Getting Cozy: The Giveaway Winner!

Thanks everyone for following us throughout our series. We (mostly) made it through all 31 days! Crazy!

We had a great response to our giveaway and the winner is....


Katherine Wootton! I'll be contacting you shortly for your address :-)

We are (possibly) starting a new series soon 

but in the meantime, I'm glad for a bit of a break. 

Happy November!

Getting Cozy: Creative Spaces for Kiddos

When I think about cozy spaces in a home, I don't forget about my boys. They need a place that is cozy and where they can play, read, and be creative in play and in art. Their toys and books usually spread everywhere in our home and don't just stay in the playroom, but I love that we have a space that is colourful, fun and just theirs (besides a cabinet of my craft supplies). 

I have thinking about their space again and wanting to change up a few things. My plan is to *hopefully* turn the closet that is full of random things that don't have a specific place, into a reading/hideout for the boys. To take off the doors and put up a curtain so it is easy to access and hide away. Here's hoping I can find places for all the random junk!
Since I am a planner and love to be inspired by different spaces, I've put together a few pictures of my favourite cozy places for kids to hang out and be themselves.

I think this is my absolute favourite. The teepee, bunting, and colourful rug together make a great room for kids.

via Growing Home

Here is a great example of a book nook in a closet. I love the light fixture and the shelves on the side of the wall.

via Thrifty Decor Chick

Here is another example of a great playroom with a teepee in the corner. 

via 6th Street Design School

What could be cozier than floor pillows that they can cuddle up with a book on? Or in my son's case, jump on? 

via Lauren Leonard Interiors

I can't forget about their bedrooms. Our boys don't play in their room; we keep the toys downstairs, but we have books in a bin ready to be read before bed. I want their room to be a place where they can go and feel at rest. Since that is my goal - for them to sleep!! 

via Divaani Blogit

via A Cup of Jo

via Back to Basics

To catch up on the rest of our Getting Cozy series, click the button above! 

Getting Cozy: No Joke Brownies

This is technically yesterday's post. I forgot to post it! Melody will have another post for you later today. 

My family has a brownie recipe that is incredible. This recipe has one cup of butter and two cups of sugar. They are no joke, hence the name that I gave them. 

They are the perfect brownie to whip up when you have guests coming over, because believe me, you do not want the whole pan in your house because you will eat them all. The whole pan.

Place a scoop of ice cream, some warm chocolate sauce and even some sprinkles on top and you have the perfect dessert.

No Joke Brownies

1 cup butter 

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

3 large eggs

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

1/2 cup chocolate chips (also optional, but you will be missing out if you don't put them in. Just sayin'.) 

Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit. 

Melt butter and add sugars and cocoa. Blend well. Beat eggs in one at a time. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add vanilla. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Bake in a 9x13 pan for 30 min. 

** Sometimes I don't use this icing recipe and just use a store bought version. Easy and still good. **

ICING

1/2 cup softened butter 

1 cup icing sugar

2/3 cup cocoa

2 T milk

2 T hot coffee (you can use instant coffee for this) 

Beat the butter, sugar and cocoa together. Add the milk and hot coffee to the mixture. Spread on top of cooled brownies. 

Enjoy! 

This is day 28 of our Getting Cozy Series 

To catch up on the rest of the days, click the button above! 

Getting Cozy: Creative & Cozy Toys for Kids

Whenever it starts to get cooler, I start thinking about my kid's toys. They have a lot of them. I'm not even sure where they all came from. They have waaaay too many of those little toys that are interesting for one minute and then after that, they just become a hazard for stepping on.

Thankfully my husband is a lot more ruthless than I am and organized all the toys and weeded three large bags of toys to give away.

I want my kid's toys to inspire creativity and be useful so I've put together some of my favourites to help with being cooped up this fall:

via

My kids love stuffed animals. My oldest daughter currently has tea parties and makes "zoos" with them. Homemade stuffed animals are much better and this one is adorable (and a free pattern!).

via

I love the idea of making a small dollhouse for them. When we were little, we used to tape cardboard boxes together to make our doll houses. This is the same kind of idea, only a little more durable.

via

I love these sewing cards that you can make yourself. Not only are they good for teaching fine motor skills, but they also teach a basic skill, sewing!

via

My friend was telling me about this company last week and it is amazing! Magnetic blocks for kids. They are a tad bit expensive but are amazing quality and made from solid wood. They are going to be on the Christmas toy list this year!

via

Sometimes all you need is a box and some crayons. I love this idea and I figure it would buy me about 30 minutes of quiet time. Just the amount of time it takes to make supper!

I hope that gives you a few good ideas. 

If you have any more to add to the list, let us know!

(Click on the button above to see the rest of the series!)

Getting Cozy: Cozy Spots in Our Home

Fall is the time that I look around my house and see what I want to change. I still have a few painting projects on my list of things to finish for the fall, but I thought I'd show you a few rooms from around the web that I love:

via

I love this sunny yellow colour. I'm glad that I painted my side tables and coffee table although it will probably be changing soon since it's not my husband's favourite. (I'm being nice with his comments :) )

via

I love this bed set from Land of Nod. I'm trying to reconfigure my girls' room and I love the crisp cleanness of this. A bed fit for a princess!

via

I'm thinking about knitting up a few of these for my couch. There are quite a few patterns out there and if you choose the right yarns, they could look nice and fresh. 

via

I'm loving this kelly green slipper chair. It is waaaay out of my budget for decorating but perhaps I can find something along the same lines. They would make perfect accent chairs in my living room!

via

I love how comfy this room looks. I have a hope chest that my husband made me before we were married that has been put away for safe keeping until the kids are older. Someday I'd love to bring it back out and use it as my coffee table. Add a comfy couch and some eclectic picture frames and you're all set!

Remember that you've only got a few days left to enter our giveaway! 

Click on the button above to check out the rest of the posts in this series!

Getting Cozy: A Lovely Smelling Home

As I write this blog post, my home is filled with the lingering scent of Thieves essential oil, which is a combination of cloves, rosemary, lemon, cinnamon and eucalyptus. My two little boys are right in the midst of an autumn cold and this essential oil does wonders! Not only that, it makes our home smell cozy.

It got me thinking to how we all love to make our homes smell lovely. Whether that is baking yummy treats, lighting a candle, opening the windows to get the fresh air flowing, or diffusing essential oil, the cooler months bring some delicious, cozy smells.

When the middle of September hits, out comes the spice and pumpkin smelling candles in our home. Then come the middle of November and December, I am lighting the cinnamon candles. I don't have a favourite brand of candle that I buy, although if I had a million dollars, I would be buying all the WoodWick candles that I could. They not only smell great, but the wick is made out of wood (bet you couldn't have guessed that), so it sounds like a you have a crackling fire in your living room.

via

I also like to make a mixture of smelly goodness and put it in a pot on our stove. Usually I put together orange rinds, cinnamon sticks and cranberries, add water and let it simmer for the day, adding more water when necessary. This is very similar to this recipe that I found here.

via

Lastly, there is nothing like baking a dessert or homemade bread to make your home feel cozy. Last night I had soup in the crockpot and decided that homemade bread would go perfectly, especially since it was a cool day. I made two loaves using this easy and quick recipe and it made our home smell amazing. 

Embrace the cool season and make your home smell cozy!

This is day 24 (and 23! Surprise!) of our Getting Cozy Series.

Click the button above to catch up on the rest of our series!

Getting Cozy: The Front Entrance

Okay. I know. How can the front of a house be cozy? Hear me out though. Have you ever gone for a walk or for a drive and past a house that just looks cozy? This happens mostly for me in the fall and around Christmas. Seeing a house with pumpkins, mums and a wreath or all decked out in garland and Christmas lights makes me feel warm inside.

Now, my house is nothing spectacular. Inside or out. We love our home because it is ours and because of those who live inside. The outside of our house needs some TLC (aka the front door is still not finished...) and we have a nice list of things to do, but that's what I'm not focusing on right now. Though our house isn't perfect, I still love to make it cozy from the outside in.

One afternoon, I took these supplies,

and turned them into this:

 

 I also added some mums, a crate and a few pumpkins...and a little cutie in blue.

Something simple and free, but it turned a plain front entrance into something a little cozy. See what I mean now? 

This is day 22 of our Getting Cozy series. 

To catch up on the rest of the days, click the button above! 

Getting Cozy: 10 Things for You to Do on a Fall Day

I truly love fall, but those days where it's cold and it's not raining, but not really sunny either tend to get to me. I find myself just groaning and wanting to go back to bed.

I'm assuming there are other people like me out there so I put together a list of some different things that you can do to beat the fall blahs.

1) Go outside. Yes, it might be cold but that's what rain boots and jackets (and don't forget your cute cowl!) are for. Bundle up the kids and go exploring your neighbourhood.

2) Take pictures of your cuties playing outside. I love to be outside with my kids but since they're too young to play outside by themselves, I can get a little antsy. Taking pictures of them playing allows me to capture those memories while feeling like I'm being creative.

3) Make yourself a warm drink (hot apple cider anyone?) and cuddle under a blanket. It's ok to take a day to read some books.

4) Make cookies with your kids. I usually hate making a mess but sometimes it can just pull you out of your slump. Have you tried this amazing recipe??

via It's Our Pinteresting Life

5) Get dressed and do your hair properly. I find a lot of times that helps how I feel right away. Track pants are great for being comfy, but sometimes you need that little push to accomplish things.

6) Scrapbook. Heidi is much better for doing this than I am (I haven't scrapbooked in two years!) but this little mini album that she made is so adorable, I might be tempted to pull out my supplies and get started.

7) Invite some friends over. Get-together don't always have to be carefully thought out and planned for weeks in advance. Sometimes the best times are spontaneous. Our friend Kelly is talking all about hospitality on her blog this month. Check it out!

8) Start planning your Christmas presents. I love to make my own presents but unfortunately, I usually start at the beginning of December and then I run out of time. This year I'm determined to plan it out so that doesn't happen. Maybe I should start today?

9) Let your kids help you carve pumpkins. My husband and I did this the other morning with our kids and they loved it. You don't need a perfectly sunny day for this activity, and you can even do it inside if it's raining. We now have a few carved pumpkins sitting by my front door and although they aren't perfect and don't really fit the "decor", my kids love it.

10) Plan your next decorating project. It's ok to look at all those beautiful spaces on Pinterest, but what about your house? Pick an easy project that you love and make it in your house! After all, that's what this blog is about :)

You still have a few days left to enter our giveaway! 

All the instructions for it are right here.