Great Finds

You Spin Me Right Round- Cosatto i-Spin

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 30, 2010 in Great Finds, Little Miss Adventures, Product Reviews, Pushchair Queen | 0 comments

Cosatto i-Spin

How many times have you been out and about with your monstrous precious child and they choose the most inopportune moment to kick off?  Have you ever wanted to encourage your child to stay IN the pushchair so you can get a bit more shopping/chatting/eating done?  I’ve got the PERFECT pushchair for you then!  The Cosatto i-Spin is the pushchair of your dreams.  You see, it’s got built-in speakers in the hood/canopy!  You can plug your mp3 player straight into the lead that’s provided and stash it in the handy pouch on the back of the pushchair.  Now you can play any music you like which will make any journey that much more enjoyable!  Why not load up your mp3 player with “Milkshake Rocks” or some downloaded Cbeebies tunes?  Better yet, how about “Rockabye Baby” to lull your child into a peaceful sleep?  There are some other brilliant features to the Cosatto i-Spin as well.

• Strengths:  The Cosatto i-Spin is a very stylish, lightweight pushchair which collapses easily and fairly compactly but it still sturdy and strong so you won’t feel like you’re pushing some rickety, plastic stroller.  The dual handles are very adequately padded which comes in handy for long walks.  The storage basket under the pushchair is surprisingly spacious and has the added security of being enclosed by the puschair fabric.  There are zips which give you access on the sides.  We particularly enjoyed the adjustable leg rest and the multi-recline feature which allows you to smoothly and quietly recline your child into a virtually horizontal position.  The included raincover is easy to put on as well.  It’s always helpful to NOT have to wrestle with a raincover!  Now, most pushchairs come with front swivel wheels which the Cosatto i-Spin has as well but do you know what?  The Cosatto i-Spin has REAR swivel wheels as well!  This allows you to turn on a 5 pence coin and give 4 pence change!  A simple squeeze of the levers on the handles will allow you to make the rear wheels swivel and with a release, once the rear wheels are aligned front to back, they lock into their normal place.  This is extremely handy when you’re in the shops or wanting to turn a tight corner.
• Weaknesses:  The speakers are not Bose quality.  Gee darn!  But they are still a good quality for your child to be entertained and not irritated!  You will have to stick your head into the canopy to check volume to ensure that it’s not too loud for your child, however.  The accessory pack (including changing bag and footmuff) is a separate purchase.  The Cosatto footmuffs are lovely though and well worth the separate purchase.
• Opinion:  Little Miss loved sitting in the Cosatto i-Spin.  We took it on a trip to London in January and while we didn’t brave the Tube on that occasion, we did a LOT of walking on the streets of London and it was a dream to drive.  Little Miss fell asleep on our dash back to Kings Cross and I simply reclined her without disturbing her and put her, lock-stock-and-i-Spin onto the train home.  She slept the ENTIRE way which I think was a great endorsement for the comfort factor of the Cosatto i-Spin.  We would have loved to have had the Accessory Pack as the Cosatto footmuffs are brilliant but we used a universal footmuff which worked fine as well.
• Technical Stuff:  The Cosatto i-Spin retails for £200 and the accessory pack is £60 but do check the internet for better deals.

If you’re looking for a chic, funky, modern pushchair with all of the conveniences you need, the Cosatto i-Spin is a great investment for you.  Cosatto produces “baby stuff with personality” which is most welcome in the Baby and Toddler product world!  Check out their website for more information…they make a lot of brilliant products which will brighten up any home.  www.cosatto.com

Cafe Bebe Family rock the City Inn Westminster

Posted by cafebebemama on Mar 24, 2010 in Great Finds, Little Miss Adventures, Travelling Adventures, Vlog Posts | 1 comment

Last week was a special week for the Cafe Bebe household.  We had hubby’s birthday on Monday and our wedding anniversary on Thursday (4 years thank you very much).  I decided that in honour of these special events, we deserved a mini-break in London.  Finding the right place to stay in London is tricky.  Personally, I love character-filled, quaint B&B’s as opposed to high-tech, modern obelisks that lack warmth and comfort.  However, despite my usual preferences the Cafe Bebe family chose to rock the City Inn Westminster, courtesy of City Inn.

The City Inn Westminster is very conveniently located on John Islip Street between Vauxhaul Bridge and Horseferry Road.  You are within a short stroll of many major tourist attractions and the neighbourhood is safe and clean.

The check-in was exceptionally efficient and the staff were most accomodating and helpful.  I met the 2 Managers on Duty who informed me that they were having an internet upgrade so the Wi-Fi was a bit unpredictable.  The Guest Services members were so helpful by putting through our Congestion Charge by phone and even handing out a children’s DVD for Little Miss.  Now that’s service!  As our car was a bit bigger than the average London compact car we were given a place to park the car in the loading dock which was VERY convenient as a family with Little Miss in tow.

When we arrived in our room I was amazed.  We were on the 12th of 13 floors and while we didn’t have a view of the Thames, we had a lovely view of London which included the back of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament.  The room was a City Suite which was ideal as a family.  We had a dining area with seating for four and a lounge area with a very comfortable and stylish couch and a floor-to-ceiling view of London.  Little Miss was quite impressed!

The bedroom/sleeping area was equally impressive with a giant King+ bed for Mummy & Daddy and a lovely (and very clean) travel cot for Little Miss, complete with sheets and blankets.  The bathroom boasted a full-size bath, a separate power shower and vanity/sink and toilet.  There were plenty of towels and even little “rescue” kits with shaving and toothbrush kits!  How convenient!  I was most impressed with the iMac computers in the rooms.  We had one in each room and you could watch the telly through it as well as DVDs and CDs and of course, use it as a computer.  The only challenge I had was continually having to re-size the viewing screen when we changed the channel.  I did end up unplugging the keyboard from the screen, however, as it was at the PERFECT height for Little Miss to do what Mummy is always doing on the ‘puter!  She had a great time and was none the wiser.  As the managers had said, the internet connection was patchy at times but that was due to the upgrade that they are going through and I’m sure that will be sorted very soon.  I was able to use the iMacs to Tweet, check emails and check the blog.  I chose not to do a post as I didn’t want that to get “lost” just in case.  It’s so handy to have a computer that comes with the room!  Bringing the laptop is not always feasible so to find a hotel which provides you with FREE Wi-Fi AND built-in iMacs is pretty impressive.  As we were heading to Canary Wharf on Saturday afternoon, I was able to get online and search for parking and shopping areas before we took off.  Exceptionally convenient.

We had a phenominal breakfast on Saturday morning in the City Cafe and found ALL of the staff, from the hostess to the waiters, to be extremely friendly and accomodating.  They even asked us how we wanted our scrambled eggs!  You could have a full English or just a continental breakfast but there’s no way that anyone will leave a City Inn breakfast being hungry.  They were properly kitted out with a high-chair for Little Miss as well.

Finally, I have to say how impressed we were with the family- friendliness of the City Inn Westminster.  There were high-chairs in the City Cafe, wipe clean surfaces in the rooms, comfortable furniture and no real breakables or unrealistic knick-knacks in the room for toddler hands to wreck.  The travel cot was comfortable, clean and well prepared and there was a variety of DVD choices for the whole family on loan from the Guest Services desk.  Thanks to the handy refrigerator we were able to keep Little Miss’ night-time milk cold and keep her usual bedtime routine with a bath and bed.  As we were in a suite we easily put Little Miss down for bed and sat watching Sport Relief in the lounge area without bothering her.  Ideal for families!  The City Inn Westminster is also running a special meal this Easter in the City Inn Cafe:

Easter Sunday at City Café: This Easter Sunday (4th April) gather the family together and celebrate a traditional pastime in contemporary style. Sunday Lunch.

City Café represents exceptional quality, made with the finest ingredients at a great price. From only £19.95 in Westminster) you can eat as much as you like over three courses and kids under 5 eat free (under 8 half price) when accompanied by an adult.

On Easter Sunday we are providing kids with complimentary chocolate eggs and lots of yummy treats which they can use to decorate them.

In my humble opinion, the City Inn Westminster and City Cafe restaurant would be the pefect place in London to celebrate Easter (or any occasion for that matter).

Room rates vary for Double Rooms and Suites.  City Rooms (doubles) range from £169/night midweek to £99/night on weekends while Suites range from £100/night midweek to variable rates on weekends.  Parking costs £30 per 24 hours midweek and £20 per 24 hours on weekends.  There are special offers and deals throughout the year so it’s worth keeping your eyes open and checking the website.  I have already told my Mom, back in America, about the City Inn Westminster in anticipation of her next visit.  I know, the next time we have an opportunity to spend a bit of time in London, we’ll definitely return to the City Inn Westminster.  It’s well worth your hard-earned money…just ask Little Miss!

I give you a bit of a hand-held tour of our room (1218) at the City Inn Westminster.  I wholeheartedly recommend that you make it your home away from home the next time you are in London.  We loved every minute.

Green & Blacks Chocolate- A Vlog Review

Posted by cafebebemama on Feb 23, 2010 in Great Finds, Product Reviews, Treats to Eat, Vlog Posts | 2 comments

Green & Blacks chocolate

A few weeks ago a delivery came from an angel the postman.  He brought me 8 bars of glorious Green & Black’s Chocolate.  I carefully opened the padded envelope and gingerly laid out the bars of liquid gold.  Harps were tinking in the distance.  I knew that my hubby, a definite chocoholic, was going to be most pleased with my acquisition.  The lovely angels at Green & Black’s have been reaching out to parent bloggers in an effort to educate us about quality chocolate and all that comes with it.  I was more than happy to accomodate Green & Black’s.  What follows is a vlogging review of my Green & Blacks experience.  I highly recommend sampling 8 bars a bar of Green & Black’s as soon as possible…you don’t know what you’re missing!

The process of tasting a Green & Black’s chocolate bar is rather involved but extremely satisfying.  Try it for your next dinner party.  Your guests will not be disappointed.  I can assure you that neither my husband nor I was disappointed with our glorious Green & Black’s chocolate bars.  I’ve earned a few brownie points now, in fact!

Perfectly Happy Mum Coaching

Posted by cafebebemama on Feb 3, 2010 in American Mum Me, Blogger Love, Great Finds, Motherhood, Product Reviews | 7 comments

My First Commissioned Article

A few months back I was approached by the delightful Peggy Poyser of Perfectly Happy Mum after a particularly bleak post I had written (what me, bleak, never!).  Peggy, a Life Coach, offered me the benefit of her services to try to put me on the straight and narrow in exchange for a review on this site.  How grateful am I for Peggy!  Thanks to Peggy’s guidance, questions and goal setting I have achieved more in the last two months than in the last year.  That’s a pretty good endorsement for Peggy’s Perfectly Happy Coaching for Mums and of course, for my writing. (ha ha)

I’ve always been interested in writing.  When I was little, I used to write short stories and had a rather over-active imagination which still plagues me today.  I remember in particular, one story written with my Grandma.  I believe that the title was “The Fabulous Tale of Farley Filler”.  I had better not see this on the shelves anywhere any time soon!  I have continued to write “on the side” and finally had the “gumption” to start blogging last year as a way to regain a little bit of me after having Little Miss.  Writing the blog has led to product review opportunities and allowed me to dream a bit but I never fully believed that I could make money from my writing.  I know full well that the possibility of making GOOD money on writing is very slim.  I am by no means the next JK Rowling!  But I never believed that I had what it took to make even a little bit on my writing.  Peggy kicked me into touch; she helped me to see that I COULD and that “if I built it, they would come”.  (Peggy didn’t say that…Kevin Costner did in “Field of Dreams”…she’s good, but not that good! )

Prior to our first telephone session, Peggy sent me a series of forms to fill out so she could learn more about me and my goals/issues.  This was an invaluable process because it helped ME to see what I wanted to focus on as well.  I wasn’t too sure about Life Coaching initially…seemed a bit “new age” to me, to tell you the truth!  Through filling out the forms, I realised that what I was most interested in exploring was my blogging and writing.  In addition to the forms, I signed an agreement with Peggy that I would treat our sessions as professionally as possible, always be on time and fulfill my obligations in the process which I found to be impressive.  This was laying the groundwork for success and I respond well to this approach.

In total, I had 4 telephone sessions with Peggy.  Each session lasted approximately 45 minutes and started with a recap of the goals set in the previous session and my progress on those and ended with goal setting for the following week.  Peggy was so easy to talk to that I considered (and do consider) her to be my friend.  She wasn’t preachy or scolding but probing and questioning and encouraging at the same time.  As a fellow blogger, obviously Peggy had some suggestions for things I could do with my blogging and then had me narrow down my focus to goal set for the weeks.  Through Peggy’s guidance I was able to focus on getting my work published either with American Expat magazines or local/national parenting magazine and newspapers.  I’m a good “assingment taker” and with the goals that we set, I found myself energised to tackle tasks that I previously thought impossible.  I approached 2 different American Expat magazines and was able to contribute articles to the two and have been “published”.  Unfortunately, I was not paid for these first two articles but it’s important to get yourself published so you can have something to back yourself up with for future pitches.  After the success with the American Expat magazines, I took the initiative to approach our local, monthly, glossy magazine editor and suggested that I could write a parenting page for his magazine.  He officially “commissioned” me to write at least 3 months worth of parenting pages which means that I GET PAID!!!  Here is the link to my first piece, published in the February issue of Stamford Living.  In addition to this article, I have written and submit a second piece for March and will write at least one more for the month of April.

As a result of working with Peggy Poyser, I have developed a new focus and energy for writing, have had the joy of being commissioned to write for PAY and have felt much better about myself in the process.  I’m a better mummy and wife when I have a little something of my own.  If you are lacking direction in your personal and/or professional life and are in need of a friend who will help you get what you’re looking for, I highly recommend visiting Peggy Poyser’s Perfectly Happy Coaching for Mums site (www.perfectlyhappy.co.uk ).  Contact Peggy to discuss the possiblities; you won’t be sorry you did.  And watch out for me in the future…you just never know where you’ll read something written by me.  You can say, you knew me “when”!

Perfectly Happy Coaching for Mums