Hannah Morrison

Chloe’s Disneyland First Birthday Party

Chloe is ONE! We celebrated with friends and family a couple Saturdays ago with a full on Vintage Disneyland theme. We told the kids to come as their favorite characters OR like they were going to the park, and we covered the home in vintage Disney and pastels. I grabbed as much Disney-themed items from our own loot that I could to decorate with, mostly old Disney books and characters, and then we purchased some key party decor you will see linked below to give the touch of magic we needed! We did this party on a mega budget and I am really excited to share it with you.

For food, we did Build Your Own Waffle Cone Bar! We had chicken strips, Mac and cheese, 3 different kinds of French fries (white potato, sweet potato, shoe string), and toppings including syrup, honey mustard, and BBQ! I know it sounds crazy… BUT OMG. SO GOOD. I used to have a client that did an entire restaurant concept of waffle cones like this, and so when I was trying to come up with “park food” for the theme, I thought of these! It was easy for kids to eat without a table or on the ground, and people really had fun with it. It was also extremely cost efficient.

For the cake I made one myself again, like I did for Rory’s Donald birthday, and then one of my besties found the cake topper at Home Goods for $9 and it completely transformed the cake to theme. I used the GF King Arthur Confetti Cake Mix and Buddy The Cake Boss Buttercream frosting.

The banner I made with streamers took only about an hour and cost me $15! I bought two packs of this set of 6 pastel streamers (the colors were perfection!!) and then I already had a roll of twine in our craft box. My mom and I joked how most people would have probably measured each one out, but we just don’t work that way. I just sorta went for it and followed a general pattern. Although, it got mixed up a few times and then we filled holes with random colors. So use the word “pattern” very lightly. I would guess each strand was about 5-6 feet long so it hung 2-3 feet long on both sides of the twine. And then I layered it when I hung it up so that also made it feel full and large! The key is to simply tie very lightly so the streamers didn’t tear, but other than that it was just a “go for it” effort.

Chloe’s dress is from Lola and the Boys, and my skirt is a few years old from Red Dress Boutique! I wore it for Rory’s baby shower.

I used Knox’s craft cart (after a good scrubbing with a Magic Eraser) for our Polaroid stand. We had this cutie blue camera already and bought 40 film. Kids had so much fun taking photos of each other and there’s just always something extra magical about a Polaroid pic. We had this whole set-up, the cart and garland, as people walked in up front by my blue door, which made it feel very cohesive and Disney-esque.

It was extra hot this day, literally the day before hit the record hottest day, so whereas kids typically play outside the whole time when we do a party… they all were inside. Every last one of them. It was a little overwhelming, but we made it work. There were toys out to play with and we had Disney rides from Youtube playing on the TV. My friend who is a Disney Travel Agent came up and took the kids on a roller coaster ride from start to finish as a Disney Cast Member. It was so cute and the kids had a lot of fun with it. I think the parents did too, to be honest… hehe. All you need to do is type in “POV Disney rides” on Youtube and tons will pop up for you!

The key to a party at home with your kids is to just provide the space to play and have fun with it. Your home will get messy and it will be packed, but I promise it’s so fun. When it isn’t too hot to play outside with record temperatures, we typically have all the kids running amuck outside with the playhouse, trampoline, roller coaster, wagon, bikes, etc. Again, this specific time that didn’t happen, but it usually does! I have a gate on our stairs and literally tell parents as they come in that we have everything downstairs and they can play with whatever they see downstairs! Put things away that you don’t want played with or messed up, and that is it. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on a party for your kid to make it feel extra magical. It just takes key items that shift an atmosphere into the theme you are dreaming of.

Scriptures for the Mama

Alright mommies, if you have kids in school then it’s likely they’ve had their first day by now and you’re finding the new rhythms of fall. Well, except that it is still 110 degrees here in Texas and we are anxiously awaiting the cooler weather to come with the “fall” school season. We have a kindergartener for the first time and it was a wild week. If there were any tears (there were) they weren’t from Knox (they were 1000% most definitely me). 😉 I have been preparing my heart for the last few weeks leading up to this first day, and I found scriptures that really medicated my heart as I wrapped my mind around him growing up & my job in this transition, and the weird transition of trusting somebody else to pour into your child.

Luke 1:30 “The angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you.’”

I find this one so special, because Mary is the mother of Jesus. I often forget she was a young girl initially frightened by the task presented to her. And yet, the angel was so gentle and kind to her. Surely frightened many more times in the years to come within her job of “mommy”, Mary was a fully human mother who certainly went through the same dips and mountain tops we all go through. Yet God deemed her worthy of such a task for “such a time as this” (reference from the story of Esther, an equally powerful story about a woman of God!) simply because He found her honorable. You, mama, were made for this task. Though scary at times and a heavy load to carry, it’s a job He found you worthy of. You can trust him and his plans as you send your kids off prayerfully to school.

Genesis 28:14 “Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants.”

I pray this promise from Genesis over my own family as I entrust my babies to the Lord. Made first to the decedents of Abraham, this scripture is for us, too. Initially a foretelling of Christ to come, as believers in Christ himself who hold his spirit within us, we too become like dust spreading across the Earth. I like to imagine my babies as sugar spreading out everywhere they go, a taste of the goodness of God!

Proverbs 31:27 “She is vigilant over the activities of her household; she doesn’t eat the food of laziness.”

I find this one sweet to remember as I prepare intentionally every Sunday for the week. I lay out the week of clothes for Knox to choose from, prep meals and pack launches, and plan dinners etc. The way I manage my household will directly impact those who live in it. I get to carry the main mark of peace (or chaos) for my family. The more I prepare and do in advance, the more my home is a place of peace for my kids to live and come home to.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I have to remind myself this verse at least once a day, even before I had a kid leaving me every day for school. I don’t know about you, but my mind can come up with some wild scenarios. And often times, if I don’t capture them right away, they can go down trails that leave me feeling anxious. This verse reminds me to think of truth rather than what I fear.

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

I tell myself this scripture on my tougher days. No matter what the circumstances or context, if we keep pouring into something with faith and trust that God is on His throne in all things, then we we reap a harvest if we keep pouring into it faithfully. For my children, of course the harvest I hope to reap is children who love the Lord and give their lives to him. But even so, since they are freewill beings who will inevitably make their own decisions, part of that is still a prayer of my heart over the harvest I hope to reap. But the harvest I will most certainly reap for pouring faithfully into my children is that I will stand before the Lord one day to hold an account for my children. Did I steward their lives well and faithfully point them to Jesus? I hope to God I do and with confidence have the ability to say I never grew weary doing good.

Amazon Storefront

Okay y’all, I am genuinely giddy about this. I am sort of obsessed with my curated collections over in my Amazon Storefront, and it is frankly just a running “wants” list for myself at this point hehe. You will find a chic and magical curation of Home, Kitchen, Kids, and Closet here, and although similar to LTK you don’t have to have an account to shop these links like you do for LTK. This is a commission-based store, so if you do choose to shop here with me, a portion of sales will be taken from Amazon and paid out to me.

See below for a tiny glimpse of the palette you’ll find over in my shop, and then head to the link (or click the image below!)

xoxo, Hannah

Kindergarten Zara Try-On Haul

I actually think I am still in denial my oldest starts kindergarten in less than two weeks. I genuinely had in my head I had a few more weeks, because I figured school started at the end of August like I always did growing up… But then last week I found out it was early August and I literally cried on my friends’ couch because it was such a shock to me. LOL. Anyways, Knox is pumped and I am so excited for him (even though I feel sad) because this kid was made for school. He loves learning, science, and building stuff. He says he is most excited for science! I had to buy him nearly an entire wardrobe, because the kid has surely grown 3-4 inches over this summer and pants are capris on him/shirts are getting a wee bit cropped. This year, I sat with K and had him pick things out with me. I tried to direct on some while others he flat out said “No, I don’t want that.” So weird to have a kid old enough to actually say that to me but I welcome it! I love seeing his personality and style come out – and believe me, he has opinions. He really loves outfits and putting together things. And he really wanted a Pikachu set, so I caved and went kitschy for him… but my insides died a little.

Zara doesn’t do LTK links, so while I won’t make any commission on these, I know so many of you wanted links! Knox is 5.5 (6 in December) and I bought mostly the 6/7 years big boy sizes so that they last us through next summer and early fall (maybe even more for some of it!). The only thing a little large on him are the green jogging shorts, but they tie and stay fine. They would totally slide off though without tying. Other than that, sizing up from his “age” size was a win for us!

You will find pieces from sets used separately and together + packs of tees that make two weeks of outfits! That’s HUGE for a little boy and then we will also have some of his older jeans/shorts to mix in to help with laundry turnaround. As for shoes, our neighbors are the best and give all their hand me downs and recently gave us like no joke 6 pairs of shoes Knox’s size that had never been worn before. So some of these are from them! But the white high tops are old Zara (I linked for you on one to see if it will take you to lookalikes on their site!) and then the black and red Jordans are from last year!

Look 1: Shirt | Pants | Shoes

Look 2: Shirt | Shorts | Socks

Look 3: Shirt | Shorts | Socks

Look 4: Set | Socks

Look 5: Shirt (From This Pack of 3) | Shorts (From the Above Set!) | Same socks as above

Look 6: Shorts | Shirt (From Pack of 3) | Socks

Look 7: Shirt | Joggers | Shoes

Look 8: Knit Polo

Look 9: Custom Set (Add design – we did embroidered T-Rex!)

Look 10: Shirt

Look 11: Shirt | Shorts

Look 12: Pikachu Set (Knox’s favorite – the bane of my existence… lol) JK, that’s dramatic.

Look 13: Shirt (From Pack of 3!) | Shorts (From Pikachu!) | Socks (From Pack of 3)

Getting Ready for Back to School!

Oh my, well ready or not… Knox Chandler starts school in just a couple of weeks. I cannot believe my baby is going to school. As we inch closer to Kinder camp, meet the teacher, and our first day of school, I am getting the home ready for a new year. Purging, donating clothes, throwing away, minimizing… preparation has begun! I started from the ground up last week, painting our baseboards and freshening things up. Call me crazy… but I think feeling “together” starts with the state of your home! This week we purged toys and clothing for donation!

I have a few things I do in the school year that have really made a difference for me and I wanted to share as I am in the thick of getting ready for a new routine to start again!

The first: I started doing a hanging cubby for outfits each day of the week in advance. This helps me know what to prioritize in my laundry. I put things up Sunday, and then if I see I need to wash shorts or socks etc, I can grab them real fast and fill the gaps by Monday afternoon for the rest of the week. This saves me from scrambling through laundry on the morning of and helps with the big picture of chores for the week a bit as I decipher what and when to wash everything. It also gives Knox a sense of freedom to pick his outfit for the day from a predetermined line-up. I mean, I know personally I may have planned a certain outfit for something in my week but when that day comes, I may prefer something a bit comfier or whatever… just different than I had planned. So allowing your kid to pick gives the freedom to choose how they feel that day and what they want to wear. (without coming down in mismatch socks and shoes and pants that don’t fit anymore… speaking from experience lol.)

Lunches were so stressful for me until we really figured out a system. Knox has a box with compartments and he helps me fill them so that he feels a sense of ownership over what he has to eat for lunch that day. He knows he has to have a protein, a veggie, a fruit, a crunchy thing, and a treat of some kind. He helps me pick all these items out at our grocery run for that week, and then he knows for the next two weeks these are his rotating items for lunches. We will typically have a couple options for each category so he can decide! We bought the Pottery Barn Spider Man Lunch Box and Backpack set two years ago and it STILL looks so good. I cannot get myself to buy a new one of either item because it looks so nice still. Knox has gone to school three times a week with them for two years now. I think that says a lot about the quality! So although it feels expensive up front, this proves my point in life to spend extra on the nicer things!

Zara Haul! Who remembers this try-on haul by Knox when he was about to start Pre-School? I could weep. Y’all know how I feel about Zara Baby/Kids. It’s unmatched. Not crazily priced but way better quality than Target. Plus, Rory literally has an entire wardrobe every year because I can pass down nearly every item I buy Knox and then fill in what got ruined from playing hard, etc. I still have pieces originally from Knox that I will pass to Coco, even! Raise your hand if you want a Zara Try-On Haul 2.0 with KC this year! I cannot link Zara, sadly, but we love their jogger pants, tube socks, and basics a lot. But I bought him a really nice knit polo, too! They have fun graphic tees that from $11-$17! This year, Knox sat with me and we chose items together for his closet. It was so fun (but also humbling because I had to be ok with a Pikachu matching set… lol. picking my battles.)

As for Rory, we decided to keep him home one more year! He has one of those summer birthdays that has made it a little difficult to decide what I want to do with him and when to start. He could totally thrive in a school setting right now if we wanted or needed to. But to be honest, I just wasn’t ready to lose that time with him. When Knox started PreSchool, he was 3 but turned 4 just a few months into the year. Rory literally just turned 3 and I felt sad thinking about losing all that time with this age that I had with Knoxy. So, he will start PreSchool next year and we will see about kinder for him either at 5 or waiting until he is 6!

Now… I am ready to buy SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Happy back to school everybody!

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