What I Wore Wednesday: Mustard, Cinnamon, and Cognac

No - I didn't roll in my dinner. These colors are quintessential autumn and I may have done some "back to school" shopping for myself to bulk up on my fall clothes. Both outfits shows off a new fall purchase :)

I got this lovely cinnamon-orangey wrap sweater from Modcloth.com and new boots from amazon.com!

Again, wearing the new boots, and a new mustard-yellow dress from modcloth.com. I also re-styled my leopard belt by flipping it backwards to match the cognac brown of my boots!

I also wore these sweet little owl earrings both days that my cousin gave me as a late birthday gift :) Love them and the owls are perfect fall critters! :)

There are only two this time and I know I haven't done a WIWW post in a while, but can I get real with you guys? I was really sick of looking at pictures of myself. Not because of a lack of self-confidence issue, clearly... I was sick of it because I have been feeling pretty convicted about my vanity and getting caught up striving for outward beauty.
Do I think women should take pride in their appearance? Absolutely.
Do I think we should spend all of our time shopping, dying, waxing, and photo editing to get to a look we are proud of? No. 
I am never going to be the person who says women shouldn't invest time and effort into the way they look because of some "body is a temple" reason. However, I think that we should tread cautiously. It is so easy to get sucked into striving for an ideal, external beauty while sacrificing our internal beauty.
It says in Peter 1: 3-4
 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
Now, not that I don't love a good braid and some fine clothes, but I am desperate to have an inner-beauty that shines through, no matter what my hair, make-up, and clothes look like. That kind of beauty takes time and investment too, and probably time and effort that will be better spent than an afternoon on pinterest or in a salon.
What about you? Do you ever feel convicted about your vanity? How to you draw a line?

Fall Bucket List Progress

Oh my goodness, I feel like life has definitely gotten in the way of blogging here folks. Sorry about the extended time away! I thought that since we are in the full swing of autumn that I would update you on how I am doing on my Fall Bucket List!

Take an autumn nature walk – I am checking this off, because I do this every day twice a day with my pups. If I had an extra hand I would’ve been taking tons of photos of the fall beauty all around me, but alas, I only have two hands, so I just say a little prayer of appreciation instead. Fall makes me quite introspective and contemplative so I have especially been enjoying these early morning quiet times outside… that is when my dogs aren’t yapping their fluffy little heads off at other dogs.

I am also checking off decorate your porch for the season – now technically I can’t really decorate my porch because of the Nazi Homeowners Association where I live BUT I have fall-ified my condo. I have twig wreaths, white pumpkins, and owls scattered throughout my living room which is good enough for me. I am already thinking ahead to Christmas décor… I know it’s awful. I just can’t help myself.

Get a new fall hair-do is done! You may have seen if you follow my self-absorbed instagram feed:@ashb_86

I love the darker do AND the plus side is that this will fade out into my natural dark brown, so no more dye jobs for awhile.

Make my own Halloween costume – also done-zo! My buddy Molly and I have matching costumes that we made and I am SO excited for the big reveal. Why did we make these a month early??? Izzie may also have a matching costume… J Stay tuned to see if we win big at the work costume contest!

I haven’t baked pumpkin muffins yet – BUT – I have eaten some, so that counts right?

My final thing to cross off this list, but continue doing, is to go running regularly in the crisp fall air. I have been doing that and I think am going to need to do a whole separate post about why I have been so much more consistent and that I may… might… perhaps actually enjoy it. I don’t even know who I am anymore! Haha

I also have a couple more bucket-list items scheduled for the upcoming weeks, and AlliFerg said I can come over and rake leaves to check off another one, so I will be keeping very busy this Autumn! How are you doing on your Fall traditions?

Fun in the Fall!

As I have said, and will continue to say the rest of the season, Fall is my favorite!! I cannot get enough of this season and all that comes with it; crisp air, changing leaves, Halloween, football, sweaters, boots, and so much more! I do though, think that I too often let this season fly right on by without truly taking the chance to enjoy it and soak it all up.
I found this free printable on pinterest and love the idea of a Fall Checklist:

I definitely want to do all of these things - but might have to edit a few of them. I plan to update the blog throughout the season as I check these off (hopefully with lots of fabulous fall pictures!). I'd also like to add to the list:
- Attend a barn dance
- Get a new fall hair-do
- Make my own Halloween costume (and win work costume contest!)
- Go running regularly in the crisp air
- Bake pumpkin muffins
- Bake eyeball cupcakes (it's kinda my Halloween special)

So, lots of things to do in the next 2 and a half months!! Wish me luck!

What are your favorite fall activities? Any yearly traditions?

Insta Friday

Back again for a week in Instagrams! 

This is from last Friday night. Alli tagged me in a #WIDN post (which for those of you like me who had no idea what that means is: What I'm Doing Now). I happened to be hanging with Mama Derry, watching Project Runway and Fashion Police with a particularly adorable dog on my lap.

Heading to church Sunday morning - excited it was cool enough for my scarf!

Sunday afternoon I was rooting for Da Bears (last night though, 100% Packer Fan!). I like that you can see Miss Sophie peeking over my shoulder wanting to get into the front seat. :)

Wistfully wishing to go back to Italia.

I feel like this is a "quarter life crisis" type dilemma. I still have acne issues, but I know I need to be preventing wrinkles. Why can't one lotion just do both!? Garh!! Clearly, I was very frustrated with my moisturizer options. Any one have feedback on that?

My #throwbackthursday pic. My mom doing my hair. We were in FL in late 1996. My mom had finished up chemo treatments and the entire family went on vacation together. I always think about her when the seasons change - I think the cooler weather just makes me more reflective for some reason. Or maybe the coziness of the season makes me miss her more. Either way, I was thinking about her and miss her. 

From yesterday - my first entry for a $100 ModCloth gift card. I will spare you the rest of my entries from today :)

Tuesday Shoesday - Fabulous Fall

Fall is my favorite season, hands down. I cannot get enough of scarves, sweaters, boots, leaves, pumpkins, apples, crisp weather, and jackets. Oh my! For today though, here are some fabulous fall fashions for your feet!

Via

 Love these distressed, lace-up booties for fall

Via

 Love the wedge oxford with a fun peep-toe surprise! :)

Via

 A menswear for women oxford look

Via

 A more feminine twist on the oxford

Via

 Another distressed bootie - love this look!!

Via

 A tough, but rich-looking shoe

Via

A sexy twist on a loafer

Now, if only I had an unlimited budget for shoes... I'd be all over all of these babies. What's your favorite? I think that the distressed, lace-up booties are my fave right now. If you had unlimited shoe funding, which pair (or two) would you snatch up?

Insta-Friday!!! I'm baaaaaack!

 

Well, after a much-needed bloggy-break I am back. My Insta's from this week were just way too good to not post! I spent Labor Day weekend back in my little hometown and went through a ton of old stuff from my high-school and elementary days, including oodles of old photos, back from the days of film! It was a sentimental, bittersweet, emotion-filled task to do and I think it has taken me all week to recover, but I'm very grateful that I did it. So, without further ado, a mostly throw-back version of InstaFriday! 

Ok these first few are from last week - 

Really excited about my new polka dot dress!

Loving my new yellow necklace

Hawaiian Day! (I really love dress-up days at work)

Me and Jun-Jun (my fellow Activity Director) at Family Night!

 And now we have a little old-school!

Me @ 18 months or so... Nautical is so on trend right now :)

Me and a bunch of good friends the beginning of my senior year

I think I was 7 here...

Wonder who I look like? That's my Nana on the left. :)

Me and my college roomie Janna, from when we were in high school!

Me and Janna at my senior prom coronation - I like this photo despite the pink hand coming out of the top of my head.

My mom's family pre-Ashlea. I may have been a bun in the oven here, so this is summer of 1986. My mom is the not-so-natural blonde in the back

I think I was 4 or 5 here. Oh the accessorizing had already begun...

Me today - rocking some vintage orange earrings for 'Bears Day'

The Loom - A Review

Lydia knew her fate. Like every other slave on the Maryland plantation, her life would end at the loom...

 
Throughout the pre­-Civil War South, older slaves too worn out for anything else worked daily in the plantation¹s loom room, weaving and creating cloth for their families. Tucked away out of sight and forgotten by most everyone, the wisdom and hard-won experience of these slaves were often overlooked. But Lydia, a light-skinned house slave, listens to their words and dreams of a better life.

When running away leads to her recapture, Lydia discovers that with her pale skin, the right clothing, and pretense, she can walk into a world of freedom and wealth she has only dreamed of.

But Lydia struggles to leave behind the man she loves and the culture of world in which she belongs. Drawing on the wise community in the plantation¹s loom room, Lydia chases freedom in a way no one ever expected and finds that she ultimately must choose between the love she has and the life she doesn't.

The Loom is a colorful tale of love linked to a lie and the discovery that life is not always black or white.

This book is really different from something I would normally pick up and reminded me a little bit of an Oprah’s Book Club choice, only I didn’t hate it. (I have a long history of hating Queen Oprah’s taste in literature) The main character, Lydia, is totally infuriating at times and I could not possibly understand why she would make some of the choices she did, but then again I have always had the freedom to make my own choices. I’ve never felt anything even marginally comparable to being owned by someone, so perhaps that’s why she makes some crazy decisions that I don’t get.

It took me a little while to get on board with the writing style. I felt like many of the chapters started in the middle of thought or memory, which wasn’t very palatable to me. I got over it though because this story is rich. Rich in culture, chaos, sadness, and depth. It is uplifting in the end too – which is ultimately what saved it for me – because I hate books that don’t end well.  This books goes to a lot of dark places, but I still really enjoyed the story.

I also really enjoyed reading the authors thoughts at the end, which is something I never do. I loved the Biblical parallels should put into the story and also enjoyed the storyline involving the elderly slaves, probably because of my love of old people.  I’d say this was a wholesome read for adults and would recommend it to others.