the things you can learn from a good nanny

When my son, now 6 1/2, started dressing himself he would pull out every t-shirt in the drawer and discard them on the floor until he found what he was looking for, generally on the bottom of one of my neatly folded piles.  After a few weeks of folding and refolding I did what I thought was the only sensible thing, I hung every single t-shirt in his closet.  Now he can easily scroll through them to choose his favorite and very rarely do any tees end up discarded on the floor.  But clearly, I wasn't thinking far enough out of the box.  Or drawer.

Years later, I was at my girlfriend's house when she opened one of her son's drawers to show me a t-shirt we'd been discussing (that's a story in itself so we'll skip the details).  Needless to say my jaw dropped when she opened the drawer.  It looked like a drawer you'd find at the GAP at store opening.  Perfectly folded t-shirts (the boy is SEVEN) rolled up to expose the detail on the shirt for easy selecting.  Now I'm a self professed OCD sufferer and even I was amazed.  Fortunately, she cleared up the fact that her live-in nanny was fully responsible while I was still attempting to pull up my jaw.

So what does one do with this new information?  Well, she certainly doesn't remove all of her son's shirts from their hangers but she does attack his younger sister's dresser immediately.  Now my work is not nearly as perfect as the ingenious nanny's was but it suits Zuzu just fine.  And yes, she has far too many clothes for a 3 1/2 year old. 

Disclaimer: Sincere apologies if this post was boring and contained old news for you... but I'm guessing that my other OCD mom's out there might just appreciate the tip.  wink, wink.



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best birthday looks - number 19

I've been away for a bit challenging our family record in number of trips to the pediatrician, after hours clinic & pharmacy in a two week span of time. I am proud to announce that not only were all of our illnesses fairly insignificant (although slightly annoying and uncomfortable) but we have successfully beaten that record.

We have also managed to somehow find ourselves included as #19 on the list of "The Best Birthday Outfits and Accessories" broadcast today on the homepage of parenting.com.

We are humbled and honored.  And, coincidentally, we are headed on vacation tomorrow to attend to an important family matter.  Timing is everything, eh?  We will keep the shop open for orders and inquiries but will be forced to suspend shipping until we return next Tuesday, the 23rd of March.

Thank you for your continued support of zuzu girl handmade and we'll see you soon!

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charming blooms

Just about the sweetest shabby we've ever seen.  Introducing the first of our new zuzu girl handmade charming blooms headbands.  We hope you love them as much as we do...

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ABC paper cup

 

ABC paper cups courtesy of Imagine and Make Designs, a Seoul based design company.  Sure beats writing the kids names on their cups with black sharpies.  I haven't actually been able to figure out how to purchase them yet but that doesn't negate the fact that they are super cool.  Dreaming up a simple DIY version now...

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lela rose for mommy & me

 

These sweet and stylish Mommy (top two images) and "Me" (bottom image) kicks are all courtesy of Lela Rose for Payless.   Ah, am I'm ready for Spring!

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les pompoms de violette

So pretty you can pack them in a paper bag and they still look cute.  We adore les pompoms de violette.  Available in both blue and pink online at Sweet William.

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trelise cooper kids

winter 2009

summer 2010

I'm feeling just a tad under-dressed after browsing through Trelise Cooper's romantic kids collections.  Yet, at the same time, I'm also feeling a sudden urge to throw a miniature sized tea party...

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family scrapboxes by Darcy Miller

Let's get this straight, I am not a hoarder. I actually despise clutter. But with that out of the way, I am one of those moms that saves every art project. (I am also the mom that actually buys prints of our digital photos and puts them in albums. Yup, still do)

When the kid's art comes home from school our favorites go up in their room for a few months, until they get replaced by the next fabulous creation. Each kid has their own bin in the garage - one per year, per kid. But once it's filed, no one really ever looks at the stuff until a random memory or emotional breakdown strikes (like last night) in which I am forced to quickly locate something...anything...from when they were born.  Turns out my big one is quite the sap for childhood memories.  Wonder where he gets that?

So it's not surprising that an article in this months' Martha Stewart Magazine really caught my attention. It was called "Family History in the Making".  Martha Stewart Weddings' Darcy Miller shares her collection of illustrations, photographs and objects in "a hybrid medium where scrapbook meets shadowbox."  Above are just a few of my favorites (it was really, really hard to narrow them down).  You can see all of her creations on the Martha Stewart website. And, if you so desire, you can buy the scrapboxes there as well. 

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cate and levi

Um, can I buy this seriously cute giraffe hand puppet for myself? Every item at Cate and Levi is one of a kind, handmade with all natural and reclaimed materials in Canada. 

First seen at Modeco Kids.

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a thrifty birdcage

 Who would have thought a thrift store birdcage, a little blue paint, some paper birdies and an whole lot of creativity could make something so sweet.  Kami at Make and Takes sure did.  See how she did it here.

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famille summerbelle

Paper banners, sweet print and pretty pink Paris map all courtesy of artist/illustrator Julie Marabelle who has an amazing talent for hand cut paper art.  It's a skill that truly amazes me.  Checkout her YouTube video posted below from her Famille Summerbelle blog.  It condenses more than 20 hours of her meticulous work into a 3 minute video.  It leaves you holding your breath and feeling slightly insignificant.  But that's a good thing.

Thanks must also go to Black Eiffel for the introduction...



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granny squares

 

For the past few months I've been searching for the perfect crocheted blanket to liven up our dowdy sofa.  I've searched high and low, both vintage and new. And then tonight I found this on SF girl by bay.  It's exactly, I mean EXACTLY what I was looking for. But ironically, it's far too expensive for a two kid, stinky dog sofa.  Someday.

The very talented artist is Sandra Juto and you can find more of her work including these fabulous *wrist worms* on her website. 
These, I can afford. And just might.

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indoor garden party

Images and fabulous flower party all courtesy of Brooke at Inchmark.

I just adore the flower invitations that were delivered by hand for that so often lost personal touch. The flower theme resonates through the party hats and fabulously decorated cupcakes.  You think the party looks delightful so far... just wait until you see what she did with the pinata! 

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she's got papers

 I'm almost speechless.  Not quite.  But almost.  I've heard of "Mommy Cards" but "Baby Business Cards"?  Cute or Crazy?  What do you think?

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DIY alphabet stamps

This Valentine's Day inspired project is courtesy of Bloesem Kids and her guest crafter, Kristen Sutcliffe from New House Project. I think it's a great year round project for both kids learning to read and spell (my #1) and kids learning to write their letters (my #2). Want to see what she did with all this?  It's all right HERE for you.

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orange crush

 

It's no secret that I love orange.  If you've read my blog, perused my Etsy favorites or been to my home it's pretty clear.  Not sure why.  Or when it started.  It's just IS.

So imagine my surprise when my dear friend Shauna from Lemon Drop Studio sent me the link to a blog called "How About Orange..." and then... it was FABULOUS! The brain child of Jessica Jones, who also clearly loves orange, the blog has something for everyone.  Shauna sent me there to checkout the lovely free downloads for my Twitter background.  But I found oh, so much more.  Jessica has a darling Etsy shop and a DIY Tutorial collection that's drool worthy.  And I mean that in the kindest way.  Above are images from three of my favorite DIY projects.  On the first page of the blog.  Seriously, I think How About Orange... may be my new time suck.  Cause I need another one.  Dont' you?

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dreaming of spring

Aaaaahhh.  Today the sun is bright, the air is brisk and I'm dreaming of Spring.  OK, well Summer actually but I'm trying to be realistic here.  All of the dreamy images above are courtesy of DWR.   I invite you to join me on my sunshiny journey today.  Close your eyes.  Feel the warmth.  Listen to the sounds of the birds chirping, the children playing and the bottle opening.  It won't be long now...

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my new love affair... with melmac

images courtesy of jess james jake on Etsy

image courtesy of by the way side on Etsy

image courtesy of ismoyo on Etsy

image courtesy of retro active treasures on Etsy

I became interested in vintage Melmac for several reasons.  One, I have two small kids (with lots of friends) and I'm just not ready to serve their food on grown up plates.  However, I was beyond ready to say goodbye to the kid's stuff.  I've also been looking for something to brighten up the dark corner shelves in the kitchen.  They were screaming loudly at me for color.  It doesn't hurt that the price tag is super affordable as well.  And because I'm buying them used I am saving them from landfill and not contributing to further production of icky plastic.  It's a win, win, win, win!  

I admittedly haven't done tons of research on the product but I've found that there were enumerable factories producing the fashionable tableware in the 50's and 60's.  When shopping for vintage Melmac, I decided not to concern myself too much with the factory of origin but focused on one cup and bowl style and have limited myself to five colors; pink, aqua, avocado, orange & yellow.  The table looks fabulous when I randomly assort the platters, bowls, plates and cups.  

Someday I'll post a picture of that quickly morphing corner in our kitchen but until then I've got my eye out for some more great finds.  Oh, did I mention that I bought this while writing this post.  Yup.  Addict.

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