Haute Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Take notes from these girls.

Proof that even the spooky holiday

can be pulled off in style.

Style is half the battle.

Smarts are part 2.

Get your Spooky Stats here.

Photography courtesy of via, via and via

Infographic found here.

[Style] [Happy Halloween]

My Arms Can Look Like Jennifer Aniston's??!!

Sorry for the recent absence.

I've been a little busy

but should never be too busy for you.

You would think my obsession with well sculpted arms

would compel me to work on my own more often.

It doesn't. I continually try and find something that I will stick with.

Maybe Jennifer Aniston's Arm exercise will do it?

Love this ad!

Genius.

[Ad] [JenniferAniston]

You Can Run...

Happy Weekend.

Such a lovely day.

What are you doing?

Marley has been a touch rowdy lately

so we took her to the park.

Guessing and hoping these dogs are dressed up for Halloween?

Campbell and Henry came to play.

Henry wanted to race Campbell around the bases.

Then we all raced.

Right as we were leaving a big plane flew over.

That was kinda cool.

Now for some recent online finds.

Like this free, printable gift wrap set

vintage postcards gift paper

rodeo gift paper

stripes gift paper

stripes gift tags

faux sho!

Ditch Micheal Kors' newest bag this season,

get a Wayuu Taya Foundation bag.

The funky punches of color will brighten

the typically darker shades of a fall wardrobe.

It will be one of a kind,

hand-crafted by artisans of the guajira penninsula

of Columbia and Venezuela.

Proceeds help the quality of life there

and aid in preserving their culture.

there are lots of nice people to meet 8 x 10 print

Need to go get ready for an engagement party.

See you kids tomorrow.

[Saturday] [Happy Weekend]

Duke

To a lovely woman,

inspiring mother

and dear friend.

Happy Birthday Duke!

[Duke] [Happy Birthday]

Face Jam

"Here's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam
Alright..."

Sorry, quick flashback to the Quad City Dj's.
So about this iPhone case,
I NEED it.

Purchase here.

Jam of the day...

Oh yeah,
tomorrow is my Friday.

[Miscellaneous] [Face Jam]

Oscar Cat Duel & New Life Theory

For a good laugh...

And for my current theory on life:

Life's seasons are typically one extreme.

Good. Or bad.

There is no real middle.

The trick is conquering how to prepare for bad while times are good,

and learning how to navigate when times are bad.

The people who win
understand the hardest part;
how you handle the good seasons

are equally important as your reaction to the bad ones. 

photo

[Oscar] [Life Theory]

Moody Mondays

There are days where the weight of adulthood

is heavier than others.

As usual, the typical needs vs. wants list received a reality check.

And you know what frustrates me the most?

Not the items that screamed, out of the question.

Instead, my poor attitude when life unveiled

certain items must wait until next month or possibly next year.

Although some character tweaking is in order,

so is giving credit where credit is due.

I stand before you a proud, new rigorous-budget-spreadsheet-maniac,

refusing to spend more than I make

as well as putting money aside NO MATTER WHAT.

My old ways would have played now, paid later.

Problem is the exhausting cycle that does exactly that, cycles.

It's never ending or heading towards a positive direction.

Where I once perceived budgets as a constraint

disabling irresistible purchases,

I see now the must-have purchases magically dissipate

or at least prioritize themselves.

I feel like I have more money,

even though I'm working with the same tiny amount, trust me.

Empowered by financial freedom

I encourage anyone reading this post to consider a budget.

So yes,

still moody from the perpetual lessons of how life is unfair,

to simultaneously see progress, is encouraging.

I have a self-orchestrated spreadsheet,

however, I read that the below is quite helpful.

elephant bank, marc wallet, modcloth satchel, photo 

[Unfair] [BudgetSpreadsheet]

Guess What...?

Big News!

Gossip Girl and your other CW faves

now available on Netflix for instant streaming.

What did you do this weekend?

Mom, Mammaw and I headed to Tennessee for my cousin's baby shower.

The shower hostess had a historic, restored home

with immaculate taste inside and out!

I got to see my other cousin's little boys.

Below is precious Owen.

There's Drake.

We tried getting a picture of the boys with their "G-daddy", (my Uncle Rossy),

but as you can imagine,

it was a task.

Drake and I spent some quality time playing.

Even Owen got in on some badminton. 

We switched it up a good bit to golf.

 I'm incredibly talented so Drake handicapped me with

the plastic driver.

I have no problem with beating a 6 year old.

It was wonderful to see family as always.

Next time we see Blair,

she will probably have children!

Hope you had a good weekend

and happy start to the upcoming week!

[Netflix] [Gossip Girl]

Time to Start Practicing My Skills

It's official.

After much deliberation on how to pull off appropriately in the work place,

I will be the Evian Roller Baby for Halloween.

I just purchased the shirt...

Now on the hunt for a white tutu of sorts, 

super nude tights like the little girl dancers,

roller skates,

baby head band for hair-baby-look-alike purposes,

and an Evian water bottle obvi!

Gotta get my skates fast so I can start practicing...

A co-worker made a good suggestion

so that I can get full skate usage.

Next year I can be a Sonic waitress.

I plan on implementing the skates yearly.

Official Halloween trademark.

Was contemplating being the "Second Nicki Minaj"

but the skates won me over.

Have yall seen this yet?

Hope my friend Kammie does it.

She's got the moves.

What are you going to be?

I would love to hear your creative ideas!

[Halloween] [EvianBaby]

Iconic

Steve Jobs not only revolutionized the technology world as we know it
but made quite an advertising impact as well.
Think of the countless ads that transitioned to the familiar, simplistic white background
with copy and music to emulate a similar feel as Apple ads.
Ran across this article which featured 15 commercials
highlighting the music that will forever be associated with an Apple commercial.

I selected my favorites and posted below.
Enjoy!

iPod 1G

Jet iPod Commercial

"Jerk It Out" iPod Commercial

U2 "Vertigo" iPod + iTunes Commercial

Oh remember this one, "1234" by Feist first iPod nano commercial

"New Soul" Mac Book Air Commercial

The iPad

[Iconic] [Apple Commercials]

Digi What?

Digital.

Everything from Rue to Mashable,

I find myself scurrying through errands and exercise after work

to faster submerge and disappear in the new digital, techy, and design blogs
I recently discovered.

Nerdy and addicted.

So let's talk the new iPhone 4S.

Finally, 3 carriers are now competing for my business!

This brings me to the notorious and numerous AT&T dropped call.

If I had a dime.....we won't go there.

I had confidence this day would arrive

where such failure to address a primary and purposeful function of the company's service

would cause wandering eyes everywhere.

Because I'm a Scorpio, I'm relatively loyal,

but the dissatisfied customer in me is reviewing such content carefully

to make the upcoming, life-impacting crucial decision.

This site has amazing comparisons between all three carriers:

Performance by state

Service plan

Resale value

Early termination fees

Upgrade and return policies

original post found here

Already made your iPhone 4S purchase?

Click here for instructions on how to see if your little gem has shipped!

Facebook is taking over!

Have you hacked the new timeline launch?

Learn how here.

When the full timeline display panic subdues,

realization of the once identifiable, stand-alone profile pic

is yet a small representation starts to settle in.

Time to get creative:

View more as well as sites who customize your cover for free!

Don't you worry,

old Ashley is still in here somewhere.

Fashion, lifestyle, home decor, beauty etc. will be integrated continually,

however, a little brush up on your digital/tech world can't hurt right?

Happy to bring you a partly educational blog experience.

Special Treat Time

Enjoyed browsing these calendar desktop wallpapers.

I went with this one for my work computer 

but will change it like I change outfits EVERY morning:

View favorites below or go here to view all and download free.

See you tomorrow.

[October] [Digital Obsession]