I pack two lunchboxes everymorning….one for Master 6 and Miss 2.  They are vastly different due to all of Miss 2′s allergies and anaphylaxis.  So sometimes in my half slumber state, I stare blankly at the pantry wondering what an earth I put into the four containers in each of their lunchboxes.

How about a lunchbox with loads of little spaces.  Over at Easy Peasy Organic, I spotted this idea and think will try this next week.  I ended up purchasing a ‘fishing tackle‘ box as that’s as close to these with all the little spaces…clever huh.  Hopefully it will make it easier as I can spread all sorts of goodies into them and not just think ‘inside the box’.  Let me know how you get on.

While sitting in the reading corner in Master 6 3/4′s classroom, I picked up Puff The Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton.  As I read through with him, I fell head over heels for the artwork….it is AMAAZING!  I wanted to take it home, cut out the pages and pin it on the bedroom walls….and not just the kids!

Illustrated by Eric Puybaret, this guy feeds your imagination with fairy-tale loveliness, and I don’t think there has ever been a dragon made to look so enchanting.  Go hunting tomorrow at your local bookstore, or get it here.

Origami is everywhere in our local bookstore right now, and I have a client with a glass bowl full of colourful cranes at her entrance that looks fantastic – so that is why this book is apt for today’s post.

Girligami by Cindy Ng gives you instructions on fun origami designs like making paper pumps (high heels) and paper hearts, just perfect to do at a young girls birthday party, or even just a craft afternoon to keep them occupied.   If you want a sneak peak of what’s in the book and how easy it is, then click here to view her folding high-heels.  Get the book here for NZ$14 plus shipping.

Where have I been?  Well, our beautiful Miss 2 is allergic to most things in our world, including all household cleaning products, food products, moulds, etc, etc and is also anaphylactic to Dairy and Eggs.  So alot of my time is spent with allergists, specialists, doctors and me just plain trawling the internet….so I can help her with her eczema and food intolerences.

So today I wanted to do a post about a more natural product for your laundry….and I came across Scrub Naturally on Etsy. This lady sells only fully natural cleaning product without all the nasty’s for your washing machine.  She ships all over the world and it’s so worth it, to help you and your little people be as healthy as possible!

Ok, this is fortuitous. Remember my post on my favourite lounge suite The Mah-Jong Sofa by Della Robbia – well the Australian company Noosh have come up with what I think is the most clever example of it, but for children.  My idea for a hash-up of it seems terribly humble now! Each piece can be purchased separately and they have a range of fabric choices for each seating option. Best part is, they do ship internationally.  The ottoman is AUD$150 and the chairs AUD$249 and AUD$279, plus shipping.

Master 6 is mad about this game on the iPad; though I have tried it – the frustration is too great for the amount of time I have to ‘play’.  So, I have decided, if you are also an obsessed Angry Birds fan, then these soft toys for the kids (or not) are a must. Why? To get them off the damn iPhone or iPad of course and then they can throw these at each other or props in the house, and it’s a whole other game when it’s ‘live’.  Birds and Pigs start at about US$12 and the company ships worldwide.

image [Pocket-Lint]

Our rental has the worst orange curtains you have ever seen, but as they cover metres and metres of glass I have just ignored them. While changing Miss 17mths into a big bed, I couldn’t bare it anymore and made a curtain for her room today.  What do you think?..I love the brightness, it’s thermal, and when she gets her white froufrou duvet on as a bigger girl, it will look a little more chic….right now it’s all colourful and fun with her Pottery Barn Brooke Owl Duvet.  Now for her headboard so she’s not jammed against the shelf.  Sewing pencil pleat curtains is very simple, so if you want a tutorial let me know.

It’s school holiday’s at present and so I needed something to do with girls, while the boys are off at the skate park.  I love this idea from The Long Thread of decorating jars with colourful ribbons, grosgrain and even ric rac.   They could store all sorts, from plants, to pencils, to hair accessories….the list goes on.   Here are my instructions below as there is no sewing required in my version….will let you know how it turns out.

1.  Collect some jars from friends or your cupboard, making sure they are not tapered

2.  Lay out all your ribbons, a glue gun or PVA glue, scissors

3.  Measure your ribbon around the jar and allow an extra 1.5cm for overlap.  You could cut it on the diagonal or even a ‘v’ cut like the end of the ribbon.

4.  Squeeze glue onto the back of the ribbon then begin at the top of your jar and slowly press it all the way round.  Continue with different ribbon until you reach the bottom.  If you have a small area at the bottom of the jar, find a narrower piece or simply fold it under and iron it flat so it lays flat and fits the space.

Now fill with anything you like!  A few in a row on a dresser would look beautiful.

Woohoo!  Six year old parties rule.  The cake was a hit and here are the pics.  I didn’t double it or anything hard, especially as kids don’t really like all ‘that cake’…..but the icing more!  Master Six wanted to help and asked for marshmallows only.

Seriously, after their party food, no one wanted cake until I cut it and they saw the colours, then every one of them had to have a piece. So, here are the details for my own.  Yes, that’s Miss 15mths giving me a ‘Hi 5′ for her baking attempts too.

Basic Cake:

Oven on 180 celsius, grease round cake tin and pull out containers/cups and teaspoons for colour mixing

2 cups flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

100g melted butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/4 cups sugar

1.  Mix butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time.  Add essence

2.  Sift in flour, baking powder and soda

3. Slowly add milk.

Important Note: Master 6 wanted banana as well so I added one mashed banana and added 2Tbsp more flour.  Banana tends to brown/dull a cake though, so if they don’t want it don’t add it – as the colour will be far more vibrant than ours.

4.  Separate into as many bowls as you have colours.  It was about a heaped cup in each bowl

5.  Now add almost 1 teaspoon of gel colour to each one and mix well with a teaspoon.  Our colours were: Light Blue, Red, Yellow, Black, Purple, Green and Orange.

6.  Just tip out each colour into the middle.  Don’t spread it, don’t touch it!

7.  Pour next colour into centre of last colour and repeat until complete.  If you have a favourite colour, make that the last one as this ends up being the largest show of colour in your cake.

8. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, then check it and cook another few to 10 mins if it’s still making crackling cooking sounds when you put your ear to it. (don’t own skewer – I know I know).

When done it looks rather dull or dark but don’t worry, it will be colourful inside.  Cover with a tea towel until cool.  Now ice how you desire and the kids will go wild!  Considering I am no cook, I was pretty proud of our accomplishment.  Here is the link to the the one that inspired me.

]]> http://www.bohaute.com/2010/08/update-to-rainbow-cake-awesome-attempt/feed/ 0 http://www.bohaute.com/2010/08/mooza-designs-sydney-wall-art-at-its-prettiest/ http://www.bohaute.com/2010/08/mooza-designs-sydney-wall-art-at-its-prettiest/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:53:22 +0000 admin http://www.bohaute.com/?p=2303

I want the word ‘Bliss’ right above my yoga mat….the yellow is such a joyful colour scheme.  Mooza Designs in Sydney Australia use gorgeous japanese and retro paper to paste onto WC (Toilet) signs or make words, names and numbers.  Take a look at their shop, you’ll have trouble choosing your colour scheme from the custom range it’s all so joyous!

Hidden Bed, a company in New Zealand has the license for this great bed that smoothly pulls down over your desk to accommodate that extra person, or it would be a handy option for a studio apartment or dorm room. I saw them at the mall and had a go at transforming it…..super light and easy to change, plus you can even leave your glass of water without a spill and your laptop open.  You could also use the desk as a play area….set up with the train-set in a childs room.

There is an option of king single or double and you also have five different finish options – from white to jarrah laminate, plus extra shelving.  The cost for a king single is NZ$4000.00 while the Double is NZ$4400.00; that includes mattress, installation and GST.  Take a look at their website right here.

We have had seven birthday parties in a row – each weekend another little boy or girl turns 6 and so we have been wrapping quite a few presents.  The sellotape seems to have disappeared and as I am always wrapping at the last minute, we have ended up using duraseal (for covering school books)……I know, bad huh.  Over at Blossom Creations, they have a great range of rice paper tape among many other household goodies from your desk to your kitchen.  This is the tape I would much prefer to use, the patterns are yet another way to personalise your gift.  These cost only AUD$5 a roll or you can purchase in a set.   Go take a look right here.

I love this website, though I don’t get to browse it often.   UrbanBaby is based in Sydney, Australia and has the hippist things for babies and kids. My favourite item would have to be the Crazy Wolf.  Designed in France, he comes with a doll, a mobile, a hen, a pig and a frying pan – that he EATS up!  You can unzip his tummy to get them all out.  What a great ode to Little Red Riding Hood. It measures 35cm x 30cm, and the tummy toys from 7cm to 15cm.  He costs AUD$64.95 plus shipping.   Go see him at their store or buy online.

This would be a fun way to store books and soft toys in Miss 1′s room.  It’s made of powder-coated metal and is a weighty 22.5kg; stands 2.1m high and 1.5m wide by 20cm deep – so quite large.  The Tree Shelf designed by Shawn Soh is not for sale yet, but I am sure it won’t be long.  I could just picture a teepee right next to it!

via [Inhabitat]

How an earth did I find this!  After searching for insect collections with Master 6, we surfed around this cool site called The Evolution Store for quite some time.  It is a treasure trove of goodies for collecting anything from butterflies to beetles, minerals to taxidermy animals . The store is in Manhattan, and they have this great online store, so anyone can order the amazing creatures above in things like paperweights, frames, boxes and trays just like a museum! And they ship internationally.  Go take a look at the range right here.

I have always liked a rug in my childrens rooms, even though we have always had carpet – Master 6 builds around or on his, and it is comfy when he spends a while playing.  But they are nothing on these cool designs; my favourite would have to be the farm, as Master 6 has played farms since about 2 and a half years old.

The best bit is they cost only AU$190 plus shipping, from Bubba Bling.  I think the price is excellent, considering the clever designs.  They also ship internationally, you just have to email them for a price.

via [Ohdeedoh]

Oh dear, we have fish!  And a sea snail!  It was not the plan.  Now we have moved back to NZ (yes that’s 4 moves in 17 months) – Master Nearly 6 was desperate for a pet, and how perfect was the timing when a friend needed to give hers away, as her new cats were fishing!

These tanks above are totally cool for a fish, though I am probably guessing they are for the ‘fighting fish’ rather than the common goldfish due to their size.  How hip are these for a kids room, or even your kitchen.  The white ‘Fish Hotel’ is by Teddy Luong and it can stack on top of each other to make an apartment building for fish.  Measuring 7.5″ x 7.5″ x 8″, you can buy it here for US$25 (about NZ$37) plus shipping internationally.

The other called the ‘Retro Room Aquarium’ can be bought here for US$20.  It measures 6″ H x 7″ W x 5″ D, and takes only 1 litre of water.   Happy fish shopping!

I am currently smitten with these pretty soft dolls.  My Miss 1 pointed and grabbed for them in a store in St Heliers Mall, so I went hunting online and found a selection right here.  The fabrics are all girly and always catch my eye when we spy them.   Measuring from 15cms tall, they start at about NZ$35.00, though some stores really mark the price up.

While we are still in temporary accommodation, I did not bring books for bedtime.  And so each night either myself or Mr Bohaute makes up a story for Master 5 & 3/4.  He absolutely loves them and I think they just might be more fun than us reading from a book, as he gets to imagine the story in his mind! I am quite surprised how fun it is, and have started typing them out after I’ve told the story as it’s impromptu all the way.

So I smiled when I came across this great bowl from Ayda Anlagan, the designer of this and other great story bowls. They can be purchased through her website or, here for about AU$29, plus shipping. What a great way to add another story to a child’s world.

via [If it's Hip It's Here]

Sometimes we all like a little music while we’re out and about, and not just through your earphones.  This Card Speaker by IDEA International is no bigger than a credit card and as thick as a pack of chewing gum.

It comes in either black or silver, with a mirror-polished back, and includes a protective carrying case, a 3.5 mm connection plug, and a USB battery charge cable. The speaker has an operating time of approximately five hours on a two-hour charge.  You can buy it right here for NZ$105 and they ship all over, but you need to email them for a shipping price.

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