Jeanne in New York – Bellissima Kids

Merry Christmas from Bellissima Kids!

Hello Everyone!

You haven’t heard from us in a while as we took a hiatus and we went to Australia for a long visit. Will be blogging about that soon!

In the meantime, we at Bellissima Kids wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Wonderful New Year, filled with joy and success!

Here is our tree this year! We would love to see your Christmas trees as well as we are obsessed, so please post to our Facebook page!

Tea Party at Carol Ann’s Carousel & 77th Annual Camargo Hunter Trials – Cincinnati

Well, we had such a wonderful day on Saturday, jam-packed with a lovely and magical Tea Party at Carol Ann’s Carousel and then to the 77th Annual Camargo Hunter Trials – in case you are interested in horsey events. This post is a few days late but better late than never!

So, in case you haven’t picked this up, we have relocated to Cincinnati for the most part and well, it’s definitely more calm than NYC and we are more surrounded by nature. But more about our day…

Carol Ann’s Carousel is along the Smales Riverfront Park which is in the central part of Cincinnati, (which I will blog about later as it’s really awesome.) Today I thought I’d concentrate on this adorable tea party. And then scroll down for photos at the Camargo Hunter Trials which is a tradition here.

So, this was the very first tea party at Carol Ann’s Carousel and was a huge success. They’ll be doing these from time to time, so click on this link to see when those are happening.

All the tables had gorgeous teas cups and afternoon tea settings and the whole venue has a great view of the bridge and river.

Solène on her 50th carousel ride. Not really… but the kids were allowed to ride on the carousel as many times as they liked. Actually, the parents were too, so I hit the carousel a few times myself.

The theme was of course, princesses and quite a few little girls were all dressed up. We saw quite a few Elsa’s from Frozen. That craze just goes on forever, doesn’t it?!

And now for the 77th Annual Camargo Hunter Trials. A perfect day for it all.

The girls hanging out at the VIP tent.

Solène riding her friend’s pony. And yes, I’m now being asked if she will be getting a pony for Christmas!

adidas Originals by Mini Rodini Fall/Winter 2017

What a cute and cool collection this adidas Originals by Mini Rodini Fall/Winter 2017 is! This is adidas’ second instalment of its collaboration with Swedish childrenswear label Mini Rodini continuing the collection’s blending of classic adidas designs with the quirky visual aesthetic of Cassandra Rodini.

This range expands beyond basic apparel into seasonal outerwear and accessories. The Superstar tracksuit features black and white colorways with a vibrant illustrated print, complemented by simple graphic t-shirts. An insulated vest applies Mini Rodini’s playful illustrations through a large back print with simple trefoil branding on the chest. Throw in a cute beanie and the look is complete! As always, pieces have been constructed with the utmost commitment to ethical, sustainable production methods, using recycled and organic fibers.

For footwear, adidas Originals x Mini Rodini introduces a bright and bold take on the EQT Support ADV silhouette, countering a simple white base with blue, teal, yellow and orange accents, transforming the aggressive modern EQT design into a perfect shoe for trendsetters of all ages. As a whole, the collection is a lighthearted blend of 3-stripes classics and Mini Rodini aesthetic, full of texture, color and seasonal style.

You can find this collection on the adidas site!

3 Top, Free Things to Do with Kids in San Diego

This guest post is by my friend, Beebe Hargrove, Illustrator/Designer Extraordinaire and Mom of beautiful kids. Check out her wonderful site here!

1.Beaches, beautiful beaches

San Diego has 33 of them and I’m listing only a few. Mission Bay has many small coves with little or no waves and long winding paths for bikes or blades. This is a great spot for families with littles because of ample free parking close to the beach and several playgrounds located next to the water.

If you want to spend a little, Mission Beach is close by and features Belmont Park, a colorful boardwalk with vintage games, shops, mini golf and an iconic wooden roller coaster.

Free parking can also be found, with a little more difficulty, at Coronado, and La Jolla. La Jolla cove is home to hundreds of sea lions who swim and sunbath all day and don’t seem to mind at all sharing the beach with us. Stroll through the streets to enjoy beautiful art galleries, shopping and bites to eat.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, although requiring a day pass for a small fee, has miles of beautiful coastal hikes, a free nature center and a beautiful stretch of sand to enjoy.

2. Balboa Park

We have had numerous outings to Balboa Park and have yet to see it all. Home to 17 museums, gardens, performing arts, an artist vilage, beautiful architecture and if you want to spend money – the amazing San Diego Zoo, it is defiantly worth a few visits. Parking is free and if you are a resident of California every Tuesday select Museums are free. Timken Museum of Art is always free and has a beautiful collection of Russian art. The Botanical Garden is free to walk through and has a colorful collection of orchids and other exotic plants. The Spanish Village Art Center is free to stroll through with many collections of local art to admire and purchase should you wish.

The Museum of Man at Balboa Park

The Spanish Village Art Center

Just a few of the jets at Waterfront Park

3. Waterfront Park

A gorgeous modern park and play area, filled with beautiful sculptures and two large splash areas with jets located in the heart of the city. A view of the bay and eerily close flybys into the San Diego Airport make this a unique and exciting stop. A few dollars in metered parking gets you just enough hours to enjoy a fun afternoon.

A Thousand Billion Things

We just got this really quirky book called A Thousand Billion Things (and some sheep) by Loic Clement and Anne Montel. And Solène just loves it. There are literally thousands of tiny illustrations in this book and we have noticed that not one of them is a copy of another.

Originally published in French, this is the charming story of a little girl’s day and the enormous amount of choices she makes in all the different scenarios. And each page has a search game where you have to find a particular item. So, there’s also something for the kiddies to do on each page. There is even an answer page at the back for all of those people who are not talented at find hidden images!

You can find it here on Amazon.

Trip to the Cincinnati Zoo and Joel Sartore Exhibition

We were lucky enough to catch the National Geographic, Joel Sartore Exhibit of Animal photographs entitled Photo Ark on our trip to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. This exhibition is making the rounds of zoos all around the country and is quite frankly, stunning. Joel Sartore is on a mission to document species before they disappear. You can read more about it on the Photo Ark Site.

These fanciful and quirky photos of animals staged as if they were Hollywood icons were scattered all around the zoo.

The girls in front of the Red River Hog!

And then of course, there were the real animals. Cincinnati Zoo has wonderful habitats for the animals which are as close to natural as possible. The polar bear gave us a real show which was a treat because we usually just watch the polar bear nap at other zoos.

And you can see the elephants and a lot of other animals very close up in this zoo.

The girls had a ball feeding the giraffes which were at eye level.

Now, the sloth was the main attraction that day for us. He actually woke up and did a dance for us about five feet from our spot on the balcony. Quite a show off!

The flamingos do perform an actual show and you can sit about one foot from them.

Then they do the whole “napping on one leg” thing.

The most unexpectedly fascinating part of the zoo was the World of the Insect.

This is the fascinating journey of the Leaf Cutter Ants who travel through this tube with bits of leaves they cut from these little bushes and carry to the other side of the exhibition to their home below. We watched them for ages. Much better than reality TV.

Here is the where the Queen Ant lives. They bring the pieces of leaves and build up huge piles.

Check out this interesting video about these ants!

Frida and Fauna – New Zealand Fashion

I just came across this adorable home grown New Zealand brand, Frida and Fauna, which is the brainchild of New Zealand Fashion Designer/Artist, Sophia Gardiner.

Frida and Fauna produces artistic one-off, hand made designer garments and accessories for children and babies. The unique thing about this label is that everything is by commission and each garment is designed and made by Sophia herself.

Frida and Fauna began in 2012 as a sewing project to dress Sophia’s young daughter Frida in a style loved by Sophia and her husband, Artist Mikaere Gardiner. Since then, the label has grown into what it is today – an artistic and original label with loads of charm and creativity.

Take a look at all the gorgeous pieces on the Flora and Fauna website, and if you would like to commission a piece you can contact them here.

Minakani Wallpaper from Paris

I’m crazy about Minakani Wallpaper from Paris! I love every single one of their designs and could see myself putting their art all over our apartment. The black and white animal print above is one of my faves.

Minakani has been around since 2005, and has been designing knockout wall designs that are fresh and unique with a focus on strong and simple designs.

Minakani creates several collections a year and takes part in many international fairs.
They’ve partnered over the last 10 years with leading fashion companies, luxury and sports labels.

They have personalized service and encourage a bespoke approach and commission projects. You can contact them if you would like to work with Minakani or if you want to see their latest collection.

Check out their beautiful little shop below at 28 rue Etienne Dolet 75020 Paris. Also a video of their best work!

Stella McCartney Kids Fall Winter 2017

The Stella McCartney Kids Fall Winter 2017 covers babies in ever so cute penguin costumes to cooler-than-cool tweens.

This collection has the customary Stella McCartney animals in the mix and is a real “Swan Song” with swans featured in all sorts of prints, motifs, colors and situations! The collection features splashes of red, which is big for this coming season, mountains and American League Football helmets.

Animal prints feature heavily and the whole range has a cool 70’s vibe.

And of course, the Stella McCartney label is still committed to being a responsible, sustainable brand. Throughout the new collection for kids and adults they use innovative and recycled materials such as organic cotton, sustainably-sourced viscose, recycled nylon and cruelty-free Skin-Free-Skin.

In fact, the Winter 2017 campaign focuses on waste. It is expected that plastic production will triple by 2050 when the population explodes to almost 10 billion, so the company is using the range as a vehicle to raise awareness of the issues of waste and overconsumption.

The styles for the women’s range are fairly futuristic as you can see by the designs below. The video is also pretty interesting. You can view it here.

And click here to see the entire Stella McCartney Kids Fall Winter 2017,