Journey to Jaipur

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One of my favorite travel memories (ever) was walking through a bazaar in Rajasthan. Going to India had been such a dream and Aron and I spent just over ten days there in the spring of 2010. Our trip was actually cut a bit short by circumstances surrounding that unpronounceable Icelandic volcano’s eruption (the dust cloud disrupted even our flight from New York), and for that reason (and at least a dozen others) I’ve been really hoping we might return soon.

I’ll admit I’m a bit more daunted to go with a baby in tow. I never got sick while traveling, but Aron did and “traveler’s tummy” can be much more risky for babies. But I know they’d love it. I imagine how enthralled Hudson will be by all the textures and the colors, all of the buses and horns, the trains and the mopeds…. and the cows! One gave birth right in front of us when we went out for cardamon lassis in Jodhpur!

Tea Collection (one of my favorite children’s brands) makes travel-inspired collections every season and found theirs in India this time—and they loved the destination so much that the co-founder and CCO, Emily, returned to Jaipur with her husband and two young children (ages 6 and 4) when the catalog was being shot. They say their hope is to inspire customers to “push boundaries and make the foreign familiar”—which I love. I know I found the images really inspiring.

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Aren’t they beautiful?

The shoot took place in and around Jaipur while the family stayed at the boutique hotel, The Farm. (Also pictured is the son of the proprietors, 8-year-old  Vihaan). Those images of the kids trying their hands at woodblock printing are from the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing. I’d love to go.

In the meantime, I chose some things from the collection (that dress!) and showed the pictures to Hudson. He adores that lion t-shirt so much and—true story—actually made friends with another boy at a birthday party because that boy had on that very shirt. I appreciate that it’s a graphic boy tee that’s pink! (And character-neutral.)

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Have you been to India? What part would you most like to see? 

Tea has partnered with some more of my favorite brands—AFAR, Artifact Uprising, Flight001 and The Farm—for an incredible “Journey to Jaipur” sweepstakes where fans can enter to win a trip. Looks amazing. Read about how to enter.

This post is sponsored by Tea Collection. All opinions expressed are my own. #MakingTheForeignFamiliar. Tea Collection catalog photos by Hideaki Hamada. 

P.S. A woodblock was one of the souvenirs we brought home from India. Read the travelogue: Part One and Part Two.

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