Weekend Wrap-Up: Homecoming

Happy Monday everybody! 

I'd say that this weekend was definitely a well deserved break that was used for both relaxation and productivity. I spent the last weekend of September surrounded by friends and fun. Friday night we went downtown for my friend's birthday dinner--we went to Cafe Milano instead of Burgatory like I said before--which was delicious! I will go ahead and recommend the baked ziti. It did take awhile for our food to get to us, but I imagine that was due to the fact that there was a festival/bridge party that night on the Roberto Clemente bridge and everyone and their mother was getting dinner at the same time as us. There was also some excitement for the huge rubber duck that is laying anchor in Pittsburgh for the next 3 weeks. Aside from that, the weekend was spent celebrating homecoming and our victory against University of Virginia!

Partying with Pittsburgh!

Couldn't resist a quick pic with the duck!

Homecoming laser and fireworks show!

Great seats for the game; and we won!

<3 Ashley

How did you spend your weekend?

TGIF Pins

Well we all know how hectic this week has been; TGIF has never been more appropriate. This weekend though is going to be a good one! Tonight we are a taking a friend out for her birthday dinner at a restaurant called Burgatory--any Pittsburgh readers that can give me the scoop on this place? Then hopefully we will be back in time for the homecoming laser and lights show and the rest of the night will be spent hanging out with the birthday girl! Tomorrow is the homecoming game against UVa at 12:30 which, hopefully, we will dominate! The rest of the weekend will be relaxation and a bit of a lull in the school work which I will not complain about. In spirit of Friday, here are my favorite pins from this week!

Fashion

Shoes

Accessories

Beauty

Home

Food

Travel

Humor

Have a great weekend! Hail to Pitt!

<3 Ashley

My Playlist As Of Late

Image: here

So you've probably read this post about how crazy I have been driving myself with procrastination, forgetfulness and pre-mature senioritis (does that happen in sophomores?!) Whenever I get stressed out, music calms me down whether I am studying, taking a break for a run or just laying back in exhaustion in the dorm. I have put together a little playlist for myself to listen to--mostly when studying--to help my brain stay busy and keep it from going off and worrying about something else.

"This Year's Love" -David Gray

"John Wayne" -Little Green Cars

"Mermaid" -Train

"Royals" -Lorde

"Young Blood" -Birdy

"Come To Me" -Goo Goo Dolls

"Vienna" -Billy Joel

These are just a few of the songs that have been keeping me sane this past week. If there are a couple you haven't heard before I highly recommend giving them a listen! I have become admittedly obsessed with "This Year's Love" in the past 72 hours; it's just such a relaxing song!!

<3 Ashley

What helps you focus when you are stressed? What songs have you been listening to lately?

On Staying Organized

Image: here

One of my worst features is probably the fact that I am quite prone to procrastination and allowing things to slip my mind. This ugly feature came out in full force as I was studying for my anthropology exam this week. I was looking through my binder, found my psychology syllabus and discovered that my first psych exam is this Thursday! Whaaaat?! So naturally I threw anthropology aside to get in one chapter of psych reading. At 10:30 PM I realized that I had yet to complete all of my online math homework which was due in and hour and a half! That was when I went into full panic mode and maybe almost cried. It is just too early in the semester to be having episodes like last night.

I have made a vow to utilize all of my organization practices and not slack off! This is what I typically do: I have a little notebook that I record all my homework assignments and exam dates that I keep in my bag at all times. Then I have my calendar overload. What do I mean? I have my calendar on my phone which is linked to my calendar on my laptop so I get alerts on both devices. I also have my big desk calendar which is color coded. No more last minute, panicked working!

<3 Ashley

How do you stay on top of things? Have you ever gotten so far behind?

Jewelry Finds: Vienna Victoria

I think this impending fall is doing something to me. I am taking interest in trends that I swore up and down I would probably never wear--but now leopard and me are buds!--and I’ve been turning to my necklace board every morning when I get ready. You remember me and jewelry, right? We talk and acknowledge but never really hang out. 

Well I am discovering all of these interesting pieces and adding more and more to my Christmas list. As we speak I have a tab open in Chrome deciding which piece I want from the Vienna Victoria store. Creator Satin Van Cleef has a line of bracelets and rings that are actually have lipgloss in them in the “Vanity Vault!” Now that’s what I call stylish and functional! That’s one less thing to keep in your bag; plus they’re refillable. 

 

The bracelets come in yellow, white, rose and black gold over bronze--I am all over the rose gold!--and made with Swarovski Elements.

Check out the website here. I think that they would definitely make a cute gift for the holidays. I might drop some hints to my family about that! 

<3 Ashley

What do you think of this functional collection by Vienna Victoria?  

TGIF Pins

Happy Friday everyone! Did the week blaze by for anyone else? Just me? Okay. I really don't know what I am going to do with myself this weekend. There's no football game here so I will probably just do A LOT of reading for classes. Maybe Sunday I will take a break; I've taken to watching football with the guys on Sunday. It's kind of funny to watch them watch it, plus I need a few things explained to me. Haha! Anyway I did manage to squeeze out a little bit of pinning this week so that I could bring you my TGIF Pins!!

Fashion

Shoes

Accessories

Beauty

Home

Food

Travel

Humor

Have a great weekend everybody! 

<3 Ashley

Interesting Reads: IFB

Image: here

So I found this article here on IFB yesterday about the fact that procrastinating can be beneficial and was really intrigued by it. Often times when I am studying or trying to focus on writing up a post for the site and find myself on some social media site or reading some other article on Buzzfeed that I really shouldn't be reading. Every time I catch myself I feel just a little guilty about allowing myself to get side-tracked and distracted. But this article argues for allowing yourself to "waste time." After reading the article I feel a little bit better about those times when I let my mind and attention wander. I'm not saying I am going to intentionally just throw aside what I'm doing and go on Pinterest for an hour, but when I have been committing to something for awhile sometimes the old brain needs to take a few minutes to unwind, reboot and re-adjust.

<3 Ashley

Do you find yourself "wasting time" often? Is it something you try to avoid? What do you think after reading this article?