Book Club: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of the oldies--but goodies! One particular classic that I am in love with is "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; both the Truman Capote story and the Hollywood film adaptation. I received "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M." by Sam Wasson for Christmas this past year and finally got around to reading it (once classes were over, of course!)

This was a fairly quick read for me. The book was very biographical and shared a lot of background information about the individuals who had a crucial role in bringing "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to the film-going public in the 1960s. While have seen the movie and read the book, I never realized how and why the differences between the two came into play.

If you are familiar with the story or have any interest at all I highly recommend this book. The author pulls quotes from interviews with those who had a connection to the film in some way. The book is written in a way that is easy to follow--section titles are witty and set up the topic of the following paragraphs. "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M." gets two very big thumbs up from me!

<3 Ashley

Are you a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" fan? Maybe you will enjoy this one!

Looking Forward

Around this time last year, I posted a little reflection on my sophomore year experience. This year, rather than reflecting on my junior year--it wasn't the best--I am looking ahead to my senior year of college and all of the exciting things to come.

We have a house that we are renting off campus for the year, which is super exciting! I have walked through it a couple of times at this point and am actually fairly enthusiastic about it--which is saying something because this is college level living, people! I have all of my bedroom furniture purchased and in my room already so my move in looks to be smoother than some other people's. I am keeping my campus job. It is nice to feel secure that I will definitely be making some grocery shopping money.

I am also down to my last five required classes between my major and my certificate. That's right; I basically have one semester's worth of required credits left to take. This means that not only is my degree nearly complete, but I also have room to take some oh-so interesting classes to take purely out of fascination. Tudor History, here I come!

Now I am by no means wishing my time away. Trust me, I will be soaking up every single second of this summer. I have an internship and so much to learn from that as well as--hopefully--many fun adventures with friends. Here's to summer and finally being a college senior!

<3 Ashley

What are you looking forward to?

Spring Manis

There are many similarities to my own personality and that of a small child. One of those shared similarities is that I am attracted to colors--shapes too but for now let's just stick to the color one. I like to associate a lot of things with color; like emotions, holidays and seasons. We are in the middle of spring and my brain just wants to see pastels everywhere. One of the best places to see the mark of the season is on our nails. Pastel manis for everybody! Here are a few of my favorites:

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<3 Ashley

How do you like to dress up your nails in the spring?

Taylor Swift Can Have My Money

I'm just about ready to just give Taylor Swift my bank card at this point. T-Swift premiered her music video for "Bad Blood"--which was much hyped on Instagram--at the Billboard Awards last night. I did miss it last night...hey, one does not simply stop watching Captain America. However, I did manage to catch it this morning on YouTube and OH. MY. GOD. I love it.

The star-studded, lady power video is very different from the other videos that she has released in the past. While "Blank Space" still reigns as my favorite video, this one is certainly a worth competitor!

<3 Ashley

What do you think of the "Bad Blood" music video?

Addiction: Mug Cake

Okay so I am totally about to come clean on an addiction that started this past year in school and seems to be carrying on to this summer: mug cakes. I made them at school as a way to make a dent in the bag of flour that I bought to make a birthday cake once. I am mad for mug cakes at this point. My go-to cake is chocolate peanut butter--because what goes together better than chocolate and pb? Nothing. As the weather starts getting warmer, I am looking to the horizons for new recipes. Vanilla and blueberry? Yes. Strawberry cheesecake? You bet. Here are some of my favorites that I have tried:

- Blueberry Mug Cake from Kirbie's Cravings (pictured above)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake from Five Heart Home
- Flourless Peanut Butter Mug Cake from Kirbie's Cravings--I like to drop some chocolate chips in this one!

<3 Ashley

Do you have a favorite mug cake recipe?

Lately

Yes, yes I know there has been some gap between my last post and this one. There really is not an excuse except that I'm just living up the last days of laziness I have left. Yep, that's right! The internship has been acquired and I will be starting soon. I will miss waking up at 8--looks like I will be waking up at 5 every morning for the rest of the summer. Sans weekends, of course.

The temps have been great lately. With days near the 80s, morning runs have been cool and amazing. I am pleased to say that I have already got a nice tan going thanks to May acting more like June. The dog and I have definitely taken advantage of a bit of the sun. I was also very excited to go see Avengers: Age of Ultron with the little bro who took to disguising himself as Spider-Man--not making fun of him...I had my Captain America hoodie on too!

Summer break is off to a great start. I am excited for a change of pace, though, as I get started on this internship!

<3 Ashley

How has your week been?