carry me...to the olympics!

 Thursday, July 26th 2012. 

This day will go down in history.

Why?

Well, because Carry Me Home (represented by the very proud Ella bear) saw the Olympic torch of course!

 

 Here you can see Ella herself, in amongst the massive crowds of shoppers, Olympic enthusiasts, office workers and passers-by. We're all waiting for the torch with baited breath, lining famous Regent Street in the blistering summer heat.

It was all very exciting, having THE Olympic torch pass so close to Kingly Court and Carry Me Home. All of a sudden London has gained a real sense of anticipation, and there is a lovely, lively atmosphere around the city. Over the last week we've had a fair few customers who've travelled far and wide to be a part of London 2012. From NBC news to American soccer fans, it has been great to meet lots of excited people, and it just makes us get more and more excited!

Which brings me back to the torch...

You see, the thing is, little Ella (yep I'm blaming the bear) got so excited by the prospect of the torch, she didn't manage to take any decent photographs of it. So overwhelmed by the crowds and the anticipation, and being such a little bear, our photos don't actually feature the flame itself (rather just beneath the flame-see the torch bearer in the bottom left segment). 

But I think we've captured a wonderful sense of the occasion, and of just how many people turned out to support the Olympics and join in the fun. 

(Ella's not giving up the day job to become a photographer, she's sticking to being a professional bear)

And it did get us thinking about what would be the perfect, gold medal winning outfit to wear for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow...

1.Medal T-shirt
yep, un-questionably the best t-shirt to wear for the entire length of the games, without taking it off. Ever. It is that good, and that appropriate.

2. Trainer Shoe Socks
Behind every great sportsman/ woman/ baby is some good equipment. Athletes need trainers. Babies need socks.

3. Happy Accidents Dress
Because even though we're supporting everybody, we're supporting team GB first, and this little London dress is a stylish way of flying the flag.

So... let's hope it's a games to remember, we can't wait for the exciting next few weeks to come. Carry Me Home wishes everybody the best of luck, and if you've got tickets to events have a wonderful time! x

p.s. if you have any better photos of the flame when you saw it, we'd love you to post them on our facebook wall!
 

seamandala

Right, it's that time of year again...yep, the summer holidays are just around the corner. 

This year, why not try a new and enriching activity with your children, courtesy of Camelia Chinmayashakti and her lovely Seamandala parties?

I'll admit I was a bit clueless as to what it all involved, but to put it simply...

'More easily recognised in the West as art, mandala making is a fun, relaxing and creative yoga activity for children and adults...designing with natural materials [which] stimulates and allows for a positive, creative experience with colours, textures and aromas.'

'Bringing children closer to nature through yoga and art' 

sounds wonderful, especially to us Londoners. 

Camelia has already held successful events at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, where the children especially loved the 'petal shower' (you can see just how much fun they were having in the photographs below).

They make wonderful, different parties, and since the weather is reportedly going to improve there's no excuse to get out into the summer sun and enjoy making, creating and having fun in a natural setting. Bliss! 

Mention Carry Me Home and get a 20% discount, all details of how to bbok a party are on the seamadala website.

 

Inspired by the riot of colours and textures experienced in a seamandala party, we looked around our own little Kingly Court boutique, for our own Carry Me Home sensory experience, and here are a few snaps of the colourful clothing and toys we found...

Perfect for playing out in the park, in a field, or on the sofa, we think a bit of Carry Me Home would be the ideal mixture of comfort and colour to wear to a seamandala party. How about a lovely ladybird My Happy Accidents dress, or a bright green Cheeky Little Monkey baby grow, both of which are definitely in tune with nature :)

For your little munchkin, exploring the natural world there can be nothing better than this baby grow, or this lovely mask t-shirt, great for any little nature superhero.

So, may the holidays commence, and instead of being bored on the sofa we hope everybody gets out there and explores the natural world around them. 

Oh, and I wouldn't mind a petal shower either, it looks great!

toy story

 Do you need to buy a gift for a baby or little person that you know?

Are you unsure of what to get? Unsure if they're big or little, tall or short? Unsure exactly how old they are, what size they are or if the British weather necessitates short or long sleeves???

Sometimes, these things can be an absolute nightmare. The choice, the decisions...everything!

Here at Carry Me Home we have a great range of baby and children's clothes and accessories, and we're always happy to help and give a friendly opinion or some advice. But sometimes, you need to think beyond baby grows and bibs and dinky little socks, and enter the world of

TOYS!!!

The gift of a toy can be the start of a beautiful life long friendship. It can comfort, console, share in the fun and help little ones learn about and explore the exciting world around them. There's no real gender bias with a Happy Accident toy (pictured below), and the textures and colours are so fun and wild they're bound to inspire some amazing pictures and stories! Each one is lovingly handmade and unique, what's not to love?

Whereas with a baby grow or t-shirt  there is an absolute certainty that sometime down the line it won't fit, that's not a consideration with a toy. Our Carry Me Home bears are beautiful, soft towelling teddy bears, each with a unique identification number. They're exclusive to us, so owning one makes you part of an elite special members club! We've sent them all around the world. 

Boo the yellow bear (pictured below) is currently playing with the other toys in the shop...

we wonder where he'll travel to, who'll be his owner and what his forever home will look like.

Toys can be educational (we used the wooden alphabet blocks, currently on sale in the shop, to spell out all of the words in the photos), and they can also be fun. How could you not have fun with one of these new car toys (below)? We've just added them to our website, and we reckon the gift of one of these little motors could start a life long obsession with cars (best warn mum and dad!). 

So, whether it be a cheeky monkey, a little set of hand-painted wooden soldier skittles, a beautiful collectors Whimsy doll fox or baby's first bear, you really can't go wrong with a toy.

That's our little toy story :)

wimbledon!

High excitement here in Carry Me Home today, as we await tomorrow's Wimbledon Men's Final.

 It has been 74 years since a British man has won Wimbledon, and in that time a lot has happened! We've had 17 prime ministers, won a world cup, and...

Carry Me Home was born!

So, to celebrate Andy Murray's momentous achievement of getting thus far (I hasten to add, he hasn't won it yet!), we thought we'd show you a few baby essentials for a day at Wimbledon (or in front of the telly!). 

And especially for any little lady or little man thinking of playing in years to come, these are for you :)

 

  

Firstly, all good tennis players need good footwear, and you can't really go wrong with a pair of Mary Jane or Trainer socks. There are two pairs in each gift box, so you can change mid-way through . And you could always use the box to keep your shiny gold medals in :)

Of course, you can't go to Wimbledon without having some strawberries and cream. Make sure you protect your tennis whites with a lovely big red Strawberry bib.  

 

One Wimbledon stipulation is the wearing of white, and we've got a few suggestions for that all important outfit...

how about a lovely Angel baby grow, complete with beautiful golden wings on the back? Line decisions are sure to go your way :)

Or, a nice Medal T-shirt, which shows you're confident of winning.

Whatever you wear, and whoever you're supporting we hope you have a fabulous day, and you never know, some history may be made!

P.s. if you have no interest in tennis, all of these outfits are perfect in a non-tennis context too! x

summer 7

Well, the month of June is nearly at an end, and what a month it has been! We've celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, celebrated our lovely dads on Father's Day and most importantly...celebrated our 7th birthday!

Yep, in true Carry Me Home style, we decided that instead of celebrating for a day, we'd celebrate for a month, and we did so by offering special discounts on all kinds of goodies instore, online and around Kingly Court.

It has been a marvelous month, and thank you to everybody who wished us well and came and visitied the shop to share in the fun. To continue the festivities (and the 7th birthday theme) we thought we'd show you our top 7 summer buys, that will ensure babies accross the land (and beyond) look and stay cool this summer. So, without futher ado, here we go!...

1. Liberty Print Nappy Pants (sizes 0-6m, 6-12m, 12-18m, £18.50)
Heading to the beach this summer? Whether it be Brighton or Barbados, these Liberty Print Nappy Pants are simply beautiful!

 

2. Seagulls Dress (size 6-12m, £36.50)

 My Happy Accidents have long been one of our favourite stockists, and this latest dress is a triumph! Look gorgeous eating icecream by the beach, and when you spill it all over your favourite new dress you can reverse it and have a lovely new gingham dress striaght away. Magic! See other beautiful summer dresses right here.

 

3. Pink Frills Playsuit (sizes 0-3m, 3-6m, 6-12m, 12-18m, £32.00)

Another lovely, summery, girly outfit, perfect for a beach baby! :)

  

4. A Tiny Suit Baby Grow (0-3m, 3-6m, 6-12m, 1-2yrs £34.00)

We always sell out, we always have waiting lists, because put simply, this baby grow cannot be matched for it's cool, classic and very very cute style. And where do babies where these baby grows to? Yep, all of those summer weddings of course! 

5. London Bus Lights (£19.50)
How could we forget, it's London 2012! This is London's year, and to celebrate our amazing capital city, home of Carry Me Home, we've got these rather fabulous London Bus Lights, which look great in any little man or little lady's bedroom.

 

6. Medal T-shirt (0-3m, 3-6m, 6-12m, 12-18m, 2-3yrs £18.50)

And, on the subject of London 2012, this t-shirt will see any young sport enthusiast (or child of sport enthusiast) through the entire Olympic period. Simple, effective and sweet!

 

 7. Katie Bear (£28.00)
Finally, to see you through summer, what you really, essentially do NEED is a Carry Me Home bear. The perfect companion for all of your summer adventures!
(Wonder which lucky person will be carrying Katie the bear home with them?!)

So, let's hope next month (which is the 7th of the year coincidently)!) is just as fun as this month has been, especially with your super summer7 Carry Me Home goodies :)

icons

There's always a lot going on in Kingly Court, so we weren't all together too shocked when we saw a life-sized telephone box with a bright illustration of an angry man on the phone (pictured top left in the picture below).

And the more we walked around the streets surrounding Carry Me Home, the more telephone boxes we found, each decorated differently.

We were intrigued! Using the number one detective tool (Google), we set about trying to find out what these boxes are all about, and here's what we found...

 "The good old British phone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate King George V's Silver Jubilee.

This year we’ve got a Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 to look forward to, so we decided we needed to do something to celebrate. That something turned into BT ArtBox. It’s a campaign that thrives on the nation’s artistic talent.		Across London’s streets you’ll find replicas of the Gilbert Scott phone box, transformed by the imaginations of some of our very best creative minds. Then later on we’ll be auctioning all the boxes off to raise money for ChildLine’s 25th anniversary."

 

Which is all pretty impressive, isn't it? What a wonderful idea, supporting a cause like Childline, whilst also celebrating a Great British Icon, in this very British of years, 2012.

You can read more about the project here: http://www.btartboxes.com/00Home.php

 

And this also got us thinking about our very own Carry Me Home icons.

They're the products that are always popular, whether they're new additions or old favourites, these products have a certain Britishness to them, and they just scream Carry Me Home!

Like the iconic London Bus Lights, pictured above, which have reminded many a young visitor of their first trip to London! Or how about the pop-up soldiers next top them? They're a new addition to Carry Me Home, but we thought they were too cute to miss, and since the Soldier Skittles (below) have been a long-standing favourite (especially around Christmas time?!) we thought they'd look perfect in the shop!

 

We've just received a new delivery of the Tuxedo Baby Grow, and as usual they are selling like hot cakes. There can't be many baby grows that have a waiting list as long as your arm! It seems to be THE essential baby wear for special occasions (weddings at the moment!)

And, who could forget the classic Rock Baby? The number one choice at our market stall in London's Old Spitalfields market, and a perfect little London gift to take home and share.

Well, those are our choices for Carry Me Home icons, but what do you think? 

Do let us know if you have anything you think should be added to the list, like a favourite baby grow, bib or toy that reminds you of  

Carry Me Home.

We're on facebook and twitter, or comment right here!

daddy cool

Ok, fingers on buzzers, I have a very important question for you...

What is happening this Sunday, 17th June???

(If you're not sure use the pictures below as a clue)...

yes it is Father's Day!!!

Hopefully that didn't come as too much of a shock to you, but if it did, fear not! There is still time to find the perfect gift and card so that you can show your dad some love and appreciation.

Obviously Carry Me Home is the place to shop for all little ladies and little men, and father's day is no exception! The most popular item in the shop and online right now (no prizes for this one), is 'daddy's little girl', which comes as a babygrow and as part of a baby gift set including a hat and a bib. It's a fab way for little girls to let dads know they're number one. There's still time to get a personalised order in, to make this father's day one to remember and cherish.

For boys, the love me hug me kiss me feed me design has been almost as popular, and again a personalisation makes it that extra bit special.

Or, how about spelling it out loud and clear, that you and dad can share a day of 'kisses & hugs & rock n' roll'. Could there be a more perfect way to celebrate with your dad? Just spending some quality time together counts for a lot, so how about whiling away an afternoon playing a fun game of heads & tails? We're sure dads nationwide will appreciate all of the love!

Whatever you get up to we hope you have a smashing day with your dad.

love from carry me home. x