• easter tableware & decor


    i know i’m a broken record but i only actually started celebrating easter when we had arlo, and now i really love it! i am all for a holiday of pretty spring things and eating quiche!

    we put together some beautiful items that would look good on your table if you’re hosting!

    01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07

    08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15


    food to serve on easter

    i made this this leek quiche for christmas morning and it was so good.

    olive oil cake with cream cheese frosting is the perfect low effort cake for spring occasions!

    this roasted grape crostini with ricotta seems so fancy, and it’s DELECTABLE!

    parfaits with granola, fruit and… flowers!

    how to set an easter table

    i put together this very floral brunch for mother’s day but could totally work for easter!

    shared lots of tips on how to host an effortless outdoor spring party here.

    and i put together a cute spring lunch here!

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    arlos room : the plan

    ok well the time has finally come to focus on arlos room! no, i didn’t finish (or start) the hallway yet, but this is more dire i’ve decided so we’re gonna do arlos first. plus i’ll be sooo happy when i can walk into his room and feel happy versus immediate anxiety haha.

    having a 6 year old client is interesting, his taste leaves a lot to be desired lol, but i still believe deep down it’s probably better than a lot of other kids. he is extremely opinionated, but he’s been willing to compromise on certain things too.

    when we first chatted about redoing his room, he said he’d like a red room…

    … yes, red…

    i explained that a red room wasn’t probably something i could muster the strength for haha — but i did decide to incorporate red throughout the room while still creating a soothing palette he can play and rest in happily.

    it’s a good thing i’m getting more into color because this would have been harder for me a few years ago when i was in my extreme beige mom era.

    bunk beds

    he has been begging for bunk beds forever now, not because he wants to sleep on the top bunk, but i think he just envies all his friends that have them and thinks it would be so fun to play on. the reason i’m into it is because he sleeps with a handful of 2-3 foot long shark stuffies and i would love to have them all put on the top bunk and give him a little space lol.

    i went back and forth for a while on twin over twin versus twin over full, but ultimately went twin over full. we hang out in his room a decent amount and i just wanted to have there be space for all of us on his bed. a girlfriend who has 3 boys and has had bunkbeds for years said she wishes she’d gone full, so that sold me.

    i went with a more expensive wood one than the white metal simple ones i’d been eyeing, i liked the shape of this one and it comes with a trundle — since we won’t need the trundle, i had the idea to turn it into another play space. more on that later!

    (bunk bed link)

    wall paint

    i am in love with the color i chose, it took a few trips to the paint store but i found the perfect shade of greenish blue that’s not too light and not too dark and not too saturated for his north facing room (apparently that’s a challenge when you’re painting a room that i now understand!)

    the color i’m going with is called “gray wisp” by benjamin moore. i’m going to “color drench” the room as the young people are now calling it.

    (wall paint link)

    wall shelves

    i loved arlo’s circle shelf, but as a 6 year old who is obsessed with lego building, it just doesn’t make sense for us anymore. he just needs all the space he can get, so instead i’ll be doing shelves that span across the entire width of his ikea trofast cabinet, and i decided to do with triangle brackets because i love that look.

    i shockingly love these bright brackets, because i think it’s the perfect little red accent that doesn’t overpower too much — but the price is more than i can handle for the amount of brackets i’m planning to use, so this will be a diy!

    (wall bracket link)

    new accessories

    since he’ll be playing on a top bunk, i know i need to swap out the glass pendant light in his room soon— so i’m searching for something soft to replace the light now!

    for bedding, i wanted to incorporate some more red and pattern there, i am obsessed with the schoolhouse quilt but i’m worried about spending that kind of money on kids bedding which may get totally trashed. wish there was a more inexpensive alternative! please advise if you know of something.

    i ended up getting a modular nugget sofa because all his friends have them and i think he’s gonna really love being able to build forts, not to mention we’ll have a little more seating in the room. i just wish they were taller! considering getting two later so that we could stack them?

    also looking for a washable rug or at least something patterned that might hide stains.

    nightstand / red quilt / blue bedding / washable rug / mushroom light

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    easter basket ideas for little and big kids

    easter is around the corner, so i wanted to hurry and get this post up for those of you shopping! i never celebrated easter much as a kid, but now i love celebrating all holidays with arlo so i’m all for it. since we’re not like EASTER people, i don’t buy much that is easter specific, but i included a few cute things.

    first i did a little roundup for easter baskets that you can use again and again, and non plastic options for eggs for decorating and for hiding.

    i also have a lot of cute items saved to my amazon storefront to check out as well!

    01. very cute set, natural egg dye and coloring kit ($14)

    02. i love a little bolga basket for an egg hunt (and trick or treating) ($45)

    03. wooden eggs with a flat bottom perfect for decorating ($16)

    .04 super cute felt egg basket for egg hunting and easter gifts ($15)

    .05 i love using paper shred filler for all gifts and you can reuse over and over ($13)

    .06 pretty paper mache eggs for hiding and decorating ($17)

    .07 a reusable mesh grocery bag would be perfect for egg hunting ($8)

    .08 this baby bunny hat is a little much but it’s insanely cute ($32)

    .09 another cute basket you could reuse for picnics and toys afterwards ($45)

    .10 such pretty little easter egg tattoo stickers to decorate ($14)

    .11 i wouldn’t buy these since i’m not that into easter but oh man they’re cute ($34)

    .12 hollow wooden eggs aren’t cheap but you can use them forever ($34)

    .13 we have paper eggs like this and they’re great ($9)

    next are some fun gifts that are mostly not huge or fancy, just simple little gifts that i think most little kids would love.

    .01 very cute little toolset ($23)

    .02 a pretty rattan star wand! ($23)

    .03 little wood puzzle with a bunny 🙂 ($18)

    .04 some cute kids flower sunglasses perfect for spring ($9)

    .05 cutest flower stamp set! ($26)

    .06 a sweet wooden dessert play set ($30)

    .07 if your kid has train tracks but not a motorized train, they need one!! ($27)

    .08 for the kids with a green thumb, love this gardening apron and glove set! ($20)

    .09 we love these pastel brush markers ($40)

    .10 cutest striped bunny stuffy! ($65)

    .11 and a crinkly bunny toy and teether for the littler ones ($10)

    and lastly, i did another roundup of gift ideas for the bigger kids/tweens/teens!

    .01 a nice watercolor set for the artists ($17)

    .02 a pretty monikers game! ($20)

    .03 for the graphic novel fans, here’s a make-your-own comic book set! ($20)

    .04 a small and pretty travel speaker ($60)

    .05 love this kids shampoo and body wash — they smell so good ($50)

    .06 can’t ever go wrong with nice hand cream ($25)

    .07 we love japanese candy kits, they are so fun! ($12)

    .08 i sound like a broken record, but tony’s chocolate is the best ($23)

    .09 some comfy bombas slippers in a fun pattern. lots of other color options, too! ($48)

    .10 a pretty nail stick kit ($8)

    .11 a very cool instax camera in the prettiest blue ($114)

    .12 a big pack of claw clips in different colors ($10)

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    free printable 2024 oscar ballots

    it’s almost time to print your oscar ballots! (the oscars are march 10th) i redesigned the ballot a bit this year because i got sick of the previous years design so i hope you like it.

    click here to download your ballot

    how to print and use your oscar ballot

    download and print the ballots. they will print best if you download the file from the browser, then open from preview to print, versus printing directly from your browser window.

    print out a ballot for every person watching with you. before the oscars begin, everyone writes down their personal predictions of what the winners will be — then you follow along with the awards and everyone tallies up how many they correctly guessed out of 24 categories. you can make it extra exciting and have everyone put down $5 for the winner to win the pool.

    what to serve at your oscar party

    some easy appetizers and cocktails that would be perfectly fancy for an oscar party and quick to make too.

    gold sugar rimmed glasses — such an easy way to fancy up your glasses

    cucumber and yogurt crostinis — these are so delicious and so easy to make! always a crowd pleaser in our house

    roasted grape crostini — roasted grapes might sound weird but they are so delicious especially when paired with thyme and ricotta!

    smoked salmon bites — another hors-d’oeuvre that seems very fancy but only takes 5 minutes to make!

    mini chicken and waffles — everyone loves chicken & waffles, everyone loves miniature food, so no brainer. we served these at our wedding and they were gone in 5 minutes.

    mini fish and chips — and because of what i just said, fish + chips but in appetizer form!

    gin and juice fizz — a VERY simple method to making a fancy cocktail by just using storebought juice. you could make your own juice to make it more impressive as well.

    french 75s (with golden fringe drink toppers) — one of my favorite cocktails, and so elegant, perfect for the oscars!

    i’ve actually see a small handful of the best picture nominees this year (barbie, poor things, killers of the flower moon, that’s more than i usually have seeen lol) i’m going to watch a few more before the oscars but i hope barbie wins. i know it won’t, but i think that it should. there i said it.

    anyway, i hope you enjoy the ballots! please tag me if you use them, i love to see it!

  • black history month books for kids


    mid-way through february, but better late than never– some books to read with your kids for black history month. you can click directly on the book to visit the link!

  • our hallway : the plan

    while i really should be working on one room at a time, my scattered brain won’t let me focus on one so therefore i’m slightly working on way too many at once, resulting in not finishing anything — but here we are! the hallway needs some love. it’s just felt like a really boring blank canvas for a few years to me now and i’d love to have it make me happy since i walk through it a lot!

    anyway, this before pic is quite old as you can tell by the size of arlo– but it almost hasn’t changed at all since then!

    replacing the runner rugs

    after many years of the moroccan runner rugs we had in here taking a serious beating, i decided the first step would be swapping out the rugs. i still wanted something simple, soft and neutral, and i’m very happy with the runners i ended up with!

    and now, still to do —

    painting the cabinets?

    ok this might be a mistake, but i think i want to paint the built in cabinets here. once upon a time, i wanted things never to stand out, things that weren’t necessarily beautiful i thought should blend in– but now i feel like if i could infuse some fun or personality here, i want to!

    so i’m thinking i could paint the cabinets a sage green maybe? or another color? let me know if you have ideas! i’m actually more into blue now but i want to paint arlos room blue which is right across the hall so it feels too matchy. i’m also thinking of painting the wood knobs the same color.

    i also considered painting the ceiling in here but the cabinets seem like a better move.

    heres a quick mock up to just see what they would look like with a color…

    swapping out the gallery wall

    more than anything, i need to finally switch out this gallery wall! the pictures are from arlos baby years haha. i did an easy work-around to design the family photos with a large mat versus getting frames that actually had a large mat, so they’re not really easy to swap. so this time i’d love to make it easier to add or change the art so we can keep it updated. izzy deserves a spot on the wall finally!

    i still love the look of the oversized mat so that’s what i’m leaning towards.

    adding warmth with window treatments

    even though the backdoor actually has a built-in shade, i want to add a roman shade because i really think it would warm the door up.

    hiding our storage

    we have bins above the washing machine that really are beautiful, but they don’t hide anything and it looks like an eyesore always. i’d love to get some storage baskets instead that would hide all the unsightly tissue boxes, excess detergent, etc. the ones in the collage are out of my budget but that’s the idea.

    frames / rugs / SAGE paint / baskets / roman shades

    ok so that’s what i’m thinking — please let me know if you think it’s crazy to paint the built in or if it’s possibly brilliant!?

  • cute and doable ways to celebrate valentine’s day at home

    i’ve always loved valentine’s day, not because of anything to do with boys – but because my mom always made it special for me. she would always send me something and make me feel loved no matter how single i was. so now i want to do the same for my kids, make it a holiday about how much i love them 🙂 

    this strawberry jam cake is our go-to year after year!

    easy ways to incorporate v-day

    set a festive table

    when you have a small house and not a lot of room or energy to decorate — a fun table is all you need.

    hang paper hearts

    every year we cut out paper hearts and hang them from the ceiling. this year arlo wanted to draw faces on them. really easy and cute! you could also turn this into a garland if you wanted.

    bows everywhere

    tie pink ribbons on candlesticks, napkins, stemmed glasses! everything!!

    add some festive art to your frame tv

    i found a loooot of pretty frame tv art to download, everything is $5 or less.

    make a heart shaped breakfast

    as someone who specializes in festive breakfasts, this is obviously a go-to!

    i’ve made heart shaped pancakes, waffles, french toast and egg in the hole.

    wear something red

    another thing my mom must have instilled in me, i always have to wear something pink or red and always dress arlo the same haha — i just got the most red thing i’ve maybe ever owned, i am obsessed with this soft cardigan!

    little ways to make your kids feel loved

    i have bequeathed my love of all holidays down to arlo– and i’m so happy he loves them all like i do. i absolutely think it’s because i always try to make them fun and special and festive, even if it’s just little things.

    make a special dinner together

    every year, gid and i go out to celebrate together another night, but on valentine’s day we stay home with arlo. that’ll change when they’re bigger i’m sure, but i love that he loves to celebrate as a family. we always make heart shaped pizza (although honestly i’d love to change it up and make something fancier but he won’t want to do that haha)

    last year we had chips and caviar along with our pizza and it felt a little more romantic 🙂

    bake something together

    we always bake something pink, and i have a few very cute, very pink and VERY EASY recipes to try with your kids. (we are big on strawberry)

    printable fill-in-the-blanks

    i designed these little printables for your kids to fill out, but you can fill them out for them too!


    cover their doors in hearts

    put a heart on their door every night (it’s ok to start now!) with things you love about them – i did this last year for arlo and he loved it.

    holiday t-shirt or pajamas

    a little festive gift

    i try not to go overboard but i always love to give a book or stuffy — it doesn’t have to be much, but i almost always something pink or red, sometimes even crab claws lol.

    i rounded up a lot of ideas on my amazon storefront here

    some valentines things from my storefront :


    shop my full storefront here

  • valentines frame tv art

    wanted to find some cute frame tv art to download for valentine’s but didn’t intend to find this much lol.

    lots of cute festive options, and everything is $5 or less. for a very easy way to swap your frame tv art without having to use the app, i have a tutorial here!

    and how about a few more…


    click on the art directly to shop it!

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    printable valentine’s fill in the blank cards

    i’ve made some printable valentine’s in the past, but i thought some simple fill in the blank cards would be fun for this year– easy prompts for little kids who say the darndest things, and short enough to keep their attention too!

    click here to download the printable

    printables are for personal use only, not for redistribution of any kind.
    for best results, download the file to your computer and print versus printing from your browser window.

  • butter cake bars

    i know the name butter cake sounds a little rich for most people — but these are insanely rich IN A GOOD WAY.

    i won a bake off with these many years ago and was racking my brain for what they were recently because i wanted to make for a school event. well i made them, and they were just as insane tasting as i remembered. no like, INSANE.

    and obviously, because it’s me, EASY AS CAN BE.

    butter cake

    for the crust

    1 18 1/4 ounce package yellow cake mix
    1 egg
    8 tablespoons butter, melted

    for the filling

    1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
    2 eggs
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    8 tablespoons butter, melted
    1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

    *a little more powdered sugar to garnish

    recipe

    preheat oven to 350 degrees F. combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

    in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

    add the powdered sugar and mix well. spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. i baked mine for about 43 minutes. make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.