We are right in the middle of October and going on strong onto Halloween so since we have been watching Halloween movies for the last couple of days I wanted to give you some inspo and share a huge list with you guys…
I am very sentimental. This is not a secret, I shed the ocassional tear after watching the end of Disney movies and I get very emotional putting away the girl´s clothes cause I can mostly remember when and where each special piece has been worn. I also love looking back at pictures, especially birthday pics cause it is just such a special day for a little one being celebrated all alone and also having one surprise after another.
We have had quite the birthday parties over the last few years. Each and everyone special on its own and I have loved decorating and planning them so much. Since our children are still young they probably won´t remember all of their birthdays and that is where my keep sake pouches come in handy.
I have thought up and down how and what to keep from their birthday parties and came up with some things I definitely want to keep every time.
What to put into your child´s birthday keep sake pouches
– the outfit they have worn
– cake topper with number or font
– little fondant figurines if possible to let them dry out before storing or any other cake
– garlands or confetti
– cute themed accessories
– printed photos I took on their special day
– birthday garlands or a printed poster
– handmade birthday invitations
– a little something from their gift bags if there was a kid´s birthday party
Of course you can keep anything you like in your keep sake pouches. This is just to give you some ideas.
The pouches are simple document pouches but I find them to very practical for several areas in our home. I also have them in our playroom holding wooden puzzles, beads or small figurines.
Mine are from SheIn and the size of a DINA4 sheet of paper. I get the pack of 3 for 5 Euro. They are made out of a soft fabric and breathable but you can get the standard colored plastic ones as well. Work great too.
The golden sticker numbers will probably hold a bit better on the plastic document pouches but I haven´t had a problem yet so I am going to stick to the white fabric ones.
Oh I can remember the day like it was yesterday yet one year has come and gone and soon our big girl is attending her second year of Kindergarten. I still can not believe how smooth everything went. She loved it from day one and missed everyone and everything dearly when there are holidays.
We have celebrated the day cause I believe in making milestones memorable and this was definitely a big one (maybe more for me and my husband than for her).
First Day of Kindergarten Celebration
I decorated our living room with a big balloon garland (how else would it be) and a cute colorful garland. Also I have made a sign and a chart I got printed for her table setup. Both templates have been from etsy (dancer chart here and first day of Kindergarten sign here). The sign also doubled as a photo prop.
Our main color theme was pink here so I opted for a pink gingham table cloth. Worked very well and gave it a picnic and coffee like setting. As far as treats go – her grandma made a gorgeous unicorn cake and I have added blondies with pink frosting and letter sugar cookies in the shape of an E with colorful sprinkles. The cookie cutter is from amazon and you can find it here.
Kindergarten Must-Haves Tried and True
Since one year has gone by we definitely had more than enough time to try-out all of the things we got for Kindergarten. So I am sharing everything I bought for her and my honst opinion about it.
Snacking
There are a million different boxes out there but ultimately I went with these. They are available in 9 different colors and have 5 compartments and a place for a fork or spoon. It also comes with a little tin where you can put in yoghurt for example. I love this snack box very much. I cleans well in the dishwasher and it has never spilled.
Additionally I have gotten these little silcone muffin tins for fruit, cheese cubes or any other little thing plus these little animal forks. Emilia doesn´t like dirty/sticky hands so these came in very handy. I still have the majority of them cause I just throw them in the dishwasher.
They do not need a bottle to drink from cause the Kindergarten offers mugs and beverages so there is no need to get extra of those.
Backpack and more
If you have been following for some time you know my love for all things Reisenthel. We have shopper bags, weekender, diaper bags, cooler bags and shopping baskets and now Emilia has a Kindergarten backpack with a matching gym bag.
Now our girl loves sparkling things so I have gotten her pink glitter flats for her gym bag.
Turning the office into the playroom has been one of the best decisions we have ever made here in our home. It has saved us so much chaos, stress and storage I still can not believe it. Our living room doesn´t have toys in it anymore and feels a lot cleaner. I don´t say that you shouldn´t see that there are living kids with us but I need some rooms without toys and clutter to keep my sanity.
The girl´s bedroom is also a lot cleaner and they go to bed way easier at night cause there are only books and some stuffed animals left.
Our Playroom
As far as painting and flooring goes I did not do much. The paint has been the same since I turned it into a home office (have a look at it here) and the floor has been in there since we moved in. I definitely love the dark and moody green walls mixed with a fresh white and a whimsical blush color. It creates such a magic like in a fairy garden. The room itself is pretty huge and very square so I decided to divide it into four different corners. This has not only helped with categorizing and playing but also with keeping it tidy. I have added two huge carpets and several little ones to support different play areas. Let´s start with the one back left.
The Reading Nook
This was one thing I always wanted for my two book loving girls – a cozy reading nook with a teepee, lots of pillows and blankets. Where they can take their favorite books and snuggle up and just „read“. To make it extra cozy I added a super soft sage green carpet and soft rainbow pillows. I took the little bookshelf we had in the living room to the playroom and also added floating shelves cause we just have so many books. Behind the teepee is a little hanging organizer which holds some small stuffed animals and to the left is the shelf that holds it all. From baby toys to playmobil to puzzles, games and everything else to keep kids entertained.
The Doll Corner
If you want to take a right you will find yourself in our doll corner which is like the name already gives away full of dolls. Here you can find another shelf which was very neccessary cause we have lots of different and small dolls which fit into a small basket. Our Gabby´s Dollhouse sits on a little table and all of the other dolls, strollers, doll beds and our stuffed animals trunk is on the floor on a pretty flower carpet and a soft lamb carpet as well.
The Art Area
To help split off the doll corner from our art area I have added another shelf from Ikea which holds huge boxes that are all filled with different toys like Playmobil 123, Duplo and Barbie dolls.
The little table is perfect for drawing or even for homework when the girl´s are a little older. Our art easel Emilia got for her second birthday fits great into the corner. The best thing about our art corner is the blackboard foil I have added onto a wodden board and glued it onto the wall. The girls love to draw on it with their chalk. This has been such a great addition to this place. On the right is our art cart (you can watch what is in it on here). Plus how cute is the little ABC carpet. It fits the theme perfectly.
Dress-Up Studio
We have now arrived in our last corner, the dress-up studio. I have aquired quite the collection of princess dresses over time and they fit the rod perfectly. To complete our studio I have added a blush mirror and a small kids sofa. The pink pearly crown on top of the mirror and sage royal carpet rounds-up this corner. It is in fact right by the door to enter the room but fits great into the corner.
To conceal the ugly back of the shelf I have added an additional wooden plate and covered it up with a gorgeous blush and sage fabric I have found on etsy. It makes it look a lot prettier and was super easy to do.
Now you have the full reveal of our playroom. I still can´t believe how cute it turned out and I love that the girl´s play there everyday with all of their favorite toys or make some „art“ to display. This has been a great idea and not even such a huge work load.
Linking a few things below which are still available:
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