Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Christmas Tree Hunting 2017

I figure I better bust out this post before Christmas is over! Ah, 'tis the season to be freaking busy, right?! 

We had a blast going Christmas tree hunting. We usually have to travel over an hour away to find a tree, but living in the mountains has it perks! ;) We surprisingly had a hard time finding a good one. So weird, since we have pine trees EVERYWHERE! But, Matt was on call at work so we couldn't be too far from the hospital. We ended up finding a great tree not too far out. We grabbed out sled and hauled Kess around on that. I had Manning strapped to my back. He's so chill. I hardly knew he was there. I mean, minus the fact that I'm incredibly out of shape and had some extra poundage on my back. 



This is Matt's family tradition so he gets really excited to incorporate all the little things his grandpa did. Tomato soup in a thermos is a MUST. Plus crackers & other treats. Matt packed snacks for Kess and Manning, too. So once we hauled our tree back to the truck - it was time to eat. Matt's family has a special recipe for tomato soup and it's my favorite! Sipping it out of mugs on the back of a tailgate is pretty perfect, too. 




We pulled Manning around on the sled for a bit. He wasn't too sure about it, but eventually liked it a little bit. Kane still isn't sure about this new little creature, especially in his snow suit - so he's always sniffing him.


We couldn't find our Christmas ornaments in storage. We didn't think we would be in our rental this long, so packing them in the front of our unit wasn't on our minds. But, you better believe my out of shape self climbed up and all around looking for those dang things. I was about the settle on salt dough ornaments and candy canes when a box fell on my head. But lo and behold, I found them. Kess pretty much decorated the tree herself after Matt and I got the lights on. I love watching her decorate. She's so fun with it and doesn't have a care in the world. Seriously, she put 3-4 ornaments on one branch. It's the cutest. Any other moms out there that DON'T care what their tree looks like. I mean, don't get me wrong I love a esthetically pleasing tree just as much as the next gal, but at this point in my life it's much more fun to see my toddler decorate and feel so proud of herself than to rearrange it after she goes to bed. So funky and eclectic our tree stays. 


I can't believe Christmas is less than 1 week away! Like, when did that even happen? Must have been when I was stuffing my face with advent chocolate. Shhh, don't tell Kess. I hope your holiday season has been everything you hoped for. I finished our Christmas shopping last week. I literally bought everything online, but one local gift card. Everything is wrapped and ready! YAY! 

Merry week before Christmas everyone! Only 4 more advent chocolates to go! 

Friday, December 8, 2017

Holiday Gift Guide for Her

Hi friends, I've rounded up a few ideas you can give your friends for Christmas. I'm not very good at giving ideas to others for Christmas. I always seem to know what I want - then Christmas or Birthdays com around & I forget. (insert facepalm here)

Here a few things that I've been eyeing (& may or may not have already purchased for myself - it pays to be Santa.)






I have tried to make a point of shutting off the TV for a good chunk of our day, but sometimes the silence mixed with baby cries and kid whines gets the best of me. I love having music playing in the background & I think these little Amazon dots look super handy!

I've been eyeing this DV Suede Shoes from Target for a while now & decided to wait for some Christmas money to roll in. ;) I love that they are a step up from my norm of my white converse. I've tried them on and they are true to size and very comfortable. I'll have to spray them with a water repellant for up here in McCall, but they're totally worth it.

Lash Paradise is my new favorite mascara! it goes on so smooth & builds without looking chunky. I've heard great things about using the Voluminous Primer before applying the mascara & can't wait to give that a try!

I'm a big fan of LipSense (& and even bigger fan of ShadowSense) but I don't find myself wearing it a lot since I'm home most days. I keep a tube of Orchid Gloss in the diaper bag for when I head to town to grocery shop. It's super moisturizing & gives a pretty tint of color without being over the top.

I actually found these MukLuk slippers on Jane.com for about $15 so they're going to be part of my Christmas gift (seriously, it pays to be Santa!) I already tried them on & they're as soft as soft can be. It's killing me to not wear the already. (Ok, that part of being Santa sucks.) My last pair of slippers are about to die. Fingers crossed they last until Christmas.

I got this Tarte Blush as my free birthday gift from Sephora & I'm in love. It's so smooth & had great pigment. This color "paaarty" is such a pretty nude pink. It goes nicely over my MaskCara foundation & stays put! They also have tons of fun colors if this one doesn't fit your fancy!

These GapBoby Pajamas are my most favorite pj's ever. Seriously so soft and silky (without actually being silk) & I really love the star print. They have some cute Christmas prints as well, but I'm a sucker for something I can wear all year round. 

A quick tip for your Christmas shopping - check out RetailMeNot.com. I swear by this site for finding the best promo codes. They even have an app. We used RetailMeNot for most of my furniture purchases when we built our house, too. Can't beat a discount or even free shipping! 

What's on your Christmas list? Please, tell me! Maybe I need it. ;)