prologue: let’s start with a list
many many years ago, I made a list of all the things I truly loved for our living space. (so this list has served us both in our teeny, tiny apartments, as well as our current home.)
according to my list, I love whites, creams, beiges, navys, blues, pinks, oranges, golds, bamboos, wickers, rattans, leopards. I love displaying sentimental pieces and happy memories in our home - photos, maps, magazine clippings, pieces of art, whatever. I love white sheets, white towels, white cribs, white drawers, and white shelves. I love soft lamp lighting, as opposed to overhead lighting. I love the scent of light citrus. I love cozy seating, lots of blankets, and plenty of books. (The list goes on.)
first of all, The List makes it INCREDIBLY easy to shop and decorate. i am never tempted by things not meant for me - even if they’re a great price or even if they’re super trendy on Pinterest or even if they just look so cute in that girl’s photo. my list pinpointed what I truly loved. and really, I believe your home should only be filled with things you love. and I believe that’s still possible to do, even with little people running amuck.
also to note: Brett and I made a deal early on. He said I could decorate where we lived however I wanted, as long as he had plenty of comfy places to sit, plenty of Google Home products, and plenty of good food (and he said plenty of something else, but I’ll omit that and just let you fill in the blank). Highly, highly recommend a deal like this. I took that deal and RAN.
but really, this list helps me prioritize. this list showed me that what was truly important to me was, for example, having a home filled with books. so I worked to make that happen.
the beloved bookshelf (feat. white paint)
with our open den and kitchen area, I knew that’s where we’d spend the majority of our time. and for that reason, I wanted this area to have kid things worked seamlessly into the decor. a child-friendly home that still looked like adults still lived here, if you will.
so i decided I wanted a bookshelf in our den for KK. so I bought this bookshelf,
and, because I know that I love the color white for decor - and because I knew painting it white would make the bookshelf more cohesive with the rest of our den - I painted the bookshelf white with this paint.
ready for KK’s ever-growing list monthly books?
Let me first note.
I wanted to do a book rotation - like our toy rotation - so that only a particular set of books were out at a time. Both to minimize clutter and to maximize excitement/engagement - KK acts it’s like she has new books every month!
Also. I keep a wishlist on Amazon of books we’d love to receive and we get books as holiday presents. This is how we build our library.
As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
okay, let’s talk books!
the monthly books
january:
books about winter, snow, arctic animals, and bears.
see our list of January books here!
february:
books about love, kisses, family, valentine’s day, and kindness
mr. valentine also brings KK (and future siblings) a book or two
see our list of February books here!
march:
books about farms + produce.
My sisters each send KK a book from her wishlist as part of her Easter gift. And we also give a new book in our Easter Baskets. (See our Easter traditions here). We love receiving books as gifts to help grow our library!
See our March books here!
april:
list coming soon!
may:
list coming soon!
june:
books about insects, etc.
see our list of June books here!
july:
books about the oceans and the beach. our annual trip to the beach is in august so this gets us SO excited!
see our list of July books here!
august:
books about transportation, construction, rescue vehicles, and towns.
will eventually add in more about school buses and school days, too
We’re trying to do an annual beach trip in early August, so we’ll probably keep July’s books out until afterwards.
see our list of August books here!
september:
books about trees, leaves, and apples.
also! being in texas, september still feels like an armpit. so we overcompensate with lots of fall-themed books.
see our list of September books here!
october:
books about halloween, etc.
list coming soon!
november:
books about gratitude, fall, turkeys, pumpkins, thanksgiving food, football, and family.
books like
…we repurpose a few more fall/pumpkin/autumn titles from our September bookshelf, too. i love reusing books for more than one month. :)
aaaand I also love love love books from Usborne Books & More - not only is the quality amazing, but KK loves how interactive they are. all the flaps, things to feel, the finger trails, the sounds. link coming soon!
december:
books about Christmas
list coming soon!
book storage
what do we do with the books that currently aren’t displayed?
christmas books are stored in our christmas boxes in the attic.
season-specific and holiday books (like books specifically about Halloween or Spring) are stored in our Seasonal Boxes with the rest of our seasonal things.
and the rest of our book collection is stored in two big ol cube units (from ikea, i believe) anchored to the wall. and while the bottom rows are filled with ikea wicker baskets for kid and toy storage, the top rows are books and books and books. it’s all pretty empty now, with plenty of room to grow into.
Whew! Okay. I think that’s it.
Read allllll the answers to my Reading FAQS here.
Currently working on a handful of posts re: books, KK, our home. Stay tuned. In the meantime, I’ll be posting snippets of our life on Instagram stories.
see our favorite toys + activities from birth until now here
(Are my posts not showing up for you on Instagram? Sometimes it helps to unfollow me, then refollow me, if that makes sense. Or like/comment/save/share my posts. Basically any sort of engagement lets Instagram know you want my feed to be one of the ones they actually show you. I try not to get frustrated by Instagram, but MY WORD.)
Hugs to you all!
