GIVEAWAY: The Baby Goods / January 6, 2014 by Kate Brightbill

*Giveaway is closed. Thank you for your entries! The winner is Starla Bates. Please contact me at kate@stylesmaller.com to collect your prizes! xo.

It seems there is another baby boom in 2014. Friends have been sharing their good news with us lately, and I've started scouting some great goods for gifting! Maybe you're pregnant, maybe you've just had a baby, or maybe you're just a thrilled friend looking for fabulous gifts like us! This giveaway is for everyone!

7AM Enfant diaper bags. Yes, please. I have a toddler and a preschool aged child, and I use our bag endlessly. It has the right pockets, it unzips completely (!! huge! Why don't all the diaper bags have zippers to the bottom so new parents can always find those missing pacifiers that float down? Brilliant!) There is a bottle holder, and an accessories tote included with the bag. The bags are waterproof and come in the best variety of colors. They're lightweight, sporty, and ready for any weather.

SO, here's how you WIN one filled with goodies!! Just click the links below to enter:

Leave ONE comment below letting me know EACH follow/like {6 total entries/comments} that you made! U.S. Residents only. Winner will be announced on Friday, January 10, 2014.

Good luck! xoxo, Kate

7AM Enfant provided a diaper bag to me and to give away. All opinions are my own.

HouseKeeping 01 / January 6, 2014 by Kate Brightbill

Prints: Foliage Leaf Wall Art | Zebra Wall Art | Printable Map of the USA {free!}

Pillows: Braided Pillow Cover | Sleep Sayings Needlepoint | Ice Cream Time Pillow

Storage: 3 Sprouts Fox Storage Bin | Bigso Stockholm Boxes | Numbers Cube Bin

There's nothing quite like starting a new year with a clean and beautiful home. January is for cleaning, purging, starting fresh and creating systems for all of the clutter that collects. Before I go any further, allow me to assure you that I have not yet recovered from the Christmas clutter and chaos that collected while we were traveling cross-country making snow angels and sipping far too many cups of coffee. We're all in this "clean the home for the new year" thing together...

I do; however, have some tips for organization systems, because organizing is my favorite thing. I can't even explain how excited I get when I re-organize a room or closet and color coordinate everything and create a proper place for each and every item we own, particularly in the kids' room.. I personally prefer to have all white as the backdrop to a bedroom for my kids {we inherited pale green walls, but I'm angling to change them very soon}, because as kids grow, their tastes change. White allows the accessories to grow with my kids. Colored accessories and bright toys don't overwhelm as much when their room has basic bones.

I have an addiction to color-coordinating my children's clothing and books because it maintains a put-together look at any given time. Every outgrown clothing size goes directly into the properly marked bin, and anything we used only lightly, we send to consignment. My goal is to prevent excess- if we don't use it, it's handed-down, donated, consigned, or tossed, depending on the wear. The more we have the less we use what we have.

My strategy for the kids' closet is to have one basket where I can throw anything that they try that is outgrown. So like- if Sophie is getting dressed and I see her shirt sleeves are not where they should be, she changes out of that and I toss that shirt into the basket that lives above her dresser. Once the basket is full, I pull it down, and sort everything according to size into already-marked-by-size bins. It's worked like magic since Sophie was about one, so anytime Maggie's clothing begins to get small, we just pull out the next bin and switch it all, and re-label. Bam. Done in a quick 30-minute session.

There you have it. A quick Monday tip for ya, and plenty of pretty goods to spruce up kids' rooms!

xo.

{*post includes affiliate links}

Loving & Linking / January 3, 2014 by Kate Brightbill

Five detox smoothies... maybe it's just us, but I'm feeling this will come in handy this month. The holidays and their sugary goodness have me craving some good greens and vitamins.

A little 15-year old providing some serious inspiration.

So well-written: Busy isn't respectable anymore {ps. I'm totally taking the month challenge}.

Got one of these for Christmas in a stripe version, and have been living in it. It's kind of the perfect January chill look. I've been wearing it with these in dusty brown, which are ridiculously comfortable and perfect for motherhood.

Thirteen great resolutions... with gorgeous photography to accompany each.

That's it. Just five this week. Back to the regularly scheduled program next week... I love routine, so I'm looking forward to the every-day posting again! Happy weekend to all.

xo,

Kate

Resolution 2014 / January 2, 2014 by Kate Brightbill

A new year. I'm writing this a week early because I really like to spend time thinking about resolutions, and New Year's Eve and day is reserved for late night memory-making parties, and slow, easy mornings.

Resolutions are a fabulous thing. I'm so glad that we reserve the first of every year for a clean slate that we can practice introspection and strive for betterment in our lives. 2013 was a decent year. We played hard, we worked hard, we did a LOT. The first half of the year felt long and gloomy and challenging; the second half lovely and full and warm. It's not a year I'd choose to repeat, but I do believe there was character built, and obstacles overcome, and I'm grateful for that.

There is a lot I'd love to improve in the next year, but most of all, I'd like to resolve:

To become an intentional person in 2014.

Does that sound too vague? Maybe. I actually look at it the opposite way. I'm kind of a free spirit sometimes. I like leaving my options open, having no schedules, letting things flow and play out the way they "should." Before having children, this was no big deal, but this year I began to feel loose and scattered rather than organized and put-together. I'm an organized person, so "loose and scattered" is not the day-to-day I picture for myself.

There are things we say we'd like to do. We say it until we're blue in the face, but until we get something on the calendar and make it happen, it's not just going to happen.

To be intentional is to change "Hey, let's hang soon," to "Hey, are you free on the 20th to get dinner at ___ with me? Let's put it on the calendar now!" or "Oh, I need to grab this that and the other to start teaching Sophie some kindergarten prep" to "Sophie let's do a lesson, and while you work, I'll order those books on Amazon."

Sometimes I spend far too much time THINKING about what I should do and far less time DOING.

To be intentional is to adjust that mentality daily.

{Starting with a calendar I'll be ordering riiiiiight now!}

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xo,

Kate

Ps. You might also like: 2013 Resolutions