Spring Fever, Mini Style

 A few weeks ago the kids and I were out shopping for new pants. Yes, my not even three year old children are already moving up to 4T pants. They've been in 4T shirts for months, so I'm sure 5T shirts aren't too far off. Of course while we were looking at pants we started looking at the new spring arrivals. Brooke made it known that she wants every dress at Target and Old Navy. While she won't be getting every dress, we have started picking up a few new pieces here and there. I think we'll be able to use a lot of Brooke's dresses from last year and most of Harrison's shorts again this year, so I have only been picking up pieces we really love.

Girls

Polka Dot Romper, Heart Sunnies, Striped Sunnies, Crepe Rosette Dress, 

Yellow Trench Coat, Polka Dot Dress, Floral Flutter Sleeve Dress

Boys

Blue Purple Plaid Shirt, Blue Tee, Denim Jacket,

Grey Fedora, Striped Shorts, Green Shorts

Harrison probably won't be wearing shorts anytime soon, but Brooke is already insisting on wearing her new summer dresses. I am a big fan of dressing dresses down with leggings for everyday wear. And Brooke is a big fan of anything with a skirt, so we both win. Now that they are fully into size 4, we have begun shopping in the big kids section too. We ordered this dress in XS last week, and I really wish they made it in my size because it is so perfectly summer.

Before too long it will be time to start stocking up on swim suits and flip flops. I personally can't wait!

Valentine's Day Style

Robbie and I have never been big into celebrating Valentine's Day. In our younger days we were stuck at work making bank while giving other people their perfect dinner and evening out. Even after we moved past food service, we've never made it a point to celebrate. But now that we have munchkins, we'll be up to our oears in red, pink, hearts, and all things love for the first two weeks of February. Bring on the valentines making and cookie baking! 

I have been stalking a lot of my favorite small shops just waiting for their Valentine's Day goodies to drop. I also discovered a few new shops while scouring Instagram. Mostly things for the littles, but also a few things for mom, and even dad.

Heart Knee Highs, Heart Breaker Tee, Love Tee, 

Melt With You Pullover, Love One Another Raglan, Heart Sleeve Raglan, 

Prince Charming Necklace, Polka Dot Bow, Ombre Heart Halo

Of course when I saw shirts with 80s lyrics, I jumped all over them. Modern English for me, and Pat Benetar for the kids. Those shirts definitely speak my language. Brookie and I will be sporting matching heart halos along with our matching Love One Another tees. I considered getting ones for Robbie and Harrison too, but I decided I wouldn't subject them to that.  This skirt and these heart jeggings will pair perfectly with any of these shirts for B. I kind of wish I had more fun pant options for Harrison, but I know he'll look adorable in his gray skinnys.

I had pinned these adorable Love Bugs shirts before H and B were born. I kept forgetting to order them in time, but this year I made sure I didn't drop the ball. They wore them for the first time today, and they are so cute! I love them even more in person! We are looking forawd to some very fun mail days as our V-Day items arrive. And I love that most of them can be worn well past Valentine's Day. Do you have any go to small shops you love for fun graphic tees or seasonal clothes?

Headband Display

Almost two years ago I made a headband and clip display. (You can find the tutorial here.) It has worked very well for us over the last two years. It is still perfect for clip storage, but as Brooke's headband collection grows, it's functionality for headband organization has decreased. Instead of organized headbands, we have a jumbled mess of elastics to sort through just to find what we want. 

I decided it was time to add a little more storage for Brooke's ever growing collection. I wanted to keep the current display and add a few a lot more hooks. Since I'm sure there will be more headbands purchased in the future, I also wanted a display system we can add to easily as time goes on. I saw quite a few Ikea hacks as I was scouring Pinterest, and I decided cheap and functional was the way to go. I loved the look of some of the wire curtain hangers, but ultimately decided to go with the Bygel bar and hook. I bought 3 21.75" bars and 60 hooks.

Tools needed

21 3/4 " Bygel bar x3

10 pack Bygel hooks x6

12 drywall screws (anchors optional)

Laser level

Power drill

Pen

This was a super easy project thanks to the use of my two favorite power tools, the power drill and laser level. I have a Ryobi laser level (similar) and it makes hanging anything super easy. I was able to do this in 30 minutes with the kids' "help." I decided to stagger the placement of the bars so I could fit more headbands into a smaller space. I measure the space I wanted to use and the divided by 2. Bar 1 at the top, bar 3 at the bottom, and bar 2 in the middle. 

I marked the measurements with a pen and then broke out the laser level. I aligned the laser with the top mark, making sure the laser line was level, and then put the bar in place. I aligned the top two holes with the laser line, and then marked all 4 holes with a pen. I repeated this process for all 3 bars.

One the holes were marked, I broke out the drill. I decided to anchor the screws so the bars would hold up to a little bit of tugging. I drilled all the holes, places the anchors, and then screwed all the bars in place.

Brooke and Harrison were so excited to help but all the headbands on the bars. I know that there is no point in trying to keep the headbands organized by color or style, so I let H and B go at it. I filled all of the hooks on our top display with skinny elastics. I found that using two hooks on a bar was a good way to hold onto hard headbands. Brooke is starting to enjoy wearing "crowns" as she calls them, so i wanted to makes sure those were on display as well.

We've had the new bars up for almost a week now, and they are a huge hit. Brooke loves being able to pick out her own headbands. Having them low enough that the kids can reach them worked out really well for playing dress up too. I don't love not having a say in what headband she wears each day, but whatever. If she wants to wear the neon coral headband with a hot pink shirt and a red tutu, more power to her!

I do love that these hooks are big enough that we can use them to hang sunglasses, jewelry, or even purses. We ordered 60 hooks to start with. We have 50 or so of them already in use, and there is still plenty of room to add more hooks as the headband collection continues to grow, or if we decided to use the hooks for other items as well.

Our total cost for parts was $14.91 plus tax and shipping. If you live close to an Ikea though, forget the shipping cost. So for under $25 we have a new, organized, easy to reach hair accessory display for Brooke, and Harrison too. After this turned out so well, I feel like I should get on more little projects around the house. Or maybe just catch up on the DVR.  Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

All About Gray

I love gray. My favorite shirts are all gray. I love Brooke and Harrison's gray jeans. The only grays I don't love are the ones that keeping popping up on my head.

When it comes to dressing the kids, gray is a perfect option for coordinating their looks. It doesn't matter if they're wearing different shades of gray, because ash gray matches heather gray just as well as it matches slate or silver. The same can't be said for yellow or coral. With fall just around the corner, I've been doing a little shopping and a lot of online browsing.

 Boys Hoodie, Bulldog Hat, Knit Sweater, Lined Poplin Pants, Boys Shoes, 

Eyelet Dress, Ballet Flats, Moto Jacket, Leggings, Girls Hoodie

Some of these items we already own. Some we're waiting for a good sale before we snatch them up. Others we may never own. The H&M knit sweater isn't carried in our store, and it is out of stock online in Harrison's size. I love pairing grays with bright leggings and accessories for Brooke or with jeans and a character tee for Harrison.

As much as I am loving the last few days of summer, I'm looking forward to fall so we can break out our fall clothes, and maybe fall candles and PSLs too. I refuse to drink one until the weather cools down. We are excited to be celebrating the last unofficial weekend of summer. We have a party to go to with some of our favorite people Sunday, and maybe a last trip to the lake, weather permitting. I hope all of you have great weekend plans to celebrate summer coming to a close. TGIF!!

Dressing the BeeGees

Dressing boy/girl twins, or the beegees as we call them, can sometimes be quite the task.  Not only do I have to contemplate what they'll wear on a day to day basis, but I have to put together outfits months in advance when I'm shopping the online sales at Baby Gap.  Maybe I over think it a little bit, but I like them to be coordinated.  

When they were little it was easy.  He wears the blue onesie and she wears the pink one.  She wears the elephant and he wears the alligator.  When it comes to baby clothes, we found no shortage of coordinating onesies.  Pink stripes, blue stripes.  Purple polka dots, green stars.  Thank you to clothing manufactures for making it something I didn't have to think about when they were little. 

Now that they are getting a little older and we are shopping both the baby and toddler sections, it has become more time consuming to plan their outfits.  It isn't difficult, but it's no longer as easy as, pink for her and blue for him. 

Brooke wears dresses, a lot. She likes to fluff the skirts and twirl around.  She is a girly girl already. Harrison likes to play with his clothes and get dressed, but he could care less if he's wearing plaid shorts, jeans or sweats. Mommy cares though.  I don't want Harrison to look like he just came from the gym while his sister is wearing a dress and a flower in her hair.  Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with basketball shorts and a t-shirt, unless your twin sister wears a dress 75% of the time. 

There are a few outfits the kids have that are very matchy matchy, but for the most part we coordinate colors, prints or styles.  Harrison might wear a bright color block romper while Brooke wears a bright colored dress. They both wear green striped rompers. They both wear neon or pastels.  A onesie with whales for him and ladybugs for her.

A few of their recent outfits.

Even though I'm not ready for fall to be here yet, I am excited to start some shopping for the littles. Here are a few fun ideas for coordinating outfits for beegees or even for boy/girl siblings.  

Striped Elbow Patch Sweater - Rugby Striped Sweater

Polka Dot Dress - Jersey Leggings - Shawl Collar Terry Cardigan - Regular Fit Dark Wash Jeans

Striped Tunic - Mustache Onesie

As a side note when it comes to dressing toddlers, why are there not more funny girl onesies? Everything is princess this or angel that.  Boys get mustaches, which I love, and cute jokes/slogans.  Boys do get the short end of the stick when it comes to rompers though.  I wish more manufacturers made boy rompers up to size 24 months.  Why stop at 9 months? Circo, I'm looking at you.

I know there will come a day, probably a day very soon, where they both want to dress themselves.  Until then I fully plan to coordinate their attire on a daily basis.  And if I can coordinate mine too, even better.

Gap and Old Navy, my two favorite places to shop for the kids, have been running online sales every day for the past week.  I think Old Navy has 25% off today and Gap is up to 40% off.  Not only is it a great time to buy clothes for fall, it's also a great time to get hella good deals on clothes for next year.  There's lots of stuff on sale, plus the percentage of your entire purchase.

Happy shopping!