victoria's secret fashion show 2011

i had been waiting for november 29th for forever and i was not disappointed. the annual victoria's secret fashion show was a dream. i absolutely died over the aquatic angels!

here are a few of my favorites from last night's show:

love,

ashley

day off

i love days when i don't have to work. i can sleep in and just do as i please. i especially love when i have mondays off. today i finally had the opportunity to have lunch with an old coworker/friend. after some amazing chinese food, good company, and a full tummy, i made a run to target with my grandma. we've been making these trips to target ever since i was really young. unfortunately life has snuck up on me and has made me one busy lady lately, but whenever we get the chance, we head on out to target like old times. you could say it's our favorite store and my favorite time with her. by the way, these pictures were taken by her. i bet my grandma takes better pictures than your grandma.  

love,

ashley

my sunday in pictures

he's finally home. yesssssssss.

love,

ashley

happiness

10 things that make me smile:

1. hanging out with an old friend...everything about her makes me smile
2. homemade turkey stew made by my grandma
3. watching the duchess and pride & prejudice
4. the fact that elf has been on tv like a million times
5. mastering the art of curling my hair
6. my bailey mae and her adorable christmas pjs
7. figuring out how to transfer my music from my iPod to my new macbook...now i can update it!
8. my mom's homemade shortbread cookies!!!
9. a sweet waitress saying i was beautiful (which was hard to believe because this was after all the black friday shopping and i felt like a mess)
10. my supervisor telling me that i'm doing a good job

love,
ashley


p.s.
the #1 thing that would make me smile- if michael came back home. i miss that boy.

this is what i do

this is what i do when my boyfriend is out of town. i stay in bed, wear my tie-dye shirt, drink chai tea and watch movies all day. bum style. oh so not eventful. but aside from my boring saturday, here's a little something that made me smile- marcel the shell with shoes on, part 2. 

love,
ashley

black friday extravaganza

i decided to attend the midnight madness this year, and i must say, it was a successful black friday! i got to spend it with an old friend from middle school (we've known each other for 10 years! crazy!!). she is just as amazing as ever. i just wish we got to see each other more often than just during the holidays. we met up at midnight at the thousand oaks mall and didn't leave until about 6:30am or so. totally crazy. we hit up macy's, bakers, cathy jean, urban outfitters, american eagle, aerie. ann taylor, the apple store, and gap. while at urban, i was convinced to buy these fake glasses, which i have been secretly wanting for a while now, and you know i wore them the minute i purchased them.  we then decided needed to go to target. even more crazy. so we didn't wrap up shopping until about 9.  this meant that i was up for more than 24 hrs!! ahhh. this shopping extravaganza was filled with giggles, finding items that made us feel like queens (top criteria: faux fur and anything that sparkles), a lot of catching up and delusional talk. all in all, it was a fantastic, fun, exhausting morning and i'm glad i got to spend it with one of my favorite people. :)

love,

ashley

dolled up

 shirt & wedges: old navy, jeans: american eagle, belt: forever21, red lipstick: l'oreal paris in ravishing red

i usually don't dress up much, but for the holidays i like to get all dolled up. this thanksgiving i curled my hair (an accomplishment) and swiped on a red lip. i've found that i am wearing red lipstick more and more these days... oh! and check out the painted nails. goodness how i've missed them. i feel complete again!! i have 5 days off from work so i am taking full advantage of this time to rock them because who knows when there will be another chance. being put together like this makes me feel good. just too bad i'm not allowed to dress like this to work because i would be all over that in a heartbeat.

love,

ashley

treasures

 hope everyone is having an amazing thanksgiving, surrounded by friends, family and love- our greatest treasures.  

love,

ashley

the little things

when life is chaotic, we take many things for granted. here is a list of the little things i am thankful for:

freshly painted nails (mind you i haven't worn any since july)

edible candy turkeys

my iPod

while we're at it, let's add new macbook :) 

 friends

musical theater

yorkies, specifically Bailey Mae

brand new clothes

cowboy boots

country music

being employed by a great company

laughter

my little blog

photography

the creative bloggers i follow religiously

kisses 

hot showers

red lipstick

dinners with my mother and grandmother

fall

peppermint mochas 

scarfs

my dear boyfriend (who can also cook!)

love,

ashley

and it just clicked

so i've never been able to curl my hair. well today i had an epiphany and it just clicked. i don't know why i hadn't been able to figure it out before. just gotta get the right direction, rotation and BAM! you have yourself some curls. i also learned that curling irons can get extremely hot and burn your neck. good thing i had a nemo ice pack in the freezer :)

love,

ashley

stay warm

bailey sure is. she has some nice warm snowflake pjs. never too early to get into the christmas spirit i say. hope everyone is cuddled up under the blankies on this chilly monday night! 

love,

ashley

meet marcel the shell

happy monday!

love,
ashley

fri and sat

i had been waiting for friday forever. of course i had to see breaking dawn the day it came out! i would have gone to the midnight showing if i didn't have work at 6am. curse the grown up life! i counted down the hours at work (by taking pictures of my amazing view from the lab) until i was off and could enjoy my weekend.

saturday morning michael and i and made our way up to ojai for breakfast. after walking around a bit we decided to go to the wharf in ventura. and guess what!? we both got some new boots! of course i rocked cowboy boots when i was little, but this is my first pair as an adult. pretty much obsessed! and what makes it even better is that i fit into the youth size so got them fairly cheap. win! so we decided to dress up (with our boots) for dinner at lazy dogs. can you say white peach sangria? i can and it was delish! it was a good day to say the least :)

love,
ashley

happiness

10 things that make me smile:


1. first peppermint mocha of the season
2. the sweet kisses on the cheek in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping
3. writing this blog even though don't have many followers
4. new macbook :)
5. sleeping in til noon
6. having grown up talks
7. buying new jeans
8. red lipstick
9. chai tea while laying in bed
10. getting the weekend off from work!!!!!!!!

love,
ashley

pillow talk

Some say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I believe this to be true. Michael went away this past weekend to visit his family while I had to stay behind and work. Well he got back last night, and we were so cuddly and lovable! We had definitely missed each other, even if we were apart for only 3 days. When we finally decided to go to bed, we stayed up a little while just talking, with my head on his chest. These can be the best conversations- full of insight, talking about how much we missed the other and just lovely pillow talk. Oh I am glad my love is back. 

Love,

Ashley

Fourteen...

Picture taken right after work in the parking lot (excuse the messy hair and no makeup). No time to take any others :(

...hours is way too long for a person to work in one day. Well that's what I did yesterday- lucky me! I literally worked the day away which explains why there wasn't a Flawed and Fabulous Friday. So instead here are Several Thoughts for Saturday...

1. Fourteen hours means big paycheck! Woo woo! 

2. It's rainy out, but I'm protected by my new fancy warm jacket from Old Navy (in picture).

3. Counting the hours of sleep I will get each night before bed. I will likely get 7 hours of sleep tonight. 

4. Can't wait for tomorrow to be over. I have Monday off! Then back to the daily grind. Wah wah. 

5. I can't watch Ghost Adventures right before bed. It just sets me up for failure when I have to wake up at 4 in the morning for work. 

6. I can't particularly think of anything to write because I am totally exhausted and it is taking me longer than usual to get my thoughts in order. 

7. Mmm bed sounds good right now. I'm such an old grandma who can't stay up late anymore.

Love,
Ashley

spontaneity at it's best

Las Vegas Strip

Friday night Michael and I had dinner at Andria's with his brother and girlfriend. While we were there we decided to head to Vegas for the weekend. This is about the most spontaneous thing we've ever done. We bolted out of the restaurant and were on the road by 10pm. About 3am we made it to Sin City and didn't call it a night or should I say morning until 6am. It was a whirlwind weekend to say the least. 

Mimosas anyone?

The Minus 5 Ice Bar

Jumping on the hotel bed and punching the ceiling!

And if going to Vegas wasn't spontaneous enough for me, I decided Tuesday morning I was going to get my hair cut and go for a little different look; ergo, the bangs! Then that very same day I made my first big purchase since being employed. Ladies and gents, here you have it....

My 1st MacBook Pro!!

Love,

Ashley

Flawed and Fabulous Friday!

Flawed 

•   I am sick. My nose is stuffed and runny (if that’s even possible to happen at the same time) and I feel like it hasn’t even hit its peak yet. I expect some nasty cough to arrive within the next few days. Woo. 
• Starting work at 7:30am instead of 6am. This all sounds good in theory, BUT it means I have to be at work until 6pm.
• My room is looking like a pig sty. Just way too lazy and tired after getting off work to clean. All it needs is some mud and it would be perfect for a little piggy. This gets me thinking…would Bailey get along with a pig? Hmmmm.
• Getting paid every 2 weeks instead of every week. I just like seeing my bank statement increasing weekly. 
• Seeing Paranormal Activity 3. All of these movies have scarred me for life! I am such a baby when it comes to scary stuff.

Fabulous

• Yesterday was my Friday! And because my work is going through this crazy startup mode, my schedule has changed. Do not fret, for this means I get 6 days off in a row (without using vacation time). Hallelujah! I can use this time to sleep and get better (and maybe shop).
• I cannot wait for the rain. My boyfriend and I made a plan to get clam chowder bread bowls from Andria's when there is finally a rainy day. This is will be delicious and I am way excited!
• Getting donuts and coffee at 9pm with the boyfriend. This is amazing because he has been on a health kick for the past month. My stomach def enjoyed this!
• My hair is getting long. I've been growing it out forever. Yay me!
• Coming home from work to dinner being made by my boyfriend. Love him.
• Being in such a good mood lately, even after work! I'm learning to not sweat the small stuff. My coworker gave us all some very good advice. "Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff." :) Happy Friday!

Love,

Ashley

Falling for You

Top: Gap, Jeans: American Eagle, Shoes: Old Navy, Belt: Forever21, Watch: Fossil, 

Bracelets: Beau-Alexis Beautique, Purse: Urban Outfitters

Somehow, I fell in love with fall. Don't get me wrong, I am a total Southern California summer girl at heart, but there is something about the change of seasons that is so appealing. It may be that it is finally cooling down (this past week was an exception) and the autumn leaves are falling from the trees. This allows me to pull out my cute chunky sweaters that have been hiding in my closet waiting for the appropriate weather to be worn. This particular night (last week) was chilly and was battled perfectly with my new sweater from Gap. We went out to Chili's for dinner and I felt like a grown up (gahhh I'm 22) wearing wedges out to a place that didn't call for such attire. So here's to you fall and all your glory. May your cool lovely weather last and bring more chunky-sweater-wearing my way.

Love,
Ashley