Friday Favorites!! the Mid July edition

It's been hot here in the PNW and all I've been focusing on is having a baby...so while we're still waiting for him to arrive I thought I would share with you some things that I am absolutely loving.  I will admit that I took advantage of Amazon Prime Day and Target's Sale Day.  Also I totally waited to the last minute to get some Maternity photos done.  My friend is a photographer and we went out last night for a quick shoot.  My BFF came and Ellie insisted on tagging along as well.  I'm so glad that we got together and that I'll have some photos to treasure from this special time in our lives.

::ONE::

I've been really into podcasts lately and The Minimalist Moms podcast is pretty much perfection.  I just recently listened to EP34 Soulful Simplicity and it really spoke to me.  Maybe it's this pregnancy but I just feel like we have so much stuff and I just don't want it all anymore.  I've been purging "like crazy" for myself at least which is actually pretty hard because I'm extremely sentimental. I mean I started keeping favorite clothes and stuffed animals when I was like 8 years old for my "future children" so getting rid of things is actually pretty hard.  But you know what - once the stuff is gone I honestly haven't missed it at all.  Have you looked into the Minimalist Movement/Lifestyle?  What is your take on it?  Do you think you can get on board?  What are some tips you have for getting the rest of the family to buy in?

::TWO::

To know me is to know that I love to vacuum.  I practically vacuum on the daily and I get so much satisfaction from it.  Years ago I got a sweet little dirt devil to keep in our bathroom to clean up all my hair (or monster's as Thomas likes to refer to them).  About 2 months ago we finished up the Playhouse well enough for the girls to play in there and I moved it out there so they could do some cleaning of their own...#raisingthemright 😉😂😂 and I've been missing that dear little vacuum something fierce.  So I bought a new one and the heavens opened and the angels sang because it's new and so much better than my old one! The best part is that Ellie loves to help with the cleaning and she can totally use this vacuum.

::THREE::

Speaking of cleaning...basically what my life consists of.  (I'm convinced this pregnancy has made me even more of a clean freak) I've also upped my mopping game.  In all honesty, I love how my floors feel after I mop but I really don't enjoy it, like at all.  Whenever I mop I'm constantly reminded of the scene from Cinderella when she is down on her hands and knees hand brushing the floor and Lucifer dips his feet in the dust pan and walks all over her wet floors 😡.  That's like mopping at my house.  I try to do it while the girls are napping but I usually have to vacuum first and that doesn't always happen in a timely fashion (also dogs) or I'll try to do it while the girls are watching a movie and that's when they absolutely have somewhere else they want to play, or Thomas comes home before they've dried and he walks all over...it's a battle I tell ya!  Anyways one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan is getting out the mop and bucket...so I decided to try a steam mop.  I'm actually still waiting for it to arrive but the reviews are just too good.  Not only is it going to clean my floors but since it'll be using steam that means its going to help sanitize as well, and with a new babe almost here he is inevitably going to find his way on the floor and I'll have great peace of mind knowing its clean.

 ::FOUR::

My pregnancy pillow has been perfection!  I don't know how I ever lived without it and I'm kind of thinking that I'm going to keep it forever because it's just so amazing.  I love how it wraps around me and its just simply the best.  I got a killer deal on it and love that I'll be able to use it as a nursing pillow too once Little Man decides to make his arrival (yesterday would have been nice FYI 😉)  But seriously y'all even if you're not pregnant you need this pillow in your life because your sleep will be changed forever.

::FIVE::

I've been a long time oils user but just recently got a new diffuser, from Young Living, and I have to say that I am loving it so much.  It's so much fun coming up with different combinations of oils to diffuse but my favorite has to be the sleep well blend that we've been diffusing in the bedrooms.  Seriously it's working like a dream in the girls room and honestly it's pretty fantastic in our room too.  Before I got my diffuser I used our oils topically for a variety of support in skin, pain and digestion.  I also really enjoy a couple drops of lemon in my water.  Now that I've gotten into diffusing the oils it's so interesting to me to see the difference it's making in our daily lives.  Click here if you're interested in starting your oil journey.

♥ Ashley