Babi

The Mummy over at Homemade Heart has put me onto a lot of great things for the baby. Marquise branded jump suits, the Bugaboo Cameleon, clothes made by Bebe by Minihaha and Pure Baby... And my latest obsession is something she mentioned on her blog ages ago - the website Babi!

Babi is the only online store dedicated to the indispensible, adorable baby all in one. The Onesie. The Jumpsuit. Whatever you like to call it, that's what they do. And they do it very well indeed!

Up until now, I have been uber (some might say hyper) efficient in buying Little Miss K gorgeous outfits for her first year. Great dresses, leggings, cardis, all (well mostly) in pink of course... But the practical things like onesies never seem to make it into my shopping cart. Well, not as often as they should, given how much wear she'll likely get out of them.

Visiting Babi means you can rectify that in one easy transaction. And the fact that quality brands like Gaia and Pure Baby and Bebe are easily available in one great location. You don't get distracted by superfluous dresses and cardigans. it's all about practicality. And a little bit of fun at the same time of course!

Over the weekend I made a few choice purchases:

This Bebe by Minihaha summer onesie with RABBITS on it! So cute and great value at $19. They also have a long sleeved version with rabbits - I can neither confirm nor deny that with was also purchased.

This very sweet Gaia onesie which I think will be very practical over the summer months. I love the green stripes and the price - just $19.

This Bluebird and Honey aqua jumpsuit, sweetly named the Hausfrau. Isn't it lovely? Perfect for an outing on a warm summer day and at only $22 a good bargain!

Many products are organic and they even have a good reange for smaller and premmie babies which is lovely. Shipping is a very reasonable $6.50 flat rate to anywhere in Australia. With bargains like that I am sure to be back very soon!

Kitty

Silver Bangle Love.

I'm a sucker for a great bangle. I always love something jangley or bangley on my wrist. For a long time I lusted after an Hermes Clic Clac but after finally getting around to trying one on, I found they really didn't suit me. At all. Mr K was ridiculously relieved about that.

Unfortunately I actually discovered I loved the larger, more expensive Hermes Bangles instead. But I can't really justify the price.... Really. Well, maybe...

I have a gorgeous black and silver Coach bangle which I wear all the time and an Alexander McQueen skull bangle which I love. While in the US this year I purchased a very pretty silver Kate Spade bangle which has "hand in hand" engraved around the outside and "there's strength in numbers" engraved on the inside. So pretty and particularly poignant at this point in time for Mr K and I.

Something I now have my eye on is the beautiful Mim Precious "In the Weave" bangle, new from Mimco. It reminds me of the bamboo bangles from John Hardy, but far more economical. It's beautiful. The Mim Precious range seems to be somewhat of a departure for Mimco. Known almost exclusively for their great quality bags and fashion accessories, this is the first time they have made the foray into semi precious jewellery. Using silver, agate, freshwater pearls and marcasite, the collection offers both classic and collectible pieces - bangles, necklaces, charms and earrings. Definitely something I love, and for me, the bangle at $229 is a steal. A great buy. Perhaps even a bargain! It shall be mine!

Kitty

PS: And maybe the matching earrings too...

Mr Kitty gets a jump start on the nursery.

Mr K has been a busy little cat over the last week. He has moved out of his study in preparation for turning it into the baby's room. Years worth of paper to be sorted. The study is located next to our bedroom so it's really quite convenient to be used as a baby room. Mr K has temporarily relocated to our formal lounge (which we never use) and seems quite happy there.

He's been a busy cat indeed, spending the weekend painting the room - we opted for Dulux Fair Bianca in Half strength. I was leaning towards a soft pink but I thought it might be too much. Having a neutral base to work with means you can do so much more with the accessories!

We have chosen a chair, some shelves and a chest of drawers from Ikea.


We already have the cot, and the mattress etc. arrived today.


I have some decorative items, including an owl cushion from the Lovely Naomi from Manic Muffin Totes, but I am waiting until the furniture is all in before going nuts on the "stuff". I also need to finalise curtains quite quickly.



Lots of progress, but it feels like we still have so much to do!

Kitty

Candle, candle, burning bright....

Sydney Shop Girl inspired this post. She posted the other day about her evening ritual of a cup of T2 tea and a scented candle. It sounded to relaxing and luxurious I couldn't help but replicate the activity.

I have many scented candles in my collection - the vast majority of them still in their boxes in pristine unlit condition. So, in response to the rainy dreary weather Sydney is currently in the midst of, I made an effort tonight to pull one out from my scented candle candle cupboard (yes, I have a cupboard for them). Continuing this week's theme of Red, tonight's choice was simple.

I bought this Diptyque candle in New York last year. I stumbled across the shop on a walk through the West Village. It's a tiny hole in the wall, blink and you'll miss it. But I made a number of choice purchases while Mr K was siting outside basking in the warm sunshine. This was one of them. With sweet notes of Madagascar vanilla, tobacco, fresh Rooïbos and undertones of wood and balsam, this limited edition candle smells divine. Warm and soothing, perfect for a cold Winter's night. And another bonus - ten percent of the proceeds of each (diptyque)RED special edition candle goes to help to eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Not only does it perfume my house beautifully, I feel better about the world by striking a match.

Diptyque candles are available in Australia at Mecca Cosmetica. They are expensive there but if you can't buy them overseas they are still worth the investment. Just perhaps a little less frequently. I also like the Roses and Geranium Rosa candles in the fragrance line up.

Kitty

Cherry red wrapping...

Gosh. Golly Golly Gosh.

If only I weren't pregnant, I'd be all over this dress like a rash. It's divine. So beautiful. My ideal shade of red. It's jersey. The perfect style for my shape (pre-bump). Divine. The price is insane, but I'd pay it. (PS: it's cheaper on the UK site than the US site by around $550. Crazy but true).


Unfortunately I am stuck with dresses more like this for the next three months at least. Still gorgeous, but not quite the same I don't think. I ordered this dress in black - I think it's more slimming for a gal in my situation - I'm afraid of looking like a giant tomato in the red. In the black, I'll feel a little less like a Christmas present waiting to be opened. Will report back on the fit and shape when I receive it. I am quite excited though.

When you think about it though, it's worth the compromise in the end.

Kitty

More Elk.

Longtime readers of this blog will know I have an ongoing love affair with the accessories brand Elk. I think their items are stunning - on trend, well made and moderately priced.

Whilst purchasing a gift for a friend, I stumbled across this necklace.

It's something I have seen before and liked but never got around to purchasing. At $45, I thought it was really good value so I clicked and purchased. Shipping is reasonable at a flat rate of $10.

It arrived today. I am very pleased with my purchase, even though it's a little more casual than I was anticipating. The beads are chunky and fun. I have loads of formal jewellery so a casual addition to my collection is definitely not unwelcome!

Kitty

Marmalade.

Mr K likes Marmalade. A creature of habit, he has a selection of breads every morning for breakfast, spread lovingly with promite, nut butter (usually ABC spread) and some kind of sticky jam-like marmaladey substance (on separate pieces, not the same bit of bread).

He likes jam too - apricot, peach... But at the moment oranges are in season so I decided to tackle marmalade, having successfully conquered jam earlier this year. I made commercial quantities of apricot jam with the almost 10 kilos of apricots we purchased at the markets and a smaller quantity of subtle yet delicious peach jam which has a rosy tint and a floral nose. It's by far and away my favourite of the preserves we have made.

But back to today's activity: Marmalade! It's trickier than jam in the sense that it takes quite a bit longer to make - normal jam netts you 6-8 jars in about an hour. This takes more like 2 and a half hours. But it's really not that hard - you just need to keep an eye on it.

1.5kg oranges (I used ruby red oranges from Harris Farm) or other citrus fruit - a mixture of grapefruits, oranges and lemons would work well
1.2L water
2.5kg sugar
25g Jamsetta (available at supermarket near the sugar)
Juice from one lemon (optional - see below)

Scrub oranges well, cut into quarters removing the endy bits and the pips. Slice thinly - about 3-5mm wide strips. Place in preserving pan or very large saucepan with the water and cook gently uncovered until the fruit is soft (1-2 hours, this batch took almost 2 hours).

Warm sugar in a large ovenproof bowl in an oven preheated to 150 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir sugar and Jamsetta into orange mixture and heat gently until dissolved. Bring to the boil for at least 10 minutes.

To check if the jam is set, spoon a small amount of jam onto a saucer that has been in the freezer for a few minutes. Let to sit for 3 or more minutes - set jam should crinkle when you run your finger through it. If it doesn't, boil for an additional 3-5 minutes and test again. Add the lemon juice to taste - the marmalade shouldn't be too sweet and you can use the lemon juice to temper some of the sweetness. You won't need this if you use sour fruit like grapefruits. My oranges were really sweet so I used the lemon.

This batch of marmalade took about 20 minutes to reach setting point. It won't set stiff like store bought jam, but that's a good thing. Remove jam from heat, let sit for 5-10 minutes and pour into sterilised warm dry jars. Seal immediately with lids and turn upside down for a few minutes.

To sterilise jars: wash in warm soapy water, rinse with hot clean water and place on a tray upside down in a preheated 150 degree oven until the jars are dry. Remove the jars from the oven and allow to cool slightly before pouring in the marmalade. The jars should be warm, not molten hot! Wash the lids thoroughly and dry but do not put them in the oven.

This batch made 10 decent sized jars of sticky yummy marmalade. Total cost - $5.65 in total (plus jars). Bargain!

Enjoy!

Kitty

A Decision.

Ladies (and gents, if there are any reading)...

It's a momentous day in the Kitty household. We have come to a decision on the baby bag.

Behold the Skip Hop Duo Deluxe in Lime!! When I listed all the things I wanted from a baby bag it ended up being the one that ticked all the boxes. Plenty of room, loads of pockets, versatile in that it clips to the Boo or can be carried as a shoulder bag and it almost matches the light green cover for my Boo. Almost. Plus it's not too girlie (important as Mr K doesn't want to feel like a wuss when he carries it around) and it's bright enough we are unlikely to lose it in the house like I do my handbags. It also came in under my (albeit arbitrary) $100 threshold which makes Mr K happy too.

It's been ordered, along with the mattress and linen for the oddly sized cot we seem to have purchased, from Bambini Pronto. It's due to arrive tomorrow so I'll report back with my thoughts!

Kitty

Boo-yah!!

How unbelievable is this romper?

I saw it and I had to have it.

Part of yesterday's haul from the Baby's got Style sale, it is so ridiculously cute I am already crying for when she grows out of it. Slightly preemptive but there's no accounting for pregnancy hormones, is there?

It's from the cute kids label Rock Your Baby. They have some amazing things that are so sweet - some of their dresses are just divine. I think I'll have to hand my credit cards over to Mr K at this rate!

Kitty

PS: BGS seems to have sold out of the short sleeved version but the long sleeved version is still available! You can still buy the short sleeved version directly from Rock Your Baby.

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby,

Mummy has a favour to ask, precious. Can you please stop her buying cute little things for you to wear? When she stumbles upon a website with lots and lots of yummy sweet things to buy, can you remind her that you already have lost of clothes and she might want to wait a little while before buying anything else? Sales just make things even harder for her self control.

Besides, Daddy gets angry when he has to go to the post office every day to pick things up for you. And he gets even crosser when he sees the credit card bill.

Lots of love,

Mummy xx