The Broad Art Museum, Los Angeles

During our recent trip to Los Angeles over the Winter break we took the kids to the most amazing art gallery. I know what you're probably thinking... An art gallery with kids? That sounds like a sure fire recipe for bored, whiny kids, right? But no, not at this gallery. This gallery is full of such fun and whimsical modern art that kids of all ages will enjoy it.

Tulips (1995 - 2004) Jeff Koons

Valentine's Day Style for Little Ones

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for themed clothing for the kids when it comes to events and holidays. I don't tend to go overboard and do try to keep it subtle enough to wear at other times of the year, but the theme is always there. A bat or ghost t-shirt for Halloween, a snowflake sweater for Christmas, a tractor t-shirt for a harvest festival, a lion bib for Chinese New Year.... This year we'll have love heart t-shirts for Valentine's Day thanks to Dallas Clayton's collaboration with kids' clothing label Rags to Raches.

Admittedly, I originally bought the t-shirts because I saw the matching toddler romper on Instagram and just knew that Mathilde needed it. It is just so freaking adorable and we're all big fans of Dallas Clayton here. Then I saw the matching kids' t-shirts and I knew that Ava and Lola needed one too. Then I saw the matching adult t-shirts and thought, what the hell, I need one too! I did stop short at buying one for Kim though. I do have my limits when it comes to matchy-matchy. Ha!

Anyway, when the t-shirts and romper arrived I was just going to put them on the girls straight away, but then I realized that with their motif of love they'd be perfect gifts for Valentine's Day.

That got me thinking about some of my other favorite kids' clothing that would be perfect for Valentine's Day and I just had to share them here with you.

1. Happy Socks

Swedish label, Happy Socks make... well, happy socks! Our whole family wears these bright, colorful  my favorite socks for the whole family. The designs are always fun and the quality is high. Many of the designs are available in kid's, women's and men's sizing so the whole family can wear the same designs. These kid's heart socks make a cute Valentine's Day gift.

2. Whistle & Flute JE T'AIME Women's & Kid's Pullovers

Ok, more matchy-matchy here! Whistle & Flute make the cutest t-shirts and sweaters and this design is perfect for Valentine's Day without being all about love hearts. Not sure I'd wear a sweater with "I love you" written on it, but in French it has a certain je ne sais quois! Ah, I'm so corny! Mathilde and I just received these sweaters and I can't wait to be twins! 

3. Mini Boden Hotchpotch T-Shirt 

I'm a big fan of Mini Boden for a splash of color in the girls' wardrobes The Hotchpotch t-shirts with contrasting sleeves are always my favorite and this particular red and pink design is just begging to be worn for Valentine's Day.

4. Rags to Raches + Dallas Clayton T-Shirt

Like I said earlier, we're all big fans of author and illustrator Dallas Clayton in our house. The hands reaching up design is one of his most instantly recognizable designs. You might remember the matching mural that Lola and I posed with in Los Angeles. The purple heart is a nice change from red and pink. 

5. Kram Heart Overalls

All over hearts for the littlest ones! These cute overalls from Swedish label Kram are available in a few different colors but red and white feels just right for Valentine's Day. There are also dresses, tops and diaper covers available in this fabric. Lola has the matching dress in brown and white.

6. Whistle & Flute Kawaii Heart T-Shirt

More cuteness from Whistle & Flute! I love the simplicity of this heart design. How can you resist that cute little smile?

7. AlbaBaby My Spencer Dress

I love the retro styling of this AlbaBaby dress. Mathilde has the matching overalls in bright orange and she looks so incredibly adorable when she wears them. She also looks straight out of the seventies! That big heart on the pocket is adorable any time of year but especially so for Valentine's Day.  

8. Whistle & Flute JE T'AIME Beanie

Valentine's Day falls at a pretty chilly time of year here in the Northern Hemisphere so protect that head with a cute, lovey dovey beanie. Just like the matching sweater, this style comes in both kid and adult sizes.

9. Tattly Three Hearts Temporary Tattoos

Temporary tattoos are always a big hit with kids and Tattly make THE best. This heart design is super cute and would make a great Valentine's gift to hand out to classmates. We've done this in the past with Tattly tattoos.

10. Rags to Raches + Dallas Clayton Romper

The romper that inspired this post! Seriously, how cute is this romper? I can't wait for Mathilde to wear it.

Legoland California

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Legoland. All opinions are my own.

Travelling with young kids isn't always easy. Sometimes it can be downright hard, especially when long distances in a car are involved. Hell, I get bored sitting in a car for hours and hours on end too. But, in my experience at least, the positives always outweigh any negatives. The experiences that our children will remember for a lifetime always trump the non-stop "Are we there yet?" questions that we try to block out from the back of the car.

Most of the advantages of travelling with kids benefit the kids themselves. Broader horizons, experiencing new places and cultures, having fun etc etc... But there's one big advantage for us adults too that I'm going admit right now... Travelling with kids gives us the perfect excuse to visit super fun places we wouldn't normally go to as an adult. Places that you wanted to visit as a child but never got the chance to. Places that are super fun but feel kind of weird to go to on your own as a grown up. 

One such place that we visited over the Winter break fell right into this category - Legoland!

I've been wanting to visit Legoland for as long as I can remember. As I kid I loved Lego. It was always one of my favorite toys to play with. My favorites were always the Fabuland characters, the ones with the animal heads - anyone else remember those? I'm pleased to say that my girls are all just as fond of Lego as I was. In fact, Mathilde is building with Duplo next to my desk as I type this. Note to self, check the ground for stray Duplo pieces before getting up for that next coffee break! Lego is fun, but damn, does it hurt to step on!

The Queen Mary

During our visit to Los Angeles over the Christmas Break we spent a day in Long Beach where we visited the Queen Mary. Our main reason for visiting was the Winter wonderland Queen Mary Chill event (which I shared here) but as both Kim and I have always wanted to tour the Queen Mary we were pretty pleased to discover that our tickets to the event gave us access to the ship as well.

Queen Mary Chill

During our time in Los Angeles over the Winter break we headed to Long Beach to visit the Queen Mary. I'll have a post about the actual ship coming soon, but today I want to share with you a winter wonderland we found in sunny old LA.

Queen Mary Chill is an annual Christmas attraction held right next to, you guessed it, the Queen Mary. The name comes from the main attraction - The Ice Kingdom, a 13,000sf walk through exhibit made from over two million pounds of ice. That's a lot of ice. And an awful lot of chilly air! Before entering The Ice Kingdom we donned long blue parkas which, as you can see in the photo below, were just a little big for us! How hilarious does Mathilde look?!

Christmas 2015

Can you believe that it has almost been two weeks since Christmas? Time is flying by (as usual) and here I am a little behind (as usual!) and I haven't shared anything from Christmas yet.

So let's fix that by having a look at our Christmas Day...

52 Weeks: Week 52

Week 52: SoCal Road Trip

I'm a few days behind here, what with it being 2016 already, but as they say, better late than never.

For the last post in my 52 Week Project I'm sharing a few highlights from our Southern California road trip over the girls' Winter break. I have lots of in depth posts about the places we visited coming very soon.

We started off the last week of 2015 in Los Angeles before heading to San Diego where we spent much of our time.

Before leaving Los Angeles we hit up the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills. The girls love Sprinkles cupcakes and they're even more delicious when they come out of an ATM. Ok, so they taste exactly the same, but they're definitely more fun!

Elf on the Shelf 2015: Week 4

Christmas is well and truly behind us, but now that we're home from almost two weeks away I'm playing catch up on the blog. Today I'm sharing the last installment of Eflie Pokie Nokie's time in our home. Or more accurately, Elfie Pokie Nokie's time on the road with us in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Day 22
That sneaky Elfie Pokie Nokie decided to help himself to a few drinks and snacks from the mini bar in our hotel room. Thanks Elfie - that just cost us $33 in rum, gin, Jack Daniels and vodka! Oh, and the Skittles too, however much they cost. Time to keep the mini bar locked.