Tween/Teen Girl Gift Guide

Anyone starting to freak out just a bit about Christmas that is right around the corner?  I thought I had a good start on things, but now I'm looking at my calendar thinking when in the world am I going to finish all my shopping?

Last weekend I had my kids finalize their Christmas lists and while there was a random few things on their lists (one of my kids wants a set of crutches???!!!) their lists did help give me some great ideas.  One of our most popular gift guides last year was the tween/teen guide and I had a few requests for that one again this year so I compiled the things on my girls' lists to share!

Here's one thing I know for sure about this age group...name brands matter to them. When they are going to school and comparing amongst friends they want the real deal, the name brands and you know what...I'm happy to give it to them. I am usually the first one to opt for the great look-alike, but when it comes to Christmas if they care about the symbol on their water bottle or jacket then I want to give them what they want.  Some may think this is feeding in to the whole Keeping up with the Jones' mentality, but honestly this is the one time of year I actually do buy them what they want so if having the same shoes as every other 13 year old is going to make them happy and confident, then so be it!

Hydro Flask - Remember when I said that name brands matter...yeah, this is one of those instances. All the girls are loving this insulated water bottle that comes in a slew of fun colors.

Waterproof Stickers - It's like they are little girls all over again with the stickers.  Only these are special stickers that go on their cool water bottles.  Amazon has a ton of multi-packs (like HERE) so they can put stickers on water bottles, notebooks, laptops, etc. until their hearts are content.

Metal Straws - All the trend right now is saving the turtles and one way to do that is by using a metal straw instead of it's plastic alternative.  Bonus is these come in a cute little carrying case so they can tote it with them anywhere they go!

Fuzzy Sweatshirts - I took my daughter shopping for some new fall clothes a few weeks ago and I swear her entire cart was filled with fluffy sweatshirts in every color, style and variety. These are a must and please note, they should be oversized. The fluffier and cozier the better!  HERE and HERE

Fun slippers - Who doesn't love a new pair of slippers for those cold winter nights?  These fun glitter ones are a fav!

AirPods - Every tween and teen (both boys and girls) want a pair of AirPods so they can watch YouTube and listen to their music without having to worry about those pesky cords.  (I for one, like my cords, but that is certainly showing my age.)

Pura Vida Bracelets - These bracelets come in every color of the rainbow and have waterproof coating so girls can wear them night and day and not worry about them getting ruined. They love to stack them and wear multiple ones at a time.

Scrunchies - Yep, they are back and also function as a bracelet more often than a hair accessory.

Suitcase - Have an upcoming trip?  A nice grown up suitcase is something she'll use for years to come!

Slushy Maker - This is something I could put on just about every gift guide I make.  Tweens, kids, and grownups alike love this slushy maker.  My kids have one and always fight over who gets to use it, my mother-in-law has one and my husband always wants to use it, too!

Patagonia - Remember that whole brand and label thing.  Yep, that applies to this.  While a bit pricier, I know the quality is great and something that she can wear for a long time!

Crop Tops - I know what you are thinking...no way, no how on the crop tops.  This isn't really that cropped though...just shorter than a regular t-shirt.  It really is the style and they can were them over tank tops.  Cropped tees and cropped sweatshirts are favorites for my girls. And again with the brand.

Makeup Mirror - Honestly, this is something I would like for myself, but my girls are super in to makeup right now, so this lighted make up mirror would be a great gift and it has a rechargeable battery!

Makeup Brushes - New makeup brushes are fun for everyone! Glitter, rose gold, or other pretty sets make dabbling in make-up that much more fun!  Some other options HERE and HERE.

Makeup - Anything from eyeshadow or Highlighter Pallets to lip gloss sets are fun for girls of any age to add to their collections.

Makeup Brush Cleaning Mat - This is another one of those I want it for Christmas, too, type of things.  These brush cleaning mats go in your sink for an easy way to properly clean all of your makeup brushes.

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Tween Girl Gift Guide

Thanksgiving break is behind us and that means we are in full blown Christmas mode now.  Our decorations are up, our trees are trimmed and the shopping has begun!

When my girls were little they would be excited about the latest American Girl catalog arriving so they could circle all their favorites and wish for what Santa would bring them. My oh my how times have changed. Now I get texts from them with links to specific items they want.  A part of me misses those days of a catalog and marker, but I will say it is nice to have specific links to shop from.  I like knowing for sure that I'm getting what they want.  I have no shortage of ideas for them this year and they are probably the easiest ones on my list to shop for!

I put together a quick little Tween Girl Gift Guide in case any of you are in search of the perfect gift for the tween in your life. Maybe a niece, neighbor, friend or daughter that you just aren't quite sure what to get.  Heck, Half the things on their list could easily be on my list, too!  They have nice taste!

1. Water Bottles - They carry water bottles with them everyday to school and sports, so having a new one is always fun.  Their favorites are Swell, Corcksicle, or this Contigo style. 

2. Wireless Headphones - They are constantly listing to their music or watching YouTube videos!  

3. Vans - How very hip of them, right? Vans aren't just for skaters anymore.  All the kids are wearing these now. 

4. Sherpa Pullovers - We shared about these pullovers a while back and the kids still love them.  At this price, I'm going to grab them another and throw a monogram on it! 

5. Facial Cleansing Brush - Never too early to start practicing good skincare practices.  Plus, these make washing your face fun! 

6. Caboodles - They are back!  I remember my caboodle and when I saw these were making a comeback I couldn't wait to introduce my girls to the organizational goodness.  I can just imagine them getting all of their hair and makeup stuff in all the little compartments. 

7. Kendra Scott Necklace - Talk about nice taste, right?!  I love that my oldest loves jewelry though and the birthstone line is perfect for girls this age.  Plus, it will be a special piece they can wear into their teen years. 

8. Flair pens - It's way more fun to take notes and do homework with fun pens! 

9. Uggs - A pricey item, but the quality can't be beat and the comfort is top notch. Did you know Dick's Sporting Goods carries Uggs? I didn't until last week and today they have 25% off your order including the Uggs!  If you are thinking of purchasing now is definitely the time! 

10. Grab and Go Hair Ties - The latest in a ponytail holder! 

11. Crocs - I know. I thought the same thing.  These can't possibly be coming back, but they are!  All the middle schoolers are sporting Crocs with charms. My kids wore these when they were little and I can't believe they are making a comeback. Amazon has at the best price I've been able to find! 

12. Vera Bradley - Something that doesn't go out of style is Vera Bradley!  From backpacks to lunch boxes and crossbody bags to makeup pouches...they'll love it all! 

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DIY Chalkboard Wall {Tutorial}

Yesterday I shared our updated playroom. Not quite sure what the name for this room should be. Tween Room, Hangout Room, Bonus Room?  Anyway, I knew that I wanted to do a chalkboard wall for the kids to be able to draw on and convinced the Mr. to help me with the project.  Thought I would share our step-by-step directions for anyone else who might be thinking about a similar project!

Step 1: 

With a lot of patients and the help of a level we taped off the size we wanted the chalkboard to be. Ours is about 65x45.

Step 2: 

I read a lot about different types of chalkboard paints and decided that pretty much any of them would work just fine for what I was doing.  I ended up going with the Rustoleum brand because I've used a lot of their products in the past, but I think they all work about the same. 

As I started painting it looked more navy blue than black, but once it dried it was black. I did about 3 coats just to make sure it was good and covered! 

Step 3: 
Let it dry! It says to wait at least 3 days for the chalkboard finish to be done. That wasn't a problem for us. We got busy and had to wait about 2 weeks!

Step 4: 

I knew I wanted the chalkboard to be framed so that it looked like it was hanging on the wall and the Mr. helped with this step. He got 1x3 trim boards and cut them to fit around the chalkboard.  We painted them first using the same color as our interior doors (Backdrop by Sherwin Williams) and then hung them up.  

Step 5: 

Before using the chalkboard it had to be conditioned.  Following the directions on the paint can we coated the entire surface with chalk. Basically hold a piece of chalk lengthwise and rub it all over the chalkboard paint.  I have no idea what difference it makes if you do this step or not, but it said to do it so that is what we did.  I got the girls to help me! 

Step 6: 

After coating the entire thing with chalk, you erase it all entirely and then your surface is ready to draw on.  As I was erasing they were both like, "that is so satisfying" which just cracked me up.  Not sure if your kids use that word or not, but it's the new lingo amongst the youngins these days and I don't know why but it cracks me up. 

Step 7: 
Draw, color and have fun!  They are loving the chalkboard and it makes me so glad that I decided to do this project in the room.  Directions on the paint say it can be wiped clean with a wet cloth, but then it should be conditioned and erased (steps 5 and 6) before using it again. 

We hope everyone has an amazing weekend!!!

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Create a Homework Station {For Less than $100}

Thank you CTSandThat! for sponsoring this post.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I have been thinking about transforming our playroom for a while now. Some of you might remember that I posted about it a while back because my kids just weren't using the space anymore and sadly they have pretty much outgrown the toy phase.

I wanted to transform the playroom into more of a tween room complete with a hangout space and also a homework station.  In the past they have done their homework at the kitchen island. While I don't mind them being there I do mind all of the stuff!  Papers, folders, notebooks, pencils and everything in between. It would stay all over the counters and drive me crazy.

I wanted to create a space for them to have everything they needed for their homework and studying and with the help of andThat! I was able to find the perfect organizational items with a few fun things mixed in, too!  The challenge was to stay under $100 and with all of the amazing items at great prices I was able to do it!

One thing I really wanted to find was some organizational pieces. I feel like with homework on busy afternoons that is half the battle.  Having all the supplies needed and keeping it all organized was my goal!  I love using mason jars all around my house for different things and I found these that fit right into the three section wire tray. I knew it would be perfect for pencils, markers, etc.

And they had all of the office and organizational supplies I needed!

After grabbing a few other baskets for papers and notebooks I wanted to add in some fun stuff, too!  

I fell in love with these handmade wooden scrabble tiles.  I debated on what I wanted to spell out, but settled on "LEARN" after getting some feedback on our Instagram Stories. 

After loading up my cart I made my way to the check out and was so happy to learn...

...that my math was correct and I had indeed gotten everything I needed for under $100!

I couldn't wait to come home and style it all!

This light box add some much needed fun to an otherwise boring task of homework.  The kids or I can change out the message on it when they have friends coming over. 

I loved these wire baskets for holding extra notebook paper and folders. 

And the frames at andThat! were such great quality and a VERY reasonable price.  This one was around $5 and I made a little Wifi sign with our password to go in it. Surprisingly, a ton of my daughter's homework and studying is on the computer this year so when her friends come over they all need to be able to connect to get the work done! And for a tween, Wifi is a very important thing! 

I used a table we already had instead of purchasing a new desk because I figured more thank one person could sit there and hung the LEARN tiles above it. 

I think this might be my favorite thing and I love that each andThat! has unique items that are local to the area. 

I also got the coordinating organizational desk pieces that match the wire baskets and online they are sold as a set.  These hold everything they could need for their homework and projects. 

Overall, I am really happy with how the homework station turned out and so far they are loving it. (Well, loving it as much as kid who isn't a fan of homework can!)

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Playroom Re-do {Inspiration}

We have a pretty great playroom.  When we were building our house 5 years ago I planned for this room to be on the main floor, off the kitchen and big!  I wanted places to have play stations (arts/crafts, dress up, books, dolls, train table/cars, kitchen, movie area) and a closet for storage.  

The kids used the playroom for a long time, but that room has become more and more vacant in the past year or so.  They will go in there to watch movies (sometimes) or if we have friends with younger kids over, but that is about it.  Sadly, I knew they were kind of over it and done with all the toys, but a part of me wanted to hang on to that stage a little while longer.  I mean, my youngest is almost 7 and that still seems little to me, but all he cares about is playing with the iPad or playing sports so all of those toys were just collecting dust. 

I've been thinking about how to transform that room so that it would be functional for our kids that just won't stop getting older.  I have done what I always do when I get ready for any home project...I start scouring Pinterest and taking in as many ideas as I can.  I want to turn our playroom into more of a Tween hangout space.  I have several things I really want to include...

Like a homework station/craft area...

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Chalk board wall...

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...and I'm also hoping for a lounge space, and room for a few of the toys that might still get used from time to time.  Oh, and a little sports corner, because that is all my little guy wants to do. 

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Pinterest didn't disappoint. I found SO many ideas and am totally inspired to transform that room now.  So much so that I started cleaning out toys, selling stuff, and making room for the new. 

I made a quick stop by Target for a few things earlier this week and then Target did what it always does...it sucked me in.  I started browsing a few aisles and found so many great items to use. And tons of clearance stuff so I decided to grab what I could while it was such a great deal.  

rug//letterboard//adventure pillow//poof//black&white pillow

Thankfully, I had a good little helper with me, too!  These are super light weight, but still cumbersome and he told me this was going to help build his muscles.  

I've got one more big piece of furniture/toy to unload out of that room and then I can get to work. I'm excited about the transformation and even though it is a little sad to think we are past that stage, I'm excited to make this room usable again.  Stay tuned...lots of updates and pictures to follow! 

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10 Tips for Introducing Tweens to Social Media

About a year ago I realized that many of my daughter's friends were starting to get their own social media accounts because they started following me!  That was kind of crazy, but the more I looked into their posts and interactions with their peers I loved how positive they were.  My girls would always look on my accounts to look at their sports teams and ones they look up to to see pictures and videos of inspiration. It's crazy how motivating it can be to watch athletes a few steps ahead of you and I really saw it give them the drive and determination they needed to push themselves to get to the next level so for my oldest she was allowed her own account when she turned 10, but with a lot of stipulations.

I'm a sticker and don't want to see this all day: 

However, I do think there are some great benefits and positive things to come from social media so I'm over on Savvy Sassy Moms today sharing 10 tips for introducing tweens to social media. Head on over and check it out! 

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