London Colouring Book

Following the week that was, we've settled into this new phase of being '5' and have started to enjoy the lovely presents received by our eldest little Trim. Mr 5 is VERY into colouring, especially in between the lines, and his auntie in the UK sent him over a special book that includes illustrations of important London icons. Not only is this lovely for him to connect further with where she lives, but it's also filled with terrific info on the Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens, the Gherkin and tea at Fortnum and Mason that has me totally involved. Of course they haven't forgotten the all important Olympics either, with a special page dedicated to the all important flame.

The Gap in the market

Oh GAP, how I love every piece of clothing in this display......

Stencil Surprise

I'm sitting with the boys completely overcome with birthday cake-itis. While the boys watch Masterchef for a birthday treat, I'm oogling over the fabulous toys Jack was very lucky to receive. One is a super cool machine call the Magic Picture Maker, which will be the perfect quiet time activity over the weekend. Jack is loving colouring and drawing these days so a big thank you to his Kiwi auntie who chose the perfect gift. i have to say I can't wait to have a turn...

Christmas in July

My Dad, nearing retirement, and with a little more time on his hands, sent me this fascinating article this morning. Fascinating for all the wrong reasons. I'm quite disturbed by not only the absurdly crass marketing methods of this chain store but also (and perhaps even more so) the toys themselves that these people think are suitable for small kids. It's a worry. Please read it and make your own decision.

Party Planner

I had a(nother) sick day today so after a snooze I managed to get a few things done for the big 5th birthday party on Saturday. Although the request is for an emergency vehicle theme (oh lordy), it will be a bit of an eclectic mix of goodies. I found some great mini Playdo jars, perfect for the party bag, along with some gorgeous Djeco stickers and some cool paper finger puppets from MudPuppy. I'm guessing by the end of the celebrations the kids will be too exhausted to notice there are no ambulances or fire trucks in their bags, if they do, I'll be in big trouble!
Now to sort out the party games...

Ground Control to Major Awesome

I have major toy envy looking at this Discovery Spaceship. It has solar panels, an on-board lab, mission control, moving robot, moon crater and more. Oh boy, I reckon if this was in our house, I'd ditch Pinterest for an hour with this toy of fabulousness!

Basket Boy

I happened upon this little scene recently, underneath the clothes horse in the living room.  Not only was I completely smitten by his nesting within the basket but the way he is holding a pen, for a three year old, just made me so proud! He didn't even flinch when I tried to take the shot, completely ensconced in his drawing. The joy of being a child.

Vroom Roll

I have a stock pile of toilet rolls, waiting for the perfect project to show it's face. I've found it thanks to this lovely blog, language unknown, but the pictures speak volumes

Board? Not these guys...

What kid wouldn't fall over backwards for Bob?  A tractor with built in slide, all made from corrugated fibre board? Tsuchinoco - remember the name - pure genius...

Pinterest Picks

So yes I too add Pinterest into my bedtime ritual and just find it so visually satisfying last thing at night. Here's what you guys liked from the 'Brothers Trimm File' this month...there's a colour theme going on don't you think?

Telling Tales

I thought you might like to see what I get up to during the day. Last week I had a gorgeous pre-school class come to the bookshop for a story. I work at a wonderful indie store called Fullers, in Hobart - filled with young and old, hipsters and hold alls, creatives and the cantankerous, yup, we serve them all and I love it! I'm in charge of the children's section so get to do fun things like tell stories to the little people and dream up fun events to keep our young folk in love with reading (my proudest moment getting Oliver Jeffers down for the day...)
Here I am with our little mascot Fergal, complete with special eyewear (by the wonderfully talented Cat Rabbit no less), telling the story of The Magic Hat by Mem Fox. The story celebrates 10 years this year by the way and is so wonderfully illustrated by Tricia Tusa, it's a big favourite.
So there you go, a little glimpse into one of the things I do during the week!

Poco Nido - Junior Ace Apparel Test Drive

When the gorgeous Catherine at Poco Nido offered me a pair of her super cute pre-walkers I immediately knew the best little person to take them for a test drive. There's a rather handsome chap who lives in London who I knew would be the perfect 'driver' for these little shoes. So in consultation with Mum (the lovely Julie who shared some of her favourite animations and movies, way back when BT was only young), a pair of suede soled baby shoes (navy with cats to be exact) were winging their way to their home. Here's what happened...

After discovering Poco Nido's gorgeous website I was really looking forward to receiving the pre-walker shoes I ordered. And on arrival I was not disappointed.

They came beautifully packaged with little details such as the tissue paper echoing the interior sole print, teeny weeny character stickers indicating the size, matching tape.... just lovely.

And the shoes themselves, well they are just fabulous! Perfectly finished, high quality fabrics/materials and of course super duper cute.

My son is probably a bit young to have any sort of fashion sense (7 months) however I do think he likes them as he looks at them a lot when on his little feet. It seems everyone else likes them too as he gets lots of nice comments when wears them (which is almost everyday). 

I'm going to pick him up another pair as these shoes are wearing really well, they are nice and soft, easy to get on and a fashion must for every small person out there!

Congratulations to Poco Nido who was voted GOLD in the best baby footwear category and BRONZE in the best baby gift category at the Loved By Parents Awards 2012. If you like what you read, then please visit Poco Nido's website and look out for their fun Olympic gear, ready and stylish for September, when they will also be releasing some SUPER gorgeous wellies!


A very big thank you to Catherine at Poco Nido and of course Julie and Max for their review.

How ridiculously gorgeous is he?!!!

Happy Poco Nido feet!

New Wellies coming September!