Jul
24

Have a barkin´mad and fun weekend

by Sofia   -   in Random

Ihan alkuun haluan pahoitella, että viikon blogimerkinnät ovat olleet vain englanniksi. Kirjoittelisin mielelläni molemmilla kielillä, mutta aina aika ei yksinkertaisesti riitä, varsinkin kun suurin osa päivästä kuluu rannalla merilasia etsien tai päiväkahvipullaa leipoen ( minulla on ensi viikoksi aivan mielettömän hyvä kardemummakakun ohje). Iltasatujakin on luettu useampi tunti. On ihana käpertyä ripi rinnan peiton alle, kun ulkona sade ropisee kattoon, ja lukea Marikin ja Liisan puuhista.

Onko sinulla ollut ihana viikko? Meillä oli hirmuisen suloisia vieraita saaressa tällä viikolla. Aivan erityisen söötti oli tämä pieni kummityttöni joka kuvissa näkyy. Dolly riemastutti tyttöjä niin kovasti. Hän saunoi meidän muiden tyttöjen kanssa ylälauteella ja sai maistaa juustoa tyttöjen kädestä palkkioksi pikku tempuista. Mikä söpöliini ♥ ♥ ♥!

My goddaughter was visiting us on the island this week ( with her mommy). She is the most adorable little thing. She loves to go to the sauna and sit on the upper bench and she loves to look at squirrels and adores cheese. In human age she is already about 50 years old so she´s not a baby anymore… Yes she is a cute little dog! Say hello to Dolly!

Jul
22

A special present

by Sofia   -   in Good things for kids

Yesterday I wrote about gifts for little school friends. The kind that both kids and their parents don´t mind ( because lets face it, none of us want any extra plastic toys lying around unless they are Lego or maybe Sleich animals). But today I wanted to share some ideas for a little more special gifts. One of the biggest honours is to be asked to be a godparent to a friends child. Or maybe you have siblings and want to give your children´s cousins a specific gift every year.

A Peter Rabbit gift set is always a great addition to a child´s library.

How gorgeous is this edition of Peter Pan?!

We have this beautifully illustrated Cinderella book on our book shelf.

I love the idea of giving a luxurious gift to a baby at Christening like a gorgeous cashmere blanket, a handmade mohair teddy bear or a silver rattle or a comb from Tiffany´s. But what then after that? You must come up with a gift every year for Christmas and a birthday. I like the idea of something that you can add on to and when the child is old enough for communion the gift is worth more than each small addition. Say Cotton Candy´s godparents give her two small diamonds every year and we keep them safe for her. They will then be turned in to a beautiful piece of jewellery when she is older. It does not have to be something quite as extravagant. How about some pearls that will turn in to a classic pearl necklace. I have heard someone collects vintage wines for their god child ( and stores them too). When he turns 18 he will receive the starters of a good wine cellar.

Jul
21

Little presents

by Sofia   -   in Good things for kids

I have talked about little presents for the children´s friends before, but as my sister in law was asking me for advice on this subject lately and I find it often feels like the hardest task to many, I thought I´d share some actual ideas with you. My sister in law is a busy business woman and says she really does not have the time or any ideas when it comes to buying these school friends gifts. So here is my suggestion…

First, if you have time to shop in an actual store I recommend you do that as it´s always nice to support your local businesses. Go to a children´s store close to you that sells either old fashioned toys that stand a little time and/or games and crafts. Follow my advice about shopping for the actual present here. Then buy a bunch of ” girls toys” and ” boys toys” or go for “unisex toys”. If you buy gender specific gifts ( say a jewellery crafting kit that might not be the favourite toy of all boys) have them wrapped in store in different colours so you will remember what to bring when it´s party time. Buy a card at the counter too and attach one to each parcel but unwritten. Most children´s shops carry cute cards. Then stow all the little gifts at a specific place at home. Choose somewhere you will not forget! Now you can always just pick a wrapped parcel, ask your child to write/ draw the card on top and give it to your child to take to a party. This works well for presents for school friends that do not have to be that personal.

If you don´t really have a store you like around or the time to go browse around then opt for buying a bunch of toys online. This store carries a lot of cool ideas for gifts like the binoculars I recently posted. What I like about their collection is that the colours are quite neutral and most of the things are great for both girls and boys. And they have different price ranges too ( gifts over 50 pounds to gifts under 5 pounds which would be great for a Christmas calendar too). I like the selection of  small gifts  as well. They are also fun if your child has some pocket money and wants to buy a little treat.

Good old marbles in a bag