Weekend Wrap-Up: Friends and Family

Happy Monday everyone!

I apologize in advance for the silence that you will no doubt get from me sometime this week; it's finals week. Today and tomorrow is all studying and then Wednesday is when all the fun starts. I have two exams Wednesday, one Thursday, and two Friday. Sounds like a great time, right? Then on Saturday I get to go home for a long and lovely winter break.

Hands down my favorite room at Phipps. It's always decorated so beautifully.

Santa's workshop!

Steelers v. Dolphins. It was just a little chilly; note the snow.

This weekend was definitely the calm before the storm, and I really appreciate all the fun that I was able to have before buckling down. On Friday night, the ladies and I went to Phipps Conservatory and walked through all of their holiday lights and decorations (which were beautiful as always!) Then on Sunday, my dad came to Pittsburgh and we went to the Steelers game against the Dolphin...which the Steelers lost. It was an absolutely freezing game, and despite the outcome, a very fun one!

<3 Ashley

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up: Family Weekend

My brother and I with Mr. Rogers outside of Heinz Field

Okay, so I took a look at my calendar for the week last night and nearly threw myself down on the floor. No breaks yet I'm afraid! Two papers due, a quiz and an exam are on the agenda for this week. I'm not too worried about the quiz (it's algebra) and the exam isn't stressing me out too much; it's those darn papers! Looks like I will be busting out OmmWriter again because there is no way I can really focus anywhere on this campus; I'm that one weird girl who actually cannot focus that well in the library.

Part of the reason I feel so overwhelmed may have something to do with the fact that I have NOT gotten anything done this past weekend. Now, this wasn't because I have suddenly become a slacker! This weekend was family weekend so my days were filled with family fun. The got in Friday night and we had as late dinner at the Hard Rock and then Saturday was our football game against Old Dominion. Despite the chilling temps and the downpour we sat through at the beginning I had a great time spending time with my brother at the game. Unfortunately the weekend is over and we are back to normal. Back to work, folks!

<3 Ashley

How was your weekend?

Weekend Wrap-Up: Nineteen Candles

Good morning (or whatever time of day you are reading this) everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend full of fun and adventure or you at least got to put your feet up and relax. My birthday was on Saturday and I turned--the kind of pointless age--19. After work on Friday a couple of my friends took me to dinner and we had some great laughs and free dessert (for me at least!) On Saturday my family took me to lunch and then we started a weekend long Marvel movie marathon; we finished the marathon yesterday after my grandparents came by to deliver my birthday card. I had a lovely birthday weekend but it has come and gone and now it's back to work. Just five days and we'll be embarking on our--much deserved--beach vacation!

<3 Ashley

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Holiday Eats!

Here on this lovely Sunday afternoon I find myself sitting up in the lounge waiting for the first load of laundry in the washer to finish. Football is on the television (still mildly bitter about our homecoming loss) and I am scouring Pinterest aimlessly. I really should be studying for my philosophy midterm, shouldn't I?

Anyway, I happened to find myself on the food section of the site (which shockingly isn't a common thing for me!) As I started to scroll through these glorious, appetizing photos I noticed a lot of holiday pins. That got me thinking about all of the delicious things I have waiting for me at home in the coming months, and I thought I would share these with you.

One tradition that I have taken myself to starting (and refuse to let die) is that I make the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner. I absolutely love doing it! I like to keep it traditional though. I tried a Bobby Flay recipe one year that had this strange cranberry cookie topping that everyone ended up scraping off. Lesson learned: when it comes to pumpkin pie, people like it classic, and traditional.

At the same time, my aunt makes her ever yummy apple pie and my grandmother offers her always loved and fought over pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I die for the cookies, honestly. I always love the holidays with family, and I also love the food that we all dine over and share together. I know this year will be just as amazing since I will be back home for the first time since starting school. Holidays are about to get that much more special.

<3 Ashley

What are your favorite holiday desserts? Does your family have something special that you eat?