god box

When Neal and I moved into our house, the lovely lady who lived here before us was subscribed to Real Simple magazine. Now if anyone knows me well, they know that I love this magazine for many reasons.

1. Vegetarian recipes in EVERY issue.
2. Crafts
3. Organization advice
4. Short stories
5. (Affordable) Fashion
6. More crafts

Ha! Well in one of my (her) issues from 2010, a woman sent in the sweetest, most touching short story I have ever read. I cried when I read it to myself and again when I read it to my mother.

Inside the God Box 

The past few years have really tested my faith due to many different stresses. I sometimes felt like I just couldn't juggle having a full-time job and being a full-time student in a different city. Relationship problems made me feel insecure. Family pressure took a toll on my heart and being away from my brother and nephew wasn't easy. For being such an organized person, I felt like life was spiraling out of control. I couldn't seem to stay in one place, or even breathe for that matter. Then one of my closest friends lost her father and I went into a full on shock. I have always been the type of person to take on everyone else's stresses before my own. It makes me happy to make everyone else happy, but as time will tell, it's impossible. I felt sad for my friends, my family and myself. Now don't get me wrong, we all deal with these kinds of things day after day. "Pray" started showing up on my To-Do list more and more. My boyfriend always ended his advice with "Just pray about it." I suddenly realized that all these stresses were temporary and that God has a plan for me.

When I read "Inside the God Box" to my mom, she saw how much it touched my heart. Since we are older now, Christmas is dedicated mostly to my nephew, Gavin. As much as we enjoy giving each other gifts, the best gift of all is seeing the smile on my nephews face. After presents were opened, breakfast was eaten and thanks was given, my mom pulled me aside with her own special gift to me. She had gotten me a God Box. She picked out a special silver box and engraved "God's Box" on the top. She put the first prayer in there. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.

For someone who has to write EVERYTHING down, I now have a place to put my own little thoughts and prayers to God. I know He hears me when I pray, so this is just my safety deposit box between me and Him!

I hope you all find the story touching as well. Maybe you already have your own special relationship with God. Don't be afraid to share. When I feel like things are building up or that I've taken on too much, I just jot it down in a short note and leave the rest up to Him. God bless.

xo, ash.

snow in san antonio?

It's a fact. On February 4th, San Antonio actually got "enough" snow to close down major highways, schools, and best of all- WORK! 

The night it snowed, Katy and Billy stayed at the house because of all the ice on the roads (and the few beverages we consumed). At 6 a.m. I woke up and checked my phone to see the time. I noticed a text from my mom at 3 a.m. that read "snow everywhere!" Immediately, I peeked outside our bedroom window and there it was! I woke up Neal (not a happy camper) and whispered "look babe! It really did snow!" only to have him answer "I know. Go back to sleep, we'll see it later." 

Later? It's San Antonio. LATER it's going to be melted and people will be walking around in shorts! I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about the snow. After about an hour and a half I couldn't take it any longer. I ran upstairs and woke Katy up. She didn't believe me... I open the blinds as quickly as I could and we both threw on as many layers possible. 

My snow angel attempt 

My Angel in the snow

After about 20 minutes of playing around, we all went back inside and fell asleep. I got a nice phone call that work had been cancelled and to enjoy the day off! Needless to say, the snow started melting and Neal and I made our way out of the house for some lunch at Freebirds. 

25 years since it has snowed (and stuck!) 

Glad I got to spend it with my bestie and bby.

xo, ash.

in case you didn't know...

1. I've finally come to the conclusion that I prefer Chips Ahoy over Oreos when it comes to cookies and milk.

2. I think Almay Triple Effect in Blackest Black is the BEST mascara I have ever used. And it's not expensive. I have gotten more compliments on my lengthy lashes than ever before. 

3. I love reading. If there is a movie coming out based on a book, I read the book first. Example: Running with Scissors. The book was WAY better than the movie. 

4. I use Clorox Bleach Wipes for everything. (thanks to Shannon, my over-compulsive-cleaning friend)

5. I still sleep with FAO. My stuffed turtle I got on my first trip to NYC when I was 8. I washed him for the first time 2 weeks ago. 

6. I love my nephew, my boyfriends nephews, my friends kids, and even kids I don't know. Creepy? Nahh.

7. I wish I had this wardrobe. 

8. I don't watch Jersey Shore. In fact, my friend Katy was in Las Vegas last year and called me from the pool... the conversation went something like this:

Katy: Pauly D is at the pool with us!!

Me: Paula Deen!!!

Katy: PAULY D!

Me: I love Paula Deen! Paula Deen Y'ALL! 

Katy: No dude. PAULY DEEEEEEE. From Jersey Shore!!!!

Me: Oh the one with all the abs??

9. I do love RHOBH. 

10. I love my boyfriend. He makes me smile just thinking about him.

11. I don't understand exactly what this means #iamwaybehind (did I do that right??)

12. I am obsessed with my boyfriend's mom's dog Gracie. I try and kidnap her every chance I get. 

13. My mom and I text each other "LYMMIC" every single day. (It stands for "Love You More Most Infinity Cubed")

14. I love watching scary movies. Especially with Katy. 

15. I really love cooking. I wish I had the money and the utensils to cook delicious vegetarian meals EVERY DAY! 

16. I am Team Aniston. (still.)

17. Yellow is my favorite color. 

18. Spurs > any other sports team. 

19. Things you will always find in our refrigerator/pantry: Claussen Pickles. Ruffles. Homemade Ranch Dip. Celery. Tomatoes. Parmesan Cheese. Rigatoni Pasta. Vigo Peppers. Milk. and Haribo Gummy Bears.

20. I thank God every day for all the imperfections that make my life perfect.

Until next time... xo, ash.

2011

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it is already 2011. I started my Friday morning off by doing inventory at work (boo). Then Neal and I headed to Austin, Texas to ring in the New Year! We bought tickets to a party at Abel's on the Lake next door to Hula Hut. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out! The tickets included unlimited drinks, appetizer and dessert buffet,  a DJ upstairs, a band downstairs, champagne at midnight and a beautiful fireworks show on the lake! Unfortunately, during the finale of the fireworks show, a piece got a little too close and caught the roof of Hula Hut on fire! It was very sad to see it burning, but the fire fighters were able to get to it before it was completely demolished. News reports say there were $75K worth of damages. We ended the night waiting for our taxi driver Emily (I can't believe she came back!) and walked the streets of Austin until we finally hailed a cab at 4:30 in the morning. The cab ride home is what made the night. We had an awesome driver who listened to Bob Marley, explained life (according to a cab driver in atx), made an instrument using only his hands, and then left us with two high fives.

Saturday morning, afternoon rather, we ate at one of the most amazing vegan restaurants in Austin, Veggie Heaven. I've been begging Neal to try it every time we make it to Austin, and with almost every other restaurant closed, I finally got him there. The place is very small, with random posters and decorations. You sometimes have to wait to be waited on, but I guarantee a satisfying meal. My favorite is the Spicy Soybean Tofu served with brown rice. Try it. And needless to say, I was right again. Neal loved it. ;)

We met some friends at Union Park (a bar off West Sixth) and drank pink prickly pear mimosas until the sun went down. After some rest, we ate at another super awesome outdoor restaurant called Cazamance www.cazamance.com. This place was amazing! Check it out. We stayed on Rainey street and visited some old houses that have been turned into bars. It was so relaxing and fun. We played Jenga at one of the cute bars. I picked a wood block that said "Send a picture to 512-XXX-XXXX with the title 'Drunk Jenga!'"So naturally, I did. Here is the original picture...

After a little while the girl wrote us back, "F yea! Have a blast, you guys are the s***!" It made me very happy that they responded. And then they sent us a revised picture of our original, which again, made me even more happy!

What an amazing way to end our New Year weekend! I am so lucky that I got to spend such a special night with so many people I love! 

I hope you all had a safe and memorable New Year as well. One of my resolutions is to write more often, so check back soon. 

xo, ash.

graduation! birthday!

well... I DID IT! I finally graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Business. It seems like yesterday that I was graduating from highschool. I'm not sure that it has hit me yet though. I guess it just feels like a typical Winter Break from school. Except next year, I won't be driving 2 hours every day back and forth from San Marcos. (phew!)

It was such an amazing and special day. My brother and his girlfriend drove down from Houston with my nephew, my parents (of course), my boyfriend and my three best girlfriends all made it out! I couldn't have done it without their support over the years. You all have no idea how special you are to me.

Not only was Friday a BIG celebration, but Neal's 27th birthday was on Sunday! I started the morning off by picking up some Bill Miller's breakfast tacos (the best) and had breakfast in bed while he opened presents! Later that afternoon we saw Tron in 3D and in the DBox seats! Amazzzzzzzing! We finished the evening off at Paesano's with Sea Bass and wine! Mmm! Perfect day! I love you bby. I hope your day was extra speical, xo.

Thanks for all the memories and for such a blessed weekend with everyone I love. Until next time...

xo, ash

Giving Back

I was reading my Self magazine the other day and came across some new iPhone apps. Most of them were Calorie Counters, Style Guides, and Fashion applications, but I was curious about the last one called Cause World. If you know me, you know that I can't help it when it comes to donating to charities, so you can imagine my excitement when I found this app.

First and foremost, this app is FREE so there is NO excuse NOT to get it. All you have to do is "check in" to certain businesses that you are in or around and you receive "karmas." These karmas add up and then when you have collected enough, you can donate them to any charity you would like! The businesses that are associated with CauseWorld are the ones who donate the money and/or time to these different charities. Charities that range from planting a tree to helping cure cancer.

I think this is such a wonderful idea and it makes me even more happy to see ALL the small and huge businesses that are a part of CauseWorld. If you are a business owner, you can visit this site to get your company on there too! www.causeworld.com

I am almost positive you can access this on any phone, so please check it out and start  donating without any effort.

Thanks everyone!

xo, ash.

apple of my eye

so i was searching recipes the other night (not uncommon), and i came across a website titled "we are not martha, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to try!" www.wearenotmartha.com this website makes me really happy. not only do these girls test and try all those products we're unsure about, but then they tell us how spectacular they are and why they love them! i was wondering how my recipe search got me to this website when i stumbled across recipes! neal was sighing every time i got excited about another good vegetarian recipe and pulled him away from his basketball game. but then i came across what read "apple, sunflower seed, and cheddar cheese sandwich." WHAAAAAT!! i love ALL those things! so you can guess what happened next... grocery store!


here is what you need:
green apple
cream cheese
sunflower kernels
white cheddar cheese
bread (i use and love Oroweat multi-grain Sandwich Thins)


now watch, learn, and make immediately...

i put the sandwich (open-face, no top) in the oven on broil and watched it until the cheese melted (2-3 minutes). 


neal asked me to rate this sandwich on a scale from 1 to 10 and without hesitation i rated it a 10! i made him one after that and he couldn't have agreed more! (thank God. because i plan on making this sandwich every day for the rest of my life!) all the flavors compliment each other so well. 


ok ok, get out of here and get to the grocery store. and wipe that drool from your face too ;)

xo, ash