Moomin Moments (belated Midsummer Edition)

Thanks to FB, I was reminded that a year ago on Midsummer’s Day we enjoyed a late morning stroll around Katajanokka island before lunch.

This was after an evening of cycling around Helsinki in the rain on some super hip bicycles from the hotel. Helsinki is an incredibly bike friendly city–gorgeous paths with lush green parks and lovely views along the water. The rain (and odd time for a bike ride) kept the would-be pedestrian ridden paths clear and we essentially got a private tour of the entire city.

And before we got into our Citroen to begin part deux of our Finnish Adventure. All incredibly beautiful memories that make me long to be in Finland again.

Here are some literal Moomin Moments that have made my summer brighter. Hope you’re all having a lovely summer and make the most of what remains! xoxo

 

Moomin Moments 2.0

Believe it or not, it’s been almost a year (just three months shy) since I got something Moomin, so getting The Moomin Colouring Book made it feel extra special.

Apparently ‘adult colouring books’ are all the craze and even though this one is less complicated than the adult books, I’m well excited to get started on filling in the adorable images of Moomin and friends. And what more perfect tools to add a touch of colour than some Moomin colouring pencils! Do you have a favourite colouring book or set of coloured pencils?

Moomin Moments

Moomin moments are made up of experiences and things that spark joy or help me feel calm and relaxed. Here are a few from the past week.

Christening our bath with Aspinal’s Darjeeling & Rose scented candle and Heal’s floral tea lights. I was so sad that the flowers lost their shape but they were beautiful while they lasted.

Kitsch cuppa tea for one from Royal Albert

Countess Grey, my every day tea

Wee pressie from daddy’s travels: Moomin x ORBIS rose lip gloss

Moominworld At Last!

After many months of anticipation my biggest Moomin dream finally came true!  We finally made it to Finland in late June and crossed the bridge from Naantali to the island of Kailo.

You can definitely see Moominworld in a day, but we also wanted to explore the Turku archipelago so we hired a car and made Turku our base for a few nights. This allowed us to take a leisurely drive to Naantali and it was nice not being confined by a bus or train schedule. We were blessed with good weather the morning of our visit to Moominworld, but Finnish weather can be quite fickle (with more rain than usual this summer) and it started raining shortly after we left the park. So it may be wise to spend a few days in Turku to increase your chances of having a sunny day to explore.

Wild strawberry soda — a wee bit sweet for the adult palette.

Two tickets to Moominworld!

Entrance to Moominworld.

Moomin House!

Inside Moomin House

We knew Moominworld wasn’t going to be anything flash (e.g. big Disney theme park), and it turned out to be even smaller than expected. That said, it was still as cute and charming as I’d imagined it to be. As far as theme parks go, everything was thoughtfully laid out to make parents’ lives easier and optimize the fun for little ones. It was almost relaxing in the sense that there were no loud screaming children (just excited well-behaved ones) and the absence of queues for the attractions was nice. I’d like to think that anyone that loves the Moomins is a good person, which is probably why Moominworld had such a great vibe to it. We especially loved the open access to nature paths and the sandy beach. And of course, I still hope to have a Moomin House of my own one day!

Not wanting to eat theme park food, we opted for lunch in Naantali, where there is another Moomin Shop and lots of lovely little restaurants and cafes along the harbour. I can’t end this with a sweeping statement like “no Moomin fan’s life is complete without a visit to Moominworld” as that would be overhyping the place. But if you’ve been Moomin-obsessed for as long as I have been, it’s a real treat. I’m so grateful to hubs for accompanying me on this Moomin pilgrimage and can now close this chapter of my life.

Mad About Moomins Competition

I’ve been meaning to sit down and write about a fun little online shop, Funky Little People, which specialises in “funky eco Scandinavian brands”. Most of the items are for mini people, but there are also some cute items suitable for adults (i.e. Moomin!!!). And what better time to introduce this store as they’re hosting a Mad About Moomins competition (or Write and Win Competition), where 5 lucky Moomin fans have a chance to win some very nice Moomin prizes. Simply email info@funkylittlepeople.co.uk your favourite Moomin character and explain why you have chosen it in no more than 5 sentences. Best of all, the competition is open to Moomin fans all over the world! Below is the official competition poster with all the rules of entry. Entries must be submitted by 31 December 2014 and winners will be notified by 15 January, 2015. May the maddest Moomin fans win!

ORBIS x Moomin

The Moomin collaborations seem to never end. I don’t now how I missed this when we were in Japan in February but ORBIS, a popular Japanese skincare line, have had a few limited edition Moomin skincare products out for about a year, including their bestselling cleansing oil, lip gloss, and hand lotion.

I had to scour the interwebs to see if I could get my hands on one of the limited edition bottles and was lucky to find the 380ml bottle on eBay (though sadly at a not so cute price). Their products are light and gentle, and good for all skin types. Of course, having Moomin on the packaging make them all the better for the soul. The hand lotion is the latest addition to the limited edition Moomin line.

Luckily me Pa is in Taiwan at the moment, where some of the other ORBIS products that sold out in Japan are still available, including this lovely (and spacious) Moomin makeup pouch. I’m always on the lookout for useful Moomin products and I love stumbling upon all these wonderful collaborations. What’s the latest Moomin collaboration you’ve seen?

Moomin x KFC

Japan does a lot of things well, especially in the design and marketing department. So of course it should come as no surprise that for a limited time KFC have teamed up with Moomin and you can get your fried chicken fix and take care of your Moomin needs all in one go! There are four set menus to choose from and 3 Moomin soup mug designs: I’d like the red and green mugs, please. And all just in time for Christmas! In case you’re wondering what Christmas has to do with KFC, here’s a great read from Smithsonian.com on the modern Japanese tradition. In addition to Moomin soup mugs, KFC Japan offers a “Smile Set” (think Happy Meal) for kids and of course it comes with all sorts of Moomin fun. There are 6 goods to choose from: a desktop calendar, snack tray, playing cards, cookie cutters, and 2 different coaster designs. If I were forced to eat junk food (doesn’t take much convincing, really), I could think of nothing better than Moomin and KFC–a match made in heaven (especially if we could get Zinger chicken involved)! What would be even more brilliant is if KFC were to bring Zinger chicken back (full menu) and offer the same Moomin cuteness in the UK and US. Never mind the ‘eat healthy’ campaigns–a happy heart is a healthy one, and KFC and Moomin do just that.

All Things Fun Are Good For Your Tummy

Image from Nordqvist

In case you haven’t heard, Nordqvist has a new line of Moomin teas. The original flavoured black teas are lovely so I was looking forward to seeing what new tea they had in store for us. The new set of teas is all rooibos based. I do enjoy rooibos from time to time but when I saw the flavour line-up, I was a little skeptical. Strawberry milkshake seemed okay, but chocolate cake, banana and vanilla, and cheesecake flavours are not really my cup of tea.

All Things Fun Are Good For Your Tummy: Flavoured & Caffeine Free Rooibos

• Me too: Rooibos with strawberry milkshake flavour
• Ready to go?: Rooibos with banana and vanilla flavours
• You’ll see: Rooibos with chocolate cake flavour
• Tangy trick: Rooibos with cheesecake flavour

Best Moment Of The Day: Flavoured black tea

• Sweetheart: Black tea with wild strawberry flavour
• I should know: Black tea with lemon flavour
• Go for it: Black tea with blueberry flavour
• Moominmamma’s magic potion: black tea with rhubarb and strawberry flavours

I’m generally open to trying new flavours at least once but perhaps I’ll wait until we’re in Finland to give them a go. Have you tried the new Moomin teas? Did you enjoy them? Let us know!

Scandinavian Christmas Market

I love Christmas markets, especially Scandinavian ones. There’s something especially Christmassy about tucking into hearty stews and sipping on a warming mug of Nordic glögg. Not to mention, all the Moomin memorabilia, Finnish beer and cinnamon buns to be had (as well as rye breads, gravadlax, Fazer chocolates and cloudberry jam).

The Scandinavian Christmas Market (Norwegian Christmas Fair and Finnish Christmas Fair), located on Albion Street outside the Finnish and Norwegian Churches in Rotherhithe, was on at the weekend from 21-23 November 2014. G was kind to send some lovely photos so I didn’t feel left out.

Despite the dreary weather, there were a few hundred visitors. But according to the G, the market was just ‘okay’ and nothing to write home about. That said, I’d still like to check it out next time or even better, spend Christmas in Finland!

Moomin Nesting Dolls

Don’t you just love when you discover a new shop that sells unique Moomin merchandise? It’s already been a fabulous year for Moomin fans, thanks to all the special events and collaborations commemorating Tove Jansson’s centennial. But this is the first time I’ve seen Moomin nesting dolls and they were so cute I couldn’t resist purchasing them–they will soon be making their way around the globe to me!

The little dröm store is based in Singapore (est. 2010) and sells creative knick knacks, often with a local flavour. They have a modest collection of Moomin merch here, all the basics to get a Moomin collector started.

The dolls are made of plastic so perhaps $39SGD is a wee bit on the high side in terms of pricing, but they look like they’re quality made so hopefully we won’t be disappointed. I shall report back once they arrive so watch this space! Have you made any new Moomin discoveries? If so, let us know!

Update (1 Dec): The Moomin nesting dolls finally arrived from Singapore! I was surprised by how tiny they were–the largest doll is 11.5cm tall and the smallest is 5cm. I must have read centimetres as inches when I skimmed the product description. They’re so ickle! That said, they’re still adorable, although I would have liked a thicker paint on the dolls and a sturdier plastic.