The weather is not on our side on what-is-supposed-to-be end of spring. The winter is making a come back with temperature going lower than 10°C on the weekend, so here I would like to share some ideas that we can do to enjoy even when it’s raining outside.

FOR FREE OR CHEAP

Go to La Maison Ouverte. It’s an open playhouse. Free and you can come anonymously (no registration or such). The children should be accompanied by the parents at all time. They provide toys etc.

Similar to La Maison Ouverte is the Vallée de la Jeunesse (also free)

See the (dead) animals at Musée Zoologie (Cantonal Museum of Zoology) inside Palais de Rumine in Rippone. Free on 1st Sat each month, otherwise CHF6 for adults. There is an old post about it here, but since then the museum has undergone renovations and is looking even better now.

For dinosaur fossils (not so many though), go to Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire (Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History). It’s in the same complex as the Musée Zoologie above.

Be a member of Ludotheque (toy library) and rent toys from them so that your little ones can be busy even at home

Be a member of the Public Library, hang around there and borrow books to bring home. This is a special one for the kids, incl. babies.

WORTH A (HALF-)DAY TRIP

Sensorium in Rüttihubelbad (near Bern) (my post)

Papiliorama (Butterfly Park and Tropical Dome) in Kerzers (my post)

Musée Suisse du Jeu (Swiss Museum of Games) at La Tour de Peilz

More ideas? Let me know by leaving a comment!

If you have been following this blog for a while, you must remember the blog post and giveaway from Merci Maman for Valentine’s Day. Yes, Merci Maman was that online store with those über lovely little gifts. This time Merci Maman teams up again with Lausanne Mom to celebrate the fathers. Yes, Father’s Day will come soon — on Sunday, 2 June 2013.

Don’t be fooled by the name, Merci Maman is not only for the mothers, they have product for fathers and grandfathers, too. And as always, many of them are customizable.

For this giveaway Merci Maman will give one gift voucher of CHF60 to one lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, please choose one product that you would give to a father (your partner, father, father-in-law, grandfather, or perhaps yourself if you are a father) and let us know which one it is on the comment section below. You can choose the products here: For Fathers and For Grandparents.

My personal pick would be this key chain. I found it super cute and would be perfect for my husband once engraved with the name of our daughter and son.

If my husband would wear a necklace, I would also take this Army Tag Necklace. It looks so cool.

So now, leave a comment and tell us your pick. Comments are accepted until Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:59pm. As usual, the winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on this page.

Good luck!

The contest is now closed and the winner has been announced – see below

Winner announcement on 22 May 2013:

The winner of the CHF60 gift voucher from Merci Maman is…

Comment #10 by Petra! Congratulations!

Many thanks to all of you for your participation and to Merci Maman for the opportunity to host this giveaway. Have a awesome Father’s Day!

I just saw this ad of a car race in Romont (FR):

I think it sounds like loads of fun for those who love racing! Entry is free and there are shuttle buses and eateries on the spot. I haven’t found more info on the shuttle bus, but I assume they start from Romont (FR) station/center to the racing area. If I found more info, I’ll post it here.

For those going by car, the exact place of the race and how to reach it is described here.

As racing is usually very loud, it may be good to have a few pairs of ear plugs or noise-reducing head phones for the little ones.

Just wanted to wish all mothers, grandmothers, and mothers-to-be a …

Hope you’re being showered with love and super spoiled

*Photograph was taken in my 4-y.o. daughter’s restaurant last summer (during a much needed Mama’s coffee “break”).

If you have a sweet tooth problem like I do there is a good chance that you know and have been to the sweet little cupcake boutique Cuppin’s already. The good news is that they are not little anymore! Cuppin’s has recently moved two doors away from their former location, and there they now have much more space.

The idea behind the new boutique is to launch a new kind of  tea room. Dina and Yasmine, the owners, wanted to create a place where you can enjoy freshly baked products or healthy lunch while at the same time relax and even shop. You can also have them for take away, of course!

They have also expanded their tea selection (available hot and cold), I guarantee it won’t be easy to choose only one of the 28 different leaf tea available. Of course, the cupcakes remain the main product.

Now they also have a private area where they offer classes (mainly cupcakes classes). Even better, this area can be reserved for private parties — I have seen this area, and while it’s not very big, it would be more than enough for li’l ones’ birthdays or baby showers, or perhaps the next Lausanne Mom moms meet-ups?

As Dina and Yamin are mothers themselves, they wanted to make moms comfortable in their boutique. Apart from the spacious cafe (strollers can finally get in easily), now there is a play corner (they even painted the IKEA wooden play kitchen to match the cafe decor), a changing table, and there is door bell that you can ring to let them know if you need help to get the stroller in (there is a couple of staircase in front of the entrance), and finally an area for mothers who prefer to nurse their babies in private. I’m telling you, so many great things aimed for mothers in this new boutique that I really feel like it’s a Mother’s Day gift by itself!

So, now the best part, three readers could each win 4 cupcakes from Cuppin’s! Simply leave a comment and let us know what would you like most to receive this year for Mother’s Day! In my case it would a foot massage and cupcakes Comments are accepted until Monday, 13 May 2013 at 11:59PM. Winners will be chosen randomly using random.org as usual.  This giveaway is now closed. Scroll down to winners announcement.

Good luck and Happy Mother’s Day!

Cuppin’s Tea House & Cupcakes
Petit-Chêne 20, CH- 1003 Lausanne
Monday: 12h-19h
Tuesday-Friday:8.30h-19h
Saturday: 9h-18h
Sunday: closed
info (AT) cuppins.ch
Tel: 078 705 13 12
On facebook

*Photographs courtesy of Cuppin’s

The three winners chosen by random.org are…

comments #7 Holly, #4 Sibylle, #12 Laura!

Congratulations, moms! Enjoy your cupcakes!

I thank all of you for participating and Cuppin’s for the possibility to do this giveaway.

xx

Sponsored post

It’s a real pleasure for me to write this post, for two reasons. First, Hayley Hay is a biologist/immunologist who’s doing very well in her other career as a photographer. As a cell biologist currently working as SAHM I found that very inspiring. Second, I admire her photos (see her gallery here) and style, and I have heard raving recommendations from local moms who had used her service. No wonder that her schedule seems to fill fast!

Hayley and her family arrived in Lausanne (from Brighton, UK) last February. In the U.K., with another friend, she founded a photography company through which they captured many families in and around the Brighton area. They developed a successful business in children’s and family photography using natural light. Hayley has 2 sons (4 years and 23 months), so that she’s very experienced at trying to capture children at play, including those who don’t always cooperate with cameras (oh, don’t we know the challenges!).

To celebrate Mother’s Day that is coming this Sunday, Hayley offers one session to one lucky reader of Lausanne Mom. To enter the giveaway contest, leave a comment and let us know your favorite spot in Vaud to be photographed in (but it doesn’t automatically mean you will be photographed there if you win). Comments are accepted until Saturday, 11 May 2013 11:59pm. This giveaway contest is now closed. Scroll down to see the winner.

If you are on facebook, don’t forget to like Hayley Hay Photography page to see more of her work, get updates and offers.

Contact:
Hayley Hay Photography
info (AT) hayleyhayphotography.com
+41 (0) 79 208 5164
on facebook

*Hayley Hay Photography is a current sponsor of LausanneMom.com

**Photograph courtesy of Hayley Hay Photography. Models have been informed and given approval for the use of this photograph on this blog post.

And the lucky mom to win the photo session is…

Comment #28 : Hannah! Congratulations!

I thank all of you for participating and Hayley for the opportunity to host this giveaway. I wish you all a very happy Mother’s Day! xx

your city is showing some serious love! Read on…

• Thinking of buying a bike? How about an electric bike? The City of Lausanne will contribute CHF300 to your purchase. Seriously. Click here for more info.
• For e-scooters, it’s 15% of purchase price, up to CHF1000! (More info)
• Many other communes also have this initiative, including Aigle, Bussigny-près-Lausanne, Gland, Nyon, Pully, Prilly, Epalinges, and Montreux. Check yours if they also have this.
• Oh, you want to buy a car instead? If you buy one that goes with gas, the City of Lausanne will give you CHF1000.
• In case you prefer public transport, get the Mobilis card for a year. You only pay 10 months instead of 12 months.

Know other interesting offers for an eco-conscious ride? Lemme know!

Photo credit: Self Trading/Creative Commons

Fête de la Danse is coming this weekend – Friday to Sunday, 3-5 May 2013! As the previous years, their program still includes dancing for/with younger kids, for example the Disco Kids on Sunday. All dance-loving parents should definitely check out their complete program (click here, also for the pdf version).

The ticket (CHF15) allows access to all events (also many in other cities, except Zurich and some events listed here). Even better, it’s free for your kids (under 16). Ticket is sold on the spot. Note that it is required that each participant has accident insurance (which I think we all have anyway).

*Image courtesy of Fête de la Danse

Several weeks before my 37th birthday (last November), I started thinking that I should review my life and make a list of what I would love to do before I turn 40. Especially now that our son has passed the baby phase, many things with my kids are getting easier, and that we’re sure we don’t want another baby, I feel the need to take more care of myself. Among the things on the list was to do a make-up lesson. I haven’t updated my range of cosmetics and make up skills for years, perhaps a decade. And ever since my second child was born, 90% of the time I don’t even wear make-up (I barely have the time to brush my teeth or put on moisturizer!). Although I’m getting used to my bare skin, I really wished to improve my look, especially when I go out on special occasions. After all, my skin and I are not getting any younger, my eye bags are more visible thanks to sleep deprivation, and the crow’s feet are here to stay.

Just then, Eleni contacted me and told me about her make-up and eyebrow shaping service. I asked her if she would do a make-up lesson for me and she said yes. We finally met yesterday at her home. She asked me what kind of make-up I would like to learn, and I told her that I needed to learn to do a “hot-date” make-up — a look that I could rock to events like hot dates with hubby, cocktails evenings, formal concerts, and weddings.

And this is how I looked at the end of our session:

I’m loving it. I’M SERIOUSLY LOVING IT.

If you are not impressed, you should see the photos below.

This how I look without make-up:

Below is how I look with my everyday make-up that I did myself (takes 5-10 minutes). You see that there is not much difference to the one without make-up. When I needed a “hot date” look, I would “improve it” by adding a brighter eye shadow color, another coat of mascara, and a bit more blush on.

But it certainly very far from how I looked after Eleni worked her magic:

I show you a side by side comparison:

It really felt like my fairy godmother came and turned me into a princess And the best thing? I’m pretty confident that I can do this again, alone by myself, as Eleni did a really great job teaching me.

What I really like from the lesson:

• Eleni was able to give me the exact look that I had in my head. I told her that I wanted a hot date look, and that I tend to go with the color green as I always feel that green compliments my skin tone best. The emerald-smoky look that she did for my eye was perfection (for me at least). It was like she could really pick that from my brain.
• Eleni really took her time to explain everything — the cosmetics she used, the tone, the color, what they do to my skin, the brushes, how to apply, how to blend. She shared amazing amount of information and tricks (and obviously, patience).
• Eleni is not tied to a particular brand. This way I was sure that she picked the best products she thought would work for me. Even better, she didn’t use only the expensive brands — she also had drug store cosmetics like the classic Maybelline mascara. For my look, she used products from bareMineral, Giorgio Armani, Clinique, Chanel, The Body Shop, Nyx, NARS, MAC, and Laura Mercier.
• Thanks to her now I know that an orange-y blush would work very well on me. Honestly, I would never pick that color myself, but I agree that it looked amazing.
• I went home feeling confident that I could do the same look all by myself.

And in case you are wondering how well the make-up stay, I took a photo around four hours after I left. Within those four hours, I had taken two buses and a train to go back home, picked up my son at the day care, played with my 2 kids, and had dinner. I obviously lost most of the lip color after eating, but the rest stayed and looked as good as it was just applied. Yay!

Okay, I hope I have convinced you just how talented (and sweet and caring) Eleni is. Now, I think I should tell a little bit about her background that I learned through our conversation yesterday.

Eleni is from Melbourne (she’s Greek-Australian). She came to Lausanne with her husband who got a job here. She has been doing make-up and eyebrow shaping for more than 20 years. Her true passion is eyebrow shaping, but she does all kind of make-up artistry, including bridal. And if you want a lesson like I did, she’d be happy to do one, too.

I know you’d like to know her rates. For weddings based in Lausanne, the rates are: bride 180CHF, bridesmaid 140CHF and trials 60CHF. Rates can also be worked out on an ad hoc basis for clients requiring makeup for non-bridal events & for any jobs outside of the Lausanne area. For eyebrow shaping between 20 to 50CHF (this depends on how much work and time is required). Eleni uses a mixture of hot wax sourced from Australia (can be used on sensitive skin) and high grade tweezers.

Based on this experience, I  don’t think can’t recommend her highly enough. On a side note, Eleni is expecting her first baby, due in July. So in case you want to book her, contact her quickly

I hope this post is useful for you and I thank Eleni very, very much.

eleni makeup and eyebrows
Prilly/Lausanne
079 881 57 06
elenimakeup (AT) hotmail (DOT) com
On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eleni.makeup.and.eyebrows

A few weeks ago, a friend’s house was broken in while the family was away for the weekend. It was the carnival weekend for their commune and apparently the burglars took advantage of the noise to break the kitchen glass window. Then, a few days after there was an attempt to break in another friend’s apartment in Lausanne. They were unsuccessful, but the door was damaged.

It’s crazy. I’ve lived in this area (Epalinges/Lausanne, and now Lucens) since 2005 and the crime rates really went up the last couple of years. According to the newest Vaud Police annual crime report, Lausanne, as almost all big cities of the country, experience a sharp increase of crime rates (16.2%) in 2012 as compared to the year before. From that increase, apparently crimes against property and drugs-related ones took a big portion.

So, my main message here, please be vigilant, especially if you’re leaving home for a while. Even on a daily basis, if you don’t arrive back home until it’s dark, try to set a few lamps on timers, so that the house doesn’t look empty. If you have a garden, you can use solar lamps that automatically switch on when it gets dark. Additionally there is a good checklist for those leaving for a vacation from the Vaud police (the downloadable check-list (in French) on the right-hand side of this page). It’s also wise to ask your neighbors to check on your house/apartment on a regular basis and to empty your mailbox (full mailbox is one indication that no one is home).

Stay safe!