Coffee Morning this Wednesday 2nd Dec 9.30am until 11am

Please come along to the last coffee morning of 2015 at the Costa Coffee opposite Little Waitrose on Baker Street. 

Fingers crossed we are going to have some more interesting venues starting in January, so please do spread the word. It would be great to get a nice big group meeting once a month. Please keep an eye on the Marylebone Mums Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/marylebonemums/ and on www.marylebonemums.com/blog for the new meet-up schedule for 2016!

The lovely new As Nature Intended store at Marble Arch has sent over some information about a great event and offer by Weleda this week.

‘Join us in-store to learn about Weleda’s Natural baby care and mum-to-be ranges. Thursday 3rd December 11am – 2pm’ – at As Nature Intended, Marble Arch. https://www.asnatureintended.uk.com/
 
We are also offering a gift with purchase (Calendula Nappy Cream) with any 2 Weleda Baby Calendula products.

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Marylebone is getting its own Christmas tree! Plus the event is at a great time for the little ones to be properly able to enjoy the festivities. 2 December 2015, 3:30pm Paddington Street Gardens ​

Ridgeford Developments and Druce Estate Agents invite the Marylebone community to the first annual Marylebone Tree Lighting.
Join us December 2nd at Paddington Street Gardens where the children from local St Vincent’s Primary School choir will perform a host of festive songs at 3:30, followed by the tree lighting around 4pm. Mulled wine, hot chocolate and an assortment of hot finger foods will be there to keep you warm and merry.
This is set to become a truly magical annual Marylebone event.

The Christmas seasons well and truly kicks off this week with the Marylebone Christmas Lights event on Wednesday 18th this week. I've found a quick and easy guide to what's on on the Baker St Quarter's website which you can find here http://www.bakerstreetq.co.uk/news-and-whats-on/christmas-events-in-the-quarter

The only local missing event is the Connaught Village Christmas festival on Thursday 26 November from 4pm - 8pm

There is also the Regents Street Hamleys Christmas Parade on Saturday 28th Nov - lots more info here
http://www.hamleys.com/explore-christmastoyparade.irs

There is currently a plan to put a drinking water fountain by the playgrounds in Paddington Street Gardens. Locals are invited to comment the designs - the information below has been sent to me. 

In an effort to promote healthier choices and reduce waste from non-reusable plastic bottles, Ridgeford Developments in partnership with City of Westminster has developed an innovative project to build a drinking fountain in Marylebone’s Paddington Street Gardens South. This is a project for the community by the community: the designs are inspired by local children’s drawings, and the final fountain will take into consideration the opinions of the Marylebone locals. 
Ridgeford brought together five world-renowned architects that each submitted a fountain design inspired by drawings from children at Marylebone’s St Vincent Primary School. The architects are: Works Architecture; Campbell Architects; Make; HoK and Simon Bowden. 
On 15 November from 10am to 2pm, a booth at the Marylebone Farmer’s Market will showcase the students’ original drawings and the architects’ fountain proposals. Marylebone locals are invited to the farmer’s market to share their opinion and influence the final verdict made by a deciding panel. 
A social media campaign championing the causes of the fountain and healthy drinking will run on @W1Fountain and can be followed through the hashtag #W1Fountain. 
You can see the designs on the website http://www.w1fountain.com/index.html

​What: Marylebone Drinking Fountain Community Exhibition
When: 15 November 2015, 10am-2pm
Where: Marylebone Farmer’s Market

Local mum Sabrina Ovadya is running a pilates class on Sunday morning at 10am at Seymour Leisure Centre - join her for a fun, dynamic class to get your body strong for winter!

You can contact her at Pilatesfusionsabrina@gmail.com
Price: £13
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Walk ins ok, or email to reserve a spot
www.facebook.com/pilatesfusionlondon

Sabrina was kind enough to send me some information about her and why she loves pilates:

"I currently work at Pilates Squared by Gloucester Road and juggle a baby simultaneously. I am Level 3 mat Pilates qualified with Body Control Pilates, in addition to pre- and post-natal, Reformer 1 and Cadillac 1. 

I come from a completely different background in banking industry for just over 10 years. As much as I loved it I came to realize that it's not the lifestyle I wanted for a family and it's not really good for me either. I finally, after months of deliberation, quit my job and started my Pilates training. I happened to be pregnant at the same time and worked towards my certificate throughout the pregnancy. I have a strict workout routine with lots of Pilates, yoga and gym and absolutely love the impact that Pilates has on our bodies for mobility. With all that in mind I decided to also have some independent classes where I can combine all the things I love :) the dream is to open a studio one day but at the moment I am looking to deepen my experience. Hope that's helpful. Let me know if you have any questions for me."

As the end of the year gets quite busy, the new meet up schedule for the next couple of months is the FIRST WEDNESDAY MORNING OF THE MONTH - 4th November and 1st December from 9.30am to 11am at Costa Coffee on Baker Street, opposite Little Waitrose near Portman Square. 

In the weeks in between, there might be some of us meeting for impromptu coffees during the week so do sign up to the WhatsApp group if you want to hear about that. 

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As Nature Intended will be opening at the Marble Arch end of Edgware Rd on 4th November. The area is fast becoming a lovely place to visit, with lots of great restaurants on Seymour Place, the new opening of As Nature Intended and a large Paul, Paperchase and soon a Snowflake Gelato!

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From their website:
"As Nature Intended  is not your typical small health food store with a limited selection of products to choose from. We are much bigger, with an offering that allows you to do your whole weekly food shop with us. We sell everything including fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, tofu, groceries, ‘free-from’ foods, baby food, beer and wine. Around 80% of what we sell is certified organic, and if it’s not we ensure that it contains the highest quality natural ingredients we can find — that means no artificial chemicals, pesticides or preservatives.
We believe that we have the most extensive natural remedies & skincare department on the high street. We take pride in stocking organic, natural and ethical brands which start at competitive prices. This department is staffed by experts in nutrition, herbal medicine, aromatherapy and skincare and are here to give you free advice.
We have a small yet skilled and experienced buying team based in our Head Office. They are continuously searching for new and exciting products, organising great deals to save you money and listening to your feedback to improve our products we stock.
The As Nature Intended StoryIn 2000 Malcolm Walker (Iceland founder and chief executive) who has a strong passion for organic food, set up As Nature Intended. Professional managers were hired to run the day to day business and by June of that year Chiswick opened its doors and received a warm welcome by the local community. Caroline Gooding (Malcolm’s daughter) who has previously worked for Marks and Spencer and Waitrose took over the business in 2002.
Since then stores have been opened in Ealing (2005), Balham (2006), Westfield Stratford City (2011) & Spitalfields (2014) and we now have 5 very successful London stores. Caroline now has her own family but still oversees the business. In January 2010 she appointed Jeff Martin previously from Fresh & Wild and Whole Foods Market as Managing Director, to progress the company."

It sounds like a fabulous new addition to the area! They have informed me that they will be carrying the following baby and toddler food brands in the store: 
Hipp RTD Milk
Organix
Bambo Nappies
Nanny Goat Milk
Ella’s Kitchen

And they will be carrying the following baby & children’s care products: 
Weleda and Green People baby skincare ranges.

Children’s supplements will include Terra Nova, Biocare, Nature’s Plus, Comvita and RenewLife.

There will be 100% organic Fresh Produce and dairy as well as the addition of a cheese counter and charcuterie. ​

Can't wait to see the store. Its great to see a new food retailer opening here, especially with the recent news that Allen's of Mayfair, a popular long-standing butcher in Mayfair, sadly is to lose their premises (they were not only selling great produce, but also very well priced). Locals suffer from a lack of basic services due to the high rents in the area pricing out useful businesses. Hopefully the new opening here will reverse that trend a bit!