This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No posts found.

Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.

The Larson House

Elsie + Jeremy Larson

A few sentimental gift ideas.

Today I wanted to share a few links to my favorite custom gifts. When we were waiting for Nova I had this ring made. And after we were matched with Marigold I ordered a second one. I’ve never had so many DMs about any item before- and I’m so glad because they really are the perfect tiny stacking rings. I get the “bigger” size in gold with “no ink” (the link just makes the lettering darker). I’m pretty sure we’re done after two children, but I feel like you could fit up to four names on one finger without it feeling too bulky.

Also, I can definitely attest to the quality because I have worn my “Nova” ring for a year and a half (I rarely take them off not even to sleep or shower) and it’s definitely made to last.

Custom name puzzles. I just got these for our girls and they are so nice! I picked the pastel color option. These would make a great baby/toddler gift! Nova has been playing with ours all day. Very special!

By far my favorite gift of all time has been these daily disco jackets. A few of my co-workers chipped in and commissioned jackets for Nova and Marigold. They are SO special. They will definitely be one of those pieces that I save to pass down to them someday!

Custom dolls. We had a couple custom dolls made from this shop as a gift. They are so wonderful for children like ours who don’t usually find dolls in stores like Target that look like them. They are so beautiful!

Fireflies

Last week we let Nova stay up “late” to catch fireflies. We had so much fun. It was pure magic!

I have so many feelings since today marks one month until we will be in China meeting Marigold together. The past few months went by pretty slowly, and at times it didn’t even feel real. Now that it’s just a month away and we’ve already started preparing (“pile packing” I call it) and doing all the things that need to happen before a two week trip overseas it’s feeling VERY real.

Meanwhile we have one more month at home with our little girl, who is turning four next week. We’re making this a month full of family time, art projects and all Nova’s favorite things.

This summer is a season of love, joy, gratitude and honestly- blind faith. Jeremy and I were so scared going to China last time, but this time we’re just rolling with it. Hoping for the best and knowing that we can’t really be prepared for the worst anyway. We’re just going to wing it!

The full list of bands in our music jar!

We’re still going strong on our New Year’s Resolution! On Instagram I have been promising people I would post this for months-  so I apologize for taking so long. It seems like a lot of people want to do this project but get hung up on not being able to think of 52 different bands and artists- my advice to you is just start even if you only have ten! You can always add more later.

Please keep in mind that YOU can customize your jar however you want. I think one of the reasons I was hesitant to show all the music we included is that I don’t want to be judged for not censoring the music Nova listens to enough. It’s a personal choice! I grew up in a universe where Harry Potter was banned so I know all about censorship, and I personally don’t think it’s necessary to censor music (for MY children) very much at all. You do you!

Our goal with our selections was variety. I actually wish we would have added more pop music/new music but we’re enjoying what we have so far. Every once in a while there is one she doesn’t connect with as much, but for the most part she’s loved all the different bands. We spent an extra week on The Beach Boys since it’s one of our personal favorites.

Bands/artists in our jar:

David Bowie, Alvvays, Justin Timberlake, Fleetwood Mac, The White Stripes, Cher, Celine Dion, Abba, Beck, The Beach Boys, Jackson 5, Garth Brooks, The Monkees, Jenny Lewis, FUN, Johnny Cash, Louis Cole, Billy Joel, Dusty Springfield, John Lennon, Roy Oribison, Elvis, Frank Ocean, Chris Merritt, The Beatles, The Supremes, Nancy Sinatra, Andy Williams, The Cardigans, Dolly Parton, The Flaming Lips, Sufjan Stevens, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Alanis, Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Sleeping At Last, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Journey, Nirvana, Vampire Weekend, Elton John, MIA, Billie Holiday, Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, The Smiths, Lana Del Rey, Stevie Wonder, Leon Bridges, Shania Twain.

We didn’t include the artists Nova already listened to the most before the year began: Dragon Inn III, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Winehouse and a few others. I think we will 100% continue this into next year. It’s been SO GOOD for her, and for us too since we tend to get “stuck” on listening to the same music. This has helped us to branch way out!

Also- I wanted to add a few notes about our experience so far!

Like I said above there have been maybe two where she just did not like the music and we gave it a couple days of trying and then just kind of moved on.

We listen to whatever artist we are on in the car every day. If it’s a danceable artist we sometimes listen to it at home a lot too- it depends on the week.

We have a playlist of her favorites from each artist so we add a between one and three new songs each week. We play this playlist usually every Saturday in our car so she can sing along to all her favorite songs.

We have only gotten to about half the artists on the above list but so far her favorites are Billy Joel, Dusty Springfield and Johnny Cash- she loves the song “Jackson”. augh!

We also have a very special tradition that came from this where we listen to Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River” while laying under a blanket together (in “outer space”) it’s pure childhood magic!

I definitely recommend this experience for anyone who wants to expose your children to a bigger variety of music, but needs some structure in doing so. xx