BLUE VELVET

It's always a bit exciting when you open a parcel anticipating one thing and find something else! I was very chuffed to receive our latest delivery of cushions. The different shades and widths of velvet ribbon on the neutral linen makes a classic statement for any room and at 38cm wide by 58cm long they are also a great size. You can get yours here.

WHAT'S THE TIME MISTER COW?

We pay homage to the classic cuckoo clock but with a delightful twist. On the hour an animal pops out of the little window and makes a sound - be it a baa, a bark or a quack. So much fun. And before you get worried about the ruckus continuing on through the night when the little ones are asleep, the Coo Clocks are fitted with light sensors that prevent the animals from doing their thing during the dark. Brilliant, I hear you say.

For this week, our Coo Clocks are on sale instead of being $90 they are $78 so a good time to grab one if you planned to. If you don't see your favourite animal there let us know and we can order in for you :)

Cow Coo Clock

Sheep Coo Clock

Elephant Coo Clock

Dog Coo Clock

We're going to find out if we can also get these great football coo clocks in but we're a little bit sad there isn't a Socceroo one :(

Image from Heads Up

Image from Heads Up

Image from Heads Up

SARAH JANE STUDIOS

The first print from Sarah Jane Studios I ever saw was this one...

Addie & Ellie Play Tea Party II

...absolutely delightful. It's perfect in every way. Once seen, I knew I had to have it for the shop. It captures every detail of a childhood rite of passage but still charms in its simplicity. Like all of her prints, a nostalgic memory for an adult and beautiful picture to look at for a child. We have added two new Sarah Jane prints to our collection, both available in different variations depending on the room they're heading to or child they'll belong to.

Firstly, there's Three Chairs, Sarah Jane's interpretation of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story. It's available with red, green and blue chairs, which is a lovely option for a boy's nursery or a shared room for young children. Or you can have red, pink and yellow chairs, perfectly sweet for a girl's room. Like all of our Sarah Jane Studios prints they are $35.00, and great value for money we think.

Three Chairs I

Three Chairs II

And then I love these. In fact, so much so I'm getting Read with Me III, framed for a wall in the office. Once again, love the sweetness and simplicity of the detail, and LOVE that you can choose hair and outfit colours too and get the perfect match for little miss' reading corner.

Read With Me I

Read With Me II

Read With Me III

Read With Me IV

THE BABY & TODDLER SHOW

Today we were invited to exhibit at the Baby & Toddler Show in October at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour. We haven't done anything like this before so it all seems a bit overwhelming BUT we are seriously contemplating giving it a go! Stay tuned!

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Yes. you have guessed it, we are finally there. On Thursday afternoon last week we flung open the cyber doors on our new interiors collection and website. And may I say, I love it! Tish over at artish, has done a super job with our new look and I think it is safe to say, she is now sick of the sight and sound of me. It was a busy and frantic lead up to going live that's for sure!

Our new website is more simple and chic than ever (if you ask me). I love the new colour scheme and don't think I'll ever get tired of the beautiful new icons. Perfect in their simplicity (this is the launch post, so I'm allowed to rave a bit aren't I?!), I can't stop going to our home page to look at them. Now more than ever, we are dedicated to keeping our collection fresh and exciting and will be consistently adding new pieces to it.

We plan to bring you even more payment options in the not-too-distant-future as we want to be able to offer you a simplified direct deposit option and more credit card options. As well as that, we want to be able to tailor shipping rates specifically to your area if not postcode! In the meantime, Paypal continues to serve us well and we will certainly continue to offer it as the excellent option it is as well. (I know Paypal is my preferred payment method when shopping online).

But on to the fun stuff...our new products! Too many to talk about all at once so I'll start with a new favourite, the Bedtime Bus Roll Poster. "I just 'yuv it!", as my three year old nephew says when he loves something. It has to be the sweetest way ever to capture the all important bedtime routine, fitting that it comes to us from My Sweet Prints. Inspired by the vintage bus roll posters it is too delightful. Printed on 160gsm archival and chlorine free paper, this one is a keeper. The loveliest thing about is you can customise it to your own routine, mind you the thought of that is too overwhelming and you're a procrastinating perfectionist like me, our standard print is perfect. We are currently selling the print unframed but a framed option will soon be available too.

On that note, the cuppa in my bedtime routine is calling out to me so I am off. Sweet dreams everyone.

Image from My Sweet Dreams

But I digress...

Just quickly before I tell you ALL about our new website I wanted to take a quick sidetrack and say THANK YOU to the peeps at The Daily Buzz for their cute Princess and The Pea featurette a little while ago that included our favourite toy from Maileg, The Princess & The Pea doll. There is in square B below.

Image via The Daily Buzz

And by the way...we also stock the exquisite English Silver Cross pram in square D, an heirloom piece to be sure.

Not long now

Well, I have been ridiculously absent but I like to tell myself it's all for a good cause. We have been working hard on launching our new interiors based collection and website and are happy to announce we are only days away now!

A long weekend

Image from digger history

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Our plan is to make it to the dawn service this year and then a few rounds of two-up at our local.

Instyle Homes

The May issue of InStyle is out (Gwen Stefani is rocking the cover) and this month they've included a bonus 40 pages of InStyle Homes. Actress Julie Bowen shows us through her spacious Los Angeles home for five.

I love this coffee table in Julie Bowen's living room.

Then there's the Melbourne home of MOR co-founder Deon St. Mor which is opulent and sophisticated but maybe a bit broody for me. Located in the top floor of an Art Deco building I should be crazy about it...and there are certainly aspects that are wonderful.

I do love his mirrored bar cabinets.

In an editorial for ideas on creating the look of St. Mor, InStyle suggests this glass ornament from Ruby Star Traders. And while I try not to get too carried away with ornaments that have little or not connection to me, there's just something about this little fella that makes me want to own him.

Ruby Star Traders

There's also the home of Alexia Gnecchi Ruscone and the design sourcing secrets of four of Australia's best stylists (I confess I only knew one but now I know them all). Naturally, there's the obligatory five pages of Domayne advertising - is it just me or has anyone else noticed that in the last little while (can't define 'little while' adequately) Domayne's accessories and decor have become so much more sensitive and diverse? Maybe it's just me, maybe I didn't know the collection intimately enough to start with. Maybe I've just become more sensitive and diverse in the last little while.

But I digress, the most exciting for us were the design secrets passed on to InStyle readers by the marvelous Megan Morton (wasn't going for alliteration but there you have it) recommends readers go to The Princess & The Pea for "sweet things for baby nurseries like bunny bookends in painted cast iron and toadstool seats". Thrilled doesn't cover it!

Can you see the green squiggle I've put around our mention?

Some other stores I've checked out on her recommendation in the same article are Town & Country which have beautiful and distinct outdoor lighting and very handsome occasional tables! I must say I'm a chump for great occasional tables and can't wait to have a home large enough to scatter them around everywhere! I also had a look at Izzi and Popo which is a banquet of European and American collectibles you could spend hours devouring.

Megan's own book homelove has recently been published. Make sure you check back in a couple of days for our post on it!

Stylish Storage

If these aren't the coolest storage bags ever then I'll be...

Image from Cox & Cox

Made from canvas, they stand on the floor and the stiff sides make sure nothing falls out. Measuring 38cm x 38cm x 38cm they are also plastic lined for easy cleaning and come with sturdy handles so they can be moved around without a fuss. Right, the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is they are in the UK but the good news is Cox & Cox do ship to Australia, woot woot!

Adieu, adieu to you and you and you...

These lovely toys will not be back in our new children's interiors focused collection...so grab them now if you don't want to be disappointed later.

Hand-Knitted Cupcakes $39.90

Hand-knitted Doughnuts $39.90

Maileg High Chair $42.00

Maileg Chest of Drawers $65.00

Make-it Rocket Mini-kit $16.50

Beatrix Potter Masks $9.80

Maileg Baby Bunnies $26.50

Cooking Set $39.50

Picnic Set $42.50

Miniature Tea Cakes $39.90

Rather exciting news

Image from Babies' Rooms From Zero to Three, by Judith Wilson.

Thought it was time to tell you all that over the next few months we are refocusing the P&P collection to concentrate specifically on children's interiors. I'm so excited for the new focus as this is the part of our collection that I love the most and have the biggest thrill sourcing. We're also going to be carrying a small niche collection for grown-ups rooms. A new website will launched in a few months time and I couldn't be more eager (here's hoping that my multi-talented pal Tish is equally excited about the prospect as she's the graphics design gal!).

Naturally all of the lovely items currently in the room decor category, as well some of our special toys that we know look lovely on shelves or propped on the end of beds, will continue to be available as they are exactly the type of beautiful things we would like to find more of.

Of course with the new direction comes the news that MOST of our other toys, books, clothes & accessories won't be stocked again so it's a good idea to check out this icon throughout our website if you want to grab something that won't be back! Of course I'll blog about the items in each category that are leaving our cyber-shelves for good.

Happy Easter

As I scurry around the house getting ready for the Easter gatherings that are happening at our place this weekend, wanted to catch my breath long enough to wish you all a Happy Easter!

Image from Pottery Barn

I heart the Oscars

Because I LOVE the Oscars and they are an annual ritual I look forward to them for the first few months of each and every year, this post is solely and utterly dedicated to them, no P&P correlation in sight (unless I play up the 'princess' angle of the female actors, no, it doesn't work). Of course, like all good award shows it starts with the red carpet and bottle of bubbly.

So my highlights and low lights...the out and out winner (and this is before she went on to be the actual out and out winner!) on the carpet was Sandra Bullock BY A COUNTRY MILE. No one came close, in my humble opinion. The dress was fabulous, she looked super sleek (even on my wide screen TV that stretched out a few of the other ladies eek) and definitely got the metallic is the look of the season memo. But what I loved the most was her hair and make-up. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L, classic, Hollywood glamour at it's finest. And then her accessories, IE the earrings and purse were perfect in their understatement! Love, love, loved it.

Image from oscar.go.com

Getty Images

I thought Meryl Streep looked lovely for a woman of a certain age (am I allowed to say that?). What I mean is, I thought she looked radiant and classy, with no mutton in sight. I love Meryl, and while I wanted the little gold man for Sandra, if anyone was to beat Sandy B, I wanted it to be Ms. Streep.

Image from oscar.go.com

Now I am an unashamed, shout-it-from-the-mountain-tops SJP fan. I am die-hard. I launch to her defence if it even looks like someone might be thinking about sticking a knife in. I wanted to love her outfit, I really did and maybe on paper it works. Vintage Chanel, what's not to love? But the most I could muster, was I quite like it. There were parts of the outfit that I did love, like the be-jewelled neckline and her hairstyle (apart from wanting to take a brush to the fly-aways around her forehead). Maybe it's just that the dress is a little too shapeless or maybe that's the beauty of it and only someone like SJP could carry it off?! Who I am to judge, am sure Karl Lagerfeld knew what he was doing...

Image from oscar.go.com

Image from oscar.go.com

I also think Demi sans Ashton should get an honorable mention for her dress. I thought she looked lovely. I love the colour and the the frills! This picture definitley doesn't convey the gasp heard in the room of girlfriends when we were watching it this morning, we thought she looked fabulously age-defying!

Image from oscar.go.com

So the low-lights, I have three that I'd like to mention...Jenny from the block what were you thinking? The fabric was tragic, like some sort of lining/plastic/foam/bubble wrap concoction, which of course it wasn't, but just terrible!

Image from oscar.go.com

Then Diane Kruger, almost unrecognisable in this frothy disaster. Does anyone remember how chic she looked at the SAG awards. Crying shame.

Image from oscar.go.com

And last and least...the beautiful Charlize Theron in a dress that looks like it was thrown together by a well meaning aunt for the Year 12 formal (who ran out of rouging material on the bodice so decided to just make two circles). Classy with a capital 'K. We've come to expect such big things from Charlize on the red carpet, maybe that makes it easier to disappoint.

Image from oscar.go.com

And therein lies my very uneducated critique of the beautiful people...back to reality.