Weekend Wrap-Up: Mother's Day

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and was able to spend Mother's Day with their mamas. Mother's Day here was celebrated with a homemade brunch that I slaved over--maybe I'm exaggerating--with some help from the bro. We came up with quite the spread: strawberry scones, herb and ricotta omelets, peanut butter and banana oatmeal, and sausages. Yum, right?!

I got the scone recipe from Mara over at M Loves M. Her recipe was for strawberry lavender scones; unfortunately, we could not find lavender so we had to cut it from the recipe! They were still absolutely delicious. Find the recipe here!

Both of the recipes for the omelet and oatmeal came from the book "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano. The omelet I altered a bit since I did not have the fresh herbs that the recipe called for. Rather I sprinkled in a dried mixture of Herbs from Provence. This was also my first time using ricotta cheese in an omelet. I liked it! Ricotta is not the strongest tasting cheese, but I did like it. I also made homemade oatmeal for the first time. It was so quick and easy! Just some old-fashioned oatmeal, water, a little milk and butter, and finished with the peanut butter and banana. Everything was delicious!

<3 Ashley

How did you spend your Mother's Day?

Easter + Finals

Image: here

Happy Monday everybody! Yes...even though it is the beginning of a very trying time I like to call Finals Week it is still a pretty solid Monday! It is absolutely gorgeous in Pittsburgh today and yesterday was Easter and the weather for that was just as fabulous. We went to the 10 AM mass and then followed up with a delicious brunch which I capped off with, of course, ice cream.

Unfortunately, after brunch my Easter was pretty much over so I did what any student on this campus is doing...studied for finals. I grabbed a blanket and sat under the Sun making my notecards for astronomy. Today I was out there again for a good two hours studying and get a good bit of color--no burn though! My roommate and I have also started packing up our room. It is a pretty heartbreaking task, honest. We have had so much fun in this room and have had many great nights hanging out with out friends. But at the same time we are pretty pumped to come back in August and move our stuff into an APARTMENT! We cannot wait to finally have a kitchen and our own rooms.

However, for now I can't be thinking those happy thoughts yet. I have to get through the stress of exams and final papers this week as well as packing away my sophomore year memories. Happy Finals Week, folks!

<3 Ashley

Four Favorites: Easter

Eggs (here) Dress (here) Shoes (here) Ice Cream here

Does anyone else get as excited about Easter as I do? I mean, I am definitely not excited on the level that I was when I was younger--Easter egg hunts can get a kid seriously amped. But I do love the spring-y things that we typically see on Easter. Pastel colors, flowers, dresses, and colorful eggs all make me absolutely swoon on Easter Sunday. It also marks the end of Lent, which means we can once again indulge in all that we have given up over the past 40 days. Keep an eye on your ice cream and donuts if you do not want me to take them!

<3 Ashley

Join in with sharing what you love about Easter! You can learn about the Four Favorites linkup by clicking on the button below!

NYE Heels

1.) JUNO by She Palace (www.shepalace.com)
2.) VOGUE by She Palace (www.shepalace.com)
3.) Kiss Party Queen Shimmer Black by Shoe Diva Boutique (www.shoedivaboutique.com)
4.) Gold Pumps by SCHEE Footwear (www.whoisschee.com)
5.) Dragon Spike Black by Shoe Diva Boutique (www.shoedivaboutique.com)
6.) SAMBA by She Palace (www.shepalace.com)

Well, unfortunately someone has to say it...Christmas is over! It kind of came up on me this year and now all of a sudden it's over. However, it was a great day with family--also my brother's birthday! Anyway, on to our next big adventure: closing a great year and welcoming in another! Sadly, I will be working on New Year's Eve, but many of you won't and will be enjoying yourselves with friends at NYE parties. When I think of New Year's, I think of sparkles, sequins and glitter; it just seems like that kind of night, right? Pretty Living has put together a collection of shoes that definitely pull together an outfit making it the quintessential NYE look; a few you may recognize from Shoe Diva Boutique which I wrote about in this post. 

 My personal favorites are the Vogue booties by She Palace  (2) and the Gold Pumps by SCHEE Footwear (4).

<3 Ashley

What is your NYE style?

Christmas?!

 

Image: here

 

Can I just go ahead and say that it doesn't even feel like Christmas to me right now? Well it's two days away! It's not even like I'm scrambling around for gifts or trying to get things done. I've just been working so much lately that I haven't been keeping track of the days. I looked at the calendar this morning and received the shock of a lifetime...tomorrow is Christmas Eve! So if I don't talk to you guys beforehand, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

<3 Ashley

Four Favorites: Holiday Wishlist

SS Print || Perfume || iPhone Case

This week I am very excited to be co-hosting one of my favorite link-ups to participate in: Four Favorites! This link-up is hosted by Ashlyn of Let It Be Beautiful and Kristin of Fancy Things. This week's theme is your holiday wishlist. These are a few of the things I have been pining for the most since the gift giving season began:

iPhone case: Recently one of my favorite sites, The Everygirl, opened their online store with just a few affordable little gifts just in time for Christmas! One of my favorites is this iPhone case (available for the 4/4S/5/5S) with a wonderful quote!

SS Print: I am very open with the fact that I am a huge fan of Stephanie Sterjovski's lovely prints. One in particular that I can see perched on my wall is this beautiful ombré pink one with an Audrey Hepburn quote--I'm also a huge Audrey fan!

Twirl by Kate Spade: We sold this fragrance at work last year and every time I would work in the beauty department I would stop by this bottle and spritz a little on. I'm obsessed with it! 

Vinyl: One of the big things I asked for this year was a record player which has been confirmed. I currently only have one record (the My Fair Lady soundtrack) and would love some more to go along with my new player!

<3 Ashley

What's on your wishlist this Christmas?

Buying or DIY-ing

Image: here

I am happy to announce that fall semester is finally over! Commence the lovely three week holiday break leading up to the spring semester. Granted I will be spending this break working to make money for next semester, but I definitely still have time to hang out, have fun and relax. However, one thing gnawing on my brain is the fact that I still have one more gift to get and I'm not going to be getting a paycheck until next Friday...after Christmas. Therefore, I have a very limited budget on this one. The friend that this gift is for is definitely someone who values creative gifts so I know that she will definitely appreciate the DIY gift. I have until next Thursday to find a project and execute it! I can't say that I have done many DIY projects--I am unfortunately someone who drops the money and takes the easy way out--but I look forward to giving a creative and personal gift; especially since this year marks 15 years of friendship!

<3 Ashley

Do you DIY or buy your gifts? Do you have any favorite DIY projects?

Currently

Since I'm so busy lately and still want to do at least a few posts this week, I figured today I would bust out a short but still very fun post about what I am currently up to...like right now. As we speak. So I am currently...

listening to: "Just Want You To Know" -Backstreet Boys (Note: going to see them tonight here on campus and I'm already fangirling pretty hard!)
eating: Nothing :( But I am drinking some nice water...
wearing: My long, comfy gray sweater and yoga pants
working on: Blogging aside, I am studying for finals. Rhetorical Process to be exact!
loving: My gift from my Secret Santa! Those pillows in the picture up there ^^^^ very festive!
disliking (because hate is a strong word!): Everything about the music video for "Saturday" by Rebecca Black. Like just stop...

<3 Ashley

What are you doing currently?

Holiday Gift Ideas for Her

1.) Royal Blue Swing dress via Tidal Cool Creations

2.) Vienna Victoria bracelet www.viennavictoria.com

3.) Faux Croc Leather Pants via Tidal Cool Creations

4.) Bracelet via White Haute Fashions www.whitehautefashions.com

5.) Pillows via Charisma Home Decor, www.charismahomedecor.com

6.) Heels via She Palace www.shepalace.com

7.) Heels via She Palace www.shepalace.com

8.) Bracelet via White Haute Fashions www.whitehautefashions.com

9.) Necklace via White Haute Fashions www.whitehautefashions.com 

Hey all! Can I just go on record for a minute and say that I have already lost my mind due to finals. Seriously...I'm going a little crazy. As of last night I cannot even focus--the Disney sing-a-long that occurred in our room last night was proof of that. It was a nice little stress reliever though (if you ever find yourself crazy stressed, belting "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas helps!) Today's a new day and I have exactly one week until my first finals. I just need to organize my mind and develop some solid study habits. Time to prioritize!

Anyway, with Christmas coming up I'm sure I'm not the only one searching high and low for the perfect gifts. Above are just a few ideas for the lovely ladies in your life. I for one am a huge fan of the jewelry! You may recognize #2 from Vienna Victoria from this post here. That's still on my own wishlist!

<3 Ashley

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Image: here

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Can we talk about the fact that I am finally up early enough to catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?! Had it not been for the determination to do my own little "Turkey Trot" run I would probably just be getting up right now. I'm sorry that this is probably the only blog post you will be getting from me this week. The past few days have been filled up with last minute essay writing, packing for break and shopping for my pumpkin pie. Tomorrow I will be exhausted from Black Friday shopping (Anyone else going out at midnight?! See you there!) but I get to spend the day with one of my good friends that I don't get to see as much because of school so that should alleviate some of the fatigue. Saturday is our house decorating day before I leave on a bus back to Pittsburgh on Sunday. I'll give you a full update on Monday, I'm sure. Until then have a great holiday and relaxing weekend!

<3 Ashley

Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday Decor: Jack-o-Lanterns

Image: here

Well we're about half way through October (one of the best months!) which means we're pretty much half way to Halloween! My roommate and I are still scrambling to complete our costumes and bring a little taste of Halloween to our room. Tomorrow we're venturing out to a local farmer's market to pick up some pumpkins that we WON'T be able to carve but will definitely be taking a sharpie to. We've been back and forth with ideas of how we want to design our pumpkins and have been looking for inspiration all over the internet. Check out some of the best ones we've found!

This one has to be the cutest! Cinderella's carriage actually carved out of a pumpkin! 

We found a lot of pumpkins that people carved famous painting into. Neither of us are that artistically inclined, but these are very cool!

This is also a really cool option if you can't actually carve your pumpkin; just grab some yarn!

<3 Ashley

How do you decorate for Halloween?

Happy 4th!

Image: here

Happy Independence Day, folks! I hope you have fun plans made for your celebration today. I'm staying home with the family today and we're having a little cookout. If the rain holds off I would like to eat outside but these grey clouds do not bode well. And what is 4th of July without fireworks? While we won't personally be setting any off, I can be confident in saying at least two people around here will be setting them off.

Have fun celebrating America's birthday!

<3 Ashley

What do you have planned for the celebrations?

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day ceremony in Hawaii. Photo: here

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Would you believe that I have to work today? It's true...the world of retail does not take a break. Thankfully my family has decided to wait to eat until 6 tonight. I am very grateful for this.

I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of their holiday weekend. Eat up, drink up and relax! But also, remember the actual meaning behind the holiday. Take some time and think about those men and women serving and defending our country.

How do you celebrate Memorial Day?

<3 Ashley

My Easter Holiday

Despite the holiday, this weekend was VERY busy for me. Since Friday I have been using every bit of free time to work on the first draft for my Writing for the Public assignment--a newsletter outlining the issues of No Child Left Behind and where education looks to go from there. This is not exciting stuff to write about people! In fact I am still working on it. I am taking off from my first lecture today so that I can give it a thorough edit.

Before I commit myself to that though, I wanted to share my Easter with you. We decided on Saturday to attend the noon mass on Sunday rather than the 6 PM one. I was up at 10:45 AM getting primped and ready only to receive a knock on the door at 11:15 and see my friends still in their pajamas. Instantly Megan assured me that she would be ready in time (she was a minute late, but who's counting?) After church we enjoyed an Easter brunch and then promptly went back up to our rooms to change into comfortable clothes--three blisters and counting on my feet! One girl on our floor volunteered to hide our Easter eggs for us so that we could have a hunt. Unfortunately due to our late planning the only eggs we could get our hands on were in the shape of Darth Vader's helmet. After that, our holiday was virtually over and we all set off to work and study.

And I know that one of the big highlights for many of us is what we wear on Easter. Below are a few pictures of my dress and shoes.

My entire Easter outfit was from White House | Black Market. It was a birthday gift I gave myself for turning 18 last summer. You know...I deserved it :)

How was your holiday? What did you wear?

<3 Ashley

Have a Hoppy Weekend!

You see what I did there? Cute, right? Little childish...but that's okay! Easter is this Sunday and despite the fact that the school will not be sending us home to celebrate, my friends and I are planning to make the most of it. When we wake up we plan on doing brunch together (but that's kind of obligatory every weekend.) Then we want to go to the park and have an Easter egg hunt if it's not raining. Finally in the evening we will go to church in our loveliest Easter dresses--I'll post mine on Monday!

If you celebrate it, what are your Easter plans?

<3 Ashley

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of the lovely ladies (and gentlemen?) reading this blog. I hope that you make the most of today, and show a little extra love for yourself and everyone around you! I myself do not really have any plans except curling up with a few of my favorite movie actors and spending some time with my girls. Saturday night is when we're going to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. We didn't feel like wrestling couples for reservations tonight.

Have a great Valentine's Day!!

<3 Ashley

How will you be spending your day/evening?

Valentine's Week

Howdy, everybody!

So I was completely M.I.A. this weekend (no TGIF Pins!) Sorry about that. Friday was surprisingly stressful even though I only had a total of two classes. My ability to completely choke on a language test has come back to haunt me. I have also had the unsavory realization that Wednesday will be my first Italian oral exam. Yikes! I cannot say that I am completely prepared for that. I barely like to say too much in English. Needless to say, I did almost nothing this weekend. That was also helped by the fact that one of my friends was away for the weekend and another's family was visiting. So I flew solo in my pajama's just doing some housekeeping and doing work.

But good news...it's Valentine's week! Now, as a single lady myself I can understand why some of you might have cringed when reading that last sentence. But V-Day can still be for us as well! Is there really a rule that says you can't celebrate with someone if they aren't your romantic interest? Over the next few days I will present you with some fun, worry free ways to spend your Valentine's Day solo or with the girls! Sorry this is so brief. After a long, stressful day I think I am going to do my dishes and chill out with a movie...I deserve it!

<3 Ashley

Do you have any V-Day ideas?

Promise?

It's that time of year again....December 31. New Year's Eve. Made your resolutions yet? What are resolutions? They are the promises we make ourselves (and maybe secretly others) at the end of every year to better our lives the following year. However, they do not always stick as we have found out year after year. We have a white hot, new gym membership January 2nd that gets thrown aside by February 2nd. I find that we set the same goals for ourselves every year: general, a little far-reaching, and, if I do say so, a bit generic.

There is nothing I want more than to go a year with at least one of my resolutions still intact. So here's my idea for a fix: No more of "cut out junk food" or "go to the gym every other day" because let's be real...neither of those is going to stick very long with me. The awful truth is that as much as we want to say we do, our will power is not that strong. So instead of asserting these powerful promises tonight I will still make the generic resolutions, but not treat them as the end-all-be-all of my 2013 lifestyle. Baby steps will be my method.

Instead of completely cutting out junk food, I will set guidelines. I will taper off and hopefully by summer I will only have one day when I treat myself to a sugar-y sweet. Instead of going straight for the equipment at the gym, I will start small with an easier workout routine that I can do in my dorm until I am comfortable shedding the sweatpants for running shorts in the outside world.

In my view, the resolution a goal that you should work towards during the year, not something that you are going to force yourself to do. That's my thought at least. I am excited to hear what all of your resolutions are going to be for this coming year. Here are mine:

- Put more effort in a healthy lifestyle
- Try to put myself in someone else's shoes to understand them a little better
- Really try to discover what I want out of life (no, I still have not figured this out yet)

Those are just a few. I might think of some more at work...I do a lot of my thinking there ;)

<3 Ashley

What are some of your New Year's resolutions?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Yes, I am still up enjoying the wee hours of Christmas morning. I just wanted to take some time and wish you all a happy holiday before I spend my entire day with family eating, giving gifts, and watching A Christmas Story. I hope that you all enjoy your day with your families and the gifts that you receive.

Enjoy,
<3 Ashley

Stocking Stuffers

In the past week that I have been back working at Kohl's I have been told over and over again by my customers that the most difficult part of the Christmas shopping is the stocking stuffers! I have gotten to thinking about it as well and I agree; the big gifts and gift cards are way easier than those little extras. So here is a list for all of you last minute holiday shoppers (and I know there are plenty!)

1. Nail Polish/Manicure Set You can pick some of these up at stores like Target and Kohl's for under $10

2. Neat Stationary I always find some neat notepads and stationary in the bins at Michael's craft store.

3. Earbuds You don't necessarily need to get the best out there. I have never had a pair of earbuds that last more than a year (in fact, the left side of my current ones just fizzled out!) So you can always gift these to someone knowing that eventually they will need them.

4. Candy This really needs no explanation.

5. Ornaments Handmade or store bought, a lovely new ornament to add to the tree is a nice thing to find in your stocking.

These are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling for you last minute stuffers! I am sure that if you look hard enough you will be able to find other things. There really is no rule, it all just depends on whose stocking it is going into. 

In the event that I remain inactive on here through Christmas I hope that it is a merry one for you! Don't fret, I will definitely be back on before New Years....we have resolutions to talk about! 

<3 Ashley

What do you like in your stocking?