October 2017

Halloween has always held a special place in my heart. I love how it lets adults act like little kids and how it lets kids’ imagination take flight. I love the cooling temperatures, sipping on big mugs of hot cocoa, walking on crunchy and colorful leaves, and indulging on all the apple and pumpkin treats. I love how it kick starts all my favorite holidays and traditions, and puts everyone in a festive mood. With that said, this Halloween has been my FAVORITE yet!!

There is something so magical about watching your baby grow up, and having her take part in family traditions. This was the first year that Dannica was old enough to understand and fully embrace the holiday spirit. It made everything so much more memorable because I know that each year will be different and special as she grows up and able to do more and understand more. But I think I will forever and always remember THIS year because to Dannica, it was really her first ever Halloween and all things pumpkins!

And speaking of pumpkins…she is OBSESSED with pumpkins! Carving pumpkins, pumpkin patches, pumpkin treats, pumpkin this, pumpkin that, pumpkin everything!! I love how when she sees pumpkins, she will literally run over, and give it a hug and a kiss as if it were a long lost friend.

This weekend we carved all the pumpkins that Dannica picked out from our visits to the pumpkin patch (bless her little heart, she even picked out a pumpkin for baby brother!!!<3) It was so adorable how she took her little jobs so seriously. She is only two, so my husband and I did all the carving. But Dannica loved lifting all the pumpkin lids (she would say, “Nana so stroooooooong”), scooping out all the seeds, turning on the LED candles, throwing them into the pumpkin and closing the lid. We gave her some acrylic paint to decorate her itty bitty pumpkin while we did the carving, and that was just perfect for her little hands and mind to be kept busy so that she didn’t feel left out from the carving. And the best part–watching her jump up and down and squeal with excitement when she saw all the pumpkins lined up in a row and lit up in the dark… My heart could burst from just watching her so happy.

This year, we decided to repeat our Jack-O-Lantern family of pumpkins. And it’s been so fun to look back at the very first time we did this when it was just me and Dave. And here we are now…*almost* a family of FIVE!!! It could be the pregnancy hormones, but I started tearing up watching our little family evolve and grow. And I think that’s the BEST part about the holidays–It forces you to pause and cherish the important things in life…

 

This room has by far been the MOST FUN and definitely my favorite room to conceptualize and plan. I’m a little sad because in a few short months, I plan on redecorating Dannica’s playroom into her “big girl” bedroom (since baby brother will be taking over her current nursery). I put so much love and attention into this room, and we made so many wonderful memories here, that it is a bit bittersweet to let it go. This post is in one part to “scrapbook” Dannica’s very first playroom, and in second part to *finally* field all the questions that so many of you have asked me in the past few months with regards to seeing photos of her playroom, tips on keeping it clean, and where I sourced all the furnishings and decorative accents.

Here are five things that I thought were helpful to keep in mind when conceptualizing a fun and functional playroom that you AND your kids will love!

1. As you would for a nursery, build off a theme when designing a playroom. Whether it be based off colors, textures, or something more activity based like camping. It will give the room a more cohesive and “cleaner” look.

2. Keep everything in the background BRIGHT! That means all textiles (rugs, throw pillows, etc), lighting, drapes, wall color, and large furniture. It will make the room appear larger, brighter, cleaner, and easier to redecorate when you want to switch things up. I also think that kids play better in a bright and airy room.

3. Don’t put everything out. Rotate toys and books. This is a win-win for all. Your kiddos will love the fresh rotation of toys once they’re brought out and the room will look tidier and will be easier to clean up!

4. Mix high and low priced pieces to achieve a beautiful playroom without breaking the bank. Purchase affordable items that will get a lot of wear and tear, and then thread in nicer accent pieces to bring your room to life. Dannica’s play table, kitchenette, seating and all textiles are from IKEA. All textiles are machine washable and were less than 15 dollars!

 

5. Last but not least, DIY and make it your own. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate week long project. It can be a simple and creative use of a can of spray paint or a roll of washi tape. Some simple things I did was to spray paint Dannica’s shopping cart rose gold (it was originally hot pink) and replace the seat’s fabric. I also used washi tape on her play table and chairs where I knew would get dirty easily. So now, not only does it look more unique, it is much easier to wipe off markers and food stains off the tape than it would have been with the original wood. I also used washi tape to create the silhouette of a home and chimney. I love how it turned out and it was a simple by product of me being too scared to put up wallpaper and too cheap to purchase wall decals (aren’t they just large stickers??). A bigger DIY project that I did and would highly recommend is her IKEA play kitchen. I posted a step by step account on that DIY here in a previous post.

 

 

A ton of you have asked for a walking tour of her playroom, so I have included here a little video of her playroom with all of our Halloween decorations!

Click here for video of Dannica’s playroom

And finally, over the past few months I have received so many questions with regards to her teepee, her dollhouse, my chalkboard, and the kitchenette. Here is a list of all the items in Dannica’s playroom, and where I sourced it from:

*Play table and chairs, lounger, small side table, all potted plants, kitchenette, and kitchen toys are from IKEA.

*Custom mounted chalkboard is from Mirrorlot. My husband bought this for me as an early birthday present, and to this day, it is my favorite present I’ve ever gotten!

*Teepee is from Shop Little Wanderer

*Mounted bookshelf is from Pottery Barn Kids

*Flower garland is from Fancy Free Finery

*Dollhouse is by Plantoys

*Shopping cart (that I DIYed) is from Amazon

*Chandelier is from RH Baby & Child

*Halloween decorations are all from Micheal’s (they are having a 60% off sale on all things Halloween!).

I think I have covered everything here in this post, but please feel to leave any questions or comments if I missed something… 🙂 As you can probably tell, I love to share and exchange information!