Currently...

Reading - This past weekend while camping I read two really enjoyable books. The first was this month's book for my 'Not So Young Adult' book club at a local bookstore. It was called 'The Shadow of Blackbirds' by Cat Winters and was a historical fiction/young adult/paranormal/mystery book all about the year 1918 with WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic that swept through the US that year. It was also a ghost love story and I do love myself some ghosts. 

The second book I read was called 'Winger' by Andrew Smith and I didn't know a thing about it when I started reading it. Didn't even read the blurb on the back or anything. Just liked the cover and went with it. It started out as an endearing and hilarious book and ended up being probably in my top 5 books of all time. I don't want to say anything about it really because I really think it is just better to go into it blind. You just need to know that it is a young adult fiction novel and from the perspective of a charming 14 year old boy. I have already told my husband that he has to read it during his winter break this school year.

Watching - I may be the only person in America still watching this show, but every week I watch 'Siberia' and hope that it either a) explains itself or b) redeems itself. I am so confused at what the heck is going on, mad at it for not divulging more plot, and disappointed in the writing....but yet I keep watching it each week to my husband's chagrin.

Eating - We got a little bit lazy in the cooking department these past two weeks with me being sick, going camping and then coming home to an empty fridge. As a result, we went out a bit and many of my favorite foods were eaten such as Chipotle, take-n-bake pizza, biscuits and gravy, ice cream, more pizza, Moe's burritos, fried green tomatoes, and more pizza. It's been a delicious two weeks for my belly but a bit sad to my saddlebags.

Working On - Our home has been a complete mess the past two weeks. This is one of the first years that we have lived in the same place two years in a row, so I am trying to do a deep clean of the place and doing all the sort of crazy cleaning you do when you are trying to get back your security deposit. But I am moving slow thanks to my business doing well and not so thanks to being sick. So this Saturday, my partner in crime has agreed to help me clean the ceiling fan blades, bleach our windowsills and take a toothbrush to our grout so we can finally get this place settled again.

Thinking About - One of my favorite memories from camping this weekend was bouncing around ideas and brainstorming with my husband about the book that I want to write. You guys have no idea how many good ideas John has. I swear, this book is going to be all of his ideas and my voice behind them. I now have pages of notebook paper with details on what I want this book to be about and where I want it to go. I still have a ton of gaps and content that needs to be filled, but I finally feel like I have enough of a concrete idea that I can actually put pen to paper.

Listening To - I don't know when it happened and I fully blame living in the South, but guys....I like country music. I can't believe it myself, but Luke Bryan has stolen my country heart.

 

Mantra - I read this quote in a magazine over the weekend and I have seen it three other times since then. I feel like the universe is really trying to pound it in my head.

via etsy

Am I alone in watching Siberia and do you have any good book suggestions? I need some new ones!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Currently....

Reading: So many good books lately! I got the first book of the Delirium trilogy from the library and flew through it. I just picked up the second book today and am excited to delve into it tonight.

While I was waiting for it to become available, I started reading 'You Shall Know Our Velocity' by Dave Eggers and really like it so far. I am only about 30 pages in but it has grabbed my attention. It is described as if Holden Caulfield had been a child of the frequent-flyer era, he would have found fellow travelers with the main travelers who ping-pong around the world.

 

Also I recently signed up for Goodreads and now my library queue is incredibly ambitious and probably unattainable.

Listening: Spotify has seemed to have gotten this idea that I really enjoying listening to prepubescent rappers from the UK so my radio stations are filled with people like Rizzle Kicks.

I am not hating this assumption by Spotify. I have been enjoying listening to raps about headmasters and how cool their new white trainers are.

Anticipating: My husband and I are 'Bigs' in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program and in two weeks we are taking our 'Little' on his first camping trip. It's with the organization and they have some cool things planned like archery lessons, boating, a trust building ropes course and of course...plenty of roasting marshmellows over a fire. Our Little is soooo excited about this and to top it off after our weekend of camping, we got some free tickets to go see the Atlanta Braves that Sunday night (thanks Diane!) which will be our Little's first pro game ever. His head may explode from all the excitement.

Eating: Tonight we splurged with a spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom & onion pizza. We also got some beer for my husband and for me some $3.00 wine and of course .... dark chocolate with sea salt.

Working On: Having a clean kitchen before bed each evening. I don't want you to get the impression that I am a pig or anything but sometimes after dinner when we load up the dishwasher, there are a few miscellaneous things hanging about because we ran out of room. Instead of leaving it in the sink for the next morning, we have been washing those last few things by hand. We've been doing this for the past two weeks and it has been so nice to walk into a kitchen with a completely empty sink each morning. It's weird how little things like this make you feel good.

Loving: Summer vacation for my husband. Since we have been together, he has never had a traditional '9-5' job. He is the type of person that enjoys working 80 hours a week and can do it pretty effortlessly (well...minus the drinking of 40 oz of coffee a day). This summer though, he has had a regular hour job which means in the evening we get to cook together, play a few rounds of checkers and take Cooper on plenty of walks. Our weekends are actually weekends too which doesn't happen very often during the school year.

Making Me Happy: My husband putting a container of tennis balls in our cart at the grocery store for Cooper, getting woken up by a puppy dog licking my face, running for six miles in the rain, being praised for the hard work I am putting into my business, having old clothes fit again and reconnecting with old friends.

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Currently....

 
Reading: I just finished reading Lauren Oliver's 'Before I Fall' this past weekend and really enjoyed it. It's kinda like a version of Groundhog Dog minus Bill Murray but with 'the popular' kids, plenty of teenage angst, some self-awareness and growth for the characters, and a little bit of puppy love. I am currently on the waiting list at the library to start Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy. I have heard so many good things about this series and I am trying to use the power of my mind to will everyone in line before me at the library to read faster.

Listening: I have been using spotify more and more and started using their radio stations on it. I have actually discovered a lot of new music this way and have had these three songs on repeat for the past week.







I am the type of person that can listen to one song over a hundred times in a row (hello Lana Del Ray!) when I become obsessed with it. These three songs have been on a constant loop and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. 

Working On: I have been trying out a new jewelry medium the past few weeks and have been getting a lot of great response.

I use knitting needles as the base and then hammer, stamp and mold them into bracelets. I got a whole bunch of needles yesterday and plan on working on them for a few hours today and will have them available in my etsy store on Thursday. 

It's always so satisfying creating something new. This project has been a great burst of creativity and self assurance for me. 

Feeling Thankful For: I have been mentioned it a few times around here lately, but I just need to say it again. My husband's family is really awesome. Here I am, a mountain girl at heart, transplanted to the South and they have been nothing but warm and inviting to me and all have opened up their homes to us whenever we need one. They have taught me to enjoy collard greens and sweet tea, that you should definitely have ice cream and wine every night and that nothing is better than talking and laughing while in recliners.

We lived with his grandmother for eight months when we first arrived in Georgia and now his parents for two months and I have nothing but lots of love for them all. 

Thanks for making me a part of your family.

Loving: We are pet sitting this week for some friends and this dog just so happens to be Cooper's girlfriend, so he is happy to have her around. 

She also is a little cuddle bug so last night I sneaked her on the bed even though we have a new 'only one dog on the bed policy.' 

Shhhh....don't tell John.

Watching: We just started watching the HBO series 'Six Feet Under.' 

John has already seen it, but enjoyed it so we are watching it together.

I am really loving the character development already and can Michael C. Hall be any better of an actor??

Eating: I am about to head out to the grocery store and I have a big kale salad with this vegan cilantro lime dressing planned for lunch today.

Training: So I have commited myself to running another marathon this year. After the one in March, I thought that I wouldn't do it again. I checked it off the list and was not at all wanting to do it ever again.

But as time passed, I found myself thinking about doing another one this fall. After some talking with John, we both decided to do another marathon in late October here in Atlanta. I don't know if training for a marathon during the summer in Georgia is one of my better ideas, but I am sure to lose a little bit of water weight.

 John took this photo two weeks ago after my first run in almost four months. I look pissed off, but I was just exhausted. Promise.

So that's what I have been up to. What about you??

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

High Five For Friday!

Hey You! It's Friday! Hooray! I'm linking up with Lauren to share the five things I am pretty excited about this Friday.

one. 

This weekend the husband and I are doing part 1 of his birthday celebration! It's not for another week, but I have a special day planned and it had to be this Sunday due to scheduling constraints, so that's when we will pretend he is turning the big 3-0. 

I am wayyyy more overwhelmed by him turning 3-0 than he is. I keep staring at him and going, 'I can't believe you are turning 30. You're going to be like....30' And then he goes, 'Meh.' 

I can't even imagine the third-life-crisis I am going to have in three years.

His big birthday surprise has been just that. A surprise. As soon as I planned out his surprise, I asked him if he wanted to know. This was my way of asking, 'Hey Honey, you know that I can't keep a big surprise secret for very long, so can you please pretend like you want to know so I can tell you and not feel guilty about it not being a surprise?' He told me he wanted it be a surprise, more out of wanting to watch me squirm for a few weeks, rather than actually caring about having a surprise. 

I am t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e at keeping surprises to myself, and I figured out what we were going to do over a month ago, so I have been sitting on this damn surprise for way too long and I can not wait until we can all openly talk about how awesome his birthday gift was. 

I think on Sunday it is going to feel like I finally got to pee after holding it for far far too long.

two. 

This past Birchbox I got a sample of Miss Jessies Pillow Soft Curl Cream. Besides it smelling like a dryer sheet (literally...it says that was what they were going for with the scent on the label) it is so fabulous. I have really wavy, fuzzy and poufy hair and this product actually gives me big, loose curls without making my hair crunchy. 

It is honestly the only product that I have ever used on my hair to make it curly that I actually like.

I went out and bought the full size of it from Target for $22.00 and I think I can make it last for about three months, so I consider the sticker shock to be worth it. 

(P.S. - if you don't do Birchbox and want to try this product, if you go to Miss Jessies website here, you can get two free product samples of any of their stuff. I really recommend it.)

three. 

Tonight we are hanging out with our 'little.' 

John and I have been doing Big Brothers, Big Sisters for a few months now and really love our little. Tonight he is coming on over, eating dinner and watching a movie with us. 

This is basically just an excuse for me to get to buy frozen pizza and watch 'The Lorax.'

four. 

My husband bought me a 'just because' present the other day and it arrived today. I had been wanting to read it for a while but I was number 387 (no joke) in the HOLD queue at the library so it was going to be a few years before I got it. Hoping to dive into it this weekend a bit. 

five. 

A new Indian food restaurant opened in town today and I am so excited. The hard opening was only today, but it is already getting rave reviews from a lot of trusted sources. 

Indian food is my ABSOLUTE favorite (besides the Olive Garden, Chipotle and Panera) so I think if I play my cards right, I might be able to go stuff my face with some saag paneer within the week. 

Hey husband, let's go get Indian food this week! Please?!?