The Social Security Administration has just released a list of top baby names chosen by American parents during 2011. I spotted the list on Momtrends and just had to share…

Some traditional offerings, alongside a few surprises. What do you think of the list? Did you pick one of these names for your baby? Would you consider choosing [...]]]>

The Social Security Administration has just released a list of top baby names chosen by American parents during 2011. I spotted the list on Momtrends and just had to share…

Some traditional offerings, alongside a few surprises. What do you think of the list? Did you pick one of these names for your baby? Would you consider choosing any of these?

With Mother’s Day almost upon us, thought it was appropriate to signpost this cute – and thought-provoking – ‘call your mother’ infographic, posted yesterday on Frugal Dad.

It quantifies practical, emotional and financial sacrifices, routinely made by mothers (and fathers) during a child’s lifetime. Do take a look…then call your mother to say thanks!

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With Mother’s Day almost upon us, thought it was appropriate to signpost this cute – and thought-provoking – ‘call your mother’ infographic, posted yesterday on Frugal Dad.

It quantifies practical, emotional and financial sacrifices, routinely made by mothers (and fathers) during a child’s lifetime. Do take a look…then call your mother to say thanks!

I’m a huge fan of Unhappy Hipsters, as I mentioned here a while back, so I thought i’d revisit the site, and share some of my – appropriately child-focused – recent favorites.

I can’t resist UH’s window on the Dwell-home dwellers’ irrelevant daily activities. Actually, I adore these modernist homes…and, for the record, don’t find “grays” the least bit [...]]]>

I’m a huge fan of Unhappy Hipsters, as I mentioned here a while back, so I thought i’d revisit the site, and share some of my – appropriately child-focused – recent favorites.

I can’t resist UH’s window on the Dwell-home dwellers’ irrelevant daily activities. Actually, I adore these modernist homes…and, for the record, don’t find “grays” the least bit “grim”.

Looks like fun! Perhaps I could rig-up an indoor swing in our office? These bright homes look like cool places to grow up…aside from the concrete floors and sharp-edged furniture.

I could see an O&L-clad crib slotting into that vacant corner very nicely. Oh, click any of these images to visit the UH post and check out readers’ caption attempts/comments

When we chose to make Boston home, we accepted a certain inevitability. Boston winters are really bad, at least when compared to the typically mild English winters we’re used to.

So, it’s with much surprise, and considerable disappointment, I report a winter that (so far) has packed a pretty paltry punch. In fact, it’s as mild [...]]]>

When we chose to make Boston home, we accepted a certain inevitability. Boston winters are really bad, at least when compared to the typically mild English winters we’re used to.

So, it’s with much surprise, and considerable disappointment, I report a winter that (so far) has packed a pretty paltry punch. In fact, it’s as mild and snow-less as it gets here.

That doesn’t mean it’s been completely devoid of snow, but this season’s count is way below the norm. Something we can personally testify to, having seen parts of last winter…

Ironically, England (and the rest of Europe) has seen more snow than usual, as friends and family keep telling us. Knowing how it brings the UK to a standstill, I’m not envious.

And I’m certainly not asking for a repeat of last year’s performance here. Just a few minor storms before the spring please. Guess I may just regret those words in a month or so

A while ago, we bought bikes in the UK. Unfortunately, these were stolen…from the back of our house, no less. We received insurance money to replace them but didn’t. Until now.

With our US future secured, we can take advantage of the Boston weather(!) and get on our bikes. We won’t be racing or rock-hopping, so a good old-fashioned [...]]]>

A while ago, we bought bikes in the UK. Unfortunately, these were stolen…from the back of our house, no less. We received insurance money to replace them but didn’t. Until now.

With our US future secured, we can take advantage of the Boston weather(!) and get on our bikes. We won’t be racing or rock-hopping, so a good old-fashioned bicycle will do.

And this is it. Well, mine anyway. It’s a Linus Roadster Sport. Sounds rather masculine but in realty it’s not that sporty. More of a practical offering, with a very pleasing aesthetic.

At least, I think so. It won’t surprise you to know, visual appearance played a big part in both our choices. In classic ‘his & hers’ style, Karen’s comes in complementary cream.

We were also attracted to the whole Linus brand. Everything, including their philosophy, is very straightforward and non-fussy. They make modern, simple, reliable (we hope) bikes.

We’ve ordered our chosen color/size and eagerly await delivery/build at our great local bike shop. I’m switching-out my tires for ‘creme’, to create a truly O&L-themed bike

Edit: after a protracted encounter with an Amazon seller, I’ve finally added creme tires to my bike, as planned. Looks like they were made for this bike, I think. Hope you agree.

The English are infamous for constantly bemoaning the weather. Rather apt then, that we’ve moved to a place that’s so rich in source material. Boston has it all, weather-wise.

Contrast the bitterly cold weather back in January, with this past July week. The forecast below is from the Boston Globe. They occasionally slip-in an icon with a [...]]]>

The English are infamous for constantly bemoaning the weather. Rather apt then, that we’ve moved to a place that’s so rich in source material. Boston has it all, weather-wise.

Contrast the bitterly cold weather back in January, with this past July week. The forecast below is from the Boston Globe. They occasionally slip-in an icon with a little personality.

Actually, they underestimated our mini-heatwave, as temperatures last week topped 100ºF. It’s not Arizona or Texas but it’s pretty darn hot, particularly for sun-starved Brits.

I took this pic on a trip to our local post office, and wasn’t the only one documenting the evidence. Happily, this week, temperatures look set to remain around the mid-eighties.

Just to make my case for varied weather conditions, not two months ago we were subject to severe weather warnings, as tornadoes swept through nearby Massachusetts towns.

At first it seemed fairly exciting, until we realised the seriousness of events. A few people died and masses of property was completely wiped-out. Lucky for us, they missed Boston.

Further back, as I mentioned here, we had the ‘pleasure’ of witnessing a Nor’easter. This massive winter ‘storm’ dumped almost two-feet of snow on the city inside one day.

The weather certainly ain’t boring in these parts. Makes you wonder how people where we’re from get so much moaning mileage from relatively bland weather conditions

Note: As a sort of inverted testament to this post, yesterday (July 26) turned out to be a typical English summer’s day; overcast, with light rain and temperatures in the sixties.

Just a quick post to say happy Independence Day! It’s our first 4th of July on this side of the pond so we’re pretty excited. Predictably, plenty going on in Boston. Should be fun.

Plenty of flags around too. I spied this huge one hanging at the Boston Harbor Hotel, and the one below was ingeniously crane-hoisted [...]]]>

Just a quick post to say happy Independence Day! It’s our first 4th of July on this side of the pond so we’re pretty excited. Predictably, plenty going on in Boston. Should be fun.

Plenty of flags around too. I spied this huge one hanging at the Boston Harbor Hotel, and the one below was ingeniously crane-hoisted by the harborside walkway to the ICA.

Have a fabulous day, whatever you’re up to. And don’t forget, still time to grab a bargain in our sale. Use promo code “independence” and get 30% off everything in our store

The Boston Marathon ‘happened’ yesterday. And we were right in the thick of it. No, we didn’t attempt anything silly, like running, just that the route goes straight past our office.

Which was very convenient. We tracked the runners’ progress online, then nipped outside to see the leading wheelchair, women and men runners up close. Speaking [...]]]>

The Boston Marathon ‘happened’ yesterday. And we were right in the thick of it. No, we didn’t attempt anything silly, like running, just that the route goes straight past our office.

Which was very convenient. We tracked the runners’ progress online, then nipped outside to see the leading wheelchair, women and men runners up close. Speaking of which…

This is eventual mens’ and overall winner Geoffrey Mutai, of Kenya, who ran the fastest ever marathon, smashing the course record with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds.

There was a real buzz, with bands playing, food on every corner, a hugely supportive crowd lining the route and, as you can see, an ‘interesting’ array of banners on display.

Amid the celebrations, a guy up the road fell five floors through a skylight! Luckily he survived. Overall it was a very inspiring day. Now, where did I put my running shoes?

Just thinking, perhaps we should acknowledge Saint Patrick’s Day more than usual. There are several reasons why we’re more connected to today than you maybe realise.

We’re green. It’s such a prominent colour in our product designs, our branding and our lives that we kind of forget. We’re also pretty ‘green’ in the eco sense, thinking [...]]]>

Just thinking, perhaps we should acknowledge Saint Patrick’s Day more than usual. There are several reasons why we’re more connected to today than you maybe realise.

We’re green. It’s such a prominent colour in our product designs, our branding and our lives that we kind of forget. We’re also pretty ‘green’ in the eco sense, thinking about it.

We live in the town of Cheltenham, which, if you don’t know, is home to the Cheltenham Festival, recognised globally as one of National Hunt racing’s most prestigious events.

As I’ve mentioned before, this leads to an inevitable influx of Irish people, swelling our town’s population to bursting, while massively skewing stats for Guinness consumption.

Finally, we’re setting up Olli & Lime LLC in Boston, which means we’ll be spending plenty of time there, for a while at least. If you don’t know, it’s home to a huge Irish population.

In fact, it’s where St Paddy’s Day was first celebrated stateside. However, Chicago takes the biscuit for the biggest US commitment, annually dyeing its central river green!

Like a lot of people, I have a number of Google Alerts set up, so I know when someone says something about us. It’s proved invaluable over the last few years, for many reasons.

We check out coverage, customer feedback etc. We’ve even discovered people who felt it was perfectly fine to rip-off our designs, proudly [...]]]>

Like a lot of people, I have a number of Google Alerts set up, so I know when someone says something about us. It’s proved invaluable over the last few years, for many reasons.

We check out coverage, customer feedback etc. We’ve even discovered people who felt it was perfectly fine to rip-off our designs, proudly stating they were ‘inspired by Olli & Lime’!

Anyway, an alert I just got was way more trivial, taking me to Spokeo, a site I hadn’t seen before. It lets you search for names and gives you facts/frequency across the US.

The alert found this, giving all the detail on the name ‘Billie Wall’. There are 29 of them in all. We got mentioned ‘cos of our ‘Billie Wall’ Art! While there, I had to look-up my name.

It appears, when we move, I’ll be the only Andy Lacey residing in Massachusetts. One of a mere 52 in the US. Haven’t got too much time on my hands, honest! Back to work…