When Hello Charlie was a studio for children’s clothing companies, I felt like I was really in my element. I was able to have so much creative freedom. I received the clothing from the brands that hired me and they completely trusted me to cast the models, style the models (while collaborating with other brands), produce and style the set, photograph the shoot, art direct the shoot … all while keeping models from having meltdowns.
Read MoreHere is a look at my social media advertising for Hello Charlie that has evolved over the years. It really helps to have an eye for composition, style and design all in one.
Read MoreI’m sharing my birthday cake hack I have been using for years that makes me look like I know what I’m doing. I have tried baking cakes and cupcakes and they just never turn out very great. I have also ordered from the professionals and while they definitely deserve the price they are asking for a custom cake it hurts my soul a little bit to pay that much for a kiddo party.
Read MoreCharlie turning ten has been mixed emotions for me. For months I have been worried I would be a sobbing mess when the day came, but now that it’s here I’m mostly ok. Mostly.
Ten just feels like such a big milestone for kids. Single digits are gone forever. They are becoming a tiny person. They aren’t so kid-like anymore and you get glimpses of the teenage years and you get terrified. When Caleb turned 10 it was also the first time I realized he was past the halfway mark of his time at home - that got me real good … it’s just kind of a shock how fast it really goes. A parent can’t say that enough because it’s SO TRUE.
Read MoreI love a good theme as you know. And Great Wolf Lodge just really celebrates that so basically the mother ship called me home. 3 times.
Read MoreWith Caleb’s permission, I am sharing about our experience this week. We both struggle with anxiety and depression and we agreed that writing about it would help us and maybe even someone else. Caleb is a very kind, intelligent and generally happy kid so he isn’t someone you typically think would really struggle with anything.
Read MoreI thought my days of dressing these three in theme was long over but Caleb made all my creative dreams come true when he asked if he could be Mario this year. I got really excited and said “YES - go ask Miles if he will be Luigi!” He agreed and luckily Charlie will say yes to anything “princess” so Princess Peach was an easy sell.
Read MoreI have been daydreaming of what to do with this wall in our home for a while. It is basically the statement wall of our living room so I have felt a lot of pressure to make it magical so of course it has sat bare for four years – ugh. I have thought of everything from shiplap to wallpaper but for step 1 to this commitment I wanted to create a “seasonal shelf” where I can add photos of my kids, include a cute seasonal sign or art and hang garland or whatever else we come up with. I’m not a person that will decorate our entire home each season so this seemed like a project I could actually tackle and accomplish – it’s just one little shelf right?! AND this was a perfect way to rotate out the millions of photos I take of the kids and actually display them.
So here ya go - our Halloween ledge complete with a tassel ghost garland Charlie helped me tackle and is super proud of!
Read MoreI’m continuing my quest to make our house a home … basically accepting the finishes I don’t love and styling the rooms to feel more “us”. I finished Miles’ Star Wars room this spring and immediately the other two kiddos were on me to get their bedroom decorated. Caleb and Charlie have been sharing a room for almost 5 years now. They have a huge playroom in our basement (which is next on my list of redecorating) so I wanted this to be a fun place they would both enjoy when playing on the weekends and sleeping in each night. If they had their own rooms, Charlie would choose glitter and unicorns and everything rainbows and Caleb would go with space and technology. I made several mood boards when planning and I merged those two ideas into a space/rainbow room filled with their art and all things creative.
Read MoreWe have done all sorts of birthday parties for our kids from hosting at our home to bouncy house playgrounds to trampoline parks. This was going to be Miles’ first friend birthday party so I wanted to do something special that involved something he is interested in. He loves puppies (or very badly wants to) so when searching for ideas on puppy paw-ties I saw the Animal Rescue League hosts birthday parties for kids ages 6-10. I ran it by Miles and he was on board and excited.
Read MoreFall and changing weather is coming soon but it doesn’t have to mean your kids need a whole new wardrobe. You can easily transition your child’s favorite pieces into the new season with a couple of simple tweaks and fun layers.
Read MoreI have always loved a good bag and getting a new backpack for school when I was little was the BEST FEELING. Who remembers getting their first ESPRIT bag?! I had a purple one with pink ESPRIT logo and I thought I was the coolest ever and couldn’t wait for everyone to be jealous. One year I even convinced my parents to get me a plaid messenger ESPRIT bag and that pretty much made my life. I would kill for a photo of it to show you guys. I did a search on Ebay and how cool is this one - should we bring it back?!
Read MoreOne of the OG brands of Instagram for me is Malia + Kai. I used to set alarms and try to get those peachie shorties FOR MONTHS. I was terrible at it for awhile then my wi-fi improved, I got a new phone and finally I was able to snag a pair of the highly sought after peachies. Does this sound crazy?! It might … but when you have three babies in three years you find things like this to keep you going and I was going to get peachies if it was the LAST THING I DID.
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