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pretty everything : 21 attractive trash cans
we don’t actually have a cute kitchen trash can because ours our hidden in our cabinet, but i have gotten lots of requests for good looking trash cans! it was a little more challenging than i thought to find good ones, a lot of them are actually the same brand lol. while i was searching for modern kitchen trash bins, i found a lot of cute bathroom/office ones, so i did a roundup for both kinds!
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how i’ve been enhancing my bedtime routine
this post is in partnership with this works
while i’m for sure not an expert on sleep rituals, this year i have been trying to focus more on simple nighttime habits to create a more zen like bedtime. stuff as simple as putting hand lotion and lighting a candle, all of those little things add up to create a calming environment for me and i’ve been enjoying it a lot! i don’t always have a ton of time to myself to actually unwind, so those quiet few minutes after arlo goes down are a really nice way to relax before actually getting in bed.
i’m always looking to enhance my routine and i’m so happy to have discovered This Works. besides skincare products, they make pillow sprays that help reduce sleep anxiety and improve sleep quality. their deep sleep pillow spray is designed for people who struggle to fall asleep– it releases an immediate burst of fragrance that is proven to calm a racing mind. Read More
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how we babyproofed our house
such a long time coming, i’ve been meaning to do this post for about a year and i get asked about it regularly. SORRY! we actually didn’t throughly go through the whole house at one time on a baby proofing extravaganza, and as time goes by we might still sometimes decide a cabinet needs to be baby-proofed, etc.
we’ve left certain cabinets and drawers unprotected, because arlo enjoys going through them. now they’re certainly not even close to organized like they once were before arlo, but i also don’t mind him playing with certain drawers because if it means he’ll stay in there and be occupied while i do my makeup in the bathroom or cook dinner, fine by me.
this post has become less relevant now that arlo is more of a capable toddler and less of a baby, but thought i would still share for those of you baby-proofing now!
also, every kid is different. if arlo was climbing on every piece of furniture in the house, or sticking everything he found in his mouth– we might be more adamant about specific safety precautions, so this is just what worked for us!
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cute modern lunchboxes
again i’m doing this a little late since a lot of kids have already gone back to school– but after searching for arlos lunchbox i figured i was obligated to round some cute ones up for you!
we ended up choosing #3 (even though i looove #2 too), and inside i can fit his steel lunchbox and a water bottle.
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san diego (toddler-friendly) travel guide
we had the best little last minute trip down to san diego a couple of weeks ago for our birthdays!! it was such a perfect place for the three of us, super arlo friendly and a quick drive! we debated going to the zoo or legoland but ended up keeping it low key, which was just perfect– meaning we ventured out in the mornings, got back to our rental house for naps in the afternoons and then left again for dinner. Read More
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first day of school printable sign
a very last minute little printable i designed (because a friend asked me to haha) — a fun little sign to fill out for all your kiddos heading back to school! arlo is starting preschool in a few weeks so obviously i had him model, he doesn’t talk a ton but we were able to pry these opinions out of him lololol. he will make a fantastic elmo blue car someday when he’s a grown up.
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our playroom : before and after with amazon home
this post is in partnership with amazon home
the playroom is done! i am so excited to have this shared space, we’ve already used it a lot– and arlo has more than enough toys in here to keep him occupied while we get work done, i’m so glad to have it finished!
again, let’s take a look at the before… Read More
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arlos mamma mia themed 2nd birthday party
YAY! arlos 2nd birthday party was so much fun, excited to finally share it today!
after spending the better part of a year watching mamma mia 2 (but then transitioning to the original for the last few months), it just seemed obligatory to theme his party around it. the day was super fun and chill with friends and family and an… unforgettable live performance by his grandparents lol. it was perfect cloudy weather all day until an hour before the party started and the sun started blasting, as you can see in the photos!
we had the party at my mom and stepdads house– it was a pain to schlep everything over, but their backyard couldn’t be more perfect for the theme. for the weeks leading up to the party, the bougainvillea at their house was giant and thriving, and then right before the party it all died. so that was a bummer but it was too late to cancel the party lol.
(ps you probably don’t recognize those silver ARLO letters from last years party because if you do thats like a little crazy, but they’re from last years party!)
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our studio : before and after with amazon home
this post is in partnership with amazon home
wowowow this is a long time coming, but finally! the studio is done and usable and i love it so much. years ago, we refinished the space by insulating, drywalling and adding laminate flooring, added a couple of windows, but beyond that– not much was done. i always planned to use it as an office space, but i didn’t invest in AC and the wifi signal was never that great, so i just never really used it whatsoever unless i was shooting in there.
the older arlo is getting and the more toys we’ve acquired i started to think about how nice it would be to have a designated play area away from our main living spaces and realized we had the perfect place for that– so i put “convert studio into playroom” on our bucket list and then maybe a week later amazon actually reached out! kismet. the studio (which was once just a shed) is two separate rooms divided, so it seemed like the perfect place for us to all co-exist, for gid and i to work and arlo to play and all be together. it seemed like the perfect chance to actually spend the money and install an AC unit and ACTUALLY use this amazing space, finally.
i never actually shared it on the blog, but after we added the flooring and windows, we also had a wrap around floating wood desk built for the office side, i got a couple pieces, but i never actually finished the space to my liking and as i’ve now said multiple times, i never really actually worked here. it was always a goal, but always more comfortable to sit in bed and work lol. here is what it looked like when we first bought our house:
and after we added the wraparound desk and the flooring (please excuse the mess):Read More
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our backyard : updates
been meaning to share the evolution of our yard over the years, because i never really documented how everything grew in and now we’ve removed all the sharp cactus! oops. but still fun to share how much it’s changed over the years. and now that the fence has been refaced, it feels like a giant breath of fresh air where no aspect is ugly!
we are still happy with the decomposed granite ground covering– mostly, in retrospect it would be nice to have some grass for arlo to run around on, and even though people warn you, before you have a kid you just really don’t know how you’re gonna feel! i still love the look of it though, it’s just not the most comfortable so we don’t usually sit on the ground. luckily we have lots of furniture to lounge on! Read More
