Kimberly Michelle

wild about the mustard flowers

Kim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 22:28:58 +0000

There was something extra magical about this year’s mustard flower blooms in Northern California.

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Back to Hogwarts on September 1st

Kim — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:26:10 +0000

While the kiddo’s away, you’ve got to mess with her stuff, right? This time it’s a Harry Potter redo of her room, which we hadn’t touched since before she was born. A post shared by Chris M (@thewrongmonkey) on Aug 6, 2018 at 7:30pm PDT Every September 1st is #BacktoHogwarts day, so I thought I’d celebrate today by sharing the room re-do we did for our 8-year-old wizard obsessed Miss L! We had thought about changing up her room for awhile, but it was a visit to Harry Potter Studios in England that really sealed the whole theme idea in place. So while she went to the Lake with her grandparents for a 2-week vacation in August, we emptied everything out for a creative remodel! First stop to your dormitory in Hogwarts is Platform 9 3/4 [ThinkGeek] And you need a few special trinkets along the way… like THE Sorcerer’s Stone. [The Noble Collection] Your room needs candlelight lanterns [Pottery Barn], Hedwig bookends [Target], a Tri-Wizard Cup that doubles as a lamp [Target] and some of Dumbledore’s favorite Sherbert Lemons as well! Miss L is a Ravenclaw, but loves all the houses, so we chose bedding that was Hogwarts inclusive. [Target] Oh… and added a crazy shimmering blanket too! [Pottery Barn Teen] The room needed a drape, so we spiced up a plain blue velvet blackout drape [Target] with some glittery fun. As for the personalization on the walls… Here’s Miss L playing her favorite sport: QUIDDITCH! A vintage Hogsmeade travel poster. A framed golden ticket to Hogwarts. A photo capturing her first trip to Platform 9 3/4. A special family portrait. And a collage of her train journey, her Hogwarts acceptance letter, and her house patches. There are a few other fun details in the room as well: Flying keys along the ceiling [Pottery Barn Teen] A Hogwarts House Banner [Pottery Barn Teen] A Ravenclaw crest adorned journal. A Ravenclaw house crest above her door [The Noble Collection] A Ravenclaw house pennant [Pottery Barn Teen] And a shimmering silver lamp mimicking the Forbidden Forest. Oh… an a giant flying broom! [The Noble Collection]

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summer in the UK: Castles and Crypts

Kim — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 06:15:16 +0000

This summer, after months of planning, and more than a couple of years of hoping we’d get across the pond sooner than later, we were finally off on a 2-week family trip to England! Day 4: Tower of London & St. Martin’s With a hectic day of Wimbledon behind us, we decided to embark on a few classic tourist experiences in London: the Tower of London and a brass rubbing at St. Martin’s. After a full breakfast, we took the tube down to the Tower of London around opening at 9:00am. Our early morning plan was intentional, as most of the attractions around the Tower are out in the sun… and it was expected to be another scorching hot day! We made sure we had exposed Miss L to some basic lore of British knights (you know… A Knight’s Tale, Robin Hood, etc.), but the majority of Henry VIII’s insane tale went over her head. It was fine though because rooms of armor, the crown jewels and ravens are really all a kid needs to have a fun morning at a historical site! After about 3 hours on the hot castle grounds, we headed over the air-conditioned sactuary of Wagamama for copious amounts of lemonade and pork buns. Then we headed off to one of Mr. M’s favorite activities from childhood visits to London: brass rubbings at St. Marten-in-the-Fields. The church is right off of Trafalgar Square and isn’t very big at all. From the street level you’ll walk straight into the main area of the church, but what you want is probably all underneath in the Crypt. There you’ll find a food court on one side, and to the other is the area for the brass rubbings. I really didn’t have any clue as to what to do, but Mr. M walked in as an expert and showed us the ropes. First, you go around and pick out your brass rubbing plate. They have small ones (think 8×10 size plates) and gigantic 4 foot tall plates. Then you simply pick the color of wax you’d like and pay for your rubbing. They will wrap the plate in black paper for you and give you a short demonstration of the right/wrong way to go about your rubbing. Then it’s up to you to find the dexterity to create your masterpiece to take home! We all had a lot of fun “coloring” (especially Miss L) and spent about an hour completing our rubbings. With them sealed up in a poster tube, we headed nextdoor to Trafalgar Square for some breezy relief near the fountains, then headed back to the hotel for our final day in London!

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Summer in the UK: A Day at Wimbledon

Kim — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 01:21:24 +0000

Wimbledon was a "MUST DO" activity for our UK trip and it absolutely lived up to all of the hype! Read about our full day from the Queue to Court 2!

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Summer in the UK: London Shakespeare and Mummies

Kim — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 04:13:17 +0000

Our trip to England was off to a fast-paced start with a visit to Shakespeare's Globe within hours of arrival! Then the next day it was off to the British Museum!

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tiptoe through the flowers

Kim — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 23:38:43 +0000

“Mom! The field is ready!” That’s my cue for grabbing the camera, looking up the perfect “golden hour” time and rushing out into the fields south of our house for our Spring photoshoot.

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paint party at home

Kim — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 01:04:08 +0000

Have you ever been to a paint party? Perhaps you went with friends, drank some wine, and came home with an small canvas printing of a sunset, or a sea turtle, or… something else? And you had a bunch of fun just relaxing, and painting, and walking away with something that was decently passable as art! Well, I’ve been wanting to find a paint party option for Miss L for quite awhile now and had no luck. They were all ridiculously pricey ($40+) and usually offered during the weekday and not on weekends for working parents to attend. While I kept looking for the option that would work for us, I completely stumbled upon the perfect option one afternoon: a virtual paint party! And this isn’t just any paint party… but a Plaid Crafts paint party! (You know… the company that makes all of the crafty things you want at Michaels!) So Miss L and I broke out the paint last Friday night, grabbed some blank canvasses that we bought in bulk, turned on the iPad, and painted along to the ‘Luau Pineapple’ Paint Party and had a blast! And I’m not an art critic, but I think our pineapples turned out wonderful! (Mine is on the left, Miss L’s is on the right) None of the painting was too difficult for Miss L, but the fast pace was a bit frustrating at the start. Each of the parties is about an hour in length, but this one took us 2 hours as we incorporated pauses along the way to ease the frustration. If you’re painting with kiddos, just know that you can do a hard pause and walk away and always come back when things are better! If you’d like to have your own paint party at home, here are all of the Plaid Crafts have done so far: Learn to Paint: ‘Blooming Cactus’ Learn To Paint: ‘Luau Pineapple’ Learn to Paint: ‘Sunflower Medley’ Learn To Paint: “Modern Florals” Learn To Paint: “Moonlight Harvest” Learn To Paint: “Holiday Magic” Learn To Paint: Live Stream “Cherished Birch” And they have new paint parties every month! Just check their Facebook page to see what they have planned. p.s. In case you’re wondering, this is a totally organic recommendation and NOT sponsored in any way.

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Tea Time: Tea Collection’s Black Friday Sale

Kim — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 05:59:18 +0000

There are a few stores that I religiously shop each Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and Tea Collection is one of them! It just wouldn’t be Christmas if there wasn’t a beautifully wrapped Tea Collection dress under the tree for Miss L! The Black Friday sale starts today (11/21) and goes through Saturday (11/25) with items priced at $10/$12/$15! Want to see what Miss L got? Three awesome new dresses to add to her collection, and for only $55.60 shipped! (3 x $15 dresses, $7 shipping, $3.60 tax) I’m happy once again this year, and hope she will be too! Here are the special rules about the sale: Tea Collection’s Black Friday Event prices are only valid on select styles featured in each category’s Black Friday shop. There will be no adjustments on previous purchases. The promotion is limited to stock on hand.

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uncommon goods are the best gifts

Kim — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 05:34:54 +0000

If there’s one store I return to each and every time I’m looking for a gift, it’s Uncommon Goods. And each time I look through the site, I not only end up with the perfect gift idea, but a laundry list of things I want for myself for my next birthday! Seriously, it’s the one reliable treasure trove on the Internet that never ever lets you down! And what’s even better is that they’re an amazingly wonderful company as well. They pay great wages to their workers (their lowest seasonal employee starts at 150% of minimum wage!), they support artisans and hand-made goods, AND they actively support non-profit organizations as well: RAINN, American Forests, International Rescue Committee, and Reach Out & Read! See… told you they were awesome. But what about those uncommon gifts? Here are a few of my favorites this year: Uncommon Gifts for Family A Year of Gratitude: 52 Thank You cards for you to send throughout the year and tips on how to live a more gracious life! Yard Dice: You’ve just changed how you play Yahtzee FOREVER!!! Flamingo Away Sculpture: I’m not sure what it says about me and my friends, but I know so many people that would adore this in their yard! Top Rated Uncommon Gifts Major Scale Musical Wine Glasses: We already own 999 wine glasses, so Mr. M said we couldn’t have these. So that means we’ll buy them for a wine-glass deficient friend and then visit them to play wine music! Cheese & Crackers Serving Board: A literal AMPERSAND telling you how to do happy hour the right way! Elwood the Rainbow Unicorn Mug: How stinking adorable is this mug? It’s happy. It’s a unicorn. It’s a mug. Fill it with marshmallows and gift pure joy! Deep Sea Sand Art: I will never, ever stop loving these things. Ever. EVER! Wine Pairing Towel Set: Tea towels can be bland, overly themed, or absolutely useful. These are the latter, and seem to be something that everyone can use! Authentic Stadium Seat Cufflinks: Sports fans can be picky people. But this gift would make any fan smile! I mean, it’s portable office sports bragging memorabilia! It doesn’t get better than that! Uncommon Stocking Stuffers Stocking Stuffers for people with insufferable habits: Game of Phones: If they’re on their phone all the time, buy them this party game that REQUIRES a phone to play! Hair Tie Bracelet: For the person always sporting an old elastic hair tie on their wrist, no matter if they’re wearing formal attire. Wine Pearls: When certain people need their wine chilled, but refuse to chill it properly, and instead just add ice cubes and pretend it doesn’t mess things up. Stocking Stuffers for the foodies: Make Your Own Hot Sauce Kit: You know the person who needs this. The one who is always making comments about the buffalo sauce just not having quite enough kick. Kale and Herb Razor: I own this. It looks insanely silly, but it’s amazing. Especially for rosemary! Avocado Hugger: For the person who loves avocado toast, but only uses half an avocado at a time. Just plain great stocking stuffers: Record Coasters: Most coasters are sort of lame. These are the ultimate in cool. Super Magnetic Putty: This putty will eat a magnet. It’s the coolest Christmas morning party trick ever! Ooma Bowl: This solves all of the first-world problems I encounter taking my chips and salsa to the couch on Sundays. Am I right? Uncommon Goods really is just the best with unique gifts and presents… and once again, my wish list is running over!

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matching holiday pajama time – 2017

Kim — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 06:40:32 +0000

It’s time again for matching holiday pajama season!!! TARGET MATCHING HOLIDAY PAJAMAS Target has brought LOTS of matching holiday pajama options this year: Mickey Mouse, the Grinch, Rugby Stripes, Hannukah, Star Wars, plaid, etc! (Priced $12.00-$39.99) And if you happen to have an American Girl/Our Generation/18″ doll in your family (like ours)… then I’d definitely recommend running to Target quickly to find the matching plaid or elf set for your doll(s)! THE ORIGINAL MATCHING PAJAMAS COMPANY: HANNA ANDERSSON Hanna Andersson is back once again with awesome options as well: all sorts of stripes, elves, Star Wars, gnomes, deer, Yeti’s and even the full Nutcracker ensemble! If you’re into the more casual “matching but not really matching” affair and just want some snuggly flannel pants, then Old Navy is your spot! OLD NAVY MATCHING PAJAMA PANTS You can get Christmas Cactus pants for him and for her! Or you can just go with plain ‘ol plaid/check as well (his & hers). MACY’S MATCHING PAJAMAS Macy’s is in the game this year as well, with classic sets of red plaid matching family pajamas and holiday stripe pajamas that come in regular & plus sizes for adults, as well as toddler & kids! CRAZY KIGURUMI MATCHING PAJAMAS Or… you could opt for matching Kigurumi character sleepsuits… like the unicorn pajamas my brother got me last year! They come in kid and adult sizes, and you find all kinds of characters (Pikachu, Stitch, Cheshire Cat, Winnie the Pooh, Corgis, Unicorns, etc.) for less than $10 each on eBay or aliExpress (if you have 2-3 weeks to wait for shipping from China) or you can pay a little bit more and get them via Amazon. So go forth and outfit your family, not matter how small or big, in matching holiday pajamas this winter!

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