Another creative children shop we love is Treehouse Kid and Craft based out of Athens and Decatur, Georgia. It’s been around for a long time and we’ve picked up some of our favorite toys from there (remember this Rody birthday?). I know when they were very little, I was the primary say so on what toys come into the house, and honestly, much of what has stuck around have been those classic wooden and handmade pieces. Of course, they have plenty of My Little Pony and Star Wars toys too, and those simply get integrated into all their creative play too. Kids are kids, and no matter what toys you give them, play allows them to express their creativity, but I do love toys that are beautiful as they are functional because let’s face it, toys end up everywhere. Here are some popular ones from Treehouse Kid and Craft that fit the beautiful, but functional, and encourages creativity…

Dumye dolls: Made by Sahar, who is a UGA grad (the local college near Treehouse Kid 7 Craft), a doll is donated to children in need for every doll that is sold. These are no doubt heirloom quality and gorgeous to boot! These dolls also have a really sweet little pocket in the back for a little note to whomever you are giving doll to, and later, they can use it for their own tiny keepsakes.

Loog guitars: Professional quality electric guitars for kids. How perfect this would have been for Glow’s Ash costume (see here). These are 3 string guitars and come with an app and cards to help kids learn chords, which makes it really easy to transfer to adult guitars in the future.

Blockitecture blocks: These are made by Areaware. For the little builder, these architecture blocks are amazing to mix in with magnatiles or regular wooden blocks to create kingdoms and cities. One toy you won’t mind being left out on the coffee table.

Snake blocks: The pieces are connected by an elastic band throughout. Make them big and small, these create beautiful sculptures. Perfect for for idle hands and way better than the fidget spinner. Also, perfect for studying sculptures and art.

Technology will save us kits: Fantastic kits that introduce kids to circuits, programing, and coding.The playdough kit is great for young kids and then they can progress to the other kits as time goes on!

Voice Recorders: Just imagine how fun the kids would have recording their voice and leaving messages for each other! There’s also a little knob to alter the sound. They can sing a song, tell a joke, or even beatbox, and then have fun playing it back.

Art supplies: Art supplies never go out of style and children can never have too many. You never know what medium they will take to, so it’s good to give them an array of choices and see which they love best.

Also, if you’re in Atlanta or Athens, you’ll want to check out their Art Carts (creative kits for parties) and Art School classes. My kids personally have snake blocks, art supplies, and the voice recorder on their list, so we will see what they end up unwrapping. What kinds of toys have you purchased this year?

Lace Clay Dish

His breakfast in bed is simple… a cup of oatmeal covered with soy milk, protein powder, a scoop of chia seeds, and a banana. This dietitian walks the talk. The girls showered him with lots of handmade gifts and some things they picked up for him from the “piano” store (at their piano recital, there’s a store they can “buy” things using their piano points). The biggest surprise was the large painting the girls made for him (later this week, will share a post about it). They were so excited to give it to him and he was just as thrilled (and in awe) about what they made.

His main birthday request was to get gardening time, so that’s what we did. We didn’t get as much done as we had hoped, but we’re very slowly putting our front yard garden together. For dinner, I made him some homemade nigiri (a bit about it here). The rest of the evening was spent all together watching Elf and True brought out the “fruit cake” she made. Our Papi is such a simple guy, and his birthday wishes are always his girls and garden time, we can easily (and very gladly) make that happen.

Happy 43 Benny B! We love you so much! 

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

God’s really been teaching me to trust him and let go of my need for comfort and control. It’s not a comfortable place to be and I’m struggling with it, but it’s always for my good and His glory. It’s just that my vision is just so small right now and I need to repent from that.

I need to make dumplings next week. And also, vegan garlic pasta with roasted cajun cauliflower.

This article, on the NY Times, “The Adopted Black Baby, and the White One that Replaced her” is worth a read.

Thankful and excited to have one week of school left and then Christmas break!

I praise the Lord for open and honest friendships where you can share your hearts and struggles.

Loving all the vintage outerwear from Rawson Chicago.

New basket update this week on WOVENFOLK.

Seriously so thrilled to have found this vintage, white jumpsuit that fit me perfectly at the thrift!

We don’t have our tree up yet, and I don’t think we will have time this weekend to get it up, so maybe it will just have to wait until Christmas vacation. Anyone else feel like Christmas snuck up too fast this year?

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Yellow is our Soulie’s favorite color, so when she left it up to me to pick the theme for her birthday, I came up with a “mellow yellow birthday.” Of course, that means our playlist for that weekend was topped by Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” Her two birthday requests were to “chill” and see “cool” things, but before we officially did that, we had ourselves a mellow yellow birthday party at home. I got a bunch of yellow decor from Michaels and made her a lavender lemon cake (recipe here). Her favorite part of the party was the  piñata. We used the lemonade piñata I made for my sister’s baby shower and we filled the inside with her birthday presents. They all took turns hitting it in the garden, but of course, we made sure she had the last hit that would reveal her special birthday treats.

We conquered the “chill” and see “cool” things part by doing a quick birthday getaway to Palm Springs. Chill involved watching movies and swimming. The cool things were trying new to us Italian ice place, Vinny’s, and she picked mango and lemon ice. Next, we stopped by the Saguaro to hunt down a yellow wall (see photos from when we came here for her 6th birthday here and here). After, we went to the Ace Hotel for photo booth pictures (must do this always whenever we’re in Palm Springs). Finally, we headed to that Instagram famous pink door (pink is her second favorite color). Her 8th birthday wishes definitely came true. Ben and I love these intimate celebrations and being their fairy birthday granters.

Birthdays also call for homemade birthday dresses, so hers is very similar to True’s drop waist dress, but with sleeves. Soul wore it with the yellow beret from her Grandmama and with some cool clogs from Lotta From Stockholm (here’s the silver and the pink). It’s not an all yellow dress, but there are hints of yellow on it.

Every birthday we put together a specific playlist, so when on that trip/weekend (because usually we go out of town for birthdays) those songs sort of “imprint” on us, and every time we hear it later, it reminds us of that special time. It’s one of our favorite things to do for birthdays and roadtrips. Here is the playlist we made for Soul’s:

1. “Mellow Yellow” by Donovan
2. “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles
3. “Parachutes” by Coldplay
4. “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” by Brian Hyland
5. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
6.  “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando & Dawn
7.  “The Yellow Rose of Texas” by Mitch Miller

Happy 8th birthday dear Soulie! We are most encouraged by how you’re growing in your desire fight sin and be obedient to God. We are so thankful for your combo of sassy and sweet!

We love Kinoko Kids, which is the brainchild of Ms. Tips and Mini Pomme, women whose shops I have admired for years. Together, they have a sweet children shop in Minneapolis, and of course, for those of us not local, they have plenty online for our shopping pleasure too. We love toys that encourage creativity, play, and imagination. And of course, we love vintage. Kinoko Kids checks all those boxes, and I’m sharing my top ten faves from the shop here:

1. Little lion plush
2. Mushroom light
3. Chari basket
4. Rabbit bag
5. Monchichi
6. Oil pastels
7. Castle blocks
8. Wooden bus
9. Cash box
10. Play house

Kinoko Kids curates such an excellent variety of quality classics in their shop. There are plenty of wooden toys to choose from. My big girls are 10 and 11 and they still play with many of our block toys. Our wooden toys have never broken, but may have had permanent marker and crayons scribbled on them. They even have Monchichi! Each of my girls have their own Monchichi and their fur is worn out from time and hugging. And I’ve always wanted one of those mushroom lights for their rooms. If you’re in need for some quirky decor, get one! I’m sure it looks so pretty lit up. Also, if you’re a vintage kid clothing lover like me, they have a nice full stock of vintage clothes in all sizes. I also picked up one one of these puzzle faces as a gift for one of the girls. If you’re still looking for beautiful toys for the little ones in your life, Kinoko Kids has got you covered.