Hi, friends!Before we hop on the kids gift guide band wagon (which I'm PUMPED about btw!), I wanted to quickly touch on a few things that tend to be hot topics for parents this time of year. I feel like the best way to approach this is to start out by saying that what I'm going to share is what has worked for our family. I'm not saying that if you do it differently, you're doing it wrong. I definitely don't want to start any debates because I'm in full support of you doing what you feel best for your family! I hope this will be an encouragement to you and not a source of contention at all. So now that we've got the motive out in the open... let's start out talking about Santa!Growing up, we didn't do Santa. I can vividly remember a few people at church calling him Satan Claus. Maybe taking it a little far, ya think? My parents were influenced at the time by a very conservative christian teaching and Santa was a pretty big part of that.So then we had the group of believers and the group of non believers and I hear many a play date was ruined due to the reckless admission from children calling out others for being in one camp or another. It's become quite the issue.Here's what's ironic about the whole thing to me: I actually feel that putting a significant focus on not believing in Santa Claus and engaging in a debate on either side ends up actually putting more of a focus on Santa. Where wasn't the point from the beginning to take the focus off of the man in red?I feel no need to defend myself to anyone that we include Santa in our Christmas traditions. He's a symbol of the season in the same way that Christmas movies by the fire, baking cookies, and riding the Pink Pig are symbols of the season. We look forward to taking the girls to sit with Santa. It's the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed to see them run and jump in his lap and ask how his reindeer are doing.The way we have always approached Santa with the girls is kind of a need to know basis. The involvement is limited to sitting on his lap, leaving cookies and milk on christmas eve, and leaving big gifts on the porch that he couldn't fit down the chimney (a tradition my husband grew up with and loved!). Our conversations surrounding Santa are pretty limited and when He is brought up, we let the girls lead the conversation. When they ask us questions, we just ask them questions back. They are still so little and have no need for details. When they get older, we will just continue being open with them while also always trying to maintain the magic and wonder that surrounds the Christmas season.Our goal every day of the year with our girls is to help them be servant hearted, kind spirited, grateful little people. The Holiday Season has been proven to be a wonderful time to help them go even deeper into each of these character qualities. When they ask for a gift that's too expensive, we explain that we don't have it in our budget to get that gift. When they complain that others get better gifts than them (gosh this starts early!), we talk about the children who get nothing at all for Christmas and are sure to remind them (and ourselves!) that gratitude has a way of turning what we have into enough. Keeping things in perspective in the early years will set them up for the rest of their lives.I believe that it's possible to give gifts that are purposeful and that bring joy to our children, without falling into the trap of excessive spending and over indulgence just for the sake of the season.It's our job as parents to be intentional about facilitating conversations with our kids that are rich with the truth they need to hear. We can easily find ourselves leaning too far in one direction or another on many different topics, so it's important to have balance and look for opportunities to talk about what this time of year represents: Hope for a lost people and Light in a dark world.As far as gift giving is concerned, I love to keep in mind the "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" idea. We may do two of each of these categories depending on the price point, but having a guide helps to keep me grounded when I'm tempted to buy ALL THE THINGS for my girls. And believe me, I am!We also make it a point to do a major toy room clean out a few weeks before Christmas and take toys to donate. This makes room for whatever new stuff they'll be getting but it's also an opportunity to talk about giving to others in need. We have enjoyed doing "adopt a family" in the past and the girls love packing up Operation Christmas Child boxes.What it all comes down to for me is this: We love because He first loved us. We give gifts because He gave the best gift to us. We celebrate this joyful time of year with our family pulled in close because while we live and breathe, we are blessed to be doing it.I encourage you to pray that God would help you to have a purpose-filled Christmas this year. I pray that we would have enough time for all the silly and seemingly insignificant things that make this time of year FUN while still seizing the opportunities to turn hearts young and old to heaven to gain the perspective that we need to keep all year long, but especially at Christmas time.Thanks for reading, sweet friends!
The Loverly Grey Collection with Goodnight Macaroon
Y'all!I'm beaming with pride over here for one of my dear friends and blogger besties that just launched her very carefully curated collection with an international brand! Brittany is such a precious soul and her eye for fashion is top notch. I'm not surprised at all that she's accomplished so much in her career already and I'm so excited to have a front row seat to see what's next!The full collection can be found HERE be sure to use code LOVERLYGREY to recieve 25% off your order PLUS free shipping. Brittany recommends to choose UPS Express Shipping in order to ensure your order will arrive quickly! The collection is limited supply and there will be no restocks so grab what you want fast! Be sure to pay close attention to that cashmere dress because it's selling FAST!So proud of you, B!! [showboutiquewidget id="652159"]
Fall Booties + Cozy Sweaters
Hi, friends! I did a little poll last night to see whether y'all were more interested in booties or cardigans. Turns out, you're interested in both! Since the poll was split pretty even, let's just do a little of both.I have pretty strong opinions when it comes to what kind of boots and booties you need in your closet. For starters, a good pair of tan booties are a must. Second, a pair of brown riding boots are also equally as important. For a more dressed up look, I'm also loving the sock boot trend. I've seen a lot of these in velvet and y'all already know how I feel about velvet![showboutiquewidget id="650359"] Now let's talk about sweaters. I've rounded up quite a variety. We've got some pullovers, a few turtlenecks, and (my personal favorites) cardigans! All of these are soft (duh) and most are very affordable! Don't be afraid to layer sweater on sweater, too. If you have a light weight v neck sweater, it would pair perfectly with a cardigan over the top.[showboutiquewidget id="650361"] Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Friday to all of you!
How To Style Family Pictures
Here it is, my loves! The long-awaited family picture post. I think I started bating with the idea a little early and then BAM before I realized it, we are more than half way thru October and it's officially time to start getting serious about the family photo situation.Before we get started with outfits, let's just get this out of the way: If you have small kids, don't ever ever EVER schedule anything more than a 45 minute photo shoot. If your kids are like mine, they can smell our fear when we head into family pics and they aint scared. All you need to focus on is getting one picture to frame for Grandma and put on a dang Christmas card. Bring bribery. Bring candy. Bring stuffed animals, grandparents, law enforcement. Whatever it takes, just come prepared. Don't think that because this is special to you, that it will be anything but a candy eating obstacle to your kids (and maybe your husband). Lower those expectations down to a zero, momma.Ok rant over and on we go!Let's talk about styling! I went back and forth on how to do this post because I just really, really wanted it to be helpful for y'all. I decided to give y'all some guidelines to help you get started and hopefully that'll help you to do YOU and not just exactly what someone else is doing.
Pick a Feel, not a Color Scheme:
I think this is one of the first ways that people get tripped up in their pictures. Picking certain colors can end up making your pics feel static and boring. Instead of focusing on color, think about the vibe that you're wanting to accomplish. Laid back in a field? Bohemian at golden hour? Fancy in a metro area? Get inspiration from what you want to feel when you look at these pictures. For our family this year, I am going for cozy family fun. I want our outfits to have a bit of whimsy to them and I want the textures I choose to feel comfy and soft. Choosing a vibe will help you so much in picking out the clothes because you can look at something and know if it gives you that "feel" or not.Start with one outfit you love:
This might sound selfish but I pretty much always pick my outfit first and then build everyone else around what I'm wearing. It just helps you to have a starting point. If it's a little harder for you to shop for your kiddos, then start there. But always try to make sure that everyone is comfortable in what they're wearing because that will for sure translate in the pictures.There have been years that I've found inspiration pieces instead of entire outfits, but it has still helped me to focus my attention and build around what I love. Last year it was this precious sparkly headband that Rowen had. I used that as a jumping off point and started building everything around that.Don't Match, Coordinate:
Maybe some of you have fallen victim to the khaki pants, white polo shirt family picture epidemic. But those days are over. Now it's all about allowing each person to express who they are in their pics. A few years ago for family pictures, Reese was begging to wear her hot pink rain boots. She wore them almost non-stop that entire year and even tho they didn't match what any of us were wearing, I went for it. Can I just tell you that those are some of my favorite pictures of all time? They were just so HER. I love it.Its pleasing to the eye to see coordinating colors, but try leaning more toward some solids, some pattern, some differing textures, etc. If one person is in plaid, just let that be just for them. It's tempting to just match Reese and Rowe perfectly but I'd so much rather find complementing outfits so they can each do their own thing.Play with Textures:
I love adding a little sparkle in jewelry, some faux fur in a vest, a little tweed in Matt's jacket, and maybe even some plaid since this is Christmas we are talking about! Adding layers and textures will help you with the coordinating goal even more because it broadens areas in which you can pick up on different colors. Texture adds depth and interest and can really help accomplish that feel we were talking about earlier!Lay It All Out There:
Once you start pulling outfits together, lay them out on your bed and see how you like the way everything is being pulled together. If you see that things need to be tweaked, this is the time to do it... not when everyone is dressed and walking out the door for pictures. Talk about stress level ten!Now here are some of my FAVORITE places to find affordable outfits for my whole family:Old Navy/GAPJ Crew Factory StoreJanie & Jack (for the kiddos)LOFT (for momma)H&MI'll leave you with a few photos of our past family pics!
Fall and Winter Pastels
I'm always kind of surprised by some of the "rules" that most people still think apply to fashion. No white after labor day, no sweaters with shorts, and definitely no pastels unless it's Spring time.I'm happy to report that so many of these ideas are in the past and when you do it right, most trends can be worn no matter what time of year it is. Just to be clear, socks with sandals is still a NO NO in any situation.Today I want to talk a little bit about wearing pastels in Fall and Winter. This is the time of year we start to see lots of warm golden tones, but I'm also seeing tons of beautiful pastels and I think I must be drawn to them because of how different they look compared to the other colors dominating the market right now.My preferred way to wear pastels is to balance them with richer colors to still give some depth. In this case, the beautiful color of the lavender coat is balanced by the warmth in the boots and the depth of the navy top and skirt.I have loved these skirts from J Crew Factory! They are so flattering and come in a ton of colors. The length is perfect for work.This coat is an absolute dream. I would say it runs pretty large so be sure to size down a few from your normal size. I'm wearing a size 00. I could have probably done a 0, too!The coat, skirt, and top are all 40% off right now.[showshopthepostwidget id="2860186"] 
