Holiday Sweets

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The holidays are over, but there are still some aspects that linger. Example: the bags of cookies, containers of fudge, and my brother's birthday cake. I imagine that my blood sugar is so far past the roof at this point. Tell me I'm not the only one with this struggle. We all want to start the year off right and get those veggies and treadmill miles logged, but how can we do that we the temptations of the season still hanging around?

My solution? Shove it off on others. I've been harping on my family to help themselves and even offered to bring along bags of sweets to meet-ups with friends (they said no because "2017 is the year I take control") THIS IS NO TIME FOR DISCIPLINE!

I truly do not feel I can commit myself to my new year health kick until the sweets have left my fridge. Plus, half of the cookies and all of the fudge were made by me—and there is no way I am throwing out all of my hard work. I will hit the pavement running again and will certainly work on making healthy meals (with the new cookbooks I got for Christmas!) but I will still be snacking and working on getting those holiday sweets outta here!

<3 Ashley

Are you still being haunted by the ghost of Christmas sweets?

Christmas Cookies

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In recent years, my favorite holiday activity has not been searching for gift ideas or even opening gifts on Christmas Day; it's been baking Christmas cookies. When I was back in Pittsburgh for school, we would pick a night in December before winter recess and get together with my roommate's mother for a cookie baking marathon. I'm talking the oven staying on for at least 5-6 hours and baking 11 varieties of cookie kind of marathon. All done while holiday music or a movie played in the background.

I plan on keeping this new tradition going this year. I'm beginning the search now for recipes to bake with my mother this year for a new batch of Christmas cookies. My plan is to bake a few varieties and put together some bags as stocking stuffers for the family and maybe even set aside some to take to Christmas dinner...if they can make it that far. :P

My favorite Christmas cookies are those that have peppermint in them. Last year, we made chocolate peppermint cookies that were absolutely to die for! Here are a few cookies that I have loved in the past and look forward to making again this year:

• Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
• Classic Gingerbread
• Snowflake Shortbread
• Twix Cookies
• Italian Ricotta Cookies

<3 Ashley

What are your favorite types of Christmas cookies?

Holiday Checklist

The holiday season is busy—there's no denying it. It's easy to let our to-do list get away from us and all of a sudden Christmas Eve is upon us and we have so much to do and so little time. I'm trying desperately to keep it together this year and not get frazzled at the last minute. 

I am someone who creates list to keep herself in check. Heck, I think I once put "make grocery list" as a bullet on a to-do list. Can you tell what kind of person I am yet? So lists will also be the crux of my holiday planning and execution. From the gift budget, people's wish lists, Christmas card lists, and recipe lists my holiday is looking like an organized one.

But I don't stop at just one list. No, that would be the human thing to do. I have lists in my phone, on my computer, on a pad of paper, on index cards in my bag, and in my planner. It may be a bit overboard; but you know...it gets the job done. My Christmas cards went out in the mail today to everyone on the list. No stragglers. No one to remember later. I got them all!

Next stop is the shopping. This year's shopping list is actually fantastic because I know EXACTLY what I'm getting everyone. I know where am going for these items too. How did I become this beta version of the person I was last year??

<3 Ashley

How do you stay on your game during the holidays?

Take the Pledge: Shop Small

After a day filled with family, friends, football, and shameless carbo-loading we all tend toward the tradition that is Black Friday. I have gone out late with friends in the past few years to get a few small gifts and experience (for some reason) the rush of super early morning shopping. However, I have to say that I don't get the excitement. 

One day that has gotten me excited in recent years is Small Business Saturday. I am a massive fangirl of my hometown of Carlisle, PA and love to walk the streets and slip into the Revolution/Civil War-era buildings that boast some of the cutest businesses around. There are several stores that I practically live at when I venture downtown:

• Miss Ruth's Time Bomb: Every time I step through the doors of Miss Ruth's I make a beeline to the back end of the store which boasts a large assortment of vintage clothing—I've seen some straight up 1930s garb! I have never gone in and not tried anything on before I've left. You can also get your fix of vintage hats, shoes, and dining wares!

• The Clothes Vine: This is where I go to dream. It is a bit pricier than the Time Bomb, but the clothing is just so beautiful and you can tell that they've curated some quality product. The style here is very eclectic, which I love. 

• Marjorie's Gems: I only just recently discovered this wonderful little store on one of the last First Friday outings of the summer. I don't typically shop jewelry, mostly because I don't wear it very often. But Marjorie's carries some of the most interesting pieces I have come across—and they're so well priced! Their $5 wall is a place I like to call home.

Small businesses really are our economy's backbone. Did you know that they make up about 54% of all sales in the U.S.? Yes, we love our super stores and larger chains for the ease and convenience they provided, but can we truly speak to the quality of some of these items. I always struggle with clothing from larger stores because you can tell from just the touch: this is not going to last. Small business provide care and quality. Sometimes the price tag might read higher, but you get what you pay for after all. Each of the businesses I've detailed in this post and even more that I haven't truly care about the products and services they provide their customers. Every time I walk into the Castlerigg Wine Shop on Carlisle's main street, the owner engages me instantly and ensures that I know where the wines come from (shoutout to the wineries we apparently have in Pennsylvania) and what is particularly popular. 

These businesses are important in our economy, yes, but also in our culture. They know us. They connect with us in ways that larger brands cannot achieve.

Fundera, a company aimed at helping small businesses on the financial end, is campaigning this year to bring out even more customers. This is certainly a movement that hits close to home and one that I can get behind. I pledge to continue to support local business and shop small on November 26. Will you?

<3 Ashley

So what do you say? Shop small with me this weekend? What local businesses do you love?

Thanksgiving Prep

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Get ready, folks. Thanksgiving is upon us and it is time to check that grocery list and check it twice to ensure that you have everything you need—no one wants to spend the last minute in the grocery store. We are hosting the meal this year and I am taking charge of the turkey, stuffing, and the best pumpkin pie (ever). I am the kind of person who likes to have her ducks all in a row ahead of time so as to lessen the chance of something going wrong. I mean something can always go wrong...I just like to make it less likely. :)

Here are a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and hosting tips to help take some of the stress off of you on Turkey Day:

• The Best Way to A Roast Bird: There's a lot of debate about turkey prep and I know I won't be following this to a T. However, there are a lot of great tips in this post and the author wrote with such confidence that I can't help but put a lot of trust in it.
• Hosting Checklist: The Food Network has provided a handy little graphic detailing how far ahead you should start your meal prep—from defrosting the turkey to cheating and making side dishes a day in advanced.
• Cranberry Sauced-Up: I know a lot of people aren't the biggest fans of cranberry sauce. I don't understand these people, but I acknowledge they exist. Perhaps in lieu of the sauce, go a different route and serve up some pre-dinner cranberry cocktails, like these Cranberry Moscow Mules! Or if you want to be friendly to all ages, try this slow cooker cranberry apple cider.
• Additionally, after watching a few episodes of Rachel Ray leading up to the holiday, I understand that she suggests going into the kitchen armed with a glass of wine. Depending on what your Thanksgiving Day schedule is this may be of some use to you. We are eating early and I'm not sure how much grandma will approve of me uncorking a bottle at 10 a.m.

I hope that you find success in your holiday hosting duties. Be sure to reward yourself for the good work by hitting up the stores for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Maybe even take part in Cyber Monday? 

<3 Ashley

What are your best Thanksgiving tips and recipes?

Post-Christmas

 

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We made it. Another holiday is done and now it is time to wind down 2015 and prepare to kick off 2016. More on the New Year later this week - for now, we need to fight our ways through the remaining food coma effects and put Christmas away for another year. Taking down the Christmas decorations is always the hardest. This is the most wonderful time of the year after all...why would we want to put it away so quickly?

The days following Christmas are for finding places for your gifts, getting rid of leftovers, and slowly taking down decorations. Of course, if my mother had her way I think all of our decorations would have been down two days ago! We were sent home with many cookies and candy from family and I am pretty sure that I am the only one in the fight to consume it all before the New Year because, you know...fresh start.

Note: I started writing this post like a million hours ago and got distracted by the Military Bowl featuring my Pitt Panthers. Spoiler alert - we are losing and I am an emotional wreck. NBD.

<3 Ashley

Are you in the process of de-Christmasing? 

Kick Up Your Heels

Loafer heel | Bow Flat | Bow Pumps | Bow Kitten Heel | Striped Heel

When it comes to holiday parties, while the dress is certainly important, I personally spend too much time fixating on what dancing shoes I will be sporting. Above are just a few styles that I love this time of year - featuring plenty of bows, the boldest of reds, and the classic black and gold. I have a pair of black, bowed kitten heels from White House | Black Market that I will be hitting the town with.

<3 Ashley

What shoes do you sport for holiday parties?

Recipe Box: Gingerbread Cookies

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As Christmas draws near, I find myself facing the panic of searching for gifts for my friends. Considering our very meager college bank accounts, I am of the opinion that none of us should feel compelled to buy gifts. A dinner together is what I am content with. However, each year we get the message in our group text, "We need to hang out. I have your Christmas gifts" and I go into cardiac arrest. You can't receive and not give a gift for Christmas! So in recent years, I have resolved to combat this by baking a bag of cookies for each of my friends. Last year was sugar cookies with homemade icing. This year, I have been in the mood to bake some delicious gingerbread cookies.

Turning to Pinterest, I've discovered the recipe from The Parsimonious Princess. The recipe is simple and contains just a few ingredients compared to some of the other recipes I considered. I am not baking until Tuesday, but I wanted to share with you now in the case that you too are searching high and low for a Christmas cookie recipe!

What you need:
- 1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 c. brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 c. molasses
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 5 c. all-purpose flour

What to do:
- Combine butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Incorporate eggs on at a time.
- Add molasses and mix
- Combine baking soda, spices, and flour in a separate bowl. Add the wet mixture. Mix until smooth
- Let the dough chill for a couple of hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness
- Cut into desired shapes and place on lined or greased cookie sheet
- Bake 10-12 minutes
- Cool. Decorate. Enjoy.

<3 Ashley

What is your go-to Christmas cookie?

The Busiest (And Most Wonderful) Time of the Year

Hello, remember me? It's been a few days yes? That silence is over now that...I AM DONE WITH FINALS! That's right; it's all celebrating and relaxing for a few weeks. That is at least after tomorrow's job/internship interview (it could go either way!) I am heading back home Thursday morning for just a couple of weeks to spend the holidays with my family and friends.

 

While this month has been busy between preparing for finals, getting things organized for the new campus late night show, and minor panics at becoming an adult; it is also a beautiful month of celebration and joy. Here, we managed to take a few steps back from the productivity to enjoy the holiday in the 'Burgh just for a little bit. One of my roommates and I went Saturday night to Phipps Conservatory to walk through all of the beautiful flowers, trees, and Christmas lights. This year, we witnessed for the first time a very long line going into Phipps - never have I seen a line! We followed the trip with Thai takeout, because nothing is complete without glass noodles with chicken and veggies...right?

Last night was also a big night, because Pitt Tonight finally premiered. Since September, I have been working as one of the heads of marketing for a student run monthly, late night broadcast. After a few stressful months dealing with social media, promotions, and other tasks we could finally take a breath and let everything we have worked for unfold. It went fabulously! The link for the episode will be live tomorrow night and I cannot wait to share it!

<3 Ashley

Are you taking in the holiday festivities?

Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

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Is anyone else of the opinion that stocking stuffers sometimes make the best gifts? Even after opening the big gift boxes under the tree, there is always the excitement of finding a surprise in that little sock hanging from the fireplace or bookshelf. For all those gifts that are a little small to warrant extravagant wrapping, deliver them together--like nice happy holidays care-package. I've taken the liberty of searching the internet for a few ideas if you are stumped about what to put in your loved one's stocking.

Her:

Notebook | Gloves | Candle | iPhone case | Rollerballs

One big thing that I especially love in a stocking is make-up! Small, travel-sized items like fragrance rollerballs, mascara, or lipstick are welcomed gifts! Also, if the woman you are shopping for is anything like myself, candy is not a bad stocking stuffer either. ;)

Him:

Watch | Scarf | Cologne | iPhone case | Book

While men remain a mystery to me, I think that these gifts are a good jumping off point when it comes to ideas. I laughed out loud when I stumbled across the Pocket Ref book--it holds answers to all! 

<3 Ashley

Do you have any go-to stocking stuffers? 

Recipe Box: Peppermint Crunch Dark Chocolate Cookies

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This past Saturday my roommates and I spent some time at our friend's house baking with her mother (spoiler alert: that friend is studying abroad currently! Haha!) Last year, her mother came to our apartment and we knocked out 11 types of cookies in 6 hours. This year we did not boast the same stats, but only because we were under an actual time constraint. But we did manage a solid 8 cookies between 10 AM and 2:30 PM! One of them, I will share with you today. The peppermint crunch dark chocolate cookies are everybody's current favorite I believe. What's not to love? Dark chocolate + peppermint = holiday happiness.

What you need:
- 1 box dark chocolate cake mix
- 1 bag peppermint baking chips (note: we bought Hershey's peppermint candy bars and just broke them up)
-  1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil
- 2 eggs

What to do:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Combine mix, oil and eggs in a bowl
- Stir in peppermint chips
- Chill in the refrigerator for one hour
- Roll into balls and drop onto ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet
- Bake 7-9 minutes
- Enjoy!

<3 Ashley

What are your favorite kinds of Christmas cookies?

Life of the (Holiday) Party

NY&Co Lace Flare Dress | Francesca's Shift Dress | Kate Spade A-Line Dress | White House Black Market High-Low Dress

I love this time of the year because it is one holiday after another. We move from Thanksgiving to Christmas to the New Year in a pretty short time. During this month of celebration we fill special evenings with family dinners and gatherings, nights out with friends before going home for the holidays, and holiday parties. For that reason, one must enter the season armed with fun, festive, and versatile holiday ensembles. I've scoured the internet and compiled some of my favorite holiday looks for you here! 

<3 Ashley

Is you schedule lined with holiday parties? Do you have a go-to dress or outfit?

Oh December!

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There is one thing that I have been waiting for this semester, and it is the beginning of the end. Once December starts, the work starts winding down and we start giving presentations and submitting final papers. Yesterday I gave my first presentation, there is one tomorrow, and Monday is my last. Sunday I night I will submitting a final paper and next week will submit my last...and I'm done. Hallelujah!!

While for college students it marks this wind down, December is also the heart of the holiday season! Hanukkah begins this Sunday for many to celebrate and Christmas is just around the corner. This month, I will try my very best to be your friendly neighborhood blogger and help your shopping with a few gift guides to help you find the perfect surprise for the people in your life. Also know that this month the cookie recipe game will be strong. I will also be sharing my favorite winter fashions. I hope your are all as excited as I am to jump right into all that this month has to offer!

<3 Ashley

Black Friday

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I hope that everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving day with family, food, and football. My family abandoned the football games on TV--not everyone was satisfied with the outcome--and started our own family football match. I do admit that I was not the MVP for my team, but I did have fun! After everyone left, I spent my evening getting focused for Black Friday shopping with one of my longest friends. We stepped out at midnight to take advantage of lower prices as Target, where I picked up some pillows and towels for my apartment...because apparently I am an adult now. We were then promptly disappointed to find out that the mall closed at midnight and would not be opening until 6 AM. So I'm going to break that down for you: they were open on Thanksgiving but closed once Black Friday started...this makes sense how? We then had to re-establish our attack plan for the night and agreed to take our shopping trip a little further from home to the outlets at Hershey.


While the outlets did not feature our intended stores (New York & Company and Forever 21) we did have successful visits to Rue21, Yankee Candle, and Bath & Body Works. I'm not usually a Rue21 shopper, but with puffer vests at $10 and a handful of tops priced between $3-$7 I could not resist. I walked away from the evening with everything I had on my list and even a bit more. I also took advantage of the time and spent some time eye some of the higher priced stores and their deals. They may have still been out of my budget but J. Crew and Ralph Lauren also had some great sales with the stores going 50-75% off.

Before this Black Friday ends, I did log on to NY&Co's website and get what I wanted to last night--pants. As someone whose pants size is always changing it seems, I am currently in the market for a new pair. The entire site (and store!) is up to 75% off today with the chance for an additional 10% off on select items. Also free shipping on all orders! I'm now waiting on this pair of leggings and this pair of pants. These will be great for the extensive job search I will be embarking on in the coming semester in preparation for graduation.

Also another great sale that I wish I had the budget for is the one over at Kate Spade. 75% off there too...unfortunately I still can't afford most of it. :( I hope that you all have had a fruitful Black Friday and were able take advantage of some of these great sales.

<3 Ashley

What does your Black Friday haul look like?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

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Just wanted to stop by before I start my day to say happy St. Patrick's Day! This is a holiday I hold near and dear to my heart from my days attending St. Patrick's school (flashback to elementary/middle school). I hope you enjoy you day wearing green, eating green minty things and grabbing a Guinness to accompany your kicking off of March Madness--if you do such things.

<3 Ashley

How do you celebrate St Patrick's Day?

A Few of My Favorite Things: Christmas

Things We Love Kate Spade // Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson // Oscar de la Renta pajama set // Xhilaration Boots // Adele '21' vinyl // Amy Winehouse 'Back to Black' vinyl

Hello everyone! I decided that with the holiday I would take a long weekend away from the blog to relax and spend some time with the family. I hope that your Christmas was amazing and that you enjoyed dining with family and received the holiday haul that you were expecting under the tree! I know that Christmas is about way more than the gifts, but you can't blame a girl for being excited about what she has received! Santa certainly paid attention to what was on my wishlist this year. Above are some of the items that I found under the tree on Christmas. Not pictured is probably my favorite gifts being a quarter-zip Pitt sweatshirt (admittedly I need more gear because I don't have school spirit!) a Marilyn Monroe gold replica stamp and the vintage Gucci handbag that my mother and I spotted on our outings to the local antique store. Can a girl ask for a better holiday? I should think not!

This year was also the year of the scarf; I received two from my aunt and uncle. Also my grandmother took the time to knit scarves and winter hats for the whole family--the woman's dedication surpasses mine by miles! 

I hope that you were just as thrilled with Christmas as I was and are enjoying the last few days of 2014. Get to thinking about those resolutions!

<3 Ashley

What is your favorite gift from this Christmas?

Baked with Love

Tis the season for baking! If there is one thing that I must have every single year without fail is fresh baked Christmas cookies. Every year, my grandmother makes everyone their own bag of her pumpkin and chocolate chip cookies, which are amazing! Before we went on winter break, my roommates and I went on a little cookie baking spree of our own. My one roommate's mother came over with bins full of ingredients and in 6.5 hours we produced 11 different types of cookies. Now that's commitment! My favorite cookie that we made were the raspberry almond shortbread thumbprints. I loved them so much that I just had to share the recipe with you so that you can get in on the cookie goodness yourself!

Ingredients
Cookie:
- 1 c. butter, softened
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 c. raspberry jam

Glaze:
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp water
- 1 1/2 almond extract

What to Do:

Combine softened butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb (edges may crack slightly). Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon jam.

Bake 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in bowl with whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

<3 Ashley

What are your favorite kinds of Christmas cookies?

Christmas Movies

I am not talking about classics like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Christmas Story. These movies are by no means popular. I am talking about: home movies. Our Christmas videos (the last great recordings of the '90s) are something that I like to revisit every once in awhile; I am a sucker for family memories. However, seeing myself in these videos is semi-embarrassing at times and I can understand better why my family enjoys laughing at me. I was an...interesting child.

I think in the earliest Christmas video I received an animatronic cow that walked and mooed. Cute gift, right? To a normal kid maybe; it was not so cute in my young opinion. In the video, when they turn the cow on, little me is visibly terrified of the the thing. I go from smiling and happy to hilariously wide-eyed in terror and running to someone on the other side of the room. That cow was most certainly going to hurt me! Haha!

<3 Ashley

What hilarious Christmas memories do you have? Do you like looking back to home movies once in awhile?

The List

What list? My Netflix list. There is a lot that has been added to my Netflix queue and now that I am done with the fall semester (going home today!) I have a little bit of time to park myself on the couch and binge the break away. I would love to finish up the third season of New Girl, I have to catch up on Arrow and I have found a new way of wasting my time in the form of Mad Men--I blazed through the first season WHILE writing a final paper.

Of course, I will be breaking up the marathoning with reading (for fun!) and hanging out with family and friends. I have to be somewhat productive and active, right? I am so excited to be able to take a break from the work and be in full time relaxation mode...for 3 weeks at least! I have a few blog posts planned and January is shaping out too--see...productive! Can't wait wrap up the year on here!

<3 Ashley

Are you getting ready to break for the holidays?

Turn Up the Tunes

To be honest, I have been listening to Christmas music since like a week before Thanksgiving. Usually I stick hard and fast to the "no merry cheer until after turkey day" but for some reason something inside of me was ready to wrap gifts and trim the tree way earlier this year. Since we have gotten back to school my roommates and I have been cranking out the Christmas jams to make getting through this last week of classes and preparing for finals a little more bearable. I love to compare music with others so I thought I would share a few of my favorite holiday songs with you!

1. "Merry X-mas (War Is Over)" John Lennon--thought I must say I am loving Sleeping At Last's version of the song!

2. "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" NSync--What could be better during the holidays than this fun and upbeat tune from hands down the best band of my childhood?

3. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" Dean Martin--This is my favorite until our annual holiday trip to Phipps Conservatory when two of my roommates sing the entire song on the walk there and back.

4. "Silver Bells" Bing Crosby--This list is in no particular order but I definitely think this one is by far my favorite.

5. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" Paul Cardall--I love when this instrumental comes on my Pandora station. It is a gorgeous tune!

<3 Ashley

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? How early do you start listening to holiday music?