Louis’ little friend Flora is turning one soon!

She’s an April baby, and, being an April girl myself, I happen to know that her birth stone is diamond. So what better theme for her first birthday party than Breakfast at Tiffany’s!? LOVE it! My mind is teeming with ideas.

There are a ton of gorgeous Tiffany’s-inspired invitations available on Etsy. Here are the ones I like best (click on the pic for sources):

And to eat? Breakfast/brunch is the perfect way to celebrate a child’s birthday party. Children are at their best in the morning and you can make a gorgeous brunch set-up without having to make too many things yourself. I want to do a classic breakfast with croissants, mimosas, cappuccinos, maybe muesli parfaits, and cupcakes and macarons to satisfy the guests’ sweet tooth:

I’ve had these dreamy diamond ring cupcakes in my head since I saw them in Martha Stewart Weddings way back when. Also yummy – mini diamond ring cookies!

Decor? How about Tiffany-blue bunting, poms and balloons?

I found these Tiffany’s-inspired favor boxes on Etsy, that I think will be perfect. If I was feeling crafty (craftier) I would try making these in tiffany blue.

I wish I was a better seamstress (and had time to sew) because little Flora would be a dream in this DIY Audrey Hepburn-inspired party dress with a little string of pearls and black ballerina slippers (and big baby sunglasses)! Luckily, there is a perfect tutu for sale on Etsy!

Check out this first birthday party with a Breakfast at Tiffany’s theme on On to Baby. This sparkly version is fabulous too.

This is the most delicious banana bread in the universe. You will never taste a yummier banana bread. I promise.

Here is the recipe:

CHUNKY MONKEY BANANA BREAD

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup butter
• 150 ml milk
• 450 ml flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 bananas
• 200 ml walnuts
• 200 ml chocolate chunks

When we were expecting Alec I considered little lambs as a theme for his nursery. It’s really the perfect nursery theme: there are a ton of lamb things available to buy and the color palette is lends itself to is so restful and serene, dreamy, airy, comforting and fluffy. Just look at this beautiful “sleepy sheep” nursery for Baby E.

By Simply Bloom Photography via Spearmint Baby.

I am on a mission to lessen our use of plastic. Especially for the children. And especially for things that end up in their mouths (which is most things they come into contact with). It’s a health thing for me, but there are of course environmental aspects as well.

I’m not going crazy with this but I am trying to make some changes:

GLASS BABY BOTTLES

I started with the most obvious: baby bottles. We’ve switched to Life Factory glass bottles.

I love these bottles. They make me so happy. They have lovely, sunny, cheerful colors in every shade of the rainbow. They’re easy to care for – you just wash them in the dishwasher. And they are solid and sturdy – they stand up to drops on the floor (thanks to the silicone sleeve) and they can take extreme temperature changes (as you might have when cooling a bottle of almost boiling formula for a baby). There are sippy cup tops for these bottles as well, so I’ll be using them as a sippy cup for Louis when he’s ready.

On the downside, they are significantly heavier than plastic bottles. I think it will be longer before Louis can hold his own bottle, but it’s no problem for Alec to hold these (although they really are heavy when full, even though the largest size is much smaller than the large plastic bottles we were previously using for Alec). So I am keeping a few plastic bottles to use for when we are out and about or traveling. I am also keeping a close eye on the nipples because I can already see marks where Alec bites them, which concerns me. I definitely think I will need to switch nipples more often than normally. However, I also believe that you can use any bottle nipple with these bottles, so we could just switch to another brand of nipples. Finally, Life Factory glass bottles are not cheap. But I think the fact that they will hold up much longer than plastic bottles will make up for this. We’ve invested in a good stash of bottles now (both small and big) and I don’t foresee us needing to buy any more baby bottles – just new nipples – ever again.

STAINLESS STEEL WATER BOTTLES

I’ve switched the whole family to Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottles. These also come in a ton of delicious juicy colors and you can switch the cap from a regular closed cap to a sippy cap for toddlers, to a sport cap. I have a big one that I try to keep with me at home and a medium one to bring along with me when I am out and about. And Alec has a small bottle with a sippy cap. They’re lightweight, convenient to bring along, and easy to care for.

GLASS FOOD CONTAINERS

I think good BPA-free plastic containers are still the way to go for when we are out and about. But for food storage at home – in the fridge or pantry – I’m trying to use more glass and less plastic. We have some great square glass containers with lids from IKEA that I love – but they don’t sell them any more. So I am on the hunt for some new glass food storage containers (with plastic lids).

TOYS

This is a hard one, because Alec has a lot of great plastic toys that he really loves. I find it hard to make the decision to switch them all out for other materials. I do want to provide him with non-plastic alternatives to play with though. He has lovely wooden blocks, a brio train set, wooden puzzles, and some great learning toys by Plan Toys that I really like.

Louis also has a few plastic toys, but as his toys tend to find their way into his mouth, I am trying to have him play more with his natural rubber chew toys and wooden or soft rattles and other toys.

 

Is avoiding plastic something that you think about for your family too?

We recently switched Little Baby L from his stroller bassinet to a regular seat. Previously he was mostly sleeping when we were out with the stroller, but now he is obviously much more awake and not always happy to be lying on his back. So he’s in the seat all tucked into Alec’s old 7 AM Le Sac Igloo.

I have also taken some steps to lighten my load when we are out and about with the stroller – which can often be all day long. We often head out before 9, drop Alec (and his stroller seat) off at nursery school and then spend the day doing errands, walking, and having lunch and coffee and play dates with friends. We pick Alec up at 3pm and sometimes head to the park for an hour or so after that. On days like that, the children and I really live out of our stroller and I need to know that we have everything we need with us.

At the same time, our set-up with a stroller room in the foyer of our building and the smallest elevator known to man (fits two adults, but you would really want to know each other quite well), means that I don’t want to be lugging a huge diaper bag and a bunch of extras up and down with me every time I go out. Now that Louis is out of his cocoon, I have him in my arms as I maneuver both kids into the elevator with whatever we are carrying with us that day (and garbage bags, recycling etc), get ourselves into the foyer, unlock the stroller room, pull out as many strollers as are parked in front of ours, and finally drag our own stroller into the entryway to get both kids settled. Right now, I need my diaper bag to be as light and small as possible.

So I decided to follow some great advice (thank you Dulcinea!) from one of you readers (in the comments here) – I decided to pare down the essentials I need to have with me for each child (Alec, 2 years old, and Louis, 7 months old) and use a Bugaboo organizer strapped to each seat. Basically, the organizers act as the diaper bag for each child. For most outings, all I have to add is my wallet, phone and keys and everything else I need is already in the organizers waiting for us. On longer excursions, I just throw any additional items I will need into my diaper bag which isn’t already and constantly stuffed to the max now that most things have moved into the organizers.

Here is what each organizer contains:

ALEC’S ORGANIZER

(2 years old, potty-trained)

• Baby wipes, Boogie wipes, hand sanitizer
• A pacifier – in case of un-planned stroller naps
• Juice box, raisins, squeezie
• Restaurant kit – disposable bib, fork and spoon, table topper in a ziploc bag

LOUIS’ ORGANIZER

(7 months old, breastfed, just starting solids)

• A changing kit – a few diapers, wipes, diaper cream (I just carry a few sample packs because Louis rarely needs cream), a disposable changing pad, all packed in a ziploc bag
• Snacks for Mum and Dad – a couple of small bars of dark chocolate, a pack of mixed nuts, coffee money
• Nursing Cover

EXTRA BAG of BACK-UPs

I also keep a Longchamp in the under-seat basket with a baby carrier, a back-up change of clothes, and a few other back-up items – see the full contents here. I’ll be adding my high chair cover now that Louis is joining us at the table for some meals.

We have a Bugaboo Donkey – click here if you are on the hunt for the right double stroller and want to see our short list and read why we chose this stroller.

My diaper bag is an MZ Wallace Kate bag – click here to read all about it and why I love it so much. And click here to read what I am carrying in my diaper bag with one baby and one toddler and here for what I was carrying with one child (18 months old).

Yeah!

My Pinterest Board Pregnant in Style has been featured on LilSugar! They’ve done a fabulous round-up of 7 Must Follow Boards for Chic Pregos and my board made the cut!

Check out Mini Piccolini on Pinterest here.

And some favourite posts for all you super chic mamas-to-be:

Pregnant in Style

Maternity Dresses

Pregnancy Style Inspiration: Street/Casual

Pregnancy Style Inspiration: Dresses

Easy Pregnancy Style for Autumn

Pregnancy Style: Summer Receptions

Maternity Swimsuits

This is such a sweet little nursery. There are a ton of owl-themed nursery details available, so it’s a great theme to work with. Especially if you want something a little more gender neutral. More pics and sources on On To Baby here.

It’s that wonky, back-and-forth between seasons, neither-here-nor-there time of year.

The last few days it’s been sunny but windy and cold here in Stockholm and it’s snowed in Atlanta (thank you Facebook) and Italy (thank you football game). When my husband was in Barcelona last week it was freezing and he was completely underdressed for it. But in the north of Sweden it was a toasty ten degrees celsius.

This is the most frustrating time of year in Sweden. As most of the rest of the world eventually eases in to spring, Stockholm can be frustratingly back and forth, mixing gorgeous warm and sunny ice-cream eating days with sudden flurries. I have learned not to get my hopes up every time the sun peeks out and the locals come out in their shades and sit tucked under fleece blankets under infra-warmers outside every café and restaurant.Last year Alec wore his autumn overall well into May.

This winter has been saved by wool. Of course Alec has had wool inner layers during the winter months since we moved back to Sweden. But it didn’t really occur to me to get Louis all kitted up in wool until I noticed how hard it was to keep him at the right temperature when we were out and about. Occasionally he was cold when we came home but more often he was too hot and sweaty which is not so great in cold weather when you’re wearing cotton. As soon as I put him in wool onesies and leggings – problem solved.

These are our favourite woolens for babies and toddlers:

• Inner layers by H&M – This year H&M started selling wool long underwear for babies. They are great and so so cheap! The downside is that they are only available in onesie tops, which doesn’t really work for a potty-trained toddler. And they only come in cream, which doesn’t work for a toddler who spends all day at nursery school. But for baby, they could not be a better choice!
• Middle layers by Polarn O. Pyret – expensive but lightweight and good quality. Alec has a one-piece that he wore all last winter and part of this one, and he also has separates to layer up in
• Socks by Polarn O. Pyret – PoP socks are more expensive than almost anywhere else but they really are good. They last so you can pass them on to younger siblings, and they have the best anti-slip treads on the bottom. Their wool socks don’t have antislip thought which sucks. Joha makes wool socks with antislip but they seem impossible to get ahold of – always sold out in the size I need.
• Hats by Polarn O. Pyret – Windproof ones for autumn and spring, toasty warm ones for winter. And a wool helmet hat for baby to wear under whatever else is on.
• Wool Baby Mittens by Joha – Louis wears these little mittens under his bunting on cold days.
• Joha Wool PJs – Louis is so cute, and always the right temperature, in his wool pjs.

Besides clothes, this year we have really used lambskins and sheepskins to keep our babies warm. When we were in the country over Christmas and the first few days were absolutely freezing – both kids slept on skins and stayed warm. Alec has a lambskin on his seat in our stroller and Louis even has one tucked inside his 7.AM Baby bunting. Both kids also have gorgeous sheepskins in their rooms as a perfect spot to have a cuddle and a warm spot for changing clothes etc.

I haven’t bought anything from Nature Baby - but their collection of natural merino wool clothes look so so tempting.

Do your children wear a lot of wool in the winter months?

Stockholm from a family-perspective is relatively new to me and obviously, most of my tips are a little more baby/toddler-appropriate, since that is what I have. But Gina has three big kids and a whole list of her own Stockholm tips! So, definitely head on over to Willowday (click here) for Gina’s tips!

Here are mine (highly personal and in no way comprehensive):

Fun fact – the general Stockholm pics featured here (including the above) are all from Visit Stockholm – where you can find up-to-date info, tips and deals for your visit. And the model featured here and all over Visit Sweden is actually my gorgeous sister Sofia!

Stockholm is a great city to visit with kids of all ages. It’s clean, friendly, safe, beautiful and family-friendly. Stockholm is expensive, but there is a lot you can do without spending too much money too. Visit any time of year but be prepared for the cold and dark if you choose to come in the winter and keep in mind that spring comes later here and that even summer can be a little chilly.

The city of Stockholm is made up of 14 islands connected by bridges. But Stockholm is also part of an archipelago of 10,000 islands. Seeing Stockholm from the water is a must and it’s easy to do with an “Under Stockholm’s Bridges” tour, which you can do as a hop-on-hop-off type of tour over a day or two. You can take the same boats to visit Fjäderholmarna, which will give you a taste of the archipelago without going to far.

SHOPPING

You cannot visit Stockholm without spending some time at our big department store, NK. There is a gorgeous children’s department with Polarn O. Pyret, Mini Rodini and Livly outlets – all Swedish kids brands that are so worth checking out. Have lunch and people watch at Entrékaféet by the main entrance (have a shrimp salad or the chèvre chaud and a glass of white wine). And if you are on the hunt for souvenirs, you can get all the Swedish must-haves on the bottom floor. Some other Swedish brands that are worth looking at and that are all housed at NK are Ordning & Reda, Design House Stockholm, and fashion labels Filippa K, Whyred, Acne and Dagmar to name just a few.

DJURGÅRDEN

Gorgeous to walk around, and home to some Stockholm must-sees. My dad grew up here and has fond memories of this piece of countryside in the middle of the city. I don’t think much has changed here since his childhood, Djurgården still has a small-town feel. You can get here by boat, bus or just walk across the bridge.

Have lunch at Rosendals Trädgård. Either indoors in the greenhouse, or out in the garden at a picnic table or on a blanket under a tree if the weather is nice.

You simply cannot travel to Stockholm with children without visiting Junibacken. Let your children immerse themselves and disappear into Astrid Lindgren’s fantasy world. They can explore Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla and older children (I would imagine they should be three or four years old since there are some slightly scary parts) will absolutely LOVE the story train. It’s so so so cool.

If you are here in the summer, Gröna Lund is a fabulous amusement park and somewhere you can really hang out all day long. Get a great view of Stockholm before you drop from the free fall.

Older children will appreciate Vasamuseet, which houses the Vasa ship, which sunk in Stockholm on it’s maiden voyage in 1628 and was brought to the surface again 333 years later in 1961 . I’m not sure I really get it, but everyone I know who has been says it’s really really cool.

Skansen is the world’s largest open-air museum. It’s our local zoo (where you can see moose and bears and other animals which are indigenous to Sweden) and there is a great petting zoo for kids. This is also where Swedish children come to give their pacifiers to the kittens when they grow too big for their paci!

Other museums (in other areas) that are well worth visiting even with small children, are Fotografiska (the photography museum) and Moderna Museum (the museum of modern art). Both have children’s programs.

And the Royal Palace and Old Town are well worth a visit with kids of all ages. The Old Town will really spark their imagination and there is a changing of the guards that is fun to watch at the palace – not to mention the very real chance that you might catch a glimpse of some of the royal family.

VASASTAN

This is my neighborhood (and obviously the coolest neighborhood in Stockholm)! Full of great shops, cafés and restaurants – you can’t walk a block without finding a place to buy a latte and a loaf of sourdough bread. We live on Rörstrandsgatan in a part of Vasastan called Birkastan. Rörstrandsgatan is full cafés and restaurants. And children. Literally every other woman you pass will be either pregnant or with a stroller or both. Vasastan is also sort of the official home of the “latte dads” – fathers on paternity leave with their little ones.

On date night you might find us at Raw (Japanese) or Paus (nice neighborhood bistro) and at any other time of the day, chances are, I will pass by the café Xoko to either grab a soy latte and a loaf of bread or I’ll be sitting outside under the warmers with some mommy friends while our babies sleep in their strollers.

On the weekends – grab a coffee at Mellqvist’s stroll-by coffee bar on Rörstrandsgatan and then stroll into Vasaparken which has a great playground. In the winter you can borrow a sled and go tobogganing or go ice skating and in the summer there is a soccer field. They also have big outdoor grills up at the playground where you can buy burgers and hot dogs to grill. And there are toilets etc indoors.

On Odengatan there is a great unisex kids shop called Uni – they have such a great selection of gender-neutral children’s clothes and toys.

Another lovely park (on the other side of town), with a great playground is my childhood park, Humlegården.

And if the weather is bad – bring you baby to a “stroller movie” – current movies shown in lit cinemas with lower sound and a break in the middle for feeds and diaper changes. Bring babies and toddlers and enjoy!

BABY ESSENTIALS & PRACTICALITIES

You can buy Ella’s Kitchen products in any supermarket, but do also try Hipp which have a good range of organic baby food. If you need to buy formala you can choose from Nestle, Semper or Hipp. It can be a little difficult to see what is what since it’s illegal to advertise formula.

You can buy Pampers diapers anywhere – Swaddlers are called “New Baby”, Cruisers are called “Active Fit” and the night diapers are called “Baby Dry”. And Natusan newborn wipes are fabulous because you can use them on faces and hands and everywhere.

You will find high chairs at pretty much any restaurant and you will have no trouble getting places to warm a bottle or a jar of baby food.

All public transportation is stroller-accessible. There are elevators down to the platforms. You are also allowed to use escalators with your stroller. Buses are stroller-accessible – you just get on the middle of the bus and you ride free with a stroller. Taxis have car seats, just ask for one when you order the car.

There is a 24-hour pharmacy on Klarabergsviadukten near the central station if you need anything at night. You can also buy simple over-the-counter stuff at grocery stores or 7eleven etc.

This is obviously a super-designed room, but it also has a lot of budget and DIY details. All the books are stored on IKEA gallery shelves and the cheerful rainbow dresser is also IKEA – the drawers were just painted in different colors. For all the details, visit Design Sponge here.