Photo Props

Last night we went to a Christmas party and in addition to bringing a string bean side, I thought I'd toss in a photo booth with some props as well!

I saw a photo on Pinterest of some Christmas themed cut-outs awhile back and today I decided to make some of my own (instead of cleaning. It was a good decision.)

 

I used:

Cardstock

Wooden Kabob sticks

Duck tape

(all of which I had lying around, so this was a free DIY!)

It was super fun to make these and it seemed like everyone really enjoyed using them!

Here are some of the results:

The general consensus is that I should save these and each year make some new props.

So far we've decided to add:

Mrs. Claus' bonnet-esque hat & spectacles

More elves

The Grinch

& Some Who's

Anyone else have any suggestions??

Go be silly today!

-N

Closet Make-Over

I have a TON of clothes, I hardly ever go shopping (maybe twice a year), & I'm awful at putting outfits together.

Great combo, right?

I'm finally starting to realize that just because my clothes still fit (many of which are 5+ years old) doesn't mean they're still wearable.

Plus, with all of the clothes that I do have, I don't have many basics at all. 

I found this great list on Real Simple today, and I could barely check off 5.

So, I got right down to business and purged whatever I could. 

Most I will drop off tomorrow at Goodwill, but I was also able to find a few gems to sell on Threadflip (a great site to buy & sell slightly loved clothes & accessories)

I also totally reorganized the way I hang my closes. This will help give me a new love and appreciation for the clothes that I do have and hopefully inspire me to wear them more often.

 

 Plus. they're grouped by style (as you can see with the different colored hangers) which makes finding things a whole lot easier in the morning! (Or evening, depending on how much effort I need to put into my outfit that day haha)

If you're bored and uninspired with your wardrobe, try sifting through, reorganizing, and rediscovering pieces you once loved.

Thanks for letting me share some OCD love with y'all!

-N

Life as a nanny...

I'm currently working as a nanny for two boys (aged 1.5 & 4). They have so much energy that often times I need to make sure I have activities planned for them to keep them engaged and to keep me from running around (and playing make believe) for hours on end. (I mean it's great for an hour or so but you can only be a pirate for so long, ya know?)

Anyways, I recently set up somewhat of an obstacle course for the oldest and it was such a success (for him, and me!) that I had to share. 

 

The first obstacle was something I think I stole from Pinterest (does anybody else confuse things they thought of with Pinterest ideas? Addicted much?)

Well it's a simple "laser beam" obstacle of course! (but really it's just ribbon and tape.)

It was so fun to watch him slither under & hop over the "lasers". I even made him restart if he touched one.

 No short-cuts here!

ツ

#2 Bowling made from blocks, a ball, & a wooden spoon to mark where to stand (...naturally...)

#3 Hopscotch - Pillow Edition

#4 Counting Army Men (the teacher in me is starting to show)

I drew a few squares & wrote numbers above them so he could place the correct amount of Army Men in them. I even had him add(/count) them all together at the end as a "special challenge".

#5 Practicing writing on a magnetic board (do they have a special name? I can't remember.) Anyway, I had him write his name, his brothers name, and Mom & Dad. 

 

Isn't his writing nice for a (young) 4yr old?

This ended up keeping him busy for at least a half hour (he wanted to do it a couple of times) and it was literally free to create (make use of what you've got!) and super simple to set-up.

I highly recommend creating structured activities - especially for stay at home moms - (which is what I feel like sometimes, ha!) It helps the kids stay actively engaged and keeps you from running around like a mad-women (or a pirate...)

Have fun playing!

-N