Holiday Gift Guides for little boys and girls!

It is that time of the year again! Holiday Gift Guide Season. I always love seeing other peoples gift guides because it helps give me ideas for my family. So why not start with one of my favorites! Carter's!

 Y'all I cannot believe it is time to start shopping for Christmas! Are you a procrastinator or have you been shopping since September? Every year I always want to start shopping early but I never get around to it until black Friday. This year is definitely a little different and stores are having early black Friday deals. One place that has always been a favorite of mine to shop for my kids has been Carter's. I have been shopping there for them since before they were even born! Its definitely one of my favorite places and I love that they have bigger kid sizes now so I can still shop there my little ones. 

My kids are 9 and 7 now..cue tears! Where does the time go though! This year I really want to get more practical gifts and more memorable things like maybe a gift card to defy or something they have been wanting for their room. They do not need anymore toys  and I'm sure other parents can totally relate to this. Honestly they aren't going to remember every toy they get but they will remember that trip we took or that day we all went out for a family day.

Shop Carter's Black Friday Sale Here!

I know my daughter loves jewelry and hair accessories. She is obsessed with cats right now so how cute are those little kitty shoes! In Florida we don't get much cold weather but we do get some cold nights and a few cold days so we definitely need a couple of things for cooler weather and this sweater and zip up is just too cute!

Is it just me or the older your kids get the harder it is to shop for them. Honestly Kaden just wants shoes, money for his video game and a phone. Living in Florida its a necessity to always have flip flops and swimming trunks and I couldn't pass them up at such a great price!

Shop Carter's Black Friday Sale Here!

I do make a small commission if you shop through my links but all opinions are my own. I would never share a shop or item I didn't love.

XOXO

Ashleigh

How To Care For Your Skin, For Healthy Glowing Skin

There are a million skin goals to aspire to. Everyone wants something different but I know one thing, everybody wants to have great skin. Over the years I have changed up my skincare routine quite a bit depending on what my skin needed at that time. In my early twenties and teen years I would get facials and use just your every day skin care like Neutrogena or Clean and Clear. I even used the one with the beads in it Yikes! I would never use the beads now. 

My main goal is to have glowing skin naturally that looks like I bathed in highlighter. To do that I had to play around with products and see what works best for my skin and what didn't work so much for me. 

The other day I had the pleasure of working with Azul cosmetic surgery and medical spa. I went to school for Esthetics so I went in thinking I knew just about everything about skin. I was wrong! April was my Aesthetician and she was so knowledgable and explained everything she was doing and every product that she put on my skin. I received a hydrafacial and I left there with my skin feeling and looking fabulous!! 

       

"HOW TO GET HEALTHY GLOWING SKIN"

The hydrafacial machine uses three actions that contribute to the resurfacing of the skin. It uses physical exfoliation from water pressure and a textured tip, chemical exfoliation from acids such as glycolic and salicylic, and suction to lift dead skin cells off the surface. The results last a week or even longer. This isn't a miraculous machine that is going to give you perfect skin the first time but if you continue to go monthly/every 6 weeks it will improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, brown spots, congested skin etc. I got the basic hydrafacial which made my skin look so supple and healthy but you can also add on different boosters which they call super serums depending on what your concerns are. 

Here she was just extracting any problem areas which is usually my T Zone. My nose and chin are my problematic areas.

The machine is not painful at all. 

The first picture is before and the second is after. There isn't a drastic difference because it was my first time but you can see my skin overall is brighter and looks more supple and radiant.

Check out Azul Spa on Facebook and Instagram

Family Vacation Spots Summer 2020

Have you gone on any vacations this summer or maybe had a staycation close to home? We love going on family vacations even if it is just a quick trip to somewhere here in Florida. You can't really go wrong with Florida beaches.

This past weekend my husband had a softball tournament in Tampa so we decided to make a mini vacay out of it. Well I guess you could call it that. We decided to stop at Clearwater beach on the way but we got there 10 minutes before a storm rolled in. We didn't get to spend much time there but the sand was beautiful it was so white. There were a ton of things to do with the kids. They had a bouncy house which was currently shut down because of Corona virus and they had several other spots you could go parasailing, boat tours and even a pirate ship. Its definitely a family vacation spot and also great for couples.

We went straight from Clearwater to Hudson which is where my husband was playing. We kind of camped out there, the kids made a little bed in the back and they ended up falling asleep back there around 11. I only got to watch one of my husbands games since the kids fell asleep so I stayed in the car with them and eventually fell asleep. I woke up at 7:30 and my husband had just finished his last game. We are definitely getting a camper next time!

On the way home we stopped at Siesta Key since it had been like a year since we have gone up there. Siesta Key is one of our favorite beaches in Florida. It just doesn't have a lot to do for kids. My kids love the beach and they are content staying there and playing in the sand and water all day but if your kid is more of a go go go type then Siesta Key might not be the best.

We have a few more trips planned before the kids go back to school and I am so excited to check out some new beaches in Florida.

How to host an epic fourth of July party on a budget

Hosting a fourth of July party but you don't have a big budget? I'm sharing some tips and tricks in this post to help you have an epic party without breaking the bank. My daughters birthday is July 3rd and we wanted to have some friends over for the 4th so we just combined her party and a fourth of July party. It was super last minute so we didn't have a huge budget to go on so I went to the dollar tree for decor and also made my own.

I picked up everything that was red, white and blue. My favorite decor was the balloon arch that I made which looked like it would be expensive but since I made it myself I was able to cut down on cost. I ordered this kit from amazon and bought a ton of red, white and blue balloons as well as some with stars. I also picked up some flowers from the dollar tree and put them in mason jars that I already had and then added a flag and they looked so pretty placed around the house.

 Birthday girl!!!

How to save money on Food
We grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs and had sides like potato salad, pasta salad, chips and lots of desserts. One way we cut down on the cost of food was some of our friends brought a side dish. I know when I go to parties I love to make a dish to take so if you ask your friends I am sure they would gladly bring a dish.

I always have to have a table that makes a statement whether its a candy bar or a dessert table and this time I combined them. I had a small section for the candy bar and the rest of the table was filled with desserts.

I hope this helps you save money on your next party.

Messy House clean with me

Do you need cleaning motivation going into the holiday weekend? Maybe you have family coming to your house or you're having a party? I got you covered! I am cleaning my extremely messy house in this video. I hope this helps you get motivated to get your to do list finished or at least started. Let's get our cleaning done!

How To Restore Furniture You Already Have

Hey guys! Its no secret I love redoing furniture, my husband always jokes when we get new furniture and asks what I'm going to do to refinish it lol. I am so excited to share this tutorial on an old stand that I completely refinished and the thrift store pieces that I gave a complete makeover to. I have had this entry way stand for a while now and I have been wanting to redo it as a statement piece when you walk in the front door. I wanted to paint it white and first and then I decided to see what it looked like completely sanded down and I am so glad I did not paint it because it turned out amazing!!!

First I took a 120 grit sandpaper and got to sanding. This was the most time consuming part and took a lot of work. Luckily my husband and kids love helping me. Some places we had to sand with our hand rather then an electric sander just because the sander couldn't get into the small grooves.

Once everything was sanded we wiped it down with a damp cloth and made sure it was ready to paint on the polyurethane. This is going to seal it, you don't want to skip this step. Once it had dried for 24 hours I made sure it didn't need another coat and then added on the knobs which I already had but I had picked those up at TJ maxx years ago.

Then it was time to reassemble it, I put the drawers back on and at first I was going to paint the henges but I like that they looked "old". I definitely wanted to organize this drawer before I put it together so I grabbed some little storage bins at target and organized the drawer.

I cleaned up all of the dust wiped down the stand and screwed on the doors. I am just so happy with how it turned out and it even though it was a lot of work and time consuming it was so worth it! It is my favorite piece of furniture in my house right now and luckily it right when you walk through the front door.

All of the decor items on top were thrift store items and you can watch in the video below how I redid those.

 

Kid Friendly Dinner Idea

If you're a mom then you know how hard it can be to get your kids to eat unless if you're serving them PB&J's and fruit snacks. Which sometimes we might just have a PB&J for dinner lol but I am going to share a delicious meal that is kid friendly and my kids even asked for seconds and it is so easy to make.

Ingredients
4 sweet potatoes cut into cubes
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
2 red bell peppers or any color pepper you like (green is my favorite but we already had red)
Limes
Jasmine Rice (I made two cups, but you can make extra for leftovers or just enough.)
Chicken cut into cubes
McCormick Complete Meal Mexican Bowl

Place the Sweet Potato and Pepper on a baking sheet. bake 350 for about 45 minutes.
In a skillet throw in your chicken chunks and add the carne asada steak seasoning from the mexican bowl pack. (Steak would have been so good but we only had chicken at the moment)
While that is cooking add corn and black beans to a pan and add in the corn salsa seasoning.
I used a rice maker but you can use a pan just go by the instructions. But you are going to add your rice, water and cilantro lime rice mix into your pot or rice maker.
This is optional but once everything is done you can add avocado.
Start assembling your bowl.

Now for the sauce on top take Tahini and hot sauce and mix. I like a little bit more spicy so add how much hot sauce you want and if you don't like Tahini just skip this part.

Squeeze fresh lime juice over top and dig in. Now I'm hungry and might have to make this tonight:)

Extreme Cleaning tips

I hope you enjoy todays video, if you enjoy more videos like this and get lots of motivation head over to my youtube channel and make sure to subscribe! I post cleaning videos weekly!

Easter Baskets for Girls and Boys

I cannot believe it is almost Easter. I am far from being ready at all and honestly it just flew up on us. This years festivities are going to be a lot different but that doesn't mean we can't still make it fun for the kids and try to keep it as normal as possible. When it comes to making Easter baskets I try to add things that they can use and not just a bunch of candy and random toys that they are going to play with for a day.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

We love to spend time at the beach (right now we can't hang out at the beach but hopefully soon) so a new bathing suit and float is perfect for a day at the pool or hanging on the beach

  1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

As Kaden gets older it seems like making an Easter basket for him gets harder and harder each year. I think he will definitely be happy with everything on here though. The just dance might be for the whole family lol.

Activities to do while Stuck inside during Corona Virus

Hey everyone! First off how are you doing? Hopefully everyone is doing their part to stay home and prevent the spread of the corona virus. My husband and I have both been working from home and the kids start homeschool next week. 

I am so excited for them to start homeschool because honestly I've always wanted to homeschool my kids. We will see if I am still saying that after the first week lol. They did have spring break for a week and this week is kind of just a free week while the school gets everything together for the first day of homeschool. We went and picked up their chrome books from the school and their packets of school work. 

I'm going to share some fun things to do with your kids while staying home.

1. We live in Florida so it is hot about 90% of the time so my kids love to play in water. We set up a sprinkler for them to play in and they love to throw water balloons at each other.

2. Arts and Crafts

My daughter loves to color and paint. She has been making us all kinds of pictures and coloring keeps her busy for a while!

3. Movies

I don't know about you but I used to love watching movies when I was a kid, shoot I still love to watch movies. My kids will sit and watch movies for hours. Bryleigh's favorite is Frozen 2! She has it on repeat.

4. Video Games

I know this is a touchy subject especially in our household because Kaden will sit on his video games for days. We literally have to turn off the wifi to his playstation just to get him off of it. However if you need to get work done with zero distractions this is a great one.

5. Daily Walks

We have been taking the dogs for a walk every day and it is my favorite time of the day because it gets us out of the house and we get some fresh air. There are no distractions, no social media just family time and good conversations.

6. Home Workouts

We have been eating way more junk lately since being home constantly so home workouts are much needed. It keeps you active and the kids can join in.

7. Puzzles

Bryleigh will do a puzzle over and over until you just walk away hahaha

8. Hide and Seek

This is a family favorite!! I'm definitely the champ

9. Board games

Family board games are so fun and one of my absolute favorite things to do. My kids are obsessed with monopoly even if they don't really know how to play.

10. Tik Tok

hahaha I just had to throw this one on here because we have been having so much fun with it. 

There really are so many things to you can do at home with your kids. Get them in the kitchen or have them help you clean. They are involved and your getting things done.

Spring styles with American Eagle

Spring outfits with American Eagle.
Hey Y'all and happy Monday. To start off the new week i'm going to share some of my fave finds from a recent try on haul. I don't know why I quit shopping at American Eagle for the longest time. I decided to stop in when I went to the outlet mall the other day and they had the cutest outfits for Spring! All jeans, shorts and joggers were buy one get on 50% off which is a great time to stock up on some new denim.

I am loving the destroyed denim with the frayed edged and these were my absolute favorite! They were so comfortable and looked so cute with every top that I tried on.

AE Baby Doll Top | Mom Jeans | Mom Jean | Halter Dress | Pink Romper | Sherpa | Floral Dress

Valentine's Day Outfits Under $50

Nothing gets me more excited for a holiday then finding a cute outfit to coordinate with that holiday. Especially ones that can be worn for multiple occasions not just one day. All of these sweaters/sweatshirts can be worn other days too not just Valentines day. You didn't think I would share cute Valentine's themed tops without throwing a mommy and me set in there did you?

Cut out heart sweater 

I just love the look of these fringed sweaters and this would be so cute with jeans and a pair of heels. 

Taken Sweatshirt

This sweatshirt is definitely more of a casual style. Perfect for the couple who likes to stay in.

Pink Pom Sweater

I really don't have to say much about this one besides the fact that I love it!!! Its such a gorgeous sweater, the color and the poms are just to cute!!! This sweater could be dressed up or just casual and it will look great!

Mommy and Me

If you have a daughter who loves to match you like mine does these are perfect! 

okie Dokie

I just think this Okie Dokie sweatshirt is the cutest thing ever!

Monogram Sweatshirt

How adorable is this white Monogram sweatshirt with the lips and XOXO!! I love that it is customized and it is just perfect for Valentine's Day.

I hope you enjoyed all of these super cute V Day themed tops.

Let me know if you wear holiday themed attire or if you get dressed up.

XOXO

Ashleigh Rose

Valentines Day Decor

Ok not everyone decorates for Valentines day but I love decorating for each holiday, even if it is just a small one. You don't have to spend a lot of money on decorations to make it feel special. I am sharing some affordable Valentines day pieces I have found and I will probably be doing a few DIY's too but that will be in another post.

Honestly you could just use garland for that added touch and thats it if you wanted to. I just love these felt ball garlands for every holiday. 

When I am looking for decor I am always thinking can I use that for more then one holiday? Like the You + Me pillow. That would be so cute left on the couch or on your bed, I would definitely have that as a throw pillow all year long.

So candles are either a hit or a miss. I know a lot of people are trying to stay away from candles now and only use essential oils. I tried that for a while and while I love my essential oils there is just something about that cozy feeling of burning a candle while cooking dinner or watching a movie. Am I right? 

I love table runners, not a fan of table cloths but table runners can take a table from boring to gorgeous if you get the right one. How cute is this XO table runner. I would put this on the table and then just add a vase with flowers and voila it looks like you put way more time and effort into decorating then you really did.

I have way too many cake stands. You can kind of say I am a cake stand hoarder but hey its my thing, I just love cake stands. I spotted these cute pink ones at Target and I just had to have it, I don't have a pink cake stand yet and you can always use cake stands. My favorite place to get them is usually Marshalls, Tj Maxx, homegoods and thrift stores. 

Last but not least everyone has these books with their families names on them and I think they are the cutest!! I would leave these up all year in my house too! My kids and I are always saying I love you to the moon and back so that one would just be perfect in my house. 

The options are endless when it comes to decorating your home. Are you more of a minimalist or do you love to have decor everywhere?! I think I am in the middle. I don't like clutter but I also don't want my walls and cabinets to be bare. 

Candle | table runner | cake stand | books | felt ball garland | pillow

Easy Thanksgiving Table Setting

I cannot believe we are just a few days away from Thanksgiving. I have the menu all planned out and I am so excited to get cooking. This is the second year we will be doing a gluten free Thanksgiving and Travis said good now I can eat more hahaha. His grandpa has celiac so that is why we are doing gluten free. I have been on Pinterest finding all of my favorite recipes but in a gf version.

I love having a beautiful table setting but I wasn't going to spend a fortune on something just for a day. I found everything either on sale, at the dollar tree or it was stuff I already had.

The chargers, plates and napkins are all from Dollar Tree.

Large Glass Vases only $5!!

Silver pumpkin is from homegoods last year

Small pumpkins are all from Target Dollar spot

Garland I found on clearance at target after Halloween

I hope this gave you some inspiration and to show you can make the holidays beautiful and special without spending a ton of money. 

Easy Diy Halloween Treats

Happy Fall Y'all! Alright I just had to say it since yesterday was the first official day of Fall. Summer and Autumn are my two favorite seasons but there is just something about fall that I love so much. I am not a pumpkin spice girl but I love pumpkins and fall decor oh and baking! Fall is always when I start my holiday baking and this time the kids joined in to help.

I am sharing three super easy Halloween treats your family is going to love.

Monster Rice Krispie Treats

These rice krispie treats were so fun to make.

1/4 C Butter
10oz Marshmallows
6 C Rice Krispies Cereal
You can add vanilla too I was just out.

Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat. Once melted together stir in the rice krispies. Mix and pour in a dish to cool down and harden a bit.

After about an hour or so cut into squares and use whatever icing you like. I picked up purple funfetti frosting and vanilla marshmallow. (The vanilla marshmallow on the rice krispies was the best!!) You can frost the entire krispie or just do the top and then add little googly eyes. I got the eyes in the baking section at Walmart.

Brownie Pizza

This was everyones favorite!

1 box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
1/4  C water
1/3 C oil
1 egg

Bake 325 degrees for 40 minutes in a round cake pan.

Once cooled take chocolate frosting and spread on top.

The next part is super fun for the kids because you can pick whatever toppings you want to add.
We used Chocolate pearls (found in the baking section at Walmart), Kit kats, M&M's, Reese's Pieces, Sprinkles, googly eyes and gummy worms. Then just put them all over the top of the brownie.

Halloween Worm Punch

This is the easiest drink to make and is so festive for a Halloween party.

Equal parts Gatorade and Sprite. Ice and Gummy Worms.
We used green apple gatorade because I like the green color for Halloween but you can use any flavor you would like.
Pour drink over ice and add your gummy worms and thats it!

I hope you have just as much fun making these recipes with your family as I did with mine. We are all in a sugar coma but at least it was all so good!