OBSESSED.

Ok, so today I got like 400 e-mails. Nothing new there. A ton of them were work related. Press releases. Invitations. Answers to the lots and lots of e-mails I have sent out myself. So far, so boring. Then I got a ton of ad-related e-mails. Which is entirely my own fault, as I keep signing up to all these different newsletter, and am therefor bombarded with them - and I never quite manage to muster up the energy to un-subscribe. 

On any normal day, I tend to delete a lot of these before I even open them. But this afternoon, as I was desperately trying to procrastinate some work I needed to do, I happened to open one from Zara. Their June Lookbook to be precise. Which turned out to be a big mistake. Huge. Because now I have fallen in LUST with this jacket - and decided it needs to be mine - come hell or high water. 

And seeing as tomorrow is my 32 birthday, I decided this would be the perfect present from me to me. The only problem? It is not available yet! And you know where this is going, right? Cue obsessed mama glued to the Zara website waiting for this beauty to be in stock! The-most-perfect-little-jacket-ever-made; you are going to be mine!

Thinking Pink

Kourtney K is positively blooming these days, with the arrival of her baby girl a mere couple of weeks away. The reality mama was spotted out and about in Hollywood earlier this week, and she looks to be stocking up on all things pink! So sweet! And I totally HEART Kourt's pregnancy style, yet another mental note made for when I get around to making no. 2! 

(Photo Credit from here)

Disney Days

10 years ago I visited Disney World in Orlando Florida, and much as it was amazing and spectacular and fun, nothing can truly compare to seeing Disney's magical place through the eyes of your 2,5 year old, which I got to do on Monday, when Nahla and I, along with my family, went to visit Disneyland in Paris. Nahla, although much too young to go on most of the rides in the park, was electric with joy and excitement all day. She went on the spinning teacups till Mummy could take it no more. She rode on magical horses and visited Cinderella's castle. She ate way too much ice cream and lollipops and candy-floss and watched the parade from the best seat in the house, my aunt's shoulders. We spent money like it was going out of fashion and had so much fun that all I can say is: Is it too soon to go back in a month or so?! Sometimes the best part of having children, is being allowed to indulge in days like these, and see just how fun it can be!

Paris - My Favorite City In The World

Words does not really do Paris justice. Even as someone who writes for a living and am fully aware how one expresses oneself in writing, with Paris words will never cut it. It has to be seen. Smelt. Felt. Walked about. Touched. Tasted. Macaroons. Espressos on pavement brasseries. Montmartre at sunset. Sacre Caeur at night. The view. The Eiffel Tower light-show after dark. The flowers lining Champs Elysée. The sticky heat. The Latin Quarter. We love it. Will always love it. And will always keep coming back for more. The most beautiful city in the world.

The Hot Weather Continues...

... and we're not complaining. Not even one little bit! Bring on more! More sun. More summer-dresses. More ice cream. More, more, more!

Haven...

... is a sun-drenched garden, a little pink swimming-pool, some ice cold juice and just lazy lazy weekend bliss!

Beautiful Sunny Saturday...

... I intend to enjoy you to the fullest! 

Getting Closer

Gorgeous reality mama Kourtney Kardashian is looking utterly radiant when snapped out and about in Malibu with her little family earlier today. The 33-year old, who is almost 9 months pregnant with her second baby, is expecting a little sister for Mason, who is turning 3 later this year.


Kourtney certainly becomes pregnancy, and is looking fabulous in a white maxi dress and gold gladiator sandals - and as for little Mason in his pink shorts and loafers - too cute!

Working From Home...

... is totally OK on days like today! Iced latte (Nespresso shot + ice cubes + vanilla soy milk + blender = YUM!) + my new emergency-trip-to-Ikea garden furniture + MacBook Pro = Pretty decent day in "the office"! 

Disneyland Paris...

... in just 2,5 days time. Guess who is getting excited?!

A Date For My Diary On Friday

... I am laughing already! 

Ready, Steady - Done.

I must admit the prospect of potty training always filled me with a little dread. I don't know why, really. Maybe it was the whole debacle of having to constantly check; "Do you need to go now? Now? NOW?", "Surely you need go now?", "Can you try to go now? For Mummy, please?" And so on and so forth. I mean; don't get me wrong; I had bought the stuff. Baby Björn potty? Check? A few other Ikea potties dotted around the house, just in case? Check. Toilet trainer seat? Check again. Book about little girls learning to do their business on the potty? Check, check and check. 


And we did use it. Nahla sat on the potty every now and again, as I think I read somewhere that getting them used to it - regardless of whether or not they get the actual drift of it - was oh so important. I just never got around to do the actual potty-training bit. You know the bit where you do the whole "No more diapers, you are a big girl now" speech, the trial and error bit, the starting-off-with-a-few-hours-sans-diaper bit. That whole chapter. 


Because as it turned out, Nahla, the little clever cookie, had other plans. One day a couple of weeks ago now she just arrived home from playschool and declared she was finished with diapers - just like that. Finito. And; I kid you not, the girl meant business. Because since, we have had NO accidents. None. Not even on our weekend away, where she managed for two flights, countless hours of sightseeing, hotel-room bathrooms, and not a drop where it wasn't meant to go. 


Obviously, I still leave a diaper on her at night, but for the last week, whenever we take it off in the morning; bone dry. 


I kinda feel a little like I imagine it would feel if you had studied for days for an exam, only to find out it had been cancelled. My little do-it-her-own-way girl once again came through. Like before I had her, and everyone bestowed upon me tales of the sleepless nights I would have to suffer. And then in the end I had none. And tales about how hard it would be weaning her onto solids - and again, seamless, easy, peasy. 


My little love is now officially, at 2 and almost-5-months, a fully fledged panty-wearing, no-more-diapers toddler! And this mummy is feeling both pride at how good her little cookie is - and at the same time feeling like my baby is less of a baby every day that goes by. A bittersweet victory!

You Know It's Been A Good Day...

... when this had been you toughest decision of the day!

My Favorite Girlies

Having written and written and made calls and written some more and looked for somebody somewhere to give me the quotes I needed, I plan to spend this rather chilly Tuesday evening in the company of my very favorite TV ladies! Little pink box; here I come!

Beautiful Edinburgh...

... was truly magical! Here are just some of my Instagram snaps from this very lovely weekend spnt with my very amazing family. To put it shortly: We walked a lot, ate a lot, shopped a lot, sightsee-d a lot, played a lot, slept a lot and loved a lot! Perfect perfect days in this very gorgeous city!

Mother's Day....

... the Kardashian way! Khloé posted some cute snaps on her website of her famous family spending a chilled out day celebrating the two mamas in the family; matriarch Kris and soon-to-be mama-of-two Kourtney. And as for lil Mason; too words: Too cute!

Packing For Edinburgh

And I realize my packing skills need a SERIOUS overhaul! Like, it should be pretty straight forward; citybreak + hotel + 4 days. But I am SO overpacked, so unprepared weather-wise and just so, well, all over the place. That is my packing I am talking about, by the way. Because as for Nahla's Edinburgh wardrobe, we are talking perfection. 5 neatly laid out little outfits - one for each day + an extra one just in case. Motherhood changes many things, for sure, but little did I know it would mess with my ability to pack a weekend suitcase! How random.

Scenes From A Saturday Morning

Seriously; after a hectic week, does anything beat weekend mornings?! Fresh and fruity smoothies, playtime, some blogging catch-up, story-sessions, farmer's market, a trip to the hairdressers, my new Celine iPhone cover (HEART) and just lots and lots of sweet family time!

While Mummy Gets Treated To A Make-Up Session...

... little N sleeps soundly next to the Laura Mercier counter! Talk about cooperative toddler!

Overworked...

... by a mile. Seriously, three days, seven deadlines, countless phone-interviews, quote-chasing, writer's block, too much caffeine, too much dark chocolate and not nearly enough sleep! Hello weekend!

Get Your Greens...

... from a green monster. This one is a favorite in our house:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups fresh spinach, thick stems removed
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped pineapple
• 1/2 large apple (I like honeycrisp)
• 1/2 large banana
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice (we do half OJ/half grapefruit juice)

Throw in a blender, whizz, our, enjoy! YUM!

Baby's First Bath

This video just blew my mind. The gentle hands and amazing skills of this French nurse, giving this baby its first bath, it humbling stuff. According to the text, this method is called Thalasso Bain Bebe and was developed by pediatric nurse Sonia Rochel. It actually takes longer than this little video, about 10-15 minutes, and I was just transfixed by how calm and relaxed this baby was, and how he seemed to enjoy himself in the water.  However, there is a strong warning on the video not to try this method at home, that this is done by very skilled professionals. But the whole atmosphere, the gentle music, the warm water, the softness of it all, surely those can be applied when you are going to bathe your little bundle those precious first few times. So so sweet. Babies are such miracles, really. 

Today...

... Nahla had some playtime with her baby, Alva (named after a friend's baby girl Alva!). She has never really taken an interest in her two dolls and dolls pram until the last couple of days, so I think any day now we will have to take a walk around the block with little Alva in her pram!

... then we met Irish bestie Sarah for a lovely girly day in Dublin, which included a Prosecco fueled lunch at favorite lunch spot Carluccio's - the penne giardiniera is to die for!

... and now we are home, and snuggled up on the sofa, ready for TV, dinner and a very relaxing time! BLISS!

Bump Watch

Kourtney K was spotted out and about in Hollywood with adorable Mason over the weekend. The reality mama's bump seem to have really popped over the last weeks, and there is no denying it now; the stork is circling the block!

Terrific Tiger

A blissful Saturday spent at the local country fair (quite exotic for a city girl like me!) resulted in many good things: Locally produced caramel fudge. Gluten free cupcakes. A gorgeous starburst mirror. A carousel ride - or five. Some farm animal petting. And best of all: A face full of tiger-paint! JOY!

Finally!

Long weekend of family fun, here we go!

Today's Yummy Mummy Style Crush

Busy mom-of-two Nicole Richie talks family life in the latest issue of Glamour magazine:

On her favorite time of day: "When I wake up at 5:30 A.M. and it’s still dark out. I love, love being alone. It helps me to be a better mom to my kids and a better person at work."

On her husband Joel Madden: "You know, Joel barely speaks all day, and then out of nowhere he has 9 million things to say, only for 30 minutes, from 9:00 to 9:30 P.M., when I’m watching Real Housewives."

On her body image: "I feel [gets all fake dramatic]…great about my body. [Laughs.] You know, aesthetically I can be picky, but I choose not to. I’ve taken huge leaps. I’m proud of that. I work out, and I get lots of sleep, and so I feel great. And that is most important."

You said it, Nicole!