The Latest Drop
On playground glamour, fake gelato and Burning Man for toddlers.
An unexpectedly glamorous outfit, a surprisingly good children’s museum and an unexpectedly convincing fake gelato.
My standards continue to surprise me.
The New Standard
People have jobs. Children. Relationships. Meal prep. Read books. Train for half marathons. Learn Italian. Lift weights. Have date nights. Reply to WhatsApp. Reply to Telegram. Drink enough water. Maintain skincare routines with more steps than my toddler’s bedtime. Somehow they also know exactly when the latest Miu Miu × New Balance drop is happening.
Meanwhile, I have eighty-three unanswered messages and I’m still wearing my SS22 Sambas.
Where the f*ck are you all finding the hours?
Last Thursday, I somehow won the morning. Not the whole day. Let’s not get carried away. Just the morning.
Mini-Us is dressed. Teeth brushed. Water bottle packed. Snacks packed. Bulldozer packed - apparently that’s become a permanent member of our family. We’re walking towards our favourite playground in Monbijoupark, and I’m sipping my beloved cappuccino from The Barn while it’s still hot.
I feel on top of the world, wearing blue jeans, a basic striped T-shirt that’s somehow still stainless, black sunglasses and old run-down New Balance trainers - not the cool ones.
Three years ago this would’ve been my emergency outfit. The one you wear because everything else is in the wash.
Today?
Internally, I’m Olivia Palermo leaving Milan Fashion Week. Anna Wintour is hiding behind a tree taking notes.
I’d still love to wear the latest Miu Miu 530 SLs. I still imagine ordering Leila Gohar’s Arket pieces on launch day instead of discovering the collection two months after everyone else has moved on.
But these days, making it to the playground before noon - with a hot cappuccino from The Barn and a stroller successfully stocked with snacks, water bottles and one emotionally essential bulldozer - is hotter than the latest drop.
It won’t get many saves on Pinterest.
It sure does make me feel like I’ve got my life together.
(If you know where everyone is finding the hours, please write in.)
Good Taste
Choco-ango
It’s one of those weeks where my body wants chocolate, my brain refuses to approve a chocolate bar and insists Greek yoghurt ice cream is basically the same thing.
This time, I chose to believe her.
3 cups 3.5% or 5% Greek yoghurt · 1 ripe avocado · ½ cup cacao powder · ½ tsp stevia (or sugar, maple syrup or honey) · 1 cup frozen mango cubes · 1 tbsp vanilla extract · pinch of sea salt
Blend until completely smooth. Freeze for at least 4 hours. Leave on the counter for 10 minutes before scooping.
It’s giving Erewhon gelato on a Greek yoghurt budget.
Elevator Mom Diaries
Toddler Burning Man
Ting.
It’s 8:30am and, for the second time this week, we’re riding the elevator down for another morning at Anoha.
“I like Anoha,” Mini-Us says before we’ve even reached the ground floor.
Anoha is Berlin’s children’s museum. I call it Burning Man for toddlers - minus the sand, psychedelics and expensive flight to San Francisco.
Tiny humans sprint from one installation to the next like they’ve discovered a new planet. Adults, too, crawl through tunnels, climb giant wooden sculptures and, because phones aren’t allowed, end up fully committed.
Ninety minutes later, I’m jammed inside a woven tunnel five metres above the ground when my sunglasses fall off. A complete stranger catches them, waits underneath until I’ve untangled myself and hands them back. Mini-Us, naturally, has already disappeared.
Inside the elevator on the way home, that’s not what I’m thinking about.
I keep thinking about the years of meetings, fundraising, permits and impossible emails that must have happened before thousands of toddlers could spend their mornings pretending to be squirrels.
No entrance fee. No membership. No newsletter. Just… enjoy.
Ting.
Mini-Us squeezes my hand on the way back up, happily exhausted. Exactly the kind of tired you hope you’re able to give your child.
Someone built this place.
I got him there.
Turns out, childhood is a group project.
Outro
Berlin gave us Anoha.
I brought the bulldozer.
Summer gave us one more month.
The Miu Miu drop can wait.
- X - Yasmin
See you Sunday, 9:00 CET
One Question Before You Go
What unexpectedly makes you feel like you’ve got your life together these days?
What a great post! I mean so relatable with your emergency outfit haha :D We come from Prague and I have visited Berlin once with my son, and was honestly pleasantly surprised by the playgrounds in Berlin, thank you for the Anoha tip, will make sure to put it on my list for the next visit :)
What makes me feel I've got it together? Hmmm, my dogs mind, my husband can be bribed, and I drink my coffee while it's HOT! Of course, I'm retired, seventy-four, and teaching my grandchildren the things their parents did that drove me to chocolate. 😏