oct, 24 - in the detail....

day 984 / 83:

i found this sweet top on sale for Limi. it's by April Showers by Polder. i love the detail of the black ribbon at the back. it reminds me of this dress. it's not surprising that this label is designed by two Dutch sisters who have learnt their trade in France. there is a 'romantic yet practical' air about this piece.

oct, 15th - oh, the stories they could tell....

[lace bonnet]

day 975 / 74:

i mentioned awhile back that a friend's aunt was finding beautiful lace, linen and crochet vintage gems for me from the North of England {see day 951 / 50}. i get these brown paper packages that honestly give me a fizz of excitement. i now have the most wonderful collection of lace trim, bonnets, christening gowns and collars. they are all being used to provide some inspiration for our own collection. (got to love good friends who support your new ventures by passing on these gems. thanks bon!)

now to get Claya modelling these bonnets before she gets too big.

[crochet bonnet]

[collection of collars]

[lace bonnet]

sep, 21st - two loves....

day 951 / 50:

Limi loves toast.....

i think that she's inherited that from me...i remember once having a toast marathon with my sister.

and i love this vintage top that a good friend's aunt found for me. she sends these amazing packages down from North England full of intricate lace/ vintage/ crochet details (collars, trim) and pieces of clothing (including these incredible lace bonnets) .....i always get butterflies when i hear that another package has arrived.

on that note.....a few of you have asked where i find Limi's clothes.....i'll do a post of this soon as the majority of her outfits are linked to an exciting project that i'm currently working on. 

aug, 27th - conversations with a two year old....

day 930 / 29:

{Limi putting her jersey on the wrong way round}

me: Limi, your jersey is not the right way

Limi: mama, i'm wearing my jersey the left way

can't argue with that and quite like her style.......

may, 17th - new threads....

day 830:

more patent leather mary janes for Limi in navy blue this time {see day 779 for her nude pair}....they're so soft and beautifully made in France.

plus a new swimming costume bought on sale. both from Rachel Riley.

styling of new clothes, by Limi

may, 1st - new lease on old clothes....

day 815:

i've had this camisole in my cupboard for ages with broken straps and a small tear in the front. i thought that i would give it a new lease as a dress for Limi. the shape is still a bit strange in the front but i really love its lace details and buttons.

apr, 29th - taking caterpillar for a walk....

day 813:

contrary to what this looks like, we didn't dress these girls together.......here they are taking their pet caterpillar for a walk. it seems that London is fairly restrictive when it comes to childhood pets.

i hope that you had a fabulous weekend. we took Limi to her first theatre performance which she loved....definitely going to book some more.

have a great week. x

oct, 17th - sibella court....

day 594:

i was trawling websites trying to find some vintage metal pegs (not even sure whether they exist...but they did in my mind) and then voila! Mandy, my blog guru at 16House, featured these by Sibella Court for Anthropologie. it's very seldom that the stars align or that you go out shopping for the perfect pair of boots (or metal vintage-inspired pegs in this case) and find them.......

the next challenge was that they were only available in the US with no international ordering. so our brilliant friend, Camilla, ordered them online, popped them in the post...and hooray...here they are.......

hmmm....wonder if Milla will also send the rest of Miss Court's collection.....perfect in every way.

tomorrow...pics of Somerset.

aug, 31st - vintage fair....

day 561:

looking forward to visiting this fair again. on my last visit i picked up this antique lace collar. i attached it to one of Limi's existing tops with another vintage collar (that a friend gave me) on top.

i also fell in love with a battered tophat....wonder if it's still there. it made me think of white rabbits and pocket watches.

also keen to try the bi-monthly Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Racecourse. looks like it could deliver some serious gems.

may, 21st - saturdays....

day 468:

i guess we all have these preconceived notions of what it's like to have a toddler....well, besides the obvious new signs of 'i-can-do-it-myself' that keep emerging in our household (seriously, three of us with that attitude may be too much for one house), i always pictured a toddler with small hands dragging around a much-loved toy.....

well, Oslo is brand new (a gift from a friend) but first choice for taking to breakfast today. sometimes, not often, what you pictured in your head is what you see right in front of you.

ps. the sweet dress is from my sister.

mar, 16th - street style....

day 403:

Maltby Street {posted on day 401 and day 400} is brilliant for people watching.....love the aprons at Monmouth Coffee Company and those boots on the left....

do you ever see people and wish that you knew them.....you just know that you could be great friends? i do it all the time...i come home and tell A. that i bumped into a new best friend today....they just didn't realise it.

anyway, wish that i knew this couple......

seriously....i almost followed them home.

fabulous boots and rolled up khakis.

bought this jumpsuit for Limi in the Summer sales last year.....

and finally...the perfect pair of tights.

feb, 24th - braces.....

day 383:

braces.......are they the equivalent of ledehosen and knickerbockers? 

hmmmmm.....wondering.

but i love them.....always have. always will.

on guys....definitely.

but especially on girls.

{these are from zara boys' section}

oh, and we kept the grass from Limi's birthday [see day 364]. it's amazingly real. we bought it from here. for the moment it's our living-room rug and Limi's play-patch.....it's delicious to feel grass between my toes in the evening and we're definitely planning some rainy day picnics.

feb, 21st - doilies....

day 380:

i love a bit of crochet/ lace trim........

{Limi in her lace trimmed headband made by her LoLa}

and all this talk of sewing has inspired me.....i saw these designs by J W Anderson SS/11 (see here)

and i love the doilies.....i'm picturing some Limi sized clothes with doily accents....in fact i think that if anything stays still for awhile, i might just stitch a doily to it.

so, off i go to find some vintage doilies.....if anywhere should have them then it's here in England.

wish me luck.

feb, 15th - limi's cloak....

day 374:

my mum, Limi's lola, made this sweet limi-and-the-wolf cloak for her first birthday. i love it (of course i do....it's grey.) Limi can stick her hands through slits in the sides so it also gives me a great excuse to invest in arm warmers.

i love it not only because we selected our own grey wool and fine french-floral lining.....but because it brings back a flood of memories of my sister and i designing outfits and my mum whipping them up on her sewing machine.....always including a last-minute-stitching-dash to finish it and we'd normally be throwing it on second before dashing out the door (sometimes it even included being stitched into the outfit or a metal-detector-buzz of safety pins holding it all together (sorry liz hurley but we did it first...yes, the pins were on the inside....but sometimes they also ended up on the outside))

i can remember from about the age of six, my sister and i picking out our own fabrics and 'designing' outfits....and it hasn't stopped. since my imagination far exceeds my skills, I have to rely on my mum, my sister and my sister's incredible dressmaker in Hong Kong, Mrs Kwok. just see what happens when i try and do it myself - day 258

anyway, i hope that with my mum, my sister and mrs kwok's help.......i can bring the same sense of creativity and individualism to Limi's life......

nov, 22nd - oh, if only......

day 282:

i discovered this incredible French designer through my new blog-crush.....

there have been moments in the last 9 months where i have definitely wanted to design my own children's range...if only to let Limi escape the frills, pink and polyester. but why bother, when le vestiaire de jeanne has created the exact clothes....only more beautifully, more simply and more frenchly than i could have imagined.

the designer Charlotte, a med student, originally started the line as a few pieces for her 6 year old sister, Jeanne....and posted the pics on a blog called - Jeanne's Locker Room...

and it has grown from there.


the clothes are amazing and the blog is too.....these are two wonderfully creative sisters, just take a look at their fantastic tree idea for Christmas...

all pics via LE VESTIAIRE DE JEANNE