The Ultimate Wrapping Station

Gift Wrapping Station at our local Godiva Retail store

We were out shopping at Riverside Square in Hackensack, NJ this past Saturday and came across this awesome gift wrapping station at Godiva. I spoke with one of the staff and turns out you can customize your gift wrapping when you buy chocolate for a gift, how thoughtful!

I am so inspired to put a wrapping station in our studio. Would be nice to have a place where I can keep ribbons, trinkets, paper and fabric wrap all in one place. Over the years, I have amassed a collection of ribbon of various lengths, colours and textures. Right now it's in shoe box that I regularly forget about. Hmm...

While I was at Godiva, I also joined their Chocolate Rewards Club. I get a free piece of their yummy chocolate once a month and there's a free gift when you spend $10 or more at the stores. I am a big chocolate fan, thank you Godiva! Next time I'm in Godiva I will surely test our their custom wrapping station as well.

[Tags: Godiva, Chocolate Rewards Club, free chocolate] 

[photo credit: Smuppy Kids]

Wednesday: Book Reviews

We've been reading quite a lot lately. I'm a children's book junkie. My oldest memory of buying books was about 4 or 5 years old at my school's book fair. I still remember what I bought - Eloise by Kay Thompson and Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling, which I will review in a future post.

I'm going to dedicate Wednesdays to reviewing children's books and I'll start with what's fresh in my mind, our bedtime reading from the beach house. Thanks to my addiction, they have over 200 books on their shelves and growing. I've been trying to design a custom book plate for their books but that's slow in coming... maybe for Christmas.

Kasie and Sandro have a good system for picking books at bedtime. Kasie picks 2 (usually the thickest ones she can get her hands on) and Sandro will pick 1. He's not picky, he just grabs one and jumps into bed...

Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney, published by Penguin Group USA

The story is about a New Englander and his family, how they make goods to sell throughout the year on their farm. The ox-cart man packs up his goods - the goose feathers from the barnyard geese, the shawl made by his wife, the mittens knitted by his daughter, etc. I don't want to give too much away ;) It is a wonderful story about living during simpler times and kids learn about an era where it was important for everyone in the family to work hard and help support the family.

Ox-Cart Man is a 1980 Caldecott Medal recipient.

[Tags: Ox-cart Man, Donald Hall, Barbara Cooney, Caldecott Medal, Penguin USA]
[photo credit: bn.com]

New Kids on the Block

Morris & Boris goldfish and new roomate Goldie, the snail

Couldn't believe the all the fuss last night with the two new Golden
Snails from the pet shop. The were put in the tank around 3pm and
didn't move at all until the kids' bedtime at 8. The snails acted like
they just had a surge of energy. With all that movement, kids were
fascinated and their eyes were peeled until 10pm...

Cute to see how something so small can give them such joy.

[Spotlight: Places to Eat] Bistro 14

 

Plain grilled burger and bacon - the kids' favorite meal

We were vacationing on Long Beach Island, NJ last month and one of our favorite restaurants is Bistro 14 in Beach Haven. They have a really nice menu filled with both seafood favorites and land lover's standards. The fried scallops are divine and every time I eat there, that's what I order. They also have a good selection in the raw bar with fresh seafood coming in daily. Dinner there around sunset is amazing as you can sit outside and watch the sun come down. The restaurant is BYO, they'll cork and chill. Check out Zagat's review on Bistro 14.

But more importantly, the kids, with their severe food allergies can eat there. They're able to have their favorite - plain grilled burgers without seasoning and well done bacon. Erik (my husband) and I spoke with our server and she was able to have the kitchen cook the order in an area that was free of seafood, dairy, eggs, nuts, etc. They were very accommodating and the restaurant in general is very kid friendly.

Summer is coming to an end but if you find yourself in Long Beach Island with kids with allergies, Bistro 14 would be a good place to eat.

Bistro 14

9th St. (Bay Ave) in Beach Haven, NJ

609 492 6100

[Tags: Bistro 14, LBI, Beach Haven, Zagat]

[photo credit: Smuppy Kids] 

Sweet Little Furry Friends

I brought these two little friends home to the kids for being so well behaved while my sister and I exhibited for our company, 9SpotMonk, at the New International Gift Fair, last week. I picked the furry cat for Kasie and the mouse for Sandro but I am always a little curious to see if my instincts are right. So I showed both furry friends at the same time and moma was right - Kasie went straight for the cat and Sandro, the mouse.

These guys are by Jellycat. No doubt if you are a mom and you are reading this, you already have 1 or more animal friends in your kids' arms. Tif and I couldn't resist getting a photo of these guys, so they're posing on my dash in the car.

Meet "Shelbea", Kasie's new best friend.

And here's "Ian", Sandro's partner in crime.

The animals are super soft and cuddly. For more info and to check out more of Jellycat's stuffed animal friends, visit Jellycat online.

[Tags: Jellycat, 9SpotMonk, NYIGF]

[photos: Smuppy Kids]

[Spotlight: Eco-Friendly] Gift Wrapping without Paper

I first met Jenn a few years ago at the National Stationery Show in NYC. She was our booth neighbor across the aisle. Instantly I was smitten with her illustrations. They were bold and gentle and beautiful all at the same time. It was also the first time I've seen her product launch Furochic(TM) What is this? Furochic is a modern take on the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth idea furoshiki. It's a great idea because it promotes caring for the environment and reducing waste (each year millions of tons of paper and plastic gift wrap are dumped into landfills). I'm talking about furoshiki for wrapping gifts, it can also be used to create handbags, little baby slings for your child's stuffed animal, or even used as a hankie. Check out Jenn's reuse page on her site for more ways to reuse her awesome and stylish Furochic gift wrap.

Wrapagami by Jenn Playford

Check out Wrapagami for more fun and great ways to wrap all sorts of things. For those of you who are not in Canada, the book is available in most book stores in the US. Be sure to support your local booksellers! Below are more images from Jenn's book:

Wrapping up baby bottles in this fashion and then putting it in the diaper bag is stylish and would probably keep warm formula warm for a while.

Great way to wrap up flowers for a hostess gift at your next dinner party.

This one is my favorite. Kasie, who is 4, is very much into taking care of her little stuffed animals and this is perfect for her to tote along her little 'babies'. Come September when Kasie starts Pre-K4, I'll be sending her off to class with furoshiki wrapped snacks. Maybe this will inspire her friends to do the same.

Order yourself some Furochic and check out the techniques page on the site and you can instantly learn how to wrap Furochic style.

[photos: Jenn Playford, Furochic]

A wonderful gift for a new baby - books!

Welcome, Little One Gift Set by Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon

Browsing through a favorite book shop of ours, Powell's Books, I found this great gift set perfect for a new baby or one that's a few months old ;). The selection of books is thoughtfully hand-picked by the Kids' Team at the City of Books. My personal mantra has always been to read to children often and start young, instill a love of the written word with beautiful illustrations and you'll have a good learning foundation to build upon.

This set from Powell's Books comes with
- Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
- Here's a Little Poem edited by Jane Yolen & Andrew Fusek Peters
- Mother Goose's Little Treasures by Iona Opie
- Won't You Be My Kisaroo? by Joanne Ryder
- All Around the Land Alphabet Wall Cards from eeBoo
- Baby Booties from Rich Frog

The collection is housed in a brown hand stamped box and wrapped with red raffia. Price for the set is $100.00 USD. It is available at Powell's Books flagship store in Portland, OR or you can order it online and receive free shipping.

[photo: powells.com]