What's in my handbag?

Yes, I know! I'm pretty late to the ballgame with this one, but I just love "what's in my bag" posts. I love searching for them on the web and I have been planning to do one myself for ages. I decided to do a handbag version, because that's simply the bag I carry the most. But I might do a diaperbag version somewhere in the future. Who knows!

The Bag
The bag is a Louis Vuitton speedy 30 in damier azur. This is the handbag that I use the most right now. The light colors make it the perfect bag for this season. It's also my most recent purchase. I got it a couple of month ago and it was an early birthday present to myself. Now that may not sound very recent, but I rarely buy a new bag. I like high quality handbags and the ones I own pretty much last a lifetime, so there isn't much need to shop for a new bag too often. When I was younger I knew I wanted to own a Louis Vuitton bag one day, and since we had a couple of bucks to spare, my boyfriend gave me the green light to get one. I'm really enjoying this bag and I love it to pieces. I have absolutely no regrets about getting it what so ever, even if it was a bit of a splurge.When it's driving shotgun to work with me I have trouble keeping my eyes on the road. It's just so pretty!

The Stuff

1. My Sascha wallet. It's a full sized wallet which zipps pretty much all around, so it's great for easy access. It has a lovely bronze glow to it and subtle floral pattern. It's nothing special but it's a very functional piece and I haven't found anything I like better.

2. My Burberry DIY keychain! I wrote a post about it a couple of weeks ago. I love it to bits and I even use it as a small wallet sometimes. It's ideal for quick errands and I can just throw my cards in there and be on my way. It has my housekeys and carkeys on it, so I have everything I need all in one place. 

3. Lipgloss! No girl can live without right? This is called the chocolate sexy lips gloss and it smells amazing! Lipgloss and chocolate combined, there is nothing better!

4. A simple hair tie. Always handy to have one of these around. 

5. This is a bag chain I got off of Ebay. I use a handheld bag which is fine most of the time. But every once in a while I find myself in a situation where I just need an extra hand. Especially with a 1 year old running around! I just connect the hooks of this chain to the hardware on my bag and I can carry it as a crossbody bag. Ideal! And it only cost me a few dollars! Gotta love Ebay! 

6. A little notebook and a pen. The notebook was a gift from my mom. I use it to make my grocery list, write down little mental notes etcetera.

7. My Iphone! And how gorgeous is this case? It actually took me longer to pick out the case than the phone! Haha! It's the beige crocodile flipcase by Guess. I think it's absolutely gorgeous!

8. My Burberry sunglasses. I had these forever. It's a very classic model, so I think I'll get quite a few more years out of these before replacing them with a newer pair. 

9. And last but not least, a bottle of water! I work in a different city so I'm on the road alot. I've experienced some pretty serious traffic jams in the last couple of years, so I know the importance of carrying a bottle of water to keep myself hydrated. Especially in the summer when being on the road can be absolutely brutal!  

So, there you have it! All the stuff that I carry around  with me everyday. What are the items you can't live without and are absolute bag necessities to you?

Kisses!

Vacation Time!

We just got back from our sweet little getaway, and we had such a great time! This was actually our first little break away from home since Charlotte was born. So I'm guessing it was about time! It were alot of firsts for her, which also made is extra special for us. It's just such a different experience seeing the world through your child's eyes. It's very exciting! It was her first time seeing the ocean, jellyfish, porpoises and even seals! We even spotted a few seals offshore when we were hanging out on the beach, which was just so cool! Everything on this trip was perfect, the weather, the hotel, the boattrip to the Island, I seriously couldn't have asked for more. The hotel did have a pretty scary miniature golfcourse in the basement though, but than again we probably shouldn't have gone exploring it in the middle of the night! Haha! But since a picture says more than a thousand words, here are some of my favorite holiday shots! 

So, that was our sweet little mini vacation! I'm not sure what we'll do with the rest of the summer. I do have two weeks off next month. Any suggestions? And what are your plans for this summer? 

Kisses!

5 Reasons Why You Should Sign Up For A Baby Swimming Class

Well, that is if you actually have aformentioned baby. If not, joining one of these classes could be considered a bit creepy. Just saying. You know, looking back on my first 16 months of being a parent, I really don't have many regrets. Obviously not everything has been perfect. But I tried my best making the best decisions I could, and thankfully they turned out pretty well in the end. There is only one thing I regret, and that's not enrolling into a baby swimming class sooner. I just started a couple of months ago, and looking at all these moms with their itty bitty babies made me feel like we missed out on something.

So if you are a new mom, I dearly recommend enrolling into one of these swimming classes as soon as you're ready! Obviously you need to be fit enough to participate in some mild phsycical activity, so you should be healed up nicely from your birth. Also your baby should be big enough to hold it's own tempature to avoid hymothermia. Our pool advices to start taking classes from 12 weeks and up. Most public swimming pools organize special baby swimming classes. The water is usually warmed up a bit more, they have extra changing tables set up around the pool area and they have a special swimming instructor teaching you and your baby to be comfortable in the water together in a fun, playfull way. There are a lot of benefits to starting these classes early, probably way more than I can think of! But here are five to get you started!

1. Fun! 

Well first of all, it's a lot of fun! There are a lot of other babies around which always seems to facinate the tiny ones. Babies and small children are automatically drawn to each other and it's so adorable to see them socialize. There are toys, games and alot of singing and playfulness. It's just a very fun activity to shake up your regular mommy and baby time.

2. Water safety!

Besides fun, these classes also teach you and your baby a lot about water safety. During these classes your baby will learn to be comfortable in the water and to not panic when he or she goes under for a second. It also teaches very basic survival skills, such as clinging onto floating objects. It is very important for all children at every age to have the basic survival skills in water. You never know when they could come in handy!

3. Exercise!

Let's face it, picking up our old exercise routine after giving birth can be pretty difficult. This is a fun and easy way to get some genlte exercise going and get you in the right direction. Plus, you are surrounded by new moms, so nobody is judging you on that extra babyweight you're carrying around. It is also a way of gently introducing exercise to your baby.

4. Bonding!

 Well, this one is a bit of a given really. Any activity will help you bound with your baby. Swimming together can be a great bonding experience as well and it can build alot of trust between parent and baby.

5. Development!

It is a great way of developing your baby's coordination and fine motor skills. Like jumping though a hole in a floating object or grabbing a small toy from the water. Plus, since your baby is getting used to being in the water from a young age,  there will be an advantage once it's time for real swimming lessons.

So there you have it! Five reasons why you should join a baby swimming class! Have you ever been to a baby swimming class or are you planning to anytime soon? I'd love to hear about your experience! 

Love,

Tessa

Rediscovered & Repurposed- Hidden Treasure!

Yes, we've all been there. We all remember buying that cute little item on a whim that ended up in the back of a closet somewhere without ever being used. It's just something that happens every once in a while. You get seduced by a great deal, a cute color or a fun shopping trip you just don't want to end. And that's exactly what happened to me when I bought this little wallet over 5 years ago. In all honesty, I knew from the start this wasn't a very practical wallet. First of all it's way too small and it doesn't have a zipper compartment for coins. And I'm really a full blown wallet kind of girl anyway. But I convinced myself that I would get a coinpurse to go along with it and that it would do just fine. Yeah, right!

Now I picked up a new bag about two months ago and since it only has one big compartment, I was constantly struggling to find my keys. I decided I needed a big chuncky keychain. That's when I remembered this wallet and that I would actually love something like that as a keychain. So I took a nail and decided to heat it up with a lighter and poke a hole on one side of the wallet. I then collected a couple of keyrings and attached them to the wallet and voila! I had just the kind of keychain I was looking for! And yes, it did take this genius 5 years to come up with this briliant idea, haha! 

Now since it originally started off as a wallet, it comes with a couple of handy perks. It's a keychain with a couple of cardslots and a compartment to store those daily essentials in. It already has all my keys on it, but it can also hold my access card for work and some debet- or creditcards. Which is so handy when you just want to run out of the house for a quick errand. I got everthing I need in this little thing and I absolutely love it! It works so much better as a keychain than it ever could as a wallet!

So it got me wondering, could there be more hidden treasure awaiting a new goal in life? Could I turn that huge knitted sweater into a cool infinity scarf? Can I take those cute flower applications from my daughters headbands and turn them into cute broches for her blazers and jackets? Have you ever succesfully rediscovered and repurposed anything? I would love to hear your ideas!

Kisses,
Tessa

What I got for mother's day!

Well, I'm back! It's been a while since my last post. When I started this blog, I never really thought about the direction I wanted to take it. It was just a way to document my first clumsy attempts at this new thing called motherhood. But I'm at a different place now. I'm not a rooky anymore. So I though about the purpose of this blog and if it shouldn't turn into something more than just a mommy blog. But as you can tell, I've been pretty indecisive about it all. But that doesn't mean I didn't think about blogging, I do so all the time! Truth of the matter is, I love writing these little pieces, whether I'm going somewhere with it or not.

So I'll just continue down this road and stray from the mommy stuf here and there. Just the next chapter if you will. Eventhough being a mommy is still a huge part of my life and I love my little nugget to pieces! So there will still be plenty of mommy stuff to go around! 

In the meanwhile I thought I'd share the goodies I got for Mother's day. I got this lovely little painting Charlotte made at the daycare centre and this lovely fragrance by Lacoste. I love it! Last week was actually the first time in my adult life I actually ran out of perfume! I always had plenty of bottles on my dresser and there was a time I even matched the fragrance to the outfit I was wearing that day. Oh, how things have changed! Haha! But this fragrance is perfect for spring and summer, so I don't really need anything else at the moment. I hope everyone had a wonderfull mother's day as well! See you soon! :)

Kisses,

Tessa 

OOTD - Trenchcoats!

Spring is here, and that means all kind of exciting things, The sun is coming out, we get to plan all sorts of fun outdoor activities and we get to break out those cute wardrobe pieces that have been stuffed away in our closets for the last couple of month. I'm particulary excited about wearing my trenchcoat again. It's such an awsome staple piece! It goes with everything and it suitable for every occasion!

So today I went for a turquoise trenchcoat by the brand Spoom and paired it with dark blue skinnies from Vila, a silky beige top from Broadway, suede beige wedges from Tamaris, earrings from miniinthebox.com and my speedy 30 damier azur by Louis Vuitton. This will probably be my go to outfit this spring! Here are some close ups from this outfit:

For Charlotte we went for a beige trenchcoat by H&M which is simply adorable with the little bow on it! We paired it with a printed tee and brown leggings, also from H&M. Her little booties are by the brand Ugg and the headband is from some online store, I can't remember which one, sorry! And here are some close ups from her outfit:

So these are the outfits we'll probably end up wearing alot this spring! Do you have your spring wardrobe sorted yet?

Kisses!

Humble Crumble!

I'm back with something different this week. A yummy recipe! This is one of my absolute favorites at the moment and I have been making it atleast once a week for the last couple of months. We simply can't get enough of it! It's so quick and easy to make and it is absolutely delicious! Plus it's a way better altenative than pie or a piece of cake!

Ingredients

1 apple
2 pears
1 box of frozen forrest fruits (9 oz)
3½ oz  rolled oats

2 oz plain flour
1½ oz margerine (or butter)
1½ oz light demerara sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Now these measurements don't have to be very exact. If you add a little more of this and a little less of that, that's absolutely fine. It's pretty much impossible to mess this one up. Make it once and you can petty much eye ball it the next time.

Recipe
Chop up the apple and the pears and mix them together with the frozen forrest fruits and the ground cinnamon. After everything is mixed up, thow it into a slightly buttered oven dish.

Take the rolled oats, the flour, the margarine and the demerara sugar and knead the ingredients into a ball. Take the ball and crumble it over the oven dish.

Pop it into the oven for 50 minutes on 350 degrees and voila! You have an absolutely delicious treat! If you eat it warm it is absolutely delicious with a scoop of vanila ice-cream. If you eat it cold it's great with a bit of whipped cream on the side or in your morning yoghurt! Try and enjoy! You won't be disappointed!

Kisses!