Our 2019 Christmas Decorations

I know it's a little bit after the fact, but I thought I would share our Christmas decorations! My mom really goes all out with the decorations and we jokingly refer to the house as a Christmas explosion!

This year we are in a rental house so it took a bit longer to find a place for everything considering the house is smaller. For instance, my mom wasn't able to put out her Christmas village as there wasn't a place for it. But despite that, the house sure looks festive! And it's always a bit sad when the decorations have to come down. 

2018 Christmas Decorations

2017 Christmas Decorations

My Black Friday/Cyber Monday Purchases

Super-Long Open-Front Sweater for Women in Forest and in Oatmeal Marl: I ordered this in the forest green and I liked it so much I ended up buying it in the oatmeal marl too! It fits very oversized; so much so that I ended up having to exchange it for an XS when I usually will wear a medium or large in cardigans depending on the fit. I really like that it's super-long so it covers rear when I'm wearing leggings. So I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a long cardigan, just make sure you size down a size or two!

First-Layer Tunic Cami for Women in Blackjack: I really like the length of this cami. Since it's tunic length it's perfect for wearing with leggings as it covers everything. I wish the material was a little bit thicker, as it's pretty thin but it's pretty inexpensive so it's not a big deal. The length was just the biggest thing for me. I will definitely be purchasing another one next time I go to Old Navy!

Luxe Crew-Neck Tee for Women in White Lily: I ordered this in a tall so it would be more of a tunic length. The scoop hem combined with it being in a tall is just right to wear with leggings. I ordered it in my regular size, which fit snugly, but I wanted a loser fit so I exchanged it for a size up.

Waist-Defined Tiered Dress for Women in Black Dots: I just couldn't pass up a polka-dot dress! This one is pretty cute. It's hard to tell in the picture but it does have a bit of a ruffle at the bottom. It's listed as a tiered dress, but it is just hard to see in the picture. Unfortunately it doesn't have pockets, which is the only negative to this dress! Otherwise it's great!

JR. Trapper Moccasin Slipper in Grey: I have been needing some new slippers for quite a while and I finally got some on black Friday. Unfortunately they weren't on sale (although my brother had a DSW coupon so that helped!). The sizing seemed weird on these though. This is the second or third pair I've purchased and the size 9 and size 10 fit exactly the same. I ended up going with the 10 but there really wasn't much difference between the sizes.

AE NE(X)T LEVEL High Waisted Jegging in Proper Black: I unfortunately ended up returning these. I've wanted some black jeans for a while and was hoping these would work but they fit really weird. I even went in store and tried several other styles and sizes and still couldn't find the right fit so I ended up just returning. I'm not sure why the sizing felt so different compared to the regular denim jeans.

AE NE(X)T LEVEL Jegging in Darkness Falls: These were much lighter in color than they looked in the picture which was a bit disappointing, but otherwise they were fine. I have a pair of AE NE(X)T Level jeggings I bought a few years ago that I really really like, and these don't have quite the same fit. I mean, they're fine, just not as good as the ones I purchased before.

AERIE PLAY Pocket High Waisted Legging in True Black: I really like these leggings! I tried these on in store about a year ago and didn't really like the material, but I saw that they now have new fabric so I decided to give them a try. And I'm glad I did! I have been wearing them all the time! They are SO soft! The pockets are great. I don't really need a pocket on leggings, but it's just a nice detail. And it's big enough for my phone if I wanted to use them for that. Anyways, I highly recommend these leggings!

AE Jogger in Purple: I had no idea what color these were going to be as the description lists them as purple but it looks dark gray in the picture. Either way was find with me but it was a bit confusing. Sure enough though, they look exactly like the picture-which is dark gray. If you have just the right light you can kind of make out a purple tint in the marl, but they really should just be gray. Despite the color confusion, they're super comfortable and fit great. They're fleece on the inside which is nice but they aren't too heavy or warm which I like. I wish they came in a long as they're just a tad short on me (I'm 5'8".) but it's not a big deal. A few people in the reviews described these as running big, so if you are in between sizes you probably want to size down.  

Did you purchase anything over Black Friday or Cyber Monday? 

Christmas Town at Busch Gardens

Get ready for a very picture-heavy post because I have tons of pictures from our visit to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens! 

We had never been to Busch Gardens before, so when I saw on the news that they had discounted tickets to visit Christmas Town, we knew we wanted to go!

We visited in the middle of November, when tickets were the cheapest (We paid $22/person for our tickets. Prices now range from $34.99-$54.99!) the tickets get more expensive the closer to Christmas you get, so since we went so early the tickets were less expensive. You can view dates and ticket prices here.

Back to Christmas Town...Christmas Town is an event that lasts from November 16 - January 5 at the Busch Gardens park in Williamsburg, VA. The park is decorated in over 10 MILLION lights! There is also Christmas foods, activities, and shows going on throughout the park. 

Some of the rides are even open. I heard that when the weather gets below 40° some of the rides will be shut down, but since we visited in mid-November most of the rides were still open and my sister was able to ride on most of the roller coasters as well as a couple of other rides.

Overall we really enjoyed our visit to Christmas Town! We spent maybe 5 hours there. We arrived shortly after the park opened (which was around 2pm, and stayed until after dark, so until about 7-something. Another great thing about visiting so early in the season was that there wasn't too many people. We were still able to take plenty of pictures without trouble and the lines weren't too long for the rides. The park was beautiful and the lights and decorations were really something to see!