Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Planting a Beautiful Mess
Over the weekend Kensi asked if we could plant flower seeds for the backyard. We don’t have a great place to plant her flower seeds at the moment, but it was a great opportunity to teach them about planting seeds and watching them grow. We were already at the home improvement store picking up our supplies to begin tiling the laundry room, so while Finn swiftly napped in the stroller while Livie constantly kicked the back of his seat to wake up, Kensi and I made our way over to the garden section and began scanning the seed packets. One of the very fortunate things about living in coastal North Carolina is spring comes early and it’s our sweetest season. While everyone we know in the midwest and up the east coast are still battling cold temperatures and snowstorms, we’re enjoying the warm sunny days, thunderstorms and our garden section filling up with plants. Kensi and I grazed through all the seed packets and decided to stick with herbs and flowers. We use so many herbs throughout the year, it’s always a go-to when it comes to planting. Kensi was overwhelmed with the flower seed selection. She loves all the colors, shapes and sizes. Explaining each characteristic of the flowers had her intently listening and she chose to plant the beautiful morning glory, our great-grandmother’s favorite: daisy, and the california poppy. We also picked up a few potting essentials so we were ready to plant our seeds later in the week.
I was really hoping to have the kids plant outside for sake of the mess it would accrue, but our temperatures were a little bit cooler today, so I braved it out and set up a gardening station in our dining room. It was a mess, and that’s an understatement, but the kids were so involved in the process and asked questions about the seeds, what helps them grow, why do they need sunshine, what food do they eat? We also read about plants in our animal encyclopedia and watched an episode of Planet Earth about pollination. The kids loved it! And I loved it. It was a productive day of learning and I felt like a super mom!
Friday, February 23, 2018
Friday Favorites
Happy Friday! It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these posts, but the weather is warming up, we’re spending more time outside and finally feeling like we’re getting into the groove of this year! I’m really excited to share a few of our favorite things lately. We’ve been working on house projects (mainly upstairs) so I have a few little tips for making projects easier for you!
Since the weather has been so beautiful, the kids have been spending a lot of time outside. It’s been a great way to burn off all that winter-stuck-inside energy. Last fall we purchased this small bounce house for the kids and it’s been their favorite outdoor activity. It’s super easy to setup and take down and it stores well. There are so many to choose from, but we based our purchase off reviews and we absolutely love it!
This week the kids and I have been hitting up a few different parks in the afternoons. It’s always great to get out of the house, but with that comes packing snacks, water bottles, diapers, and more snacks. I came across Blender Bottle GoStax snack containers on Amazon and they’re seriously the most convenient container we currently own. It’s perfect for packing along a few different options for the littles and since all the containers fit onto each other, we can easily mix and match colors and sizes to fit our needs.
Those projects upstairs have had us painting a lot. We just finished Olivia’s room (post coming soon) and we’re also working on our laundry room. We have several painting projects going on and every time I open the can, it never fails I always drip paint somewhere. Whether it’s on the floor, down the can or on myself. To avoid all the paint drips and accidental spills we use Shur-Line Pour + Store Can Lids. We’ve been using them for a couple years now and they are hands down my favorite paint accessory. It’s a must have if you ever paint yourself. We buy several of them since we tend to have a few different projects going on, but they’re completely reusable.
Along with painting all those walls, comes the horrible paint fumes. Even when buying low VOC paints, theres always still a smell. Some paint companies are now making scent beads to add to the paint, but I honestly have no idea what they’re made of. However, the same results can be accomplished with essential oils. I add anywhere between 50 to 75 drops of essential oil into my gallon of paint and remix/shake everything up. The essential oil helps cut the fumes even more, plus it helps leave a better scent and sets a tone for the room. In Olivia’s room I used Young Living Lavender essential oil for all the relaxed, sleepy vibes.
Lastly, I’ve starting building the kids’ spring and summer wardrobes. For the girls we always love to stock up on dresses and rompers. One of our favorite small shops, Alice & Ames, recently dropped their spring line and its to die for! The girls just got their pieces in the mail and they’ve been wearing them everyday since they arrived. Alice & Ames uses the most comfortable cotton for all their pieces. They wear and wash well and they're pieces we will be able to pass down and wear again and again.
Happy Friday friends!
xo
Since the weather has been so beautiful, the kids have been spending a lot of time outside. It’s been a great way to burn off all that winter-stuck-inside energy. Last fall we purchased this small bounce house for the kids and it’s been their favorite outdoor activity. It’s super easy to setup and take down and it stores well. There are so many to choose from, but we based our purchase off reviews and we absolutely love it!
This week the kids and I have been hitting up a few different parks in the afternoons. It’s always great to get out of the house, but with that comes packing snacks, water bottles, diapers, and more snacks. I came across Blender Bottle GoStax snack containers on Amazon and they’re seriously the most convenient container we currently own. It’s perfect for packing along a few different options for the littles and since all the containers fit onto each other, we can easily mix and match colors and sizes to fit our needs.
Those projects upstairs have had us painting a lot. We just finished Olivia’s room (post coming soon) and we’re also working on our laundry room. We have several painting projects going on and every time I open the can, it never fails I always drip paint somewhere. Whether it’s on the floor, down the can or on myself. To avoid all the paint drips and accidental spills we use Shur-Line Pour + Store Can Lids. We’ve been using them for a couple years now and they are hands down my favorite paint accessory. It’s a must have if you ever paint yourself. We buy several of them since we tend to have a few different projects going on, but they’re completely reusable.
Along with painting all those walls, comes the horrible paint fumes. Even when buying low VOC paints, theres always still a smell. Some paint companies are now making scent beads to add to the paint, but I honestly have no idea what they’re made of. However, the same results can be accomplished with essential oils. I add anywhere between 50 to 75 drops of essential oil into my gallon of paint and remix/shake everything up. The essential oil helps cut the fumes even more, plus it helps leave a better scent and sets a tone for the room. In Olivia’s room I used Young Living Lavender essential oil for all the relaxed, sleepy vibes.
Olivia is wearing one of the new rompers from the Alice & Ames spring line.
Lastly, I’ve starting building the kids’ spring and summer wardrobes. For the girls we always love to stock up on dresses and rompers. One of our favorite small shops, Alice & Ames, recently dropped their spring line and its to die for! The girls just got their pieces in the mail and they’ve been wearing them everyday since they arrived. Alice & Ames uses the most comfortable cotton for all their pieces. They wear and wash well and they're pieces we will be able to pass down and wear again and again.
Happy Friday friends!
xo
Monday, February 5, 2018
DIY Hand Soap
I love buying soap in all the best scents and pretty bottles, I’ve always been such a sucker for them! However, since having kids I’ve been much more aware of the products we use and hand soap is one of the most commonly used items in our house because it’s used everyday, multiple times a day. In my mind, safe soap is a must! I frequently purchase the more natural options at Target, but after scanning my beloved natural soaps on the Think Dirty app, their fragrances scored high in toxicity and I knew it would be worth it to try an easy diy recipe for our family as we continue to ditch and switch this year. (Follow me on instagram @wildandgrape for more essential oil + wellness how to’s)
My favorite part of making our own hand soaps is I have the freedom to mix and match my essential oils for whatever combination I want. I love following different DIY blogs such as Hello Glow, and finding awesome oil combinations for this exact reason. Everyone has tons of ideas and that’s the beauty of blogging, sharing!
// Favorite Essential Oil Combos //
(30 drop combos)
(30 drop combos)
Cozy Feels: 15 drops thieves + 15 drops tangerine
Pure Magic: 12 drops joy + 18 drops lavender
Spring Fever: 12 drops lemongrass + 18 drops ginger
Fresh & Clean: 11 drops lemon + 11 drops lavender + 8 drops peppermint
Happiness: 11 drops basil + 7 drops orange + 7 drops lime + 5 drops fir
Anthro Favorite: 11 drops grapefruit + 11 drops tangerine + 6 drops idaho blue spruce + 2 drops joy
Fresh Linen: 12 drops lavender + 10 drops grapefruit + 6 drops melaleuca
Citrus Bliss: 14 drops grapefruit + 9 drops lime + 7 drops bergamot
To make our own hand soaps we use Castile soap and there are dozens of uses for this product. It can seem a little pricey, but a little goes a long ways. Some of my favorite uses include diy makeup remover pads and body wash. I love buying the large bottles and keeping it on hand in our laundry room. Along with the Castile soap, we’ll also use a distilled water and a carrier oil. The carrier oil is the moisturizer and I like to add a little more than most recipes because my hands tend to easily dry out. There are several different carrier oils to choose from including fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, apricot oil, grapeseed oil, safflower, etc. It’s important to know if there is a tree nut allergy in the home it’s safer to avoid sweet almond oil.
8 oz bottle with pump (found here and here)
1/2 cup distilled water
1/2 cup castile soap (found here)
2 tablespoons carrier oil (fractionated coconut oil)
30 drops essnetial oils
In the bottle add water, castile soap, carrier oil and essential oil drops. Adding the water first avoids making the mixture too bubbly. This mixture is definitely thin and may work well for a foam pump. Mix well and start pumping for the best hand washing!
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