It may have been a year since my last Tea Talk, but my love for tea and chatting has never waned. I love the open style and freedom of these posts so much, so I thought it would be perfect to chat about our recent home purchase, my slow switch to natural living, and our cat Max!

We're Home Buyers

In my last Tea Talk post I gushed about recently moving in with my boyfriend and all the exciting/difficult changes that come with that. I guess we must still like it each other a great deal because we just bought a house land together! After many months of searching for a home and having zero luck, we decided to build our first home. We scoured the housing market for over six months and saw some pretty unique finds (100 year old house with original wood floors, an updated kitchen, and a beautiful front porch) and some pretty awful ones too (one tiny bathroom, no closets in any of the rooms, and no central heating and air). However, nothing was jumping out and screaming for us to make it our own. For every house that had a major pro, there were a slew of major cons. We eventually found a home that checked most of our boxes, but we got cold feet after seeing the house. It still wasn't the "right" one and I couldn't really see ourselves living there long term. Call it nerves, timing, or intuition, but we walked away from that house and didn't bother looking at another house for over a month.

We were tired of scouring Zillow and Trulia. We were tired of meeting with our realtor only to discover another dead end. We were so tired of stressing over money and down payments. We were tired of bickering over finishes, locations, potential renovations, and what was "really" important to each of us. Needless to say we needed a house hunting break.

Over a month went by and we cautiously began looking again. Things hit an upswing as my boyfriend got a new job and we fell into a better routine. All of the prior stresses and worry began to dissipate when my boyfriend took me out to a cute, upcoming subdivision on the edge of town. A co-worker of his, who was very familiar with the home builders, had recommended that we check the neighborhood out. We went out and toured a model home the building company had on display. Then we took it upon ourselves to tour streets upon streets of empty homes in various stages of completion. I was over the moon with everything I saw and I had a great feeling in my gut about the whole thing.

We had never considered building, determining early on that it was most likely too pricey, overwhelming and would take far too long to complete. We didn't want to mess around with contractors, permits, and city codes. However, we were shown another way that rivaled our beliefs. We found out that by going through the home building company that we could leave the hard work up to the crews and just focus on making the fun decisions like the layout, location, and every single finish in the house. We got to completely customize our future home, which makes me think we will love it so much and be in it for a long time. They break ground on it this month and we will be in shortly after the new year!

Since starting this blog in 2011, this is the longest hiatus to date that I'm breaking. I am amazed that I have gone nearly seven months without posting or interacting in this space in sort of way. I can't say I'm proud, but I can say this unintended break was necessary.

Last fall/winter when I stopped blogging, I was going through mountains of stress. I was settled into a "good job with a flexible schedule" - which sounded wonderful coming out of my mouth upon explaining to people what I was up to post-grad, but the reality was less so. I liked my coworkers and the amount of control I had in my work. The startup culture I was in was seriously demanding, but also amazing and rewarding. However, I often found myself bored on a day-to-day basis and worst of all, I couldn't see any future in my job. I could see no opportunities for company advancement, pay raises, or benefits in the near future. This wasn't because I was a subpar employee, but mostly because the company was still very much in its early phases and was simply unable to accommodate me and my immediate goals.

So what were my immediate goals, you may ask?

My boyfriend and I had been in our budget-friendly (read: cheap) apartment for five or six months at that point and were already feeling the distinct desire to relocate (read: get the hell out of there as fast as possible). We had a good amount of money saved, but not enough to move into a house. When I say this, I mean we didn't have enough to move into a house and meet our financial stability goals. We easily could've put zero down (common when you live somewhere that qualifies as being "rural") and took out a thirty year mortgage, but we decided that way of buying a home was not right for us. We wanted to feel secure in our investment with at least 20%, if not more, down off the bat and a condensed mortgage that we could pay off in less than ten years. That my friends, is a really tall order. Especially when I was the only one working a "traditional" job at the time. Travis, my boyfriend, was in his last semester of college and helping save $ by selling things online in his spare time. In addition to my day job, I was also picking up extra design and freelance work any time I could.

Also worth noting, November was the month my first student loans payments were due. I hustled hard from September until the first payment date to save up every last bit of cash I could in order to make a sizable payment upfront. This was solely to pay off the impending interest that was about to drop right on top of my neatly accumulated debt from the past four years of educational pursuits. This pressure to start paying off student loans and start saving for a house left me ridiculously burnt out, ridiculously quick.

Needless to say September, October, November, and December were a hectic four months of feeling overworked, unproductive, uninspired, broke, and stuck simultaneously.

I searched for over a month for a new job during this time period, sending out my resume and portfolio many times a week and often hearing no response. When I did hear a response it was usually, "What bad timing! We just filled X position!" and it made me feel like my degree was failing me. I applied for positions both above and below my qualifications - even conceding that I may have to start working irregular hours or commute a long distance since my only lead for a long time was a job arranging the layout of a local newspaper from noon to eight at night.

Finally, I scored an interview with a local boutique through a random Craigslist ad for a designer/developer position. I wasn't sure how legitimate the position was considering I was scouring Craigslist as a last ditch effort. Plus, I wasn't sure they'd reach out considering I was more designer than developer. Luckily, they quickly responded to my job inquiry and I was set interview that Friday. I felt grateful that there was finally a break in the case and that this job included things like a salary wage, vacation time, IRA plans, and medical benefits - literal music to my ears. The interview went well, I thought.

On the way home I felt the strongest urge ever to pray (ugh, yes I'm going to be one of those people for a hot second). I'm not very "religious," but do believe in spirituality and a higher being. I believe in personal relationships with God. I try to pray at night to reinforce my gratefulness and because it brings me peace. However, I've never so strongly had the urge to pray out loud like that ever in my life. I turned the radio down and started talking - desperately pleading even - to God about how I needed this job...about how right it felt and about the opportunities it would afford for me and Travis. I went on just talking and saying over and over, "I know you have perfect timing, but please just give me this job." It finally felt like my own plan for my life was coinciding with God's plan. Something about that job felt right to me on an essential level.

Monday afternoon I had a job offer in my inbox and my heart swelled. I literally jumped out of my chair and could have cried from the excitement of it all. Things were going to look up! I put in my two weeks notice at the start-up job, which gutted me. I felt so guilty for leaving the people who had given me my first full-time job out of college, believed and spoke so highly of me, and who I felt gave me a lot of trust and opportunity within their company. I felt like the company was on the brink of total success or total flop, and it made me teary to think of leaving right before seeing this thing I had building for nearly a year go into its final act without me. I also didn't want the owners to think I was leaving the company because I didn't "believe in it." I wrestled with so much guilt for those two weeks and it was undeniably awkward to work there after giving notice because of that guilt on my end. The owners took it about as well as possible and did everything to still make me feel comfortable, but it was the inner-struggle that was hardest. I seriously am thinking writing about this experience a little more in depth is in the near future.

The holidays came and went, me sniffling through them. I had caught a horrible cold I couldn't shake probably as a result of high stress, a horrible sleep schedule and too much guilt. I recovered just in time to start my new job after the first of the year. It was a tough transition at first to phase out of flexible start-up life and back into corporate culture. 

Ultimately though, I feel myself thriving in my new job and am happier. Travis even tenderly noted, "You don't cry on Sundays anymore." To which I replied, "What do you mean?" since that statement sounded very dramatic. He then went on to explain that nearly every Sunday before the new job that I'd cry for a few minutes about how much I hated that the weekend was ending and that Monday seemed unfathomable. It didn't, in the moment, occur to me then that being THAT upset over Monday wasn't normal. I didn't realize my Sunday Scaries were directly related to a much ignored inner unhappiness I felt about going to a job I didn't connect with each week.

So yes, I've been at my new job for nearly five whole months, going on six and feel perfectly in place. There are times of both boredom and stress at this job, of course. No job is ever perfect, but I do feel much happier and more content. Life is settling and opening up all at once. We're still saving to get out of our "budget-friendly" apartment and we've come a really long way in saving since last fall/winter. Now we are waiting for God's timing to match up to our own again, and present us with the right house at the right time. We're in no rush and have plenty of time to take the next step of life slowly and with intention. Plus, I'm trying to enjoy the perks of apartment living for a little longer (our great location, the trail that runs beside it, the ability to cook dinner and watch our living room TV simultaneously since they occupy the same space and the fact that we have no grass to mow on a hot day).

Also, we've been budgeting our lives pretty seriously (It literally PAYS to have Accountant for a significant other!) and I'm considering writing several posts on ways we save cash and allocate funds. Would this be something y'all may be interested in reading? I know I've been looking for practical and friendly blog resources during our own financial journey (And Then We Saved has become a pretty great one). Let me know!

Now, that you're all up to speed, I'd love to take a moment just to talk about this space and what I envision for it. I envision this to be a space much like it was before, just better - one where I tell stories, share tips, lists, goals, and reviews. I hope it's a place I can share my work and my projects. I envision it to be a place that's helpful to you - but doesn't necessarily have an "agenda" with every post. However, I do promise to try and up my offerings with each post by providing better quality content. I'd love to start adding videos to posts, downloadables and resources where possible. I can't wait for that!

Plus, if you haven't noticed by now, this blog space got a bit of a makeover (with more minor tweaks coming I'm sure)! I feel all refreshed and ready to take on new posts. I feel my enthusiasm for this space coming back tenfold and I'm so excited to communicate with you all again...if there's any of you left that is.

If you made it this far you deserve an award and a big hug. Taking a seven month break from blogging certainly wasn't the plan, but it was the necessary time and space I needed. Now, I feel better than ever and am happy to say I'll see you with a brand new post tomorrow!

1. Working Full Time - I went from two part time internships to one full time job. It's been a strange, awesome, and hectic switch these past few weeks as I've been getting in a new daily routine. One huge bonus? My job is actually in the town I live in. I'm happily saying bye to the 30-45 minute commute and hello to living and working in the town I love best.
2. Avoiding Laundry - Oh, the laundry and how it never seems to end! While I've been away I may have let things get a tiny bit out of control. One well intention closet clean-out coupled with several unrecognizable piles of both dirty and clean laundry led to a very unfortunate week and a half where our couch was buried beneath swarms of unidentified laundry. Thankfully, over the past few days everything has been sorted and put away in it's proper place...for now.
3. Watching Youtube - I can't stop and won't stop. I've fallen so in love with Youtube. It's the perfect way to wind down and I find myself more inspired than ever when watching beauty tutorials or style hauls. Instead of blogging, I've been eagerly consuming the playlists of Zoella, Batalash, Elle Fowler, and LoeyLane one video at a time like it's my day job, although sadly it is not.
4. Going to Sleep at 10pm - I'm an old soul, but my boyfriend prefers to exchange "old" with "ancient" during the recent week nights when I could barely stay awake between our DVRed recordings of Teen Mom 2 and Bar Rescue. So what if I can't make it past 20 minutes of any film I put on before going to bed? At least I'm getting my 8 hours 10 hours of beauty rest.
5. Shopping Like I'm Going Back to School - This is the first August since I was 5 that I hadn't been back to school shopping and that was seriously starting to bum me out. What is August if not fresh school supplies and an excuse to buy new clothes? So I may have gone a little crazy and shopping the likes of Gap, Old Navy, and the mall until I had acquired five or six new dresses, three grey tops (which look different from each other I swear - no matter what my boyfriend says), something maroon colored (because #fall), and three pairs of new shoes. Whoops.
6. Hanging Out With My Brother - He started the first grade today, so excuse me while I pretend to keep it together. Recently, I've been trying to make regular visits with him a priority (not that they weren't before...but you know how life is sometimes). I got to spend two awesome weekends with him recently. We went to the zoo, to the arcade, blacklight bowling, and The Amazeum. It was great to get some one on one time with that amazing kiddo before he's locked down learning full time.
7. Eating Lots of Ice Cream - My excuse? It's summer. Now give me all the ice-cream!
8. Not Working Out - I have no excuses for this one. I just have been probably about the least motivated I've ever been in my entire life to workout. The idea of going to the gym sounds miserable and the idea of working out at home totally unproductive. Thankfully, a pilates and barre studio is reopening in town in a new location and is offering a week of free classes. I forced myself to sign up for three. We'll see how it goes!
9. Catching Up With Old Friends - Having your friends suddenly scattered out post graduation has to be by far one of the most unexpectedly sucky things about adulthood. It was staggering the amount of friends who suddenly got job offers, got married, started grad school, or decided to move back home within such a short time frame. I spent some time while I wasn't blogging catching up with a few friends who I hadn't seen in months. Good news, one of my best friends just moved back to town! I'm over the moon.
10. Losing My Debit Card - I'm just good like that I guess. I bragged recently about how I had never ever had to replace my debit card in the history of me owning a debit card. Two short days later, I lost mine. Thanks karma, I got the message. Now I'm just patiently waiting those 7-10 business days for the new to come in. It already feels like forever.

• I took the plunge and subscribed to Messy Box. After seeing the unboxing video, I was sold. 
• Just discovered Bouqs and think it's the epitome of cool. Dying for fresh flowers of my own!
• Watched the entire season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I find it easy to watch, a little ridiculous, and a lot of funny. It's the perfect thing to watch if you need something light hearted.
• Beauty pick of the week has to be this Sonia Kashuk tinted moisturizer with SPF 15. It's easy and breezy for days where lighter makeup is a must, has staying power, and makes my skin look more poreless. Awesome!

What have you been up to? Let me know!

Since I've gained a few new readers here lately (hey there!). I thought it might be fun to do a little life update as to where and what I'm up to now, plus share some facts about me. Sound good? Good!

I'm Ashlee. I live in Arkansas and will be heading into my senior year at the University of Arkansas this August. I'm just as astonished as to how the past three years went by so quickly. In May, if all goes according to plan, I'll be graduating with a degree in Visual Design and Art History. I also have a minor in Business Marketing. I spend my free time as a College Ambassador at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and love it. I'm also a member of Delta Delta Delta, and the experience of being in a sorority has been amazing thus far. I'm thankful for every moment and every opportunity it's given me to connect with others and do amazing philanthropic work. Hopefully, post grad I can score a job working somewhere in the creative industry, but we'll see. I'm open to so much.

I blog a little bit about everything, most of it personal. This upcoming year, I'm looking forward to diversifying my content to include more DIY, Recipes, and Fashion/Beauty related posts. I addition, I hope to work with other bloggers to make fun features or guest posts happen here in this space. I love the community aspect of blogging. So, stay tuned.

I spent most of this past summer travelling and taking small little road trips here and there. Initially, I was scared, but have enjoyed every waking second of it since. Constantly experiencing new things this past summer has been such a blessing. I hope to make travelling more of a priority this upcoming semester. I want to take a few more road trips while I have the flexibility to do so (aka before I get a job that has a limited # of vacation days).

I'll be moving into my very first one bedroom apartment this fall. It'll be my first time living entirely on my own. I'm nervous about the experience, but totally confident that this is the right choice for me. Hopefully, getting that place in tip top shape will be a source for future DIYs. I'm thrilled to decorate everything as I see fit. This is going to be good, I can feel it! Do any of y'all live on your own? If so, do you love it? Any advice?

Though I love doing what I do, I cannot help but miss my 5 year old brother Jack while I'm away. He's my favorite person in the world and one of my biggest sources of personal inspiration. He starts kindergarten this fall and I am in complete disbelief. I think I'll probably cry harder than my parents on the day he goes. No one prepared me for this kind of love.

• Watching stand up comedy is my guilty pleasure, right there behind behind binge watching Netflix, The Millionaire Matchmaker and reruns of both Boy Meets World and Sex in the City.
• I lose stuff constantly. I lost my one and only pair of jean shorts two weeks ago and they've yet to return to me. Sending an S.O.S!
• I've never tried Quinoa. I know, I know! I just bought two bags and can't wait to try out a recipe using the stuff.
• My current celeb crushes are comprised of Mark Wahlberg and Theo James. Also, who could count out Zac Efron?
• I probably say #BYE (hashtag bye) too often for my own good. Gotta work on that one. 
• French fries are my favorite food in the entire world. Also gotta work on that. 
• I love the idea of juicing, but have never done a full on cleanse. The cost is killer.
• Instagram and Pinterest are quickly growing to be my favorite sources of social media. 
• I live in a state where there is no H&M and no Urban Outfitters and I detest every minute of that ish. 
• I'm STILL not done getting my portfolio site together. I will one day...soon. 

Quiet. Restful.

Those are two words that have described the past little bit of time. I've gotten to do so many things in these past few months. It feels like I've lived 9 lives in two months. I cannot believe it's already July and in less than a month I'll be heading back to school.

I've gotten to travel an immense amount this summer, but there have been these little stretches of being home too. After all the going and going, it's been nice to be "stuck" in my hometown - aka the suburbs. It's nice to not do much of anything. It's nice to rest and make plans and re-energize myself. It's nice to do productive things and get back in touch with blogging. It's nice to spend time with Jack for days on end. It's nice to meet friends for lunch at local places and to take quiet, meaningful dusk walks around the neighborhood once it's cooled down a bit.

These pictures are from Jack and I's walk around the neighborhood the other night. It was a great way to get in some exercise (1 circle around my neighborhood is = 1 mile), spend time with Jack, and take in everything both new and familiar around my neighborhood. It's nice to see freshly mowed lawns and brand new cars in driveways. It's nice to see tall grass and cozy sunsets. It's nice to see kids playing in front yards and sprinklers wetting lawns and trees blooming.

What is something you enjoy doing even when you're feeling stuck?

I was on the beach trudging through the white hot sand whilst attempting to keep an overly floppy beach hat on my head, a hand of a certain four year old interlaced with my own, loaded down with two beach chairs and a beach bag full of sunscreen when I got the call. I got the call that no student searching for her first solo apartment wants to ever get, especially four months after putting down a deposit on a well researched piece of perfect property.

Upon answering the phone I was excited. I recognized it as the number from my future apartment complex and answered the phone fully expecting to get an update on my impending fall apartment. I was supposed to be called in May to be made aware of my specific apartment, it's unit number and location. I answered and a kind voice asked for me. The conversation started out well enough. "Yes, Miss Springer I'm calling to give you an update on your apartment situation. Unfortunately, I hate to inform you that it appears there won't be any available one bedroom units opening for your requested move in date for the fall. Now, we can keep you on a waiting list if something becomes available or you can provide us an address in which to refund your deposit."

The words didn't even hit me at first. They didn't feel real. This couldn't be right, right?

"But I was told that I would for sure be able to get in...100% guaranteed I was told. I put down a deposit the first week of March. I was even told that since I had done everything so early that I could even have preference on which floor I wanted," I rapidly replied. I was in shock and seconds from tears without even fully realizing it.

"Well any other year this would've been the case, but we had nearly 90% of our residents renew which is abnormally high," the voice on the other end, whom I now hated, returned.

After questioning him about earlier and later possible move in dates (nothing before my requested move in date and nothing until two months after was available) and upgrading to a two bedroom (only one available and out of my price range), I told him to keep me on the waiting list for the foreseeable future while I let the news sink in.

I was so in shock. I had done everything right. I had made spread sheets full of facts, checked out numerous apartment complexes that met my criteria (close to school - preferably on a bus route, reasonable price range, and decently up-to-date concerning interior and appliances), asked all the hard questions, taken tour upon tour, and put down my deposit well before many of my peers. Most importantly, for the first time, I had done it on my own. There were no parents and no roommates. Just me and my apartment. It felt like a huge step into a newer, deeper independence that I had been able to accomplish this task.

Then, in an instant and completely out of my control, it had all crumbled beneath me. So I'm headed back to my college town for two days to sort out this nightmare of an apartment mess. I remain hopeful though.

A million thoughts raced through my mind. It was 5am and I was scrambling to finish packing my one suitcase and one backpack, going over a mental checklist that I had only managed to throw together in the few hours after coming home the night before. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

Spontaneity isn't exactly my strong suit. I'm a planner. I like list making and color coding. I like researching. I like having everything painfully planned out, especially when it came to matters like going on a two week adventure up north with my cousin who was being relocated by the army and had an extensive leave.

It was Friday. I woke up in my college town in a friend's apartment, loaded up my car with all of my things from the previous two weeks, drove to campus, and took my intersession final. It took my three hours and ten pages front and back of essay writing before I was done. I left with my professor's words, "enjoy the rest of your summer" still fresh in my mind as I headed back to my hometown three hours south. I fully intended on enjoying the rest of my summer. Before me I saw endless days of sleeping until noon and days too humid to think of doing anything except staying indoors. I saw going to get ice cream with friends from home, afternoons poolside, and weekends dubiously spent with friends who had summer jobs/internships musing about how much we missed being at college. I arrived home roughly around dinner time, completely starving, only to be met by an empty, messy house.

I called my father and he told me they were at my aunt's eating and visiting with my cousin who was home as he was in transition from moving from Hawaii to upstate New York - two extremely opposite ends of the U.S.. I was happy to have made it home just in time to see him before he left on Saturday. I made the short drive over to my Aunt's and was welcomed by all of my family and a huge plate of BBQ. My cousin isn't too much older than I am, both in our twenties. It was the first time in all our lives that we had been on the same relative maturity field and were able to converse about things like "adults."

He told me about the new place in New York where he was being stationed and the three days it would take to drive there. He outlined all of the stops and all of the small adventures he had planned once arriving in New York. Then, what felt like out of nowhere, he extended the offer me to join him ever so casually by saying, "You should come, pack up your bags. We're leaving first thing in the morning at 6am." At first, I brushed it off, thinking it was obviously a joke. Doing something like that would be too crazy, too unexpected, too unplanned for. People just couldn't pack up and take off like that for two or three weeks could they?

I mulled it over in my mind. As the night wore on, he kept saying I should come and the idea began to take on a tangible shape in my mind and everyone else's too. My aunt was all for it and my parents, though hesitant, began to give it some thought. At one point, and I can't remember exactly which one, I agreed that I'd go. It seemed to surprise everyone. Most of all, I was surprised at myself. I didn't do things like this and even sitting there as he asked me in more or less words, "are you sure?" and as I nodded, I didn't know if I was entirely sure. I went outside and quietly my mother pulled me aside and asked, "What the hell are you even doing?" I didn't know. I didn't have a single good answer, so I simply said, "taking an opportunity."

I sat there and envisioned the summer of laziness and familiarity I had just been reckoning with only a mere two hours ago in the car. I had been going, going, going for so long...final exams and then I had taken on a two week intense summer class. I craved rest, but I equally craved adventure. The summer I had envisioned seemed so easy to me and that alone almost caused me to back out. It wasn't complex or new or unfamiliar. It was planned out, a summer I had lived too many times over; all of the grooves familiar and mundane.

I got home and began packing, my father briefly coaching my through what to take. I decided on one suitcase and one backpack - perfect for when I would fly back home, whenever that would be. It seemed all the details would be sorted out later, pushed into an uncertain perpetual tomorrow that I hated to acknowledge. I struggled to pack light, but really my packing was more of a process of eliminating. I had already been packed from the past two weeks taking my summer class. It was just a matter of re-evaluating and adjusting. I re-packed, still unsure as to whether I would go or not even as I zipped up my belongings. I showered and got into the clothes I would wear the next day and set my alarms ridiculously early. I laid in bed feeling a pit in my stomach. I was nervous for whatever reason and sad. I had just gotten home - gotten so close to where I had been envisioning being for the past month. I was crazy to be going away so soon. I felt guilty. I also felt like I did as a little kid whenever I was taken to sleepovers where I would eventually ask to go home after crying quietly because I missed home. It was panicky, guttural feeling somewhere deep inside me that ignited my human instinct to bail out of the given situation.  

However, I woke up before my alarms and quickly ate something. I double checked my bags and my father came home from work. As we stood in the kitchen he broke the silence by asking, "Do you fully know what you've gotten yourself into by going to do this?" I couldn't respond with a straight answer, because I didn't fully understand what this experience would manifest into. There were too many outcomes, of none I was sure. I could envision myself sticking it out one week and then silently begging to come home. In another vision I could see myself desiring to stay the entire month, reluctant to return. In that kitchen, just moments before my cousin would pull up, if you would've asked me which outcome I thought more likely it would've probably been the former.

Six came and like clockwork his Jeep pulled up to our house. It was amazing to me that he remembered how to get there since it had been so long since he'd been home I hadn't seen or spent more than a few days at a time with my cousin since he was 18 and had enlisted. I was probably about 11 or 12 when he went off for basic training. Ever since then I had kept up with him mostly through my aunt's reports and brief phone conversations on holidays that were mostly too awkward to stomach. He'd come home occasionally a week or holiday at a time. At the very minimum I looked at this trip as an opportunity to spend time with him. If anything, that very fact added value to the entire thing. I added my suitcase to his many  in the back of the Jeep, gave hugs to my parents/Jack, and squished myself into a very crowded backseat.

As I sat there, home growing ever farther and the sun not fully risen, I could not believe that I had gone through with it. I had willed myself into the car and here we were. Every travel quote / adventure quote about "dropping everything" and "seizing the day" that I had ever pinned was coming to mind and they all felt wrong and totally contrived. In reality felt vulnerable and uncertain. Yet, at the end of the day I resolved to be hopeful. I let go of all of my prior feelings and told myself to focus on experiencing everything fully good or bad for the next two weeks and that's exactly what I did.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry if that I was bit longer than expected, but I thought I should explain fully my two week absence and how I'm still reeling from everything myself in detail...because it really is quite crazy how very quickly things unfolded. I was home from college for about twelve hours before I left again for this adventure, maybe the fastest home visit turnover time ever.

If you follow me on instagram you may have caught on to the fact that I was on a little bit of an adventure (#ashleegoesonanadventure). I hope to be sharing all the highlights from my trip in the next week and some other awesome posts. So no worries on the blogging front, I'm here to stay. However, occasionally sometimes you need to drop everything in order to take an amazing, unexpected opportunity before you (and ironically most of the places those opportunities will take you don't include viable wifi).

Tell me what you've been up to! P.S. hope you're enjoying your Friday!

Hey lovies, sorry for the impromptu blogging break! Finals ended, I went home for a weekend, and now I'm back and knee deep into a summer intersession course. It was truly a whirlwind of things happening one right after another!  My intersession course regards the history of American Landscape painting (hint hint - not exactly my favorite topic in the world, but we're totally making it work). Luckily, my college town is roughly 35 minutes from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (the same place I'm a college ambassador!) and that's where we have a majority of our classes. It's really such an awesome opportunity to have class there and get a hands on education by seeing most of the works we lecture about in person.

For those of your who are unfamiliar with what an intersession course is, it's a class you take for only two weeks - however you earn a whole semester's worth of credit for it. It's a rather intense workload. It's 6 days a week and nearly 4 hours long each day. I have homework each and every night in the form of reading an assigned article and producing a 1-2 page written critique or summary of the article. Plus, I'm tasked with whatever other in class assignment or participation that's required.

This class is semi-sucking my days away, but I feel good getting ahead so that I can have an easier course load during my senior year. So yeah, I haven't abandoned this little space. I've just been consumed with the topic of American Landscape painting and trying to graduate as a double major in 4 years. Promise!

Stay tuned, I plan to post this weekend, but if you still miss me feel free to follow via Instagram or Twitter!

What sort of things have you been up to, big or small? Let me know!

xoxo

1. Pack Up My Room: I can't believe my time in the sorority house is coming to an end. It feels like I just moved in yesterday. It's been an extremely interesting and memorable chapter in my college career and It's an experience I'm happy to say I had. This week I need to start packing up, because after finals I'm out of here!
2. Continue to Take Smaller Steps Toward Healthier Living: Last week I was pretty satisfied with the small steps I took. This week it's time to build on that and continue adding even more to those small baby steps. Here's to a little bit more exercise and general wellness!
3. Blog 4x: I don't want to let finals get in the way of consistent posting. This week I'm aiming to stay on top of this blog! I don't like it when I'm away for long.
4. Master Winged Eye Liner: I just picked up some new liquid liner and am excited to try some different looks with my new liner. I desperately need to master winged or cat eye liner! Excited to play around with it this week.

• Get Healthy: I was definitely more mindful about my health. I started incorporated squats and jumping jacks into my morning wake-up routine, got an app to track my water intake, and have tried to just be more mindful overall. It's all about baby steps!
• Stay on Top of Schoolwork: So much work accomplished this past week! So happy to only have four tests standing between me and a bit of a break!
• Test Drive Orange Lipstick/stain: With the help of a unused Target gift card, I was able to purchase some orange lip balm! I'm really pleased with it and it's so fun to wear! I'm feeling totally in step with this warmer weather! 

Reading: about one third of the way through Me Before You before JoJo Moyes. I've had this book for about month, but just haven't been able to carve out enough time to focus on it yet. Everyone says it's amazing, but I haven't truly gotten deep enough into the story to confirm it's amazingness. I will have to report back later! So far, I'm not totally loving where I think it's going, but then again I could be dead wrong.

Watching: Game of Thrones, The 100, and Vampire Diaries. Game of Thrones is so good! I can't believe I waited this long to get on board. Also, I've been giving the new CW show The 100 a shot. I'm not hooked, but I like it enough so far that I want to keep up! Last but not least is my beloved Vampire Diaries. We're still going strong as we inch ever nearer to the finale!

Listening To: Finals call for a little throwback music. This week I've been listening to: Pictures of You by The Cure, Like a Prayer by Madonna, I Want You to Want Me by Letters to Cleo, and Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. So awesome and great studying music! Seriously considering making a finals week playlist to share here.

Eating: Everything in sight. I hate to admit that, but one of my bad habits is stress eating. Also, I eat in order to avoid doing things I don't want to. Because in my mind it's justifiable to put off studying because "I have to eat, it's like a basic human necessity!" Please tell me I'm not the only one guilty of this! Haha.

Aspiring To: grow my blog this summer, make a link-up idea come to fruition, write more articles (and hopefully submit them somewhere), do a lot of volunteer work over the summer, and continue to be practice both saying "no" and being open a person!

Online Love: these rad metallic temporary tattoos, this image, this article about loneliness vs being alone, and this blog post about helpful links for bloggers!

Offline Love: the thought that the semester is almost over, got a 94% on my most recent 10 page paper (woot woot!), extended deadlines and the mercy of kind art history professors, getting ish done, how wonderfully green everything is, mild weather, the Pomodoro method for getting things accomplished, summer on the way, being kind to myself in times of stress, and peanut butter frosting filled cookie-wiches!



What are you currently loving this week? Let me know in the comments below (also, I switched to Disqus for commenting, do we like?)