Play Table & Benches Build + Build Plans
On the last blog post I talked about the play kitchen we got Jackie for Christmas last year. It’s so cute and functional for the space, but having tea parties on the floor wasn’t going to cut it. So, what goes perfectly with an adorable built in play kitchen? A custom play table dining set with enough seats for all of her “girls” (her dolls)! When I asked Jackie what she wanted, she requested a table with soft benches instead of chairs. So I gathered my supplies and got started.
Jackie’s Play Kitchen Space
For Christmas of last year (2021) we got our daughter an adorable play kitchen from Teamson. I got it for a great deal and it was shipped to us before Thanksgiving, so I had it in plenty of time for Christmas. When we decided that we were going to put it in her room I knew that I wanted it to be more built in. I did this for a few reasons. First, I didn't want it stick out from the wall. Second, I wanted to have confidence that it would be secure and finally I didn’t want the random stuff that kids inevitably have to get stuck behind it.
Favorite Small Businesses to Shop This Holiday Season
I love shopping small all year but when it gets close to the holidays, some of my favorite places to buy gifts is from small business. Mostly because no one else has heard of these places or is shopping at Amazon, Walmart or Target (nothing wrong with that!) so I’m not going to be duplicating gifts or items people already have. Today, I am sharing a few small businesses I love to buy from, all of which we own products from as well. Most of these businesses I have discount codes for so you can save a little money too! I have split them up into categories to make shopping easier for you.
Adding a Storage Closet Under Our Stairs
Our builder made a little indent underneath our stairs on our main floor. It was pretty useless, so when we first moved in I added shelves. In the process of adding shelves we figured out there was nothing underneath our stairs. I knew that I wanted to do something with the space because, with the little amount of storage we have in this house, every extra bit counts!
Why We Love Beddy’s
If you remember the most popular, and one of my favorite projects, is the house bed I built for my daughter. One of my most common questions I get asked it is: what sheets do you use? In the process of building the bed I did a ton research looking for the best bedding. I knew, because of how tight the space is, that traditional bedding would make it really hard to make the bed. That's when I found Beddy's.
Easy Christmas Nails with Dashing Diva Gel Nail Strips
I'm fully entrenched in Christmas decorating at my house, so what better time to make my nails reflect my holiday spirit too! The three holiday themed nail strips from Dashing Diva that I currently have on hand are: Candy Graham, Light Snow and Sugar Plum Dance. I feel like Candy Graham and Light Snow are a little too Christmas-y for this early in the season so I decided to go for the more subtle Sugar Plum Dance for this nail set.
Tile Mat Design Ideas for the Holidays
I have found that my followers seem to be really big fans of my tile mat content. Which I get, this mat is amazing! Since I’m now decorating for Christmas I decided to give you some ideas of designs for Christmas with your tile mat too.
Lily Ann Cabinets Entertainment Center
I'm changing up the entire first floor of our house because we’re prepping for baby to come in March. The first step in this process is the family room. I’ve talked before about the lack of storage in this house so I knew that I wanted to add as much as possible into our family room. I did a lot of research and finally decided on Lily Ann Cabinets. I worked with their designer and he provided me with a 3D design that I absolutely loved. I went with the Grey Shaker Elite cabinets and they are gorgeous! Once we finalized the design they shipped everything to me in less than a week. They do offer assembly, but this is me that we’re talking about, so I just assembled them myself.
Under Bar Shelves
We have a 9 ft. long bar in our kitchen. Our house doesn’t have a lot of storage, so the bar just became a place for clutter to live. Every time I looked at it I just got frustrated because I couldn’t stay on top of the clutter, so I decided to do something about it. I did a poll on Instagram asking my followers if I should add shelves or leave it as is. I was unanimously told that I should not touch the bar, BUT if you know me you know that if I have my mind set on something, I go for it. I decided that my family lives here so I'm going to do what's best for our family and our house to function. So I got to work!
Favorite Shops to Buy Sensory Kits
Sensory kits have so many benefits, even if your child doesn’t have sensory needs. They are great for speech and social development and are just fun in general!
We have been using sensory kits for several years now and love them. From water beads, sand, rice, to play dough, there are lots of different kinds of sensory kits out there that you can find to fit your child’s needs or interests.
How to Make a Quick Sensory Kit
I have talked for a long time about our love for sensory kits. If you don’t know, a sensory kit is a container normally filled with something like water beads, rice, or sand as well as small toys, pom-poms, etc. that provides kids with the opportunity to explore and learn through hands on play that engages their senses. These kits can be used in conjunction with different therapies (like the therapies Jackie participates in) because they encourage and support various types of development, but they are also great activities to have in your home to keep kids busy! I have a few places I like to buy themed sensory kits that we love, but also have found its pretty easy to throw together my own. I’m going to show you how with supplies you probably already have on hand!
Laundry Basket Tower Build & Build Plans
I get so many questions about the laundry basket tower from the laundry room build. It’s such a unique laundry set up and I’ve used it to make a laundry routine that works wonders for our family. With the questions about the full build, I always get asked how I actually implement this system. So, I figured I could first go over that and then explain how I built the physical tower.