Category Archives: henry et marie

crafting with seedling

fleurishing-and-seedling

kidsbeingcurious

 

I have a confession – I don’t craft with Henry and Marie as much as I’d like to. I’ll pull the twin toddler mom, small business owner, work from home card on this one. We all have our reasons, and we shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Ah, but we still do…we always do, don’t we. Which is one of the reasons why I was so thrilled to discover Seedling. Founded in 2007, they’ve grown to be a respected brand of stylish, quality children’s products that promote creativity and imaginative play. As a mother of two toddlers, I see firsthand how beneficial that is, and have a huge appreciation for it. So when they invited us to try a few of their curated activity kits, I jumped at the opportunity. The first thing we did was set out on an urban adventure in our town…how cute are these mini adventure satchels?! My adorable little explorers…le sigh.

 

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keeping it real

movingmess

 

This is our reality right now – it’s not pretty. We’re in the midst of moving (see this post for details), and with only six days to go until our movers arrive, the Hutchinson household is in survival mode. Any move is tough, but factor in downsizing along with twin toddlers and you have quite the challenging situation. I’ve been experiencing a roller coaster of emotions, which I guess is to be expected – excitement, nostalgia, anxiety, sadness, anticipation…you name it. Leaving this house is proving to be very difficult for me, but it was my idea after all! I have to keep reminding myself of the fun + adventure that lies ahead. And hello – I get to decorate + style a new space, which happens to be quite the blank canvas…a designer’s dream! My apologies for the slower pace here and on social media…please bear with me as we get through this transitional period. Good vibes are appreciated as we move and begin this next chapter in our lives! Thanks for being here…XOXO

palais royal with kids

playing-palais-royal

 

I’m thrilled to be sharing one more of our favorite kid-friendly spots in Paris, in collaboration with Gap Kids (you can see all the amazing people + places via #littlecityguides). In case you missed them, check out our first + second spots…they are beautiful places to explore with children. Today also happens to be National Twin Day, which I somehow miss every year, so I’m thankful to be able to celebrate it with some Parisian cuteness courtesy of Henry et Marie. The gardens and architecture of Palais Royal have always been a destination for me – both visually stunning and a beautiful oasis from the city chaos that surrounds it. With a major renovation having just been completed, I couldn’t wait to take the kids.

 

henryetmarie-paris

toddlers-palais-royal

henry-palais-royal

 

The courtyard known as Cour d’Honneur is such a fun place for both adults and children, thanks to the Colonnes de Buren, an art installation that was quite controversial when first introduced in the mid 1980’s. It’s many black-and-white columns of varying sizes seem to beckon toddlers, providing the perfect backdrop for games of hide-and-go-seek, running in circles, pigeon chasing, and sitting pretty. As soon as we arrived, Henry + Marie knew just what to do, and could have spent all day doing it. The kids were looking playful + classic in their Gap duds – Marie in her favorite denim jacket + stretch jeans, and Henry rocking his skinny jeans, bow tie + suspenders. As you may have noticed, suspenders are Henry’s jam  – what was born out of necessity to hold his pants up has become his signature look, ha!

 

mariepalaisroyal

henryinparis

 

It was very difficult to narrow down my images for this post, as the gorgeous backdrop, beautiful day, and cuteness of the kids made for so many awesome shots. I highly recommend it as a spot to take your children in Paris – grab a coffee from nearby Cafe Kitsuné, let the kids get their energy out, and then enjoy a leisurely stroll through the gardens. Many thanks to GapKids for outfitting Henry + Marie and letting us share our adventures…merci mille fois!

 

fleurishing-for-gap-kids

 

Palais Royal – Cour d’Honneur | 8 rue Montpensier 75001 Paris

we’re back!

henry-et-marie

 

Hello friends! We just returned from California…currently recovering from jetlag (the struggle is real). I just wanted to say a quick hello – sorry for the silence here…traveling with toddlers is both exhilarating and exhausting! I brought my laptop, planning to blog during our trip…what was I thinking?! Well, I did manage one post at least – sharing our adventures on social media ate up any extra time I had. Hopefully you enjoyed following along on instagram (#fleurishinginca) and elsewhere (so much media, so little time). I’ll be sharing our LA + SF travelogues soon, stay tuned. Happy August!

cali bound!

toddlers-at-airport

 

The fleurishing family is headed to California! I haven’t had any time to share our plans here, as I’m just now starting to get us packed (#helpme). Things have been just a tad chaotic for us lately, so we’re looking forward to a bit of breather. Of course, traveling with kids (especially toddlers) can only be so much of a breather, but we couldn’t be more excited to take another trip with Henry + Marie. We caught “the bug” bad after our amazing trip to France, which is why we’ve made (and are making) big changes to make more family travel possible. We will be spending time in both LA + SF…and maybe even (ahem), Anaheim! I’ve never been to San Francisco – I’m so thrilled, and can’t wait to share my first Golden Gate sighting + cable car experience with my children. As always, you can follow our adventures via snapchat (@hutchsusan), vine + instagram, and we’re still (and always) accepting family-friendly recommendations for both cities!