Lunar New Year in Berkeley 2016

This weekend has been a busy one for us - one filled with lions, monkeys, candy and lots of music!

This Saturday we headed to Berkeley's Fourth Street shopping district for the annual Lunar New Year festivities celebrating the Year of the Monkey. We had attended this particular celebration for the first time last year and it was absolutely perfect for little kids (as opposed to the big festival in San Francisco that can get a little overwhelming), so we were keen to go back again. The celebration including martial arts demonstrations, lion dances, arts and crafts, and a procession along the street with blessings of the local stores. Oh yeah, and candy. Lots of candy!

Ava's Peanuts Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Ava's ninth birthday with a Peanuts themed party on our roof top.

The past two years we've had incredibly rainy weather for Ava's party and haven't been able to use our roof top. This year, however, we had a beautiful, sunny day. Perfect for a roof top party.

The Peanuts gang make such a fun party theme - and gave me the chance to get a little creative! We had a Snoopy doghouse piñata, Charlie Brown cookies, a comic strip photo booth, Lucy's psychiatrist booth for photos (and bad advice!), Snoopy doghouse party bags, and Ava decorated her birthday cake herself with a drawing of Snoopy and Woodstock. How cute is that cake? I covered it with fondant and Ava decorated it with edible markers. Seriously, those edible markers are one of the best things ever!

Bath Bomb Hearts for Valentine's Day

Today Ava and Lola will be celebrating Valentine's Day a little early with their classes at school (they have both Friday and Monday off school). There will be all sorts of fun love themed crafts and activities throughout the day in both of their classrooms, but we all know that the best part about celebrating Valentine's Day at school is, of course, sharing Valentine's gifts and cards with classmates!

This year the girls will be handing out home made heart shaped fizzy bath bombs that we made together. I'm so happy with how these little beauties turned out. And the smell! Ah... I've been bagging them up this evening and I can't tell you just how nice our apartment smells! Mmm... lavender and rose. They smell so good.

Making bath bombs may seem a little daunting, but they're actually pretty easy as long as you follow the instructions. Speaking of instructions, I'm sure you're wanting to know just how we made these so here you go...

Valentine Bead Hearts

Looking for a last minute valentine idea?

This one is super simple, takes little time to make and I've got a free printable template for you.

Oh, and it's fun to make too!

A Peanuts Party Invitation

Can you believe it? 

Tomorrow my oldest baby turns Nine! Nine! I still can't wrap my head around it. She's not a little girl anymore. She's a big girl. A tween even - maybe. How old is a tween? I have no idea. All I know is that she's growing up too quickly.

To celebrate Ava's ninth birthday we'll be having a Peanuts themed party with her friends on Saturday. Ava chose the theme and she is really excited about it. I actually half expected her to chose a Minecraft theme as she's really into Minecraft at the moment (aren't all almost nine year olds?) so I was pleasantly surprised when she told me she wanted a Peanuts party.

I am working on all sorts of fun Peanuts themed DIYs for the party and I can't wait to share them with you next week, but for now let's have a look at the party invitations.

The Broad Art Museum, Los Angeles

During our recent trip to Los Angeles over the Winter break we took the kids to the most amazing art gallery. I know what you're probably thinking... An art gallery with kids? That sounds like a sure fire recipe for bored, whiny kids, right? But no, not at this gallery. This gallery is full of such fun and whimsical modern art that kids of all ages will enjoy it.

Tulips (1995 - 2004) Jeff Koons

Valentine's Day Style for Little Ones

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for themed clothing for the kids when it comes to events and holidays. I don't tend to go overboard and do try to keep it subtle enough to wear at other times of the year, but the theme is always there. A bat or ghost t-shirt for Halloween, a snowflake sweater for Christmas, a tractor t-shirt for a harvest festival, a lion bib for Chinese New Year.... This year we'll have love heart t-shirts for Valentine's Day thanks to Dallas Clayton's collaboration with kids' clothing label Rags to Raches.

Admittedly, I originally bought the t-shirts because I saw the matching toddler romper on Instagram and just knew that Mathilde needed it. It is just so freaking adorable and we're all big fans of Dallas Clayton here. Then I saw the matching kids' t-shirts and I knew that Ava and Lola needed one too. Then I saw the matching adult t-shirts and thought, what the hell, I need one too! I did stop short at buying one for Kim though. I do have my limits when it comes to matchy-matchy. Ha!

Anyway, when the t-shirts and romper arrived I was just going to put them on the girls straight away, but then I realized that with their motif of love they'd be perfect gifts for Valentine's Day.

That got me thinking about some of my other favorite kids' clothing that would be perfect for Valentine's Day and I just had to share them here with you.

1. Happy Socks

Swedish label, Happy Socks make... well, happy socks! Our whole family wears these bright, colorful  my favorite socks for the whole family. The designs are always fun and the quality is high. Many of the designs are available in kid's, women's and men's sizing so the whole family can wear the same designs. These kid's heart socks make a cute Valentine's Day gift.

2. Whistle & Flute JE T'AIME Women's & Kid's Pullovers

Ok, more matchy-matchy here! Whistle & Flute make the cutest t-shirts and sweaters and this design is perfect for Valentine's Day without being all about love hearts. Not sure I'd wear a sweater with "I love you" written on it, but in French it has a certain je ne sais quois! Ah, I'm so corny! Mathilde and I just received these sweaters and I can't wait to be twins! 

3. Mini Boden Hotchpotch T-Shirt 

I'm a big fan of Mini Boden for a splash of color in the girls' wardrobes The Hotchpotch t-shirts with contrasting sleeves are always my favorite and this particular red and pink design is just begging to be worn for Valentine's Day.

4. Rags to Raches + Dallas Clayton T-Shirt

Like I said earlier, we're all big fans of author and illustrator Dallas Clayton in our house. The hands reaching up design is one of his most instantly recognizable designs. You might remember the matching mural that Lola and I posed with in Los Angeles. The purple heart is a nice change from red and pink. 

5. Kram Heart Overalls

All over hearts for the littlest ones! These cute overalls from Swedish label Kram are available in a few different colors but red and white feels just right for Valentine's Day. There are also dresses, tops and diaper covers available in this fabric. Lola has the matching dress in brown and white.

6. Whistle & Flute Kawaii Heart T-Shirt

More cuteness from Whistle & Flute! I love the simplicity of this heart design. How can you resist that cute little smile?

7. AlbaBaby My Spencer Dress

I love the retro styling of this AlbaBaby dress. Mathilde has the matching overalls in bright orange and she looks so incredibly adorable when she wears them. She also looks straight out of the seventies! That big heart on the pocket is adorable any time of year but especially so for Valentine's Day.  

8. Whistle & Flute JE T'AIME Beanie

Valentine's Day falls at a pretty chilly time of year here in the Northern Hemisphere so protect that head with a cute, lovey dovey beanie. Just like the matching sweater, this style comes in both kid and adult sizes.

9. Tattly Three Hearts Temporary Tattoos

Temporary tattoos are always a big hit with kids and Tattly make THE best. This heart design is super cute and would make a great Valentine's gift to hand out to classmates. We've done this in the past with Tattly tattoos.

10. Rags to Raches + Dallas Clayton Romper

The romper that inspired this post! Seriously, how cute is this romper? I can't wait for Mathilde to wear it.