children stuff or stuff for... grown up children

 so... almost everyone around me is having babies...

 my youngest cousin in Greece...

 one of my first dearest on line friends...

 one of our neighbors in just a matter of days or hours...

 my best girlfriend in Greece is already the mother of an adorable two and a half year old boy

 and the story goes on.

 whether babies or not will come in my life I don't know yet,

 but I do know that children stuff and children's spaces have always been fascinating me.

 one of the last room make overs I was hired to do was a teenager's room

 - in that case less little -

 and must admit that caring for creating worlds for little people 

 moves my heart and mind accordingly

 today I'll take the chance to share some wonderful children's toys I shot

 at the breathtakingly gorgeous loft apartment of my cousin,

 while I was in Greece about  two weeks ago

 ... but not before I rumble here a bit

 (you were afraid that it was about to start, right?)

 she & him brought in the world the most amazing little baby girl I' ve ever seen,

 with a calmness of a wise soul and the sweetness of strawberries dipped in sugar.

 her name: Jo, from Joanna

 it fits her just so perfectly.

being an only child has not allowed for much interaction with little people throughout my life so far,

thus I'm rather not familiar with the baby factor,

neither a woman that goes crazy over baby making and babies in general.

being in my late 30s  though (I swear I'd rather bite my tongue than write this) 

the whole thing does cross my mind now and then

you know... imagining my days creating at the studio in the winter garden with 

a little darling angel around, most probably having the blue eyes of her father

and the dark hair of her mum...

ooops, did I just write that?

no, no I absolutely did not.

and whoever did, may they please proceed in erasing it.

now, back to some more serious mood.

children's stuff.

ha! what can be more serious than children's stuff after all?

the whole world and our tomorrows are based on the children of today.

 specifically Jo's stuff,

the little misses who is growing among tones of love, craziness & creativity,

being the daughter of a fashion photographer & an accessories designer.

asides from interacting with her,

one of the highlights of the time we spent together with my cousin

was showing me her stuff.

little darling pieces of stylish clothes and toys.

oh the toys.

on the top of the post you see a small sample of her wooden toys.

I swear I could order them just for myself.

I know, shame on me.

the tiger and elephant are from Tiger stores

which have opened in Salonica ( in Athens too pretty please or somewhere in middle Germany - thank you), where my cousin originates from - actually my mother, too.

the little wooden finger dolls featuring bears, dogs, kitties & rabbits

are from Muji and you can actually order them here

what I mostly love about the choice of toys my cousin does is that she beautifully mixes

natural tones with vibrant colors,

much like these delightful soft animals made from reclaimed original 70's towels

by German designer Andreas Linzner

excuse me, how gorgeous are these pigs?

if anyone calls you ever a pig, just bring these ones in mind

and thank them for the nice attribute they just made.

speaking of vibrant colors,

she (my cousin) off course loves neon, pink in particular.

so here is the present I had prepared for her and little darling Jo:

a crochet blanket in simple grey tone,

with her name stitched in almost neon pink

my dear friend Ilaria was the one who undertook my special order

and my mother was the one who did the stitching,

following my design tips while she greatly improvised while doing the "o"

I know, I didn't do much actually ; )

isn't it just lovely?

it was just perfect to hear that it will be finding its way on the wall, 

when little Jo is not so little anymore,

decorating the walls of her room which is currently being designed.

I'm just so anticipating my next visit so that I can shoot around her room!

{shot in the guest room of Apart 44}

and seeing her having grown of course

what about you? 

are you a grown up loving children's stuff as well, 

regardless of whether there are children in your family or not?

in my next post you'll see a corner of our bedroom where color plays an important role

and children friendly details are not missing.

till then, enjoy your evenings!

hope your days were lovely.

 a long walk in the woods and around the lakes was the highlight of the day,

today being a bank holiday here

oh and German dads, it's your day today, so: 

happy father's day to you all!

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All images of this post are styled & shot by me. Thank you for sharing/ linking / pinning with love & care.

Picture styling & creation: Iro Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy 2012.