Picnic with CHILDRENSALON

The last few weeks were epic! So much sun and so much fun. We maximised our time outdoors and of course we had to do a picnic in the park

It's also a National Picnic Week, so here are few tips from me in collaboration with CHILDRENSALON

What is the key to a good picnic?

Good company is number one

Set up in the shade. I see loads of people going for the sunny spot but I'd recommend the shade under the tree. You can always dip in and out of the sun, but keep the base in the shade. Also remember to take a tray - it will keep your drinks safe and stable. For extra comfort bring some flat cushions to sit on

Food & Drink don't over do it, keep it simple and choose something that's easy to transport. This time we went for some plain croissants & cheese to spread. Fruit and berries is a must, but avoid too many soft berries. Hard fruit like apples, pears and apricots will keep their appeal in the heat. For drinks we prefer loads of still water, but you can always add a drop of cordial. If you are in a public park there is normally always an ice cream van handy

Elevate and keep it Sustainable by substituting single use plates, cutlery, cups for your regular dining accessories. I transport them in my picnic basket, covering them with towels and cotton napkins. It  might add a little bit of extra weight but it's so worth it!

Games & Books depending if you wish to have an active or quiet time. For me a picnic is more than just food, it's the quality of time you spend outdoors. For family picnics we bring a football, simple card games and a frisbee. 

Comfortable and appropriate clothes to sit and play around. These two are fans of everything colourful by Ralph Lauren. Gareth picked a cotton pink polo and Katerina went for a stripy shirt dress. And, of course, a pair of white trainers!

Leave the place cleaner than you found it. Make sure you collect all of your personal leftovers and waste, but also don't be shy to pick up litter if you see it. I feel like it should be done without saying, but we all saw the states of public parks after the heat wave

I'm hoping for more warm sunny days and fingers crossed more picnics like this!

Katerina is wearing a total look by CHILDRENSALON

Dress - Ralph Lauren

Trainers - Ralph Lauren 

National Dress Day with CHILDRENSALON

      Today, on the 6th of March, we are celebrating National Dress Day with CHILDRENSALON. 

Me and Katerina selected our Top-10 dresses for different occasions.

Jumper dresses, shirt dresses and funky dresses are asking for a pair of cool trainers to go with them. I see Katerina running through the park, scooting along wavy paths and going on adventures wearing these 3 dresses. 

1. Yellow polo dress for girls by Polo Ralph Lauren.  

2. Black dress with a rocket appliqué by Wauw Capow by Bangbang. 

3. Coral pink sundress with a mermaid print by Mayoral

For a tea party in the garden or a day out with mummy, the next three dresses are the definition of cuteness. They are smart, but playful and can really show a girl's character.

4. White dress with a butterflies print by Stella McCartney 

5. Pink floral dress for girls from British heritage brand, Beatrice and George

6. Fun white dress patterned with red hearts by Patachou

The next three dresses are for special occasions. Katerina is turning 8 in April and I'm glad I managed to narrow down  the search to these three beauties. 

7. Pink midi dress for girls by Childrensalon Occasions

8. Yellow dress with a bow by Abel & Lula

9. Pink cotton dress with floral design by Monnalisa

And my number 10 is this Childrensalon dress made in lightweight, white crêpe, with a beautiful pink and green rose pattern. Floaty and loose, it has a large bow on the front secured with poppers and a lightweight cotton lining for comfort.

You can watch our style video featuring this dress on my Instagram page (@galinathomas).

And last, but not least, let me share the adorable pink shoes she wore to match the dress. They are made of pink patented leather by Children's Classics.

Family Look: Holidays are coming

Me: jacket - LK Bennett / trousers - Zara / top - Whistles / shoes - Christian Louboutin

Katerina: top - Childrensalon / shorts - Childrensalon / shoes - Age of Innocence 

EN: It's only one month left till Christmas. Are you surprised how quick this year went? I know, I know, March seemed to last forever but all of a sudden November is coming to an end.

It's some sort of a tradition now when we sum up the year. Some people might call it the worst year, but I experienced some truly magical moments. Like being at home every night to read with Katerina and get her ready for bed, or picking her up from school every day and listening how her day went. Or rediscovering why I fell in love with Gareth in the first place by going out litter picking :) Sounds bizarre right? But it's an act of kindness without expecting anything in return, it's a feeling to do what's right, the social conscience. And the most magical moments of all is my Doc discharging me from the hospital. It was a real physical and mental roller coaster. But the saying 'Time heals' has never been so accurate. My lung return to a decent capacity without any surgical interference is my personal  highlight of the year. 

Oh, and I'm still getting used to my new MacBook. I'm trying to work out how everything works, especially how to resize the photographers without loosing the quality. So 'Hooray' to my first post using the new laptop 

xxx

Family Look: Emerald Green

 

Me: dress - Reiss / shoes - Casadei / bag - Florian of London

Katerina: dress - Love by Iris / shoes - Age of Innocence 

EN: It's been nearly a month since Katerina went back to school. Everything has changed, no parents are allowed on school territory, just up to the school gate and off they go. We used to have face to face conversations/meetings with teachers but all of it was moved online. Inside the school things are less or more normal so kids don't have too much stress but I do miss watching her on the playground running around with her peers.

The main thing she is still unconditionally happy. It sounds like she settled in the new class and likes her new teacher. I'm really looking forward to our 'start of the year' talk over zoom with our new teacher to listen to her perspective.

Students at Year 3 are getting a better variety of after school clubs so Katerina has restarted her piano lessons. Virus and summer holidays set her back a little bit, but it's good to go over and refresh what she learnt last year.

I have to admit, I started missing dressing up for events and theatres. It doesn't look we are going to have our normality back any time soon so dressing up for "no particular reason" is my new moto for now. 

Look of the Day: The Rose Garden

Galina: Dress - Reiss / Shoes - Ted Baker / Bag - Aspinal of London (similar) 

Katerina: Dress - Eirene (similar) / Shoes - Age of Innocence 

EN: Today is the last day of summer holidays, Katerina is back to school tomorrow! Year 3! Where does the time go?

We've spent the last week in London, visiting museums and enjoying sunny days.

Although I've lost my job during the pandemic , I probably got the best possible outcome in this situation. I've spent all this time with my family which was some sort of a problem before. When Katerina turned 3 I thought I was ready for a full time job and when I got it I've realised how much I miss out on, like spending quality time with her after school, dropping her off on important days, all sorts of school plays and sports days. I got to the point when I was literally crying when my job couldn't approve my leave on day when she had her Christmas play. All these things are in the past now, I moved to part time position and made clear that family matters come first. 

This lockdown blessed me with all the time in the world to spend with Katerina and Gareth. And I think we had the best summer ever! It was a joy to round it up in London, visiting our favourite spots and new exhibitions. We had the sweetest moments in The Ivy Cafe Marylebone and Katerina calling it 'The Best place in town' :) Roses, outdoor seating, strawberry sundae and all things pretty.

September is a new Chapter  

Family Look: Holiday to the Seaside

Katerina: Dress - Tommy Hilfiger / Sweatshirt - Tommy Hilfiger / Trainers -  Tommy Hilfiger 

Me: Top & Shorts - Reiss / Trainers - Ted Baker 

Viva la Domestic Holidays! Although we can't travel abroad, we still can enjoy a local staycation. And luckily Britain has a lot to offer!

Very British Holiday: seaside, rain, fish&chips, sand in between your toes, salty hair, big waves and ice-cream. 

Cornwall was our first choice because we know it well and we have friends & family living there. Something I've learnt over the years is that you can't rely on the weather forecast by the seaside. When it was the hottest day in London a month ago, it was pouring down with rain in Newquay. The weather is very unpredictable.

So when I was packing for this holiday I had to have a mix of flip flops and trainers, summer dresses and sweatshirts. Childrensalon had me covered!

First I found a perfect stripy dress by Tommy Hilfiger, made in a lightweight cotton and viscose blend. It fastens with buttons on the front and has pockets on the side seams.

I was going after a tomboy look, to give Katerina practical and comfortable clothes to run around the beach. So I also got her unisex white trainers with a red and navy blue flag logo on the heel. They are made in faux leather, with a fabric lining and a shaped, padded inner sole. They have velcro fastening straps and a branded, non-slip rubber outer sole.

And last but not least - a blue sweatshirt by Tommy Hilfiger, made in soft cotton jersey, with a fleecy inside. It has a navy blue, red and white stripe on the back and the designer's iconic flag logo on the chest. Just in case it's chilly in the evenings.

Maybe you didn't notice at first glance, but some items were picked from the Boys section. I'm free from prejudice and always explore the boys section as well, especially when looking for 'outdoorsey' stuff. I believe that most of the things will look equally great on both! Check out Tommy Hilfiger range, I think this brans is great for smart casual outfits. 

If you watched my stories, you know that the weather was changing every hour. But we (especially Katerina) loved every minute of it! She was chasing and running away from the waves from dawn to dusk. And despite not having any sun she still managed to catch a suntan :) 

Next stop is the Welsh coastline   

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Dressed by Childrensalon 

TED BAKER KIDS

Katerina: Dress - TED BAKER

Galina: Dress - TED BAKER / Shoes - TED BAKER / Bag - TED BAKER 

EN: Slowly but surely we are coming out of the lockdown into the streets of London. The weather's been pure bliss so me and Katerina went out for a weekend stroll around our favourite colourful spots. The first stop was to get fresh flowers. It's hydrangea season so we got few stems to match our powder blue outfits.

Speaking of our outfits, it's Ted Baker's new season. Recently Katerina changed her preferences and now she is into Blue. So when we were looking through Ted's new collection she immediately fell in love with this dress. She also likes the geometric flower pattern on it, which reminds us of arty garden walls.

My dress is matching Katerina's blue pallet. It has a flattering V-neck with a tiered skirt and tie belt detail. For contrast I went for sumptuous accessories in blush pink. I think our looks are demure but clearly speak savoir-vivre.

Check out  << Ted Baker Kids new season >> here

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Family Look: Polka Dots

Katerina: Playsuit - Zara / Bag - Aspinal of London / Sandals - Childrensalon

Me: Dress - Ted Baker / Sandals - Ted Baker / Bag - Lulu Guinness 

EN: What a day we just had! After 3 months of home schooling I've dropped Katerina off at school for the first time. Her school took girls back for the last 2 weeks of the last term. Not everyone went back though, I think it's only 11 girls in her class. But I can't even describe how happy she was!

Me and Gareth set in the car and asked ourselves what are we going to do with our day. Everything changed since we dropped her off at school last time. No coffee shops are open this early, no restaurants serving breakfast, no cinema dates. So yeah ... it took us time to decide what to do with our time :)

Going back to actual photos you are looking at. How exciting it is to shoot outside again! As I said before, Katerina is taking a big interest in directing photoshoots. So after I get 'my shots' she takes a lead and explains her ideas of location and poses. I have to admit she has some good ideas!

I just couldn't resist getting Katerina a matching polka dot playsuit. I see her getting loads of good wear out of it. And it makes me extra excited when we can create looks like this one.

CHILDRENSALON SALE

It's finally that time of the year! My favourite brands are treating us with Summer SALES!

 -->>  CHILDRENSALON SALE   <<--

I'm going to share two summery family looks and our 'Favourite Sale Picks' for Boys and for Girls.

Me and Childrensalon share the same vision: To dress children beautifully. I have loved dressing Katerina up ever since she was a baby, but now she is 7 years old and she wants to have some input. It's safe to say we will find something we both like whilst browsing the Childrensalon website :) There are 270 carefully selected brands to choose from!

Recently, Katerina really got into playsuits. She says they're really easy to put on.

So we got her this sheer white spotted chiffon playsuit, by Mayoral, with a pink, purple and green floral print. It has an elasticated waist, a lightweight white crêpe lining and a detachable tie belt. There are pretty ruffled sleeves and the straps cross on the open back. 

It's fascinating to listen to her arguments when she is choosing her outfit. As soon as she saw the delicate leopard trim on this dress she fell in love with it. She loves cats in any sizes and form :)

Here she is wearing a beautiful pink chiffon dress with a rose and butterfly print, by Loredana. It has beige leopard print trims and a bow with pink diamanté on the waist. For stylish volume, the skirt is lined with a comfortable layer of chiffon and cotton, with tulle frills around the hem.

Favourite Sale picks for Girls:

1. Loredana Girls Gold & Black Satin Dress

2. Patachou Girls Yellow Cotton Dress

3. Eirene Girls Pink Satin Dress

4. Guess Pink & Purple Logo Espadrilles

5. Polo Ralph Lauren Girls Ivory Knitted Sweater

6. Sophia Webster Mini Girls Silver Glitter Shoes


Favourite Sale picks for Boys:

1. Kenzo Kids Boys Grey Cotton Sweatshirt

2. Polo Ralph Lauren Boys Blue Cotton Shirt

3. Paul Smith Junior Neon Zebra Boys Grey Cotton Hoodie

4. Polo Ralph Lauren White Logo Lace-Up Trainers

5. Alviero Martini White Cotton Geo Map Shirt

6. Diesel Teen Black Leather Trainers

Happy Shopping

Lots of love 

Galina & Katerina x