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Creating a Cozy Home with Oils

Tis the season, Friends, to be with loved ones and celebrate being together. Oh wait… that’s been the last eight months, right? Still, and maybe more than ever, I am all for creating an atmosphere that helps us create and FEEL at peace. Did you know that one of the easiest ways to cozy up your home is with scent? But I’m not talking fake scent and fake fragrances, friends! I mean by filling our diffusers, making DIY room sprays and adding ALL the twinkly lights, cozy blankets and throw pillows.

It is SO easy to make homemade room and linen sprays. One of my recent favorites is called ‘Flannel Shirts’ and it is a mixture of Northern Lights Black Spruce + Stress Away. All you need is a 2oz glass spray bottle, a splash of witch hazel, 10-15 drops of each oil and voila; spritz on flannel sheets, linens, PJ’s, and/or keep in a bathroom.

There are SO many incredible diffuser favorites for Fall and Winter…but to name a few of ours, we LOVE spice oils, such as Nutmeg and Clove, Cinnamon Bark and Cassia. We also love the Conifer oils, I.e. Black Spruce, Pine, and the NEW Winter Nights blend. Vanilla is BRAND NEW to Young Living and you better believe I am diffusing this basically around the clock. Keep your oils HANDY and close by. Add your personal touch of trinkets and holiday knick knacks, and then diffuse, diffuse, diffuse.

With the colder weather and getting darker earlier outside, I basically want to cozy up inside every single day…if you’re wondering if our twinkle lights are on all the time, the answer is yes. If you’re wondering if I am running all the diffusers ALL the time, the answer is also yes. I don’t want to burn candles all day every day…I don’t desire all of that aftermath for our air filters OR for our lungs (and our pets!!) so I am all about filling our diffusers every single day and creating this atmosphere, always. There are SO MANY good options to replace candles, Y’all. I’m talking Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla, Apple Cinnamon Cider, Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte, Sweater Weather and SO much more. Another thing that makes our home cozy and inviting, are the products that we use. For instance, our Christmas Spirit foaming hand soap is basically Heaven on earth and no joke, after you wash your hands, you may be that person constantly sniffing them but hey, I got you—no judgement here!! It smells THAT good and we know!

ashley glass blog

Alright, last but definitely not least. The BEST way to cozy up your home this season….get ya a pair of Golden Retrievers!! Ha ha ha! These two make everything pretty wonderful so of course they needed a spot here in this blog post :) Get your cozy on, Friends. And if you try one of these tips, let me know! Don’t have essential oils either? Let’s fix that. Just shoot me a message and let’s chat!

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Rules of Engagement: What We Stand By While Fighting

Rules of Engagement: What We Stand By While Fighting

The rules of engagement. Learning to fight with your spouse or partner isn’t easy. Read this post to learn how my husband and I have grown over the years, and what we hold very highly in regards to fighting fair.

Christmas with Havertys: Holiday Inspiration for Your Living Room

Ashley Glass Photography | Motherhood Photography | Reece and Pierson

Ashley Glass Photography | Motherhood Photography | Reece and Pierson

"I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on meeeeee. Please have snow and mistletoe, and presents on the treeeeeee."

I'm writing this before Thanksgiving, so either you're completely on board and singing the rest of that Christmas carol with me, OR you want to punch me. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you're reading this though because you're a Christmas elf like me. 

I see all these Instagram ladies writing how they're the ones convincing their husbands to let them decorate for Christmas this early and I'm always like, "Huhhhh???!" My husband is LITERALLY Buddy the Elf, and can wrap presents in 2.5 seconds flat without tearing or wrinkling a single shred of the paper. "Six inch ribbon curls, honey!" is the phrase that comes to mind EVERY holiday season when we are sorting and wrapping for the kids. All of that to say, it's never been me who is like, "Hey! Let's put up our Christmas tree two weeks before Thanksgiving and get out ALL our decorations!" HOWEVER...I am so grateful that he wants to, and this year is even more epic than all the other eight Christmas' we've had prior. 

While I can thank my husband for being my motivation and holiday inspiration, I can ALSO thank Havertys Furniture. Y'all...I dreamt of their furniture for SO long, and specifically about someday owning a navy blue sofa, and as most of you now know, those dreams are my now reality! Every day I walk into this space and think, "This is OURS?! WE live here!?!" 

We scored our 9-ft. Christmas tree from Hobby Lobby and it was WAY on clearance. Someone recently asked in a photo if it's gold, and no, it's not; but depending on the lighting in the room and what time of day it is, it definitely gives off a golden vibe. We really strive for minimal yet classy when it comes to decoration and design, and I think the final outcome of this room demonstrates that well! We found poufs from Target [thanks, Chip and Joanna for your ridiculously cute new collection] and the kids are really enjoying sitting by the fireplace on them. We also use them to eat around the coffee table [wish we had discovered them before our charcuterie dinner with friends, but hey! It worked!] 

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I'm not going to lie...as I walked around snapping these photos when I did, it became clear to me that we literally live in a ZOO. I mean SERIOUSLY...I'm sure you've noticed our one million pets in the photos by now?! Thank goodness the dogs KNOW better than to get on my beloved blue couch, but the cats?? Not so much...

Another thing that I love about the color scheme we chose for this room is that all of it is so easily versatile with things like throws and accent pillows. The JOY pillow is from Target, as is the giant Santa Claus in the Havertys arm chair. The light creams and rich navy blue is so easy to add pops of color and fun festive textures to. 

Maybe I should add here that my husband dug out ALL of these Christmas decorations, assembled the tree [using a ladder much of the time], and hung ALL of the gorgeous garland in our home?! I joke about him being Buddy the Elf but the truth is, I really wouldn't have the beautiful home that I do WITHOUT him. [Thanks, baby!! Seriously.] 

We could not be MORE thankful that we have this homey space to spend the majority of our time in. When we moved into this home at the end of July, I never would have fathomed THIS. The home was already beautiful, but being a brand new build and basically a blank slate, I had a difficult time envisioning character and charm, romance and elegance. Here we are, just barely four months later, and it is entirely thanks to Havertys Furniture and their H Designers for helping our dreams soar. 

This Christmas you can be sure to find us right here, all season long. Thank God for our wood burning fireplace [one of our biggest house goals], the comfy couch to snuggle up on, and for our children who create ALL of the sweet, sweet laughter. 

Happy Holidays, to you and yours! My husband wanted me to write "God bless us, EVERYONE!" so there that is. And hey, if you have YOUR Christmas tree up, will you email me a photo? You can email me here: ashleyglassphotography gmail dot com

PS: Here is a photo of the space at night; perhaps a bit grainy but I thought it still looked so beautiful! 

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Gathering with the Glasses during Christmas time