The instagram and Pinterest algorithms have been serving me up some solid mom content lately, including stunning, curated kid’s bookshelves that quickly had me spiraling down the rabbit hole of themed books, tiny shelves, and felt banners. Kevin and I are both readers and book lovers and we want to instill the same love of books in Callahan by making it fun and exciting to sit down and read a few books together. We asked for books instead of cards at our baby shower before Callahan was born, we have consistently asked for books for him as gifts, and the book store is a collective favorite.
I decided to keep it super simple – just two picture ledges from Command as well as felt bats and a ghost figurine from the Target dollar spot. The books are just all the orange, purple and black ones we have in our collection (that went along with the few Halloween/fall books we have). We are obsessed with Our Friend the Moon and Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, if you’re looking to add some festive books to your stash. We love the cozy little spot and the pillows are just decorative ones we snagged from our guest bedroom. We love to snuggle up on them before bed and they are one of the dog’s favorite spots in the house…of course. As we continue to make decisions about his room as we near the toddler bed stage, I’d love to incorporate a nugget couch (or similar) that feels special and just for him.
I’m already starting to think about gratitude, thanksgiving, and fall themed books that I’m going to put together at the beginning of November and then already have a stack of books prepped for Christmas (since we keep those separate with the Christmas decor). After the holidays, I’m hoping to open the theme up a bit to something more broad (animal books, books that make noise, books about space, etc) or a group of books that are the same color. It’s been a tiny creative outlet that, similar to toy rotations, keeps things feeling minimal, really fresh and allows us to cycle out books we need a break from so that they can come back in a month or two feeling brand new.
Fall is finally here, which means it’s time to spend more time outside, gulp down PSLs, and pull out all of the pumpkin decor. Fall is starting to become my favorite season – the jewel-toned colors, beautiful sunsets, time at the park with Callahan, as well as layered clothes have been worth looking forward to. In preparation, I’ve been consuming all the fall related content on my feeds as well as dreaming about what my ideal autumn will look like. We are lucky enough to have already started having cooler weather and it has been so wonderful to be outside.
A few weeks ago, Myquillen Smith of The Nesting Place released a new podcast called House Rules. The second episode was all about Decorating for Fall and let me tell you, it was one of my favorite podcast episodes I’ve listened to lately. It was all about the idea of decorating for the season without going out and buying all the tchotchkes at Hobby Lobby and instead how we can use our senses to create a cozy fall atmosphere in our homes. It really inspired me to make a list of how I like to experience this season. As this season goes on, I’m excited to pay attention to activities, meals, and vibes that feel quintessentially fall for me.
If you don’t know where to start, Myquillen recommends creating a pinterest board. Here was my inspiration:
Living in the mid-west, we get to experience all four seasons, including an often very beautiful fall with trees that show off autumn colors perfectly. We also have so many opportunities to celebrate autumn by visiting local farms, cheering on our football team, and with local restaurants that bring out all the festive flavors. In addition to bringing fall into our home, I also wanted to incorporate fun things we could do as a family. We have big plans to dive into this Autumn Bucket List I created over the next few months. I’ll be sharing some photos of our experiences as we go just for fun. As our son Callahan gets older, I hope some of these can become traditions that we can look forward to each year.
I am so grateful. This age is so much fun and we love showing him the joys of this life (time with family and friends, yummy food, adventures, etc) and getting as much fresh air as possible while it’s so nice out.
Here are some of my favorite things he’s said lately:
“You all done mama?” while waiting for me to finish straightening my hair before a two year old birthday party.
“Oh no, it’s the Mr Bill Show!”
“Willow, no ma’am.”
“Happy Birthday!!” Each day he has been deciding who’s birthday he wants to celebrate that day. This weekend was Aunt Ellie and Mama. 😏
When he builds with magnatiles: “That’s a big how-er (tower)!”
A sweet weekend that will keep my heart filled up for the whole week. ❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day! Celebrating special days just feels so much more fun with our boy. He delights in alllll the little things, which is such a good reminder that all the hoopla and big things aren’t necessary.
His Mr Steal Your Heart sweatshirt, his pose, his smile – ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I justified it (like two months in advance) by telling myself it was true all year round, so he’d get plenty of wear out of it. It’s also the comfiest material of all time. (Do they sell adult sizes?)
Kevin and I aren’t gift exchangers or really big V-Day celebrators (other than the excuse to go out to eat) so we still kept it really simple, despite my wanting to buy all the things in an attempt to make it feel that much more special. We got Callahan some balloons – he points them out anytime we’re at a store – which he was obsessed with and perfect for our minimalist home since they won’t last forever. I always love the excited stomping and surprised open mouth face he makes when the balloons react in a way he doesn’t expect.
For his classmates at daycare, we did bubble wands with an Etsy note that I fell in love with. They were super easy to customize and I just used my photo printer to print four to a page. Callahan has loved bubbles since he was real little, so it just felt right.
He brought home lots of cutie Valentines from his friends, but the Bluey one takes the cake. Big fan (me and him).
We decided to eat at home and do a meal I recently stumbled across on Pinterest – Turkey Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes – which was a hit! Such a sweet Valentine’s Day for the three of us. ❤️
