Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Life Lately + Christmas Prep


Hi! Just popping in to catch up and say hello. We've been having so much fun decorating and prepping for Christmas this year- Will is really 'getting' the whole concept, from the Nativity story to Santa to his daily advent calendar chocolate to decorations to his grandparents coming to visit at Christmas- the whole shebang, and it's cliche but true that it really IS magical to experience holidays though the eyes of your child (and Disney, too;)




He met Santa (didn't hate it, tolerated it, but was kind of ehhhhh the whole time, which you can totally see on his face in the picture haha) and told him he wants presents, red and blue specifically. (We'd better make sure to have red and blue wrapping paper lol). We got him a handful of items:




  These next two presents are for me and John. Being a grown up means buying household goods for yourself for birthdays and holidays, right??! I'm excited to finally get an Instant Pot after having our air fryer for a year (which we love and use quite a bit); let me know some of your favorite recipes and tips and tricks if you have one! (Can I be honest that one of the features I'm looking forward to the most is the ability to toss in FROZEN chicken breasts and have them cook within a half an hour?? Whaaaaa?? It's that stinking thawing time that always thwarts me when I don't plan ahead for dinners. Can't wait!) Also this stick vacuum has been the bomb especially during pregnancy- lightweight and cordless and effective.



Speaking of Christmas, I've been enjoying a few Trader Joe's holiday goodies this month. I like to add a splash of the Chocolate Peppermint Almond Beverage to my afternoon decaf coffee (I'm turning into my parents haha!), and these waffle cookies are yummy; they're made to sit on top of your cuppa and soften from the heat, making the thin layer of caramel inside nice and creamy. Mmmmm! I've been enjoying these sweet treats in moderation, though, since I have another glucose tolerance test coming up at the end of the year. One of the joys of being considered 'advanced maternal age' at 37 is going the glucose test twice- once early at 20 weeks and another at the usual 27 weeks. I had to do the four hour follow up test after the first screening, which sucked, so I'm crossing my fingers this next one comes back okay.



Besides that, this pregnancy (knock on wood) has been really smooth and going QUICKLY!! This bump be bumpin' more and more each day, and we still don't know what the gender is. We have the results in an envelope in our desk drawer, but I want to wait and be surprised at the birth. It's been a delicious little secret brewing in my belly and I love the mystery. I wanted to wait and be surprised with Will, but John had to know, so we obviously found out. So this round, it's my pick and we are waiting (at least for today)!

I've also been using my doTerra oils this pregnancy, and really loving the natural and effective options for everything from digestive issues to immune support to emotional balance. The whole family battled a cold a few weeks ago, and my arsenal of oils helped us a lot.




Other than that, we've been popping in to the Disney parks and resorts to enjoy the cooler weather and soak up all the holiday decorations before it gets too crazy busy for Christmas and New Year. The train is currently parked permanently at Main Street Station due to track maintenance and Tron construction, and Will LOVED getting an up close look at the engine and tracks. He even got to ring the bell on the train! Will has also been enjoying meeting 'face characters' lately, specifically Elsa from Frozen. He's a tad smitten.








We celebrated Mickey's 90th birthday with a small celebration hosted by our local library. We celebrated MY birthday on Thanksgiving weekend with a group at the Melting Pot. My mom and I also made the short drive to Gator Lilly's, a FABULOUS Lilly Pulitzer-only consignment shop near downtown Orlando. We bumped into on of my Instagram Disney/Lilly friends, Theresa, who was down visiting from Maryland! My friend Krista also gave me the surprise of a lifetime when she invited me to the newly opened Club 33 in Walt Disney World. It's pretty hush-hush as far as social media goes, so I'm limited in the pictures I can share, but trust me when I say it was a crazy awesome experience.







We've been having lots of fun with our wonderful mommy group. For a mom's night out, we rented a party bus and tooled around Celebration checking out the beautifully decorated homes for the Celebration Holiday Home Tour. We also had a cookie exchange where we each brought two dozen cookies to share and took home a mixed bag of treats.






Will went to my mom's during Destination D weekend (D23's fan club bi-annual event held at Disney's Contemporary Resort) so John and I had a couple date nights, including a ride on RetroWDW's Lake and Lagoon boat tour with lots of our friends.




Will and I recently went to my mom's house in Melbourne to spend a few days, the highlight being Santa coming around in his decorated fire truck. It's an event the local Indian Harbour Beach volunteer fire department puts on every year, and it is so sweet.


I'll leave you with some of my favorite oil blends I've been diffusing during the holiday season. I'm sharing a different blend each day over on my oil-centric Instagram page (suit.essentials) if you're interested in following along!





If I don't post on here again before then, have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year! As always, thanks for reading. 

XO, Ashley 


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