fawn&forest

It's Mutsy time, kids. fawn&forest now offers the entire Mutsy stroller collection. And an impressive collection it is!

Mutsy can basically be broken down into 4 stroller styles: Urban Rider, 4Rider, Slider and Spider, with variation options within the Urban Rider and 4 Rider lines. Available in a wide variety of colors and with maximum versatility (hello seat + carrycot!), impressive tire options and deluxe maneuverability.  

Even if you decide to go the minimal route in baby gear, you will most likely have a bouncy seat on your list. Most are ugly + don't fold up and are just plain clunky. You know the ones. Thankfully, the Svan Bouncer is different. Made of bent birch plywood with a non-toxic finish. And that cushion? Totally wipe-able and PBDE free.

And it folds up nearly flat to look like a sled! The fully adjustable seat allows your baby to lay down for naps, sit up to observe their surroundings, or lounge anywhere in between. Rock that sweet child to sleep with a gentle tap of your foot or allow it to bounce with your child’s own movement. Available in 6 colorways. 

And, while there are no lullaby music options or moving plastic gizmos, a free set of Cloud B soft hanging toys will be included with your purchase through May 15th. That's nice.

Born out of the love of linens and modern design, Tikoli tea towels are perfect for the modern kitchen and for that sweet Mom in your life!  Influenced by Japanese prints and mid-century modern design, Tikoli towels are printed on 100% cotton fabric, ready to brighten any  kitchen. Available in five lovely designs, including "mummy", pictured at right. 

Receive a free Tikoli tea towel with purchases over $75 when "tikoli" is entered in the comments field at checkout. Offer ends May 20th 2008. Yep, this sweet deal extends past Mother's day. Because, if you're anything like me, a bit behind schedule......a few extra days are much appreciated, right?

Unless you have one of those toddlers that is a human trash compacter, it is quite true that these pint-size critters are rather randomly selective in the food department. I don't have a eat-everything toddler + have even found myself saying "popcorn for lunch? sure!" as at least it's something.

So enough with being uninspired + having my child eat random bits (popcorn) for substance (lunch). Granted, not everyday is wacky, but if there is one thing I've learned about being a mom: a plan + preparation = success. 

Another thing I've picked up on? Tasty flavors. The kid likes spice + flavor + complexity. And food has to be fun + with variety. 

That's where the majority of "toddler food" recipes + ideas fall short (oh dear, not another ants-on-a-log!) as they are dumbed down + oddly renamed versions of "adult food". So I was blessed to recently pick up the Toddler Cafe by Jennifer Carden and was so impressed by her fun ideas for feeding toddlers. Fresh, inventive and healthy recipes that look astonishingly fun to eat. I have yet to try any recipes (still in preparation mode) but the first one that I will try? Minty Pea Pops, a recipe that involves cream cheese, petite peas, mint + mini chocolate chips. Frozen + on a stick. I'll keep you posted. 

I was also inspired by the toddler/preschool "bento boxes" from Wendolonia blog (who provided the pictures above, left + right). Simple + look quite lunchy! Presentation is often the key, or perhaps it just makes us feel better about neurotically cutting cheese into mini-men? Not quite sure, but surely more adventurous for the kids to eat. 

And while I would not normally think to link to this store, the Kids section is actually quite fun + Gastrokid approved, so what the heck.  While I am at it, these watermelon icepops are looking delicious as well as this fresh fruit kiddie cocktail.

As we are about to bring on 3 new stroller collections, I can't help but give a shout out to the Bumbleride Queen B. The Queen B happens to be a bit more urban than the rest of the Bumbleride collection. It weighs a bit more + is well fit for the Mom who walks about town rather than drives.

That being said, I have underestimated the versatility of the Queen B! So let's review: Air filled tires? Yes. Reversible handle (baby faces you or the world)? Yes. Five point adjustable safety harness + 4 position backrest? Yep! Smooth ride suspension? Oh yes. Infant car seat compatiable? Check. Spacious cargo basket and easy fold for storage? Yes!

Want a little icing on the cake? The Queen B comes standard with a foot muff, cup holder, safety belt for infant car seat and an air pump. You can also purchase optional accessories such as the bassinet and the toddler seat (shown above, left).

And about that toddler seat: it instantly transforms the Queen B into a double stroller. Wow. The Queen B is available in 3 colors: Bwana (shown left), Ruby (shown right) and a lovely chocolate brown called Koa.

Kelly's baby shower was a lot of fun + a total success, as you can tell from the smile on Kelly's face!

Psalms + I kept it simple in the decoration department. White table cloths, natural kraft paper runners and large chocolate brown pieces of paper as anchors on the tables. Three large arrangements of cherry blossom branches in cylindrical vases filled the space (which worked well as the ceilings are quite high) and a smaller arrangement of cherry blossoms greeted the gusts (top middle) on the entry table. Tucked into the cherry blossom arrangements were small greetings -- 'welcome baby liam' + 'congratulations' printed out on cream cardstock + cut down to size.

The decorations were minimal + not overdone, yet filled the space wonderfully. Space + scale is something to certainly consider when planning the decorations. Also realistically take the time you have to devote to preparations into account. We knew we would be spending more time on food + lunch, so it was realistic to keep the decorations simple + sophisticated. 

Congratulations Kelly! 

So Psalms + I have decided baby shower games are actually a lot of fun. Make them look nice + everyone will happily play along.

Game No.1: celebrity baby name quiz. Kelly was quite eager in the game category, suggesting a celebrity baby name quiz. Kelly, being a celebrity baby maven came up with the questions + designed the game herself! So fun.  You can print the PDF and email me for the answers. Out of all 19 questions on the quiz, the winner only missed one answer. Wow.

Game No.2: guess. The guess-how-big-mom's-belly-is game got a lot of laughs + concentration at the last shower we hosted, so we decided to play it again. And the preparation is quite simple, each guest receives a nicely packaged length of twine. To make, you will need about 4 feet of cotton twine, neatly coiled, with a coordinating tag (Psalms used this cool recyceled paper for both games and the bird punch + cardstock from the favors, gluing the inside of the tag closed). To play, pass scissors around having the guests cut the length of how big they think the Momma's belly is. The person who has the closest guess, wins.

Prizes for the winners are a must. These towels would be an excellent choice! Images by Psalms.

I'll be honest. I was a bit nervous when Kelly said she would like her baby shower to be at 1pm on a Saturday. That meant one thing: lunch. While Psalms + I both know how to cook + make all the food bits look nice, serving lunch to 25 guests would be a new undertaking for us. Good thing we are into simple (as in very very simple) + deliciously fresh food, right?

Kelly's Mom volunteered to contribute the main dish for the lunch buffet, chicken salad served with buttery croissants. While I can't seem to locate the exact recipe (it had pineapple + was quite delicious), this one also looks quite tasty.  To accompany, we served a spring greens salad with strawberry vinaigrette + a dashing array of sliced veggies + dip. Additionally, individual fruit salad cups were also on the buffet, an idea inspired by Jordan. A much more appetizing alternative to the usual droopy-runny fruit salad. Lunch for 25 was a success + quite simple. And not a quiche in sight!

But above all, Kelly requested cake. Not the hip to the moment cupcakes, but a buttercream frosted, half sheet cake in all it's goodness from her favorite bakery. No messing around, let's eat cake! Apparently all 25 guests had the same cake craving as the vanilla + chocolate cake layered with a copious amounts of chocolatey filling was a hit.

And what's cake without cookies? Of course. I made grammy's chocolate cookies + almond cookies (can't locate the recipe, but it was similar to this one minus the jam) for the dessert table. We also served the usual suspects: coffee, tea and a handful of sparking water + juices. And remember how I said no one serves punch anymore? Well, I do, I guess! As a tribute to all the "cloud" punch Kelly has celebrated with growing up, I forged into unknown territory (under the guidance of the grandma-to-be) and whipped up my very own batch of "cloud" -- lemonade, lemon-lime soda and half a tub of vibrant lime green sherbet in all it's glory. 

Party favors are fun + Psalms does such a wonderful + thoughtful job.  Our color palette for the baby shower was natural, earthy creams + browns with bits of blue + green, which was beautifully reflected in the favors.

For the favors, Psalms made coconut macaroons for each guest to enjoy. They were delicious! She packaged the favors by placing 3 macaroons in a cello bag, then tied a thin brown ribbon to enclose. For the label, she purchased these sticky labels, punching out small cardstock birds using a craft punch, and glued the birdies on. Using rubber letter stamps, Psalms stamped the initials of Kelly's bun-in-the-oven. 

Photos by Psalms, thanks dear! 

Welcome to another baby shower week! Our friend Kelly is due in a month, so a baby shower, held this past Saturday, was certainly in order! It was a lot of fun and ended up being perfectly "Kelly".

First things first: inspiration. Kelly is the type of girl who is naturally beautiful + effortlessly put together. She enjoys simple design + lives in a mid-century home with her lovely English husband. They are expecting a boy and will be using off-white naturals, chocolate, aqua + olive green in the nursery. 

With inspiration, Psalms + I chose invites from Kelly's favorite, Egg Press (above left). I also included an additional information enclosure shown right, with the invitation.

Foldschool is nothing new, true. It has certainly made it's rounds around blogtown, rightfully. Foldschool rocks, providing free, printable pdf patterns to make cardboard furniture with and for your kids. Simple + innovative design at it's best. They've done the hard work, all you need is a rainy day, a mess of cardboard, printbable instructions and maybe a kid or 2.

Foldschool has created patterns for a stool (shown left), a rocker (shown middle) and a chair (shown right). And their site is quite user-friendly stating the age-range appropriateness, how much cardboard + time you'll need, as well as the difficulty level and stability of each piece.  

The mindset of Foldschool is to restore design to one of its original missions: to provide a product at an affordable price through a smart manufacturing process, essentially free. So donate to good design: help spread the idea of Foldschool to design addicts worldwide by donating here.

We've teamed up with one of our favorite kid blogs, Bloesem Kids for a little giveaway action to round out the month of April.

To be a part of the fun, take a trip over to Bloesem Kids before April 30th to find out how to enter to win a copy of Nikki McClure's The First 1,000 Days journal. Thanks Irene!

Happy Earth Day to you with the last installment of little bits of green. Next to making a recycled egg carton buggy mobile with the kids, hugging a Kata Golda softie friend is a happy way to celebrate.

Handmade using plant dyed wool felt + a lot of love in  Port Townsend, Washington by the Kata Golda crew. Using plant dyed wool felt creates those lovely soft + natural hues and is quite eco-friendly to boot. Each animal is then completely hand stitched with hand embroidered facial features and detailing. And to step it up even one more notch, each animal can be personalized with a child's name. 

In regards to sustainability, Kata Golda animals are instant heirlooms. They're the animal friends that will never go out of style and will never see a landfill. And will still make your kids smile in 30 years.

As a company, Kata Golda donates 5% of all proceeds to local elementary schools for art supplies, books and organic gardening. 

And for more Earth Day kid's craft projects, click here.

It seems we have reached the point where green efforts are becoming standard, many of which you may not even notice. Like granola now refers to cereal and not a person type. Or am I just saying this because I live in Portland?

Take Binth. Binth produces amazing pieces that are both organic (the pillow, pictured right) and recycled (the print, pictured left). Did you know?!

The original, modern pillow designs are screen-printed on organic linen using water-based inks, hand sewn in the USA and filled with luxurious down. The pillows, available in 5 different designs, would look quite lovely in any room, including the nursery. 

The prints, such as the abc letter print in "w", above, is inspired by Mid-Century Danish wood toys and is perfect for the modern nursery and children's room. Each letter is printed on recycled paper stock, with its luxurious feel and palette of soft, contemporary hues.

Fresh fruit galettes are right up my alley. No fuss. Free form. Dessert. And the kids can help and it'll still look tasty.

I first found this super simple apple galette recipe on this convenient recipe cheat sheet. You could really adapt this recipe to accommodate any fruit, but using apples is a simple start. My apples in the end could have used a little more love (or perhaps could of used a different sort of apple?) though the galette was scarfed in a quick minute. Read more on apple varieties, compliments of our local market. And I would argue organic is best.

You can read how to green-up your life or take an eco-anxiety quiz. But on most days, in addition to not using a million plastic bags or just letting the hose run, I'd rather spend quality time with my son in the kitchen, the old fashion way. Baking + making a mess. Perhaps not certified greenness, but seems more conscience than spacing out in front of the tv or accumulating endless amounts of brain numbing toys. Perhaps. 

Enter the green world of Naef toys.  The objective for Naef toys is to produce play objects that unify quality design and superior Swiss craftsmanship. All Naef toys begin by specifically selecting woods that will not shrink or warp and will remain durable over time. All of the painted products are made using non-toxic varnishes or clear coats and all woods are harvested from sustainable forests in Europe.

The Rainbow, pictured above was designed by Heiko Hillig for Naef and can be used as a playful sculptural what-have-you, a tunnel for toy cars to zoom through and even used as a xylophone, offering endless combinations of sounds. Bonus: the kids will even learn their colors (something we are still working on in this house....).

Naef toys are objects of learning as play "uses one's sence of site, touch and sound to interact with an object while experiencing the changes in light and shadow,  proportion and rhythm, depth of field, etc."

True, Naef toys tend to cost a bit more green. But dig it: quality design + sustainable craftsmanship that transends age + time the whole family will surely enjoy.  As one customer said recently, "I do not buy the plastic fantastic."

The fantastic duo that make up Argington, the designers of the Fuji toy box and the much loved Sahara crib among other peices, have been at it again. This time with 100% organic crib, toddler and twin bedding. Nothing too fancy or super-designy, but patterns + visuals it seems all little boys + girls dig: butterflies and dinosaurs. 

And not that you'll be overwhelmed with an outrageous color palatte. Thankfully. Using the natural creamy color of organic cotton as a background, dino + butterflies are in a peaceful color palatte of soft pink + violet and sky blue + brown.  The prints are done with low impact dyes using a low impact printing process on 200 thread count 100% organic cotton sateen. The comforter and pillows are filled with Eco-Spun 100% regenerated polyester fill that does not off gas or emit any traceable VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Yes!

Ecotots collection of children's furniture is quite possible the greenest wood furniture for kids, ever. Your kids can sniff it + lick it and even eat off it (right?) and they won't be off-gassed on or consume any other yuckies like formaldehyde. I like!

All 3 pieces of the Ecotots Collection (by Inmodern) are made of 100% formaldehyde-free, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified/environmentally friendly SmartWood® and feature a durable, 100% non-toxic water-based finish. All 3 pieces, the coatrack, project table + stools and art easel are available in 4 colors -- fire, leaf, natural + cocoa. 

Easy to assembles and disassembles (for easy storage) in minutes with Inmodern's patented, no-tools assembly method. Which is cool, not an allen wrench it needed! Though I will tell you from experience, these peices will need a real good whack as they are designed to fit snuggly together. 

Some other noteworthy goodies:  Pieces are UV cured finishes minimize greenhouse gases, all materials sourced in North America as well as wholly designed and manufactured in USA. Member of the SFC (Sustainable Furniture Council) and a sweet lifetime construction guarantee .

I am 7 months pregnant + strangely could eat breakfast at anytime of the day. I recently + randomly checked out Bill Granger's bills open kitchen and could not resist making these buckwheat blueberry pancakes (shown above)..... for dinner, of course. With eggs and sloppy homemade blueberry syrup goodness. Oh ya.

Making dinner for your family makes for a happy + healthy bunch, but is also quite green. Feeding your family fresh, local + organic foods is not only reasonable but keeps all the partially hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrupy-whats out of their veins. Food preservatives + chemically altered foods are just wrong, right?

So here's the blueberry buckwheat recipe, adapted from Bill's recipe. They were delicious + I will have no problem polishing off the leftovers for breakfast.....

Mix together in one bowl:
1 1/4 cup organic buckwheat flour
1/2 cup organic unbleached flour
1 tps. baking powder
2 tps. organic sugar

Mix together in another bowl:
2 cups organic buttermilk
4 organic egg yolks 

Then mix the wet + dry ingredients together well, some lumps are ok.
Then beat those 4 egg whites until they're fluffy and no longer slimy. Gently fold 1/2 the beaten egg whites into the batter, then the other half. Proceed as you would make any pancakes. This recipe made about 12 moderately sized pancakes and don't forget to toss on those blueberries before you give the pancakes a good flip. You'll need about a heaping cup of blueberries for this. I used the tastiest frozen organic blueberries as it's not yet blueberry season. 

For the Blueberry syrupy goodness I threw a heaping cup of blueberry in a skillet with a bit of water + 3 slugs of agave. Simmer it down until it looks how you want it to. Juicy, but slightly thick. 

And for even more healthy "breakfast" goodness, do yourself a favor + visit 101cookbooks.com.

Kate Quinn Organics covers all the basics in clothing for the youngins' in the coziest color palette + simplest designs. Instant classics + totally comfy. And all pieces are made from 100% organic cotton. Hello green!

Kate Quinn Organics prides itself on their commitment to fair trade and the earth. Using only certified organic cotton, grown using sustainable farming practices that maintain and replenish soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. KQO garments are made of ultra soft, all-natural, organically produced cotton certified by Control Union Certifications (formerly SKAL), a USDA Accredited Certifying Agent. KQO is also certified Fair Trade. Every little garment supports their vision and hope of a cleaner, kinder earth.

And as a little FYI on organic cotton, click here.