New Years Night In

happy new year!  we're ringing it in with a low-key night in [mini] kids party.  here's a little of what we have planned...

this beauty will be dropping at our pretend midnight countdown with some candy for the kids.
a beautiful bottle of delicious italian "champagne" and it's super cheap.
[i have 30 empty bottles from our wedding in my basement awaiting their fate as a chandelier someday.
i still get questions about it - that's how good it is!]
pipe cleaner crowns, glitter horns and some light up balloons that i'm really excited to try out.

i don't usually make resolutions, but something i'm going to try to do more of this year.

i hope everyone has a great and safe new year wherever you may find yourself at midnight.

Christmas Through Their Eyes

i hope everyone had a great holiday, here were some scenes from ours...

bundled up for lights at the zoo, oh christmas tree - that dean and i took turns re-decorating,
matching morning jammies, stockings for the boys and dogs, letter from santa, to the moon, dino for dean-o,
and the day after re-cooperating - cole had taken off his pants and given them to dean
who decided to drape them over his shoulder (haha) and that lion looks as rough as i felt.


i felt luckier more than ever to be with my family this year and was reminded that you can't ever take time
with them for granted.  i also know these moments when my kids are little are so precious and
i'm looking forward to a new year filled with more "firsts" and fun through their eyes.

Sleigh Ride

at grandma's house for our christmas card photo.  dean kept running towards me, so most of these were taken while i was running backwards...

luxe faux fur russian hats from restoration hardware baby & child.
the quality is amazing (on sale for $18!)
v neck sweater in navy from baby gap
i'm a sucker for elbow patches (on sale for $14!)
and harper high tops from target (in case you missed them here)

they crack me up even when they are not trying to.
i think this was my favorite of the day.

12 Trees of Christmas

the crafty diy geniuses were at it again over at oh happy day.  i want to try almost all of their projects, but this one was just too great that i had to make it immediately...

this was the first year i've done an advent calendar for the boys and i thought this one was not only beautiful,
but classic enough to bring back every year.  i had intended on making this just as it is,
but after these boxes were sold out and searching the internet elsewhere it occurred to me...
what can i even put in those teeny boxes that is safe in dean's mouth? (other than candy)

so this was my version...

i ordered the trees from oh happy day's link and used their adorable little banners,
but went without the boxes and decided to make it night time at a christmas tree farm.
also to make it easier on myself i used 25 trees, but only 12 days with banners.
this is all on a shelf in our kitchen and i made the quick night sky painting to hang
 over a picture that was washing out the trees.  i think this display would go great on a mantle too.
i see little army men hiking through these trees when the boys are older.

here's what you need for the bases of the trees if you want to make the version without boxes.
it turned out to be cheaper because i already had all the materials above and those little boxes
only seemed to be available in sets of 100 (more than i wanted to spend and four times what i needed)
it was too late in the game to find three friends that would want to make one too :)

1. draw 25 circles on a piece of cardboard (i used the box the trees were shipped in and the spool of thread as a template)
2. cut out 25 - 5" squares of fabric (i used natural colored linen, but any would work)
3. cut 25 strands of twine or any string you want to about 7" each

4. stack fabric, then circle, then batting on top of each other.  stick tree base in, bundle it all up and tie it all together and cut off any excess fabric.  

*note - these trees are designed for model train sets and will not stand on their own,

the reason you need to glue them to the boxes or make the bag bases.

i wrote different things on the back of each day - a mixture of candy,
a little bag of toys to pull from and activities like go see santa.

cole has really enjoyed it so far... day 1 = "have hot chocolate".
i decided later to add some mini starry night lights i already had
to give even more of a tree farm feel.

Some Stylish Kids

i've found some holiday-worthy outfit inspiration at zara kids recently.  if you've never checked them out you should, very similar to gap prices with free shipping and free returns.  here's some of what i loved...

for dean - knitted mittens, polo with herringbone collar and parka with sheepskin collar
and cole - sweater with shoulder patches, sweater with button neck in black, and two-tone high tops,

and more from their lookbook...

and speaking of the gap... 

i saw an ad for this velvet band jacket and got so excited, i have been searching ebay for the stella mccartney version [right] off and on for months.  i thought they had brought back a new version of it, but unfortunately it's only made for girls.  cole was teeny tiny when it came out over three years ago and it even crossed my mind to buy it then, but being a new mom i wasn't confident in my future size guessing skills.  so the search continues...

My Little Man & the Moon

i was so excited when i found this rodarte moon wrapping paper (part of the new neiman marcus line at target) because it's perfect for cole who is still obsessed with the moon, you may remember this post from the summer.  i knew it would be gorgeous framed and i couldn't wait to try because it was cheap, easy and would be instantly gratifying if it worked.  it reminded me of these that i had seen from restoration hardware.  to my surprise, it looked even better than i imagined!  it turned out to not be your average wrapping paper, it's super thick and has a velvety matte finish that makes it look expensive.  i originally planned to hang it in his room, but i'm now considering it for our living area, so i decided to play around with it a bit.  i think it could work for anyone whether you have a moon-loving kid or not...

also did i mention there's four sheets in the roll, so there's room for error if you cut it out incorrectly.
the 22" x 28" poster frame is also from target (sorry no link - only available in store).  it came with plexi-glass
that i decided to take out to loose the glare and then i cracked it so there was no putting it back in.
i then used scotch tape to very carefully secure the paper to the backing board with very little tape on front
so it wouldn't peek out of the frame.  the great thing was it turned out so much better without the plexi-glass.
(i love happy accidents)

gray throw from target, handmade pillow from my etsy shop, metal polyhedron from hobby lobby,
gold candleholders and sconce from pottery barn, table and boat are flea market finds.

Owls & Feathers

everyone is finally on the mend around here and i've been getting super crafty with cole to help pass the time till santa arrives.  i am literally greeted every morning with "is it christmas today?!?"  i haven't had the heart to explain that it's twenty some days away (not that he can comprehend that kind of time anyway) so distraction has been my best friend.  here's two projects we completed so far - these sets of owls similar to ones i saw on pinterest and feather ornaments inspired by some gorgeous ones from dwell studio.  i love the look of them and they go with my woodland theme for my tree this year, but even hung high there's no way they'd survive in my house, so this was my attempt at a kid friendly version.  not only were both of these projects fun to do, but they were very inexpensive too...    

this set of the sleepy gold owls was my favorite and i loved the way they looked
perched on a piece of driftwood too.  they have held up surprisingly well
to being ripped off the tree and the same goes for the feathers ornaments,

if they get pulled apart they are very easy to fix.

here's how to make both...

you'll need - feathers + leather cording + colored tape like this

step 1. put together 3-5 feathers of your choosing

step 2. cut a piece of cording about 5" long and fold it in half to make a loop

step 3. wrap a small piece of tape to hold it all together.  

*note - this kind of paper tape is not super sticky, so i recommend using scotch tape first for binding and then adding the colored paper tape over top for looks.  this kind of tape doesn't do well when it's wrapped over itself too many times.  also make sure you've trimmed the stems off any long feathers so that one tape width covers the leather cording and stems.

you'll need - cardboard rolls + spray paint + sharpie

step 1. cut (if necessary) cardboard roll to toilet paper size
step 2. spray paint
step 3. once dry fold top inward on two sides to create the owls ears
step 4. use a black fine point sharpie to draw on the owl

*note - i recommend rubber gloves and a comfort grip handle like this to give you more control (whenever you are spray painting really).  also if it's too cold for the paint to cure properly bring them inside once they're tacky to dry the rest of the way.  i used a couple different brands from what i had around the house and the rust-oleum worked so much better than even the more expensive craft store brands - it looked better over the cardboard, dried faster, and was easier to write over once dry.