czwartek, 18 grudnia 2014

Moms trip away

I am just back from my first trip away on my own without a baby. And the good news is that I survived! My little Plum probably even didn't notice I was gone for four days. This wasn't as easy for me though as I thought it will be when I was planning it. However I learned that all is in our head and that babies don't need us as much as we think they do, provided they have all other family members looking after them well. My husband pass the test exceptionally well but I have never doubted that. It was me who couldn't stop looking at little children simililar age as mine. Nonetheless the trip was very successful - I went to Paris with my mom, it was her Christmas present this year! Once you became a mother yourself you start appreciate your own even more. Love you mom!





wtorek, 16 grudnia 2014

Seasonal decor

Such a nice time of year is coming and it is high time to decorate the house with some seasonal pretty things.
So far I got to hung the wreath on the door. I bought just the green part and decorated it myself with little bows and bubbles. The pre made green leaves came from B&Q and my ribbons from my craft box. First time having a house door to decorate - very exciting I must say!


poniedziałek, 8 grudnia 2014

Exotic and local

Our latest food inspiration comes simply from the ingredients we are getting in the organic basket delivered from a farm. So we have to work backwards which is so much fun. I could really not believe that those exotic looking roots could have grown in the country. The vegetable I'm talking about is a Jerusalem artichoke and we made a delicious soup out of it this weekend. And it was easy to make too! 


niedziela, 7 grudnia 2014

Baby gourmand

We have just past 11 months and baby Plum is only couple of weeks shy from her 1st Birthday! Can't believe that really.
But here is an update on babies food consumption. I know parents ( well mothers) who are worried about there babies not eating enough. We don't have that problem - she definitely eats a lot as we can see from her nappies and overall happiness. She's also putting on weight well. What helped me to be more relaxed is definitely the only one book I read about babies - Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett. Absolutely amazing and I definitely recommend it to any new mom who is lookining for some reassurance and guidance on the healthiest way to introduce solids to their little ones.
At this stage here is example of a lunch from last Saturday. For a starter - grated carrots with orange juice and a drop of oil of olive dressing. Main meal - wholemeal pasta and courgette with baby sweet corns and Brussels sprouts done with butter and garlic. Desert - mandarins. She enjoyed it hugely and ate most of it. Contarary to my level of enjoyment while cleaning up after her... She's so worth it though.


środa, 3 grudnia 2014

poniedziałek, 1 grudnia 2014

Organic food basket

We decided to place an order with a country side, local enough farm. Just to test it and see if we like the service. But What we got definitely passed my expectations! We received this lovely whicker basket fool of goodies! Everything looked just beautiful and super fresh! The best part of it was ... the surprise element! We had no idea what some vegetables are! And believe me- I am a vegetarian and I know my stuff. This time tough I had no clue. We were joking that one doesn't need to go to exotic parts of the world like Asia to taste something we don't even know what is called!
Luckily the lovely people tell you what you got and also provide receipies! 
One I didn't know for example was Jerusalem artichokes! It made lovely soup.


środa, 26 listopada 2014

New Baby Cards

Hurra! Po wielu probach oto pierwsza wersja kartek dla nowego Dzidziusia, z ktorej jestem zadowolona! Dostepna w dwoch zestawach kolorystycznych - dla chlopca i dla dziewczynki! 

Yuppie! So finally I got to the stage where I am happy with the design of my collection of New Baby Cards. One for a boy and one for a girl! I'm also having lots of fun making them too. See the results below.






czwartek, 20 listopada 2014

Secret mission

My day job requires producing a lot of presentations for clients. Some time ago I have read somewhere that there are very few stock photos of women at work with a baby or just working women. For my last presentation I needed an image of business people- and I struggled to find one of a women! That is really shocking! It took me a while to find one where a women wouldn't be looking like a hostess/ receptionist or a prostitute in a tight shirt and super short skirt. But I have managed at the end and placed it on my slide while talking about business customers. Don't know if many people in the room noticed it but I am happy I have sneaked this one in. This is me changing the world - one presentation at the time!


środa, 19 listopada 2014

Crafting

Last year I started making my own cards for different ocassions and realised how much fun it is. So far I think I only bought one for a friend as was under time pressure, but all the rest I've made myself. Another project which I'm a bit struggling with is a New Baby card for friends that are expecting. I have some ideas and even got to the experimenting phase but it is taking me a while to get it finished. This weekend is looking good though and hopefully I'll get around to do them! I'm pretty good and procrastinating - any ideas how to stop - are very welcomed! 
Below one of the last cards I've made.


wtorek, 18 listopada 2014

Obsessed with right now

It's all about comfort for me at the moment. But at the same time I can't go out - well and I probably, realistically speaking, wouldn't like to go out in my casual clothes to work. Fortunately I found perfect solution for this problem - an elegant sweatshirt! Yes they exist! I got mine in COS - my latest favourite high street brand. So best things about the item:
- it is versatile 
- you can dress it up or down 
- looks great with skinnies and with skirts
- it's super comfortable!
- love the graphic pattern and the colours
Here is the one I have and am obsessed with at the moment. I would wear it all the time if I only could.

poniedziałek, 17 listopada 2014

What's for dinner?

I love to eat but I'm not the biggest fan of cooking. However from time to time I do get those moments when I really enjoy it and I can whip up something delicious. Coming up with ideas for next week menu is a challenge- how I suppose to know what will I fancy next Thursday?! But with a family planning is a must! Luckily my husband really enjoys cooking so we share that task. Tonight I am cooking egg noodle tofu soup! Can't wait to eat it!

środa, 12 listopada 2014

Baby gourmand

Baby led weaning is going very well for us! It's been now four months since we started solids and it is clear that she is enjoying herself! During last check up our little Plum put on weight a lot and she is thriving! Now when she has crossed 10 months mark, her new favourite foods are pancakes with apples and banana, potato cakes, carrot salad and even sourkrout salad! More mess have been created with serving her couscous salad and brown rice but that is to be expected. She loved as well beetroot and cheekpea burgers we had for dinner last week. I loved them too!
Here she is eating spaghetti with kale pesto - must say she's a pro at this!


środa, 5 listopada 2014

First house party

Niedawno wprowadzilismy sie do nowego domu i urzadzanie go jest jednym z moich ulubionych projektow.  Wiadomo,  ze jest to dlugi proces i zajmie nam troche czasu zanim bedziemy miec wszystko. Nie moglam sie juz jednak doczekac pierwszej imprezy i ugoszczeniu moich znajomych wszystkich. Udalo sie to wkoncu- byla parapetowka polaczona z Halloween! Przyjecie bylo baby friendly, wciagu dnia. Zrobylismy przekaski oraz ja dekoracje. Wyszlo super, choc w pewnym momencie zamieszanie bylo ogromne! Przedsmak urodzinowej imprezy Helenki za dwa miesiace!

We finally had our Housewarming Halloween Party! It went great! We made sie lovely snacks and hung some DIY Halloween decoration. So much fun!


sobota, 25 października 2014

Our Anniversary

Time flies and we just reached our third wedding anniversary! We always try to celebrate it - we give each other gifts and treat ourselves. This time I felt we need something special- just for us and something different. For that reason I booked us a trip to adventure park... We both like being outdoor and spending free time in an active way, but this was way out of our comfort zones. The park was really spectacular with platform set high on the tree trunks. And we now know how the squirrels feel jumping down the trees! It was so much fun and my husband really enjoyed it! It was a surprise for him and I was a bit worried he might not like it, but he loved it! Must admit- it was a good dose of adrenaline rush and it was scary for me! Funny enough I learned how much true it is that all is in our heads - the less I worried about the hights the more scary it seemed! But hey - I did it all and still can't believe it! Afterwards we went to a lovely and cosy restaurant in a mountains and ate delicious food! Overall - big success!


poniedziałek, 20 października 2014

Busy life

Things got really busy recently. Juggling work and baby and marriage and new house and art passion and friendships and blogging isn't as easy as I thought...Don't know how other fabulous bloggers do their super pretty and clever post almost every day! Well at the same time maybe they don't have all the elements in their equation or maybe I am trying to find excuses! 
Anyways we had lovely weekend away at family wedding. Also went to lovely flee market in the seaside town village and picked up some vintage finds for the house. Still thinking about the gourgeous chest of drawers I spotted and the market. Decision to be made soon!

środa, 1 października 2014

Getting Back in Shape

Pregnancy changes our body. Fact. Some could be lucky and not gain much weight but most of us will put on extra weight. Firstly it is better to prevent it by not overeating or believing that our growing featus would love a brownie for dessert every day. Secondly keep active throughout the pregnancy. I was obsessed with yoga and did it even four times a week. It was worth every second!
Now I'm going back to it - tomorrow is first class! Yay!

wtorek, 30 września 2014

Fashion challenge

Back to work means back to office wear! Luckily my company dress code is quite relaxed but still it's a big change from post maternity leave clothes!
Another challenge - the budget and new body. Again I'm quite lucky and I almost naturally went back to my pre pregnancy size but I would generally try to eat healthy and I did go to the gym for a while. So my new aim is now to mix and match my wordrobe content. Ouch! This might be tough to resist new purchases but I will try to stick to it!
Quick analysis - today I'm wearing ... All things old except new boots and new rain jacket. But both items bought couple of months ago are classic and good quality - my new rain jacket is from Benetton, graphite in colour and has a slight rubbery texture - perfect for Irish rainy weather. Boots are sued camel on Cuban heal - something that has been around for ages now and are super comfy! I hope this justifies my spends!

Clean eating?

So is my food dirty? What's the whole fuss about clean eating recently? Magazines are full of stories of people who turned into new way of eating (life) and Instagram is full of clean food pretty snaps. Eat clean! Really?!
In brief it's all about avoiding toxic stuff. Sounds like a wise thing to do but many of us including me, forget what they are. Here we go - plain white sugar ( letal), salt ( white death), saturated fats, coffeine and alcohol to name the main ones. The challenge is that they're pretty much in everything- well except alcohol of course. But the results of giving them up are tempting. Long time ago I was doing detox breaks but that hasn't happen for a while now. At this stage of my life I know that moderation is key in everything really.
So my new strategy is 80/20 - I am good at the week days and more indulgent at the weekends. Here's our shopping from organic market we go to every Saturday now.

środa, 24 września 2014

Conscious shopping

Od dluzszego czasu kupujemy w naszym domu bardziej swiadomie. Pochodzenie produktow spozywczych ma dla nas duze znaczenie. Wiadomo - you are what you eat. A czy jestesmy tym co na siebie zalozymy?
Uwazam, ze tak. To co nosimy decyduje o tym jak odbieraja nas inni, ale takze mowi o tym jak wazna jest dla nas nasza planeta. Tak, planeta- kupujac ubrania mamy wplyw na producentow, surowce uzyte do produkcji oraz warunki pracy w jakich zostaly one uszyte. A to wszystko wywiera wplyw na srodowisko. Niesamowity efekt domina do ktorego kazdy z nas sie przyczynia. Jednak nie kazdy zdaje sobie z tego sprawe lub chce o tym pamietac. 
Wracajac do tematu- postanowilam byc bardziej uwazna kupujac ubrania. Przede wszystkim mniej kupowac, ale lepszej jakosci. Z tym nie bedzie problemu, bo dobra jakosc zawsze docenialam.
Bede opisywac jak mi idzie. Narazie moj ostatni zakup to piekny szal marki Cos. Uwielbiam ich styl!



wtorek, 23 września 2014

The joy of creating

Uwielbiam tworzyc! Wtedy czuje, ze zyje. Strach jednak jak pomysle, ze tak rzadko znajduje czas na ta wielka frajde. Cale szczescie moj nowy projekt i mam nadzieje nowe zyciowe przedsiewziecie wkoncu ujrzal swiatlo dzienne. It's alive!
Kolejny etap to robienie zdjec moich obrazkow. Oto efekty! Jak narazie tylko jeden wzor, ale zawsze do przodu!

poniedziałek, 22 września 2014

Hungry Baby

Sliweczka je coraz wiecej. Ba, czasami musimy po prostu zakonczyc te zabawe, bo chyba bysmy siedzili wszyscy pol dnia przy stole. Kolejne ulubione produkty spozywcze:
- szpinak ( z naszej kolacji - bardzo jej smakowal)
- nalesniki ( na sniadanie, z jablkiem)
- pieczywo ( uwielbia)
Do tego coraz lepiej idzie jej picie wody z kubka specjalnego z przykrywka z dziubkiem). 
Ciesze sie strasznie, ze taki ma apetyt!

czwartek, 18 września 2014

Happy Working Mom

Nadeszla pora powrotu do pracy z urlopu macierzynskiego. Nie powiem, ze nie odczuwalam lekkiego stresu z tym zwiazanego. Jednak uspokajal mnie fakt, ze po pierwsze lubie moja prace, firma w ktorej pracuje jest bardzo fajna tak samo jak i ludzie oraz to ze wiem, ze tak jest lepiej dla mnie i dla mojego dziecka.
Osiem i pol miesiaca to jednak bardzo dlugi czas i wiele sie od mojego odejscia zmienilo. Najwazniejsze jednak,ze udalo mi sie zrealizowac moj projekt i dzialac!
Bez tego nie bylabym spokojna. Wszystko poszlo dobrze i przezylam pierwszy dzien! Oto jak ulatwilam sobie powrot do pracy:
- dzien przed zrobilam probe generalna 
- przetestowalam polaczenia komunikacyjne ( u mnie oprocz dziecka doszedl nowy dom)
- wczesniej kupilam niezbedne rzeczy do karmienia w pracy
- spakowalam sie dzien przed
- wpadlam do biura dzien przed, aby pogadac i uprzedzic o moim powrocie ( choc oczywiscie widzieli o tym)
- sprawilam sobie prezent (szminka bobbi brown)
Ciesze sie jednak ogromnie, ze w koncu otworzylam swoj sklep i bede realizowac swoje pasje!


środa, 17 września 2014

Lollypops & Piglet

Sometimes we have to much to choose from - the variety of goods in the shops could be overwhelming. The same goes for life choices either career wise or simply what to do with our life in general. Things were not always like that - life was easier before mostly because all those options were not there for us. Changes happened very quickly and we are not fully adjusted yet. We could feel lost in the new world. Like this little piglet.

Wednesday Adventures of a Parent

Chce aby moje dziecko uwielbialo jedzenie i wszystkie smaki. Chce aby cieszylo sie towarzyska strona wspolnych posilkow. W dzisiejszych czasach zapominamy o tych prostych przyjemnosciach i o cieszeniu sie obecnoscia najblizszych. 
 Od poczatku przygody mojej coreczki z jedzeniem pokazujemy jej jak jesc z radoscia. Jemy razem z nia. Usmiechamy sie i rozmawiamy ze soba. Tak po prostu.
 Sliweczka jak narazie je z ogromnym entuzjazmem. Sprobowala juz wielu smakow - ostatnio jablka (ma juz piekne dwa zabki na dole, zeby je scierac), melony, kanapki z domowym hummusem, jajecznice i kotlety z fasoli.
So far so good!


poniedziałek, 8 września 2014

Mindfulness

Co jest najwazniejsze w zyciu? Swiety spokoj! I cos w tym jest. Teraz coraz trudniej nam go znalezc ale tez i doswiadczyc. Gdy juz znajdziemy chwile tylko dla nas to czesto od razu siegamy po cos - telefon, ksiazka ( w tym lepszym wypadku), magazyn lub wlaczamy TV. Zapominamy jak wazne jest pobycie z samym soba. Dlatego ostatnio staram sie skupic na chwili. A jak to zrobic: zamknij oczy i zauwaz co slyszysz, postaraj sie zidentyfikowac dzwieki - czy sa przyjemne dla ucha, w jaki nastroj wprawiaja; zauwaz jakie zapachy czujesz i podobnie je zanalizuj. Otworz oczy i z uwaga przyjrzyj sie otoczeniu. Co widzisz?

czwartek, 4 września 2014

Slow living

Wydarzenia z ostatnich miesiecy daly mi wiele do myslenia. Wiadomo - narodziny dziecka to ogromna zmiana w zyciu kazdej kobiety, jednak dla mnie powodem do zmian i nowych wnioskow zyciowych jest/byl urop macierzynski i przerwa od typowego, zabieganego dnia pracowniczego. Trafilam przypadkiem na calkiem ciekawe blogi i teraz sama chcialabym cos zmienic w moim zyciu. Na poczatek - slow living i wszystko co sie z tym wiaze - slow food, slow breath. Ogolnie zwolnienie i rozsmakowanie sie w zyciu. Chyba za bardzo podkrecilismy tempo zycia w dzisiejszych czasach - warto zatem przyjrzec sie lepiej rytmowi naszego dnia i tygodnia. Bede pisac jak mi to idzie...
Kolejny temat to Minimalizacja Potrzeb i Dedigitalizacja zycia. To moje nowe slowo - odciecie sie od urzadzen elektronicznych - smartfonow, tabletow i laptopow. Tutaj bedzie bardzo trudno mi, ale enough is enough!

poniedziałek, 25 sierpnia 2014

The best oatmeal cookies ever

Wiele razy probowalam upiec zdrowe i zarazem smaczne owsiane ciasteczka, niestety bez dobrego skutku. W zwiazku z moja nowa inicjatywa - Sunday is For Baking- udalo mi sie zrobic cos naprawde pysznego. Uslyszalam to od kazdego kto sprobowal moich wypiekow. Ciastka wyszly swietne! I zniknely bardzo szybko. Bede eksperymentowac dalej z nimi. Kolejne wersje to moze orzechowa i  kokosowa. Czekam tylko teraz na kolejna niedziele.

wtorek, 19 sierpnia 2014

Homemade vanilla ice cream

Nareszcie udalo mi sie zrobic moj ukochany deser - lody! Ciagle w to nie wierze, czuje sie jak Walter White a moze nawet Jessie... Ugotowac cos takiego? Fiu Fiu Well done me! Ciezko tu byc skromnym, lody to nie taka prosta sprawa, potrzebny dobry przepis, skladniki i dokladnosc. Voila! Moje wyszly pyszne! Po prostu delicious :)

niedziela, 17 sierpnia 2014

New housewife

Nie dawno przeprowadzilismy sie do nowego domu. Nareszcie! W zwiazku z tym czuje, ze ta ksiazka moze mi sie przydac...Polski klasyk z domowej biblioteczki! Juz sama okladka bardzo mnie rozbawila. Coz, byc moze czas nauczyc sie prac domowych? Alez skad! Chyba nic mnie juz do tego nie przekona. Don't get me wrong - nie znosze balaganu, cenie czystosc i porzadek, jednak sprzatanie nie nalezy do moich Top10 ulubionych czynnosci. 
Umieram juz z ciekawosci jakie porady czekaja na mnie w srodku...A swoja droga ciekawe co powinnien byl czytac w 1988 roku pan domu?

Bunny art

So here it is, my first painting from a new series. 

środa, 13 sierpnia 2014

Wednesday's Adventures of Parenting

Od dobrych dwoch miesiecy praktykujemy z Moja Sliweczka tzw. Baby Led Weaning, co po polsku mozna przetlumaczyc jako Samo Karmienie Sie Malucha. Widzialam tez nazwy Baby Lubi Wybor - co tez swietnie oddaje idee tej metody. Mowiac krotko polega to na podawaniu dziecku pokarmow stalych w formie ... stalej, czyli nierozdrobnionej. Zatem zadnych papek, purée lub zupek. Nie jest to tez nic nowego, bo przeciez w czasach naszych babek i prababek nie bylo blenderow oraz gotowych 'sloiczkow'. Teraz powrot do korzeni staje sie modny, ale jest to moim zdaniem bardzo zdrowa moda. 
 Poniewaz moim celem jako Matki, jest najwyzsze dobro mojej ukochanej coreczki, zawsze wybieram to co dla niej jest w mojej opinii najlepsze. Cel - zdrowe, radosne dziecko, ktore uwielbia jesc, ma zdrowe nawyki i zwyczaje zywieniowe na cale zycie. Bez grymaszenia i wydziwiania. Naprawde wierze, ze jest to mozliwe. 
Zaczyna sie to juz w zyciu plodowym. Zdrowe mama- zdrowe dziecko. Kolejny etap to karmienie piersia, z ktorego zbyt latwo rezygnuja mamy w dzisiejszych czasach. Smak mleka zmienia sie w zaleznosci od tego co jemy i to juz wtedy dziecko przyzwyczaja sie i zapoznaje z roznymi aromatami, co w przyszlosci ulatwi wprowadzanie rozmaitych pokarmow. Ale mialo byc o BLW. Dla mnie najwazniejsze zalety tej metody to:
- jest to naturalne 
- uczy dziecko radzic sobie z 'grudkami' pozywienia
- pozwala cwiczyc koordynacje ruchowa
- uczy, ze jedzenie jest przyjemnoscia
- pokazuje ze posilki to radosny moment dla calej rodziny, wzmacnia wiezi
- sprzyja rozwojowi miesni jezyka i buzi
- zapoznaje dziecko ze smakami poszczegolnych warzyw i owocow w ich naturalnej postaci
- daje szanse sprobowania roznych faktur jedzenia
- pozwala Mamie zjesc cieply posilek razem z dzieckiem
Minusy:
- spory balagan 
- duzo prania
Wiadomo jednak, ze przy malym dziecku pranie jest non stop, zatem te minusy nie sa tak znaczace. Kilka rad jak zminimalizowac balagan w czasie posilkow:
- zakup jak najprostszego do czyszczenia krzeselka ( polecam Ikea Antilop)
- zabezpieczenie podlogi pod i wokol krzeselka cerata lub folia
- uzycie plastikowych fartuszkow do jedzenia i sliniakow z kieszonka
Tyle na poczatek.

wtorek, 12 sierpnia 2014

Happy accident

Jak to sie dzieje, ze wpadamy na pewien pomysl? Co sprawia, ze nagle wiemy co zrobic? Nie znam odpowiedzi na te pytania, ale cale szczescie znam to uczucie radosci gdy juz nam sie to przydazy. Czasem trzeba troche poczekac, czasem troche dluzej. 
Rzadko, ale mi sie zdarza. Ostatnio - kilka pomyslow na obrazek. Ot, tak urodzil sie w glowie I nawet zostal zrealizowany. Prezentacja niedlugo.