Macy's Spring Flower Show 2018

Every Spring selected Macy's stores around the country celebrate the coming of the new season with a beautiful flower show. San Francisco's flagship store is one such location for this display, and every year I make sure to check it out. This year's show is on right now, so Mathilde and I headed into the city to check it out.

Each year the flower show is based on a particular theme. This year's theme is "Once Upon a Springtime" and features magical fairy tale inspired displays with woodland creatures, a dragon, knights, a castle and a big pink throne for visitors to sit on. The displays are mostly located on the first floor through the cosmetics and accessories departments, and change from Winter to Spring as you walk through the store. 

Let's take a look...

First up, Mathilde and I checked out the window displays on O'Farrell and Stockton Streets. Mathilde was captivated by the cute creatures hidden among the toadstools and flowers. The corner window contains a giant book and a waterfall, but given the harsh sun during the time we visited I was not able to capture this well in a photo. You'll just have to go see for yourself!

 

Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Easter is almost here!

Only one more week to go until the big day. Are you ready?

If not, don't worry because today I'm sharing some of my favorite non-candy Easter basket goodies for the kids.

First up,  here are my favorite picks for big kids...

🐰 Duck! Rabbit!
🐰 Gummy Bear Bubbles
🐰 Gummy Bear Night Light
🐰 Hello Shiso Bunny Hairclips
🐰 Seedling Design Your Own Butterfly Wings
🐰 Hello Shiso Bunny Headband
🐰 Lego Easter Chick
🐰 Bling2o Penny Candy Goggles
🐰 Smencils Scented Pencils
🐰 Candyland
🐰 Eggling Crack & Grow

And now for the littlest kids...

🐰 Crayola Palm Grasp Crayons
🐰 Peppa's Easter Egg Hunt
🐰 Plui Rain Cloud Bath Toy
🐰 Haba Shakin Eggs
🐰 Bunny Teething Toy
🐰 Grimm's Wooden Balls
🐰 Tubby Todd Bath Bombs

🐰 Fat Brain Toys Tobbles Neo

🐰 Infantino Good Bites Carrot Teether
🐰 Kid O Floating Duck Bath Toy
🐰 Skip Hop Dunck Stacking Bath Toy

Can you believe that Easter is only one week away? It really did sneak up on us this year. Hopefully these lists will help those of you who, like me, have left Easter preparations to the last minute!

Rainy Day Wear for Kids

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

The rainy season is in full swing here in the Bay Area, and much of the country, so today I'm sharing my favorite rain gear for the kids. It may not rain often here for much of the year, but when it does, it's generally pretty heavy, so decent rain gear for the kids is a must - especially seeing as we're outside so much.

Karate Competition

Yesterday Ava and Lola competed in their second ever karate competition. 

Back in December the girls competed in their first competition, a sparring competition, and they've been eager to compete more. This weekend's competition was a kata competition. Kata is the choreographed moves that karate, and other martial arts are based on. So rather than sparring against other competitors like their previous competition, the girls performed their moves in front of the judges and were awarded points.

Girl Power Books

Today is International Women's Day. To celebrate I'm sharing nine of my favorite kids' books about inspirational women and girl power. These are books that I love reading with my girls. They're full of inspirational stories that tell little girls (and boys) that they can do and be anything they set their minds to.

You can find links to shop (affiliate links) below.

She Persisted: 13 American Women who Changed the World
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Rosie Revere, Engineer
Malala's Magic Pencil
This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer
The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for your Life of Epic Adventure
Little Feminist Board Book Set
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers who Changed the World

As well as all these great books, my girls have a subscription to Bravery Magazine, a quarterly magazine that focuses on a trailblazing woman each issue. The magazine is aimed at girls and boys ages 4 -9 and is full of inspiration for exploring, crafting and being brave.

For more recommendations on books and magazine that inspire and empower young girls make sure to check out http://www.amightygirl.com

Our New Garden

For the past six and bit years our family has been living in a two bedroom apartment. It gets a little tight at times with five people in quite a small space, but for the most part it works pretty well for us - although I'm sure that Ava would tell you we need an extra bedroom so she doesn't have to share with her little sisters!

When we moved here from Australia way back in 2011 we made the shift from a three bedroom house with a relatively large yard. I say "relatively large" because by suburban Australian standards our yard wasn't big, but by Bay Area standards it was massive! We had lots of space for the kids to run around on grass, an undercover porch, an area for outdoor dining, a large cubby house for the kids (complete with a slide), fruit trees, and a big veggie patch. Growing our own fruit, vegetables and herbs was something I really enjoyed, and it's one thing that I've really missed with apartment living. 

But all that has just changed...

No, we haven't moved. We're still in our apartment, but after about five years on the waiting list we were offered a plot in our local community garden! You guys, I can't tell you how excited I am to have a garden again! I can't wait to start growing strawberries, leeks, beans, tomatos, garlic... All that good stuff we used to grow in our garden in Australia.