we put up our christmas tree over the weekend – is there anything better than that golden glow of white lights at night!?! – and our elf ‘eddie’ has returned!  the poor guy isn’t very creative – he must be tired.  i really hate to steam roll through thanksgiving, but i’ve really had christmas on the brain and i’ve made a good dent in my shopping.  the plan is to keep the momentum going so i can just do the fun christmasy stuff thru the month of december.  today, i thought i’d let you in on a few of my favorite things that you might want need to add to your own christmas list!  these are things i own and love and can give a hefty stamp of approval to.  everything is linked up below.

bralette – ok, i have given up on legit bras because i am done being uncomfortable.  these are pretty, feel like you aren’t even wearing a bra, and are pretty inexpensive as far as bras go.  sold.

leather jacket –  well, it’s faux leather, but looks and feels like real leather.  i had been searching for about a year for the perfect moto jacket (that wouldn’t break the bank), and this. is. it.

patagonia – this pullover is so warm, it feels sorta like wearing a blanket, which is basically my idea of heaven.  i have it in white, which i was worried about, but i’ve managed to keep it white for about a year, and that’s sayin’ something.

dutch oven – i have had this one for about 8 years, and it’s great.  it’s a less expensive version of this, and it has performed so well.  i use it at least a few times a week, especially in the winter when soups are on the menu more frequently.

hydroflask – ok, this is silly, but it’s practically my fourth child with as much as it gets carried around.  i am trying to be better about drinking more water, and this thing is great, keeping it cold for hours.  make sure you get the straw top, because water just tastes better out of a straw.  ;)

copper mugs – the moscow mule has quickly become a favorite at our house, so copper mugs to serve them seemed just right.

one of the greatest gifts my parents gave was teaching me to be grateful.  i think it’s led to my ‘glass half full’ outlook on life, and it’s a gift i want to give my kids as well.  they will probably grow up wanting for nothing – we have a roof over our head, plenty of food and car to get us where we need to go, among many other things.  i don’t want to guilt them, but it’s important that they understand that there are so many who are struggling just to get their next meal or to find shelter each day.  we’re starting with a simple, age-appropriate, and visible idea this holiday season with our gratitude tree.  we’ve been at it for several days, and each of us has the chance to write something that we’re thankful for each day – and we’ve seen everything from family members to food to barbies and hot wheels.  hey, it all counts!  and they’re really into it.  i had originally thought it would be a thanksgiving activity, but the kids have gotten so excited about it that i think we’ll keep it up through christmas and keep adding as we go through the season.

it’s the last thing we see before we go upstairs at night, and a nice reminder for all of us to count our blessings.

you guys, this is literally the easiest diy.  it takes about 5 minutes and it will save you so much money…that is, if you’re in the market for a choker.  i was shopping for one of these and finding them for anywhere from $35 – 45 when it finally dawned on me to just try it myself.  the supplies are readily available at a craft store, and it cost less than $15.  so, here’s the diy:  cut your cording to your desired length (mine is about 5 feet, but i might shorten it a bit).  thread a few beads on each of the ends and tie a knot at both ends to keep them on.  the end.

here’s what i used:  leather cording; i couldn’t find the exact beads i used online (they came from the jewelry section at michael’s), but these are similar, and these would be cool.  really, anything goes.

look 1:  simply wrap the cord around your neck 2 or 3 times and leave the ends loose

look 2:  wrap around your neck twice and tie the ends once.  you could double knot it too.

look 3:  wrap around your neck twice and tie a bow.  

i think i might try it in velvet next!  if you’re not into diy, here’s an option.

thanks to my cute assistant for his photo skillz…

i saw a quote the other day – ‘motherhood has a very humanizing effect.  everything gets reduced to the essentials.’  meryl streep said it, and it hit so close to home for me, particularly right now.

having a third child has been amazing and has also turned our life upside-down.  now, all moments are accounted for.  there is hardly ever a time that someone isn’t needing something – snacks, shoes tied, where’s this toy, diaper change, snacks, play with me, another diaper change and more snacks.  so, as i reflect on this past year of being a family of 5, i have felt overwhelmed for the majority of it.    like, drowning.    super drowning.    so much of what happens on a daily basis is out of my control, and i am trying to react as the day unfolds – moods of kids, how well they sleep at night or nap time, etc. so i think i was craving an outlet where i could have some control.

that brings me back to the point.  reducing to the essentials – streamlining.  i have been doing my best to pare down in every way.  house tchotchkes, clothing, books, toys (some i rotate in and out), kitchen items, you name it.  i am FAR from done, but i have made a lot of progress.  now this doesn’t mean i don’t buy things.  i do, but i try to be A LOT more thoughtful about what comes into this house.  because stuff for 5 people, well, there’s a lot.

one way i’ve tried to be more conscientious is with clothing.  i started reading the blog unfancy a while back and it really resonated with me.  have you heard of a capsule wardrobe??  it’s narrowing your wardrobe down to things that flatter and fit and all work together each season.  i think it’s fascinating.  she has written a lot about it, and if you’re interested, i suggest you check her out.  weirdly, she was the photographer at the wedding of a friend of mine – before she started her blog, i think – and is so sweet in person.  it comes through in her writing, and ya just feel like you’re her bud.  …i digress….  so i’ve tried to employ some of these capsule ideas with chloe’s closet. here are a few tips that have helped me.

• pick a color palette, and stick to it.  i chose raspberry, navy, black and white as her staples.  pretty much everything in her closet is one of these colors right now.
• think hard about what your child wears happily.  this is all in an effort to make getting dressed EASIER.  chloe wants to wear a dress pretty much 100% of the time, so that’s really all i purchased for her this fall.  she can wear them with bare legs in early-fall and throw on some leggings or tights as the weather cools down.  she does have two pairs of jeans, but wears them probably once a month.
• think about pieces that will play well together.  i bought chloe a few tops that we can layer under short-sleeve or sleeveless dresses, and she has a few tops and sweaters that we can layer over.  since everything is in the same color palette, it all can swap in and out, and even when she picks her clothes, it looks acceptable…for the most part. ;)
• when you’re shopping, remember what you have already.  i used to buy things just because they were cute.  then i’d come home and feel like she had nothing to wear since none of it worked together (i used to do this for myself too!).  sound familiar?  now, i know chloe has plenty of dresses, so the only things she would need at this point would be layering pieces – a shirt with a cute collar , a vest, or possibly a skirt to go with some tops.

the has helped both of us.  i know exactly what she needs and doesn’t, and she has gotten more freedom to dress herself.  win!  so, tell me – have you experimented with a capsule wardrobe??

every year, i see a family that dresses up as a unit, and think ‘next year!’  well, beckett is 6, and i’m thinking this might have been our last year with any gentle influence on what to wear.  chloe first declared she wanted to be a mermaid – no surprise there.  so, we scrambled and tried to think of something sea-worthy but also ‘cool’ in the eyes of a 6-year-old.  a shark.  the idea for hudson to be a lobster followed quickly, and when i went to get chloe’s costume and found an octopus ‘skirt’, i knew it was meant to be.  jared was a scuba diver, and we were ‘the family that dresses together!’  it didn’t make a lot of sense until we were all together, but i’m glad we got to do it at least once.

october has quite possibly turned into my favorite month.  the stress of the start of school and activities has subsided (not to mention the heat and humidity), and we can jump into fall fun headfirst.  the weather has been amazing, and we have packed each weekend with a jillion activities, and while we’ve been so tired at the end of each weekend, we have spent our minutes well.  around kansas city, fall brings pop-up fun of so many kinds – apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and farms turn into gathering places, many of which you could spend your entire day.  we visited alldredge apple orchard in platte city a few weeks ago.  it’s a smaller scale spot, great for little kids, and ours were perfectly happy for a few hours – jumping, chasing chickens, picking apples, and jumping some more.  brace yourself for an onslaught of pictures…

the next weekend, we visited fun farm in kearney.  it is acres and acres of activities – all kinds of farm animals, another huge jumping pillow, ‘gold’ mining, a corn pit, a train, a treehouse, a corn maze, and even a (somewhat sketchy) carousel. my kids were in heaven.

this baby…..is looking a lot less like a baby lately.

and this boy…..is looking a lot more like a teenager (with the ‘tude to match).  i can’t take it.  

the corn.  they could have stayed in it all day…..and we were finding it in pockets and shirts and pants and diapers all day as a result.  

i’d say they had a good time.

i saw some liquor decanters a while back, and the price tag was something like $200. i loved them, but not $200 loved them.  i decided to try doing it myself and they turned out so great i gave them as christmas gifts.  these could be a fun housewarming gift too!  it doesn’t take a lot of time, just a little patience, and there is so much room to improvise with these.  you could write in cursive with the etching cream, make different patterns, i even had a friend who did a set of wine glasses with all different letter C’s as a wedding gift.

here’s what you need:  glass bottles (you could really use anything that’s smooth glass.  these are what i have, and you can choose from a bunch of lid options), etching cream, an old paint brush, painters’ tape, and vinyl letters.

first, wash and dry your bottles.  you want them to be really clean, so the letters stick well and don’t allow any etching cream to seep under them.  apply your letters, and then use painters’ tape to make your borders.  really smooth down your letters and the tape to make sure they are sealed to the glass.  i made the etching go about half-way around the bottle, and you can see below i had my letters ‘rest’ on the bottom border.

apply the etching cream, and let it sit on the bottle for a bit (consult your bottle to see how long your brand recommends).  don’t cut this part short or the etching won’t be as ‘frosty’.  

rinse off the etching cream, peel off the letters and tape, wipe down the bottle to get it completely dry, and voila!  seriously, it’s that easy.

i also did a set just using the vinyl letters that turned out great too.  less time, and a totally different look, but just as unique.