Holidays

December 12, 2019

Spreading Holiday Cheer with Little Ones

This post about spreading holiday cheer with little ones was graciously sponsored by Crest, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Who is ready to spread a little holiday cheer? This time of year is seriously my favorite. I love the added compassion in my own heart, as well as the hearts of those around me. I am a gift-lover through and through. I spend SO MUCH time putting together gift guides, thinking about what I will get my loved ones and coordinating it all.

With 4 little ones at home, presents are of course all the rage in their little minds too. It is so important for me to teach them to be giving and have a heart for serving, especially during the holidays. This year, the kids and I sat down and watched a heartwarming story about Bertha Nunn, a woman who was granted a wish to fulfill her lifelong dream of acting in TV commercials, and let me tell you – her joy was contagious for both myself and my kids.

Creating Holiday Traditions

Every year we do the typical cookie baking and decorating as a family a few times during the holiday season. It is a favorite for the kids and myself, and I love watching the joy on their faces. Celebrating those little moments and turning them into traditions that I hope they remember for a lifetime is so important to me.

It has been fun to watch the older two really get “better” at making the cookies, and also just see how their little minds do things differently each year. I hope I never forget that Jack made all of his cookies Pokemon this year, and that Avé still called sprinkles ‘smarkles.’ And I don’t think I will ever forget the hilarity and MESS it was having Walker join us for the first time this year. I will probably be cleaning up sprinkles for the whole next year.

Let’s be honest – with the kids being 2, 5, and 7, there was A WHOLE LOT of cookie and icing consumption that went along with the process of decorating. (Walker’s cookies were reserved for him alone, and none of them made it past decorating with all limbs still in tact haha). Once the decorating (and eating) process was over, we got cleaned up and brushed all that sugar right off those teeth so we could get ready for phase two of the tradition. Thanks to Crest, we can bring on all the sweets this holiday season!!

Spreading Holiday Cheer with Little Ones

This year I decided to add a new aspect to our baking tradition and include the kids more than previously. I normally bring sweets and goodies to neighbors, but have previously done the “pretty ones” that I bake on my own. I decided that my kids could really embrace the season by taking some of their own masterpieces to neighbors this year.

Once we were all cleaned up and ready to go, the kids and I headed out to share these cookies (sans Walker’s haha). The kids found such joy in this process! I think sometimes on Christmas morning it’s hard to really see the true joy on other peoples faces due to the chaos, so watching the kids give away something they worked hard on and bring joy to our neighbors was so much fun. Their joy was contagious, and I could tell that they felt the joy of giving instead of receiving.

Bertha’s Story

As I stated as the top of this post, on a recent Saturday, we started our day by watching Bertha Nunn’s story. To celebrate the season of giving, Crest teamed up with Wish of a Lifetime, a non-profit that grants wishes for seniors, and fulfilled her dream of acting in TV commercials. This mother and grandmother was cast in its latest TV commercial, where she has a little fun with Santa himself.

https://youtu.be/1b_6BDGjvNk

Not only did it show the Christmas cheer, but watching someone fulfill their dream, and receive that as a gift brought such joy to our whole family. Watch Bertha’s story below and get into the holiday spirit with your family. Spread it across social media too! I venture to guess it will put you in the mood for spreading the holiday cheer with your own little ones this year too!

What Christmas traditions do you do yearly as a family? I’m always looking for new ways to make the holidays special and exciting for our family.

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December 11, 2019

Wednesday Weekly Finds – Walmart Decor Finds

I am SO excited to start a new series here on my blog and Instagram. My Instagram followers have loved my Monday morning round ups every Monday, which makes me so happy, and I wanted to share more of that structured aspect in my stories as well as on here. This new series is going to be WEDNESDAY WEEKLY FINDS. Every week I will round up at least 10 finds from one retailer. Most weeks I will go to a store and see what I can find, but sometimes it all be solely online (think amazon).

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Another super fun aspect of this will be that I am going to have other bloggers link up with me. My girl Val from Lovely Lucky Life does weekly Amazon finds, and I am TOTALY copying her on the idea of the link ups. I have loved watching her finds, but also finding new fun people to follow and fun new finds, so I am hoping this will be a fun way to introduce you all to new ideas and people too!

Walmart Decor Finds

So for week one – we have Walmart decor finds! I walked around Walmart this past week to find these items and fell in love with each of them in person. To shop the items just click the image over the item you are wanting to shop!

So like I said I went through the store to find these, and SOME of the prices are rolled back in store….but y’all its also Christmas time and Walmart, so you might want to just grab it online haha!

This basket actually comes in 2 sizes (Small $9 | Large $10) – I get asked all the time about my stacking fruit baskets and these are a perfect option to do that.
Paper Towel roll – this looks super high end
These little rose gold baskets are THREE DOLLARS!
Canister – I have talked about this before, but these canisters are so good for such a low price point. I use one on my counter to hold baby formula.
Lanterns (Black | Metal)
galvanized votive – this is such a cool piece
Gold house – I am so mad about this because I just got some from West Elm and these are just as cute for a fraction of the cost.
Pillow – this guy comes in several colors
Set of three baskets for about $25
These little houses are SO CUTE! (black | Metal)

Be sure to follow along weekly for my finds. I am sure Walmart will be a popular one because of the easy of getting there for most of you! And be sure to pin the photo below to find the Walmart decor finds later!

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December 8, 2019

Cold and Flu Season Survival Packs

This post on cold and flu season survival packs was graciously sponsored by Rainbow Light however all opinions are my own.

Cold and flu season is upon us, and with kids back in school I feel like it is always spreading like wildfire. This year I was especially nervous about it with sweet Goldie being a newborn, so I got to brainstorming on some ways I could help keep it at bay.

I thought I would share a fun little activity you can do at your next MOPS group, playdate, or mom meeting with parents from your kids classes that might help to keep you all sickness free this season. Check out this post to see how I made Cold and flu season survival packs.

Cold and Flu Season Survival Packs

I am lucky enough to be this years room mom for Avé’s class, which means I also plan the parent get togethers. I thought this year at our little fall meeting where we planned teacher gifts and such it would be fun to have a little cold and flu season survival pack station. Seemed extra fitting with how bad the stomach flu had just gone around our house, and how much these moms probably didn’t even want to come in my home HA!

WHAT TO INCLUDE

First of all, I included Rainbow Light Vitamins – sharing with the other mamas a great way to help keep their kids healthy BEFORE the sickness hits was crucial. I wish I had started my own kids on them soon. I included Rainbow Light gummy Vitamin C slices as well as Rainbow Light Multivitamins for the whole family. (because mom and dad don’t have time to get sick either!) USE CODE arinsolange to get 30% off your order!
Hand sanitizer – no brainer, and kids LOVE it. haha.
Tissues – giving kids a good way to wipe their noses that isn’t all over their hands and clothes.
Sanitizing wipes – They can wipe down desks/ tables
Chapstick
Little bags – I chose fun little glittery ones for the girls because I knew the little girls would love those.

Set up

I set all of the items up on a tiered cake stand with some cookies at the top to help intice people. Include baggies for the vitamins so they can try them out, as well as little printed cards with the names of the vitamins so they can remember what brand they were and are able to purchase more when they get home.

Over all, keeping our kids healthy over the cold and flu season is every parents biggest goal. Rainbow Light vitamins will help keep your kids healthy and help boost their immune system to ward off the illness before it hits. Keep your kids drinking lots of water and make sure you are washing water bottles, lunch boxes and backpacks more during this season.

We try to keep a diet high in vitamin c with things like oranges, and get them to eat as many veggies as they will this time of year. (if your kids are picky, offering them fruits and veggies such as carrots for snack when they are often times sort of “desperate” to eat, can help to get those nutrients in their system”

Be sure to use code arinsolange and grab some Rainbow Light vitamins to help keep you healthy and add to your survival pack. You’ll save 30% using the code!!

I would love to see your cold and flu season survival packs, so be sure to tag me on Instagram or comment below and let me know what you include!

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Family

December 6, 2019

Easy Kids Craft Bins

Seriously nothing makes me happier than when my readers and followers love something I come up with as much as I do. I shared some easy kids craft bins on my Instagram stories this past week and they have been a huge hit, so I thought I would share them here to give you all a better look.

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So you all know I have been sharing gift guides and ideas for months now, and I truly have a passion for sharing fun gift ideas for people. I put SO much thought and effort into what I get my own kids and family members, so it is so natural for me to make those guides for you all.

That said, when it comes to gifting for my own kids, I LOVE to think practical as my first order of business, and these craft bins were just that.

Easy Kids Craft Bins

I had the idea to make each of my kids a craft bin for Christmas with all the supplies that were age appropriate, so I headed out to find the perfect bin, and literally found the PERFECT option!

I personally used my Silhouette to add their names to the bins, and will share some ideas of what to fill them with. I love that these bins can have the top lifted out with LOTS of room for paper and supplies below, and all the coloring and writing tools at the top.

First off here are the bins

Pink | Mint | White

What I put in mine

As many of you know, I have a 2 year old, 5 year old, and 7 year old, so all of them got slightly different supplies based upon their ages.

crayons
markers (color wonder for the 2 year old)
colored craft paper
white paper
color wonder paper for the 2 year old
pencils for the older 2
stickers and googly eyes
coloring books for the younger two
small stapler for the 7 year old – he loves to make “books”
rolls of tape for the older 2
blank cards and envelopes

These are just some easy ideas, and I am sure I will add more. I really want them to be slightly mess free so I don’t have to worry about them using them, so I didn’t include glue, but that would be another idea.

These little containers are great for storing the small items in them (like stickers).

This is a super fun gift idea, or just an easy way to organize your kids stuff this year. I love that this fosters creativity while allowing them to get something they will play with over and over again.

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December 4, 2019

Favorite Items for a 3 Month Old – Goldie 3 Month Update

I can not believe that our Goldie Girl is 3 months old!!! I think I will probably be starting ever one of these posts off that way. As with the last 2 months I am rounding u my favorite items for a 3 month old as well as giving all the updates on our girl!

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Goldie 3 Month Update

I feel like 3 months old is such a sweet age. Goldie is sleeping through the night. Currently she goes down for bed at 7 pm then we wake her for a “dream feed” at 10, and she sleeps until between 6:30-7:30. am.

She HATES THE CAR and is not a big fan of tummy time.

She loves being held and sitting up so she can be talked to.

LOVES bath time and has gotten super active in the tub.

She is roughly 11 lbs and I swear its all in her big ol cheeks!

She has started to grab at toys hanging in front of her, and we keep getting just the start of belly laughs.

She really likes to be in the Stokke infant seat of the highchair. Loves being in on the action and something about that seat typically has her content.

Overall, she is a really good, very content baby. She is SO SO smiley especially for mom and dad, and is definitely becoming more aware when we aren’t around.

3 Month PostPartum Update

3 month old baby, also means I am 3 months out from having this sweet girl. I feel like as she started sleeping more I gained so much of my emotional stability back. I do best when our babies move to their own room so that the evening and night time becomes a bit more “normal” for me.

I still have 400 lbs to lose, and have done nothing to try haha. But really, I told myself not to even go there until after Christmas. I am finally allowed to leave her at the gym so I am just baby stepping back into things.

I started some home workouts and quickly realized that no matter how much I worked out during my pregnancy, the c section was brutal and my abs will need some tender love before I can dive in (which was a tough pill for me to swallow).

Overall we are good. I am still trying to balance things. 4 kids is a lot. I am late more than ever before (which I hate). I have dropped the ball a lot (which I hate). And over all I just feel less organized and with it (which I hate). But it has all been so worth it for our girl!

1 month favorite | 2 month favorite

Be sure to check out the posts above to see what I loved those months to see how these items last!

Favorite Items for a 3 Month Old

So now onto what we are loving. I am going to link everything in the photo, with some description below. You can either find it in the links below, or simply click on the photo to shop!

Wipes warmer – she definitely still does love warm wipes at night.
Burpy Bibs
Pacifiers
Swaddle – we switched her to this one from the Ollie Swaddle this past month and she has done really well in it!
Changing Pads
Carseat
Baby bling bows
Mustella – I still swear this is the way to go for cradle cap
Pacifier Clip
Sound machine
Bottles
Veer Wagon – I love this with the carseat adaptor so we can go on walks with Walker
Tights – these fit even a newborn which is HARD to find.
Tub seat – she loves this
This infant seat on the highchair might be her favorite item this month
Drying rack for bottles
Diaper Bag – read my review of this one here!
DockATot – she naps so much better in this
the Stokke highchair to house #15
Glowworm – ok hear me out on this creepy/ugly thing. I have used it with all of my kids. We push the tummy when she goes down, and if she stirs we push it again. My kids learn to associate the little melodies with going to sleep. This time around it was actually so worn out we ONLY have the insides – so its basically a little light and music thing, no glow worm hahaha.
Play mat – she seriously LOVES this.

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Holidays

December 3, 2019

Candy Cane Inspired Dining Room Table Decor

This year when it came to my dining room I really wanted to do something a bit more simple and classic, but my go to is “girly” and I still wanted to tie it the decor with the rest of the house. I mentioned in this post that I was using pink, red and white ribbon through my main floor, so thus the candy cane inspired dining room table decor idea was born.

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Candy Cane Inspired Dining Room Table Decor

Dinnerware

When I decided to add some festive plates to our home, I knew I wanted something that would be versatile and able to be used for more than one holiday. I fell in love with these red striped plates from Vietri, and knew I could use them for so many other holidays with the simple fun pattern.

I coupled the striped dinner plates with fun snowflake salad plates also from Vietri, and they are so kind to offer my followers 20% off if you use code ARIN2o !!

All of this was placed on gold chargers for a fun pop and it was such a simple tablescape!!

Runner and Decor

The table runner and napkins are both items that I had fallen in love with as soon as I saw them this year and knew I wanted to tie them into my tablescape. For the napkins I grabbed this greenery from Hobby lobby and I wrapped it around the napkins. It is a thin wire, so I then looped a gold bell through each one and used it as a faux napkin ring. ( ** as a note – the table runner is super long which I love. Our table is HUGE, so the fact that it is longer than the table is saying a lot!)

The center of the table was super simple. I added Christmas greenery from Trader Joes and Some candle sticks. On some candles I also added the pink and red and white ribbon that I have running through my home!

As you can see – this was SUPER simple. There was nothing super crazy about it, and it took me no more than 20 minutes to put together, but I love the end outcome, and can’t wait to see how I can reuse so many aspects of this tablescape during the year, and through holiday seasons to come.

If you are looking for more holiday tablescape ideas, here is my merry and bright dining table decor from last year!

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Holidays

December 3, 2019

Simple and Bright Christmas Decor

Christmas is just around the corner ( I mean how the heck is it already December?), and most of my holiday decorating is finally done. I teamed up with some ladies on Instagram to show my holiday home tour in stories, but wanted to share my sources all in one place. I honestly had the hardest time decorating for Christmas this year. It takes me 10 times longer to accomplish anything with 4 kids, and with the older three and myself getting sick, it was just a hard year. I decided to just take it with stride and realize that is the season of life we are in this year, so just went with simple and bright Christmas decor.

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I have this blog post where I have been simple updating links to decor if you find that easier to shop! Most of this years decor is linked there (but with no explanation).

Simple and Bright Christmas Decor

For this blog post I will only be sharing our living room/entry way/bar. I will be blogging our dining room and the girls rooms later in the week, as well as a fun update to our kitchen!

Last year I went with Merry and Bright decor, and although I loved it, I wanted to slightly change things this year. I had used LOTS of color in my office (see that post here), So wanted things slightly warmer and more homey in our living room this season.

The Mantle

I am sure I will get lots of questions on where I got my garland, but it is actually a couple of years old, and I haven’t been able to find it again. I love the simplicity of it, and it has been a go to for me for holidays!

The Tree

I did not change up my tree very much this year, and honestly – with Walker being a very wild 2 year old I kept things VERY simple and not breakable. Most of the ornaments are DIY (wood balls, white poms, and gold stars), but the rest of the ornaments and decor will be linked below. I also switched things up with a gold tree collar this year and love the simplicity of it!

The Bar

Last years bar decor was hands down my favorite, but I wanted something simple and different this year. I went with these sweet little boxwood wreaths and added ribbon to them. I also added a few bottle brush trees to our tray and some gold bell drink stirrers to make things a bit more festive!

Accessories

This year I honestly bought very little in terms of other decor. I always try to find one or two aspects of my decor that can tie together each room, so this year I tried to carry SOME pink into each space as well as use bottle brush trees.

I had a hard time finding the perfect ribbon for my garlands so ended up gluing and layering two ribbons which were used on wreaths, garlands, and around vases and candles through out the main floor. The bottle brush trees are a big mix from Hobby Lobby and other stores, and many of them I dyed myself to get the color I was looking for.

I also find that having frames where you can easily switch out the prints Makes for inexpensive changes in the decor. I found some fun prints online to fill my frames and love how they turned out. If you are looking for prints, here are some free ones I made last year!

I also changed up my throw pillows. The large pink ones, and the pink print ones are both older and I just circulated them back in for the year!

I will link all newer items below!

Just remember that decorating for the holidays does not have to be really expensive and you can work with what you have. Make your house feel magical for you and your family, and try not to stress over every detail!!

To see more of our house this year be sure to check out the posts linked below!

MERRY AND BRIGHT LIVING ROOM

CANDY CANE DINING TABLE

CHRISTMAS SHARED BOY’S ROOM

PINK MERRY AND BRIGHT HOME OFFICE

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Home

November 28, 2019

2019 Serena and Lily Thank You Event

Most of you know my love for Serena and Lily, and this year their Thank you event is under way!! This event is basically their Black Friday week long sale, and it is the perfect time to grab the items you have been wanting. I wanted to share a few of my favorite items from Serena and Lily, as well as share with you a few round ups with some great items to get the wheels turning on things to buy!!

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Nearly all items are 25% off with few exclusions so now is the time to grab what you have been eying!!

2019 Serena and Lily Thank You Event

Pillows and Throws

These are just a SMALL selection – just to get the wheels turning on some gorgeous combinations.

Great Gift Ideas

Dining Favorites

Coastal Favorites

All the bedding and items seen here are from Serena and Lily – check out this post to see more and grab exact links!

The chair in Goldie’s Nursery is from Serena and Lily, and one of my favorite items – check out more pictures of it in this post.

Hopefully you will be able to find some great items for gifts for you or yourself during the Serena and Lily Thank you Event!

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Fashion

November 26, 2019

Girls Christmas Outfits from Amazon

Girls Christmas Clothes from Amazon – because if you have been around for very long you probably know that finding Amazon finds is one of my favorite things to do.

I am a mom of 4 – with 2 little girls who I LOVE finding unique finds for, and Amazon is an affordable, easy place to shop for those unique finds.

Little girl in Bonnie Jean Christmas Dress and Coat

Girls Christmas Outfits from Amazon

This Girls Christmas Outfits from Amazon post contains affiliate links – originally written in 2019 updated in 2020.

I am SO organized – but I also can be SO last minute on certain things, and for me that tends to be Christmas outfits. I think for me it is always because I can’t decide what we are going to be doing, or what the weather will be.

The good news is that has led me to finding some amazing Amazon finds over the years, and sharing them with all of you.

I rounded up items in this post that will help you create the perfect dressy or more casual look, no matter what your plans are for this holiday. I went with shoes, bows, and purses – so you can create a full outfit.

The Shoes

Because I know shoes can be so tricky, I only added shoes we own ( aside from one pair that we own in a VERY similar version from the same brand).

The Mary Jane style is one of my favorites because the way the buckle works there are no holes, so they can really grow for longer than many shoes like this. Avé just out grew her red pair, so I think I will grab her some black or gold this year!

The little moccasins we are obsessed with, and Goldie has this exact pair. They are an investment, but honestly the only baby shoes I ever buy. If you go with a metallic she can wear them daily.

Shop Those Items Below

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

Reindeer Dress –
Velvet Bows – Velvet bow are my favorite thing on little girls and Amazon has great packs of them!
Pink Baby girl outfit – this little outfit is SO cute
12 Days of Christmas dress – this is darling. I love that it has a fun little quirky theme to it.
Green Pinafore Dress – this is so cute and can be used well past Christmas.
Freshly Picked Mary Janes – these are the CUTEST toddler girl shoes. We have owned several pairs for my 6 year old and they are super comfortable so they can run around in them.
Baby knit outfit – we have this in several other versions and it does run large
Scalloped hem dress
Nutcracker themed skater dress
Red Velvet Bubble Romper
Gold Shirt – I am thinking I will do this paired with black leggings then a long skirt to wear it two different ways for my daughter this year.
Gold Shoes – I got these in the boot version for my older daughter a few years ago and LOVED that she could wear them dressed up but then to school and not ruin them.
Red dress – this is SO affordable and so stinking cute.
Santa dress – we did this and the bubble romper version for our girls last year and it was beyond cute on.
Rudolph Purse
Santa Dress
Velvet shoes – these are classically gorgeous
Knee high socks – we have so many packs of these knee highs and they are THE best.
Freshly Picked Moccasins – these are the cutest and will last for all your kids.
Little Knit Jumper
The Bubble romper to go with #14
Gingerbread Purse
Reindeer Dress
Santa Jumper – this is SO CUTE

sisters on pink couch in pink Santa dresses

Pin the Image Below for Later

To find this post later and shop the items year after year be sure to pin the image below. I am sure to update these Girls Christmas Outfits from Amazon yearly! And for More holiday magic be sure to be following along with me on Instagram (@arinsolange).

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Parties

November 24, 2019

Throwing an Elf on the Shelf Breakfast

It’s that time of year again…all our elves are coming back out, and ours always gets its one big moment out of the way right out of the gate. I throw an Elf on the Shelf breakfast every year when Caesar comes back from the North Pole, and the kids ALWAYS freak out.

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I have never kept the actual day consistent ( I know they are supposed to come back the day after Thanksgiving but we are out of town a lot on that day, so I pick a day that works well for us). This year I chose the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We will have company all next week, and school the first half of the week, plus this gives us a full month of magic.

I will give you tips and tricks on throwing an Elf on the Shelf Breakfast in this post, as well as show you some previous years breakfasts. It never has to be a big ordeal!

Throwing an Elf on the Shelf Breakfast

I always pick a bit of a theme for my breakfast – last year I based the whole thing on this set of cupcake toppers that were The Nutcracker themed, and incorporated them in a few places. It worked really well and cost nearly anything.

This year I decided since the kids are really into Chick-fil-a that I would try to tie that in and they thought it was hilarious. The idea that Caesar had gone to Chick-fil-a was mind blowing to them haha!

Supplies

One thing that I almost always have on hand is replay recycled plates – it is all we use, so I typically incorporate them into my breakfasts for the kids. I have switched to only having white and pink In my cupboards, but I kept holiday themed plate colors in my holiday bins for these breakfasts. Sometimes I also use the cups, but not always.

The fun accessories

I incorporate our letter board many times into our breakfasts ( I used to love to put funny sayings that the kids couldn’t read, but those days are over for me lol). I then almost always use a banner from my favorite shop. The “Santa’s coming” banner from this year and last has been perfect.

A fun cake stand, some paper straws, some balloons, or simple other items will seal the deal. I think people assume this has to cost a lot of money and it definitely doesn’t.

This year I made the cows for the wall and combined them with the Santas and Reindeer from last year (see here). The napkins were from Jack’s first birthday, and that was about all I did.

The food

Normally I go with donuts and fruit. Easy as can be. But this year I clearly needed to go with Chick-fil-a, so got a cookie mastermind to whip up the cutest cookies to go with it. I mean you guys, they are the cutest things I had ever seen. If you are in STL, check her out on Instagram and use her for your next event or party!

Does Your Elf Bright Presents?

I have been asked if our elf brings presents a lot, and the answer is that it depends. Last year we were traveling so the elf brought a couple of dollar spot items to keep the kids entertained on the 4 hour car ride. This year we were only going to be home, so we stuck with fun food.

Overall, your elf on the shelf party doesn’t have to be a big deal. Let it be fun for your kids, and don’t stress. The magic of them seeing that their elf did such a fun gesture will blow their minds, so they don’t care if it is picture perfect! This year I had been so sick, so it wasn’t what I imagined, but I called it a day!

Do you throw an Elf on the Shelf Breakfast? I would love to hear in the comments below!

And for some added fun… what kind of elf mom are you?

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Holidays

November 15, 2019

Best of 2019 Christmas Decor

I figured it would be easier to update you all with the items I have been purchasing for Christmas this year in a post. I will keep this updated with as many items as I can link! So here is the best of 2019 Christmas Decor in my opinion.

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Best of 2019 Christmas Decor

I am going to post the items or similar items that I have purchased here!!

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DIY

November 11, 2019

Pink IKEA Dresser Hack

I should start this out by making sure you saw THE pink dresser in sweet Goldie girls rainbow nursery. It just wouldn’t be a nursery in my house without a few good DIY’s…now I know everyone is looking for the DIY rainbow, but todays post is all about the pink IKEA dresser hack.

This is a TARVA dresser, and the end outcome with a little trial and error was in my own opinion – gorgeous.

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Pink IKEA Dresser Hack

So when we found out we were having a girl I didn’t have many ideas on her room, BUT I did know that I wanted white walls and a pink dresser. I wanted it super light pink similar to Avé’s wall color, and had the idea to do it DIY.

My ideas were a bit more easily done in my head than in completion, but the end result was perfect.

What you need

IKEA Tarva Dresser

Feet from Pretty Pegs – I went with this set, but there are several options

Hardware – I went this route (10 inch hole)

Paint – I painted hers Glidden Subtle Peach

Polyurethane

How To

First off you are going to Assemble the dresser. BUT one thing to do is leave off the small flange piece on the bottom. If you don’t know what I mean, if you put it all together there is a small piece that goes under the drawers. Don’t use that!

Once it is put together depending on your drawer pull choice you may need to fill those holes and sand that down.

Next is paint – I personally used our paint sprayer but small foam rollers would also be a great choice! You will want to do a couple of thin layers.

After those two layers add a layer of poly ( I used this left over from our painted bathroom floors!) I actually think I did 2 thin layers of the poly – and then let that dry fully for a full day!

While the polly is drying you need to paint the legs…this is where things got a bit tricky. I ordered my legs white, and because of the shape, painting them was not going well.

I first gave them a rough sanding and painting with a brush was going awful, so I ended up putting the screw in the top and dipping them in the paint. I submerged each leg in the gallon of paint and let them fully drip off (which wasn’t super quick), then I set them down on a piece of tin foil with a light spray of pam ( I know that sounds so odd…but it worked..they didn’t stick).

Lots of paint continued to pool off of the legs, so I ended up moving them after an hour or so to a new piece just to keep things less messy. It gave the legs a great coat of the pink paint and ended up working SO WELL!

Next is putting on your drawer pulls. If you buy the same pulls we did you will want to make a template to mark your drawers and have all the pulls lined up.

We took a piece of leftover stencil material for this, but simple paper cut to the drawer size then marked with your holes will work too. That will help that step of this go SO MUCH easier.

The last step of this project is attaching your legs. This was for us the hardest step because we didn’t realize we should leave that bottom lip off her dresser. (you get the benefit of us realizing that and telling you first!)

We took the lip off after so many tries on making the feet work, and were able to drill a small pilot hole into the corners of the dresser then screw the leg into the dresser and add the bolt. The drawer has enough clearance doing it this way, and it looks seamless.

Again, I suggest using a small square template to mark each corner so you are putting the legs the same spot on each corner!

Hopefully those directions are helpful. We LOVE this dresser. The drawers are huge and it is super well made, and after the DIY its gorgeous on a tight budget.

Incase you missed it her room also had THIS DIY Rainbow if you are looking for more DIY projects for a little girls room or nursery. If you have any questions please feel free to DM me on Instagram or leave me a question in the comments!

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