Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoying the Small Things

Harry Potter Movie Night Tradition

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Before I begin, I should tell you that I don’t throw parties or create fall bucket lists or attempt to bring magical moments to our home to be a good mom because I don’t think being a good mom requires any of those things. I don’t even do it to make my kids happy–although that’s a nice little bonus that comes with it. These parties and bucket lists and hours spent icing cookies or hanging floating candles that required 500 pieces of tape and fishing line I never can seem to find (ended up unraveling Brett’s fishing pole)–I do them because they make me happy. Because I’m a party person, and glitter and candles and themed food delights me. Also, I’m a 12-year-old trapped in a 39-year-old’s body, and if I don’t keep feeding the soul of the child, she will likely eat me alive. That said, these parties I share transfer to “You’re a great mom!” only if you mean that I celebrate things I’m passionate about and find ways to bring those passions to life for my kids in the same way that moms who love cooking spend hours in their kitchens, or women who paint give their children memories of a mother who spends weekends crouched over a canvas, adding brush stroke by brush stroke to paint a sun. This is less about impressing my kids and more about inviting them to love something I love and to bring it to life for us all to enjoy. If I had dogs instead of kids, hell yeah I’d be strapping little witch hats on their furry little heads and lining up jars of dog bones for their party treats. Because it’s October, and Halloween is fun.

You know what else makes me happy? Seeing this kind of wonder on my kid’s face.

We started our Harry Potter Movie Night tradition last year and couldn’t wait for October to bring it back this year. The rules are simple–all lights off, candles galore, a fire in the fireplace, a sweet treat Honeydukes bar and a family viewing of Harry Potter.

Guaranteed magic.

The Honeydukes candy bar is, by far, the hit of the night. I start collecting fun candies (World Market has so many!) a month before the party line them up in jars and platters on the counter to create our shop.

To keep the kids from gorging on all the candy they wanted, I priced it all and gave them each the same amount of coins to shop with.

They ended up loving this part–cutest thing ever watching the little ones add their choices up, count out their money, swap things out and continually ask how much more they had left to spend. Kind of like spending prize tickets at Chuck E. Cheese. You know, six hours of contemplation.

Poppa ran the candy shop which means it is highly likely he bent the rules and gave them more than what they had money for.

Butter beer intermission.

Last year, Lainey’s best bud Maggie was part of our celebration. She moved to Chicago this past summer, so she joined us on FaceTime. I had no idea the girls had arranged it, and it was such a delight to look at the counter while the kids were shopping for their candy and see the phone propped up with her sweet face–complete with Harry Potter scar and witch costume–smiling and playing along.

Lainey and Ivy competed in their own scary photo challenge…

…and scooted all the candles (flameless–so much easier with kids!) in a huddle for their Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean taste-off for which Dash is surprisingly all in. I won’t even lick a jelly bean for fear I’m going to get dirty socks or spoiled milk flavor. This kid pops them in his mouth, chews and with no facial expression whatsoever, calmly announces “Dead Fish” before spitting the remains into a bowl and taking a swig of water.

For more details on the party, check out last year’s Potter Night. More Halloween fun to come this week, and we are ready! (well, not really but–you know–scrambling around the house scraping costumes together ten minutes before the next event starts.)

What to Wear: Coordinating Family Looks for the Holiday Card Photo

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I know, I know, it’s not even Halloween yet, but in the photographer’s world, this is prime family photo season as families across the globe scramble to put outfits together for the annual Christmas card photo in an attempt to “get it over with” before things get crazy. With the big boys out of the house and more harried schedules for all of us, our annual family photo does, of course, bring a teeny bit of stress; but it’s a tradition that yields images we’ll cherish for years to come and often the only ones from the year that capture all of us together (looking half decent). In a perfect world, our annual family photo would be one of the beautiful unplanned, uncoordinated moments in our home where no one’s looking, no one’s matching, and the magic of our love casts an aura across the lens, but let’s face it. Those moments are hard to capture. So, a coordinated family photo it is for us.

So, the big question for so many families is…what do we wear? Oooh, oooh, I know this one! (hand waving dramatically) Pick me! Pick me! Coordinating outfits for family photos is one of my favorite things to do–so much, I’ve been known to take over this job for many of my friends’ photos (they willingly give it to me). Today, I’m sharing a few tips for choosing clothes for family photos as well as four themed style guides, and tomorrow I’ll be back with tips on attempting your own photos if hiring a photographer isn’t in the budget. Last year, Heidi got stuck in traffic on the way to our family photo shoot, so I handed the camera to a friend who was tagging along, and ten minutes later, our photos were done. It doesn’t have to be a big production.

A few things to consider…

Will the photos be displayed in your home?
If you intend to enlarge and display photos from your shoot, you’re going to want to consider the color palette of your home in choosing outfits. A selection of bright and fun jewel tone clothes, for instance, probably wouldn’t be the best choice if you’re going to display a large image in a living room with muted earth tones.

DON’T GO MATCHY MATCHY!
When I used to do more family photography and a family reported they were considering white shirts and khaki pants for all, I’d A: Get it together to keep my sarcasm in check, and then B: Calmy guide Florence toward a less 1989-Olan-Mills look. Sometimes it sounded like, “Hell no, Flo.” Might I suggest the following rules: Do not have everyone wear primary colored polos. One polo is okay. Five colored polos says,”We are going on a rainbow golf outing, and our mom is forcing us all to wear these.” Two people wearing jeans is okay. Six people wearing the same shade of blue jeans with black turtlenecks says, “We are in a cult, and this photo is going to show up in an Internet meme in T-minus-two-days.”  BREAK IT UP.

Throw in something unexpected.
Mix prints. A bright pop of color. Have someone wear a graphic tee. Bright pink with light pink. Wear a dress, but skip the dress shoes for sneakers. Break the rules. I love throwing something unexpected in our outfits–it keeps it from looking too perfect. One year, Austyn showed up to our shoot wearing camo shorts, and while I didn’t love it at first, it added such a great unexpected element and made our photos more fun. As if chasing Dash that year wasn’t fun enough.

Choose clothes that represent your kids’ personalities
If your kid dresses like a skater, let him dress like a skater for the family photo. If your daughter loves wearing Chuck Taylors, choose the Chuck Taylors to go with her dress for family photos. If your little one is wonderfully wild and crazy, let it show in the photos. Dash’s sweater in last year’s photo had a giant tiger on it, and I love it because it’s so him. In other words, don’t button up the things you love about your family for the photo…let it loose in the clothes you choose. You can coordinate and dress it up a little while still hanging on to everyone’s personality.

Keep it casual.
The best photos are ones that maintain a natural feel and ones where everyone looks comfortable. If everyone’s dressed like they’re going to a prom formal, likely no one’s comfortable, and it will show in posture and strained facial expressions.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are four color palettes with sources that show how outfits can come together with a coordinated feel without being too matchy. Note the unexpected elements in each ensemble–pops of color, leopard print touches, sequins and mixed shades. Now, can you guess which set is my favorite?

E A R T H   T O N E S

1. Dad
H & M Men’s Sweater
H & M Men’s Black Slim Jeans
H & M Men’s Desert Boots

2. Mom
H & M Women’s Ruffled Dress
Zara High Heel Leather Boots

3. Sister
Old Navy Oatmeal Ruffle Sleeve Sweater
Old Navy Girls’ Ballet Pink Jeggings
Zara Girls’ Ankle Boots

4. Sister
Zara Floral Print Dress
Wonder Nation Girls’ High Boots

H & M Boys’ Rust Slim-Fit Twill Pants

5. Brother
Mabo Kids Charcoal Stripe Tee
H & M Slim Fit Pants
Old Navy Sueded Boat Shoes

 

M O O D Y   B L U E S

1. Dad
H & M Men’s Light Blue Sweater
H & M Men’s Skinny Cords

2. Mom
Zara Women’s Cobalt Sweater 
Zara Animal Print Skirt
Noonday Collection Timber Hoop Earrings
And Other Stories Suede Kitten Heels (have the serious wants for these babies)

3. Sister
Gap Girls’ Ice Blue Bobble-Knit Sweater
Nordstrom Girls’ Wide Leg Jeans
Old Navy Faux Suede Flats

4. Brother
Boys’ Bear Graphic Sweater
H & M Boys’ Slim Jeans
Cat & Jack Sneakers

5. Sister
Janie & Jack Cobalt Knit Dress
H & M Navy Satin Ballet Flats

 

T H E   F U N   F A M I L Y

1. Dad
J. Crew Slub Knit Tee
Men’s Red Adidas

2. Mom
H & M Women’s Pink Sweater
Banana Republic Women’s Yellow Pants
J.Crew Silver Sequin Boots (on my birthday wish list)

3. Sister
Hanna Andersson Fair Isle Sweater (in my cart right now)
Cat & Jack Girls’ Skinny Jeans
Pink Converse

4. Brother
Boden Boys’ Stripe Tee
Cat & Jack Jeans
Boys’ Suede Pumas

5. Sister
Shein Green Dress
L’Amour Yellow Flats

C L A S S I C   C H R I S T M A S

1. Dad
Old Navy Jade Sweater

2. Mom
Boden Women’s Riley Blouse (obsessed with this blouse!)
Gap Women’s Red Plaid Pants
Zara Slingbacks

3. Sister
Zara Striped Sweater
Zara Girls’ Buttoned Pants
Zara Red Boots

4. Brother
Janie & Jack Fair Isle Sweater
Old Navy Jeans
Gap Mid-top Dress Sneakers

5. Sister
Next Direct Navy Dot Tea Dress
Gap Gold Sequin Flats

Haunted Mansion Halloween Mantel

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Elarlier this summer, we stayed at a beautiful old resort on the southeast end of Mackinac Island where, late one night, we ventured through narrow hallways and creaky staircases to discover a ballroom that looked straight out of the game of Clue, complete with an ornate fireplace and huddle of couches in front of it, definitely something where Harry, Ron and Hermione would have gathered to conspire in the Gryffindor wing. I tucked it away for Halloween inspiration later this year.

Knock-knock...it’s later this year. Which brings me to this very important seasonal dilemma: Come October, do you decorate for fall or do you decorate for Halloween? I have a system (oh God, here she goes with one of her “systems”): I decorate for Falloween. We throw a big kids’ Halloween party every year, so we’ve invested in some fun decorations that I like to get good use of, so I blend Halloween and fall decorations until after Halloween. I try to do this as tastefully as possible. Halloween can get a little tacky, but I love Halloween, my kids love Halloween, so we go all in. As I once said–perhaps one of my more eloquent quotes: We draw the line at blood and chainsaws. 

So, back to that little Gryffindor library inspiration. A few weeks ago, I ran into Goodwill and saw this huge framed piece of art in the corner–ugly and outdated, of course, but way cheap!

I knew if I could find the right art for it, it would be the perfect focal point on the mantle for my Halloween vision. I painted the green inner matting black and then watered down some black acrylic paint and brushed it over the frame to tone down the gold tones and make it look more aged. Then it was time to find the perfect photo to put inside. I wanted a vintage portrait and found several great ones on Art.com. I ended up choosing this amazing solemm portrait of Emily Post (it was only $15 when I bought it–price went up), but also loved these:

Bride of Frankenstein (huge poster is only $5)
Edgar Allen Poe
Abraham Lincoln

You can search “vintage portrait” on Art.com, Zazzle.com or any art site and find several to choose from.

This was the mantel before.

And this is the haunted mansion mantel after. Get me a mug of butter beer! I need to sit next to this fire and study for my Potions exam!

At the very least, I figure Ms. Post will guide us through the fall season, channeling all the good manners. See that face on her? That’s the face of disgust after Dash burps out loud in front of her. Dear Emily, we’re sorry. Please help us.

The portrait makes a statement on its own, so I didn’t want to add too much more, but what’s a haunted mansion library without candles? I love the look of taper candles, but the dripping wax? I’m OVER IT. I’ve Googled every brand of taper that doesn’t drip, and while Root brand was the closest to actual no-drip, it’s just too hard in Florida where our air conditioner runs all day, so there’s always uneven air current from overhead vents. So flameless taper candles it is (mine are Mikasa, and I love them).

The gauzy fabric was $1 from Dollar Tree, the crows are from Joann’s, and the garland is from Hobby Lobby.

Now if we can just get Miss Emily to move within her portrait before our Harry Potter family night next month. C’mon, Emily! You can do it. (Heidi, the other day: “So help me God, I catch that woman’s eyes moving, and I swear I’m never coming to your house again.”