Playing Favourites

Playing Favourites ~ Boys Toys

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

It’s always a stress…what to buy for a birthday gift. My son is about to turn 5 so I thought I’d share with you some of my all-time favourite stores to find that something special because there’s always a party invitation on the fridge! It’s all about boys as I know a lot of you have difficulty finding amazing stuff for the little men in your lives. I hope you enjoy this insight into the things I truly love to give.

Lark
There are so many wonderful bits & pieces on this site, I browse for the sheer joy of it. Now you may think it’s quite girly and I’d have to agree, BUT there are lots gorgeous things for your boyish boy if you spend some time looking.

Peanut Gallery
This store has a huge collection of all the best brands such as Plan Toys, Le Toy Van, Voila, Janod & Haba. I’m a sucker for a wooden toy or something to do with craft - Djeco designs the most incredibly creative art projects & stickers and their website is such fun. The stickers alone made a fabulous gift for an inexpensive gesture. Peanut Gallery stocks the most comprehensive range of Djeco I’ve ever seen on-line.

1. Djeco Origami Paper Planes, $13.95 from Peanut Gallery
2. Johnny Joe’s Colouring Postcards in gift box, $9.95 from Lark
3. Retro Toy Caravan circa 1973 (the year I was born!), $25.00 from Lark
4. Vintage Caravan greeting card, $5.95 from Lark
5. Happy Camper melamine plate, $12.95 from Lark
6. Djeco Wooden Robots Magnetic Puzzle, $34.95 from Peanut Gallery
7. Happy Camper melamine cup, $9.50 from Lark
8. Dumpling Dynasty Explorer Kit, $32.00 from Lark
9. The Wild Bunch paper animals, $14.95 from Lark
10. Kapok Creatures Card – Leroy the Lion, $5.00 from Lark
11. Animalz Lion, $9.95 from Peanut Gallery
12. Twiglet Sleepy Lion cushion, $49.00 from Lark

Got a super cool kid to buy for? Look no further than Kido Store online or instore at 159 Clovelly Road, Clovelly NSW. I’ve never seen so many covetable bits & pieces in the one place. Don’t forget I come from an interior design background so I love the classics & quirky pieces available here!

Love Mae
Finally, I couldn’t resist the new wall decals on offer from Love Mae . The pirate ship scene would have my son busy for hours and they really do peel easily off the wall to stick over and over again. I have a set of birds and they’ve survived a house move and several room changes.

Oh, and if you haven’t read any of Oliver Jeffers books, you MUST. The stories and illustrations will captivate both you and the recipient. A truly talented artist…

1. Donna Wilson Fox, Blue cushion, $135.00 from Kido
2. OCG Steamliner wall hook, $65.00 from Kido
3. Miller Goodman PlayShapes, 74 wooden geometric shapes, $180.00 from Kido
4. Donna Wilson Make Your Own Monster Kit, $35.00 from Kido
5. The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers, $24.95 from Kido or good book stores
6. The Usborne Book of Doodling & Colouring, $24.95 from Kido or good book stores
7. Bobo Choses School Bag, Camera, $66.00 from Kido
8. Little Nutty Helmet, Silver Fly, $99.00 from Kido
9. Love Mae adhesive fabric stickers, Pirate Ship, $105.00 from Love Mae Etsy store
10. Love Mae adhesive fabric stickers, Faraway Circus, $105.00 from Love Mae Etsy store

Enjoy!

Love Fleur x

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A little break…

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

My close girlfriend from Perth and myself met up in Bali last week, for a little R&R before school starts. I love the textures, the food, the colours, the contrasts and the climate. It was the ultimate ‘Pamper Mom’ holiday and the highlight was a facial and massage overlooking the ocean from our cliff-hugging treatment room at the Karma Kandara. I think my photos speak for themselves…

If anyone wants some venue or villa recommendations, don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

Fleur X

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Favourites~Party

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Welcome to a new post about things that inspire us here, at ALEX&ANT.  We thought you might like some insider knowledge as to our favourite things, to assist you in culling your list.  It may be that we’re planning a birthday party (Olive, #2 in 2 days) and we’ve found some fabulous online/bricks & mortar stores, party ideas blogs, books for recipes etc…that might be exactly what you’re looking out for too.  We’re also hoping that guest bloggers will share their snippets with us, so we can offer a very stylish, go-to resource for all the things Mums have to do in this life (and do as though we’ve had hired help).  It could mean that we turn a task from a headache into an absolute pleasure!

So about that party…
If you simply cannot do it yourself, I’d suggest the only reference you need is Paper.Scissors.Cake and you needn’t read on!  At my house I’m planning a simple ‘under/by the sea’ theme because we live very close to the beach.  Disney isn’t my style (The Little Mermaid) so I’m making it all about the colours & textures of the sea.

To start my research I googled the theme + “Donna Hay” to discover Donna Hay Kids featured a party to the same effect in the 2005 annual.  Yes, I had to have it, so it was onto ebay to source the issue.  Having won it, I was really pleased with the recipes and some of the styling ideas.  It is well worth trying to buy the series if you haven’t bought them each year.  Whilst trawling the internet I also discovered a few fabulous dedicated party blogs that you should bookmark for such an occasion:
Hip Hip Hooray
Sara’s Party Perfect
Amy Atlas Events
hello naomi
Joy & Me
Oh Happy Day

Full of inspiration but not rich in party funds, I decided my money was best spent on lovely food, fabulous take-home treat bags and DIY decorations.  I would usually contact Nathalie from Imprintables for her hand-made invitations – and there is a STUNNING ‘Under the Sea’ design, but I compromised this year and purchased a pad of invites.  Invite With Style and Style Me Gorgeous should also be on your list.

It’s easy to see why people spend a fortune on gorgeous paper lanterns and bunting etc…especially if you’re browsing on Etsy (the best store by far is Pretty Swell), however I’ve discovered it’s very easy to string a few ideas together yourself – excuse the pun.  Spotlight is the best starting point and my money was spent on twine, ribbons and good old-fashioned crepe paper.  My advice is to stick to a strict 2 or 3 colour theme to present the illusion of calm & control.  Spotlight have some very inexpensive rolls of ribbon (rather than shopping by the metre), but there isn’t much length to play with.  Here is some of my work in progress…feel free to borrow some ideas!

To start shopping for all of the trimmings such as paper plates, napkins, treats bags and treats (not necessarily lollies) etc..try these stores:
Lovely Little Parties
Details Details!
Lark Handmade
Complete Party Boxes

And well, you’ve have to wait until next week to see the fruits of my labour.  Perhaps I’ll get the birthday cake on Friday’s ‘Feed Me’ but please don’t hold me to it!

Love Fleur X

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