Merry Christmas

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas full of magic and memories.

Baking Day

Sunday afternoon at the gingerbread factory and the intense concentration of Miss Gracie and friends. Not one cheeky grin at the camera as the girls work hard at their task.



And after all of their hard work?

Slumber party!

Stocking Filler

Any pony mad princess would be happy to find these pony hair clips in her Christmas stocking.

Gingerbread Men Recipe

If she has the Gingerbread Men bow, she will need the recipe to go with it. This is an easy one.

Makes approx 16 Gingerbread Men - 350g (12 oz) plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tsp ground ginger 110g (4 oz), diced butter 175g (6 oz), soft light brown sugar, 4 tbsp golden syrup, 1 beaten egg, currants - to decorate.

Method: Preheat oven to 190 °C / 375 °F / Gas 5. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar. Beat the syrup into the egg the stir into the flour mixture. Knead this dough until smooth, divide in half. Roll out, half at a time, on a floured surface until about 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out gingerbread men until all the dough has been used up, re-rolling and cutting the trimmings. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Place the gingerbread men on greased baking sheets and decorate with currants to represent eyes and buttons. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Leave on the baking sheets to cool slightly, transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Then eat! Bite their heads off or feet first? I always leave their little head until last. Somehow it just makes me feel better.

Gingerbread Bow

Gingerbread men are always irresistible even when printed as a simple shape. Printed in white on chocolate brown ribbon, this little bow is the perfect accessory for cookie baking days.

A long Sunday lunch, a trampoline, a three year old and a Chloe clip. Lunch was delicious, the trampoline kept the kids entertained, the three your old was a happy combination of chatter and activity and through it all the Chloe clip stayed put! Never once did her mum say "would you hold my wine while I fix her clip".

Loving the spots and the colour combo! A very comfy headband in a sleeve of beautiful ribbon.

Halloween fun! As children we planned for weeks what we would be and not necessarily something scary - cowboys, fairies, Disney characters, race car drivers and fireman were all acceptable choices. The dressing up box existed long into our teen years as the previous year's costumes were altered to create something new. A hula skirt became a rather itchy scarecrow wig and the cowboy waistcoat and sheriff badge took on a whole new style when worn by a 15 year old in a denim mini skirt. A rather humorous costume was the "bunch of grapes". Purple tights and leotards with many balloons attached was a great idea until we realised we would not be able to sit down all evening.

Fairies, a Ladybird, a Pumpkin, Cinderella and a Cowboy (that same waistcoat, first worn by my brother in 1969) filled the house with laughter this year. Nothing scary just pumpkin carving, too many sweets and lots of fun!

Simone - A star of a bow! The perfect alternative to the Ella and the Hannah bow, 5cm in length, attached to a pinch clip and just £2.00!

Never like the mention of Christmas in October but Miss Gracie's hair clip holders are always a sell out and replenishment has just arrived. Very practical and in the popular colours of Pink or Orchid they make a lovely wall decoration for her bedroom. Remember Miss Gracie gift wrapping is always free. Type the word "gift" in the special instruction box at check out.

Blue Bird

Miss Gracie bows come in over sixty colours but Blue Bird remains my favourite. I think it is the name and it just works with so many other colours. I particularly like it with denim for those jeans and tee shirt days when a bow isn't necessary but she just feels like wearing one anyway.

Autumn colours have arrived. The Chloe clip is a simple ribbon covered pinch clip but without a bow. Brown, greens and blues - perfect with this season's play clothes.

As requested, Miss Gracie now offers a really big bow! The Bethany bow is the largest basic bow in the Miss Gracie collection. It measures 15cm and is attached to a 7cm barrette. Currently it is only offered in a few basic colours but if you would like it in more then do let me know.

Another happy customer! All smiles, hair bows and pirate tattoos?

Sunday in Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill Summer Fete - Sunday the 6th from noon. Miss Gracie along with Daisy & Mouse and Graham & Green will be amongst the stallholders. Weather looks promising!

In just a few days Miss Gracie and her friends will be running back to school. Time to get organised, iron the uniform and start getting to bed earlier!

We have a little secret we would like to share with you. Our holiday home is a chicken coop! Luckily the chickens moved out long ago and now it is a comfortable holiday home in the Tuscan countryside. Beautiful views, a pool to keep the kids entertained and acres of olive groves. Tempted? Email Lucy via www.villaluciaoftuscany.com and tell her you are a friend of Miss Gracie.

Quick! Before she grows up dress her in these gorgeous Liberty print dresses from Peak Princess. Beautifully made, oh so pretty yet so practical they can be worn everyday. I love that they offer something equally nice for the boys and who could resist adding a Liberty print bunny or teddy to their order?

Amelia, a very pretty bow. Soft sheer ribbon on a pinch clip available in navy, pink or white.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Miss Gracie and friends spent Thursday at ART IN ACTION "a four day showcase of excellence in the visual arts and crafts". So much to see, do, listen to, watch and eat! The girls busied themselves modelling castles from clay and creating mosaics while we enjoyed the music, exhibits and Pimms. Located near Oxford on the M40, it is worth slipping into the Wellies for. Click Art in Action for more info.

So hot today, Miss Gracie and friends headed straight from school to the garden. All that splashing and the hair bow still stayed in place!

Sunshine & Bows

What a fabulous sunny Sunday in Marylebone! Thank you to Miss Gracie's London customers who popped by to say "hi". The day was a huge success and now it is time to replenish. Gorgeous new bows arriving soon.

Miss Gracie in Marylebone

This Sunday, June 14th, Miss Gracie will be at the Marylebone Summer Fayre. Find us at stand 33 in the Cabbages & Frocks market opposite Conran.

Ruby Bow - Butterflies

So perfect for a summer's day. Flutter by little butterfly...

It was reported by the BBC today that we are in for a warm, dry summer. That is very good news for this California girl. And what does summer mean to a five year old? ICE CREAM!

Ella Hair Bow

I joined the hustle and bustle on Regent Street, London this week in search of the perfect party dress for a friend's 40th. Dashing in and out of shops while the weather turned from bad to worse I spotted a little girl who made me smile. Happily skipping up and down the steps of a shop and oblivious to the grown ups dashing past, was this very cute little girl wearing a navy blue Miss Gracie hair bow!

The Ella hair bow is VERY popular but London is a BIG city. Such fun to spot a bow and just how I imagined... on a very happy little girl.

The Audrey Hair Bow

Looking forward to Spring. Sunny warm skies and a garden of flowers. As a child I always looked forward to a new "Easter Dress". Something pretty and maybe a lovely cardigan to match just in case the weather isn't quite warm enough. Springtime colours and finished with a bow.

Ruby Hair Bow

Oh so sweet! We have added a darling new hair bow to our range. The Ruby hair bow is perfect for fine hair and is offered in both pattern and solid colours. Our Ella hair bow of similar size is so popular we went in search of something equally cute. And a hair bow this cute could only be named for our cute little friend, Ruby!

A Valentine's Lunch

In our house any holiday is reason enough to bake cookies and make decorations. This year we decided to introduce Miss Gracie's friends to the traditions of an American Valentine's day. In the UK Valentine's Day is for couples. No paper covered shoe boxes awaiting Valentines, no candy hearts or class parties. We decided to have our own party.
Cupcakes, heart shaped cookies and sandwiches, sweet little heart boxes from the craft shop to paint and best of all Valentines! The girls loved the selection of Valentines I found online to print and food always tastes nicer when it is shaped like a heart. Miss Gracie's Valentine lunch may just become a tradition.

Bow Lady

"Are you the hair bow lady?" I never thought I would answer yes to a question like that. I am an American Mom residing in the UK. On a visit to grandma's when my daughter was one, I purchased little hair bows to keep her hair out of her eyes (cutting a fringe was out of the question as I was twelve before I was allowed to grow mine out). Back in the UK on our first trip to the shops, people were commenting on the bow and mums were asking where to buy them. A simple plan to buy a few on my next trip home led to an invite to sell at a school fair, more invites followed and Miss Gracie was launched. Now I am "the bow lady".

My career prior to my current one as mum and bow lady, was in retail. Now I had a product and small customer base, I dreamed of a shop. What else should I sell? Toys, books, gorgeous little gifts, tutus, bedding... the opportunities seemed endless. So many lovely things could be sourced for little girls. BUT a shop would mean overhead, business hours... then my clever (IT expert) husband suggested a website. Perfect! I did add products to my range. They sold but nothing ever matched the popularity of the bows so that is where we are today. Just bows! and I love it!
...and that gorgeous little girl in the photo is my Miss Gracie.

Visit our online shop at www.missgracie.co.uk