We’ve had this jute rug forever, and while I still love it, no one else does. Yes, it looks great, but it doesn’t feel so great (to everyone else) and the fibers get everywhere (mostly on my friends’ socks when they come over). I think we definitely got our monies worth for sure, but now it’s time to bid it farewell. Therefore, I’ve been on a hunt for the perfect cream rug to put in its place. I’d say I want white, but no rugs I’ve found are actually white. Additionally, it sounds dangerous to have a white rug with kids, so cream it is! It’s time to switch things up in this room and I think switching to a cream rug will brighten the room up even more. And y’all know how I love white and bright!

Hand-loomed Rug via Viyet

Traditional Turkish Kilim Rugs via Viyet

Woven Baez Rug via Anthropologie

Beni Ouarain Rug via Ibaba Rugs

Berber Rug via Urban Outfitters

Above are some of my top faves that I’ve found in my hunt. I like the plainness of all of them and that they are all made with natural fibers. I know those diamond rugs are everywhere, but it is so classic, so I still love them. A few of the rugs are new, like the Anthro and Urban ones, but I like the simplicity of the design. When I imagine it paired with my vintage furniture, it works. And the other rugs are all vintage, and there’s always something magical about vintage. I think the Turkish Kilim Rug from Viyet have that vintage magic. Plus, they come in a pair, so I could do that layered look. Ugh, decisions, decisions…

I’m trying to figure out what will shed the least, not have fibers that get all over people’s socks, be easiest to spot clean when needed, and one I will love for a long time. I’ve always had my eye on a vintage beni ourain rug, but my heart is shifting slightly for something more flat like the Turkish kilim rug. Rugs are definitely investments, so I definitely won’t take this decision lightly. And knowing me, I probably won’t make one until Christmas time, so I have time to save pennies, or put it on my Christmas list for Santa.

For those considering a jute rug, make sure you can live with the slight itchiness and the fibers getting all over dark socks and pants. If that doesn’t sound fun to you, don’t do it. I must say though, that the rug has held up really well after a few years and still looks great. It is very low maintenance. Since we’ll be switching to a lighter-colored rug, I wonder what my thoughts will be on it after a few years. We’ll see how cream holds up to family life. We don’t do shoes inside the house nor eat anywhere else besides at the table, so that will definitely help in keeping it clean.

Which rug is your fave? Which one do you think I’ll pick? And what’s your favorite rug style for your home?

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Thankful for our baby kid turning 7 and the blessing she is in our lives!

So grateful for each homeschool week. We are having fun with all the new stuff we’re learning this year so far.

Started the Halloween costume planning! Hoping to be done with everyone’s costumes before October. We need to go thrifting to find more pieces.

Finished The Scars That Have Shaped Me and can’t wait to share how it effected my heart.

I love watching shows on my ipad at night to relax, but I been refraining this week and it’s been good for my head and heart to just dig in a book that helps encouraged my soul.

This gnome and mushroom costume is super sweet!

I made an ice cream cake for Glow’s birthday and I must say it turned out really delicious. I will make another to share a recipe here.

Watched To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before last weekend, and while I’m not a rom-com gal, I really did enjoy this teen movie. It’s so sweet.

We’re still celebrating Glow this weekend and I plan to go to the Long Beach flea market on Sunday! Happy weekending, folks!

Where did time go?!! This girl has grown in leaps and bounds this year in maturity, but she’ll forever be my baby kid! Her heart has grown so much in compassion and love for others, especially babies. She never really cared for babies before, and didn’t like when I held babies, but she loves them all so much now. I see that natural nurturer in her coming out, but I guess I’m not surprised because she has 3 older sisters that take real good care of her.

She’s my cuddle buddy. Loves to sleep. She deals with her problems by sleeping. Green is her favorite color. She will always have something green on. Hates reading, but loves math. Yoda is her favorite character. Doesn’t like dresses (though I hope she likes the birthday dress I made her). Loves to draw. Wants to be near all the babies. She’ll say I’m her best friend, but if Ben is around, she’ll make sure to say it’s the both of us. Doesn’t like the movie Coco. Wants to be a zookeeper. Loves short hair and is debating if she wants bangs. She’s our quirky kid and does and says random things, which she thinks makes her the funniest sister.

We love you, Glow! I know year 7 has some big things coming up for you and I can’t wait to see how God continues to grow that big heart of yours!  

Anyone been following since her birth or before? I’m sure you’re in shock she’s 7 too! Tell time to slowwww dowwwwn pleaseeee. Go down memory lane and read how I hypnobirthed her out into this world here.

Memories are a funny thing. Like I have all these memories of my girls being born, first bath, first feeding, and all the baby firsts, but they won’t remember much of that. In fact, they don’t remember much of those first couple years. We’ve been cleaning and purging and I came across this tiny shirt. It was a shirt my parents got me when I was a baby, and they clearly left me for Vegas. My mom must have given it to me a long time ago, and I kept it, which is definitely a surprise to my parents because I am the tosser of everything. Well, to them at least. But for the record, I do save certain things. Like this shirt. I’m even thinking about framing it and hanging it somewhere. Because I’m all about eclectic and this fits the bill.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot of the girls’ younger years and all the memories I have of that.  I had all of them so close in age, so while the older 2 do remember Glow being born, they’ve pretty much only known life all together. They travel in a pack. Parents have this big bottle of memories from their children’s  infant and toddler years, but kids don’t ever remember much of that.

When I think back to what I think is my first memory, I remember swimming in the pool of our apartment complex with my parents and their friends and almost drowning. I didn’t know how to swim and I think I let go of the edge for a quick second, and panicked. I have other vague memories of waving goodbye to my dad as he left for work while we were living at the same apartment complex, but I don’t know if it’s a real memory or because I’ve been told that story. Also, I remember going to this particular park with my dad and I loved when we would ride these really big, bumpy slides. That might have started my love for rollercoasters! In all these stories, I was about 3 or 4 years old.

I’m thinking I’m going to have the girls write down the farthest back they can remember now. I’m so curious what they will classify as their first memory. Been feeling really sentimental lately with all the changes going on as the girls grow. So much of this season of motherhood is hard, but it’s also the best. I want to soak in all I can because you blink, and then they’re all grown up.

I’m curious, what do you think your first memory is?

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

We were in the full swing of homeschool this week and it felt good!

The girls and I cherish our Wednesday night dinners with my parents. We get in family time, a delicious home cooked meal, I Love Lucy, and sent home with more food. This time is such needed for my heart, especially in this season. We are so thankful for my parents!

Wovenfolk has been neglected for the past month due to family things, but things should calm down a bit, and I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things for fall.

Love this pretty brass choker.

Vintage French workwear is so cool and I’ve been eyeing some from Rawson.

We’ve had fun semi-redecorating the girls rooms in the room switch we did. I will be sure to share soon!

My friends and I have all been going through rough seasons, but I’m so thankful we have each other. Ben and I are so thankful to have friends and family to share things with. If you’re going through a hard season too, and need a friend, send me an email, I’d love to be a listening ear.

Still can’t believe we’re nearing mid-Septemeber. I don’t feel fall vibes because it’s still so warm, but it’s coming. I can’t wait for all the holiday things with family.

And Glow turns 7 this week! WHUUTTTT!

It’s good to have HUZZAH post back up! What have you been up to this week?

We just completed our second week of homeschool and now we’re really back into the swing of things. The first week I was still waiting for a couple school things to come in, so we sort of eased into it. Week 2 though, I don’t mess, and we doubled down and got serious. While we all miss summer, we all agree that getting a fresh batch of school supplies adds to the fun of starting off a new school year. Newly sharpened pencils, pristine notebooks, clean erasers, and of course, our favorite… art supplies!

Most everyone’s favorite subject here is art (Glow is the one exception as she loves math!), so when we get to reorganize our art cart and stock it with fresh goods, we all get giddy with excitement to start a new year of art projects. I’m partnering with Amazon to share a back-to-school list of things that are must when stocking an art cart…

1. Fineline Marker Pens: The kids use it for drawing fine details and I use it for correcting work.
2. Prismacolor Colored Pencils: These are our favorite colored pencils to use for fine art work. The color is so deep and rich compared to regular colored pencils. When using them for art, we get splurgy with our colored pencils.
3. HP Premium 32 Paper: When the girls draw and color with marker, this is the perfect paper. It is so smooth that it will prevent shredding your markers. My girls are also into brush lettering and this is the paper they use to practice.
4. Oil Pastel Classroom Size Pack: It’s so soft and gives off such vibrant color that my girls love creating art with it. The only problem is that it is so soft and they really lay on the color thick, so each stick goes so fast. A classroom pack makes sure we have enough oil pastel to go around.
5. Tombow Drawing Pencil Set: We love the quality of these pencils and the variation of each pencil in the pack. It allows the girl to practice their shading.
6. Post-It Notes: The girls will use these little pieces of paper to write down ideas or quickly sketch out an art plan.
7. Avery + Amy Tangerine Binder: A binder is definitely needed to keep all their work together in one place.
8. Large Easel Pad: This big pad of paper is especially fun for my littlest gals because one 8.5″x11″ can’t contain them. They can color and fill a page to their hearts’ content. I’ll also use this pad of paper to illustrate for science.
9. Prang Watercolor: Each girl gets their own set and when we go to do art at the park, it’s easy enough to take along in our picnic basket. Also, you can also buy refills when certain colors run out.
10. Flexible Point Markers: These work like watercolor, so it’s another thing we can easily take with us when we do art somewhere else.

Our list can go way longer than 10 because our 3 tiered art cart is certainly filled to the brim. I’ve been working on a lot of house projects lately, so Amazon is my one-stop-shop for all things back-to-school. I much prefer shopping from the comfort of my home and having everything brought to me.  Of course, we also get all the other basic school supplies like pencils, erasers, glue, and composition notebooks too, but art supplies are some of our favorite school things. And when we start off the new year with a new batch, we eagerly anticipate the new year and all the things we will be learning and making.

This post is sponsored by Amazon. The opinions and text are all mine. I appreciate the time you spend in this space, the support you give me, and the brands I partner with.