Monday, December 31, 2018

Life Lately

Hey loves! I didn't mean to take a full week and a half off blogging but it was so nice to just focus on spending time with loved ones and enjoying the holiday!  How was your Christmas?! Did you do anything exciting?

Here's a quick review of what happened this holiday around here...

A few weeks ago we met Rachel, Ant and Tilly for dinner at 84 Tavern in Westerly. Tilly was exhausted and slept for most of the meal but it made catching up easy for all of the adults! She also got to see Santa play a saxophone and seemed pretty excited about it.



Then it was nap time! It's always great to see them and Tim and I always comment after we hang out with them that we wish they lived closer to us.


Ant rolled Tilly's Christmas gift from us out of the restaurant! We gifted her a suitcase since Rachel thought it would be very useful for them. They are big travelers and Tilly has already been so many places in her (almost) two years of life!

We also got the chance to meet a new baby! Graham and Angela had their baby around Thanksgiving but we finally met John right before Christmas!


Tim is so good at holding babies and it makes my heart melt!

We had fun baking some Christmas cookies and hanging out with Brittni, Stephen, Katie, Devan, Emma, Bella and Parker!








You weren't aware that spatulas can also be used a swords? Well now you know.


That angry face makes me laugh every time!


We hung around after cookie making so Emma and Parker could open their gifts from us and we could watch the Frozen short movie.






A photo shoot was obviously necessary!











Then we had to take some pictures in front of the tree. 






I love that my best friends have kids I can hang out with!




We had a busy few days. On the 23rd we had "Christmas Eve" with my family. Then on the 24th we had Christmas Eve with Tim's family. On the 25th in the morning we celebrated Christmas morning with my family and then at night we had dinner with Tim's family. Luckily they live about 15 minutes apart so it wasn't a ton of driving around but it was hectic as always!






We took some pictures in front of our Christmas tree before Christmas Eve with Tim's family. Notice there are no presents under the tree? Well we opened them all before Christmas because we can never wait until Christmas! 

Since Christmas we have done a little bit of clearance shopping for decor and things for next year but mostly we have been hanging around enjoying relaxing! I hope you have been enjoying this holiday season and are ready for a healthy and productive 2019! 

P.S. Stay tuned for Wednesdays post....we got our wedding pictures back!


Monday, December 17, 2018

Last Minute Gift Guide!

Hey loves!

Have you finished up your Christmas shopping yet?

I just ordered one final item for a Yankee Swap with Tim's family and now my shopping is complete! I thought I would share some of the items I  picked up for friends and family this year as well as a couple of ideas that I know make great gifts!

Candles

I'm a huge candle fan, especially from Bath and Body Works! My favorite holiday candle to gift is 'Tis The Season and I often pick one or two up for myself as well! There a spiciness to this candle but it still has an aroma that makes you feel homey! Bath and Body Works has a ton of other scents as well so if this isn't your jam then check out the others. Bath and Body Works Online


Bath Products

Speaking of Bath and Body Works I also find that bath products are also a big hit! I love receiving a shower gel or bath bomb because I know I will use it. Any sort of products that can be used up are excellent gifts since you know they aren't hanging around collecting dust. (Hopefully)



Ornaments

I am a big fan of getting ornaments to give as Christmas gifts. It's so easy to check out local stores and online to find something that fits your loved ones personality. I have given ornaments from Hallmark to many people and since they have so much variety you can always find something they like! This Harry Potter keepsake ornament is such a cute gift for any Harry Potter lover in your life!

Massager

I have heard a lot of great reviews on this massager from Amazon and think it would make a great Yankee Swap gift! Everyone deserves a little bit of relaxation and this would be the perfect way to unwind once the holidays are over!


Cozy Wear

Another of my favorite places to shop is Old Navy where they have great deals all the time! They have a great selection of scarves, hats and mittens this year which would make great gifts. Another awesome gift idea from here is pajamas. With kid and adult sizes you can find a pair for anyone and who doesn't love getting some cozy jammies for the cold winter months?

 Gift Cards

Some people just want gift cards. I understand this completely because when I get a gift card it means  I have a free shopping trip which I absolutely love. You can get gift cards to nearly anywhere nowadays and it makes it super convenient to just order them right off Amazon. I also favor buying them at my local grocery store.


Books

I am a huge fan of buying kids books. I always want to encourage reading since I have always loved reading so much and buying kids new books is a great way to do that! There are so many children books out there to choose from but I highly recommend checking out Vasseur Beauty (and her new channel: Carters Corner) where she talks about all the books she reads with her son to encourage reading and learning to broaden your vocabulary.

What are some things you are gifting this holiday season?



Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Life Lately

Hey loves, today we're talking about life lately which if we're being honest has just been full of errands and preparing for Christmas! 

I've been getting all my Christmas shopping done and I think I am officially done! I think this year is the latest I've ever been at buying gifts but I can't help it with all the wedding planning and events that went on this fall.

I also got my wedding dress preserved!


I needed to get it cleaned and they preserved it for me which is a little weird since it's in a huge box but I like that now it's saved and I can keep it!


I've been enjoying wrapping gifts in front of the tree and seeing it all lit up when I hang out on the couch! I keep thinking this is probably our last Christmas in the apartment since we are house hunting and would like to move out of here in the spring (we will see if this actually happens).

Last week we went to the family party for Parker's 1st birthday! We have her real birthday party this weekend but we crashed the family portion on her actual birthday.


Emma stole Parkers birthday present from my mom...it was a remote but she was using it as a cell phone. Many of Parkers presents ended up in Emmas possession!


This girl loves food and cake appeared to be no exception!



Parker is such an active happy baby and we love spending time with her and can't believe she is a year old!


Just messing around with my camera this past Sunday, I love this guy so much!

What have you been up to lately?

Monday, December 10, 2018

Favorite Orrnaments


Happy Monday everyone!

I thought that today I would share some of my favorite ornaments with you. For years I've been collecting ornaments when I travel and getting ornaments when major life events happen. I love that our tree will be a time capsule some day of all of our life events represented through ornaments!

Now these aren't all my ornaments- I have many Disney ornaments from trips in the past and also have homemade ornaments that we've made during family Christmases. I have ornaments from my grandparents Christmas tree that I treasure and we also received a small ornaments Tim's grandfather made. Many ornaments have been given to me as gifts and some are from my tree growing up that my parents have passed down to me. They are all my favorites but here are the ones that have a special occasion or trip attached to them.



In 2013 I took a trip to France with my mom, papa and Vivian and I picked up this small Eiffel Tower ornament to always remember the trip. I loved visiting France and have amazing memories spending time with them.


This ornament represents our first apartment! On the back it says our names as well but I remember being so excited to move into our apartment together that first weekend! I can't believe in May we will have been here three years!



These two ornaments are new this year and I love that we have them to represent our wedding! This year has been wonderful and I never want to forget how much fun we had this year!


This Disney ornament represents our trip to Disney World in 2017. We had the BEST time on our trip! I will forever remember our trip just the two of us especially someday when we go back with kids and it's not as relaxing!!


This cute reindeer is also from my France trip. I believe he was purchased in Avignon but I thought he was adorable and a great reminder of such an amazing trip!

Do you pick up ornaments for major life events/trips?  I recently ordered an ornament that will be made with our wedding invitation so I'm excited to receive that!

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

October and November Empties

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

Today I'm going to be sharing my October and November empties since I completely forgot to share an empties post back at the end of October! I guess wedding posts took over a little bit!

Let's get started so I can share with you what products I liked and which products I won't be repurchasing.


I love Mrs Meyers products and love the dish soap! It works great and the smells are always wonderful. The Basil is my favorite scent and I have a lot of back stock of it. I will continue to purchase it in the future because it works great and the scent is absolutely amazing. I know Basil sounds like a strange scent but just give it a try! The Apple Cider scent sounded great to me but it was a little sweet. I know my dishes were getting cleaned but the Apple Cider didn't feel like a "cleaning" scent to me. Silly I know but I'm glad it's only a seasonal scent!


I finished the Loreal Total Repair Shampoo and Conditioner and I really liked it. This set has made my hair super soft and I think it helps keep the tangles to a minimum as well. I usually pick this up through couponing deals and I will continue to purchase it.

I also finished a hairspray that I think I received from a Birchbox years ago by Serge Normant. I liked this hairspray which I only use to keep my flyaways to a minimum when I wear my hair up. I don't think I would necessarily purchase this in the future because all hair spray seems to work the same for me! I also have quite a few to get through before I need to worry about buying more.


The Aunt Fannie's Vinegar Wipes were something I threw in my cart on Grove due to a YouTube recommendation and I HATED them! I hate the smell of vinegar and had heard the vinegar wasn't really strong in this but whoever said that was very, very wrong! All I could smell was vinegar and I will never purchase these again! The wipes themselves worked just fine and if you do like the smell of vinegar you might like them but if you don't like vinegar then don't bother!

I also finished the Mrs. Meyers Honeysuckle Multisurface Spray which I really like. I have used this in the past and it is probably my second favorite smell from Mrs. Meyers. I would repurchase this in the future but would definitely pick the Basil scent as my first choice. If you like sweet smells this is a good choice for you.


I finished three face products recently. The first being Olay Gentle Clean which I really liked. It seemed to work well on my sensitive skin and I would repurchase it in the future. I also finished the Neutrogena Deep Clean scrub which I liked for clearing away all of the dead skin that comes when you have super dry skin. I will definitely purchase this again. I also finished a pack of Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes which are great if you have a full face of makeup you need to remove. I caught Tim using one to wipe down the bathroom sink one day. *Eye roll*


Only one candle empty for today, Bath and Body Works Leaves is my favorite candle and I stocked up during the last semi-annual sale! I was running pretty low on candles in June and I'm so glad I managed to stock up on some of my favorites! I will certainly be purchasing more of these in the future since I love them so much.


Three hand soaps were finished up. Mrs. Meyers Lemon Verbena was an okay scent. I have had it for awhile so I knew I needed to use it up even though it's not a scent I love. I would definitely choose some of the other Mrs. Meyers scents over this one.

Bath and Body Works Endless Weekend is a great summery scent and even though I used it in the fall I loved the beachy scent that it had. I would definitely repurchase it in the future.

Softsoap Crisp Cucumber and Melon is a nice scent and is one of my favorite ones Softsoap makes. I would get this again if I happened to come across a couponing deal. I love anything watermelon scented so this one makes me happy for sure.


I finished two packs of Tide Pods and they are my favorite type of laundry detergent. I really like Tide but the pods make doing laundry in an apartment so much more convenient. I will continue to coupon for these and can see myself using them for years to come.


I loved Bath and Body Works Forever Beach Days body wash, the beachy scent was great and I think that Bath and Body Works shower gels are a great buy, I just need to get my collection down a little bit.

This Sweet Tart Souffle has been hanging around forever and I'm so glad I finally finished it. Tim always commented on how he loved the smell but I thought it was just okay. I wouldn't repurchase this again but I'm not planning on purchasing any lotions for a long time since I have so many lotions to get through still!


Some mascaras and eyeliners, apparently the only makeup I can actually finish completely!

Rimmel London Wonderlash was a gorgeous blue container and I liked it but it definitely wasn't my favorite mascara. I would use it again if I got it free couponing but wouldn't seek it out.  However I would repurchase this Clinique Mascara in a heartbeat! I really loved it and thought it was dry enough to work with and made my lashes look awesome. Diorshow Maximizer is one of my old favorites and my mascara always looks amazing when this is on underneath my regular mascara. I will definitely buy this again even though it is pricey.

The Physicians Formula eyeliner was nice but the blue was not my favorite. I believe I got this couponing so if I got it again I would go for the black instead. Rimmel Exxaggerate Eyeliner was okay but there are definitely other eyeliners that I prefer to this one.


Lastly, my beloved Cake Batter Chapstick! I used up five recently and will definitely be buying more in the future!

What products have you used up lately?