Friday Favorites - an Amazon Edition

Happiest of Friday's my dear friends!! Gosh it's been a while since I've posted one of these...life man! It's crazy.

We ALL love ourselves some Amazon, am I right?  I love it when bloggers post about what they're loving from our favorite shopping website and I always shop it through Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) just in case I can get myself some extra cash back!!

I've briefly mentioned on here that lately I am striving towards a more minimalist and sustainable lifestyle and have been learning so much about it through podcasts (there are so many to choose from so you can't go wrong!) which has been encouraging me to actually move forward with it.  If you've been a long time follower you might remember that we do a vegetable garden every year and have a fruit "orchard" of sorts that we grow organically and without chemical fertilizers, so already sustainable ... sort of😉.

ONE

I've been wanting to get rid of the plastic sippy cups for a while but just wasn't sure what to do.  I asked the Facebook and got so many suggestions which were great.  Then I went to the Amazon and found some great options!! I really wanted some stainless steel cups for the kids with plastic free lids and this set of four with adorable silicone lids that look like Elephants are perfect!  The girls love them and it only took a couple tries to figure out how to put the lid on.  Since stainless steel can get pretty cold I love that they came with the color coordinated silicone sleeves.  I also wanted to introduce some straws to Séamus so these Boon lids are great, though I do think the straw is plastic they can work on any cup so they'll be easy to throw in a reusable bag for when we're out and about.  I am still on the search for some non plastic plates and bowls for the kids, I'm thinking stainless steel again but am totally up for suggestions!

TWO

Another item we've been loving in our kitchen for cleaning up with our Thieves Household Cleaner are these Bamboo dish cloths.  They're super absorbent go in the washing machine and are made of sustainable Bamboo!

THREE

We're headed on a 3+ week road trip over Ireland and England this Summer!! I am so freaking excited for it!! Wahoo!  Since we have 3 kids in car seats and have to buy plane tickets for both Ellie and Finnley we are going to be bringing our car seats with us.  I've been looking all over trying to find a way to easily transport them through the airport (and doesn't take up much room) since we are only bringing an umbrella stroller and so I found these straps to attach them to our luggage!!  They are en route to us as I speak so I have no idea how well they will actually work but they have great reviews so I'm hoping they will work.  Speaking of our luggage - we are planning on only bringing 2 carry on bags for all 5 of us!!! Eek wish us luck!

FOUR



I got some similar baskets to this on Zulilly that were so cute because they were pink and had polka dots but they drove me crazy because the paint kept chipping off of them.  I loved these baskets to help corral all the kids toys in their bedrooms and our living room but the chipping paint every where caused my vacuum to go into overdrive 😜 so I wanted to fix it.  I love this basket and it suits all our needs (plus it doesn't shed or leave any paint chips behind).  It's the best addition to our living room and now that I've donated the others I can't wait to get a few more of these for the kids room and the Playhouse!

FIVE

I hosted a Sleep Class on Facebook this week and shared some great DIY's, roller and diffuser recipes as well as our bedtime routines for the kids!  This sleep roller is the bomb diggity (and I love the roller bottle too)  and if you're already on my team and sign up for Essential Rewards by May 18th I will send one to you!  If you're not already a Young Living member and you want to join my team I will send you a bottle of Cedarwood when you enroll by May 18th (sign up for Essential Rewards at the same time and I will also send you a sleep roller)!! I'm on the BEST TEAM EVER and you will get to be too when you enroll with me!  We have some awesome online communities full of all the Oily Resources you could ever imagine (and they are FREE for you!!!).

SIX

The girls shared room is still a work in progress, I swear I go through it every other week to eliminate more toys and they seem to multiply 😆.  Finnley loves herself some stuffed animals (as does Ellie) and their beds are just covered with them!  Ellie had taken to decorating her bed with stickers...which at first I wasn't too thrilled about but then I remembered how easy it is to remove them with some Lemon Essential Oil.  Both girls are also really into painting and I love adding their artwork up on their walls.  It is so special and meaningful to them that it gets to be displayed and I love seeing theirs skills progress!  I was so nervous about how their transition to sharing a room was going to go and it has gone so smoothly, I will credit their love for each other but also diffusing in their room has been so so beneficial for our bedtime routine and keeping those girls put all night long!

SEVEN

Finnley had school pictures this month and I cannot get over how great she did!! She was so brave and I love having this snapshot of her! My sweet girl is getting so big and I love seeing who she is becoming.  She started Pre-school a couple months ago and has blossomed so much.  It's funny how much more academic she is than Ellie, though she is super nervous in social situations (with or without me).  I make sure to oil her up every day with our magical Unicorn Roller.  It's a blend of essential oils that are so good for emotional support: Valor, Frankincense, Stress Away, Bergamot, and White Angelica.  The difference in her demeanor and personality when she gets her oils v not is just incredible.  I am so so glad to have this simple, easy, and natural tool available to give her all the support and courage to let her true self shine!




EIGHT

Séamus is just so much fun!  He is so busy and gets into all of the things and is rarely ever still, which is a bit much but also so so perfect.  We still have about 10 weeks to go before he turns ONE and I have absolutely adored documenting his first year here on the blog.  I love sharing each of his milestones and having a place to reference back for all things Séamus!  He has fit so well into our family and experiencing the first year of life all over again has been so much fun.  I have been doing my best to soak it all in because I know he is our last and babies just don't keep.  He is standing and so close to walking, I cannot wait for it to happen!! He is such a joy and the happiest baby ever.  He has his own roller that I am sure has attributed to his splendid personality: Gentle Baby, Frankincense, and Lavender.  He has been getting this roller on his feet every single day since he was a week old.



NINE

My dear sweet Ellie is going to turn SIX next week and I can hardly believe it. She has been the best five year old I've ever known and I can't wait to see what six will bring.  She is hilarious and feisty, kind and sensitive.  I keep telling her we're going to skip Tuesday so that she will stay five and she is adamant that we are NOT going to do that.  She wants her birthday and she wants it now.  I cannot wait to celebrate her and bring in treats for her class.  She wants to be so many things when she grows up it's hard to keep up! She wants to be a horseback rider, a roller skating instructor, an oil slinger like her mama, a doctor, and an animator for Disney!  Girlfriend has some high dreams and I want to support her in all the ways!  I am so incredibly happy that I got chosen to be her Mama and am blessed every single day by her!!

TEN

Finally the girls have been absolutely obsessed with The Duck Song and I would be remiss to not share it with you all! It's hilarious, catchy, and has so many lessons to go with it! So enjoy!


♥ Ashley

Thank you so much for stopping by!! I would love to connect with you on Facebook here and here or on IG here and here!!