DIY :: Ornament Wreath

It's no secret that I have a slight obsession with ornament wreaths. I've made several over the years trying to channel my inner Virginia but with moving over the summer, none of them survived. I'm still finding random pink glitter ornaments rolling out of boxes and bags downstairs in our storage room.

I decided we needed a few more for the new house so the girls and I gathered supplies at Walmart and got to work. I wanted to make one for each of their bedroom doors and G picked out the colors. They're super easy to make using a craft wreath (I used styrofoam but think wood would work just as well, if not better...), cheap ornaments and a hot glue gun. 

It always takes more ornaments than I expect. I started with this tub of 40 bigger ornaments and a couple of packages of smaller ones and ended up having to go back to the store for more to make Gracyn's wreath. I feel Christmas wreaths in general are kind of pricey and you can buy pre-made ornament wreaths at the store (but really, WHO would spend $650 on one?!?!  This one is actually affordable!) but I do think I saved a little money by making them myself. I think I got 2 done for around $50 total after having to buy more ornaments. If I had shopped around for cheaper ornaments (Dollar General or even Goodwill sometimes has them), I could have saved a few extra bucks.

I took the tops off of the first layer of ornaments and placed them around both the inside and outside of the wreath, top up (if that makes sense. Since it didn't have anything to hang it up with, I just found some string and tied it around the wreath so I'd be able to hang it on the wreath hanger.

After gluing the first layer all in place, I flipped the weather over and started filling in on the other side.

Gracyn was so excited to hang it up on her door! I love how this one turned out and love the colors she picked.

Leighton's wreath is silver, pink and blue with a few random gold ornaments thrown in as fillers. Justin runs into it every time he goes into her room so me may need to find a safe place for it to live this holiday season! I don't want them falling apart! I'm also buying a few of these to help keep them in good shape.

Have you made an ornament wreath before?! I really enjoy making them but one on every door might be overkill...

Christmas in the Park

While in Tulsa for Thanksgiving, we hopped over to Rhema Bible Church to see their verrrrry festive Christmas display. Over 2 million lights made for quite the scene! Gracyn had fallen asleep in the car on the way there and was pretty grumpy during our visit but she warmed up after awhile. The popcorn helped, I'm sure. We had a big group so we kind of all split up and did our own thing and then met back at my sister-in-law's house to put the girls to bed and join the others for {stiff} drinks and board games.

The perfect way to kick off the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving 2016

Anyone still recovering from Thanksgiving? I know I am. We had a nice little visit with family in Oklahoma over the holiday weekend. We ate wayyyyy to much and the girls are exhausted after playing with cousins all day long. 

My sister-in-law and her family live way outside Tulsa on a nice piece of land and Gracyn is in LOVE with the trampoline. I don't think I can convince Santa to bring on for Christmas this year but it's something we may have to consider. She jumped for what seemed like hours.

We managed to do a little Black Friday shopping {on Thursday night...} and hit up the closest Target. Crowds weren't too crazy so that's good and we all managed to check a few things off our list. On Friday evening we went to Rhema Bible Church to check out their famed Christmas light display. There were lots of people but we had a nice visit and took in the pretty lights. I forced everyone to listen to Christmas music for the remainder of the trip as well. I have a few thousand pictures so I'll share those tomorrow... :)

The girls were quite crabby yesterday due to lack of sleep and traveling but we finished decorating the house for Christmas and it's looking rather festive up in here. We have a super busy December coming up but I absolutely love this time of year! So much to celebrate and take in with the family!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

So Very Thankful

We had a whirlwind weekend up in South Dakota & Iowa as we got together with family to remember my uncle who passed away. It's now Wednesday and I'm finishing up work for the week and trying to get organized before we head to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. So much family time and for that I'm thankful.

I'm a pretty lucky gal to call these humans my people, too. Love them something fierce that's for sure. Here are a few pics from my parent's house. Don't be fooled by the smile, Leighton straight up hated the snow. Silly girl wouldn't even walk in it! Gracyn, on the other hand, was a sledding machine and went up and down their little side hill with me and Papa several times. She's also a pro at making snow angels. 

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving celebrating with the ones you love!

Leighton's coat // my coat

boots

Friday Five

Justin has been out of town for work alllll week long and I ran out of wine on Wednesday so you KNOW I'm glad to see Friday. He'll be home tonight and I'll be headed to the liquor store. Juuuuuust kidding. Kind of.

{ONE}

Did you see yesterday's post?! I seriously spent more time stalking the pages of Uncommon Goods finding unique gifts for my friends and family. So many goodies! Be sure to check it out as you start - or finish up - your shopping!

{TWO}

I snagged a great deal on some Sperry duck boots a few weeks ago and LOVE THEM. Too bad it's been 75 degrees all week and I have yet to wear them. They're still on sale if you're in the market! Never mind my different colored socks, I was trying to decide which ones looked better... #stillundecided

{THREE}

My Christmas wish list is quickly becoming completely random. So far, it includes taco holders (because EVERY time we have hardshell tacos, which is honestly once a week, I get mad when they tip over after putting all the toppings on; everything just spills out onto the plate; we NEED these. Or these if we want to get fancy...), potholders (because I'm super cool..), an alarm clock and leggings that aren't see-through. Oh, and this mug.

{FOUR}

I usually have trouble coming up with gifts for Justin but not this year! Not sure why but I have so many ideas for him. Lucky guy. I'd tell you what they are but he's one of the, like, seven people that read this little blog and I don't want to spoil the surprises! ;)

{FIVE}

On a sad note, we are venturing on an unexpected road trip this weekend to attend a memorial service for my uncle who passed away. We're driving up to my parents' house on Saturday and will head into Iowa on Monday morning for his service, then head back to KC on Monday afternoon. We have a lot of driving coming up since we're heading to Tulsa for Thanksgiving but I'm glad we're able to make the trip. It'll be good to see some extended family and spend time together as we remember Uncle Bob.

Hope you all have a safe and happy weekend - it's ALMOST time to consume abnormal amounts of turkey and pie! Eeee!

Holiday Shopping with Uncommon Goods

I know Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK but I'm afraid I'm in full-blown Christmas mode over here. We hung up Christmas lights on the house last weekend and I'm itching to unpack all of our holiday decorations. This will be our first Christmas in our new home and I cannot wait to start making some memories.

Now, I'm all about decorating WEEKS ahead of the actual holiday. But. I always, always struggle with getting a jumpstart on my shopping. Nowadays I'm feeling extra pressure since both girls have birthdays so close to Christmas, too. I need all the gift ideas and I need them now!

This is where Uncommon Goods comes in! Uncommon Goods is an online retailer featuring handmade items, jewelry, home decor and gift ideas for everyone on your list. Uncommon Goods prides itself on curating product that is environmentally friendly (about 1/3 of their entire collection is made up of recycled and/or up cycled materials) while providing exceptional customer service along the way, for which they've been awarded for every year since 2007.

And since this is the season of giving and all, Uncommon Goods donates $1 of every purchase made to the charity of your choice! They support non-profits like Reach Out & Read, International Rescue Committee and RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. Basically, they're just good people. And the world could use a little more good these days, right? Right.

I loved browsing their site and finding things to add to the girls' holiday wish list. Here are a few of my favorites. Don't forget to check out their gift ideas for the other gals (mom, sisters, friends) on your list here and the special men in your life here! Tons of great ideas!

1 // Indestructible Nursery Rhyme Books // We love books around here but we're not quite to the point where we can trust Leighton alone with a book that has real paper pages. These hard-core board books would be perfect to add to our collection.

2 // Foreign Language Blocks // I love the idea of kids learning a foreign language early on. It will only benefit them in the long run so these foreign language blocks would be a good place to start. Maybe if we got the Chinese version, the kids could once and for all verify that the impulse tattoo on my ankle does indeed read "love" in Chinese. ;)

3 // Chalkboard Placemats // We've had laminated placemats for the kids at our kitchen island for a couple of months now and they're already covered in pen and marker scribbles. I like setting the girls up there with some art supplies while I get dinner started or finish work but they don't always keep things on the paper. Having placemats that are meant to write on would be awesome!

4 // Free Play Magnetic Tablet // We have a little magnadoodle that the kids constantly fight over so this magnetic tablet would be a hit as well.

5 // Pallina Dropping Ball Game // Family game night, anyone?! Love this little game and love that all of us would be able to play it together.

6 // Sleeper Hero Bedtime Buddy // Will this thing keep my kids from waking up 21324 times a night? Will it keep them in their respective beds allllllll night long? Will it help this tired mama get some actual sleep? Yes? I'll take two, please.

7 // DIY String Art Kit // Forget the kids, can I play with this? There are adult classes that teach string art and I've been wanting to attend one and get my craft on. I'm a big fan of anything like this that I can do easily with the kids and pass on my love of DIY.

8 // Kinetic Sand // Gracyn really loves playing with kinetic sand. We usually set her up on a blanket on the floor to play; she's supposed to keep it all in the container but in reality, she gets it everywhere. After every play sesh, I'm left scraping chunks from the blanket or sweeping it up off the floor. Some of it is salvageable but our supply is quickly dwindling. We're due for some replacement sand so these options would be perfect.

Happy shopping!

This post is sponsored by Uncommon Goods. All opinions and gift-guiding are my own.. ;)

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Guest Post :: Quality All-Care

This post is brought to you by Quality All-Care, a local Kansas City lawn company you can trust!

Best Places to Shop Small in Kansas City
Small business Saturday is just around the corner, and offers a great way for you to get involved in supporting your local economy, while also getting some holiday shopping checked off your list! Below we compiled a list of some of our favorite small businesses where you can find gifts for family and friends, and maybe even a little something for yourself!

For the stylish person on your list:

Houndstooth
Founded on three generations of tailors, Houndstooth makes clothing for everything from lounging to the most important life events. This is the perfect spot to pick up something for the well-dressed man in your life!

The Jeweled Gypsy

Operating as a mobile fashion truck, the Jeweled Gypsy is a mobile boutique offering the latest trends. This one may be a bit harder to find, but with unique accessories and merchandise from both local and up and coming designers, you’ll be glad you tracked it down!

For the little one in your life:

Zoom Toy Store

For kid and adult alike, Zoom offers unique and fun items that you won’t find at your run of the mill chain toy store.

The General Store & Co

If you’re in a hurry to get your shopping done, General Store & Co. is the perfect one-stop shop to pick up modern, well-crafted housewares, and unexpected kid’s toys!

For your furry, four-legged friend:

Tail Waggin Petstop

Pick-up toys and accessories for the furry friend in your life, and even bring them along to take advantage of their DIY bath station.

Beer Paws

This fun company uses recycled grains from local brewers to make (alcohol-free) doggy treats for man’s best friend to enjoy!

For the more eclectic shopper in your life:

Westside Storey

True to the neighborhood’s roots, this shop is housed in an original 1920’s building. Not only is the store locally-owned, but they also carry over 20 other local Kansas City companies, meaning you can shop local in more than one way at Westside! Stop by to pick up tees, cool prints and lots of other eclectic goodies!

Urban Provisions General Store
Last, but certainly not least, this modern general store located in the East Bottoms neighborhood offers interesting and local home goods and everyday products. Stop by Urban Provisions to shop for unique products that promote Kansas City’s creative movement.

Shopping Local All Year Long
No matter which small business you choose to shop at on Small Business Saturday, the important thing is that you’re doing your part to support your local community! As a local business, we know the value that local, friendly service brings not just on Small Business Saturday, but on every day of the year. For all your lawn service needs this year, shop small with the local Kansas City lawn care company you can trust -- Quality All-Care!

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