5 Tips for Keeping Kids Organized This Summer

 For the Kids, Organization  No Responses »
May 312013
 

Thank you to Kidecals for providing us labels for keeping kids organized this summer.  All opinions are mine.

Summer break is something that nearly every child looks forward to.  There are dreams of lazy days, swimming, trips to the zoo, and just hanging out with their friends.  There isn’t much structure in the summer, and that’s half the joy.

With the loss of school-days structure, though, can come a desire to shed the structure of general home rules, too.

Here are five tips for keeping kids organized through the summer months and in all their summer activities (and beyond).

Kidecal Labels for Keeping Kids Organized

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Shopping Havertys for Picture Perfect Home Furnishings

 For the Home  No Responses »
May 302013
 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Havertys.  The opinions and text are all mine.

I love to browse furniture stores and daydream about what new looks I could create in each room of our house.  Lately, though, I’ve been browsing with a purpose.  Bubbles needs a dresser and we’re looking for some new living room furniture.  We haven’t decided exactly what we want yet, but I feel like it’s one of those things that when you see it, you’ll just know.

One place I’ve wandered lately is our local Havertys store.  They have such pretty pieces that it’s very easy to find more than a few things to love.  And I love that they have something for pretty much every room – it’s not just couches and chairs.

Living Room Sectional from Havertys #PicturePerfect

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Family-Friendly Decorating Ideas

 For the Home, Make This House a Home  9 Responses »
Mar 172013
 

Decorating Ideas for Families

More than putting those little clips on your cabinet doors, and making sure sharp objects are kept at a safe distance, there are other ways to make sure your home is family-friendly, as you can see from my tips and ideas below.

Family-friendly Decorating Ideas - via viewsfromtheville.com

  • Use an outdoor rug indoors.  Choose a rug that is durable and easy-to-clean.  Heavily-patterned rugs are also a good idea, so that stains and crumbs are less visible.  Rugs on hardwood floors are a good idea, so that there is something soft for children to sit on, near the sofa.
  • Choose durable materials for upholstery, solid furniture and wall finishes.
  • Have non-upholstered chairs in the dining room.  Spills and scratches are inevitable, a rustic wooden table will make it look intentional.
  • Make spaces easily transitional.  This is especially important in the bedroom.  While it may be fun to deck-out a child’s bedroom in pink or blue, having a too-young bedroom when your children start to get older may make them feel out of place.  Instead, try to use elements that can be easily updated or re-purposed for when your children get older or change their favourite colour.
  • Create a space where people of all ages can be comfortable.  In the picture below, you’ll notice a white pouf.  I recommend using things like poufs and ottomans, and rocking chairs for people to be able to be able to sit comfortably.  It can be difficult for small children to climb up on a higher sofa, so having a variety of pieces to sit on is key.  You’ll notice that the kid-friendly furniture doesn’t look like it is just for children. Continue reading »

Brighten Your Home Up for Spring with a Fun Green VTech Phone

 For the Home, Reviews  1 Response »
Mar 152013
 

Desk Accessories for Spring - Green Cordless Phone from Vtech

Green VTech Cordless Phone for Spring

One of the things I love most about spring is how fresh and bright everything looks.  It really gets me in the mood to spruce up our home and swap out winter textures and accessories for new spring ones.  This definitely goes for my home office, as well.  If I have to sit in there for hours each day I want it to be fun and uplifting.

Most of the time I end up buying new desk accessories like pen cups, staplers, binders, and the like.  Sometimes I’ll add new wall hangings or art, change out a lamp or lamp shade, maybe even add a new throw rug or hang new window treatments.  Not only does it keep it current for the season and changes in weather it helps keep work feeling fresh and not so ho-hum.

With all those changes it wasn’t until just recently that I thought about being able to accessorize with phones, however.  I mean, a phone is a phone, right?  You use it to place and receive (or screen) calls.  You just want it to have the functions you need like be cordless, have caller ID, and maybe (probably) an answering machine.  If you’re using it in your home office you might also want it to be able to handle conferencing people together on a single call.

But just because something needs to be functional it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.  I’m loving that VTech feels the same way and has colored cordless phones in their line up.  Their green phone is perfect for spring, whether it’s in a home office, the kitchen, the kids’ room, as a St. Patrick’s Day gift, or any reason, really.  It has a digital answering machine and you can retrieve your messages right from the handset (love that feature).  It also has DECT 6.0 digital technology, which is tech-speak for great sound and voice quality.  You can even add up to four additional handsets on the same phone jack which is great for being able to stash phones in any location you might want to receive a call.  Like out on the deck which is where I wish my home office was located.

What is your favorite office accessory for spring?

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in order to facilitate my review. No additional compensation was received and all opinions, as always, are 100% that of myself and my family.

DIY Crafts: Heart-Shaped Knotted Fleece Pillow (Perfect for Valentine’s Day)

 Crafts, DIY, Holidays, Valentine's Day  44 Responses »
Feb 122013
 

Easy Valentine’s Knotted Fleece Pillow

DIY Crafts for Valentine's - "Torn" Pillow

Even before having a family of my own Family Fun magazine has always been one of my favorites.  I subscribe to a number of magazines but Family Fun is one that I save each issue to refer to later.  It always has lots of fun activities, recipes, and crafts to do and make with the kiddos.  In their recent December/January edition they had some cute DIY gifts that kids could make and one suggestion was for baseball and football knotted fleece pillows.  As soon as I saw them I knew I’d love to do a heart-shaped one for Valentine’s Day.

One of the best parts of this craft project is how quick and easy it is to complete.  Bubbles generally naps for about 45 minutes and I had time to do a couple of chores before sitting down to make the pillow.  I think they’re really cute and will be a nice homemade addition to Bubbles’ Valentine’s gift. Continue reading »

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