Slow start on the blog for 2019. But I’m back and I have a bunch to share! Happy (belated) new year to all you faithful followers and welcome if you’re finding us for the first time.

“Wednesday Five” is our weekly (…sometimes bi-monthly) blog post full of all sorts of random tidbits - five random tidbits, to be exact. Sometimes it’s behind the scenes action, sometimes I share a favorite design trend, sometimes I tell you what television I’m binging or recipe I tried. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A quick read when you need a momentary pause from your day.

1. Chatbooks is offering our followers a $10 credit (for first time users) with the code “grayoakstudio”. Awesome, right? Especially because this means you get a FREE book. A whole book, all yours, free.

If you’re not familiar with Chatbooks, it’s an app that connects to your Instagram account and allows you to make photo books with your instagram pictures. What I truly love is that you can sign up to get books automatically made and sent to you. It’s the “no thought” thoughtful self/family gift and also the super low cost gift ($10-$20/book). Each book is 60 photos, which takes me about 1.5 years to accumulate on my personal Instagram account. Once every year or so, I get a surprise photo book in my mailbox with all my favorite pictures. It’s THE. BEST. You can add automatic settings to add dates to each picture/page and include (or not) the caption. You just set it up in the beginning and forget about it until you get your cute, little book in the mail.

I keep all of my volumes (4 so far) on my coffee table and have so much fun going through them with my kiddos on the regular. The new fashioned photo album.

Gray Oak Studio - Wednesday Five - Chatbooks discount code

2. I bought a pair of jeans from Madewell during one of their post holiday sales and I’m obsessed with them. They’re a little high waisted, but not too high. They have have some distressing, but not too much. They’re like the perfect bowl of porridge.

Gray Oak Studio - Wednesday Five - Favorite Madewell Jeans

3. I started reading a new book - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That’s right, good, ole Harry Potter. I’ve never read the series. My oldest (6-years-old) is a veracious reader/listener and I’ve been starting to wonder if she’s old enough for the series. I just love reading her chapter books (My Father’s Dragon series is one of our favorites), she’s such an engaged listener. I have imagined how fun the Harry Potter series would be - especially now with the illustrated books. Not being sure if she’s old enough, I decided to check it out myself. I’ll keep you posted. And I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read these with your kids and at what age it felt right and worked!

4. Sonia and I have both been binging the new Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (trailer below). If you’re not familiar with the MariKon method, the (very) basic idea is that you only keep material items in your home that “spark joy” and carefully organize the items that do. She has a special folding method for clothes that allows you to see everything in your drawers. She has a thoughtful way to gain closure when letting go of things that have had sentimental value at one time. I could go on (here is a link to her book that started it all).

The show is quick and fun, and will have you ripping apart the chaos in your garage to conquer your own clutter issues. A great watch to motivate that 2019 goal of cleaning, minimizing and organizing.

5. We have 4 installs planned between now and the end of February. How exciting is that?! FYI - on install days, we post photos and videos of our progress in our Instagram stories - some behind the scenes and sneak peaks. Be sure to follow us so you don’t miss it!

Have a great rest of your week!

- Leah

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