Clever Me...

... made sure that a Nespresso Pixie machine for my mum and dad made its way under the Christmas tree. So that now when I am home for a visit, I can indulge in proper proper coffee. Smart move!

Girl's Day Out

It was a total girly outing for Kimberly Stewart, her mom Alana and 5-month-old Delilah, who were spotted out shopping in Beverly Glen in California over the weekend. Kimberly and proud grandma Alana grabbed a Starbucks for their stroll around the shops.

And as for little Delilah, she looked super-sweet wearing a headband that matched her cardigan. The 32-year-old model/actress gave birth to Delilah on August 21, also her birthday! Benicio del Toro, who is little Delilah's father, was present at the hospital when their daughter arrived.

Kimberly and Benicio had a brief affair that resulted in little Delilah, and although they are not a couple now, a rep for the actor insisted to the media that "Benicio is the father and very supportive. Although [he and Kimberly] are not a couple, they are looking forward to the arrival of the baby."

(Photo Credit from here)

My Little Travel Pro...

... is loving her little Minnie Mouse playhouse. And is just the perfect travel companion really. Bliss.

5 (And Then Some) Updates My Spring Wardrobe Needs

This gorgeous pink and gold chakra bracelet from Red Direct...


... this FANTASTIC pink Mulberry case for the white iPad I am ordering when back in Ireland...


A few odds and ends from the new spring/summer collection by Lindex...


... More than a few nautical accents like this Breton style top and fab navy skirt spotted on the always gorgeous Olivia Palermo...


... these amazing floral pants are already on order from Asos, and will be mine soon.. yeah!...


... lovely preppy style jumpers that can be casually flung over a white tee - and that will look awesome when worn either over a skirt or colored jeans...


... pink jeans (I have spotted some amazing ones in River Island) and a navy casual blazer (hello, Zara!) will be the cornerstone of my spring/summer wardrobe.

Much as I love all of these, I fear my list will just keep getting longer as we move towards spring...

Feel-Good Tip Of The Day

Orange juice (organic) + ice cubes + a big chunk of freshly washed spinach leaves. Throw in the blender. Whizz. Enjoy. YUM.

Happy Families

I cannot help but smile whenever I see pictures of the adorable Jessica Alba and her equally adorable family. The stunning actress, 30, and her brood looked to be taking advantage of the lovely L.A. sunshine as they were snapped in a local park
over the weekend.

Little Haven was doted on my her adoring mum and dad, whilst big sister Honor was busy checking out the playground.

Jessica recently spoke of her growing family in a TV interview:

"Honor is talking up a storm and telling us everything and having tons of opinions. And then the baby is just sort of drooling and just being cute."

But although she is loving family life, Jess seems undecided when asked will her and Cash be adding to their lovely brood:

"I don't know. I mean, I'm 30, so I don't know. I feel young! I can't make these decisions yet." Time will tell, I guess.

I cannot help but notice how much more of a natural Jessica looks when toting a baby around than, say, a certain Mrs Beckham...

(Photo Credit from here)

- 16 c And Outside Play...

... is no problem when you have the right clothes and when Bestefar (Granddad) has painted the kicksled (which is basically a chair with skies on it) pink! Perfect Sunday bliss for a 2-year old!

Belly-Beautiful

Could Jennifer Garner and her precious family get any cuter?? The now very pregnant actress and her little Seraphina, 3, was spotted making a Starbucks run in Santa Monica yesterday.

The mother-daughter duo were all smiles as they made their way back to the car having gotten their little treat. Jen and hubby Ben Afflec are expecting their third child this spring. They are also parents to 6-year-old daughter Violet.

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, Jen assured host Jay Leno that she's definitely not due until the spring, despite the many questions about the size of her burgeoning belly. "I'm having a "full-sized" baby," she joked.

So so cute!

(Photo Credit from here)

New Wall Candy

I have been seeing these super-cool poster by Mini & Maximus EVERYWHERE lately, and have just known that they would look PERFECT in our house. And so yesterday, as I was having a moment of weak willpower due to some epic tantrum episodes, I decided enough was enough, and ordered the posters - both of them - oh the treat!
And now all I have to do is wait for them to drop into my mailbox shortly and just go about planning where to put them...

Monster Smoothies...

... go down a treat in our house on a daily basis. Even BF, who tends to be suspicious of all things above-averagely healthy. But these are seriously so yum, I think he forgets his fear. And so easy peasy to throw together, you will want to make them everyday. Which, you know, you should.

1. Frozen banana chunks (always keep some in the freezer, total lifesaver)
2. A dash of organic greek yoghurt (or soy yoghurt, whatever you have handy)
3. A splash of orange juice
4. Baby spinach. Yep, that's right, spinach. And trust me, it just works.

Whizz thoroughly, admire the crazy green color and ENJOY!

Talking Tot

Nahla, to those who haven't met her, talks A LOT. To those that know me personally, this is not really all that shocking - as I am not exactly lost for words either - putting it mildly. But still, my little clever cookie talks so much, and in two languages, that when we meet new people, they tend to be a little shocked that she has only just turned two.

Like when we went for a tour of her new pre-school recently and she turned around and told the lady that the boys and girls had painted on the walls, and that she liked to paint too. In english. And then turned to me and said, in norwegian, that she did not want to go home just now, and that we could make dinner later, because she wanted to stay and paint with the boys and girls.

Or the other day, when I told her off for trying to knock down my in-the-process-of-being-put-together new Ikea shelves, as she was about to take a hammer to them (don't ask!), and where she quickly turned around and told her daddy that Mummy had given out to her unfairly, because she had already put the hammer down when I raised my voice. Phew! It makes me wonder about what on earth it will be like debating with her in a year's time??

Or, like these classic examples:

Daddy: "Nahla, eat some of your lovely Christmas trees now with you chicken."
Nahla: "Daddy, are those broccoli? They are not Christmas trees. Silly daddy! (and laughs at me)

Or:

Mummy: "Nahla, look at that cute wow-wow, isn't he very big?"
Nahla: "Yep, Mummy, that dog is very very big."


Or at night, when we secretly listen to her babbling away to herself in her cot through the Angelcare monitor and are in stitches laughing at stuff she comes out with.

I always knew that I wanted to be a mum someday, but I sure did not comprehend how much fun it would be - or that we would laugh till we hurt almost every day - which we do. Motherhood ROCKS!

Tutu Tot

Nahla - and Mummy for that matter - have an utter love of all things amazing. And fashion'y. And fabulous. And so it goes without saying that tutu skirts rock the house. And that we, between us, have built up a nice little collection. The latest one? This hot pink little number from Next - which, to Mummy's horror, only came in sizes as far up as 12 years old. Crazy, I know!

More Hollywood Baby News

She was never my favorite on The Hills - and no worthy replacement to Lauren - oh Lauren - but that does not mean that I don't get excited about another candidate for some serious baby bump spotting. And not to mention the maternity fashion Kristin Cavallari, 25, no doubt will be rocking.

There is as you must have gathered a baby on the way for the reality blonde and her on-again fiancé Jay Cutler. The expectant parents confirmed the big news to People magazine earlier today, saying, "We are thrilled to announce we are expecting our first child together. It's an amazing time in our life and we can't wait to meet the new addition to our growing family."

Sweet!

(Photo Credit from here)

Mummy Fuel...

... is a must when you are frozen to the bone, looking at ducks for the sixteenth time in one week...

Ahead Of A Busy Day...

... a good healthy breakfast is your best friend!

Today's Yummy Mummy (To Be) Style Crush

Jennifer Garner on Jay Leno. SO sweet! I think I have a girl crush! Funny, family-oriented and so beautifully pregnant. LOVE!

A Blustery Dry January Day...

... is just made for a walk around the lake, combined with some serious duck watching!

TGIF!

Surely Fridays are the best day of the week?!

(Image borrowed from here)

Potty Training Step One...

.. is getting her to lug her own diapers around the supermarket - that ought to make her want to give them up, no?!

I Am In LOVE With...

... my new Mulberry travel purse! Perfect perfect perfect as I can always find it in my bag as as it is super-colourful, and it is roomy enough for all our passports, travel documents, health- and travelinsurance cards, foreign currencies and everything else I tend to keep in my travel purse. LOVE!

We LOVE To Start Our Day...

... with banana-coconut smoothies in our house. And what Daddy and Nahla doesn't know, is that this clever Mummy stuffs the smoothie choc-a-bloc with yummy hempseed oil, linseed-oil, crushed hemp seeds and other little healthy odds and ends I can possibly cram in. And in this case, what they don't know is just really good for them!

Sometimes I Look At Her...

... and mentally High-Five myself. I am SO proud. I MADE HER. This AMAZING EXTRAORDINARY little person. It is awesome and magic and so freakin' cool.

Motherhood...

... means accepting the fact that your house will not look like a scene from an Elle Decoration shoot again... At least not till after 8 PM...

Saturday = Ikea Trip...

... and I am SO looking for some inspiration for ways to store my clothes - which I have attempted tidying up today, but as i totally need more storage, it was not all that successful. To say the least. I have my clothes in the spare bedroom - which I have more or less converted into my very own dressing room (oh, the luxury!), but I just don't have enough places to put stuff. So currently I am also taking up half the wardrobe space in the main bedroom. As well as the entire chest of drawers. Much to BF's frustration. So I really really need some stuff. And a mirror. Maybe a rail...


I LOVE LOVE LOVE rails for how easy it makes finding things. And you can try out combinations and let them hang out till you want to wear them...


If this was my dressing room, I don't think I'd ever surface! I HEART everything about this room - including the clothes, which belong to J. Crew's AMAZING Jenny Lyons, as this shoot was done in her Brooklyn brownstone in NYC. Oh, Jenna, how do you always get it so right?!


Kourtney K. is one of my favorite celebrity mamas, and her wardrobe sure doesn't disappoint either. I love the idea of the ladder to reach all the stuff you keep on the top shelves! Clever AND stylish, LIKE!


This I LOVE. That big gilded mirror would make me SO happy. I once came across a mirror like this in TK Maxx, and I am still kicking myself for not getting it. How stupid was I?!


This his'n'her's room also makes my heart flutter a little, just because it is so perfectly tidy and functional, which a dressing room is meant to be. But; I don't know if I want to share my little haven, though - I would need all this just FOR ME...

Oh, roll on Saturday, I feel some serious storage shopping coming on!

(Images borrowed from Living Etc., Sköna Hem and Ikea)