Coco's Favorite Toy: Silver Baby Rattle

Silver baby rattles always struck me as symbolic and decorative rather than useful. But that is just so not the case! Coco's favorite baby toy by far is her silver baby rattle. It is also my favorite toy of hers. It's the right size for her baby hands, it's not annoying and it's absolutely beautiful. Once, I accidentally left it in a cafe and didn't realize what I'd done for a few days. Thankfully, I called and it was there! I jumped on the tram that instant and went and got it. Since then, we don't take the rattle out of the house because it would be a tragedy to lose. A complete tragedy. Allow me to tout the wonders of the silver baby rattle and explain why after the jump!

The silver rattle was the first toy she could hold by herself - at about six weeks of age! It was so sweet to see her little hand wrap around the slender bar and then to see the look of surprise on her face when it tinkled gently as she moved. Her rattle makes the softest, sweetest sound that could never get annoying, no matter how long she rattled it! That's much more than I can say for most of her toys. Sophie la Giraffe is ridiculously cute, of course, but after a while I get really tired of her dog's-chew-toy-squeak. The rattle on the other hand sounds like fairy footsteps!  

Now that Coco is teething, the silver rattle is still the winner. She will chomp on it for hours. Literally hours. Clearly something about the shape, texture and temperature of the silver is just right for sore baby gums. And, my God, does she not look adorable holding onto that darling thing?!

If you're looking for a baby gift, absolutely get a baby rattle. It's a beautiful keepsake, yet it's perfectly practical as the baby can use it and enjoy it for a long time. I never would have gotten Coco a silver rattle myself. (Hers was actually a hand-me-down from some friends!) Now that I know how wonderful it is, I plan to buy each of our babies their own. Maybe I'll even have them engraved with their name and birthdate. Wouldn't that be lovely to have as an adult? 

You can order an identical silver rattle here. 

Do your children use a silver rattle? Did they? Do you think a silver rattle is over-the-top decadent or practical? I'd love to know what you think! xo

Spring Fever

Every year, once Christmas and the New Year have passed, I am ready for spring. This is inconvenient for the obvious reason that winter has actually just begun! Dear me.

A recent pop over to jcrew.com didn't help my spring fever at all. Doesn't this bold, jaunty ensemble have you craving daffodils and Cadbury Creme Eggs? 

Aside from the leopard print bag, which is not my cup of tea, I love every piece of this outfit, head to toe. Swoon! Maybe when I find a new job and I'm preparing to go back to work, I'll make this my consolation prize for being away from my sweetie a few days a week. 

Do you get itchy and impatient for spring? How do you cope with spring fever?

{photo from here}

My Two Homes

During my trip home to the US, I was repeatedly surprised at how confused I made myself and others by referring to "home." As in, "It's so good to be home," or "I need to buy some Cream of Mushroom Campbell's soup to take home with me." All I can figure is that I now have two homes. The US will always be my home and right now Zurich is definitely home. Crazy!

It was a bit disappointing to arrive home to rain and 61 degree weather, but there was a huge rainbow to greet me!

This time around, I've had some of the worst jetlag I've ever experienced in my life! I literally slept *all day* today! This evening, after I woke up, J and I took an evening stroll through town, had ice cream cones at Mövenpick and then dinner by the lake. We had the best seat in the place and the mountains were all pink with alpenglow. Swoon!

It's always hard to come back after being at home where everything feels so comfortable and familiar and English is spoken freely. Most of all, I love having time with my family. Coming back this time I even cried going through airport security! :( But now that I'm back it feels good to be home. I definitely missed my darling J and being back with him, everything feels right. 

Do you live far away from "home?" How do you cope with the distance? Will you move back or are you staying for good?

Fan Dreams

This sticky humid weather we've been having has me dreaming of fans. Forget air conditioning! Almost nowhere (and I really mean that) is air conditioned in Zurich. At the grocery store, there is a little bit of air conditioning, but when the temperature gauge hits 87 with 96% humidity, it's pretty much miserable and steamy everywhere you go: work, school, shops, train, tram. Not so fun. 

Even still, air conditioning is terribly overused. What the world needs now is fans. Lots of fans! Here are a few of my favorites.

Industrial and sleek from Restoration Hardware. I'd love to have this whirring overhead while I go to sleep at night. 

Don't discount the power of a paper fan. These little cuties are compact folded up in your handbag and incredibly effective at getting the air moving. You can choose solid colors, or one that's airbrushed with a Mt. Fuji-esque motif or this really cracked me up. 

As for the desk, I could just die over this gorgeous vintage Emerson fan from Vintage Fans. My goodness, talk about combining form and function. I'm definitely swooning over this one!

What's your weather been like these days? How do you beat the heat? 

{photos from here and here and here}

New Home

We could not be happier about our new apartment in Seefeld. It is definitively the most desirable neighborhood in Zürich and utterly impossible to get into - especially at an affordable price. One evening we were riding the bus to a party at a friend's house and I got to thinking about how I'd like to live in the city. As nice as Adliswil is, it's a suburb and I just don't do suburbs! I'm a city girl, through and through. I looked up at J and said, "You know what will happen? Someone we know will be moving and then we'll take over their apartment and it will just work out that way and we'll get an amazing place."

Less than three weeks later we got an urgent call at 10 pm from some friends. Their neighbor was moving and if we wanted to get this place we had to act fast. We viewed the apartment the following evening and got the application in the mail the following day. Things fell effortlessly into place from there.

I was a little shocked to discover the total non-existence of equal opportunity housing policies here in Switzerland and extremely shocked to see people's reactions. At work and among friends, we got everything from sincere congratulations - you'd think we'd just completed our doctorate - to jealousy and whispering of the not-so-subtle variety. Waiting to hear back about an apartment you really, really want is hard enough, but having to endure remarks like, "An affordable apartment in Seefeld? Do you even have a chance? What makes you think they would they choose you?" is horrible. You might be asking yourself right now, how does one respond to that? I'll tell you. With a confident smile and an enthusiastic "It's not advertised! Our friends recommended us. They've been in the building for six years. Isn't it great?!" Oh, it's fabulous, darling!

I can scarcely count the ways this move is going to be wonderful, but definitely near the top of the list is decor. I have missed the vintage charm of our beautiful apartments in Portland more than I can say and our new place has serious charm: Original parquet floors from 1865, a wood burning stove from the same era, tall old windows with deep window sills, wainscoting! Elements such as those deserve decor that is warm, a tad modern to off-set the historical feel and cozy. Here's what I've got in mind.

photos from ikea.com and pendelton-usa.com

With the exception of the striped wool throw, which J and I saw in Sunset Magazine and immediately became completely obsessed with, all of the furniture and decor come from IKEA. The coveted striped throw is from Oregon's own Pendelton Woolen Mills. And did I mention it's 100% pure Merino? {swoon!}

When brainstorming what's important to us in a living room, we both agreed that cozy is paramount, hence the high pile wool rug, the Pendelton throws and the comfy couch where you can really snuggle up. It's also extremely important to us that our television not be the focus of the room. In fact, we don't even want it to be visible, so the cupboard will keep it tucked away and out of sight when we are not watching a movie rental from iTunes. In order to add a little warmth to the top of the cabinet, I envision the blue pitcher vase on top and a stack of books. I just love an artfully selected stack of books. To keep things from being too drab or plain, the red lamp gives a punch of color! Finally, the sofa table with its gooey golden glow will keep the sofa away from the wall and create depth and dimension in the room without the couch feeling like it's just out in the middle of the room on its own. I think it's going to be delightful!

What are your top priorities when decorating? What does your ideal living room look and feel like? What sort of "living" does your living room cater to?