happy holidays!

Happy holidays, friends! As we end the year, I wanted to thank you all for being here. I am so very grateful to have you as readers following along to both the business part of me and the personal part of me that I share with you. As we wrap up the year, I wanted to share a few outtakes from our recent holiday photos. Every time I have a baby, it always takes me about a year to feel back to normal—both emotionally and physically. So this is the first time I can look at photos of our family of four and feel really peaceful and content about where we are and where we're headed. It feels like a great place to be to end 2015, and I'm excited for a fresh, new year to begin.

We'll be taking a blog break for the rest of the year and will be back here on January 4, 2016 (Say what?!? How can we already say that?!). Wishing you and your loved ones a holiday filled with simple joy, enthusiasm for life, love in the purest form, and every sweet treat your heart desires (because it is the holidays, after all)...

P.S. I have some VERY exciting news coming in the new year that I can't wait to share, so stay tuned!

{Photos by Morgan Pansing who we adore and is seriously the child-whisperer when taking photos!}

favorite posts of 2015...

As we head into the end of the year and about to go on a little blog break, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite posts from this year in case you're looking for some inspiration or reading material during the holidays...

Behind the Scenes of...

-Making Oh Joy Band-Aids

-The Oh Joy Book cover

-Oh Joy book parties!

-Oh Joy Band-Aid launch party

Tips on how to...

-Pick outfits for Family Photos

-Frame vintage pieces

-Create a Photo Studio at Home

-Make the mornings easier

-Archiving Your Digital Memories

-Declutter your house

-Choose a rug

-Find success

Motherhood and Life with Two Kids...

-Sharing a room

-Why I'll miss being pregnant

-Not doing it all

Career Day with...

-Claire Vivier

-Sweet Laurel Bakery

-Kim West

Make some cool stuff...

-A Housewarming Welcome Kit

-Floral arrangements with a flower frog

-Sidewalk chalk

-Beach marker

And, 10 years of Oh Joy!

dressing the babe / winter florals...

In our last Dressing the Babe for this year, I was inspired by keeping florals going into winter (who says florals are for summer, only?!). My little nugget, Coco, is walking! So we went for a walk near the LA River to scoop up the last bit of December before the end of the year...

I'm loving long dresses lately, especially those that cinch at the waist a bit to give a little shape. Accented by a floral necklace, I love the contrast of the pop of color against the deep green hue.

Mama outfit / 1. D.Ra dress, 2. Vegan jacket from Anthropologie from last season (similar here and here), 3. Gaia necklace, 4. Loeffler Randall booties (past season)

If you have changed a diaper with a wiggly baby before you know that rompers with snaps in the crotch are a must. I love little rompers, but often they don't have snaps and so changing a diaper involves having to undress your babe completely.

Babe outfit / 5. Thief & Bandit romper, 6. June & January cardi, 7. Crew & Lu pom headband, 8. Zuzii shoes, 9. Afternoon Faun Octopus

Ah...this face! This face makes me want to have another baby (no just kidding, not really). But I do love that face. That's Coco impersonating Adele saying, "Hello, it's me..."

{Photos by Casey Brodley, flat styling by Julia Wester, outfit styling by Joy Cho. Coco is 14 months and walking around town like she owns it.}

the gift of giving!

We all strive to ensure our kids know that the holidays are not just about receiving gifts but it’s also about the joy of giving, too. In today’s video, I've partnered with Target to share 4 steps to help teach kids about the fun of giving by showing them how to make every gift giving experience fun and personal. See my video below for a playful look at gift-giving!

// CREDITS //
Brought to you by: Oh Joy + Target
Creative Direction: Joy Cho
Video: Jenner Brown
Music: “Make it Happen“ by The Likes of Us
Crafts and Production: Ariel Fulmer and Julia Wester

*This video is sponsored by Target.

mini holiday cookies!

Everyone loves a good holiday cookie. And, I love EASY holiday cookies. With the help of my friend Claire from Kitchy Kitchen, today we're showing you how to make these verrrrrrry tasty cookies! Check out the video below to see how...

Enjoy!

a duo of aprons {giveaway}...(NOW CLOSED)

With the holidays fast approaching and thoughts of making and baking our favorite treats for loved ones set in, we have a fun giveaway with Hedley & Bennett today for a duo of their amazing aprons. A mix of modern and timeless, these are our go-to aprons (you'll see plenty of big-time chefs rocking them, too!). We're giving away TWO aprons of choice to one lucky reader (up to $200 value). You can choose between two adult aprons or one adult and one child apron, as well as colors and style of your choice! I love the Sweet Pea apron (shown above).

To enter, please visit Hedley & Bennett, then leave a comment here telling me which one(s) you'd choose if you won. Entries close this Friday, December 18th at 8am PST and one winner will be chosen at random.

UPDATE: Congrats to Whitney B. from Portland, OR for being our winner this time!

*This giveaway is limited to US readers only. Please do not leave your email or web address in the body of the comment, only in the allotted boxes. $200 approximate USD total value per winner. Winner will be contacted via email once comments close, and announced at the bottom of this post soon after.

{Photo by Casey Brodley}

displaying those holiday cards...

Right about now, you might be getting holiday cards arriving daily to your mailbox from friends and family. I love seeing how everyone's family has grown and changed over the past year. But by the time the end of the year comes, we usually have 30-50 cards that have arrived that we have no idea what to do with. I used to just put them on the fridge as one does. But once you get more than 12, then it tends to get crazy or I'd simply run out of magnets. This year, we came up with a simple solution, and all you need are some hangers and binder clips!

Simply use small or medium binder clips (we used these) and attach them to the bottom of a hanger of your choice. I got these black and white raffia wrapped ones a couple years ago in London, but you can duplicate that wrapped look by using yarn to wrap any old hanger and securing it with a knot when you've wrapped it all the way around.

The nice thing about this format is that you can cluster a few cards together and just add more as you get more. By having them in groups, you can put them all in one area of your home or scattered throughout different areas to show off those you love.

{Photos by Casey Brodley. Crafts and styling by Julia Wester.}

10 dude gifts...

Since the holidays are fast approaching (and Hanukkah is already in full force!), I'm doubling up on gift guides this week...this one is for the guys in your life! (And, if there are any other types of gifts you need help with, let me know. I can probably fit in one or two more guides before we get to Christmas)!

1. For that guy that likes a little something to wind-down with in the evening, Corksicle whisky wedge adds a cool twist.

2. Because a legit key chain is a sign of being a real grown-up, the Apolis key fob is cool and classic.

3. Happy feet make for a better day with these Richer Poorer socks.

4. He can look dapper and stay connected with this Jimmy Fallon for J.Crew iPhone case.

5. This Harry's shave set is both pretty and practical.

6. For that Instagram Husband of yours, get him these iPhone lenses by PhotoJojo to bump up his game ;)

7. Because every guy loves a  shirt that makes a statement. This Suburban Riot tee makes me laugh!

8. These Izola cuff links are a fun mix of classy and quirky.

9. He can mix and match and make his own Tinker watch. 

10. For the adventurer, this Izola backpack feels casual and timeless.

be the sunshine...

Do you guys have any of those friends who are just happy...ALL THE TIME? Every time you see them, they bubble with smiles, give you the biggest hugs, and they just exude sunshine. There was a time when I was annoyed with those types of people. They can't REALLY be that happy...all the time...can they? But then you know what I realized once I became friends with a few of those "very happy people"?

1. They are not actually happy all the time. They are real people like all of us and have ups and downs and sometimes things suck for them, too. But, they CHOOSE to be positive even when things aren't going their way. And, in turn, that helps them to feel happy MOST of the time.

2. When you are around people like this, it makes you a happier, more optimistic person. I've spent the past few years trying to have less negativity in my life, surrounding myself only with people who inspire and uplift me, and trying to be a bit more sunshine-y so that I can make those around me feel more positive, too. The world isn't perfect (and sometimes it's actually pretty frightening) but one thing we can all do for one another is simply to give off a little more sunshine.

P.S. Have you seen this video? Now THAT is some serious sunshine.

{Photo by Casey Brodley, styling by Julia Wester. Flamingo from Poppies for Grace, blanket from Madewell, confetti from Oh Happy Day} 

organizing kids' clothing...

Last week, I shared some of my tips about making the morning rush a little easier to navigate by prepping a bunch of different things in advance. Today, in partnership with The Quaker Oats company, I'm going to dive a little deeper into how to organize/save kids clothes so that they are easily accessible. That way when you are getting the kids (or yourself) dressed it's easy to find everything and get on with grabbing breakfast and heading out for the day.

So your kid's drawers might look something like the above shot. And that's what my drawers looked like before I realized it was taking way too long to find stuff when things weren't folded consistently, things weren't labeled, and it was hard to tell what was what. Here are my four musts for getting it all organized...