPRING!

You may know Freshly Picked for their adorable baby moccasins and for gracing the feet of many celebrity kids, but did you know that they now have hard sole toddler shoes too?

flowers in kids brown suede shoes

Now that Kaia and Noelle are in school, Xavier and I head out for nature walks regularly. For this walk, I thought I'd let him take his new big boy moccasins for a try. Perfect for Spring (and summer and autumn too!), I love that the design of the hard sole shoes are made for a toddler who loves to slip on their own shoes! The lace-up look is super cute but the practicality of slip ons is ideal for my independent four year old.

nature walk
toddler shoes from Freshly Picked
treasures from nature
Xavier showing nature's treasures

When I asked Xavier what he thought of his new shoes, he said "really comfy", which is probably the best review you can get. Comfortable, practical and cute is a definite win for my mom life these days.

sides of Freshly Picked hard sole shoes

I love these new grown up moccs for my big boy, and you can choose from a wide selections of patterns and colours at Freshly Picked. Xavier is wearing the Next Step shoes in Weathered Brown.

*This post was created in collaboration with Freshly Picked. Photos and opinions are all my own.

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Have you ever stumbled across something that makes your heart skip a little beat? That you look at and are blown away by? That makes you feel like you just HAVE to share it with your friends? This gorgeous book, Mindful 1, 2, 3, written and illustrated by Tamara Hackett of Sweet Clover Studios did just that for me. I LOVE it...and am so excited to share the creativity, beautiful words and dreamy watercolour illustrations with you!

Mindful 1,2,3 book cover with tulips

When I received the book, I opened it to find the sweetest words to go along with a simple concept of counting and numbers. Tamara's mission is to create purpose-filled resources for children and educators and this book is the perfect tool to initiate conversations about mindful moments in life, all while counting numbers! I found that my shoulders relaxed a little and my own mind switched to calm with each page I turned. When I read it to the kids the next day, they seemed to feel the same way. 

little boy reading  book
Mindful 1,2,3 book by Tamara Hackett

Here is an example of number 3, a page filled with words every child would love to hear.

inside the book Mindful 1,2,3 by Tamara Hackett

Not only an enriching book unlike any counting book I've come across before, it looks beautiful on the bookshelf along with other treasures in the girls room too!!!

styled shelves in kids room
Mindful 1,2,3 book on shelf

Tamara has kindly shared a freebie to go along with the book that I'm sure your kids would love. If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can find both the hardcover version and softcover versions below.

Buy the hardcover here!

Buy the softcover here!

I'd love to hear your thoughts...are you enjoying the new column about books we love? 

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