Coquette Maman

Mom, Inc. Book Launch Party at West Elm in Emeryville on Wednesday Night

Are you a mom thinking about starting your own new biz? You won't want to miss the launch party for the new book, Mom, Inc: The Essential Guide to Running a Successful Business From Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Cat Seto. Meg is a friend of mine who has written countless number of books (Craft, Inc. + Creative, Inc.) and is also co-founder of the quarterly print design magazine, Anthology.

Head on over to West Elm in Emeryville Wednesday night for the festivities where you can meet the authors and also shop collections by local design moms.

Mom, Inc. Book Launch Party
Wednesday May 9th, 6-9pm
West Elm
5602 Bay Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
RSVP via Facebook

Winner of Rosie Flo Coloring Fashion Show

Congratulations to Elisabeth from Carrolton, GA for winning the Rosie Flo Coloring Fashion Show from Chronicle Books in my recent giveaway. Thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned more giveaways will be coming soon!

Lunch Time!

I'm a huge fan of the bento box to pack kids' lunches because it the best way to have all the little things they like to eat divided up into a cute portable box. These Takenaka Bento Boxes ($29.50 at Harabu House) come in a rainbow of colors that will surely make your little one happy to chow down.

Inside each bento box there is a moveable divider to separate different food. These boxes are microwaveable for hot dishes and are dishwasher safe.

While at Harabu House, I also spotted these Coated Linen Lunch Boxes ($29.95). These insulated lunch boxes are coated so spills are easy to clean. I especially love the adjustable carrying handle that lets the lunch bag turn into a messenger bag or backpack. The handle also makes it easy to be hung from a stroller! There are four designs: pink giraffe, orange daisy, blue airplane, and brown horse.

Gilt Groupe's Indulgent Mother's Day Gifts

Moms are all different and Gilt Groupe knows this. I love their wide selection of Indulgent Mother's Day Gifts that range from fashion items to gourmet luxuries. Check out the sales and believe me if you are the mama yourself, it's not hard to give your hubby a little nudge or point in the right direction as to what you want.

Visit Gilt and find Indulgent Mother's Day Gifts in the Women's section.

There's also a contest going on now for your chance to win a one of a kind Judith Leiber Bag featuring your child's drawing! Visit Gilt Baby & Kids' Facebook page to submit your drawing to enter.

Petit Collage: Modern Kids Decor + Toys

From wall art to mobiles, I love the beautiful designs from Petit Collage. Chloe has one of their ABC posters framed on her wall in her room. It actually became a great way for her to entertain herself in her crib and say her ABC's. New to their site are the personalized wood panel art ($60) and the soft dolls ($44). All of their items make great gifts!

Petit Collage is also celebrating their newly launched website so spend $50 and up and receive a set of Petit Collage notecards along with free shipping! Use the code NEW2012. Add the notecards of your choice in your cart before you enter the coupon code.

Here are more of my Petit Collage favorites:

Animal ABC Poster ($40)

Butterflies Fabric Wall Decal ($60)

Tree Party Jumbo Wood Panel ($220)

Up in the Air Deluxe Bamboo Mobile ($66)

ABC Flash Cards ($14.95)

Cheery Birds Boxed Recycled Note Cards ($14)

Rosie Flo Coloring Fashion Show + Giveaway

Chloe and I spent a rainy afternoon busy with the Rosie Flo Coloring Fashion Show by Roz Streeten (published by Chronicle Books). You may know Streeten's line of popular Rosie Flo coloring books. Everything for the little fashion show comes in the box and I let Chloe punch out all the pieces we needed. She picked which dresses she wanted for the show and the audience while I put together the the little theater and runway.

We both got lost in coloring the dolls. I had to help Chloe draw some of the features but she was all game to color in the dresses herself.

We had to have a little pink poodle in the show since it looked like her favorite stuffed poodle, Dodo.

The show was a hit for us and our dog Lulu who watched with curiosity as we were laughing and playing. With 18 paper models as well a complete stage to color, there are lots of ways for kids to be creative with their own fashion show. It's the perfect craft to keep them busy for a few hours. I love that everything also can be taken apart and put back in the box for storage when you are done!

Giveaway
One lucky Coquette Maman reader will receive the Rosie Flo Coloring Fashion Show! Just leave a comment to this post by Monday, April 16th at Noon PST.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Spring is the time everything's in bloom and it's also a great time to teach kids about gardening. I love this Scholastic Root-Vue Farm ($23.69 on Amazon) that lets kids see how veggies are growing from the roots on up!

Here are more of my kids' gardening picks:

My Little Box of Gardening ($16.99 at Pottery Barn Kids)

Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit ($12 at Pottery Barn Kids)

Veggie Tales 8993 Grow Your Own Veggie Garden Kit ($5.99 at Amazon)

Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Blossom Bright Tote Set ($12.19 at Amazon)

Toysmith Garden Tote With Tools - Toysmith 2284 ($20.95 at Amazon)

Baby Bathtub with Scale & Thermometer All in One

My daughter Chloe didn't last long in the baby bathtub since she was a big baby, but this Aqua Scale 3-in-1 Baby Bath Tub, Scale and Water Thermometer, Blue ($69 on Amazon) would have been so helpful the first six weeks as we were monitoring her baby weight to make sure she was taking in enough breast-milk. Lilsugar seems to think this could be too much for our generation of worrysome parents but the reality is otherwise. For some parents of newborns, having a scale is necessary such as for preemies or babies who may be having feeding-issues. I know of some parents who end up renting them for a month or two to save themselves time running back to Day One Center (a place in the Bay Area for parents/babies) or the pediatrician's office to weigh. I say whatever you can do to make the first few months easier for everyone – all the better.

The temperature display shows how warm the water is and also displays the baby's weight in pounds and ounces (or kilograms if you prefer).

One tip for baby bathing, I bought an extra four-sided changing pad to use on the floor. I would lay a towel over it so I could just carry my baby up and place her on the towel and get her dry quickly. I would place all her clothing and diaper next to the floor. It made bathtime a breeze and kept Chloe warm. I felt it was too drafty to change her back in her room.

The Kokeshi World: Yumi and Aoki

I have a major love affair with Japan from the food, technology, fashions, and all things kawaii (cute). Last summer, Chloe and I started a weekly ritual to our favorite Japanese restaurant to have udon and sushi. That was all she knew about Japan, until Yumi and Aoki arrived.

Yumi ($10.32) and Aoki ($10.32) by Annelore Parot (published by Chronicle Books) brings an imaginative glimpse into the world of the Kokeshi dolls. With sneak-peak flaps and super kawaii illustrations, each detail-filled page is a little discovery into this secret world. Chloe and I like to spend time on our favorite pages such as Yumi's sushi-filled page or Aoki's packed suitcase. If you wanted you could realistically spend so much time on each page just discussing every little detail. (Yes you can also still speed read through it if you have to at night too!) It's definitely fun for both of us.

We read these two books at least a few times a week. From them, I've discovered that Chloe has incorporated the Kokeshi world into her own play time. She brings her stuffed animals on the "train" to go to Tokyo to visit Yumi and Aoki. Then they go have sushi at the Japanese restaurant. She's already mentioned to me that she wants to make her own little Kokeshi dolls. Not all of the books we read together open up her imagination like these, so it's extra special to me that she has connected with the Kokeshi's so much.

The author Annelore Parot is a French illustrator living in France. Personally I have always loved that French-Japan connection with how each culture illustrates and interprets the other. I love to collect little Japanese craft/style books that showcase Paris or French country kind of projects. You can also join her site, Club Kokeshi (in French).

Speaking of Japan, for the hipster baby or toddler, you can pick up these Sushi Touch-and-Feel Stroller Cards ($9.99), a delicious way to teach them about different textures. (This makes a great gift!) Chloe uses her cards as her sushi menu when we play Japanese restaurant. She already knows that the bumpy roe is Papa's favorite.

Organic Handmade Soft Books for Babies

Chloe had Wee Gallery's black and white art cards when she was a baby. Now, there are cute organic handmade soft books with the same adorable black and white drawings that stimulate a baby's brain. Choose from Jungle Animals, Black & White Animals, and Garden (not available on web site yet). All books are just $22 and come with a handy tote. These books make a great baby shower or newborn gift.