Lots of Kate Spade for baby

Designer Kate Spade just won't quit with the cool baby stuff! This season she has out a lot of neat accessories like a diaper holder, a baby organizer, and this cute little bottle holder above. The bottle holder is insulated to keep the bottle cold and attaches to strollers with it's snap side. Fits most bottles. I also really like the diaper holder, such a neat idea. Also check out Kate Spade's Maclaren collection too.

New Tea Collection

Designer label Tea has their new collection online now. Daily Tea 2006, Essentials 2006, and the Spring 2006 line are all up. New this season are pajamas, for both boys and girls. The line for spring this year is composed of mostly darker colors, but they are very pretty. A few new things for the Eternal Layette collection are up too. I'm thinking one of these days they are going to totally re-make that.

Pacifier Dryer

This is too cute! The Pacifier Dryer is sold on Netto's offical website and is the first of it's kind. This little wooden board holds wet (or dry) pacifiers and keeps them clean until they are ready for use. It's made in Finland actually (so many cool products come from that area of the world) by a company called Seimi Baby Collection. I haven't seen any other products by them, but I sure hope I do.

Wee will Wee will Rock You!

This week, a “Cool” dad came in the shop with a very busy little boy. I was not surprised when I discovered that he was a musician. Well, come to find out, he had just released a Children’s CD, called “Wee Rock"! Of course I was dying to hear it, so being the cool dude that he was, he gave me a complimentary copy. I played it all afternoon, and discovered, not only did I enjoy it, but the children that came in the shop loved it. Two days later, I had it on my front counter, as our hot new item. "Wee Rock" is the creation of husband and wife team Greg and Erin Paxton. They live locally, in Long Beach, with their son, Jonathan, whose antics were their inspiration. It is on sale now at Recurrent Dreams for $12.99 (regular $16.99). Songs include, “Runny Nose Bunny”, “Hey Daddy!”, “My Tea Party”, Silly Sammy”, and more. It is not available on our online store yet http://www.RecurrentDreams.com, however, just call us, and we will ship it to you. 562-597-8500. If you have heard it, I would love to read your comments.

New Combi Products

Combi has also released their new 2006 models. Most of the classic strollers are staying, but there are some new ones as well, including the Counterpart twin stroller above. This is the first tandem twin stroller from Combi and it also allows their new carseat, the Centre, to be attached (it takes the Connection as well). The Centre comes in many different styles and colors and works with all the new strollers.

Also new is the Combi IV, the first ever jogging stroller by the company. It also allows for a carseat to be attached. What's really cool about this and all the new strollers for 2006 is that they all have that same cute little Combi kid's tray on them. Even the jogging stroller!

Combi is also making two new highchairs called the Breeze and the Transition. The Breeze is the more lightweight and smaller chair, whereas the Transition actually changes into a chair and desk later on.

Through the Looking Glass

Okay . . . so I aspire to be like Alice in Wonderland. Let me clarify this statement, so you don't think that I am from the sixties acid generation. When I read Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass", I see Alice as a curious child on an imaginative adventure, meeting a cast of whimsical characters along the way. That is MY ALICE! Well . . . I just finished reading a bazaar review stating that some view "Alice in Wonderland" as a metaphor for the bodily mutations of female puberty, or as a covert paean to hallucinogenic drug abuse! I THINK NOT!. For me, both books are fascinating timeless literature of a child's sense of wonderment. So there Grace Slick! Actually I love Jefferson Airplane. Anyways, the latest edition, of "Alice Through the Looking Glass", illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, has beautiful sepia-toned illustrations and full-color paintings! They read at a third grade level, perfect for my two girls ages 8 & 11. I fully recommend re-reading these latest editions with your children. View it on my online store at http://estore.websitepros.com/805672/Detail.bok?no=115 . P.S. I posted some editorial reviews, under comments.

More New Maclarens

More cool stuff for 2006 from Maclaren. This year, in addition to lots of new styles and colors, Maclaren has created a leather collection as well. You can now get a unique, new stroller in black high grain leather. Mac calls it's the world's first carbon-fibre skin buggy. Also available in black leather are a new baby carrier and a new bouncer.

Lots of returing strollers this year too, including the Quest Mod (above). The mod features some new and very hip styles. I really like the pink one.

Mac is also teaming up with a TON of famous designers this year. Kate Spade is back with a new stroller and changing bag, and has added a bouncer and a blanket. Burberry is also continuing with their stroller and baby cover. Lulu Guinness's also has a new stroller which totally rocks! I can't say enough good things about it.

New this year is Philippe Stark's collaboration with Maclaren. You may remember an earlier post we did on this. Stark has created not only a one-of-a-kind stroller for Mac, but has also designed a travel high chair, a playard, and a changing bag. See their website for more.

Update on Bugaboo adapters

After recently discovering that both Graco and Peg Perego had come out with new car seats for 2006, I decided to check and see rather or not Bugaboo was going to make new adapters for them. If you didn't know by now, neither the Graco SafeSeat nor the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP will work with the current ones. This was the message I recieved from Bugaboo.

"At the moment the Peg Perego SIP 2006 and the new Graco model do not have any adapters available. Our designers are aware of this and are working on getting out a new adapter for this model. We do not have a time frame for when this will be in the market as of yet. Please check our website every once in awhile to see any updates on our new and upcoming items."

Fireflies and Fairies

Did you know that every time you see a firefly, a pixie fairy has earned her wings? So says Fairy Fiona, resident fairy at "Recurrent Dreams". And she should know, coming from the Enchanted Garden and all. Fairy Fiona . . what can I say . . she loves tea parties . . and telling stories . . and making little girl's wishes come true! I have gotten to know her very well , because I am the shopkeeper at Recurrent Dreams. You see, one starry evening, just before closing, Fiona fluttered in, needing a new wand. She was so impressed with our fairy finery, she asked "Can I come back and share my stories with the children?" "Of course" I exclaimed, "We will hold Fairy Tea Time every Saturday, and have parties on Sundays!" That was over a year ago now, and I have become quite an authority on fairies and tea parties since then. What fun! To learn more about our Fairy Tea Parties, visit our site at http://www.recurrentdreams.com.

More cool Graco products

Graco now makes a twin playard/bassinet. Is that not just the cutest idea ever? Features include an extra-large play area, two bassinets with canopies, and of course Graco's new "wave" style shape. It doesn't have the little music box thing or a mobile, but you can buy the music box seperatly so that's not a big. Available at Baby Supermarket.

Also check out Graco's new Baby Einstein playard and swing.

New Graco SafeSeat

Graco's new infant car seat for 2006 is called the SafeSeat. It replaces the Snugride and includes the newest must-have car seat feature, Side Impact Protection. Seems like everyone is getting SIP this year. It's very much like the Snugride of course, however there are a lot of very big improvements. The headrest looks to be nicer, and the blanket attachment is bigger. Actually the headrest is now called the "Infant Body Pillow". Get it now at Buy Buy Baby.

Ooba

I saw this on Daddytypes. What a cool bassinet! This modern little cradle is a part of the Nest collection at Ooba, a modern baby company statrted by parents who wanted to buy furniture for baby that went well with their home. Ooba right now only sells the bassinet, but they are planning to expand their line and have a crib, rocker, and glider soon. So stay tooned!

New Maclaren Travel System

For 2006, Maclaren has created a travel system like no other. The Easy Traveller Car Seat Carrier Stroller is an umbrella stroller that accommodates most major brands of infant car seats, including ones from Britax and Combi. It's got a HUGE storage basket, a cup holder, and a very unique way to fold it with one hand. I assume when they say "umbrella stroller" that they mean it later turns into a regular Maclaren for an older child. Although Maclaren has not updated their website with this product yet, so I can't be sure. But it's available now online at Bare Babies.

Liv's Carrier

Liv Tyler stepped out in New York City over the Christmas holidays with Baby Milo in hand. Well, maybe not in hand. Liv carried her year-old son in a Baby Bjorn Active Carrier. The posh sling, which came out last year, was designed for parents on the move. Features include increased back and shoulder support for both parent and child, as well as a unique design for breast-feeding. Available at most baby stores.

PBK gets a Tiny Love mobile

Over the years, Pottery Barn Kids has teamed up with a lot of baby companies to produce special versions of their products, mixed with a PBK flavor. Arm's Reach, Boppy, and Zooper have all created luxe versions of their best selling items in recent years. And now it's Tiny Love's turn. Introducing the Symphony In Motion Mobile by Pottery Barn Kids. This mobile, like the original by Tiny Love, plays Mozart and other classical tunes while entertaining the baby with special shapes and movement. PBK vamped it up a bit though, adding their own characters and fabric. Retails for $69.99, a tad bit more than the original.

The New Papasan Bouncer

Here's a sneak peek at Fisher-Price's new Papasan bouncer for 2006. They've added some new features and tweaked a few others. The bouncer now includes a toy mobile with a built-in mirror and a removable soft toy. The headrest and bodyrest have been changed a litle bit and I'm not seeing anything in the review about a blanket like the old one. The new model is suppose to fold flat, unlike the older didn't. It's available now at Babies R Us.