The Little Things | December 2021 (Week 3)

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“The Little Things” is my blog version of IG stories...these seemingly ordinary daily moments make up our beautiful life! *Click the images to enlarge & scroll*

“I hope you find, as I did, that happiness comes from noticing
and enjoying the little things in life.”
- Barbara Ann Kipfer

The Long-Awaited Cookies: It’s cookie time! We had to wait for our natural food dye to arrive…which delayed the process a bit! LOL! But we finally made them. Gluten-free…and they fell apart a little bit. So although the rooster might not have a leg, they still tasted yummy! What is your favorite treat to make for the holidays?!

Not a Housecat: We try to have the willpower to resist Prince’s sweet face at the door, but we are defenseless against him. So on most days, our “not a housecat” is a couch cat. But not to worry, he still pulls his weight in mouse catching.

Little Elves: It’s a game changer when your children are old enough to help you wrap gifts! While I used to stay up until all hours on Christmas Eve, now we all chip in and help. Also fun to actually have gifts UNDER the tree because there are no toddlers to destroy them. ;-)

Christmas Giving: Ama and Grandpa were here all week…and we did our Christmas with them. Lots of hugs and tears and fun.

Snowman Friend: We had a mini-blizzard this week with 2 inches of snow and 50-60 mph winds…and Emma was able to roll together a friendly snowman.

Garden Chill: Everything is done in the garden now…except for a few pieces of kale and collards that we snacked on while we were out for a walk. It’s so strange to not be tending the garden daily…but I’m deeply grateful for this season of rest.

Memorial: We have had a few chicken deaths in our flock lately (some were ill and some were naughty)…and this was a little memorial service we had for them, thanking God for allowing us to care for them. It’s always sad to say goodbye. Margarita, Soloman, Barbara, Floppy, and Moses…you were well-loved.

Letter writing: Lucy wrote letters to everyone for Christmas and they were the SWEETEST.

Reading by the fire: This is definitely the room of choice right now…and Ama found my favorite “Grandma Chair” to sit and read in. I found this chair at a thrift store…and I promptly sat down in it and wouldn’t move until I could find Matt to tote it away! It’s comfy and perfect.

Home Sweet Home: Everything feels SWEET right now…prepping for the holidays, enjoying each other’s company, sitting by the fire. Lots of snuggling happening.

Special Deliveries: We spent one day this week prepping gifts and getting ready to mail them out to friends and family. We did all the postage at home with Pirate Ship and our little post office in our little town had no line at all for drop off. Benefits of small town life!

Fort Building: The girls found a special little spot in the woods where they created a “winter home”. They gave me a tour and it was pretty magical. Complete with hardwood floors and a kitchen.

Milkweed Fluff: It’s been so neat to see the changes of the milkweed this season. We have copious amounts of it…and we get TONS of monarchs!

Silly faces: Family photo the night before Ama and Grandpa headed home…I’m so thankful for these moments. This is why we moved back to the Midwest from Texas…to be closer to family. It’s truly a gift.

Daddy & Daughter: Matt and Bella went on a daddy-daughter date to see the new Spiderman movie…as is their tradition when a new one comes out.

Hot Chocolate Face: We stopped by our favorite antique store and had hot chocolate and pastries! I found some red goblets for Christmas dinner and a metal basket for storage. We don’t have a Target nearby, so the antique store is where I shop! :)

How to Create a Boho Gallery Wall

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Gallery walls are my favorite. I LOVE collecting quirky, unique art from thrift stores and Etsy shops. I have art my kids have made, art my friends have painted, and art from my Nana’s hands. It makes me giddy to find an original painting at Goodwill…because someone took hours and hours to create magic on that canvas, and I get the opportunity to help it live on for longer! I have also found funky pieces at Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Target…whenever I see something and my heart skips a beat, I know it should be on the wall! Every item on our walls has a story…and memories attached. Putting up art makes me feel truly HOME.

Isn’t it a crazy change?! The coziness level increases ten fold! We finished this room just a few days ago…and now we can’t stop hanging out in there! The wall makes it even more fun. And because I know someone will ask…I got the rug from RugsUSA (Multi Chevron), and all of the furniture was bought on marketplace. We love buying things second-hand! This couch was such a fun story…Matt found it on marketplace and it turns out the owner was a blog reader here years ago! We got to meet when we picked it up…it’s just such a small world! Hey Mara! Check out your couch! It’s definitely well-loved here!

Gallery Wall Tips:

  • Just begin. Stop thinking about it and do it! Pick up your biggest piece and start there.

  • Get the right tools. We only use screws…never nail & hammer (although you could). Many times, we will just screw right through the frame to secure it. That was a trick we started using when we hung art in our RVs. Use double stick tape to secure unruly pieces that want to sway every time someone walks in the room.

  • Give yourself enough time so that you’re not rushing. It took us about 90 minutes to do the upstairs and 45 min to do the basement. But we are experienced professionals LOL…so plan for longer if you’re new to this! There is, however, a benefit to setting a timer/goal so that you don’t get hung up on every little detail.

  • Lay everything out on the floor. Have someone hold it up and look at it from far away (you’ll notice a lot of this in the video!). Don’t forget to mix and match horizontal with vertical. I know some people say to cut out the shapes of each frame from newsprint and hang them on the wall first. In all my years of making these, I’ve never done that. But if you tend to lean to the crazy perfectionist side, you might consider doing that.

  • Have a helper. But not 2 helpers. More people = more opinions. And more opinions will only slow you down!

  • Be methodical and keep moving forward. Matt and have I this down to a science. I place it and hold my finger on the wall where he needs to place the screw, and bam. Done. Repeat that 32 more times and we’re done.

  • Keep it tight. I like a pretty tight seams in between each piece. I’ve seen some that hardly have any space at all and it looks cool too! This is one of the biggest mistakes people make…not putting the art close enough and not using ENOUGH pieces of art.

  • Go high if you can! Our wall is a bit low in this room, but you can see in my Texas house that I was able to create more of a “shape” with the wall. I love tapering it off to the sides with smaller pieces and also having a peak.

  • Create layers and use unexpected pieces. I love to add shelves for more art or something fun like a jar of glitter! Here is a closer photo of the shelves I used in TX). Anything you can use that creates a 3-D effect (sticking out away from the wall) adds interest.

  • Repeat your color combos. It might look like I just threw anything I could find on the wall! But there is actually quite a bit of thought that goes into what I’m including and what gets left out. I lean toward green, blue, coral, and mustard…and that unifies all of the pieces. You want it to look “cohesively chaotic” to get that boho vibe. :)

  • Stay within the same “tones” with your art. You’ll notice that the living room has more muted tones and the basement is a bit more whimsical and light/bright.

  • Have fun and don’t get too serious about it all. You can always go back and change something out if you don’t like it!

And because we completed the living room, we thought we better do the basement as well! This is where we “live” right now while we are remodeling. The purple coverlet in the bottom left corner below is our bed, and then there are 2 additional bedrooms for Lucy and Emma (Bella has her room upstairs). I have wanted to put up our gallery wall down here for SO long…but it just kept getting pushed back because other projects were more important.

But look at it! Now I can’t believe we waited for so long…I get excited just to walk down the stairs now! These are IKEA Farlov couches with Soferia velvet slipcovers. The rug is the Berber Moroccan Diamond rug from RugsUSA.

Just remember friends…it’s not about perfection. Keep it quirky…it’s the best way!

The Power of Outdoor Play

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As soon as one sparkly flake makes it’s way into view…there are shouts of “SNOW!!” throughout the house. We have a deep love for the fluffy white blanket of fun…and that love has been intentionally nurtured over the years with our girls. When Bella was young we enrolled her in an outdoor survival program…and I basically dropped her off in the woods to spend the day in nature. She LOVED it. All of the girls grew up “on the road”…where the majority of our time was spent outdoors by way of necessity. The outdoors was our living room. Rain or shine…we have constantly told them: “No bad weather, just bad clothes”. Or…the more formal “full” quote:

Did you know that the average child gets only 4-7 minutes of free outdoor play each day? And yet, “children who play outside are less likely to get sick, to be stressed or become aggressive and are more adaptable to life’s unpredictable turns’. (Richard Louv). There is a disconnect here.

When I was young and without today’s devices, the only thing to do was to PLAY OUTSIDE. And play we did! We rode our bikes, we swam, climbed trees, explored, built forts…and we were exhausted every day in a wonderful way. Today’s distractions lead to an absurd amount of time spent behind screens instead of outdoors.

I LOVE the 1000 Hours movement…created specifically to outnumber the screen hours with outdoor play hours! They have trackers and ideas and a fantastic podcast as well. Be sure to check them out for inspiration!

I also created an Amazon list of books that explore this topic. I have always been so fascinated with how children develop and what impacts them the most in those younger years. I am always encouraging younger mothers to “just let them play!!”…instead of enrolling them in programs and schools and endless instruction of “how to be a child”. They learn the MOST from unstructured play time. They learn how to communicate, take risks, and negotiate. They develop resilience, strength, and fine motor development. I could go on and on…but you get the picture. It’s not just a nice thought…it’s a requirement!

This philosophy of “free range children” falls in seamlessly with our unschooling lifestyle. But truly, anyone can spend more time outside!

So how can we do that? Find something that everyone in the family can enjoy! When we lived in Puerto Rico…it was easy to get out to the beach every day and the whole family loved it. Here in South Dakota it’s a bit different and sometimes more challenging during part of the year…but it still feels like we are always outside. Whether we are taking care of the chickens, or tending the garden, or taking a sunset walk…it all counts!

In the winter, we love our snowshoes! And they are even more fun when there are 6 foot drifts! LOL! Sometimes it feels daunting to get on all the clothing and gear to get outside…especially when the temperatures are dropping into single digits now. But it’s WORTH IT! We always feel invigorated and in a far better mood…it’s nature’s magical medicine.

It all boils down to LEADING them to love being outdoors! Every day, someone in the family should be exclaiming…“Let’s go outside!!” and then DO IT. Even if you are just starting with 15 minutes…you must start.

But don’t forget…having the right gear is SO important. If you skimp on the quality…you will be miserable if it’s cold or wet. It’s worth investing in quality! We are huge fans of merino wool (breathable but warm & no itch) and down (so warm!)…and lots of layers! Start with a thin wool base layer, add a wool sweater, wool leggings, snow pants, and then pop on the down coat and you’re off! Oh! Don’t forget your wool socks!

Brands we love:

Make sure everything is dry and ready to go. Have bins of hats, scarves, and gloves for easy accessibility. Get yourself a boot/glove dryer…we love ours!

Even the cats came out to play…with their built in fur coats! They LOVE when we walk in the woods…they must know that it means something special, because they always come running!

Get outside today friends…you will be so glad you did.