16 OF OUR FAVOURITE FAMILY GAMES!

If you follow our stories on Instagram, you’ll know by now that one of our family’s favourite thing to do together is play games. Our games cupboard sits prominently in our living room so the kids can easily access them at any time. Our kids are now 9 and 11 (the twins) and we’ve been playing games with them since they were toddlers. They often play games together independently, but we also play as a family and it’s become a weekly tradition for us that I hope continues throughout the years.

Below are the games that we love and play regularly and I’ll add the ones I’m tucking under the tree this year too!

1. SKIPBO

   I remembered playing this game at a friend’s house when I was a kid and bought it when my kids were toddlers. Once you have mastered Uno, this game is a great next step. We’ve brought this game on weekends away and even the park! The kids still love to play it.

2. RACKO

   Love this simple number ordering card game for kids. We didn’t discover it until last year but as soon as your little ones can count and order numbers to 20, 30, 40 and 50, this game is perfect. It’s quick and fun, a winning combo!

3. BLOKUS

   A game for 2-4 players that’s recommended for ages 7+. It’s a patterning game and I love that the youngest player can win as easily as the oldest once they get the hang of it. A great intro to strategy games.

4. SLEEPING QUEENS

   Kaia made sure I added this one to the list. She said it was her favourite a few years ago. It’s a simple concept that the kids seem to pick up quickly (and remember) but I feel liked tired Moms (that’s me!) need the rule book nearby to remember what each card does.

5. MONOPOLY

   The classic game from our youth; our 9 year old would play this game daily if someone would play with him! We have and love the bookshelf addition and I imagine our kids playing Monopoly for many years to come.

6. CLUE

   You likely remember this one from when you were a kid too and I had to buy the vintage edition for old times sake. Nothing like a game of mystery to keep little minds thinking! My twins especially love this game and play it often when friends come over.

7. SCRABBLE

   This beautiful wooden version is a perfect coffee table decor piece as well as a very functional take on this classic word game. When we started playing Scrabble with our kids, we quickly learned the value of a quality board that holds the letters in place after a standard board kept getting knocked and wrecked. I highly recommend investing in a quality game of this one if you and your family are avid Scrabble fans.

8. BANANAGRAMS

   This game was a gift and I love how it encourages flexible thinking with words. With simple letter tiles, you could use this game alongside learning to spell with younger kids. Although the concept is simple, this game requires quick thinking and is quite tricky to keep changing your words and thinking as the game progresses. In my opinion, it’s a step quicker (& harder!) than Scrabble or Lexicon.

9. CHINESE CHECKERS

   Simple and fun. With a little strategy, this game is fun to play with 2 players and so much more complicated once you add more players. We play this game at least 3 times a week!

10. CHESS / CHECKERS

    I have always dreamed of being an amazing Chess player, although I am not (ha!). Once we knew our family was a fan of games, we invested in this beautiful wooden game board and quality felted pieces.

11. CATAN

    I like this game, but my kids love it. Learn to trade, build and settle the island of Catan.

12. CARCASONNE

    By far my favourite game to play with our family! I’d say 8+ and this is a great first foray into strategy games. It’s a long game so you have to settle into this one for the evening, but it’s enjoyable and if you are like us, my husband and I can be competitive with each other while still playing with the kids.

13. CATCH PHRASE

    Fun for a wider group and easy to sit down and play a quick round. If you are into games with friends, this one is fun for adults and kids 8+. Younger kids may have a tricky time with the speed of it and some of the content.

14. TRIVIAL PURSUIT (KIDS VS. ADULTS)

    Fun fact: my kids almost always beat us adults! This game is great for learning random facts and testing your memory once you’ve played it multiple times. While my kids seem to remember everything they learn, they especially relish in the rounds where we’ve had the questions before and I forget the answer. Fun for the whole family.

15. YAHTZEE

    A good game list wouldn’t feel complete without Yahtzee. A simple game that can easily travel with you, this one is great for improving math skills and teaching kids the concept of probability.

16. TICKET TO RIDE

    This one is tucked under the tree and the reviews are great! Have never played, but can’t wait to try.

SHOP THE POST…

KIDS BATHROOM REVEAL!

From the moment we saw this house, we knew we needed to make a change to the kids bathroom for the house to truly be functional for our family. I’m so excited to say that today is the day I get to share the new bathroom and the first bathroom I’ve ever designed with you all! The kids’ bathroom from our rental house #3 is FINALLY finished!

If you haven’t, go back and see where we started and if you’re on Instagram, head to my highlights to see the process from start to finish (trust me, it’s worth it!).

The intention for this space was to create a bright, airy and CLEAN bathroom and maximize the small space that we were working with. By removing the door and adding a barn door (see below), we were able to use the entire footprint of the bathroom.

You can see that we used a simple white subway tile on shower walls, and decided to have them tiled in a basketweave pattern to add something a little bit unique. Keeping in mind that this is a rental house, the floor tile was chosen mainly because of price point, but I love how the fun pattern turned out so much! You can find it here!

Since this bathroom is on the smaller side, using every last inch for functionality was essential. While I wasn’t sure how to approach the windows above the vanity (do we put a mirror over top?), I decided that it would be most practical if the kids could walk up to the mirror to look into it and there is enough space next to the vanity to do that. Bathroom art is hard! I chose these art prints for a bit of playfulness and also because they blend so naturally into the colour scheme.

In searching for bathroom ideas, a few things seemed pretty difficult to find. For good reason, not too many people share their toilets in photos, but I wanted to show this here as we really needed to use a workaround. It’s also fairly unusual to have windows directly above the vanity, and while I love the light that comes in here, we still may add frosting for added privacy.

Here you can see the before and after of the same shot! If nothing else, this shot shows how much more open the bathroom entryway is now and how by adding a barn door, the entry into the shower is open and accessible - a true essential for safely bathing kids!

I know this post took a while to come! It’s amazing how quickly some parts go (the tile, as we had this professionally installed) and how slow other parts went (finding all of the accessories). I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into our newest home; I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

In case you missed the introduction to our bathroom and want to see more of the before photos, you can find the post about where we started and the plan of the bathroom here.

Here are all of the sources for you too. Thank you so much for cheering me on with this bathroom project and always being so invested in our rental house makeovers.

Wall colour: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (eggshell)

Trim colour: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (semi-gloss)

Shower Curtain

Shower wall tile

Floor tile

Vanity

Mirror

Art Frames

Bobby Pin Art Print

Comb Art Print

Shower caddy

Towel rack

Hand towels

Bath mat was H&M (no longer available)

Garbage bin

Toilet roll holder

RENTAL HOUSE: LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL!

IT’S HEEEEERE! If there is one room that I am beyond excited about in this rental house, it just might be the laundry room (does this indicate my age and the fact that I am a Mom of 3?)! Other than this obvious answer, maybe it’s also because we live right in Vancouver where houses are small and laundry rooms often non-existent OR maybe it’s because I have NEVER had a functional laundry room in my adult life prior to this. Drum roll please…

SHOP THE POST…

TA DAA! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind a little and go back to where we started. This project is all about progress over perfection, as the house itself is so beyond perfect that you simply have to overlook the things that we will not be changing in a rental and aim for better. It’s been the perfect project to sum up 2020! You can see the inspiration and plan for this room here.

If you’re anything like me, I like the before and after view RIGHT next to each other photographed in the same way so that I can see the differences. If you are a pure before and after devotee, and are happy to overlook the ugly wall lino above the sink and the piping that we left, here you are! I truly wanted to photoshop the wiring out, but I left it in to show you the real deal.

So, there we have it. A whole lot of paint and a few super pretty accessories goes a loooong way to transforming a dark, dire and overlooked basement laundry room. This is now a place I actually enjoy spending time in: the light shines in, it’s super functional (a bench to fold on!) and I can commit to ensuring the laundry actually stays down here rather than making its’ way to the living room floor (making me a happier Mama and alleviating clean laundry in a basket on the floor). If I sound over-excited about a laundry room, I truly am!

Another thing I’m super excited about is the rolling laundry cart. I have seen this in numerous dream laundry spaces and decided to splurge to have a little bit of luxury in this basement space. I do not regret it for one minute! I chose the elevated cart (size small) to save my back and I really think it makes a difference when leaning over to get the laundry. It’s ideal if you have a standing place to fold and somehow feels extra special compared to a standard laundry bin.

Styling the floating shelves were one of the best parts. While the large cabinets that were already here hold most of the regular laundry room stuff, the shelves provide a bright and airy way to showcase the everyday things, cover up the ugly panel behind them and hold our favourite Sonos speaker (if you’re wondering what that silver item is). I found the art print from Juniper Print Shop and it was so simple to print out and frame!

If you’re still reading, thank you. Who knew that this dingy basement room could become something so bright and happy?! While laundry is hardly on anyone’s list of favourite things to do (or at least not on mine!), I printed this ‘washed with love’ sign to remind myself that we are indeed so fortunate to have three little ones to do laundry for and a happy place to do it in.