October 2013 - Page 3 of 5 - Adventure, baby!

Month: October 2013

Rosemary's: Kid-Friendly Restaurants, West Village, NY

October 15, 2013 / Manhattan Munchies, New York Food, West Village / 4 Comments

Freshly grown and picked fare is what you’ll get from Rosemary’s, an Italian restaurant with a rooftop farm in the heart of Greenwich Village. Created by Carlos Suarez, the owner of Bobo, Rosemary’s is named after Suarez’s mother and is inspired by both her home in Lucca (Tuscany) and the rich heritage of the restaurant’s Greenwich Village corner.

Walking into the restaurant I was struck by several things — the sheer size (it’s huge, even by non-NYC-standards!) the natural light (it’s a photographer’s dream), and the friendly hostess who made us feel welcome straight away with her kind words about Cheese, and with how discretely and obligingly she whisked our stroller away for us (STROLLER STORAGE!!).

Executive Chef Wade Moises serves seasonal Italian dishes that highlight the herbs and produce from the rooftop farm above the restaurant, as well as house-made pastas and a selection of focaccia — as an homage to the location’s predecessor, Sutter’s Bakery.

Not only was our offspring welcomed by the staff with big smiles, she was also handed a Lorax-themed coloring sheet, a children’s menu, and Crayola crayons (as opposed to the generic kind most restaurants offer, that don’t actually color when you try and use them). Fancy!

The food was delicious. Collectively, our table ordered the following: Salmone (smoked salmon on toasted focaccia, with mascarpone and lemon jam, $12), Orecchiette (broccoli rabe, homemade sausage, $14), Pollo Orosto (roasted half chicken, egg salad, asparagus, spring onion, spring onion, lemon, garlic crostino $20), Frittata (vegetables, herbs, stracchino cheese, $12), and the Caprese Focaccia (mozzarella, tomato, basil, $7) for Cheese. My frittata was a bit of a letdown — it was cold and not that remarkable.

I ended up carb-loading on the caprese focaccia instead. The focaccia was nice and salty and olive oily, the cheese was mild and light. Cheese wasn’t a fan, even though she usually loves all things bread — instead she ate a few Plum Organics baby food pouches (there’s no accounting for toddler taste). Side bar: Does anyone else’s toddler have a baby food pouch addiction?! It’s getting expensive and really frustrating over here . . . especially when we are going to the effort of trying to expose her to new tastes and cuisines.

Eating out with Cheese has been a hit-and-miss experience of late. The big question looming over every meal: Will she sit long enough for us to eat, or will we take turns entertaining her and eating? This meal we got lucky. Even though she didn’t want to eat the food, she loved coloring with the pack Rosemary’s provided, and, when that lost its appeal, there was always our best friend, the iPhone. Her current favourite thing to do is surf YouTube for Disney collector egg videos. Yes, it’s a thing. A very weird thing.

Upstairs is the rooftop garden. It’s great for little ones to climb up the stairs and run around in the sun while you’re waiting for your table or food. While the veggie patch is probably a hit with the older kids, Cheese is more into stairs (up, down, up down!) and trying to climb over the balcony edges. I’d like to say it was an educational experience, but in reality, it was more about trying to take super-cute pictures and preventing Cheese from injuring herself.

The metal chicken with flowers was a particular hit. “Bock bock bock!”.

Our meal wound to an end and we took Cheese for one last run in the garden before heading off to our next destination. As far as meals with a toddler go, it was pretty relaxing, thanks to the welcoming staff and easy-going atmosphere. We often feel harried after a whirlwind meal with Cyclone Cheese, but this dining experience was remarkably stress-free, and everyone, including the toddler who hates sitting down, left in a strangely cheery mood. I’d like to thank Rosemary’s for this happy dining experience.

Last bite: Rosemary’s delivers a delicious and relaxing dining experience featuring extremely fresh ingredients from their roof-top farm, and is great for parents looking for a hip eatery, without the snobby atmosphere.

Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No.
Kids’ menu: No.

Rosemary’s
18 Greenwich Ave (between Charles St & 10th St)
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 647-1818
Prices: $$$
Hours: Breakfast, weekdays from 8am-11:30am; Lunch, weekdays from noon-4:30pm; Brunch, weekends from 11:30am-4:30pm; Dinner, daily, 5pm – midnight

GRUB @ Bishan Park: Kid-Friendly Cafes, Bishan, Singapore

October 15, 2013 / Bishan, Food Reviews, Singapore / 0 comment

I’ve blogged about GRUB before, but that was over their weekend brunch. This time, we were there for an early dinner!

Here’s a little tip: GRUB opens at 5:30PM. By then, you’ll see the eager beavers skulking around the park, waiting to dash over to grab a table once the cafe opens. So, if you’re already there, you can be an eager beaver too and be seated right on the dot at 5:30PM, meaning you get a table straightaway (GRUB almost always has a queue).

What we do is pop over just before then, and let the kids stretch their legs in the park. That way, even when we get our table, I can do the ordering and the kids can continue playing in the park right up until the food arrives. We waste no time, the kids get maximum playing time, and everybody is happy.

As expected, there are heaps of people lurking around GRUB by the time we are ready to eat. And the kids sure are ready to have their dinner, since they’ve already used up a bunch of energy whizzing around the park.

I love their Crabbies ginger beer. It’s served icy cold and is practically the drink to have after a walk around the park.

We kicked off with their Compressed Tomato Salad, with Feta, Rocket and Pine Nuts (S$7). I’ve heard so many raves for this dish, but never ordered it because it’s… errmm.. salad. I have issues with ordering salad. Salad and I do not agree.

I was surprised by the tomatoes. The reviews are true – they do taste different! I hear they are marinated in a vacuum, thus making the tomatoes ultra juicy, soft and sweet. If you don’t normally like tomatoes, I reckon you’ll like this version.

The rocket leaves were horrific to me, I hate rocket.

Nice scattering of feta cheese and pinenuts, that complemented the tomatoes really well.

I had a Pork steak burger with apples, cashew chimichurri ($12). It’s a popular burger and one of my faves. The bun is super soft and fluffy, and the sauce is a fantastic and interesting mix. But what gets me is the PORK! It’s literally a steak of pork, all chunky and meaty. And it is soooooooooooo freakinnnnn soft. Absolutely tender, my kids can eat it (note: Carter only has two bottom teeth).

I swapped my fries for mashed potato, and you’ll see why later. Frankly, next time I’ll always swap it for the mash, because my kids can eat it, and it’s ridiculously yummy. The fact that it’s made of real potatoes on premises delights me, because I am still grossed out by the fact that most eateries in Singapore used re-constituted/powdered mash potato – I mean, how unappetizing is that? I certainly don’t want my kids eating that kind of food.

I always see people ordering the Grilled chicken leg with honeyed feta, roasted peppers, mash, rocket and corn salsa ($15). I guess it’s a healthy dish, so it appeals? I really like how it’s boneless, so it comes out almost looking like a giant sausage. The chicken is very moist, and the salsa is paired well with it. That said, in general I find chicken a very boring dish so I rarely order it for myself.

This is their signature GRUB cheeseburger with 100% freshly minced beef patty and Monterey Jack cheese ($13). It ain’t a huge burger, but the price point is really good, considering it comes with a big cup of fries. The patty is fresh and tastes distinctly like real beef. I feel the need to point this out since a lot of burger patties taste…. un-meat-like.

One of our favourite dishes? The Slow roasted pork belly with mango sauce, mash, and cherry tomato salsa ($15). A photo of this bad boy always shows up on blogs and social media channels, and I can see why. It’s blimmin’ AWESOME!!!!!

I must caveat – my photo looks positively unappetizing because it kinda got mangled (forgot to take a photo when it first arrived) and the light was not in my favour when we were dining there.. so in fact, most of my food photos don’t look very nice 🙁

But anyway. This pork belly is a real doozy. It is UTRA TENDER with just the right amount of fat through the meat. You can cut it with a fork, it’s that soft. But my favourite is the crisp exterior, which is seasoned to perfection. It’s paired beautifully with their creamy mash, and studded with sweet cherry tomatoes.

Leaving the best for the last, and here it is…….

MENTAIKO FRIES!!!!!

GRUB has just launched these and hooboy, they take the cake over truffle fries for me. You get a big bowl loaded with fries, and they drizzle their homemade mentaiko sauce all over it (they provide a pot of sauce on the side if you’re like us and want mooooorrrrre), then toss on a bunch of seaweed.

The combination is pretty mind blowing.

I find it very hard to describe here, but think fries dipped in a sauce that’s like mayonnaise-on-steroids. It’s creamy, but has a real punch of flavour in it. And coupled with the shreds of seaweed? (note I don’t normally like seaweed) It’s AWESOME.

I can’t wait to go back and order another bout of these.

Obviously, as you can tell from below, the kids loved it.

And since we had an early dinner, the kids still have a bit of time to run around Bishan Park afterwards, while the sun sets.

Oh, to be so young and carefree……

Big kids wearing Elly.
Hunter’s sunglasses by sons+daughters from nottoobig.
Ybike (blue) from Mothercare.
Last Bite: Go to GRUB for an early dinner, and let your kids stretch your legs in Bishan Park at sunset. Their burgers are always spot-on, but our favourite is the slow roasted pork belly.

Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes. Strollers and wheelchairs have a gated side entrance.
Change tables: No
Kids’ menu: No. The premise of the cafe is that kids can eat off the main menu.

GRUB
Bishan Park
510 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 (enter off Sin Ming Ave, opposite Blk 408)
Singapore 569983
Phone: 64595743 (no reservations)
Prices: $$
Hours: Tue-Fri 5:30pm– 10:30pm, Sat-Sun and PH 9:00am–2:30pm 5:30pm–10:30pm

Our aden+anais sleeping bag giveaway is still on…!

October 14, 2013 / Giveaways, Singapore / 0 comment

Have you entered our aden+anais sleeping bag giveaway yet? It ends this Friday, and is super easy to join, so hop on over and pop yourself in the running.

GOOD LUCK!

THE PROVIDORE

October 14, 2013 / Food Reviews, Mandarin Gallery, Orchard Road, Singapore / 2 Comments

The Providore is an open-concept cafe in (relatively quiet) Mandarin Gallery on Orchard Road. I finally managed to pay it a visit last week. I love the cafe layout. They have jams, teas and coffee for sale in pretty jars and tins on one side, and a scattering of tables around the cafe.

I personally felt that the air-conditioning is pretty chilly in the mall, so I selected a seat near the glass doors with the hope that some fresh (warm) air would gust in whenever someone walked through the doors. It somewhat worked.

Their Latte was a delight. Served piping hot, it was rich and smooth and…… “LOOK! Heart!” said Hunter.

The Mocha was mixed with liquid chocolate – thumbs up. Cannot stand mocha drinks mixed with chocolate powder.

We enjoyed a quiet chat whilst waiting for our food to arrive. The open-concept layout of the cafe and laid back vibe seemed to go down well with Hunter, who was very well behaved and fun for most of our meal. He was rewarded later with some time on the iPad, and had us adults singing “Tayo tayo tayo!” loudly. AHEM.

The Grilled ham and cheese toastie ($14.50) came out looking exceedingly bland. This was also due to the fact that I asked it to be served on their “softest bread”, since it was meant for Hunter. The sandwich came out looking like… well… something I slapped together at home.

It was very dry and hard to swallow, though the flavours were good. I cut off all the crusts (which was dry and had no ingredients) and fed him the middle bit, and he did eat it – so I was relieved that at least someone enjoyed it!

The Providore have a rotating Lunch Specials menu, and one of the items there that day was Spaghettini with seared tuna ($25.50). I thought spaghettini was very very thin spaghetti, but this was regular spaghetti. Not that it’s a bad thing, but just odd that they mislabeled something like that. The pasta was good, with fresh tuna and lots of stewed tomatoes in the sauce. Hunter loved this.

I thought the Steak sandwich ($14.50) was a winner, and great value considering the woeful Ham & Cheese Toastie was the same price! It was a petite portion (especially the steak), but was beautifully executed. The bread was fluffy, soft and warm. And the steak – ohhhhh, delicious! So absolutely tender with no weird rind bits. They were a little heavy handed with the mustard (it made us reel), but we still really enjoyed this dish.

I saw the Red Velvet Cake on the menu and couldn’t resist. The cake itself was perfectly moist and just tangy enough – lovely. However, the layers of cream didn’t sit well with us – it was so sugary we had to scrape it all off (and believe me, I can take sugar!). In fact, it seemed that so much sugar was added to the cream/icing that it had reached saturation point – as we could actually detect crunchy bits of sugar through it. Ack. So, in short, superb cake, terrible icing.

Last Bite: The Providore offers a casual, open-concept approach that is great for kids. The food is average-to-nice, but what we really enjoyed here was their fantastic beverages.

Highchairs: Yes
Easy access: Yes
Change tables: Yes, in mall’s bathroom
Kids’ menu: No

The Providore
Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road #02-05
Singapore 238897
Phone: 6732 1565
Prices: $$
Hours: Mon – Sun: 9:00 am – 10:30 pm

Top 5 Fave Organic Eateries In NYC

October 12, 2013 / East Village, Manhattan Munchies, Midtown, New York Food, SoHo, Upper East Side / 2 Comments

In a city as huge as NYC, it’s easy to find food to suit every dietary requirement. Delicious organic food is only a hop, skip and a Google away in most parts of the big city. As a major foodie (and vegetarian!) I’m all over restaurants and cafes where I can get fresh, locally-produced food to nourish my greens-craving body and introduce my toddler to healthy and delicious cuisine (Kale is delicious! Promise!).

Best dinner with friends: Angelica Kitchen (300 E 12th St, East Village, New York, NY)
Serving organic, plant-based food, Angelica is an East Village neighbourhood fave. They serve only top quality, organic fruits and vegetables (often served to diners less than 48 hours after being harvested). Note: Angelica Kitchen is vegan, and in addition to serving no meat, eggs, dairy or animal products, they also use no refined sugars or preservatives. Be sure to try their Southern Style Cornbread ($3.75), which Yelpers have written odes to. Gluten-intolerant diners are also well catered for at Angelica’s. No reservations, cash only. Bring kids on weekends – just be prepared to squish in, it’s tight quarters inside!

Best weekend lunch: Cafe Blossom
The Blossom empire includes Blossom in Chelsea, Cafe Blossom on the UWS and West Village; V-Note, an organic wine bar and vegan bistro; Blossom Bakery in Chelsea; and Blossom Du Jour, open in three locations (67th st, Chelsea and Midtown West). My personal favorite is Cafe Blossom in the West Village, where I like to go for special occasions like Mother’s Day or a date lunch with my husband. Their fresh ingredients come from local farms and small distribution companies, and every dish is free of animal products. My favorite dishes are the Salt and Pepper Garlic Fries ($6, they keep the toddler happy), Fried Cashew Cheese Dumplings ($11), and the Avocado BLT with smoked tofu, sunflower sprouts, mayo, cashew cheese on toasted whole grain bread ($13). As an added bonus, they’re super kid-friendly – kind staff help diners with families feel right at home.

Best working lunch: Sweetgreen (1164 Broadway)
This salad transplant from DC recently opened in the NoMad Hotel. It’s the hotspot for local business folks to hit up during their lunch break, so if you go during the week expect a long line (which moves pretty quickly). Sweetgreen is all about salads made with with local and organic ingredients. Choose a seasonal monthly special (September’s salad is organic arugula, shredded kale with local watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, organic mint, local feta, spicy sunflower seeds, champagne vinaigrette) or build-your-own (choose from bases like shredded kale or warm grains). With your kid? Go on a weekend to avoid the queues, and take your salad to nearby Madison Square park to let the kids run around while you enjoy your sweet Sweetgreen salad.

Best date night: Candle 79 (154 E 79th St)
The quiet, elegant atmosphere is perfect for a romantic date night. Diners enjoy vegan, seasonal and organic cuisine. Everything served is free of pesticides, chemicals, and hormones, and doesn’t include any genetically modified foods. Try the Live Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms ($24, with broccoli, cauliflower, corn, crunchy sprouts, cashew vegetable cheese, avocado sauce, pico de gallo) or the chef’s daily hand-cut pasta. Candle 79 is also a great place to take the family for a special early dinner out. The staff are friendly and accommodating to children.

Best food on-the-go: Whole Foods
As well as being a super-expensive supermarket that stocks produce and ingredients for every possible dietary requirement, Whole Foods also has an amazing selection of prepared foods and a salad bar to die for. All ingredients are natural or organic and as many as possible are locally grown. This means no artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives or trans fats. I love to grab a salad from Whole Foods in the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle and take it to sit in Central Park for a delicious, reasonably-priced lunch. Whole Foods is an especially good respite when you’re out with kids. Great food and a casual dining area make for an easy, tasty place to eat, without the stress of going to a fancier restaurant.

Why Dining Out With Kids Is An Extreme Sport

October 12, 2013 / Articles, Singapore / 0 comment

Why Dining Out With Kids Is An Extreme Sport

Reckon you’re the epitome of calm and zen?

Pretty sure you have the ability to control and contain any situation?

I thought I did.

Then out popped my 2-year-old and 1-year-old, and they brought the notion of competitive eating to a whoooooole new level. I’ve never had to skill up so quickly!

So here’s fair warning for the day you have your own kids, and step out all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in anticipation of a leisurely lunch.

If you would like to experience what it’s like to eat out with toddlers, why not follow the steps below?

When you first walk in:
Ask your waiter for a high chair. Leave it empty.
Set a chicken (a live one) down on the floor and shut your eyes for half-a-second.
Go chase the chicken.
When you find your chicken, place it in the high chair.
Ensure chicken sits appropriately and does not exit high chair for the next hour.
Congratulations. You are now ready to enter a restaurant with toddlers.

When you want to order food:
Hold your menu and look at it for one second.
Turn it upside down.
Flip it over.
Bang it on the table. If you have two menus, bang them together like cymbals.
Smack yourself in the head with it.
Throw it on the ground.
Pick it back up and colour on it with some crayons, or simply tear it.
Hold it as far away as you can and read only the first 3 items on the menu.
Congratulations. You are now ready to order from the menu with toddlers.

When you’re waiting for your food:
Put on your earphones and blast Justin Beiber’s “Baby” at top volume. On repeat.
Take out your bag containing 10 different toys. Make sure you do this calmly.
Place one toy on the table.
Smear your fingers in butter, and pick it up.
Throw it on the floor.
Repeat this with the other 9 toys.
Pack all 10 toys back into your bag. They are nowhere near as fascinating as the salt and pepper shakers.
Congratulations. You are now ready to wait for your food with toddlers.

When you want to feed a toddler:
Place a bowl on the lazy susan. Spin it.
Get a dozen eggs.
Place eggs, one by one, into the spinning bowl.
Go to the bathroom between each egg. Spend 5 mins in there coaxing yourself to do a wee.
Pick the bowl up and throw it on the ground. The eggs weren’t good anyway.
Find some cooked spaghetti strands, and repeat the process.
Throw all the food away.
Congratulations. You are now ready to feed toddlers.

When you want to enjoy your meal:
Admire how good your dish looks and smells when it arrives.
Let it cool down for 30 mins.
When sufficiently stone cold, proceed to eat. Set your timer for 2 minutes.
Congratulations. You are now ready to eat your meal with toddlers.

When you need to clean up after eating:
Place some jelly and biscuits in a blender. Leave the lid off.
Put blender under table and turn it on.
Use the restaurant’s allocated 1 napkin to clean it all up, your hands included.
Ask for your bill, pretending nothing ever happened.
Congratulations. You are now ready to clean up after toddlers.

Now you’re ready to walk out of the restaurant … leaving you feathery eggs and jelly works of art behind. Plaster on your most winning smile, blurt out “sorry for the mess!”, grab your chicken, and JUST LEG IT OUTTA THERE.

And if you’re already a parent? Take the easy way out, and visit a child-friendly restaurant in Singapore. Your toddler may not make it any easier for you, but hey, at least you’ll have company to commiserate with!

This article was originally written for Material World.

Brunch Special: Hit the Town in Green Style with these Hip & Healthy Kids Picks

October 11, 2013 / Guest Brunchers, New York Food / 0 comment

Today’s Brunch Special is courtesy of Marissa Zitka Abruzzo, President of Hip & Healthy Kids. She’s also a Board Certified Health Counselor, member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and a local New Jersey Mom to a 3-year-old cutie.

Remember the days of running out the door with your tiny purse full of only your wallet, phone, lip gloss and mints? Neither do I. With kids, those days have been long replaced by feeling like a pack mule. However, with a little bit of organization and picking some super cool products, you will feel hipper and lighter than your four-legged equine friend.

The Bag
Let’s start with the bag. When selecting a diaper bag, I look for something waterproof and/or washable. A ton of pockets are not as important to me as long as there’s an easy way to organize. I also look for a bag that makes a statement. Personally, I am not into bags with butterflies and flowers galore. Instead, I want something that is fashionable, unique and socially responsible. This bag by Malia designs fits that bill. This fair trade messenger bag is not only socially conscious, but also environmentally-friendly. It’s made from recycled Vietnamese feed bags!

Diapers
Next, I stock it up with my diapering selection. Perhaps you are a cloth diaperer? If so check out this article to figure out how to make it work in a big way. If you go the disposable route, select diapers that are free of chlorine processing, fragrances, and petroleum-based lotions like Seventh Generation Diapers. Also select wipes free of chlorine processing, fragrances, dyes, and alcohol like Seventh Generation Free & Clear Wipes.

Nursing Cover
I toss in my nursing cover next. I have one of these beauties from Udder Covers. 100% cotton, breathable and washable, these covers are a nursing mother-on-the-go must have. If you want one of your own, Hip & Healthy Kids has a deal for you. Check out their site and at enter in promo code “hhk” to get a free nursing cover (you only have to pay shipping and handling).

Food Containers
While we’re on the topic of eating… If your little one is on to solids, pack up a ThinkBaby bento box. This eco-friendly, air tight, on-the-go travel container will keep your food fresh for hours. It’s a perfect size to throw into lunch boxes, baby bags, purses, and backpacks. It is BPA, PVC, Lead, Phthalates and Melamine free with a sleek stainless steel interior. You will also be helping the environment with your reusable container instead of using harmful plastic baggies.

Hip & Healthy Kids readers can get their own bento box right from the online storefront (look under Kid’s Gear for the ThinkBaby products).

Sunscreen
For sunny days, I toss in one of my non-toxic sunscreens. Read more here to figure out what chemicals to avoid and how to select a non-toxic sunscreen. (Cheat sheet oxybenzone = bad.)

Hand Sanitizer
Lastly, I place my CleanWell thyme-based, biodegradable, and alcohol-free hand sanitizer in an easily accessible pouch.

Baby Carrier
For a child 45 lbs. and under, be sure to also bring along your Ergo Carrier. These carriers are made from natural fabrics, and the ergonomic design is key for parent and baby comfort. Ergo allows baby to be positioned in a natural cradle, so excessive pressure on the hips (which may result in hip dysplasia) is avoided. A bunch of fun colors/designs allow you to express yourself, since your cute shirt is likely concealed from public viewing.

Now gaze down into those beautiful little eyes, throw on your diaper bag and smile knowing that you are more than ready to take on the day in style.

Marissa Zitka Abruzzo, MS, is a Board Certified Health Counselor, member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and President of Hip & Healthy Kids. Hip & Healthy Kids is THE place for information on how to maximize your family’s health while keeping things fun and hip. Marissa has transformed her holistic, eco-friendly, and nutritionally-focused vision into a fresh resource for modern families. Follow Hip & Healthy Kids on Facebook and on Twitter @HipHealthyKids.

Here’s an aden+anais giveaway to celebrate over 1,000 followers!

October 11, 2013 / Giveaways, News, Singapore / 35 Comments

We have something very special to celebrate – we’ve turned ONE WEEK OLD!

Actually, we turned one week old three days ago, but errrrrrrrr who’s counting 😉

Thank you for visiting, and for reading Brunch With My Baby Singapore. We’ve only been live for 1 week, but I hope we’ve brought you a few ideas on where to eat out with your family. Stay tuned though, there are way more cafes to come. Waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more. Obviously I eat out too much.

What have we achieved in our first week? We’ve hit over 1,000 followers on our Facebook! AWESOMESAUCE!!!! (If you haven’t already “LIKE”d us on Facebook, what are you waiting for buddy?)

Anyway.

LET’S CELEBRATE OUR 1-WEEK BIRTHDAY *AND* 1,000 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS WITH OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I’m so excited about this giveaway, because it is from one of my favourite baby brands – aden+anais! I’m also a little biased since their founder, Raegan Moya-Jones, hails from Australia.

They need no introduction, but here goes: aden+anais make superior muslin swaddles for your baby, in adorable prints. They also make sleeping bags, bibs, and other baby-related goodies, all with their trademark soft muslin. They’ve also branched out into skincare recently, which I’ve been using on myself and the kids. If you haven’t heard of aden+anais, you probably would have seen their muslin – made famous by Prince George!

My kids own a few aden+anais sleeping bags because they are just SO comfortable. They’re extremely breathable, yet provide comfort. They also come in a wide variety of colours and prints that are so adorable!

aden+anais are being wonderful and giving away one sleeping bag (worth SG$49.90) to a lucky reader!

You can submit some of the entries more than once a day, so come back tomorrow to get more entries in the draw.

a Brunch With My Baby Singapore giveaway

Giveaway will run from 11 Oct to 18 Oct 2013.
Winner to pick up at a Singapore address.
Winner may select an aden+anais sleeping bag from available stock.

You can find aden+anais stocked at all Mothercare branches and selected retailers.

THANK YOU aden+anais!

petiteParade and Stride Rite at NY Fashion Week

October 10, 2013 / Kids, New York Life, Shopping / 2 Comments

The kind folks at Stride Rite invited me to attend their show at the petiteParade, the junior branch of NY Fashion Week. From my first row seat (wooo!!) I watched two parades – the showcase featuring collections by Andy & Evan, Floatimimi, Oil & Water, Stella Cove, SUOAK and Sweet Lola, and then the Stride Rite Children’s Group runway showcase.

The hosts of the showcases were twins Tristin and Tyler – two very sassy kids with their own website about their adventures in the big city.

It was impressive seeing little kids confident strutting their way up and down the runway, showing (for the most part) no hesitation at the wall of cameras at the end.

The Stride Rite Children’s Group runway showcase was a sneak peek at their Spring 2014 collection – full of floral accents and pops of bright color.

Flowers in the hair, spring sandals on the feet.

Denim, flowers and pretty sandals.

Superheros! Love this nod to Kill Bill.

I really enjoyed the show, seeing these gorgeous children modelling trends for next spring. I’m a big fan of Stride Rite shoes (Cheese has basically worn them since she started walking), so it was really fun seeing the spring line before it hits stores (and also before winter hits – I’m totally in denial).

Oscar de la Renta for Kids Trunk Show

October 10, 2013 / Kids, New York Life, Shopping / 2 Comments

I was excited to receive an invite to a trunk show for Oscar de la Renta for kids, hosted by Rosie Pope.

The clothes were just gorgeous – super pretty dresses and outfits, with delicate lace and beautiful floral prints.

Snacks! Love some sweets to eat while perusing lolly-coloured clothing.

Lots of floaty, fluffy dresses in pretty pastel and vibrant hues.

This dress was a favourite – the hand stitched lace was just exquisite.

I splurged and ordered this dress for Cheese. I thought it would suit her personality – easy to wear, super soft fabric, bright print that will compliment her bright blue eyes. Um, spoiled much??

I really loved Rosie’s diaper bag range, particularly this bag – I’d totally use it as a regular bag!