Some BIG news!

Things have been pretty quiet around here for a good reason...

We bought a house! 

 

Yep, we did it - we OWN our home now!

It's been a long (and occasionally stressful) process, since we decided to go with a new build but so far I'm fairly pleased with our choice. We built our new house with KB Home and loved the process. From the day we signed, to our design center appointment, to the day we closed, it was interesting. If I'm being real, it got super dicey, there were delays, there are a couple small mistakes - but overall the house is beautiful and we are living in a gorgeous community with lots of friendly families. We are super excited for the change.

With that said, I wanted to share a few photos of our new place. It's still a work in progress,we still need to update a few items, unpack boxes, install more lighting and come up with some creative storage, etc.... but I couldn't help myself and had to share a little peek at our happy new abode.

Interested in seeing the updates along the way? Be sure you are following on instagram & facebook and subscribe to my blog! 

Simple, Stylish Paint Chip Christmas Tree Toddler + Kid Craft

 

 

The holidays are right around the corner and we are super excited about all the fun that involves... this year is going to be one of the best. I haven't share this yet, but we have family surprising Delainey with a long visit over the holidays so it's hard not to be stoked. Also, I'm pretty amped to see her face on Christmas morning, because I may have spoiled my sweet girl. Beyond that, the Christmas spirit is in full swing in our home - with our little Elf causing trouble and the sweet innocence of writing letters to Santa, I'm going to go ahead and call it, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

With that said, we've been trying to keep busy lately as we countdown the days until Christmas and this super simple and FREE Paint Chip Christmas Tree Craft was the perfect way to keep our minds occupied while creating a masterpiece. It was also a great way to practice cutting and gluing skills and to encourage her to discuss colors and shapes.

I also loved that we were able to make our tree anything but green. She's been stuck on trees only being green and it was good to encourage her imagination and mix up colors!

Have a little crafter on your hands? Love the look of our simple paint chip trees? Want to make one of your own? Here ya go!

We grabbed our paint chips for an upcoming rainbow mural project in her room from our local hardware store and well, we decided to use them craft-ily as well once this idea came to mind.

You'll start by cutting off both ends with writing on them and start making staggered cuts with the remainder of the paint chip. Allowing for both big and small pieces, thick and thin,etc.

Now, once you have a ton of colors cut up and lots of variety in the shapes of your pieces, apply glue to your white paper in the shop of a tree, if you'd like you can top your tree with a star or a funky shaped cut.

It's that easy. Now just let it dry & hang it up! I plan on sticking these in shadow box frames and setting it out each year. I love looking back at our crafts year after year and admiring each piece, it's a little bit of nostalgia that I'll always be thankful for.

Do you love doing holiday crafts? Be sure to subscribe to receive our blog updates so you don't miss a thing!

The HONEST Truth about Sleep Number Beds - Sleep Number p5 Mattress Review

Did you know we actually WON a Sleep Number bed?


We did... and I was legit so excited! I won the Sleep Number p5 Mattress on twitter, craziest thing - I tweeted once in favor of a blog network that I adore and next thing I knew we were the proud owners of a fancy new bed!  We went to the store, we learned about our new bed, they came and installed it, the whole shebang! While I was SUPER thankful to have the opportunity to have such an expensive item, I learned from this lesson that the price of something absolutely does not make it a nicer product.

That's right, I'm dishing the dirt on our Sleep Number today and filling y'all in on the facts. We had a P5 delivered in 2016 and while it seemed cool to have such a fancy, adjustable bed at first - we soon discovered we aren't Sleep Number people. I like a bed to be soft yet firm, cozy yet sturdy. Our sleep number was best described as hard and uncomfortable when fully inflated or too soft and mushy when we lowered our sleep number. It's known as their most popular bed and it it supposed to offer body-contouring and sleep-enhancing benefits, but it simply does not feel good.

If you've ever been on a Sleep Number bed, you know there's a remote and you can adjust your settings. So I tried it all, numbers all over the place. There truly wasn't a comfortable number for me. I would wake up sore and still tired a lot, all from sleepless nights on our new mattress.

Not only was it uncomfortable, it was inconvenient. With the remotes, we were able to adjust our sleep number... but it really wasn't the easiest. You have to re-inflate regularly, then reset to your preferred setting when coming to bed. It wasn't anything to truly complain about but... when you can just get in bed and get cozy with almost any other mattress, why inconvenience yourself with another gadget to fiddle with before bed?

Like I said, I'm truly thankful to have won the bed... what a cool experience and a BIG win, but I thought I'd share our personal experience with Sleep Number and let you know that maybe it simply isn't worth the price for some. I tried for years to just deal with the bed, but finally decided to literally just toss it in the trash at the beginning of the pandemic.

With that said, we switched BACK to our Eve mattress that I was sent years ago for a blog campaign. They aren't sponsoring this post in any way now, but it is seriously a heavenly mattress - I highly recommend you looking into them if you are in the market for a mattress that'll blow your mind and offer that cozy, comfort we all want!

Growing up means I'm obsessing over wall colors and collecting home decor more and more. I can often be caught daydreaming about owning a white couch or sometimes I'll be off in Amazon-land collecting things I'd like to add to my knick-knack shelf in my cart to "save for later".

If you're also like me and clean, cutely decorated pinterest-styled-homes obsessed, then this little list of amazing IKEA finds for under $10 is right up your alley - and get this, you can buy a few of these items for each person on your shopping list this holiday and it won't break the bank!

So let's get this party started!

10 EPIC IKEA FINDS FOR $10 & UNDER

1. MULA Abacus -  One yellow, three greens and two blue ones.  Help your kiddo develop critical thinking and logical skills with this nifty little old-fashioned bit of a rainbow. In-stores for just $9.99!

 

2. HYLLIS Shelf Unit - This industrial looking, practical storage space is just what every space needs. Open, yet accomodating to all belongings. Grab one of these for just $9.99!





3. TOFTLUND Rug - This adorable rug is just the right amount of "texture" for any room. Whether you use it as expected, on the floor... or you could mix things up and drape it at the end of your bed or it may possibly provide just enough of a boho vibe if you hang it on the wall? The ways to use this little piece of sheep-skin lookalike material are endless and all of them are adorable. This little taste of heaven can be added to your cart for just $9.99 and is a must have!

4. MÅLA Portable drawing case - This super adorable little craft storage is what I like to think of as a child's version of a briefcase! With a hard surface for them to craft upon, this is perfect for around the house or long travels in the car, ringing in at just $9.99 - this is a must have under the tree this year!




5. HEMLAGAD Crepe/pancake pan - Breakfast is served! This crepe/pancake pan is one your kitchen is calling for! Become the Top Chef in your kitchen for just $7.99!

6. VARDAGEN Glass in blue - There's just something so nostalgic about these glasses... and I'm gonna go ahead and indulge in some bevies in these beauties for the low price of just $4.99 for a pack of 4!



7. POLARVIDE Throw in gray - This warm, fleece throw is an unexpected gift from IKEA. It's such a brilliant neutral,with a sweet scalloped edge, and comes in at just $3.99! Everyone on your list needs a new blanket for that price.




8. SPARKÄR Door mat in green leaves - This precious little plant lady door mat is literally the bee's knees! I'm beyond obsessed and think it's the perfect mixture of inviting and adorable without being too much! Add a buffalo plaid mat underneath it and we'll go ahead and call it the perfect "modern farmhouse" look we all want...amIright? Add to cart for just $7.99!




9. TROMMA Wall clock in white - This adorable clock arrived to IKEA just in time... HA. See what I did there? But seriously, this is such a cute piece to add to a gallery wall and for just $1.99, you might as well grab a few as gifts!




10. SANNAHED Frame in white - This adorable little frame makes the perfect shadow box for your photos or artwork. Coming in both black and white, I know these will be decorating our walls. Want to add some to your home? Grab one for just $4.99!

That's a wrap for 10 of the best items from Ikea for under $10! Which one is on your list this year?

Simple Snowman Countdown to Christmas Chain

 

This month I'm taking more time to embrace the little moments with my growing girl. After a year of running on overdrive for my small shop, I stepped back around Thanksgiving and realized I owe it to both of us to spend more quality time together, so we've been laughing more, cuddling tons, and doing non-stop craft projects. I thought I'd start to share our daily craft projects and hopefully inspire you to get your hands messy with your little one!



Today I'm sharing a super simple, yet adorable craft - our Snowman Countdown to Christmas Chain is something nearly everyone has the materials to make and it's such a fun way to visually show your kids how many days are left until Christmas. I highly recommend pinning this project and getting it completed early in December so that it's a fun, drawn out countdown! We started our countdown with 26 days left until Christmas and I'm so excited to watch D's face as the links go away and she realizes Christmas is almost here!

Ready to start making your Snowman Countdown to Christmas Chain? Let's do this!

Materials:
White Printer Paper
Glue
Scissors
Black Construction Paper
Markers

You'll start by cutting the white printer paper into the amount of days you are counting down... we started at 26 days so cut out 26 pieces of paper.

We then made one into a circle, gluing the ends together. Then continued that process, having Delainey help thread each piece through the next and place the glued ends together. Continue connecting until you have only one piece remaining.

Once we had all of our pieces of connected, sans one. We drew a cute snowman face on the last piece, threaded it through, and attached the ends.

We then cut out a little hat and attached with glue.

The final step was showing off our hard work and hanging it up so we could start counting down the days until Christmas!

Have you made a countdown or are you using a pre-purchased advent calendar? Tell me all about how you're counting down the days until Christmas in the comments below!