Please note that the October coffee morning today (10th Oct 2018) is CANCELLED.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Coffee Morning Wednesday 10th October 2018 10.30am - 12pm

Please come along to meet up at Paul on Baker Street.

All parents, carers and little ones welcome.

Coffee morning Wednesday 19th September 10am- 12pm 
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Please come along to Buongiorno e Buonaserra on Baker Street 
http://www.buongiornoebuonasera.com/find-an-eatery/london-baker-street/

All parents and carers welcome, and little ones too!

A new nursery is due to open in October 2018 at Marble Arch. I have been sent the following details which I am pasting across here as I believe it will be useful to many local parents. 

Bryanston children’s Nursery @ Marble Arch – opening early October


Bryanston Nursery @ Marble Arch
Annunciation Church
Bryanston Street
London 
W1H 7AH

Age of children: 0-5 years old


Contacts:
Cara Laine:  Director 
Sarah Cornish: Head of Child Care  - ex Ofsted Inspector 

Claire Berridge: Nursery Manager - guinealane@thebathnurserycompany.co.uk
 
Bryanston Nursery @ Marble Arch will be set in the gorgeous surroundings of the Annunciation Church in Marylebone and Portman Square gardens will be where the little ones will have their own garden !! 

Bryanston Nursery offers a unique service, catering 100% for your child so that you can focus on your day/work and trust your child is in safe hands. 
This is one of the only nurseries in Central London taking children from 3 months to 5 years old.
A family business with hugely successful nurseries in Bath which already have a proven track record, history and solid reputation.


Key strengths which set Bryanston @ Marble Arch apart from others:

Accepting the 30hrs funding nursery in Central London location

Flexible hours - working around a flexible timeline whereby children can be booked for half days/full days, term time only, long mornings etc

Byranston will open at 7.00am and close at 7.00pm 

Fully trained and qualified nursery staff whom have worked in their other nurseries in Bath (Combe Down and Guinea Lane)

Low leavers rate across all staff and currently going through the Investors in People Award

Provide nappies and wipes on site so parents do not have to provide (once a child is dropped off at Bryanston Nursery their every need is catered for)
The chefs are working towards the Early Years Nutrition Award which will be provided at Bryanston, child’s nutrition is a high priority

New toilets/desks & chairs – the whole building is being refurbished to provide suitable and safe environment

Relaxing waiting area for parents for coffee/chat/wait for children/ free Wi-Fi

Sunday school is held at the church in one of main nursery rooms 

Family run business – whom own x2 hugely successful Nurseries: 'Combe Down' & 'Guinea Lane' in Bath

Unique nursery service

Easy for pick up and drop off

Nursery with a proven track record, history and solid reputation

Portman Square Gardens which is gated and only accessed by key will provide the outside play area for the children, the nursery will have a Turtle Bus for the non-walkers so that all children can benefit from the outdoor space


Choose Bryanston: 
Bryanston focus on your child so that you can focus on your day/work and trust your nursery 100%
30hrs a week nursery in Central London location – open from 7.00am – 7.00pm every week day 
Flexible hours - working around a flexible timeline whereby children can be booked for half days/full days or specific time slots/hours
x2 successful nursery staff whom already work in Bath (Combe Down and Guinea Lane) 
Low leavers rate across all staff 
Provide nappies and wipes on site so parents do not have to provide (once a child is dropped off at Bryanston their every need is catered for)
New toilets/desks & chairs - whole building is being refurbished to provide suitable and safe environment
Relaxing waiting area for parents for coffee/chat/wait for children/ free Wi-Fi
Sunday school is held at the church in one of main nursery rooms


Bryanston @ Marble Arch aim is to make parent’s lives and working hours more easily manageable, knowing that their children are happy, content and in a safe and secure environment. Their children can enjoy their days developing friendships in a nurturing environment.
 
 

I think its fair to say that most Marylebone families are living in a space that is probably a bit smaller than would be idea, with too much stuff primarily due to kid-related clutter. One day recently when toys and crayons had taken over the living area, my husband lamented about the lack of space. I pointed out we had looked at properties (in pre-child days) in Zone 2/3 which were 3x the size and he had said its too big, at which point he replied, "I didn't realise kids have so much STUFF!"

In an ideal world, I would have a formal living area as a lovely adult space and a kid-friendly space for all the STUFF. However that was the compromise when we decided to live centrally.We all probably have too much stuff too, and Marie Kondo etc have made a living from telling us to throw away our stuff, but inevitably it gets replaced by new stuff eventually. And of course if you get rid of your child's stuff without telling them, quite often it is suddenly their "most favourite toy ever and you threw it away". 

For the last 5 years, our house has been a super-kid-friendly, kid-focussed space. It is comfortable, we aren't precious about our belongings, children can come and play and have fun. However as our daughter has grown up, we are gradually seeing less plastic primary-coloured tat and so we starting to feel like we could reclaim the space at least a little bit. However I still wanted to keep the space kid-friendly so we weren't at the stage of getting in an interior designer to rethink the space etc. This is where Nete with her business Moberry Interior stepped in. 


​Nete is a local mum who has changed careers and is following her passion for home interior design. She has 2 children under 6 and knows all too well what we are up against when trying to have a beautiful yet practical home. She is Danish so has the fabulous Northern European eye for style and design. Nete is also very aware that at this intermediate stage of "reclaiming your home", you may not want to spend a lot of money and so is very aware of budget. 

Nete came into our house and immediately pinpointed some very quick, easy and cheap things to do. We got rid of old throws from the sofa, moved a (slightly dubious patterned) rug to another area of the room, and removed doors from a tv wall cabinet we inherited from the previous owners. Just doing that, the room suddenly opened up! We moved some books around in the book shelves, and she inspired me to do a bit of decluttering of cupboards and shelves. All of this made a massive difference immediately at zero cost. 

Next she advised on some possible colour schemes we could work with for the soft furnishings, as we had an eclectic collection  of cushions we have acquired over the years. On her return visit she presented a couple of different colour schemes that tied in with some existing items we liked. For each colour scheme she presented a range of cushion covers and furnishings she had found online, all with sensible prices. I ended up going for ones from H&M so for under £40 I had a full new set of cushion pads and covers which look great! She also advised changing the boxes we use for toy storage to something more aesthetically pleasing. She presented some lovely affordable options as a starting point and when I used that to look around online more I found some fab wicker baskets in the John Lewis sale - so again a massive impact in the look of the room at low cost. 

Nete made a scale diagram of the room and its furniture which we played around with. After a fun morning of moving furniture about we came up with ideal positioning of the existing furniture as well as a plan of action for replacing existing pieces over time. She picked out a few pieces online to guide me, we exchanged thoughts and found more options to bear in mind when we want to buy soemthing. Even though we haven't replaced our existing things yet, I now know what types of furniture will fit the look and feel of the room, and importantly what will not look good! We also talked about longer term bigger things we could do with the room if we decide to change things more dramatically. 

We went through a lot of the prints and art that we have hidden away in our cupboards, and have decided which pieces will look good where, advising on the frames to go for. For someone with a poor aesthetic eye like me this has been so useful. Now I have started to understand a bit more. 

Of course decluttering and staying on top of STUFF is key but the small changes made the room look so much better that it has been easier to keep it up as I want the room to stay looking nice. 

Nete understands the needs of family life and had great ideas about combining needs like storage with the desire to make our spaces look lovely, all while being mindful of how much or little you are able to spend. Little things that she notices and can advise on can make a big difference, and her advice on bigger changes like new furniture are well-considered and sensible.  I highly recommend her service.

You can find out more about Moberry at www.moberry.co.uk where you can also see some examples of her work. Alternatively you can contact her at hello@moberry.co.uk

Lipault - a new bag/accessories store on Marylebone High Street

The other day I popped into the new Lipault Store on MHS (where Whistles used to be). I was prepared for it to be yet another high-end, high-priced boutique and was annoyed as the high street is already full of not-very-useful-for locals and overly-expensive shops. How wring I was!

What a pleasant surprise I had! The brand is a French brand started by someone who has experience in the travel industry. They focus on luggage and handbags/accessories, with items both in leather and also durable nylon (think Prada, Longchamp). The designs are classic shapes, with practicality in mind, but with a focus on colour. The store is so eye-catching! They have classic and then seasonal colours which are beautiful. The attention to detail is fab, with contrasting linings in some bags, so you get just a flash of contrast, accessible zippers and pockets for travel cards etc, with an elegant and simple design. The shapes are practical and recognisable as classic bag shapes that have stood the test of time. Totally my kind of thing!

The best part - the price! Nylon bags starting from around the £50 mark - yes you read correctly!!! 

I picked up a gorgeous crossbody, nylon bag for £69 which is super practical and the perfect size to carry all my bits but also discourage me from lugging too much around in a big bag. I love the nylon especially with kids, and also the British weather. 
www.lipault.co.uk/plume-avenue-crossbody-bag--night-blue/90849-1615.html

The luggage is also lovely. Great colours and design that has really been thought through e.g. well-padded handles and they are unbelievably light. The most interesting idea is a suitcase/cabin bag that flattens for easy storage! For anyone living in London this may just be a game-changer! I really want one and hopefully my next suitcase will be one from the Pliable range www.lipault.co.uk/pliable-luggage-2-wheels-65-cm-anthracite-grey/64777-1010.html - and again the prices are comparable to the normal large luggage brands. The brand is actually owned by Samsonite so you know you are buying a quality product. The bags some with a 3 year warranty too. 

Do pop by the store, the staff are very friendly and the colours are great to lift you mood. 

**Special Offer** - the Store has 20% off your first purchase (see flyer below) running until 31st August. Make sure you show them the flyer and mention Marylebone Mums!

​Lipault, 1 Thayer Street, Marylebone W1U 3JA

COFFEE MORNING weds 25th April


The next Marylebone Mums coffee morning will be held at Costa Coffee, 3C – 3D Baker Street, London, W1U 8ED from 10am to 12pm. All parents, carers and of course little ones welcome.
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Hippy Fish arrived in Marylebone at the end of 2017 serving much needed colourful healthy food in these dark cold winter days. 

For those of you new to poke - it is a dish originating in Hawaii with strong Japanese influences. A base of rice (traditionally, but Hippy Fish offers several carb and no-carb options), topped with a range of veggies, flavourings and dressed raw fish, or prawns, tofu and even chicken at Hippy Fish to allow for maximum flexibility. They had a range of delicious sauces which really lift the flavours. Their fish is sourced from the same supplier as Nobu!

I'm a big fan of poke generally and used to have to go to Soho where there are few cafes specialising in it, so it is great to have a specialist in the neighbourhood. They have a range of drinks, and are soon offering coffee too. 

Full disclosure - I did get a free bowl of Poke when I visited to learn about the store but I was planning to stop by to try it out anyway. It was yummy and I enjoyed choosing all the various toppings and condiments from the large range. Here's my bowl before I scoffed it!

You can find out more info at ​www.hippy-fish.com 

Hippy Fish, 5 Thayer Street, Marylebone, London W1U 3JG

*** SPECIAL EVENT WITH LULULEMON ***
We are very excited to announce a Stretch & Connect Yoga event on Wednesday 21st February at LuluLemon on Marylebone High Street. The event will kick off at 10am with a yoga class run by their Ambassador Kirsty Gallagher, and will be followed by coffee and treats afterwards provided by YeoTown Kitchen, the lovely cafe on Chiltern Street. 
Spaces are limited, so to reserve your place please email marylebonemums@gmail.com 
Babies/kids are welcome but this is a grown-ups class (not family yoga). There will be space downstairs for prams if needed.