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Where's Waldo??

 Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The end of this summer was SOOO busy!! Between weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, mini stay-cation and more, I had literally no time to think let alone write. I know you were all wondering where I had run off to! Now that the end of summer is official, I am going to focus on keeping you up to date "From A to Z!!"

Summer Recap:

The last 6 weeks have been jam packed. First off, Z and I shared our fourth anniversary together on Monday, August 6th. Z surprised me with flowers and chocolates delivered to my office as well as an Alex and Ani bracelet, running watch, and running sunglasses :) I planned a trip to Gloucester for Z. We topped off the evening by ordering Chinese food :)

Saturday, August 11th I traveled to Lancaster, PA to witness the marriage of Brittney and Ben. They had a picturesque wedding in the PA country side and the weather was perfect. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the 6 hour drive one way...but it was so worth it to reunite with friends that I had not seen in awhile.


 
 
 
The next weekend....another wedding!! Saturday, August 18th Z and I celebrated Leigha and Bryan's wedding. This time, we didn't have to travel far :) Again, the weather was picture perfect and it was and amazing wedding. Great food, drinks, and dancing!
 
 
 
The following weekend...ANOTHER wedding, just kidding!! Z and I had a break from weddings and spent a long weekend in Gloucester, MA for my anniversary present. Our time was activity packed with whale watching, 2 museums, and deep sea fishing. Although we didn't travel far, we had a blast. I even caught a shark deep sea fishing!!
 
 
 
 
 

Now we move on to Z's birthday!!  We celebrated with a night out with friends and dinner with family. I also surprised him with a new gold watch and he loved it. Z has received many compliments on his new time piece :)
 
This past weekend was Labor Day weekend and let's just say I was so thankful to have a three day weekend. It was Z's first week back at school and I had come down with a nasty sinus infection. I was so excited to get some time to relax. But of course, we had to make the most of our time together. Z and I spent the day on Block Island on Sunday. We biked 13 miles from the north end to the south end of the island. It was perfect weather and the best part was it was not too hot! We ended the day with some fresh calamari by the water. Monday was a very relaxing day and in the afternoon we visited my parents for an early afternoon dinner.
 
 As you can see, the rest of my summer was extremely busy and I really enjoyed every minute of it. However, I am ready for fall and some new adventures!
 
Stay tuned!!
 
xoxo
-A
 

 




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Shoe of the Day OR Shoes of the Day?

 Tuesday, July 24, 2012

As most of you know,  I am a shoe girl! I love shoes. So when a sale comes along that is buy one pair of shoes and get a second for free, I cannot help myself! ShoeDazzle has buy one shoe at $39.95 and get the second for free. I am a huge fan of ShoeDazzle so no one had to twist my arm to shop! Here is what came in the mail today!








I wanted to pick shoes that are not only stylish, but shoes that were versatile. I wanted to be able to wear any of these shoes into the office and then out for happy with the girls or out to dinner with my boyfriend. I am really into colorful shoes right now so I thought these were the perfect picks for me!


I already have my outfit planned for tomorrow! :)


What new shoes have you bought recently? 

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Running: GE 5k and Citizens Bank 5k

 Monday, July 23, 2012

I am sure you are all thinking, where did this girl disappear to?? Well to say the least, the last few weeks have been extremely busy which left me very little time to write. Looks like a I have a lot of catching up to do!

Let's start with the two races that I ran in the last two weeks.

GE 5K Road Race - Sunday, July 15th at 9:00am.

This was an awesome race and the best part was running it with one of my closest friends and our mothers. It also benefited the Petit Family foundation and over 2500 people participated. The course was relatively flat and many houses had sprinklers runners could run through. It was very hot for a 9:00am race!

After we crossed the finish line, there were tons of booths with free food and gifts. All in all it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

Results:
Place: 1096     Time:  33:16 Division: 122/217






Citizens Bank 5k Summer Fun Run - Wednesday, July 15th at 6:30pm

Yes, you did read that correctly and it is not a typo. I ran a race on a Wednesday night after work. I know what you are thinking...and I probably am nuts! However, it was a great race for a Wednesday night. If you recall, that day was a huge mess - thunder, lightening, hail, ect. I thought for sure the race would be canceled. However, around 5:00pm the weather cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful night. The humidity disappeared and the air felt really clean.

The race itself was pretty challenging, probably one of the most challenging races I have run in a long time. The first two miles were a loop which included running a very large hill twice. I was so beat when I finished! It felt really great to run across that finish line.

Results:
Place: 350  Time:  33:43








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What to Wear? Saturday Night Out

 Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Saturday was the first time since I moved that I have gone out. So to celebrate the occasion, I wanted to get a new and fun outfit. Below is not the exact selections I made, but you can get an idea. I am absolutely loving colored jeans right now and teal jeans in particular. I really had a fabulous time at Forever 21. I got teal jeans, black top, and hot pink pumps there. The hot pink bubble necklace and black and gold bracelet I got from New York & Co on super sale. The white watch is Guess that I got that as a Christmas present. The earrings and saddle bag were from H&M last year. All together you get my Saturday Night Out!

What to Wear? Saturday Night Out



What is your favorite outfit to wear out?

xoxo
- Ashley



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Running: Red Dress Run for Women

Saturday was race day! I ran in the Red Dress Run for Women in West Hartford. Yes, that's right, no boys allowed! The Red Dress Run started through the gardens of Elizabeth Park and looped around the residential streets of West Hartford. It was definitely very picturesque, but the heat was a killer! Even though the race started at 8:30, it was extremely hot. But I did make it to the end in one piece!





How did you spend your weekend?

xoxo
-Ashley

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I know I am Late, but HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Wow, last week flew by and it is already the start of a new week. However, I did not want to miss celebrating Independence Day with my bloggers! I celebrated the 4th with some friends and fruit. Check out what we made below!







Better late than never! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!! 

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What's Cooking? Swedish Meatballs

 Monday, July 2, 2012

Happy almost 4th of July!! Tomorrow, my company is having a cookout. Well, it's an indoor cookout. Everyone has to bring something and I decided to bring some homemade meatballs. It is a really simple and delicious dish to make that I am sure I will be making again.



Ingredients:

Meatballs:

  • 1 large yellow or white onion, peeled, grated (through a cheese grater)
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 lbs of ground Turkey (I do not eat red meat so I substituted beef for turkey)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper


  • Sauce:

  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 quart beef stock
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • Salt
  • 2 Tbsp of raspberry jelly


  • Step 1:
    Grate the onions (this was probably the worst step; my eyes were watering so much). Put the grated onions in a pan and simmer on low with 2 tbsp of butter for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat once they are cooked.

    Step 2:
    Mix milk and bread crumbs together in a bowl. When the onions have cooled, pour the onions in with the milk and bread crumbs and stir. Then, mix 2 lbs of turkey meat, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper in the bowl.


    Doesn't this look so delicious?

    Step 3:
    With a spoon, make little balls out of the meat mixture and set them on a baking tray. You should probably be able to make like 30 meatballs depending upon the size.

    Step 4:
    Heat butter in a fry pan until butter is melted. Reduce to medium heat. Add meatballs to the frying pan. You will probably have to do this in steps as you do not want to over crowd the pan. The meatballs are really fragile so be careful with them as you are turning them because you don't want them to fall apart. Once they are browned on all sides take them off the heat. You do not want to cook the meatballs all the way through just yet. Repeat this step until you have used all the meat.





    Step 5:
    Time to make some sauce! In a large frying pan heat 6 tbsp of butter. When the butter is melted and hot, add 1/3 cup of flour and mix it around. Heat the mixture until it turns to a light brown color. This is the base of your roux. Then, add a quart of beef stock to the mix and stir that around until it thickens. I actually added in a beef stew seasonings to add a little flavor.


    Step 6:
    Add your half cooked meatballs to the sauce mixture. Once that has been cooking for 5 minutes or so, add your sour cream, salt, and raspberry jam for taste. Then, let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

    Let is cool for a couple minutes and serve over pasta!




    I hope everyone likes it and you should try it too!


    What are you making this 4th of July?

    xoxo 
    -Ashley  




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    What to Wear? Beach Essentials

     Sunday, July 1, 2012

    It was a gorgeous and hot weekend here in the Northeast and that means beach weather! Going to the beach is one of my favorite summer activities and here are some of my essentials for making beach going a success.

    First and foremost a cute swim suit is a must. I am a huge fan of the bandeau top because you don't get tan lines like the triangle or halter tops. Of course you need a fabulous cover-up or sun dress to wear on top of your swin suit and some flip flops to go with it. You also need something fashionable to protect your eyes from the sun and that means a cute pair of sun glasses and a floppy hat. Now that you have your outfit figured out, you need to fill your beach bag with some must haves. Obviously you need sun screen to protect your skin.  Premature  skin aging is not cute! I also bring leave in conditioner and a brush because my hair can really dry out in the sun. Last but not least, a best seller and iced coffee can make the day even more fabulous.  


    What to Wear? Beach Essentials



    Melissa Odabash bikini swimwear
    $72 - net-a-porter.com

    Oasis gold shoes
    £17 - oasis-stores.com

    Wallis yellow tote
    $18 - wallisfashion.com

    Floppy sun hat
    $17 - maurices.com

    Dorothy Perkins brown sunglasses
    $14 - dorothyperkins.com

    Philosophy sun care
    $26 - nordstrom.com

    Brush comb
    $8.99 - target.com



    What are you bringing to the beach?

    xoxo
    -Ashley

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    Shoe of the Day: Colorful Pumps

     Friday, June 29, 2012

     
    Happy Friday, bloggers!

    I have to say that I have a lot of shoes. If I were to take my own inventory, I would say that I have those shoes that go well with almost anything and then I have shoes that were perfect for that one occasion or outfit and then I really have not worn since. Obviously, it is important to stretch your dollar and make your purchases go further so now I have been getting in the habit of buying shoes that I know will go well with multiple outfits. That is what inspired today's Shoe of the Day. When colorful heals started to become trendy, I was pretty skeptical about how often I could wear a pair of bright pink or yellow heals. Until now, I really stayed away from shoes with a lot of color just because I did not know how often I would wear them. But after I have taken a good look at my closet, I think color was just what I needed.

    As you can see, these turquoise pumps go very well with 3 completely different outfits
    .


    Shoe of the Day: Colorful Pumps



    Cap sleeve dress
    $40 - topshop.com

    Quiz floral top
    £15 - debenhams.com

    Top
    £21 - nelly.com

    Wallis cotton pants
    $35 - wallisfashion.com

    H&M mini shorts
    £13 - hm.com

    Stiletto high heels
    $25 - urbanog.com

    Steve Madden suede fringe handbag
    $50 - stevemadden.com

    TIARA zirconia ring
    $16 - hsn.com

    Miso bangle jewelry
    £10 - republic.co.uk

    Aventurine jewelry
    jewelry.1stdibs.com



    Do you have colorful pumps in your closet?


    xoxo
    -Ashley

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