Jason, Alyssa, and baby Harper made the trek here to MA this weekend to visit and have a fun New Year's Eve party (which, for us, mostly just consists of going to Ikea earlier in the day, making delicious food, eating it, putting the kids to bed, and trying to stay awake until midnight). We made yummy queso, bloomin' onion bread, typical frozen appetizer type munchies (mozz sticks, etc.). The queso and bread were delish. Please try them. You will thank me.
So glad to have some of our best friends with us for a fun weekend! The company of the sweetest, happiest baby in the world doesn't hurt, either.
I'm announcing the winner of the Nourish Organics lip balm giveaway tomorrow... you have a few hours left to enter! Happy New Year's Eve!
I am so, so excited to be hosting a little post-Christmas treat today: a Nourish Organics giveaway! Not only do I now consider Raechel and Olivia (the sweet ladies behind Nourish) as my friends, but I really believe in this stuff.
Let's talk lip balm. Raechel and Olivia perfected the lip balm formula themselves, and I could not love it more. Made with organic shea butter and beeswax, the organic sweet orange lip balm is bright and citrusy, and the organic peppermint lip balm is refreshing and festive. The lip balm's formula is wonderful, so very smooth and hydrating. I actually bought a few lip balm bundles and gave lip balm to all the women in my family and Ryan's family, and they were met with rave reviews all around. My mom especially loves her peppermint lip balm; she loves how it feels on her lips, the scent, and how it is not waxy feeling. The peppermint is my favorite too, and it's definitely not just for Christmastime.
Somebody else loves the peppermint lip balm ("It's minty!")... my little thief!
I can't say enough how much I love Nourish Organics' products... and I can say that I've tried almost every one! I use the balms on my kids' rashy skin, the washes as a shower treat for me, and the sugar scrub is my favorite product. It looks and smells so amazing, good enough to sneak a taste which I may or may not have already done. I love that only pure, safe, organic ingredients go into these products- and I know this first hand since Ashley and I were able to get a little sneak into Raechel's Nourish HQ during our Tennessee trip and even made some lip balms ourselves (note: we are not good lip balm pourers. Fail.). I feel comfortable using Nourish's products on my kids, even though they have eczema and super sensitive skin. I could not recommend the coconut balm more for those itchy patches! FYI: Mac's new favorite word is BALM.
Now that I'm finished with my gushing, I'm going to get to the giveaway part: Raechel and Olivia are offering a free lip balm (winner's choice of flavor) from Nourish Organics to one lucky recipient!
And the nitty gritty. You must be a follower of my blog to enter (I'm gonna check!) and visit Nourish Organics and leave a comment telling me which lip balm flavor you would pick or any other Nourish Organics product you would like to try. Be sure to enter your name in the Rafflecopter widget after you leave your comment so it will actually count as an entry! You can enter through the easy, easy Rafflecopter widget below until 11:59 pm Saturday December 31 (so technical). Follow Nourish Organics on twitter and/or facebook for additional entries!
Discount: Use the code thanksashley at checkout to receive $1 off lip balm bundles, now through December 31st.
I'll announce the winner New Year's Day!
To ring in the new year, get ready for a big PCB giveaway next week, right here! For now, go get some lip balm. And one of each of everything else. Consider yourself Nourished.
it's currently 48 degrees. Not super Christmasy feeling, but I'll take it!
I am thinking...
that I really should get going on my plan to clean the whole house today.
I am thankful for...
the lack of snow! Bah humbug, right?!
I am learning...
how incredible a two year old's memory really is.
I am creating...
wrapped Christmas presents? Does that count?
I am going...
shopping with some of the teenage girls from church tonight... hoping it won't be too crazy at the mall.
I am hearing...
the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song... "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight..."
Around my house...
my boy is running around yelling "ball!" and "vroom vroom"! Love it.
One of my favorite things...
is a good game of Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja. Did I really just admit that?
A few plans for my week...
traveling to NY for Christmas.
A picture...
Or a few! We tried to get just ONE good picture of the kids before church on Sunday... you be the judge on how successful we were!
Between a finicky camera, on the verge of being late for church, and less than willing kids, I'd say the success level was a bit low. I think I am sensing a theme here...
Ah, the holiday staple. They are very rich, but that doesn't stop me from eating a dozen of them. I made them Sunday for a Christmas party that was last night, and they were a hit, as usual. The fun part? They look like they were a lot of work/complicated to make, but they are so easy and require like 3 ingredients. Shhhh!
And, because I'm lazy busy... here is the recipe linked back to when made them for Christmas a few years ago. This year, I just dusted them with sanding sugar and crystal sprinkles, but I usually top them with colored dipping chocolate. Make these, you won't be sorry (your waistline is a different story)!
Neither of these ideas are original, I'm sure, but I wanted to do something Christmas tree-ish with the two remaining styrofoam cones I had. Here are some mini-tutes for what I came up with in pictures and just a few words:
twine tree materials:
Yay. Tedious but kind of fun to glue and wrap.
My little helper/gluestick thief in her pink tutu.
paper tree materials:
Cut 2" strips of paper, then make slits in the strips.
Ran out of the blue paper, but I thought the other paper looked kind of like a tree topper.
Pretty little tree cluster (including the ball ornament tree) on our tabletop.
Now if only I could finish my Christmas shopping...
