Happy Blogiversary to Me

3 years ago today I started this blog. Baby Brook was getting ready for her 1st birthday and we were only 3 months from finding out we were expecting our Emmy. Seems so long ago, but at the same time like it's zoomed right by. My life has changed so much in the past 3 years. Babies have turned into toddlers, into little threenagers. We've bought a house, adopted a pup. We've grown. And I have you guys to thank for reading, commenting, following throughout it all. The happiness, the sadness, the venting, the celebrating, even those embarasssing moments (you'll never let me live that one down, eh Lynds?)

And to thank you, all of you, I'd like to offer up a lil giveaway. If you've been one of my (beautiful, smart, kind, amazing) loyals, you'll know I have a bit of addiction. Yes, to Forever21 (duh) but also? To Target. Ohhh Target, your clearance racks just tickle my fancy. And I know about 99.9% of you guys feel the same, judging by my Instagram feed ;)

So? How's a $25 giftcard sound? More importantly, can I win my own giveaway? Frowned upon? Yeah, I thought so.

Enter away, friends! And again, thanks so much you guys. I know my little corner of the internet isn't much but it means alot to me. You're awesome for being apart of it xoxo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Thanks to Capital One No Hassle Rewards, it's easy to earn points towards travel, merchandise, or in this case, an awesome giftcard :)*

Simple Summer Fun

Kind of makes you want to be a kid again, doesn't it? To not care about getting wet or dirty. To just simply have fun.

Remember what it was like to be a carefree kid in the summer? You were friends with all the kids on your block. Decorated everyone's driveway with sidewalk chalk. Went to the community pool. Chased down the ice cream truck for orange Flinstone push ups. Loved your mom even more when she stocked the freezer with ice cream sandwiches. Went rollerblading through town. Had sleepovers almost every night. Stayed out until dark. Your only responsibility was to try & keep the fish you won at the fair alive for an entire week.

Yeah. I could definitely handle being a kid in the summertime again. Or least be able to act like one. This big kid doesn't want to give up her summer shandy. 

lately (via instagram)

From last week.
-Day date with Momma to (where else?) Target//-Preschool goodies from the dollar bin//-Guess which ones are for this very picky eater?//-They have the same laugh. Makes me happy//-Three Essie polishes for 9 bucks?! You so get me, TJ Maxx-//My brave little diva




More from our color run last Saturday.
-Before//-After//-My 1st 5k? Owned. Well, not really but I finished & didn't puke so yay//-Rainbow boob sweat? Youbetcha//-Run 3 miles, inhale a cow. Sounds about right//-Perfect morning cap



Saturday evening, at the county fair.
-My little animal lover. {Not pictured? Me cringing digging through my bag for germ-x}//-"AMINALS!"//-Totally worth the $12 admission fee//-This girls newest obsession. loveallthehorsiesandponies!

Do you Instagram? Well who doesn't?! Follow me :)

Steppin' Out 7-21-12 // The Color Run

Remember this post from back in April? When I talked about the Color Run and how amazing it was going to be & how I was going to train for the 5k? Yeah, well Dustin & I did were in that 5k yesterday and only one of those two statements were true.

It was absolutely amazing. But? I didn't train at all :/ Shame on me. I bought my new bright & pretty Nikes (from Kohls), my neon yellow sports bra & hot pink and black running shorts (from Wal Mart of all places), and took one of Dustin's undershirts & made a racerback tank using this tutorial. I looked ready to train. I just needed to, ya know, train. I thought about it. Even made a list (or four). And then? Time got away from me. I took the extra hour of sleep instead of running. Watched the extra hour of Sex & the City reruns after the girls went to bed. And? Well let's just say I'm regretting that. Even my hair aches today, y'all.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to yesterday.

The run was to start at 9am sharp. But we still had to register & had heard it was going to be crazy. And we live about 90 mintues away. So you can imagine how happy my husband was when the alarm went off at 545am Saturday morning. But boy am I glad we got an early start. They weren't kidding when they said it was going to be crazy. 12,000 people crazy. It was bananas.

After we got there & registered, we just blended into the sea of white shirts (and fairy wings. and tutu's. and neon knee socks. and capes. you name it, it was there.)

We stood there for about a half hour and were pretty close to the front. Not everyone goes at once, of course. We were taken in what they called waves. I have no clue how many were to a wave, but when we got to the start line, it was announced we were wave 4 of expected 342 waves. Again, bananas.

Since I was a lazy swayze & didn't train, I thought I'd wing it (hahahahahaha. oh ashley.) Started off with a brisk jog. Enter in the sharp side pain (i swear my muscle index is in the negative category) and enter in the smirks from Dustin (WHO by the by didn't train either, but was a cross country runner for years. like a bicycle, i guess. his body didn't forget. show off.)

The jist about the Color Run, there's 4 color stations throughout the run. Basically you start out nice & white and end it looking like a box of Nerds. Our first station was blue

followed by pink

then orange

and finally yellow.

Around orange, I got into a groove and the feeling as if I had a dagger in my side was gone. I was running! Sure, it was at a shmedium pace but hey! I was running!

I have no clue what our time was. 40 minutes maybe? That wasn't the point of this race. The point was to simply have fun. Be bright. Smile. Laugh. Take pictures. And? We did all of that. For a good cause too {a portion of the proceeds is going to a local charity. 2 big thumbs up there.}

The finish line was by far the best part. When you register, you're given a bag with a shirt, face tattoo, headband, and extra bag of powder to celebrate at the end. And after 3 miles in 90 degree weather (thank gawd for the awesome breeze), when the powder hits you it becomes a paste {after 2 showers, we STILL have the hot pink finish line celebration powder on our faces lol}

There were alot of mommies & daddies there pushing their toddlers in a jogging stroller, and the kids were having the best time. I'd love to bring the girls next time! Yes, next time. There will definitely be a next time.

Linking up with Mandy at Harper's Happenings. You should too. 

Mommy Style--Kalencom Review & Giveaway!

Sometimes function & fashion don't mesh. All moms know that. And if your significant other is anything like mine, he isn't quite thrilled with the idea of carrying around a giant bright paisley Vera Bradley diaper bag.

Enter Kalencom bags! What I loved most about these bags (besides the hundreds of gorgeous choices) was the fact that I didn't have to sacrifice style while carrying around diapers, snacks, & Buttpaste. 

I was pretty excited last week to get this pretty in the mail.

Adjustable straps. Pockets on each side for bottles (or in our case now, sippy cups & water bottles). It also has stroller straps, which definitely comes in handy. Doesn't it always seem like the bag & all it's contents gets smushed in the storage under the stroller? 

Included is a matching bottle bag, zippered pouch, & large changing pad. Oh & it's huge inside. As in diapers, wipes, wallet, keys, cell phone, DSLR, extra set of clothes, 9 "necessary" buddies, goldfish, capri suns, & animal crackers stuffed WITH lots of room to spare. Love the compartments. LOVE that if when there's a spill, I can just wipe it clean. 

And? I love that it's black & brown. Once considered a faux paux is now one of my favorite combos.

Wanna do a lil shopping? Of course you do! Kalencom, being the awesome people they are, are giving away a $25 giftcard to their shop!

And entering to win couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is leave me a comment & tell me what you'd spend your winnings on. A new bag? Some new baby outfits? {You didn't think bags were their only speciality, didja? :)}

There's extra ways to enter too......
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Winner will be announced Friday, July 27th. Good luck! And have a great weekend!

*While I was given this bag from Kalencom at no cost to reivew, all opinions are & always will be 100% my own. And I don't fib.*

Bubble Necklace STEAL!

Yesterday while going through my email, one from GroopDealz caught me eye. Know why? Let me show you....

Hello amazing deal! These necklaces at J.Crew go for $150. onehundredandfiftydollars. Sure, they're made of 18k gold but still. These? Just as amazingly beautiful at 20 bucks. I had my eye on the turquoise but I already have a necklace with this similar style & color, so I opted for the navy blue. I've been loving the coral/navy combo lately, so this would be one {of many} outfits I could style around this one necklace.

top // shorts // shoes //bag // bubble necklace // bracelet //sunglasses 

Love it.

Which color necklace would (SHOULD!) you get? Not gonna lie....I'm thisclose to ordering the yellow & kelly green ones. 

Enviable Confidence

It's Monday. Again. Already. Let's all groan in unison, shall we?

Well here's a little ditty that'll hopefully make your day a bit better.

Yesterday while Dustin stayed home with a napping Emmy Kay, Brookie and I decided to go out and run a few errands. And by "we decided" meant that I was hungry and hate eating out by myself, so I asked her if she wanted to play at the mall so I could curb my chinese craving whilst there {True story. I can count on one hand how many times I've gone out to eat alone. And before cell phones? Once and it was just....awkward.)

Anyways, I got her dressed. Did her hair. Then I was getting myself ready. As usual, she was looking around my makeup. My earrings. My necklaces. Then she came across a pair of readers. Ya know, those fake glasses for style? The ones I got at Forever 21 that Dustin side eyed me for wearing even though I thought they were pretty stinkin' adorable & framed my face well? Yeah, those.

Well, she tried them on. Took a look at herself in the mirror. Smiled so big and said "Look! I have four eyes. Can I wear these today?" When I told her Sure, she then looked back at herself in the mirror and said "I'm gonna rock these four eyes". Honest to blog, the cuteness factor was that of Puss in Boots in his wee little boots.

Now the paranoid mommy in me was worried that a kid might laugh at her. Might point, or stare. The girls are so young and so far, I've mainly been able to keep them protected in my momma bear bubble. But it's inevitable. Kids can be cruel. Kids can be ruthless. Let's face it. Kids can be assholes. The only thing I can do is teach my daughters to rise above their words and be the better person. You wanna rock a pair of fake specs? Get it grrrrl. And if someone tries to make you feel bad for it? Psh, don't even worry about them because you KNOW you look good :)

Best part of the day? When a younger guy at Meijers looked at her and said to his friend "that's awesome". She heard it too. Looked up at me with this mischievous grin & said "See Momma? I'm rocking them."

Yeah you are, baby girl. So proud of you.



a step out of my comfort zone

Literally.

Yesterday while out & about, I remembered that I had $10 Kohls cash that was expiring, so to Kohls we went. Headed straight for shoes because I had my eye out on a pair of yellow Candies wedges (I'm addicted to wedges now....it's rather ironic.) Since majority of summer shoes are clearanced now, ya know in the middle of July, they didn't have my size.

But a different pair caught my eye. First I tried them on just as a joke. Brookie would think they were silly. No way would I buy them. Then I took a picture of them. They were kinda sorta maybe striking my fancy. Not my funny fancy but my I think I want these beautes fancy. So I sat there & contemplated a pair of shoes for longer than I care to admit.

Too long actually because the girls turned into "what the crap woman? this store is dull as rocks" grumpybears. I threw the shoes back on the shelf, and left the store empty handed. Figured I'd just spend my Kohls cash online. We drove to the bank. To Starbucks. And were ready to head home.

I couldn't get these damn shoes off my mind. Why?! Maybe because the deal was too good to resist ($80 shoes 70% off. Plus an extra 15% off. Plus Kohls cash. I suck at math, but I think that adds up to definitelyworththechanceofblisters.) Maybe because Instagram was telling me YES! Maybe because I knew the old Ashley would never ever buy them and the new Ashley wanted to prove a point. Whatever it was, it took me right back to the store. To the shoe department. To the cash register. And out the door.

And now? I'm stumped. How will I not snap my ankle? And more importantly what do you wear with these? Little black dress? Skinnies & one shoulder tank? Pillows & bubblewrap? How would you rock these spiked pretties?

5 Minute Summer Dessert

Got your attention? Thought so.

So yeah, this is definitely our favorite summertime dessert. It's quick. It's easy. The girls love it. This particular one has four ingrediants. You basically can't screw it up AND you can make it about 100 different ways.

Without further ado & drooling, I give you strawberry trifle (that I promise won't taste like feet.)

What you'll need::

(To cut back on even more calories, I typically use sugar free vanilla pudding. But we ran out so I sent Dustin to the store and well, his sweet tooth trumps all.)

I'm not fibbing when I say this is fool proof. Hull and slice the berries, get your goodies all ready (resist the tempation of just tearing into the fluffy angel cake)....

And start building. I do a layer of cake (just tear it with your hands...or mouth), a layer of pudding, then strawberries, and finally whipped cream. Wash, rinse, and repeat....
And voila. Pretty yummies in a pretty bowl.

I've made a few variations of this with blueberries & raspberries. I've also done chocolate pudding & crumbled Heath bars {FYI, I prefer the berry trifles. Makes me feel notsoguilty for the redic amount of BBQ I usually eat prior to this.}

Enjoy friends!

lately.

OH HAI!

I'm here. Alive & well. Revived from my mid week holiday break coma and the 115 heat index from last Saturday. Sorry for the lack of posts recently but we were busy doing alot of the following.....



Along with trying not to sweat profusely from underneath my boobs, which I failed at miserably.

There might also be one other teensey little thing keeping me from blogging. Just a little trip planning...

TO DISNEY WORLD THIS WINTER! YES I'M SHOUTING. EXCITEMENT, NOT ANGER FRIENDS!

Whew. So yeah, I now see why people spend months planning a Disney trip. And take it so seriously. I tried to book a character meal for a day in December & every single time slot was booked. Crazysauce. It's safe to say yesterday I gave maybe 45% towards motherhood while Dustin had to give a good 110% because I was sucked into the internetz. Disboards? Addicted. Like whoa.

But? I'm having an embarassingly good time planning. Making lists? My thing. Color coordinated tabs? Pshyeah! Booking reservations online?! My cheeks hurt from grinning. Can't wait until the time gets closer to share our plans with y'all!