Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Morning Light

Image via

Rise and shine, lovelies! That's right. It's 8:30 a.m. and this girl is already showered, fed, and halfway through a cup of caffeine goodness. How is this possible? Sure I'm not one to cower in the face of daybreak's light, but I'm also not one to get the kettle going until right around this time. This surprising change in routine came after I was unceremoniously awakened at 4:30 this morning. Yeah...that would mean I was up before the sun. Unfortunately, returning to sleep was not an option so I turned to Netflix for a few hours.


It was around 5:45 when I learned how early the sun actually starts to rise. With the morning light creeping through the gaps in my drapes and the beginnings of a gorgeous day underway, I decided that in an attempt to be a proactive adult I would throw on my running gear and hit the asphalt early. Yes. It was a beautiful run and a great way to start my day. This little change (that I would not have done had I not be unable to get back to sleep) really injected some energy into a day that probably would have played out like everyday of these two months since graduation. I have spent the weeks since leaving the 'Burgh scrolling through job descriptions and applying like a madwoman to jobs that may or may not be my dream job—who really knows anymore? Some of those days are even punctuated with the occasional rejection e-mail.

However, today's job search will be performed with just a little more excitement and a little more passion than these last few weeks. This unplanned, and admittedly slightly annoying, early rise and time in the daybreak sun has inspired me to look forward with positivity and put a little more effort in my day—I mean...I am blogging right now. That's a start, right? ;P

<3 Ashley

Are you an early riser? When are you the most productive?

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Summer Reading List


Ever since graduation I have filled my days not only job hunting, but also reading. It is very difficult to maintain a good level of pleasure reading when your nights are filled flipping through text books and doing research in the library for 10-page papers. So over the past four years, naturally I haven't been able to keep up very well with new books. Now that I have a bit more time on my hands, that has changed. In the month since commencement, I have blazed through three books—all three loved. Even still, there are a number of books that have sat on my bookshelf that past few years very much untouched and unopened. That's changing this summer. My task for the summer is to read thmy bookself—and yes, mom...find a job. Here are the books that remain untouched and are therefore on my summer 2016 reading list:


America's First Daughter -Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie *
Me Before You -Jojo Moyes *
All The Light We Cannot See -Anthony Doerr * 
The Time In Between -Maria Duenas currently reading
Sense and Sensibility -Jane Austen
Emma -Jane Austen
Tender Is The Night -F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Last Tycoon -F. Scott Fitzgerald
Anna Karenina -Leo Tolstoy

* = have finished reading. You can find my post about America's First Daughter here.

<3 Ashley

What books are on your summer reading list? Any good recommendations?