HERSHEL SUPPLY: BACKPACKS FOR KIDS ON THE GO

Please let me introduce you to the cutest way to get your kids to carry their own stuff...these adorable backpacks from Hershel Supply!

Founded right here in Vancouver, and thoughtfully designed for kids and youth, the Herschel Supply Kids Collection features sized-down offerings of classic Herschel Supply silhouettes.

The kids pack (toddler sized) is perfect for my just turned 4 year old and the youth pack is the perfect fit for my 6 year olds.

The lunch box is roomy and easily fits a small drink bottle and a full lunch. Xavier loved having his very own lunch box inside his pack that he could bring by himself.

With sweet design details like the leather pulls and carefully chosen colours, these backpacks will carry you from home to the beach or to school and through childhood. You can shop these adorable bags on the Hershel site or find in many local stores around Vancouver and now globally!

*This post was created with Hershel Supply. Thank you for supporting a local blogger! 

A SOFT AND SWEET 6TH BIRTHDAY PARTY!

I can't believe it...my twin babies Kaia & Noelle turned 6!!! The past six years have flown by, as any parents understand. The girls birthday each year is an annual reminder of how lucky I feel to be their Mama and how proud we are to be raising two gorgeous, creative, kind-hearted, clever and loving girls. Last year, we held their 5th birthday at Stanley Park and this year, they decided on a creative art studio, Luminous Elephant.

They still love nature and decided on a fawn party with a few of their friends. I wasn't nearly as prepared as usual this year and for the first time we decided to have a sweets table instead of a lunch to keep things very simple! Although we didn't go all out with the food, the decor for this party, although simple, turned out to be one of my favourites!

My husband made the cakes, we popped some blueberries into ice cream cones, and Noelle asked for deer cookies and Kaia wanted brownies. We made everything hand-sized so that it would be easy to taste each thing but not have leftovers. The deer cookies were a DIY and took a good part of a day and although are far from professional, they do resemble little fawns so the girls were thrilled!

The flowers were a lucky last minute find the day before and I just popped different arrangements into mason jars and vases. The lovely silver star banner is from Pearl & Jane and provides the perfect pairing with the gold circle one I picked up at Michael's. The Happy Birthday cake topper is beautifully made and I found this on Etsy. I can't wait to use it on birthdays each year!

As the kids were arriving, we had little necklace stations set up for them, with these sweet deer charms and initials for each child in their bead palette. This was a great starter activity and gave the kids something special to bring home and remember the party by.

Once everyone arrived, the kids moved onto canvases and created a painting to bring home with them. Fresh plants had been picked to be used to make prints, which were a fun way to explore texture and printmaking. I look forward to trying this again with the kids at home.

After the painting and necklace making, it was time for the sweets. Everything was devoured and we were thrilled to have celebrated another year of these two. Another fun addition was taking photos on the Instax camera. It belonged to the art studio but I think I will have to get one for parties and gatherings from now on! The kids loved the instant photos and I love the sweet keepsake to pop into their memory books. 

We had a lovely morning surrounded by friends, celebrating two of the biggest loves of my life. Happy Birthday Kaia & Noelle!

SIX WOODEN PLAYHOUSES YOUR KIDS WILL LOVE

Last Spring over a long weekend, I decided to redo our little wooden playhouse and give it a new lease of life with white paint. I had NO idea how popular this little project would become and am so thankful that so many other people have embarked on their own playhouse projects using ours as inspiration! Very fun.

Just the other day, I was sent an email telling me that our exact playhouse is no longer available and I should change the link in our 'get the look' post to something new. After looking around to see what I could find, I figured I'd share this year's playhouse picks that would work well for this project.

So, if you are up for a weekend with a lot of paint (I find painting therapeutic!), a weekend of fun and a big 'WOW' at the end, I've rounded up my pick of wooden playhouses perfect as they are or ready to transform into your own special backyard play space for the summer.

Happy Friday friends!

01. // Modern playhouse; 02. // Scenic playhouse; 03. // Cedar playhouse; 04. // Cottage playhouse; 05. // Chimney playhouse; 06. // Porch playhouse.

SHOPS WE LOVE: FRESHLY PICKED SHOES FOR SPRING!

You may know Freshly Picked for their adorable baby moccasins and for gracing the feet of many celebrity kids, but did you know that they now have hard sole toddler shoes too?

Now that Kaia and Noelle are in school, Xavier and I head out for nature walks regularly. For this walk, I thought I'd let him take his new big boy moccasins for a try. Perfect for Spring (and summer and autumn too!), I love that the design of the hard sole shoes are made for a toddler who loves to slip on their own shoes! The lace-up look is super cute but the practicality of slip ons is ideal for my independent four year old.

When I asked Xavier what he thought of his new shoes, he said "really comfy", which is probably the best review you can get. Comfortable, practical and cute is a definite win for my mom life these days.

I love these new grown up moccs for my big boy, and you can choose from a wide selections of patterns and colours at Freshly Picked. Xavier is wearing the Next Step shoes in Weathered Brown.

*This post was created in collaboration with Freshly Picked. Photos and opinions are all my own.

HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING...

Books that spark the imagination always stand out for me as a Mom. I adore Tap the Magic Tree for the creativity, beautiful illustrations and for the different way it presents a simple concept of seasons. This book is engaging, truly magical and is one of our favourite books that comes out over and over again. 

The kids love this book for the fun way it engages them through interaction. Tap the magic tree ignites children's imaginations by asking for their involvement (brushes, taps and blows, etc.) and tells the journey of a tree through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

We have books all over our house; in the kids room, in the playroom and books seem to seep into our living room too! Although we read daily each evening before bed, I try to find other times to sneak in books too. Now that the girls are in school, I love picking up a book and reading together once we get home from preschool and school pickups and before dinner. I find it's a great way to reconnect and sit together. When do you read with your little ones?