courtney.

Courtney has two boys: Easton(2 1/2) and Quin(10 months). She is American, living in London.

{morning}

*Breakfasts in our house are like dinners in most… my husband doesn’t have to leave for work until 9:30, so we always enjoy a nice long breakfast as a family! I usually make oatmeal in the mornings during the week (or, if I’m lazy we’ll just have cereal)! But on Saturdays my husband lets me sleep in and makes us all ‘skinny pancakes’!

*I’m sure if I really got my act together, I could squeeze in time for a workout, but unfortunately I’m just not that organized! Thankfully I live in a city where you can walk everywhere! So just leaving my house with two boys in tow (pushing a double buggy) keeps me active and fit (enough)!

How would you define your clothing "style"?
*I live in ballet flats (the Lanvin ones are my favourite) and my flat boots. I’m either in jeans or in leggings. I’m not a very good bargain shopper, so instead of having a lot of really trendy little things, I have a decent amount of nice, good-quality pieces.

*I’m really not good with make-up. (Remembering to brush my teeth is a struggle)! But I could NOT live without my very favourite brand of face lotion: Sjal Cela Intuitif renewal cream. It’s pricey, but I love it

{noon}
*This will sound very frumpy, but I can’t leave the house without the diaper bag. I have a Skip*Hop diaper bag and always keep it loaded with diapers, wipes, snacks, toys, etc. etc.

Your favorite local children's clothing boutique?
*Well, if money weren’t an option I would shop exclusively at these three shops:
1. Caramel Baby: The clothes are SO stinken’ cute, and very European!
2. Brora: Their cashmere jumpers for kids are so cute and cozy, and the quality is great! (I love their stripy hooded jumpers).
3. Elias and Grace: They stock all great kid’s brands like: Album di Famiglia, Quincy, Maan, Petite Bateau, Earnest Sewn Jeans, Simple Kids, etc.

*London is famous for having LOADS of green space. There are the big (and famous) parks, but there are also a ton of little parks tucked into neighbourhood streets. They are everywhere, and they almost all have a playground for kids. We live right off of Hampstead Heath (London’s biggest park), and the Parliament Hill playground is fantastic! It is definitely our “second home”.

If I don’t have the kids with me, my favourite thing to do is just stroll through one of London’s hip neighborhoods. Marylebone High Street is my favourite street in London. I like to just walk down the street starting at the top (toward Regent’s Park) and walk all the way down to Oxford Street. It’s beautiful, quintessentially London, and has almost all of my favourite shops!

*Monkey Music is a great music class where I have met a ton of local mum friends. I’m also a member of the KCWC (Kensington and Chelsea Women’s Club) which is great at facilitating playgroups for mums in similar neighbourhoods. They also plan fun kid’s parties on Easter and Halloween. I’ve met a lot of my closest friends from this club. We have a playgroup that has met every Thursday for the past two years!

Online?
*I read the New York Times ever day, and occasionally I’ll pay a visit to People.com (but don’t tell my husband)!

Is it easy to live "green" in London?
*London is becoming more and more aware of carbon emissions and the environment. We drive a Prius Hybrid (which is great because we don’t have to pay the 8-pound congestion charge to enter central London), and we really LOVE it! I also always try to carry around cotton or canvas bags in my buggy so that I never need plastic or paper bags for my shopping. We try to always buy organic and locally-produced food, which is generally easy to find. I have an organic box delivered to me weekly by Abel & Cole who support local farmers as much as they can. Also, we recycle everything that we can, and all our light-bulbs are energy efficient! Recycling is pretty easy here, as the council gives you specific bins, and they collect once a week.

{evening}

*I make dinner for the kids every night (or if I’m lazy I’ll pick up fresh pasta from the Italian deli next to my house). I usually make them fish or chicken and vegetables. Both my boys aren’t picky when it comes to food, so it makes my job really easy! After I put the boys to bed I usually make dinner for my husband and myself. (But my favourite dinners are pizza nights when I don’t have to cook)! My husband and I have a rule—if you cook, you don’t clean up. So my husband usually ends up doing the dishes!

*My favourite book is “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver. A friend recently told me to read her new memoir, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, but like all the other books I want to read, it is sitting in a huge pile next to my bed. I’m just too tired at night to read a book—my eyes can’t stay open long enough to finish one page!

How do you kick back at the end of a long day?
*With a glass of red wine (or two) and a bit of dark chocolate!!

So, to sum it all up:
*London is such an international city, and so culturally aware. Our friends come from all over the world, and they are smart and well-travelled, and it’s a great influence on us and our kids. It’s also easy to travel all over Europe, which we LOVE. I also love living in a city where I can walk everywhere—where I can buy fresh bread daily and have everything at my fingertips!





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