I’m kicking off the 5th year of my annual reading list post! It’s my favorite way to keep track of everything I read each year, and a fun place to record quick little book reviews to share with you! See everything I read on 2018’s list, 2019’s list, 2020’s list and 2021’s list for more book inspiration and then scroll down for my 2022 reads, mini reviews and what’s up next in my reading queue!
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Last year we threw an end of school party for Jane and all her classmates to celebrate surviving what could only be described as a wild year – for the parents, the teachers, and the kids! As this school year winds down, we talked about making this a tradition, and inviting classmates over for another after school celebration with some simple, old-school summer fun. I visited my local Christmas Tree Shops to stock up on all my party supplies and wanted to share a few of the fun finds and ways we’re celebrating the kick off of summer.
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After our last trip to Scotland, I did a big Q&A over on my instagram stories about traveling with kids. The conversation was so great, I thought it would be helpful to round up all of my tips and tricks for plane travel and road trips with kids as we enter the busy summer travel season. Scroll down for my tips about preparing kids for big trips, our favorite kids travel gear, and all the best kids entertainment to bring on planes, road trips and in restaurants. Happy travels!
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Being a food writer, photographer and recipe tester, more food than I care to admit ends up in the trash at our house. It’s something I’m super conscious about and make every effort to reduce our food waste. I’ve shared some ideas about how to reduce food waste in our homes – like meal planning, freezing ingredients, making creative salads, and composting! I also am lucky to partner with likeminded brands that are as passionate as I am about reducing food waste – like Fancypants Baking Coand Little Leaf Farms.
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It’s been awhile since I’ve shared my clean beauty favorites, and I have an updated list with all of my go-to skincare and make up products from Beautycounter! Keep reading for my clean beauty picks, and visit this post to learn more about my clean beauty journey, how I got involved with Beautycounter, and how I started making small changes in my makeup and skincare routine to ensure I was using products made with better ingredients. 
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My favorite Fancypants Baking Co decorated cookies are the perfect nut free, allergy-friendly treat for Valentine’s Day celebrations! The individually packaged decorated cookies are my go-to for school holiday parties, and I love the idea of incorporating them into Valentine’s gifts and giveaways. When planning for treats to bring to school parties, we have to make sure that all of the ingredients are clearly labeled as nut-free. All of the Fancypants Baking Co cookies are made in a peanut and tree-nut free facility so they’re an easy choice! On top of being allergy friendly, they’re made with fresh, wholesome, mindfully sourced ingredients, and all of the icing is dyed naturally with colors from fruits and vegetables.
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My friends at Minted shared some of their Valentine’s Day collection with me, and I’ve been having fun playing around with the sweet little cards and pairing them with special treats for festive kids valentines ideas. A few of my favorites ideas: You’re So Ex-Straw cards paired with heart crazy straws; You Brighten My Day cards paired with heart sunglasses; You are Sharp cards paired with pink pencils; and You’re a Treasure cards paired with homemade valentine’s bracelets (that Jane and I made with heart beads for some of our friends and family!). Scroll down for all of the sources, and PS: I have a discount code to share! Use XOXODOMESTIKATE for 20% Valentine’s Day cards & gifts on orders of $50+!
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It’s Elf on the Shelf season! I have a soft spot in my heart for the little guy and get a kick out of thinking up silly scenarios for him. Last year I snapped pictures of all of best elf-antics and have over 20 Elf on the Shelf ideas to share to keep you inspired. My best advice for doing the Elf on the Shelf is to start small – the first year I only did it for two weeks before Christmas, not the whole month – and have fun with it. Sometimes the simplest set-ups have been the ones that garnered the best reactions! 
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Back to School is one of my favorite times of year. Besides being a school supply nerd (give me those freshly sharpened pencils!), I also love being back in a routine. Getting back into that routine can take a little bit of practice though, and I like to set myself up for success by getting prepared for the season ahead. My friends at Christmas Tree Shops and That! recently invited me into their store to check out some of the fall trends, and while I was there I did a major stock up on supplies for back to school lunches. I thought I’d share a few of the things I keep on hand to make lunchbox packing fast, fun, and affordable!
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This post was sponsored by Artkive as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
A few weeks ago I shared on my Instagram stories that I was filling up a box with Jane’s entire year’s worth of preschool artwork and sending it off to Artkive to test out their Artkive Book process. I got so many messages in response asking for my review once the book arrived because it sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat! Just like at our house, many of you also have endless piles of precious preschooler artwork that pull at your heart strings (but also take up so much space!).
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