By Natalie
Is it too late to share a Christmas photo? We’ve had a slow start to our new year which has been a lovely way to start fresh. Last year we experienced our own set of hardship and grief for experiences lost. But by this point we’ve created a new normal, incorporating some new routines that have helped keep us going. This post I suppose is somewhat of a debrief. (more…)
By Natalie
You know I couldn’t let this season go by without some Christmas favorites! This year I’ve been into a variety of different Christmas music and I’ve incorporated more natural elements to our decor. I’m so happy with how it’s all turned out and am excited to share these favorites with you!
Aren’t Bingley and Zelda the sweetest in this photo with their stockings ♥ (more…)
By Natalie
Thank you to everyone who reached out to express their love for our advent calendar. I’m blown away by all of the sweet words, my mama heart is full. I’m constantly reminded that this is a time to create memories with Felicity, a merry time indeed. Today I’m grateful for so many things including Brandon for putting Lici to bed so many nights, which allowed me time to prep all of this. Grateful to my mom for instilling a love for crafting in me. Even when she signed me up for a quilting class when I was 13. I at the time was so embarrassed, but I learned a thing or two about a sewing machine. I might be doing that same thing to Lici! I’m grateful to all of the crafters in my family who had the patience to teach me all I know about glitter, glue, yarn, thread, paper, needles, fabric, you name it! (more…)
By Natalie
Happy December 1st! I hope you have your Rudolph jammies on for this.
I decided that this year called for more Christmas cheer than usual. Our Lici has been so excited about baby Jesus in the manger and of course all of the animals that were in Bethlehem that night. She’s starry eyed over the Christmas trees, lights, reindeer, nutcrackers, snowmen, anything and everything Christmas. Last year we did the Trader Joes’s chocolate advent calendar with her which she loved! This year we got her the same since the girl LOVES chocolate and we also went ahead and grabbed Bingley the dog treat advent since we knew Lici would love giving Bingley a treat every time she got one. (more…)
By Natalie
This Christmas season we’re teaching Felicity what generosity is all about. Though receiving Christmas presents is exciting we want her to know what it feels like to give as well. We want her to understand that we have been provided for and in turn we are a family who helps those in need. I’ve been researching charities and looking for more specific places to donate our gently used items to rather than taking them all to Goodwill and I wanted to share my findings with my fellow Charlotte readers. (more…)
By Natalie
This is a little late to the season but here you have it. Felicity and I put together this fall sensory bin at the beginning of October. Full of both Halloween and fall items. I love a good sensory bin for my busy girl. She’s tactile and a problem solver so she loves having a new set of goodies to discover. It’s versatile fun! This kept her busy when she lost interest in making dog treats with me toward the end of baking. (more…)
By Natalie
On our way home from our first camping trip with Felicity Brandon said, “Well it was worth a try. If we’d never tried it we would have never known.”
Alot of friends said that we were brave for taking a toddler camping. I’m not sure it was brave per say. Maybe spontaneous is a better word. Going into it I thought that the worst case would be we didn’t sleep well and it’d be a disaster. It wasn’t a disaster, but we also didn’t sleep well which will always put a damper on things. With a brand new family tent and new camping chairs including a chair sized for Lici we had big hopes that our little outdoorsy girl would have the time of her life and we’d be camping all the time. I’ve come to realize that the more activities we’ve done this year the higher my expectations have become. After half a year of blah cabin fever I’ve expected so much joy and refreshment from these new adventures and that’s maybe too much to ask of a camping trip and a pumpkin patch hayride. (more…)
By Natalie
Get ready to cozy up, it’s time for some new fall favorites! Typically I suggest something to eat, something to smell, something to listen to plus something pretty or useful to you or around the home. That covers the majority of the senses perfect for getting into the season. Enjoy and please share your fall favorites with me! (more…)
By Natalie
Let me start off by saying that I cannot take full credit for these ideas! I was inspired by lots of Pinterest photos, which I’ve linked off to at the end of this post. I’ve never decorated for Halloween in the past, nothing more than a Jack o lantern. But this year I wanted to decorate Lici’s play corner in our family room. I went for classy spooky modern Halloween decor, sticking to a black, white and orange color scheme. Nothing scary, just animals and bugs, which she loves! Really this area is just a testament to how well I can copy Pinterest ideas. (more…)
By Natalie
Felicity and I made these super easy dog treats for Bingley and all of our doggie friends. She loves getting on her learning tower to help make smoothies or help pour ingredients for pancakes. My amazing baker friend Pam taught me to let Felicity crack an egg in a separate bowl and pick the shell out. She often hits it on the counter for a little crack and then squeezes it over the bowl until it bursts which is actually pretty fun to watch. Since then I’ve incorporated some mommy daughter baking mornings to our schedule. (more…)