FRYday

“Bring FRYday back!” was one of the more requested posts for this here blog and it makes my heart so happy that so many of you love it, too! Happy weekend to you all, here’s what’s been on my mind:

WATCHING: I am laughably late to the game, but I started Downton Abbey. Ha! Obsessed with the Dowager and I wouldn’t have made it this far without her, when you watch them all in a row it’s so depressing! It’s been such a calming thing to do to help me fall asleep at night when I normally get swallowed up in anxiousness.

I’m also on my annual January task of catching up for award season. Bohemian Rhapsody (loved it, bawled), Mary Queen of Scots (two powerhouse performances, people HATE how it isn’t historically accurate but I think it’s fun!) On the Basis Of Sex (about Ruth Bader Ginsberg) slow moving, but powerful and important to see really how far we’ve come in her lifetime. I always say I was born in the wrong era but I know now I for sure wasn’t. The inequality of the past is not for me, even if the fashion or music are. 😉  Greenbook, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Favorite, what should we see next?

READING: I took several months off reading to finish a religious text for my church. I had 6 audible credits which is unheard of for me. I cracked back in with my book club’s pick Maisie Dobbs. Truthfully bored and more than halfway through, but maybe Downton is the blame? It’s like a slower less action packed version of it with a supernatural twist with 1000+ 4 star reviews!!

LISTENING: Cold podcast. OOF!!! Steve Powell’s songs haunt my nightmares. // Music wise, on a big Cage the Elephant kick and putting any good music you hear from my Insta stories on THIS spotify playlist. Got any new bands for me?

WEARING: These blue light blocking glasses. // These super rad sneakers – Nike’s color pairings are so good with this style!! My two most ahead of the trend friends rock these and I shamelessly copied. // This hands down most perfect gloss ever created. // Russ and I have been sharing (I got him it for Christmas but he immediately was onto my scam!) this perfume Le Labo Noir 29 and I have never had more people stop me in my tracks to say I smelled amazing. Smells even better on him! // I increased my shopping budget from $0 to $50 which is VERY exciting. Pro Tip: Don’t buy a venue immediately after finishing a house when your husband hasn’t taken a paycheck in two years. Kapeesh?

ANTICIPATING: My sister is spoiling me for my birthday by inviting my fam to Newport Beach for a vacation next week. We leave on my birthday and I go straight to our dentist (Dr Winterton at South Coast!!) but I am praying for good weather while we’re there, mama needs some warm sunshine! Any new restaurants or fun to be had there?

ALT SUMMIT + ALISON’S BRAND SCHOOL!! Alison invited me to be a coach at her last workshop and honestly was so fulfilled by the whole thing. Helping people have breakthroughs personally in and in business and passing on whatever knowledge I’ve gleaned along the way. I loved it. I was thrilled to hear they wanted me back to coach at their workshop at Alt Oasis in March! It’s a 5 day Alt Summit in Palm Springs including amazing meals, parties, and swag not to mention access to amazing brands to strike partnerships with, and infinite education to be had. Then right in the middle of Alt, Alison is doing her workshop! I think the tools she gives are what is lacking about Alt so it’s such a great partnership! And the ticket for BOTH is $915 or $1200-$2400 for just a ticket to Alt by itself. NO BRAINER. Mention my name and maybe I’ll get you in my group!! I would love it so much.

Also working on something different to treat my anxiety, as well as my son’s. I feel like I’ve been on the phone with different doctor’s offices all week! It’s been so disappointing to realize that no matter what or who or where it’s about a 6 week wait. Breaks my heart for people out there who finally get the courage to look for help and then just have to wait for help or hope of relief for that much longer. Definitely an unfortunate aspect of our health care system here!

How’s that for a FRYday re-entry! Brain DUMP alert. Happy weekend friends!!

1.18.2019 share: 0
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#framefarme: pantry

This post has been sponsored by Mott’s. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Our two+ week holiday break is now over and as much as I loved the quality time with my big boys, my house is a wreck and I haven’t been able to check my emails in days. I am definitely ready for the routine and a little bit of down time to get back in the swing of things!

on-the-go SNACK TRAY

I’ve been tackling the organization of an area every week or so in the house. The pantry is a work in progress, but I get asked about it a lot so I wanted to share! I teamed up with Mott’s to share our beloved pantry and how I mapped it out to make it extra easy for my kids to be independent during lunch and snack time! You can grab both their Applesauce Pouches and their new Apple Juice Pouches at Dollar General, so you know it’s a steal!

On-the-go Snack Tray

In the planning stages of the house, I knew I wanted the pantry to be a galley style: long and skinny with 12 inch deep shelving running parallel. Makes it really hard to photograph, but you can catch the video footage on my Home Tour highlight on Instagram! It has an amazing door (a half door that connects the pantry with the garage, so you can get groceries right from the car to the pantry!), open shelving for pretty serving dishes and vases, and a kid art wall that helps my actual kitchen feel uncluttered but is still on display in a high traffic area.Pantry Organization

I invested in shallow shelves so nothing would get lost in the back or in corners! Corners are the biggest wasted space in my opinion, so we don’t have any! These bins are the perfect size, were $1 each, and I love that everything is uniform and pleasing to the eye since there isn’t a door on our pantry! The only things that don’t fit in the bins are bigger bags of chips or cereal boxes, so they get their own shelf.Pantry Organization

I did a whole kid-level shelf devoted to packing lunches so the kids could easily walk the aisle and pack most of their lunch (or grab an easy after-school snack) on their own! I always stock Mott’s Applesauce Pouches and Juice; they’re one of the few brands that ALL my kids will eat, so I feel like these purchases at Dollar General give me the most bang for my buck! And then, there are chips, nuts, cookies. I also have the snack tray in our fridge for fresh fruit, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, hummus and other dips, string cheese, and more!On-the-go Snack Tray

The boys get up around 7. They know that they have to be fully dressed for school, breakfast, teeth brushed, a morning spiritual thought with mom and dad, and (of course) lunch packed before they can watch TV. That seems to be all the motivation they need before the bus comes at 8:05! Once they take off, I pack my own snack tray — credit goes to Shannon of Clean Eats and Treats for the awesome idea! — that I take in the car (we’re about 20 minutes from any gas stations or grocery stores) so that we’re covered on the go, too!

On-the-go Snack TrayYou can find a Dollar General near you here. I love having one so close to me and am always sure to stop in for excellent deals on the brands we love like Mott’s!

metal dining table ideas

After a years long hunt turning up nothing we loved, Russ insisted on making our dining table. Trouble is, he hasn’t had a second to do it, so here we are 6 months moved-in and still no dining table. It’s totally fine and we’ve gotten away with it, but I am so excited to get this project started! Since he has made the shift toward fabrication (welding and metal work) of course he wants to have some metal elements with the table. Our kitchen is all really light wood, the floors are pretty light wood-look tile as well. So I’d love to bring some contrast in with color, and a new material. I’m leaning towards cement top with metal legs! As you’ll see metal legs can mean a million things. Thought I’d share my faves below! See if you can guess the one Russ and I agreed on!

Love this one with a thin cement top! I believe this is tempered glass here which is awesome, too! // Source

I love the wide look of this base. // Source

Metal Dining Table Inspiration

This rounded sheet metal is so rad and unexpected. I have a lot of round elements in the living room so it could go super nicely! // Source

Metal Dining Table Inspiration

Another sheet metal look. // Source

Interesting but still simple! // Source

A little heavy for our space, but so cool nonetheless! I think it would work best for an extra long 10+ footer! // Source

Close up of the legs!

Love love this one. Ive never seen anything like it and the materials are pretty inexpensive! // Source

Obsessed with this one. The mixture of materials is so glam! // Source

Closer look at the legs. If you wanted to warm it up, make it more modern farmhouse or scandinavian inspired would be rad with light wood and black metal.

Like this! Love the mix of wood and metal stacked. // Source

Very cool. If I did this with our space (7 foot table max) I’d just do the metal in one piece centered under the table top. // Source

Very cool angles! // Source

Love the weight and angles on this! // Source

Similar but with a live edge. // Source

The dimensions of our nook sadly don’t work for a circle table but this is incredible! // Source

Okay if you guessed #1 you’re right! I think it will be a great addition and play off the lines of the stair railing and be a great focal point as its one of the first things you see when you walk into the house!

Winter Whites

I posted this outfit the other day and had lots of Qs on how to recreate it! This dress is a pretty basic shift that Jcrew gets a version of every year so keep your eye there but I’ll link lots of options below! Jacket is old Zara and boots were a Postmark find! Winter Whites is pretty loose in the sense that it’s off white, cream, soft greys, blush pinks, lightest washed out blues, neutral beige, bone, or even stark white, all mixed and matched! I love it on pale skin and in front of a Wintry landscape. Its feminine and seasonal and a way to mix up the drab colors of Fall and Winter that I tend to get sick of around this time of year!

Winter Whites

And here’s an old post I did WHITE SHOE ROUND UP — if you need inspo for shoes!

Here’s how I’d wear these. Either a loose sweater with a jacket on top and some trousers, wide leg lounge pants, or a skirt. A dress + jacket combo, or even pull out some Summer jeans in white or off white.

And a few more dress options!

parenting anxiousness

Deseret News is currently running a series on anxiety and I think it is SO important. They asked if I would contribute to the series and you can find my essay here. I felt impressed to write how I wish I would’ve been parented when I was a teen with anxiety. So in that essay you’ll find tips and encouragement if you have a loved one dealing with this disorder — I think it applies to any age, they still all certainly apply to me! It breaks my heart to hear statistics of just how rampant this disorder has become in the last several years – especially in adolescents. I think any conversations we can have about it will help those suffering find their best plan of action and remedy!

by Erin Hanson.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE!

laundry with kids

I asked sort of jokingly when I could have my kids take over in the laundry department and was blown away at how many parents already have their kids doing a good chunk or ALL of it!! Way to go! It seemed like the average age is 10, some as young as 6 and lots around 12 like I was.

One mama was telling me how it has taught her kids to treat their clothing more respectfully, and they don’t just shove clothes in the hamper to get it off the floor because they know then THEY have to wash it! I am here for both of those outcomes!!laundry for kidsRight now my kids fold, hang and put away their clothes. If they want to earn extra money I have them sort socks, too! But what’s to say they couldn’t take it step further? Definitely going to add sorting, and starting loads to the list.Loved all the input I read and realized that really any age can participate! Whether it’s sorting whites and colors, transferring from the washer to the dryer, putting away small piles, etc etc. And then adding to their responsibilities from there! I felt like I had no choice in the matter which made me super upset when I was 12, but I think allowing them to have the choice to take on the responsibility for more rewards/allowance/privileges seems like a fair next step! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Just wanted to share a couple favorite laundry items that make it extra easy to pass off to your kids! Have any to add?

  1. 7th Generation Easy Dose detergent. This is my favorite invention of 2018, no lie. It is super concentrated and the bottle is probably 10 inches tall. Takes up NO room, is so easy to handle even for small kids, and works amazingly well! $.20 a load, too! I’ve had mine for a few months and between alternating the unscented and lavender bottles I’ve probably used a total 3/4ths of one. No waste, no mess no bulky bottles.
  2. Dryer Balls. If you’re trying to reduce the toxins in your household, start here first. So easy and you’re not sacrificing ANY effectiveness. Reusable wool balls that keep your laundry soft and look cute out on the shelf, too!

If you want PRETTY bottles for out on your shelf the Laundress in the place to be. Everything is gorgeous.

christmas card 2018

I had a specific purpose with this year’s card and that was to share our new address and send it out quick so our loved ones wouldn’t have to track it down. Chatbooks to the rescue! It says “no place like home for the holidays” and the our address right below! Hidden of course but you get the gist. 😉Their cards are $1 each and include a return address labeled envelope, and can be printed on both sides! Great quality and obviously unreal value. Pretty certain half the cards I’ve received have been Chatbooks! I kept it super simple this year to let the photo do the talking. I loved this whole session with Hunter Fowler, so many good ones I’ll just share few though.

Merry Merry Christmas everyone!! See all our past cards here! I put up some OLDIES!

2017 // 2016 // 2015 // 2014 // 2013 // 2012

10 years of Christmas Cards!

2018. All I wanted was to share a picture of us in the house, I will forever cherish these! Our first real family photoshoot here!

2017 – one of my favorite pictures of our family of all time. Captures everyone so well. Cal looking perturbed and in his own world. Raleigh happy as can be. Hayes taking care of Raleigh. Russ and I have actual bliss on our faces and that’s priceless. 

2016: Sweetest Nicole shot these for me in her studio. I think she was super sick at the time, too. But always so generous and insisted. She has shot so many photos – thousands – of us over the years and I will always be so grateful!

2015: I don’t know why we never shared these on Small Fry but another one my all time favorites. And how we announced our pregnancy with Raleigh! This photoshoot was FREEZING and windy and I had overnighted those huge colored smoke sticks because I had seen a shoot that knocked my socks off that I wanted to recreate. It was so windy the smoke would get blown away before the photographer could get any worthwhile shot. Best laid plans, right? We drove hours to this sand dune the day before we were leaving our kids to go to Europe for our 10 year anniversary and I didn’t know at the time of the shoot but I was pregnant! So much going on but I love looking at this shoot and knowing Raleigh was there all along after so much time and heartache.2014: (Ironically I found out I was miscarrying maybe an hour before shooting these photos. It’s not funny but the card sort of is. Happiest season of alllll!) the card just kept going and going and going so enormous! I think I got teased a few times by family members, but it looked so expensive and I was stoked. It’s funny what’s important at different times of your life. 2013: All I can say is: GO ME! A full ombre calendar (Bri @collectedblog designed) I scored and folded and tied a wallet size pic on to it? And then addressed tiny envelopes?? I don’t know that girl anymore. Ha!2012: Maybe my favorite card design ever. Bri designed it and it was a “year by the numbers”. So fun! We took these photos literally steps away from the townhouse we ended up living in all last year. We had paper wrapped sandwiches and San Pell sodas and this was by far the most “staged” shoot ever. I can’t say we ever drug a couch to a field but this is pretty close. 😉

AND! Never before seen cards from years before Small Fry!

2011: We went to a studio photography place and it was in the height of my personal blog Ruffling Feathers. I got the shoot for free and was thrilled. This photo really gives me the feels on having two babies at once. It was not easy but it was such a sweet time for me. Wish I could go back and enjoy it a little more.

2010: I remember thinking I was so freaking clever with this one. Such a dork. I made this by myself on Picasa and it took FOREVER (still use it to this day.) We were fancy on top and cozy on bottom and I set up a tripod and had the whole thing art directed down to the smallest detail. Who knew it would be my job a couple years later.

FRONT:

BACK:

2009: Pregnant with Hayes! I take it back THIS might be our most staged. I had my sister do finger waves for me. I had leather gloves, a string of lights. Candy cane shoes and a tutu. Go Em Go.

2008:

Welp, I wonder where I got this inspo??

Happy 10 years of Christmas card shenanigans to me!! If you share your old ones I want to see! Tag #ChristmasCardTBT

holiday best [kids!]

Whether it’s a holiday party, church service, nice dinner, or family pictures Holiday Best is so fun to shop for, in my opinion! Here are some of my favorites!

The boys got sent these amazing Lumberjack suits from Opposuits. Their whole site is full of amazing, loud, fun suits for men, women and kids!Opposite I LOVE Pepper Kids,( this black lace dress!) and Zara for unique pieces for girls! Of course Amazon always pull through with some quick ship options, too! Pair it with a rad coat, tights, or over the knee socks (both are in the carousel below this section!) boots, t-strap flats, or even sneakers if the mood is right.

Red Sweater Set // Plaid Dress (two colors!) // Layered Mustard Dress // Mustard Plaid with Pom ties // Retro Dress // This dress comes in 4 perfect colors is $25 and is giving me major Little Women vibes. // Glitter Dot Sweatshirt

More ideas for BOYS and GIRLS below, too!

tried and true gifts for boys

I have done my fair share of gift guides in the past and I finally compiled my family’s musts. Toys that all 3 of my boys have found entertainment in, things that have stood the test of time and been worth the money several times over. You can find BOY MOM MUSTS along with my other Must Lists on Amazon as well if you want to add to cart more easily.

But if you want my reasoning for each item, read below!

Boy Mom Gift Guide

  1. Some of my favorite memories as a mom is seeing the joy on my boys’ faces when they have a little bit of freedom. The wind is in their hair and they’re going wherever their heart desires (within the cul-de-sac of course.) I try to have something age appropriate on hand for each of them that gives them that feeling of freedom and autonomy. Plasma Cars have gotten hours and hours a day of use from all 3 of them! Their neighbor buddies all got them too and would ride and race around all day long.
  2. Cash Register. Playing store is more than that in my opinion. It’s my kids learning to compromise, negotiate, learning value and math, too!
  3. Easel. I am a huge proponent of creative play and artistic expression. I have a whole loft devoted to it and although it makes messes, its the kinds of messes I want!
  4. We have pretty much every kind of “building” material for kids. Magna Tiles are trickier to work with, but I love that they can think in 3D.
  5. I have every type of Lego Brick on here because it’s good for all ages and sometimes my kids are sick of the tiny standard Lego and just want something easier and larger scale. The kits are fun, once. I always get the free play boxes because they go farther. LEGO // DUPLO // MEGA BLOKS.
  6. This electric dirtbike has the same reasoning as #1 but on steroids. It brings my kids so much joy and inspires us to go out in nature where they can ride free! For the record they don’t go very fast and my kids have yet to wreck! Small town win, for sure. Grab a helmet while you’re at it.
  7. Micro Mini Scooter has gotten more hours than even the Plasma Car. All three of my kids ride for hours. Other brands work just fine (like Globber for instance), but Micro seems to be the smoothest and easiest to balance!
  8. Guardian Bike ($20 off with “smallfry”) is the only bike I’ll buy for my kids. They have patented brake technology that keeps them from flipping over the handles. It never lets their front brake go first and it keeps the pressure even through front and back. So they stop faster and more balanced than a regular bike! Watch the video of them braking compared to a standard bike. Super eye opening!
  9. Car Tracks forever, this is Hayes’ #1 most used toy.  The specific tracks are fun to set up once and if you leave it put together even better, but I have yet to see my kids rebuild a set after it gets taken down. The Track Builder kits give them everything they need to creatively build set after set after set. Worth every penny!
  10. This is a new find for my kids but I love that it has the beginnings of programming. Like a mini rolling robot that they control! Sphero Bolt
  11. Paint By Sticker for Kids is a must for any quiet time bag. It’s just complicated enough that it takes all their focus, but not in a frustrating way.
  12. I always have art supplies, paper, glue, string, popsicle sticks, paint, beads, and whatever else I can think of on hand for a day inside. You can give them a prompt – “make me a monster puppet” or “draw a birthday card for the party today.” I put their art on display too so they know its value in our home.
  13. Megabloks (my toddler loves these and everyone else plays with them too!)
  14. Lego Duplo (less frustrating then legos for my boys!)
  15. Not pictured but bath toys are a must for boys. It’s hard enough getting them to actually bathe so make it fun! This set is great and gets the building element involved.

 

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