Enjoying the Small Things

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The Never Used Household Items We Thought We Had to Have

January 11, 2019 By Kelle

In digging through my cluttered appliance cabinet the other morning to reach the crumb-covered blender to make Dash a smoothie, I gave a little “hey there” nod to the pile of other crumb-covered appliances I thought were absolute kitchen necessities back when I was establishing myself as a homemaker, in the great homemaker-establishing ritual of creating a wedding registry. At the time, I considered toast, crackers & cheese and Ramen noodles perfectly good meals, but put a wedding registration barcode scanning gun in my hand, and suddenly I’m Martha Stewart. I need a panini maker and a fruit spiralizer and a really good bread maker because I’m going to bake bread every day. In fact, I’m going to grind my own wheat. I’m going to make my own ravioli noodles and definitely serve soup in those little mini cocottes because I’m going to be married and then I’m going to be a mom, and married moms serve soup in cocottes (no they don’t). My entire wedding registration is a perfect representation of the domestic idealism that has tripped me up sometimes, but I’m not necessarily mad about it. Domestic dreaming triggers a euphoric little burst of dopamine for me, as perusing through a Williams Sonoma catalogue will demonstrate–even if I never actually get to making that cinnamon-dusted, 3-tiered cake in the shape of a sand castle. I find comfort in the idea of my domestic possibilities.

Perhaps there’s no greater representation of my homemaker dream ridiculousness though than The Embosser. I came across it in the glossy catalogue pages for a fancy stationery company shortly after our wedding, and when I saw it I knew–screw the bread machine, The Embosser was the thing that was going to take me to a new level of Homemaker. The Embosser was a heavy silver handheld press that was custom designed with your last name initial and whatever phrase you chose to set you apart as a family; and with a simple squeeze of its handles, you could turn paper, foil labels–anything into a personalized seal. I couldn’t order it fast enough, and in my true impulsive no-time-to-think-this-through urgency, I typed the first thing I could think of for the phrase that was going to encircle our initial and represent us a family. You ready for this? LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. What can I say, it was the year of the framed plaque, and my truths came from the aisles of Homegoods, But here’s the best part. I couldn’t even get the phrase right. I ordered it to say LAUGH, LOVE, LIVE.

So I patiently waited two weeks for The Embosser to arrive, ordering gold foil labels and making plans for all that I would emboss in the meantime. And that’s when the idea came…an epiphany I was sure was my greatest one yet.

I was going to emboss…our toilet paper. That’s right, toilet paper. I was going to learn how to fold the end of our toilet paper roll into one of those fancy little origami triangles like the Ritz Carlton, and then I was going to take it up a notch by embossing the triangle with the Hampton Homemaker seal.

Our parties would never be the same. Our guests were going to feel so pampered when they stepped into our bathroom, sat down on our toilet and reached to wipe only to pause with recognition at our hospitable detail and the oh so important reminder to LAUGH! LOVE! LIVE!

Do I really need to tell you about the result of this purchase? The sustainability of this great idea? The Embosser dream lasted all of one party when I realized that after someone used the restroom, I had to run in to refold and emboss the toilet paper again for the next guest. And that was the end of The Embosser.

I found it recently–tucked in a drawer with a stack of thank you notes I never sent and the attachment tool likely to some kitchen appliance I thought I needed but never use. There will always be a little Martha Stewart inside of me, and I’ll never stop tearing out pages of intricately braided pie crusts in her magazine for inspiration. But I know where I comfortably stand when it comes to making my house a home, and it doesn’t involve embossed toilet paper.

Do you know what my most used kitchen tools are? Two small things I never thought I’d need but use almost every day…this counter scraper and these herb scissors. There you go, wedding registry women. You’re welcome. And three things I never purchased but are still on my list…a huge dutch oven (are the LeCreuset really worth it?), a KitchenAid mixer and a cordless Dyson Animal because so many people have told me it’s life changing when it comes to keeping your car clean.

Have any household tools you thought you couldn’t live without that are now covered in dust? An unexpected household item that became your favorite thing? Do tell.

Filed Under: Home, Uncategorized 97 Comments

Nella’s Room Revamp (with a side of Christmas Decor)

November 12, 2018 By Kelle

The Trickle Effect has now moved into two bedrooms in our home, threatening a full takeover which we will not fight to withhold because you do not fight with Christmas cheer. Christmas cheer will win (as if I’d fight). This weekend’s trickle happened to line up with an entire room revamp which makes it even more fun. I know I am just the kind of person who would completely upturn a room and redo it simply for holiday decor–and I’m not saying that might not be the case someday–but that’s a Red Belt level Elf, and I am still at green. So this room revamp was already planned but coincidentally timed with The Trickle Effect; and that, my friends, is holiday serendipity.

And we now take this moment to pause and acknowledge Thanksgiving–the middle child I, of course, love and adore but sometimes forget to publicly share affection. I see you, Thanksgiving. I’m here for you. Just embrace the twinkle of your attention-stealing holiday sister and know we all love you too.

Where were we? For a while now, I’ve been wanting two twin beds in Nella’s room. We’ve done the big bunkbed thing for a few years, and it’s just so large–a bit of a wall-hogger that served us well for a few years, but it was time to move on. Thing is, I couldn’t justify buying new beds because we had a perfectly good one. So I stalked Craigslist for a set of simple twin beds–every. single. day. for two months which yielded nothing but Florida old people furniture (enough of the wicker, Doris) priced, like, six times for what you’d find it brand new–except you’d never find it brand new because Doris bought it twenty-six years ago. Then Heidi and I found ourselves in Fort Myers a couple weeks ago at this thrift shop megastore that I shall not name or else it will get discovered and people will steal all the cashmere sweaters and vintage books and furniture with good lines. Okay, fine, I’ll tell you–it was Family Thrift Store. As we were walking out with our little handful of treasures, Heidi looked in this hidden corner and said, “Hey, don’t you need two twin beds?” There, leaning against the wall, were two twin beds–disassembled with some boards–but definitely two matching headboards and footboards that just needed some love. And the price? All my little thrifters gonna love this…$1.99 for the set. You heard me, TWO DOLLARS FOR TWO BEDS. What?! 

I’m making a short story long now, so I’ll get on with it. Fast forward two weeks later. I gave the beds some love–painted them white, had Home Depot cut me some more support boards–and if you give a mouse a cookie, what will he ask for? A gallon of paint. Sherwin Williams Tradewind Blue, to be exact. And some new bedding and some Christmas decorations, and I’m so in love with how this sweet little room turned out.

That dresser in the middle? That was a $25 Craigslist find from a few years ago. Yeah, we splurged hard to furnish this room.

The snowy tree print I found going through some old photos. I took it on a walk in Vail last year, so I turned it black and white, dialed up the opacity to wash it out a bit and printed it 20 x 30. .

Nella enjoyed a sleepover at my dad’s while I put the room together, so it was so much fun revealing it to her yesterday. She keeps saying, “I love my room so much, Mom.”

The big question…where are her Barbies? All the toys are stored in baskets that slide underneath the bed…

…and the bigger dolls and plushies fit in one big basket.

Bedding details:
Gingham Duvet Covers – I’m so happy with these. Amazing price, 100% soft washed cotton, zipper closure and ties that hold the comforter in place.
Down Comforters – perfect weight for Florida.
Organic Dutch Floral Sheets – I’ve had my eye on these sheets for a girls’ room for quite some time. I’ve been buying Land of Nod (sadly now Crate & Kids) sheets since crib day. The quality is perfection, not the mention the sweetest collection of patterns.

And the wall book ledges (set of 2) are perfect for the end of the bed.

Christmas Decor Details:
Wreaths above beds
Trees on dresser (large & small)
Deer – Homegoods


Santa plush on the beds.

And the North Pole that threw up on this dresser is all Hobby Lobby.

I wanted to make sure we kept the mirror in this room because both girls love getting dressed and having a full-length mirror to admire their outfits and play with their hair.

Reachable accessories, important for a girl.

The real question here though is…will she stay in her bed all night now? We are pulling for a Christmas miracle.

This morning’s 3:30 shuffle says no, but we will keep trying.

I think my favorite thing about this room is that the precious little beds were only $2. Trash turned treasures.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Filed Under: Home, Uncategorized 34 Comments

Creating a Study Space for Your Kids: Our Homework Cart and How We Stock It

August 21, 2018 By Kelle

One of my favorite parenting pastimes is saving catalogues dedicated to kid rooms and, come some quiet Saturday morning alone with my coffee, finally sitting down to get super envious of be inspired by all the rooms on the pages. My question always is, who are these kids? Did, like, the parents knock down all the walls in the house and give up the use of every other room to accumulate square footage for one grand palace for their kid? Is the rest of the family sardine’d into what I assume is the only 2-foot space left? How can you fit a tree house in a kid’s room and still have room for a performance stage, a vanity “nook” and a “study area” three times the size of my own office? It’s the study spaces that always get me though–gorgeous built-ins, neat desks, staged computers that never have cords showing (Dear God, why aren’t there cords in these photos? Where is the ugly Allstate mouse pad they got for free from their insurance agent? And why isn’t some kid hunched over the screen, eating dry Fruit Loops, watching weird slime D.I.Y.s from a questionable grown woman with the world’s most annoying voice?) And the shelves. The shelves! Rows and rows of shelves with colorful matching baskets labeled with things like “Henry’s Flash Cards” and “Clara’s Stationery”, except Lord knows not “Miscellaneous” because the mother of these children certainly puts everything in its place, throws needless things away and would never have broken calculators, Command hooks that lost their sticky backs, and–oh, I don’t know–random light switch plates thrown in with her kids’ school supplies. And there are posters of periodic tables and color charts, peg boards and cork boards and chalk boards that say, in the world’s most perfect handwriting, “Henry, Practice Oboe!” and “Clara, Horseback Riding, Tuesday, 5:00.” Certainly these children are thriving and happy and bound for greatness.

I’m here to tell you that you too can have thriving kids with whatever ramshackle corner in your house you call a study space. I did it! I turned a sliver of available wall space into our homework headquarters, and WE LOVE IT. We’ve done the whole designated study space thing in our house, and Lainey still has a desk in her room, but do you know where my kids always end up choosing to do their homework or write a story? Our kitchen counter. As long as it’s not necessary for them to be in a quiet zero-distractions space, they seem to work best when they are out in the open and near us where they can ask for help or read us something they’ve written or yell for Alexa to give them an answer.

Ladies and gentlemen, our fits-all-our-needs, does-everything-Clara’s-palace-does-without-hogging-all-the-square-footage-in-our-home Study CART. That’s right, a cart.

There are a few things I love about our cart system, and I use the word “system” lightly because terms like “system” and “chart” when referring to parenting give me hives and are usually code for “something I will implement for two weeks and then disappointingly fizzle out on” (I’m looking at you, chore chart). We started using our cart system (you have no idea how responsible I feel throwing that term out) to organize our school schedules and learning materials toward the end of the year last year, and it’s been the easiest thing to maintain. Plus, we use it frequently which brings me to my favorite thing about it–it’s centrally located where everyone can see it and have access to it. That means we are more likely to pull out writing practice, learning games, flash cards. etc. and are reminded to encourage our kids’ learning goals. Technically, I’m one of those moms who likes a living room to look like a living room, not a day care; but the cart doesn’t scream “kids!” And besides, that smiley face Dash wrote on the wall at our entrance? The jig is up; we have kids.

Other arguments for a study cart:

*It’s easily moveable if a child wants to roll it to a more quiet space.
*It doesn’t take up a lot of room
*It’s low enough where even kindergarteners can get their own paper and sharpen their own pencils.

So, what’s in our study cart?

First of all, we use this 3-tier cart from Target. I’m obsessed with it. I have one in my office, Dash has one in his room for little toys, and I’m damn near tempted to just line up all the walls in our house with them for all of my MISCELLEANEOUS things. You heard me, Henry and Clara’s mom. Light switch plates and Command hooks.

Above our cart is a large paper roll (we use this one) that’s been great for displaying lists and fun quotes, but at least for the start of the year, we are using it to keep track of school information we refer to often–things like the little ones’ related arts schedules, lunch times (if we want to surprise them at school), student numbers, etc.

On top of the paper roll, we hung a large calendar (I bought this large kraft wall calendar – a nice subtle design that blends in with the paper roll and one where you can choose your start month and either a Sunday or Monday week start) to keep track of the kids’ events and family appointments. I spent a good twenty minutes the other day transferring all important dates from the school district calendar to this one so we can have everything in one place.

In the cart:
notebook paper
electric pencil sharpener (gets used sooooo much!)
cup of pens and pencils
crayon box filled with crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue stick, kid scissors
blank books (like these) for writing stories. We pick up packs of them from the Target Dollar Spot a lot. I love having blank books for creative writing in our home, and they are cheap enough that the kids can write a book a day if they like.
leveled readers I love this set we have for Nella and Dash with recognizable sight words and small sentences.
…and lots of learning manipulatives and educational games. Our favorites in the cart include…

Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks (you can flip any one of the three letters to see how letter components change the word)

Sight Word Flash Card Ring Deck

Counting and Arithmetic Manipulative

Hape Magnetic Letters Set

Dry Erase Letter Board

We have a lot of early literacy materials in our cart because it’s important for all kids but especially for Nella. Because her learning goals take a little longer, they require patience, hard work, consistent practice and a FUN approach; and our little study cart is stocked to help us stick to those goals.

Now, what to keep and what to throw out from all the things they’ll be bringing home from school this year? That’s a whole different post! Happy Studies!

Filed Under: Family, Home 17 Comments

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