Our December Weekend

Hello hello!!!  I can't believe how quickly December is going already!  Our Elf has arrived (though she didn't bring breakfast yet...) and has been pretty lazy by staying in the same spot a few days...Ooops!! Ellie is noticing and so we have to up our Elf game!!

It's crazy how much having Ellie in school every day has changed our schedule and how we've tried to scale back our calendar.  Time slow down!!! I put up our DIY advent calendar this weekend but haven't even figured out what's going into the pockets 😳.  Maybe it's my new switch over to minimalism, where we don't have to do all the things? I have no idea but I've also been scaling back our holiday decor and got rid of two boxes of Christmas decor already this year!!  And don't you worry....our home is still extremely festive 😉

This weekend was one of my favorites!  We did two of our yearly traditions: my Ladies Holiday Tea and our Christmas Outing!!

Ladies Holiday Tea

I think this was my 9th year hosting and it is so much fun!! Over the years I've gotten into a groove and it gets "easier and easier" to put everything together to host!  I love just getting together with my favorite people and having a chance to all catch up!!  Ellie loves it every year and this year Finnley was a great Hostess as well.  Séamus got to be the sole boy this year (because boobie baby) and he was quite the gentleman and charmer of the ladies!

I served Orange Oil Brownies, soft Gingerbread Cookies, assorted cheeses and meats, and then scones with jams!  We had wine and tea (obvs) and the Wellness Tea was a total hit!  

Wellness Tea:

cup of tea

1 drop Thieves Vitality

1 drop Lemon Vitality

1 drop Copaiba Vitality

Spoonful of Honey

Our conversations were so much fun, the girls loved having people over and I've never gotten so many compliments on how my house smells.  I was diffusing Christmas Spirit and Pine.

Christmas Outing

This year we went to Enchant Christmas and it was so freakin cool!!  It's located at Safeco Field and all of the lights were just mesmerizing.  The girls had so much fun running around, finding the reindeer, and checking out the lights.  Us adults had a great time just watching the excitement of the kids!  Ellie and I got to go Ice Skating and it was so much fun!  I loved how the rink was laid out...more like a winter stroll than a big oval.  All the people skating had a great time, Ellie was brave and tried skating all on her own...she fell a few times but was determined to "go fast"!!!  I love how there were people of all ages out on the ice just trying to figure it out and having the best of times. 

Finnley had so much fun hanging out with Nanny and Papa and Thomas was a champ holding onto Séamus and my phone!

Making these memories with our kids is so important and I hope that they will feel the holidays are special for years to come (no matter how distracted we are).  It was just so nice to take a break and just enjoy the season!!

♥ Ashley