Holiday Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

Camping + Halloween 2016

When I was scrolling through my facebook feed a couple of months ago, Carters was running an ad with a pink flamingo costume for babies. Go ahead Carters, take all my money please.

For Halloween this year, we “celebrated” a couple of weekends early with our festive, annual camping trip to a family-run campground outside of Richmond, VA. Other than a hospital visit to Philly, this was the furthest from home we have taken Lorelei. (Read: Kinda a big deal!) My mom, Lorelei and I decided to take on the world, and throw my kid outdoors for the first time ever. Except for the occasional screen-less screen porch sittings and the many runs from house to car, car to hospital and then again in reverse.

But we are campers. We have the coolest camper in the world. It was time to get this girl outside. Complex health condition and all. We need her to experience mother nature. We need to stop letting the machines and meds win, and start living life while checking things off her bucket list. Flamingo costume and all.

We all survived, without skipping a beat. The adults enjoyed wine tasting in the afternoons. Lorelei enjoyed napping in the afternoons. I would say it was quite the success.

We spent tonight (actual Halloween) wearing her flamingo gear around the house, waiting for a trick-or-treater to come ring the door bell. We had a whopping four golf carts, toting approximately 8 kids around our neighborhood. I guess when you’re over an acre away from your neighbor, kids either work really hard hiking for that candy or they get smart with the golf cart parade.

Happy Halloween, all you ghosts and goblins. Don’t eat too much sugar. (I’m back to paleo again this week! How about you??)

A Christmas Surprise!

by Susan

If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be anymore surprised than I am right now.

— Clark W. Griswold.

If you know me or if you read my December Confessions post last week, you know that my biggest upset of 2015 is probably the fact that we will not be “home for the holidays.” We started packing up our home in January - and 12 months later, while we are closer to having our new home, we still aren’t there. I sincerely thought the stars would align, the hammers would hammer, the walls would go up and some how, by the grace of God, we would be home by Christmas.

Unfortunately, we aren’t. And I have been really struggling with a dark cloud of depression because of it. My husband spends every moment he isn’t at work, working on something at our house. So when he spent this entire last weekend out there, it wasn’t a surprise. But when he called and asked me to drive 35 minutes, in the cold, to bring him a random tool that he had forgotten… I was a little not-thrilled.

When I arrived, he told me he wanted me to see what he had been working on in the room over the garage. I didn’t think anything of it because he had been putting insulation walls up in there all weekend. So I pregnantly wobbled up the unfinished stairwell and saw this:

He had the room set up with two little chairs, a blanket, a themos of hot chocolate, a heater, a christmas tree and our television (from the storage unit) with my favorite movie Christmas Vacation playing!

Seriously. Be still my heart.

Christmas Vacation 4

Being 25 weeks pregnant, once we sat down to start watching, of course I got hungry. And without skipping a beat, in fear of ruining this party, I recommended we order pizza! “Can you order pizza to a house under construction?” was his immediate question… I decided, why not?! So we did! And we ate it straight out of the boxes. And it was delicious, in all of it’s non-paleo, gluten free glory!

After almost an entire movie of reciting the lines out loud together, laughing at Cousin Eddie and having the dogs hassle around the entire time… Olivia finally settled down in the last 3 minutes of the flick.

And of course we had to snap a selfie to remember this moment… Our first Christmas memory in our new home! All bundled up in our cold, dark, drafty house. No makeup. No napkins for greasy hands. No dog food. But tons of happiness and love.

Way to score some husband points Michael! It takes A LOT to surprise a planner like me. It was such a great reminder that despite a year of transition, ups and downs, extreme hormones and lots of tears, I really am one lucky girl. Merry Christmas everyone!

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Stocking Stuffers

by Susan

Like I said last week, I really enjoy when bloggers share products they love! I feel like we’re all friends in Blogland, so often times I 100% trust your recommendations when it comes to things I know nothing about. That being said, can you believe that Christmas is in 9 days? If you’re anything like me, you are basically done with your Christmas gifts, but you’re still scrambling for the stocking stuffers! So today, I am sharing a few small gift ideas that would be perfect for Christmas stockings!

*Hint Hint Santa - I would love to see any of the following items in my own stocking!*

For Clean Eaters: I was over the moon excited when I learned that Tessemae’s now offers their dressings in pouches! GUYS THIS IS HUGE! We can now partake in salads without carrying a flask full of our homemade dressings!

For Festive Gals: In an attempt at saving some of our dollar bills, I have cut mani’s and pedi’s out of my life temporarily. (Also, I’m still on the fence about whether or not nail salons are good for preggo mammas.) I love the quality and colors that Essie provides. If Santa left me these festive holiday Essie polishes, maybe along side of a nail file and some hand cream - I would be a happy girl.

For Anyone: Every year Santa brings us one thing that we all anxiously scratch at… Virginia Lottery Scratcher tickets. Is this a tradition for other families? Or is this just a Benji-Household Stocking Stuffer? Along with 5 scratcher tickets, Santa gives each of us a penny to do the scratching with. It’s so much fun, but we are all still waiting for the year when someone wins something more than a couple of dollars!

For the Furbabes: Cats, dogs or any other furbabes! Santa treats them well in our household too! Think about cute toys like these Felt Target Cat Toys (that could easily be a DIY project) or easy, paleo puppy treats! (My holiday puppy treats will be on the blog later this week so stay tuned!)

For Foodie Bloggers: Sure, an entire set of flatware would be great but why would anyone want one single serving of flatware?? Because she is a food blogger and snaps pictures of everything she cooks/eats/creates/throws together in the kitchen. These Rose Gold utensils are absolutely swoon-worthy. Please Santa, please! Too big to fit in the stocking while in their box? Take them out and tie them together with a pretty red or green bow. Again, please Santa, please!

For Mom: Get creative with a scented, beautiful diffuser. Different from normal diffusers, Chando diffusers are little works of art in themselves. Each diffuser features a porcelain flower that blossoms out of the bottle to emit the scent of your choice. I have found that these are perfect little decorations for around the house, or even in the car!

Back to the Basics For the Whole Fam: It’s time to stock up on the essentials… or at least the travel size of our essentials. Santa always leaves us Burt’s Bees, Toothpaste, Floss, a Nail Clipper (I have a trillion but always seem to lose them… Santa gets me!) and something sweet and usually unhealthy. All simple, but all very useful.

For Those Who Appreciate Classics: Lastly, stick with the classics. It may not be extremely exciting to the kiddos, but traditions have to start somewhere! Clementine Oranges are perfect for the boot of a stocking. Or pecans. Or heck, I guess a lump of coal.

What does Santa leave in your stocking every year? Is there one particular thing that you look forward to seeing in your stocking every Christmas morning?

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. By clicking on them you are helping to support my blog. Additionally, Chando gifted me a diffuser in return for sharing their product - but my review and thoughts were all my own. Merry Christmas y’all!

December Confessions

by Susan

When in the world did 2015 decided to practically up and leave? How is it already the middle of December? (For the record, it is 75+ degrees here - which is far from normal - so mentally, I am still in enjoying late-summer / early-Fall.)

As I sat in my dark, dark batcave this morning - see picture above of our room at Nana’s house, in the middle of the afternoon, when it was bright and sunny OUTSIDE - I was simply in awe of the fact that it really is December. Christmas is less than two weeks away! TWO WEEKS! I have just a couple decorations out, Christmas Vacation hasn’t been watched more than twice, there are presents to wrap and still a couple more to buy!

Which got me thinking… maybe instead of a “Five on Friday” this week, I needed to do some sort of December Confessional. Partially because it’s Monday and not Friday. But also because let me be frank - I cannot be the only one who does the following:

Confession: I try to send out my Christmas cards really early. Why? Only partially to be ahead of the game. More so because I LOVE receiving Christmas cards and I figure, if I beat you to it, maybe you will remember to include me on your mailing list. Selfish? Yes, definitely. (Who doesn’t like getting real mail that isn’t a bill??) However, this year, since we are in such transition, I wanted to be sure to include all of our mailing address(es) too… So selfish, yeah… but I’m also trying to help you from getting a “Return To Sender” card next month.

Confession: I purchased “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” for my dogs. Yup. I’m that girl. But quite frankly, they love dressing up. While they may look terribly silly, these two border collies are thrilled to be so dressed up, festive or not.

2 cats & chloe: Christmas Lights Williamsburg VA

Confession: I wait until after Thanksgiving for all things Christmas, except music and movies. I start playing Christmas music, except for the occasional Nsync “Merry Christmas” that is allowed to play all year long, in early-November. I typically kick off the cheesy holiday flicks as soon as Hallmark Channel starts playing them! But everything else (decorations, cookies, cards, etc) waits until December. #RespectThanksgiving.

2 cats & chloe: December - all dressed up for holiday party

Confession: Last week I went to my first real business holiday party. As someone who works from home, runs my own businesses and rarely sees other human beings - it was nice to dress up, drag my husband along and attend the holiday party for one of my biggest clients. Even if we had to drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back in one night!

2 cats & chloe: Coffee on my front porch

Confession: I am beyond devastated that we will not be “Home for the Holidays” this year. Considering that we began packing up our home in Newport News, VA last January - I really did hope, deep down, that we would be in our new home by the end of the year. As my dad, our builder, told me last month - “Suz, it’s just not happening!” And then I cried, like any self-respecting, 6 months pregnant woman should do…

2 cats & chloe: Busch Gardens Christmas Town Germany

2 cats & chloe: Pregnant Suz at Christmas Town

2 cats & chloe: Busch Gardens Christmas Town England

2 cats & chloe: Family Selfie at Christmas Town in Williamsburg

Confession: Even though it isn’t easy, sometimes you just have to put the drama, home building crap and life aside… It took quite a bit of coordinating, but yesterday my family put our busyness aside and spent some quality time at Busch Gardens’ Christmas Town. (Nana didn’t join us because she preferred to watch the Duggars…) If you are in Virginia, I highly recommend you trek it to Williamsburg for a festive night of lights and entertainment at Busch Gardens! So much fun. So many twinkle lights!

2 cats & chloe: December Confessions Holiday Border Collie

Confession: I feel like every year the holidays come and go, quicker and quicker. As I get older, I find myself fighting to not get “lost in the motions” of the season. Am I alone in this? I cannot wait until Lorelei is here with us for Christmas next year. Will the magic return when there is a child in the house? What do you do to stay in touch with the reason for the season?

Do you have any December Confessions you need to get off your chest? Leave them in the comment section below!

Father’s Day is coming!

by Susan

Holy crap, it’s almost Father’s Day. Can you believe it? I mean seriously, where has the year gone?? Before you know it, it will be Christmas! I know, I know… let’s not jump the gun quite yet! Let’s just get through one holiday at a time!

Before you leave this post to go google “what day is Father’s Day 2015” (it’s June 21st, btw.) I have to share a few really great Dad’s Day gift ideas with you! My dad is far from the ‘just give him a tie’ kinda guy. I’m pretty sure I tried that gift once, which is why he now owns one single tie. My dad is more of the ‘just give me fishing lures and / or rum” kinda guy.

This year I decided to put together a gift bag full of Stanley products from Eddie Bauer that my dad can take with him fishing out on the kayak!

What adventurous guy wouldn’t love these gifts? I’m pretty positive that if these Stanley gifts do not end up in my dad’s hands soon, they will take residency in Jellybean!

For his father’s day gift I opted for the:

Stanley Classic Vacuum Bottle
Stanley Classic One Hand Vacuum Mug
Stanley Adventure Flask - because who doesn’t want to carry rum with them at all times?

I’m going to pair these products with some coffee for the mug, some Jack Daniels for the flask, some trail mix and some fishing lures for his day out on the ‘yaks.

Would you father like these heavy duty Stanley products? Other than a full bottle of rum (I’m moving… and have packed that cabinet already!) what else would you add to the gift basket for your dad?

Many thanks to Stanley for sponsoring this post and helping me score rockstar-daughter-points with this awesome father’s day gift!

Camping + Halloween 2016

A Christmas Surprise!

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Stocking Stuffers

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. By clicking on them you are helping to support my blog. Additionally, Chando gifted me a diffuser in return for sharing their product - but my review and thoughts were all my own. Merry Christmas y’all!

December Confessions

Father’s Day is coming!

Connect

inst-happening!