Hello folks! Today I am letting you know exactly what I want for Christmas – or someone who likes to decorate in the farmhouse/ industrial/ cottage style. Here are my favorite things that would make a lovely gift for someone. So let’s get into my Holiday Gift Guide for the Decor Lover in your life!
- Tiered Stand – My first find is from Wayfair. I am seeing these 3 tiered wood trays all over the place! I’ve seen them in bathrooms to hold hand soap and I’ve seen them on kitchen islands and I desperately need one in my life. I would use it in the kitchen and put my holiday knick-knacks on it or maybe a cute Christmas mug. The possibilities are endless.
- Personalized Lanterns – Check out these beautiful personalized lanterns! I just love this idea. Especially for someone who just got married. Such a thoughtful and unique gift.
Glenfinnan Church, Glenfinnan, Scotland
Over the course of the last few years, I’ve been able to put together a list of some travel essentials that I can’t go without. These items have all played a role in my previous travels, both domestic and international. Any traveler you know will appreciate a gift from this list!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
- Backpack– (Eagle Creek 45L/S) – This is the bag that I recommend. It’s got enough room for more than a week’s worth of clothes, it’s durable and has a “No Matter What Lifetime Warranty”. Best yet, it only weighs 1.8Lbs when empty and folds up into itself for storage inside of another bag if needed. I’ve used this bag on every trip that I’ve gone on for the last 3 years.
- Anti-theft Purse– (Travelon Anti-Theft Signature Slim Day Bag) – I bought this one from ebags and it has been great! I like that it just looks like a small cross body bag. It’s lightweight and can easily fit in my luggage or duffel bag if I need to store it. Since it’s an anti-theft bag, it has reinforced straps, and is made from an RFID blocking material that is slash-proof. Small enough to stay out of the way, but large enough to fit my credit cards, cash, makeup, and even my iPad Mini.
My 12-month-old has been eating solid food since she was 5 months old. We did a combination of purees (mostly so she would eat veggies) and baby led weaning (everything else). This is something I am really passionate about and you can read more about why I chose baby led weaning here. Let’s get into it! This is what my 12 month old eats in a day.
We haven’t been to Chicago at Christmas time in couple of years, but we have our favorite places to visit when we go. I love Chicago at Christmas time. It is magical. All the stores are decorated, and they actually have winter weather. If you like the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, then this list is for you. We live in Oklahoma and we get ice storms sometimes and maybe a little snow, but it doesn’t stay very cold for very long. If you like the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, then this list is for you.
Here are our favorite things to do in the windy city when its chilly out! If you’re planning a trip during the holidays, then you need to check these places out.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. This is just what worked for my family. I am in no way telling you to try this with your own baby, and I am here if you have any questions regarding things I tried with my own baby.
I knew when I got pregnant that raising a baby would be the hardest thing I’d ever do. I worried about everything, especially what to feed her and how much to feed her. I also knew that I’d have to research and find something that would work for our busy family because both my husband and I work full time and do not have the time to be pureeing a ton of baby food.
One day I was looking at YouTube to get ideas on what to feed her when she first started eating solids and I found this awesome video. I knew that baby led weaning was the answer to my prayers. We tried it that night. It was pretty stressful because she gagged a ton and it was so scary at first that I was worried she wasn’t really eating much. But then she started taking more food down and found things she liked.
Her motor skills were pretty advanced because she was feeding herself with her hands. Isla was hitting every milestone a little bit early. She was able to express when she wanted something in particular to eat from the fridge (I would point to different items and she would lift her arms when she saw something she wanted to eat), and would get excited when she got to try something new and play with textures. She had mastered the pincer grasp by 7 months and was using a spoon correctly by 11 months. Don’t be weirded-out and think your baby can’t chew without teeth. I promise as long as it’s soft, your baby can probably chew it.
Warning: BLW is super messy and we try to only feed her foods with sauces at night before bath time.
When we lived in Fort Worth we had a MASSIVE pantry. I never had to even think about organizing a small pantry. Our old pantry was an entire separate room in our house. Mind you, our house was super tiny because we lived in the married housing section of the seminary campus. Our entire home was about 650 sq. Ft. and 625 of that was pantry. I kid. But seriously, I wish I could have kept that pantry and relocated it to Oklahoma.
Our current house is much bigger, but has absolutely no pantry. There is a cabinet, and we have to cram all our stuff in there, but then it’s hard to find things – especially on the top self because I’m not a giant and I don’t like using our bar stools to climb on because I’m pretty clumsy by nature and have been known to take a spill, just from walking, that required surgery. It’s a terrible situation, y’all. Go ahead and take a moment of silence for my old pantry that I miss so much.
I have tried over and over to organize this glorified cabinet and nothing has really stuck. I suspect Evan has something to do with this. Isla can’t reach the cabinet yet so it can’t be her. Now we could also use the cabinet down below for pantry storage but we use that for other storage and who wants to bend over all the time to find stuff and have your butt hit the kitchen island? Not me. #Tinykitchenprobs
We rarely go on dates that require leaving the house and getting a babysitter so we have to improvise a bit and get creative when we want to spend time together (watching The Office on Netflix). Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing an actual movie in a theater or going to a nice restaurant but we also like spending time with our daughter and I’m sure my mom could use a baby-sitting break because she has 8 grand-kids and 2 great-grandchildren.
Look at those cuties. So young. So energetic. No bags under their eyes. Haha.
I thought I’d share with you my 5 favorite date-at-home ideas for when you can’t find a baby sitter but you desperately need some time with your hubby. Our toddler goes to bed pretty early at 6:30pm. No we aren’t mean, she literally can’t keep her eyes open past 6:30 and if we try to keep her up past then, she turns into a fire breathing dragon and we must face her wrath. This leaves our evenings freed up which is wonderful for date nights at home.
I just love a good routine and even though my evening routine looks much different than it did before having a baby, it still leaves plenty of time to get everything done, spend time with the family and have some self care.
My evening routine begins the second I get off work, usually about 4:30. I pick up Isla from daycare at about 4:50 and then we head home.
I’m still carrying a diaper bag for outings that last more than a few hours. If it’s a short trip then I’ll just throw some diapers and wipes in my purse and go. My daughter is about to be 15 months old and still feel like I need a few items when we go out for the day. It puts me at ease knowing that I’m prepared for diaper blows outs with a change of clothes or medicine if she gets sick.
The Bag
The diaper bag that I use is the backpack from LAND. We had a similar one before this one and it was not made as well. This one was purchased from Amazon and you can find it here. It seems like it’s much better quality and the gray color stays clean. It has nice pockets inside that are water proof and big pouches for bottles/ snacks or whatever you want.
This is not your average travel post that tells you to buy an international outlet adapter. You likely already know that. This post is about the more uncommon travel tips that I’ve picked up over the years. This post will hopefully help you be a more prepared traveler for your first time or eighth time across the pond.
