The Everyday Gift Guide

It's not a week around here if there isn't a birthday party, a baby shower, a teacher holiday or something else that requires a gift. We have a few of our go-to gifts that we give, tried & true, almost always loved and most of which are our own personal favorites we think everyone needs to have! :)

I wanted to share them with you in hopes you'll be inspired to try different gifts, or maybe that you'll share some of your favorite things to gift with me, so I can pass them along to my people!! 

FOR HER: CANDLE // MANTRA BAND // CHARM BANGLE // WOVEN BRACELET
We love gifting sweet bracelets, the best smelling candle, and flowers. Always flowers!

FOR HIM: KNIT BEANIE // FOLD-OVER BEANIE // FACE LOTION
This face lotion smells incredible and it will have him wanting the entire line of skin-care in no time. Our other favorite for some of our best guys is a good book that suits their interests.

FOR THE NEW ADDITION: STAR KICKY PANTS // BLACK KICKY PANTS // XO SWADDLE
Kicky Pants have to be the softest and best fitting outfits for little ones and the adorable matching swaddle is perfectly gender neutral.

FOR THE NEWLYWED: ICE CREAM SCOOP // LATTE BOWLS // DISH TOWEL
Not only is this gift practical but totally cute - this is great for a wedding gift or a bridal shower gift!

FOR YOUR GAL-PAL: HOW TO GROW A FRIEND // BUILD-A-BOUQUET SET
This toy is always a hit and the illustrations in this book our some of our favorites!

FOR YOUR BUDDY: GOODNIGHT GOODNIGHT CONSTRUCTION SITE // SANDBOX
 We own both of these items and they're not only favorites to gift but to play with. If he's not into trucks, they have different types of sandboxes - just pick a book that coordinates with the theme & you're done! 
  

I honestly LOVE giving gifts - wrapping them up cute, making them special and customized and just making someone feel special and "thought-about". It's such an easy way to love on someone!

BONUS: Most of these are from Amazon so you can order & receive quickly because Lord knows we're always last-minute shopping!

Hope this helps with all the gifting - simple, thoughtful & functional is our gifting anthem around here!

Valentine's Favorites

The kids insist that since Christmas is over, they'll "never be happy again" until another holiday is here. And since I'm all about pleasing the people, I delivered the good news. Valentine's day is just around the corner, full of little heart notes, boat loads of candy and of course, all the red & pink we can find. We're really indulging this year, cause God forbid we have unhappy kids ;). 

I rounded up a few of my favorite Valentine's items I've seen around the ol' interwebs... this unicorn sweatshirt is already ours and same with those adorable little happy heart jammies. I'm a sucker for love. (whoa, that would be a CUTE valentine's card message with a lollipop attached!! )

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE // SIX // SEVEN // EIGHT // NINE

 We spent our morning at Ikea and now I'm really feeling like I deserve an afternoon coffee and some serious time on the couch. A girl can dream, right?

What's in Your Lunchbox?

While I'm in total denial about Baylor going to preschool in September, there are a few fringe benefits (take these with a grain of salt - I'm a stay at home mom ;) ... cute backpacks & lunchboxes, adorable school photos and a mandatory visit to the pumpkin patch - how can I not root for this type of behavior?! While I haven't bought any supplies or required items, and Baylor won't even be going to school over lunch time, it just felt wrong that he didn't have a lunchbox. So I hit the ol' google machine and got to work ;) (I'm so lame). 

If you're on the hunt for a lunchbox...here's a few of our favorites! 

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 

Now, what to pack inside? Save that for another time ;) 

Pillow Talk

While fall is still a few weeks away, I'm stocking up on all the fall things to make this house cozy the second September 1 rolls in (warm weather be damned). Pillows have always been my favorite way to decorate and can easily transform a room. I've picked out a few of my favorites for fall and seriously can't wait to pull them out! 

one // two // three // four // five 

A few things to note: 

Ikea has amazing deals on pillow covers and some of them are actually really good quality (#4 is one of my favorites and feels really nice & thick) - their pillow inserts are also a  great deal and while they don't last years like more expensive versions, our pillows are subject to juice box spills and the occasional bodily fluid (thank you acid reflux children) so I end up replacing them before that anyways. 

Pottery Barn pillows are my absolute favorite, but some of them cost a pretty penny, so I tend to splurge on one of those per season and have established a pretty good collection. This white one is my current favorite and on my list of this fall/winter. 

Happy HUMP day! 

HOUSE to HOME No. 3

Happy Friday! We've had one of those weeks where I woke up Wednesday thinking it was Saturday and Bellamy has been acting like she has a small community of teeth growing in her mouth. As for Baylor, he's happy as long as he's wrestling or snuggling (complex character like his father). 

In any case, I'm bringing you another round of HOUSE to HOME. The goal of these is for you to find new ideas and resources to bring a little personality and love to your house. 

1. Geo Pillow: CB2 (crate & barrel's little sister) has some amazing pillow choices and some of my long-time favorites are from there. There quality & price is really great and they tend to err more on the 'modern' side of design. I really enjoy pairing modern pieces with rustic pieces as I think it brings a great dynamic to any room. 

2. Metal Cake Stand with Glass Dome: obsessed. The little pearls at the bottom?! I couldn't love it more if I tried. Looks like this is only online at Target, but definitely worth it. Not sure if you guys are aware, but Target has quite a bit more variety online - they have tons of great house stuff that's worth checking out! Plus, online shopping is like Christmas!! 

3. Celestial Coasters: We have lots of these guys laying around the house and they're even more beautiful in person. There's a variety of colors, great to mix and match. And at such a small price, they make such a big statement on your coffee table! 

4. Turkish Towel: I love these towels, but can't commit to using them as bath towels, as I love the big cushy bath sheet. But, these towels look great hanging on your towel racks in the bathroom or even over a chair in the guest room. The fabric is beautiful and the patterns they come in are a-plenty! 

5. Succulents: ADD PLANTS to your rooms! I'm telling you - in every room they look beautiful. They're inexpensive ways of adding texture & color and they breath life into a room. Succulents are great, because they're super low maintenance, they're cheap, and easy to find. Costco is known to carry some amazing succulent gardens, or you can buy individual ones for anywhere around $2-$5 at Home Depot. 

6. Rifle Paper Co. Wrapping Paper: Wrapping paper is an incredibly inexpensive alternative to buying "art". I absolutely love the designs Anna Bond puts out for Rifle and all you have to do is frame this bad boy and it's ready to hang. It really doesn't get easier or more pretty!  

Hope you have a happy weekend! We'll be laying low - Collin's been traveling non-stop so a few days at home together is just what the Dr. ordered! 

THIS IS HOW WE DO: Road Trips

This past weekend, we took a little road trip to visit family and celebrate Granny's 90th birthday. The kids had a blast and it was sucha memorable event. But first, we had to conquer a 5 hour road trip. Let me tell you... thatis no cake walk. But, with a few tricks up my sleeve and a little experience (we've made this trip many of times), I'd say we got away with minor injuries ;) 

My first takeaway: mini van owners are smart people. The luxury! The space! The headphones & tv screen! heaven. While I'm not a current owner of a minivan ... I'm certainly considering. "Cool mom" points aside, minivans are a force to be reckoned with. 

I'd love to include lots of fun pics with this post, but A.) road trips aren't pretty. the car is a hot mess, the kids are zombies and likely have snacks all over their faces and turning around for the umpteenth time just sounds exhausting. Also, do I really want to remember this by a photo? no. and B.) I hate carseat critics and one of them always comes out of the woodworks no matter what configuration our carseats are in. Too big, too small, forward, backward, belt in the wrong spot, and on it goes. 

1. An iPad ... because what would life be without. If we were really fancy, we'd have a dvd player in the car, but until we're minivan owners, we "get by" with an iPad #firstworldproblems ;). The kids watch shows (mickey, calliou - UGH!, and Daniel Tiger are our favs) and Baylor will play a game occasionally, although he's not too into that part of it. 

2. SNACKS ...  I tend to opt for super easy, finger food snacks. I try to find stuff that is minimally messy, not sticky and easy to hold. Grapes are great (as long as your little one is big enough to chew them easy), as well as cheddar bunnies and these Fruit Ropes (love these guys cause they aren't too sticky, but feel like a fun treat!). 

3. Hand Sanitizer ... because Baylor thinks gas station bathrooms are a totally appropriate place to graze his hands on every surface. This stuff is an easy spray for little hands, and free of all the harsh chemicals that come in the heavy duty stuff. 

4. MagnaDoodle ... tried & true, these guys are. My kids LOVE this toy and it's a great time killer in the car. Both of them play with it and I love that everything is connected in one piece so there's no dropping it. 

5. Window Shades ... because God forbid that shining ray of sun wakes up my angelic sleeping child (jk...my kids hate sleeping in the car... FML). But seriously, my kids act like they're going through an exorcism when the sun shines through their window, so these shades are perfect to fend off the demons. ;) (we live in seattle, where the sun don't shine 10 months out of the year!) Also... if we had a minivan, these are typically built-in. #bonus

6. WIPES. If I could marry wet wipes, I might actually consider. They're great for hands, faces, bums, car surfaces, spills and playing peek-a-boo. Please, don't forget to bring 10 packs of them on every road trip. I promise, you won't regret!!! ;)

As far as sleeping goes...the only suggestion I might offer is Benadryl ;) JK JK. 

good luck!

HOUSE TO HOME - No. 2

This week's HOUSE to HOME has a bit of a spring flair, because I just can't help it with all this beautiful weather we've been having. The intention of these posts is to show you great house finds around the internet that can quickly and affordably warm up your space and transform it from a house to a home. 

1. First up... this striped runner from H&M. Did you even know that H&M had a home section? Well they do, online, and it's nothing short of amazing. The prices are really good, and the style is on point. (or fleek or whatevs the kids are saying these days.) That citron yellow is just the right amount of color. #cometomama 

2. Another star from H&M.com -- this wooden box. What do I do with this, you ask? Perfect for plants, for remote controls on the coffee table, for bowls in the kitchen with a jar full of vintage spoons, a mail box in the kitchen .... and I could go on and on. We all need boxes & baskets in our life - their uses are limitless. Also, I love the rustic charm of this one. 

3. I've always been such a huge fan of Max Wanger's work and I was SO excited to come across his prints at Urban Outfitters, of all places! This is a 20x20 print for a super reasonable price and brings the perfect amount of airiness and interest to a room. Seriously a fav and I may consider designing a room around this piece alone. 

4. Disclaimer: this one is a splurge. This TOY basket has been in my RH Shopping Cart (because don't you guys fill shopping carts online, without checking out all the time?) for what seems like EVER because I love it so much. I saw it on someone's instagram feed last week and couldn't believe how huge it actually is in person...all the more reason I really want it. Still working on the justification, but dear Lord, I love it. You could probably pull this one off as a DIY with a plain metal basket & liner, but as I've said before ... DIY is just not my thing. I'd rather shell out the cash. 

5. Another week, another candle - the Tocca STELLA candle. We have a slight obsession around here. This one has been a long time favorite and is such a perfect scent. Sweet, blood orange. Yum. These make amazing gifts, too.

6.  These floral bowls from World Market are such a fun addition to your kitchen. Cute enough that they could live on a tray on the counter, or in glass shelves, but functional enough for berries & whip cream. DONE & DONE. 

Hope you guys are enjoying this series - it's quickly becoming my favorite. What would you like to see more of or less of on these posts? Any favorites of your own? 

FIVE on FRIDAY

We're in a little bit of a sweet spot over here, which doesn't happen all that often. Because, well, child rearing. Let's be honest, raising kids is a constant game of catch up, what's next and OMG! BUT, this week was nothing short of sweet. The kids have been napping for 3-4 hour stretches IN UNISON each afternoon (can I get an AMEN!) and the amount of time outs we've had can easily be counted on one hand. We've had some cozy days at home and some sunny, beautiful weather that allows us to get our wiggles out. #fistpump

Since it's FRIDAY (!!) and I have all sorts of random floating through my head at any given moment, I've decided I'll share a little "Five on Friday". enjoy muchachos!

1. Martha Stewart Mac & Cheese - You guys...this stuff is amazing and always such a crowd pleaser. Perfect for a weeknight (fairly simple to throw together) or great for entertaining large crowds! Here's the recipe! 

2. These two happy campers - The sweetness just oozes these days and if they're not right next to each other, then they're looking for each other. I feel like a seriously lucky mama and love the 18 month age gap. SO fun! 

3. Anthro Volcano Diffusers - I've professed my love for volcano candles once or twice around here ;), but recently discovered that they've come out with a Diffuser in the same scent! While I don't always love the look of diffusers, this one is not offensive at all and the smell is so delicious that I can overlook those sticks. Because sometimes a candle with little fingers snooping around can get a little risky business.

4. Talenti Mediterranean Mint Gelato - i'm obsessed and eat this every day. Not sure if that's something I ought to be proud of, or reason for intervention. You decide & let me know. 

5. Confetti Cake - we're on a Confetti Cake kick (say that 10 times fast!) over here and nobody has raised their hand in objection. #treatyoself

Have a great weekend! 

Valentine's Round-Up

There's this strange sort of pressure for Valentine's Day gifts to have some sort love undertone. Chocolates - they should probably be heart shaped and bonus points for red filling #barf. Flowers - pink, red, or nothing, honey! And for the kids? If it isn't pink or 'hearty', don't even bother ;) Really though, it's a double edged sword - this expectation that valentines gifts are themed. On one hand, it really narrows down your choices, on the other hand ... there'a a bit of a hunt involved if you follow the rules. (ok i know their aren't 'rules' per-say, but come on...festive is in my blood).

Here's a few of our favorite, heart shaped, lovey dovey valentines treats for those you love.

First off...Farm Girl Flowers. While these beauties are only delivered in California (on bike or scooter - how cute!), they can serve as some fantastic inspiration. Because did you know that 90% (YES!) of people don't want red roses? Try a fresh and creative mixed bouquet instead ... peonies, ranunculus, cabbage!, and tulips are always winners. 

Rifle Paper always has the most amazing stuff, and this heart print is no exception. Not only is this perfect Valentine's Day decor, but can stay up all year! 

Next up? Llama Llama I Love You - these are my all time favorite kids books - because two llamas in love? #adora 

Now men...they're pretty much impossible to buy for on V-Day. But this leather key chain with a subtle embossed message - the perfect gift for "your bug". 

Freshly Picked Moccs - I've raved about these a billion times, but the neon pink are some of our personal favs and couldn't be a better gift for your little lady. Perfect for the impending spring 

(damn gopher or whatever it is says we have 6 more weeks of winter - so that's only slightly annoying...i swear that's such a publicity stunt...has he ever not seen his shadow?!) 

For your little man, this LOVE YOU nightlight is just the right amount love. Baylor lives & dies by his night lights in his room and would seriously love this light. 

And lastly, for anyone else in your life who deserves a little recognition (the nanas, the aunties, the sitters and the teachers), you really can't go wrong with Starbucks gift cards. Their designs are so cute for valentines and they even have little hearts on their cups right now. I'm not sure about you, but that seals the deal for festive ol' me. 

What's your go-to gifts for Valentine's Days - I need some more ideas!! #crunchtime

Costume Round-Up

There are a billion costume ideas out there, and chances are, you've either got an Elsa or an Ironman on your hands if your kids are old enough to have a preference. If they're young enough, like mine, to not know any better, you still hold the torch when it comes to picking a costume. Best part is? They can be easily persuaded with the likes of a candy corn or an m&m (it only takes one!) So I've done a quick little roundup of some of my favorite costumes. I stuck to the basics (target, carters, and pottery barn kids), in case you're a perpetual procrastinator, a halloween grinch, or just really freaking busy (join the club, mama!) And even better yet? These are all on SALE! The tortoise wins the race? 

Baylor & Bellamy will be donning two of these (you'll have to wait to see which ones) and it's taking every ounce of my self control not to put them on them every morning. It's practically Halloween already, right? 

you guys...the pizza is hilarious and Baylor makes me try it on every time we go to Target. I really tried convince him to be a slice of pizza (the kid LOVES to eat, his spirit animal probably is a slice of pizza), but I lost the battle. #thewarisnotoverrow one: pottery barn kids // row two: carters // row three: target