Thursday, March 8, 2018

EASTER BASKETS

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It’s hard to believe it’s time to start thinking about Easter baskets but Easter will be here before you know it. Easter is April 1st this year and since it feels like March is already half over, I thought I’d share a few favorites for their Easter baskets.

Now that Dylan is getting older, shopping for him is a little bit harder than in year’s past. He’s six and in that age where you’re not quite sure if he will really love something or think it’s too babyish. Ugh, where did my baby boy go?!?! Luckily, they are both pretty easy to please and it’s stress I bring on myself more than anything.  They peeked over my shoulder when I was finishing this up and both have asked for everything listed below…which is good (yay! they loved it!) and bad because now I need to come up with totally different things for their baskets.

When putting together Easter baskets, my go to categories are generally:
– things for spring and summer that I would buy anyway like sandals or swimsuits
– new books
– fun things for outside play like sidewalk chalk or dive sticks or small toys for the pool
– an Easter PEZ because I always got one in my basket growing up
– a chocolate bunny because everyone needs a chocolate bunny for Easter
– a bunny stuffed animal, sadly I think we’re outgrowing this one
If there’s something small they’ve been asking for I will usually add that to their basket as well.

We’ve used both more traditional baskets like these adorable baskets from Pottery Barn Kids and trendier options like the wire baskets from the bullseye playground at Target. I think we will use our classic Pottery Barn Kids baskets this year because there’s something so sweet about a traditional Easter basket and I’m feeling like my babies are growing up way too fast!

I haven’t finished shopping for Easter baskets yet but here’s a few things I’ve either done in the past and they loved or are putting in their basket this year.

Easter Baskets

girls swimsuit | goggles| If You Give A Mouse A Cookie | Green Eggs and Ham

Dive Squid | board shorts | bunny | sidewalk chalk

Monday, February 5, 2018

BACKYARD DREAMIN’

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We’ve had a dirt backyard since we moved into our home in May.  Anyone with small kids knows that’s not an ideal situation to have for long and we are more than ready to have a usable yard.  Our new yard is small but we hope to be able to get everything we’re looking for and have been backyard dreamin’ for quite awhile.

Our home has a good sized covered patio perfect for a table and plenty of chairs for meals outside.  In our actual yard, we plan to put in a pool and grill and the rest is still up in the air.  We’ve been busy pinning backyards we like (you can follow along here) so we have some ideas when we talk with landscapers to come up with the backyard we’ve been dreaming about.

I’m excited to finally have a space to eat outside.  Eating lunch or dinner and playing in the pool outside with the kids are some of my favorite memories from previous summers.  They loved it when we brought food down to the pool and ate and swam but it wasn’t the most convenient thing to do at our old condo.  I’m so excited to do this in our new house and cannot wait to pick up some outdoor entertaining essentials.   I’ve had my eye on Crate and Barrel’s galvanized outdoor trays and acrylic dishes for a couple of years and can’t wait to have a use for them!  Dreaming of our new backyard has me almost (not quite since Arizona summers are LONG and HOT) missing summer.backyard entertaining

melamine dishes | water jug | three tier stand | tray | flatware caddy

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

THERE’S A TEE FOR THAT

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Peek Kids has been one of my favorite places to shop for the kids since Dylan was a baby.  Their graphic tees are  some of the best around.  If there’s a holiday, there’s a Peek Kids tee for  it!  It seriously makes dressing the kids for holidays so easy and fun.

Today was the 100th day of school and the first thing Dylan asked me this morning was if he had a 100 days of school shirt. Sadly, we don’t but I wouldn’t be mad if there was a Peek tee for that too!

Here are a few of my current favorites:

There's a Tee For That

JFK tee | Pi for her | Pi for him | St. Patrick’s Day for her | St. Patrick’s Day for him

And a few current favorite baseball tee’s too.  Peek Kids baseball tee’s were the first graphic tee’s I bought for Dylan when he was just an infant and they remain some of our favorite tee’s that they release each year.  The no place like home tee for Lexi would be so cute with denim shorts and converse at the ball fields.  She’s there for the snacks and the chance to hit a ball or two after a practice or game. The girls in the concession stand called her their best customer last year and I wouldn’t doubt that she was.

I love that we can generally get at least two years out of all of our Peek Kids tee’s.  Dylan’s baseball tee’s are all too small and I know he would love the swing for the fences and the eat, sleep, baseball shirts and wear them often.  There's a Tee for That

for her: one | two    for him: one | two | three

Friday, January 5, 2018

VW BUS HOLIDAY PHOTOS

Call it a Christmas wish come true or just pure luck.  I stumbled onto Holli Horton Photography on Instagram this Fall and when I saw her holiday mini set up with a vintage VW Bus, it was a dream come true.  I couldn’t sign up for a session fast enough.  I’ve wanted holiday pictures of the kids with a VW Bus for the longest time and couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

They both loved the VW Bus and were so excited to check it out.  Dylan wanted to know where the keys were – sorry buddy, we generally don’t let six year olds drive real cars. When Holli pulled out the mistletoe, I knew it would be one of my favorite pictures ever and it is.

When I booked this session, I intended to use these for our Christmas cards but that didn’t quite happen this year so just pretend you received one in the mail. 😉

Thank you Holli for perfectly capturing my children and making my VW Bus photo dreams come true.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

PEYPER KIDS HOLIDAY COLLECTION

Happy November 1st!  We had such a great Halloween this year that I’m kind of sad to see it go; but SUPER excited for the holidays.  A Christmas explosion will be happening in my house over the next week or so (sorry hubby).  I’ve already washed and put away the kids Christmas pajamas and have had at least three requests to leave out cookies and milk for Santa.  It’s safe to say, we’re excited for Christmas over here!

I am so excited to kick off the holiday season with one of my favorite small shops, Peyper Kids.  Peyper Kids is releasing the first part of the holiday collection tonight at 8pm CST and it’s super cute!  I love the tree top and plaid bloomers.  Lexi is hoping for the purple Rifle Paper co fabric dress.12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Peyper Kids

photo courtesy of Peyper Kids

Tiffany, the mama behind Peyper Kids is one of the nicest shop owners you will find.  Her attention to detail, like the scoop back and wood button (my favorite!) on the tree top make her pieces extra special.  She makes everything herself in addition to raising two girls and is seriously super woman.  I’ve gotten to know her a little bit and she is just the nicest person ever!  I love shopping handmade shops that have really wonderful owners.  I also like it when I buy something Lexi loves to wear because she has lots of opinions about what she’s going to wear these days.  She was SO excited to put this outfit on and my husband complemented it too, which is a huge win in my book!12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Peyper Kids 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Peyper Kids 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Peyper Kids 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Peyper KidsHow cute would this top be with skinny jeans and boots?  Or the bloomers with a cozy sweater and tights? These are two pieces Lexi will get a lot of use out of over the holiday season.