Shoe of the Day: Colorful Pumps

 
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 by atozwithashley featuring zirconia rings

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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What to Wear? My Summer Must Haves!

Summer is my favorite season of the year mainly because of the clothes I can wear. I am a sucker for sun dresses, flip flops. and floppy hats!

 Here are my summer must have picks below!

My Summer Must Haves! by atozwithashley featuring a brimmed hat

Wal G striped dress
£29 - topshop.com

Wallis lace up shirt
$25 - wallisfashion.com

Roxy denim shorts
$28 - backcountry.com

London Rebel strappy leather sandals
$40 - asos.com

Patent handbag
$25 - boohoo.com

ALDO metal jewelry
$12 - aldoshoes.com

J Crew resin necklace
$150 - net-a-porter.com

Wet Seal brimmed hat
$13 - wetseal.com

Retro sunglasses
$20 - chicwish.com

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What to Wear? Date Night!

If you are like me, you have a million and one things going on during the week and the weekend is reserved for grocery shopping, cleaning, couponing, and laundry. With that being said, having a date night with my boyfriend is a rare occurrence. So when we do go out to dinner, I pour over what to wear. Depending upon the type of restaurant that we go to, I will dress up. I love getting all dressed up!

I have picked out my date night outfit and where you can find these items

Untitled #1 by atozwithashley featuring high heel pumps

Chiffon dress
$48 - romwe.com

Kate Spade high heel pumps
$99 - jildorshoes.com

Johnny Loves Rosie genuine leather handbag
$50 - asos.com

Pieces set of bangle
$12 - asos.com

Necklace
$32 - gojane.com

What do you wear for Date Night?

xoxo
- Ashley

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Shoe of the Day: Pop of Color

Ladies, we all know that color blocking is trending this season. Today's Shoe of the Day is to celebrate pop of color. I am in love with these shoes! These are great for a night out on the town and can be the focus point of any outfit. 

Colin Stuart - Strappy Platform Pump - $75.00 Clearance $39.00

These shoes paired with a classic black skirt make a bold statement. And the best part is the price!

How are you color blocking this season?

xoxo
- Ashley

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Advice From a Tree

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Cleaning Out my Closet!

Now that we have been in our new condo for over a month now, it was time for me to make the best use of the space we have. Yes this is much bigger than the apartment I was living in before (it is about double), but I am finding the closet to be super cramped! I should not have this problem!

I decided to go through my clothes and really take a look at what I wear and what is renting space in my closet. I know there were items in there that I have not worn in so long. I tossed around the idea of going to consignment shop and maybe getting some money for my gently used clothing, but I decided to go with donating. I would rather help individuals who need clothing than to get a couple of extra dollars for myself. I also related this mentality with my company's Purpose; "to make life better for the people that we serve."

Of course it was difficult to part with some of my clothes, but I knew I was not only going to benefit someone else and I was going to have a clean closet!

Here is the start of my donate pile...as you can see there are mainly jeans. Now that I have been in the working world for over a year now, I have found that I rarely have an opportunity to wear jeans. Most of my closet/dresser was jeans!

A much better looking jeans drawer! :)

In total, 3 bags of clothing and shoes donated!

A much better looking closet :) (Yes, I do take up the entire closet in our bedroom)

Cleaning out my closet felt great. I know at the end of the day I have benefited my community and made better use of the space in our room. Now hopefully Zach will not complain of my clothes being everywhere :) I can only hope!

How are you making use of your space in your home?

xoxo

- Ashley

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My First Birchbox!

Today I received my first Birchbox package! When I came home this evening and opened my mailbox, it was the greatest surprise to find that little pink box. If you missed my post on what the Birchbox is, check out Birchbox - Beauty in a Box.

June's package was devoted to the avid vacationer or the "inner jetsetter."

1. winks by Georgie - easy to apply faux eyelashes full size $28.00
2. Hair Rules Volumizing Shampoo - sulfate free cleanser full size $15.00
3. La Fresh - oil free cleanser 30 wipes $9.99
4. Stainiac by Beauty Queen - two-in-one lip and cheek stain full size $17.00  

For more detailed product information check out the Birchbox June website.

I am looking forward to trying these products out! I will let you know my thoughts on each.

What are your favorite beauty products?

xoxo

-Ashley

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LSG - New Opportunity!!

Happy Monday Bloggers!! I hope you are not suffering from the Monday blues :-)

Here at LSG we are working hard for our candidates and have an exciting new opportunity we are working on for one of our clients. Please feel free to share this with your networks. You never who might fit what we are looking for or who is out there looking!

Our client, a large P&C insurance company located in the Worcester, MA area, is looking for a Senior Manager of Statutory Accounting to join their team. The Senior Manager will have 5 direct reports and oversee the Statutory Accounting department. They are looking for a dedicated leader and innovative thinker to help be an advocate of change in the company. Ideally, they are looking for someone with strong P&C background and an ability to make a fairly seamless into the Statutory Accounting Group. They are targeting a salary between $120-$130k plus bonus.

Please let me know if you or anyone in your network would be interested learning more about this new exciting opportunity. Referrals are always welcome! Email me in confidence at agottier@ledgent.com

Have a great week everyone!!

xoxo

- Ashley

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Shoe of the Day: When it Rains, It Pours!

Today was a stormy afternoon for the northeast! After a very hot week, I think that will be behind us for a little while after today's storms that rolled through. I work on the 15th floor of the Prudential building in downtown Hartford and at one point you could not see of the other buildings, streets, or highway because it was raining so hard.

The shoe of the day was inspired by the rainy weather. What to wear when you want to stay dry but stylish? Every girl should have a fashionable pair of rain boats in their closet for that rainy day.

Here is my pick
Marc by Marc Jacobs Printed Rainboot $79.94

Share your favorite rain boots! 

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Beat the Heat! Tips for Surviving in the Hot Spots

The northeast is definitely in the midst of a heat wave this week. However, I think we can all agree that this is only the beginning. Today when I went out for lunch, the heat hit me like a ton of bricks and I was only out for a few minutes. If I think it is uncomfortable now, I am in for a rude awaking for the rest of the summer. And that brings me to running. How am I going to survive this summer?

Summer is a great time to run, but it can also be a dangerous time to run. It is challenging to cool your body, heart rate is higher, and breathing is more rapid in hot weather. Your body works twice as hard. It is very important to be smart with your exercise and acknowledge that you need to adapt to the rising temperatures.

Here are some heat running secrets to help you train smarter -

1.  Stay Hydrated. This seems pretty obvious, but it is actually one of those things that runner disregard the most. It is extremely important to stay hydrated and runners need to drink water before, during, and after exercising. The best. A rule to follow is "obey your thirst." When you feel your mouth getting dry or you are thirsty, drink!
2. Adapt. Let's face it. It's getting hot out and it is not going to get much cooler this summer. Therefore your body needs time to adjust to the changing temperatures. It takes 2-3 weeks for your body to get used to the heat and start to cool itself more effectively. It is important to change your pace in your runs. Slow your pace for the next two weeks so your body can adapt. Get through your runs now to return to your normal pace once your body adjusts properly.
3. Be an Early Riser. The best time to run in the summer is in the morning. The air quality is better, it is cooler, and the surface you run on has not had all day to heat up. The times to absolutely avoid running during at 12-3pm.
4. Protect Your Skin. I think it goes without saying. You should always wear SPF when you go outside and running is no exception. Use a sport sunscreen so that it is still effective when you sweat.
5. Listen to Your Body and Be Smart! You know your body better than anybody so listen to it! If something does not feel right, do not push your limits. Know the signs of heat problems. If you feel dizzy, light headed, have stopped sweating or your skin is cool to the touch, stop running. You need to drink fluids immediately.

There you have it! You don't need to give up running this summer just because it is hot out. Now you can run through the summer safely. The first couple of weeks will probably not be very much, but I promise it will get better!

What are your tips for running and beating the heat??

xoxo

-Ashley

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Branford Road Race: Crossing the Finish Line!

As most of you know, I ran my first 5 mile road race on Father's Day! It was quite an accomplishment for me and I am sure you understand if you read last weeks post regarding my running pains. So I will get to the race in just a minute, but  I really want to start with how I was able to do it. Over the past couple of weeks I was experiencing significant pain around my ankles in both feet while running. This made training extremely difficult and some days I just could not continue with my run. It actually started to affect my daily life and just walking around when I was not exercising. Of course this really upset me and it made me concerned about  my up coming races.

The night before my race, I was going back and further on whether or not I wanted to participate in the race. I felt it was probably in my best interest to rest and heal my ankles, but I also felt like there was something else going on. I started to really analyze exactly when the pain started happening and if I had changed anything in my routine.

Then it hit me!

I remembered that I started to feel pain about 2 weeks ago and at about the same time I had purchased some new socks. I know what you are thinking. This whole thing came down to socks? What made me think that it could be my new socks went back to my skating days. When I was skating, I could never skate with regular socks; I needed to have thin nylons or skating tights. I used that same methodology with running.

I woke up Sunday and I tried my shoes on with my new socks and then with my old socks. I felt a significant difference. The old socks are thinner and I felt like my feet could breathe and move better. I knew after that I wanted to run the race!

I ran the entire road race without stopping once! Of course, with the difficulty in training, I was not able to make the time I wanted to, but I was extremely happy with running the entire thing.

I finished in 1:01:40. There were over 3000 participants and it was a great event to be a part of. I am so glad I was able to tackle my challenged and run the race! Now onto the next one!!

I also suggest you check out this Article. This woman overcame extreme adversity to participate. Her story is inspiring!

Have a great week everyone!!

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Shoe of the Day: Beach Sandal

This weekend has been gorgeous so far! The weather screams beach day. Today's shoe of the day is to ensure you enjoy the sun in style. Every girl needs a stylish and comfortable flip flop to go to the beach with. A shoe that won't get ruined if it gets sandy or wet and a shoe that can be comfortable for long periods of time. My go-to flip flop is from Eliza B. Eliza B is a household name in small beach stores and you can also design your own on the internet. They are a little pricey, but they will last you a long time.

My personal favorite in the cork platform heel. There are many fabrics to choose from that go great with the cork. The Cork Platform is $80.00. 

What are your favorite beach shoes? 

xoxo 

-Ashley 

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DIY: Fish Tank Stand

I hope everyone had a great week and my apologies for not writing. It was one of those crazy weeks that unfortunately did not leave anytime for me or my blog. I am hoping this week will be better. 


Most of you know that Zach and I moved into a condo together about a month ago. The moving process was very hectic and I won't get into that, but no we are settled in and we are hoping for some fun DIY projects. This is our first project and it could not have been more perfect for us. Zach has been an avid salt water tank enthusiast for the past 4 years or so. He has a small tank in the spare bedroom with crabs, snails, colorful corals, and fish. We have all of our furniture in their places and for the most part each room is decorative. However there is a space along the wall between the living room and kitchen. We discussed different options and came to the conclusion that we wanted to add a vibrant fresh water fish tank. It would be a perfect complement to our existing set up. On top of that, we wanted to make the stand and get the supplies through various networks. That leads us to the project.

Here is the tank that we got - it is 40 gallons and we were able to find this from a fellow hobbyist. 

Here are all the supplies we needed. We decided to make 51 inches long, 36 inches high, and 18 inches wide 

 
Zach hard at work building the stand!

All done! Now ready for some paint. 

Hard at work painting! 

I will post some pictures of the finished product when everything is done. I can't wait to share with you! 

What are your favorite DIY projects? 

xoxo 

- Ashley 

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