OUR FALL TRADITIONS...WHAT ARE YOURS?

With the official start of Autumn this week I have to say I am loving the crisp morning air, crunchy leaves and warm afternoons. While we’ve never really been a family with loads of traditions, as the kids get older I realize they live for special moments and eagerly await the months with holidays.

So, even though September and October are busy and full months with school starting and the change of weather, I have thought about ways to make these months special and the little things we’ve done over the years that have become traditions for our kids. They now ask and look forward to them.

Here are a few ways that we celebrate fall:

1. TAKE FALL PHOTOS

Every year we head to the same place with big trees and lots of leaves. While the photos are a lovely way to capture the kids growth each year, jumping in the leaves is a memory I hope they remember forever (I know I will!).

2017

2019

2. MAKE PLAYDOUGH

I don’t know about yours, but our kids STILL looooove play dough. Each fall, I make a fresh batch and get out the seasonal cookie cutters. I love these fall leaf and acorn ones for September and this Halloween set for October.

3. FALL DECOR

When it comes to seasonal home decor, I would say that I keep it light. I love to change things up by adding a few little white pumpkins on the table, some grasses in a vase and a fresh doormat at the front door. That’s it! Traditions can be as complicated or simple as you make them.

4. BAKING

After having the oven off for most of the summer, there is nothing better than warm fall baking. My go-to’s are breakfast crumble (dessert for breakfast basically!) and our favourite pumpkin muffins are a treat muffin that the kids honestly ask me to make them as soon as the temperature drops.

5. A GRATITUDE PUMPKIN

This is a brand new tradition for our family! I saw this idea online and loved its’ simplicity right away. Starting October 1st (or whenever you like!), you add new words of things you are grateful for to a pumpkin (or in our case, we’ll do a mini one each!) each day. Thanksgiving is in October in Canada so this is a great way to acknowledge all that we have to be thankful for, while steering at least some of the October attention away from the excitement of Halloween. ;) If you decide to start a gratitude pumpkin, I’d love to see! Tag #WDgratitudepumpkin on Instagram and I’ll share my favourites. Who wants to join the fun?

Do you have a special tradition in your home? I’d love to hear in the comments if you do!

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HAPPY SEPTEMBER! With summer on the cusp of Autumn, the days are getting shorter and here in Vancouver, we are breathing in every last breath of warm sunshine that we can. I spend so much time through a month looking at different items that I thought it would make sense to share my finds with you all! So scroll down for my picks of the month, from furniture to toys, eco-friendly finds to clothing and much more.

RENTAL HOUSE: LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL!

IT’S HEEEEERE! If there is one room that I am beyond excited about in this rental house, it just might be the laundry room (does this indicate my age and the fact that I am a Mom of 3?)! Other than this obvious answer, maybe it’s also because we live right in Vancouver where houses are small and laundry rooms often non-existent OR maybe it’s because I have NEVER had a functional laundry room in my adult life prior to this. Drum roll please…

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TA DAA! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind a little and go back to where we started. This project is all about progress over perfection, as the house itself is so beyond perfect that you simply have to overlook the things that we will not be changing in a rental and aim for better. It’s been the perfect project to sum up 2020! You can see the inspiration and plan for this room here.

If you’re anything like me, I like the before and after view RIGHT next to each other photographed in the same way so that I can see the differences. If you are a pure before and after devotee, and are happy to overlook the ugly wall lino above the sink and the piping that we left, here you are! I truly wanted to photoshop the wiring out, but I left it in to show you the real deal.

So, there we have it. A whole lot of paint and a few super pretty accessories goes a loooong way to transforming a dark, dire and overlooked basement laundry room. This is now a place I actually enjoy spending time in: the light shines in, it’s super functional (a bench to fold on!) and I can commit to ensuring the laundry actually stays down here rather than making its’ way to the living room floor (making me a happier Mama and alleviating clean laundry in a basket on the floor). If I sound over-excited about a laundry room, I truly am!

Another thing I’m super excited about is the rolling laundry cart. I have seen this in numerous dream laundry spaces and decided to splurge to have a little bit of luxury in this basement space. I do not regret it for one minute! I chose the elevated cart (size small) to save my back and I really think it makes a difference when leaning over to get the laundry. It’s ideal if you have a standing place to fold and somehow feels extra special compared to a standard laundry bin.

Styling the floating shelves were one of the best parts. While the large cabinets that were already here hold most of the regular laundry room stuff, the shelves provide a bright and airy way to showcase the everyday things, cover up the ugly panel behind them and hold our favourite Sonos speaker (if you’re wondering what that silver item is). I found the art print from Juniper Print Shop and it was so simple to print out and frame!

If you’re still reading, thank you. Who knew that this dingy basement room could become something so bright and happy?! While laundry is hardly on anyone’s list of favourite things to do (or at least not on mine!), I printed this ‘washed with love’ sign to remind myself that we are indeed so fortunate to have three little ones to do laundry for and a happy place to do it in.

OUR RENTAL HOUSE LAUNDRY ROOM: INSPIRATION & THE PLAN

Are you ready for the worst room yet? It has to be our laundry room. Let’s start by appreciating these beyond gorgeous laundry rooms that I found when searching inspiration on Pinterest before I jump into ours.

What a beautiful space this is. I love the warm tones and the natural accents.

Source: House of Jade Interiors

The scale of this room was the first thing that stood out; the high ceilings are incredible and the built in cabinets feel incredibly luxurious. The rolling laundry bins caught my eye too; I love anything that is functional but also pretty!

Source: Studio Mcgee

When I found this one, I liked the contrast of the coloured cabinets against a different coloured wall, and also noted the open shelving.

Source: Scout and Nimble

Now that we’ve seen three beautiful dream spaces, let me introduce you to our basement dungeon-esque laundry room. The windows are barred (!!), everything feels dark and gloomy but I am beyond excited to actually HAVE a laundry room at all.

This is what the laundry room looked like when we viewed the house and I snapped this photo. I knew that there would immediately need to be another dose of white paint, so that is where we started.

The plan is to

• brighten up the entire space by painting the walls, ceiling and floor white

• remove the metal wire and film coverings on the windows

• rip out the upper storage and hang floating shelves

• paint the lower cabinetry (they have great storage!)

• add accessories (the fun part)!

Here are a few items I put together to pull the overall look and feel.

01.// Patterned rug; 02.// Rolling laundry bin; 03.// Rattan hooks; 04.// Laundry powder tin; 05.// Wool dryer balls; 06.// White floating shelves; 07.// Ceramic pot; 08.// Landscape art.

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RENTAL HOUSE: THE KIDS' SCHOOL AT HOME ROOM REVEAL!

I can hardly believe that today’s reveal has the words ‘home’ and ‘school’ in it. I can honestly say that I never expected to be repurposing an entire room in the house to be dedicated to our kids’ learning. The kids have been home since March and as of now, we aren’t sure whether school will resume in its’ regular form this coming September.

This room is as simple as a room gets (see the before and in progress here), but it’s amazing what a big impact white paint and a good ‘ol gallery wall can have!

With that, let me introduce you to our new ‘school at home’ room!

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Okay, I love a good before and after so I had to add the original photo I took the first time we saw the rental back in, just to show you the comparison. What do you think?

A wall clock was a key item on my list for the gallery wall because our kids have just learned to tell the time with an analog clock, and this gold one is so cute! The world map was another thing I have wanted to hang in a space the kids could see for as long as I can remember. We talk about geography all the time and this map is the perfect one for quick and easy hanging. The square frame is leftover wallpaper from Xavier’s room and the print on the top left reminded me of 3 snack bowls, which I feel like I am constantly filling for the kids. Ha.

The light in this space is truly the best part, with sun shining in each morning. It’s the perfect place for plants to thrive and the kids love to help water them each week.

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