I know I am not alone in saying that fall is my favorite season! I look forward to it all year, especially since moving to the desert. Fall is like a breath of fresh air after the blistering hot summer temperatures. After being holed up in our homes, almost unable to go outdoors unless it's to play in the splash pad (something my kids grow tired of quickly once it becomes their only option), we long for days when the sun goes down early and we can run outside! 

Growing up in the midwest, autumn meant beautiful colors in the trees, crisp air in the morning, and rainy afternoons. As I got older I always looked forward to hot cups of coffee and wearing lots of layers. I am the most homesick when the first day of fall rolls around every year and the pictures start rolling in from friends and family still living in the mitten state. We are fortunate that most years we get to take a trip back home and stay with family near the end of summer.

We decided to embrace our desert landscape and escaped to the mountains to explore in the cooler temperatures. Mt. Charleston is an hour drive from our neighborhood, making it a perfect destination for a day trip. I packed a picnic lunch for us and brought along our crayons and water colors. Sometimes I forget that these things can be taken with us, and it makes for a great engaging activity to color and draw the things as we experience them instead of from memory later. Harper brought along her little notebook and a multi-colored pen and recorded everything that she found along her way, while Atwood and I discussed the different colors of leaves that we found and matched them to our crayons. 

After lunch we checked in on Harper's fairy house that we had built on an earlier trip using only items we found in the woods. We were pleased, and a little surprised, to report that it was still mostly intact! We stopped at an overlook on a road we had never turned down before, and the kids marched along a stone wall while we admired the view. On our way to check out a new area of the mountain, we drove past a meadow where families were picnicking and playing soccer. Among them was a family of wild horses! I had never seen wild horses before and Nick quickly pulled over so that Harper and I could jump out of the car and get as close as we could without disturbing them. 

Overall the day was pure magic. We saw so much wildlife that we just don't get to experience living in a large planned community. Nick and I have already made plans for our next trip up before snowfall. 
I want to share some photos from our day, so prepare for a photo overload! 

Create leaf rubbings like we did by using a clipboard or other hard surface for older children you could then later help them identify the plants that the leaves came from. Is there a nature destination in your area? You could pack a picnic and spend the entire day in your yard looking for bugs, leaves changing color, funny looking sticks, and discussing these things with your child. You don't have to travel far to witness and enjoy the changes of this season.

​xoxo


P.S. Harper and I are wearing matching Long Sleeve Tee Dresses in Sandstone and one of my Hand-dyed linen bandana scarves that can be found HERE. 

It is so easy to become distracted in our daily lives. Checking social media on our phones, texting our friends (and partners), spending hours on Pinterest, we've all done it. A goal of mine for this year has been to be more present for my children.

Being a parent to small humans can be a really stressful job. I really believe it is the most important thing in the world, to raise these little people into functioning adults. I've found, over the past four (almost 5!) years of being a mother, that a routine really helps our days. It helps with arguments, it helps me stay focused, and most importantly, it helps me stay present. 

We have a daily and weekly rhythm in our home. Things that just seem to happen at the same time every day. We wake up, we read, we snack, nap, lunch, play, paint, etc. There is almost an order to the chaos that is life with two young children. Mondays and Tuesdays "dad" is working at his "far away office" instead of upstairs in his home office. Tuesday we have playdates, and every Friday is family movie night! But occasionally, we need a little help. I get busy with work, sewing, or *gasp* my Instagram feed. I need a little push sometimes. 
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So, I created a printable that I keep on the side of my fridge. It has a rough layout for our average weekday schedule. I laminated ours so that I can write in extras and then wipe clean to avoid the extra waste, but you don't have to! 

After having a second child, I find it is sometimes a struggle to give my first born the attention and time she was accustomed to. I have included some "Mommy/Harper time" in our daily schedule during my son's nap. Since she enjoys baking, we often spend the first part of nap time making muffins, bread or other baked goods. Things that we can enjoy throughout the week. On this day, we got together and made a delicious vegan apple crisp! She loved mixing in the apples with the cinnamon and fresh ginger, and sneaking bites of the crumble topping. 
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I found the recipe via Minimalist Baker, which you can find HERE. Because we are not gluten free I simply used regular all purpose flour in the topping. I also did not have any almond meal on hand, and found that I had great results with the flax meal in my pantry taking it's place. 

Your daily rhythm will look different, and that's ok! Sit down with a piece of paper and think about the events of your day, going backwards from bedtime. Or, better yet, write things down as they happen for a few days to see if there are any patterns. Once you have a rough idea of what your days look like, think of a few things that you'd like to incorporate everyday. Maybe it is a walk in the morning, a weekly playdate, or an event in your community. Find a way to fit that in! It isn't about being so busy that you need a schedule. It's about making time for the things that are important for you, so that you don't have to rush through them.
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Below are two versions of a blank schedule, you can print your own and fill it in. Hopefully it can act as a tool to help you stay present in your life. 
xoxo

Download your own blank Weekday Schedule HERE

Hi! This is going to be a place where you can get a more intimate look behind my clothing brand; the creative process that I go through to create these items.  As well as a peek into my daily life as a mother of two children. I will share my current inspirations, favorite recipes, children’s activities, and our daily life.


Let me introduce myself, I'm Sam. My husband and I both lived in a small city in Northern Michigan, where we met, but we moved to the Metro Detroit area in 2012 before our first child was born. Long story short, we moved to Nevada in 2015 and are currently residing in Henderson, a beautiful city just outside of Las Vegas, and because the valley is so flat, we can actually see the strip and all of the beautiful mountains from our own home. Our second child was born in spring of 2016, completing our family. After two kids, a cross-country move, apartment hopping, and building a home I am finally starting to feel like I have a handle on my life again (ha!) So, I have decided to dive head-first into my first love, creating. 

I want to take a second to thank you for joining me along on this journey, and for taking the time to read this. I appreciate all of your support as I learn to incorporate this business into my daily life, and hopefully, into yours as well. 


xoxo
Sam

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