Getting (Spring) Colorful

Those cherry blossoms though! via

Spring seems to be (fingers crossed, knocking on all of the wood within reach) finally in full bloom. Walking out in the sun during lunch has me dreaming about skirts, dresses, and sandals. There are so many aspects of spring that inspire my love for the season: Easter, blooming flowers, and my new appreciation for the cherry blossoms that outline the Tidal Basin in D.C.

My vision of spring is marked by specific colors as well. If you wandered into my brain right now you would encounter a changing sea of lavender, mint, and soft pink. I wanted to put together an inspiration board with a few of my favorite pieces in my favorite spring palette right now, and even throw in some ideas for the guys—do you know how hard it is to incorporate these colors into men's looks and avoid suffering from traumatic flashbacks frat guys in the spring? But I think I officially lost control of that when I wandered onto the Sperry site. ;)

But let's get back to the present. Spring is upon us and it's time to put our closets to the test and add some of the season's newest trends. In my time searching the Internet when I should have been working (oops!) I made the happy discovery that the '80s have returned. Of course, doesn't always feel like the '70s and '80s are coming back? I guess that speaks well on the behalf of those decades. This is me defending the easy reach using a polo shirt in my men's look. :P Rayban-style sunglasses also felt incredibly appropriate in achieving an '80s-inspired look. When it came to a women's look, the decade trend comes through via aviator sunglasses (a la Top Gun) and an off-the-shoulder top. An argument can be made for the skinny jeans as well being a call back to the big hair days. Here is the result of taking this trend and injecting it with my favorite spring color palette—forgive the varying shades, a consistent pink is apparently very difficult to get one's hands around!

Womens: Boat Neck Vertical Striped Blue Top | Pale Pink Skinny Jeans | Cut Out Lace Up Block Heel Sandals | Aviators

Mens: Classic Pique Polo | Washed Chinos | Sperry | Canby Sunglasses

I'm no menswear specialist; I feel like not being a man works against me on that. :) But I know what looks I like to see on them. When putting these looks together, I liked scrolling through the web store, Bonobos. I particularly like their shorts; not to baggy and long, and also not terrifyingly short! In the words of my girl, Goldilocks, "They're just right."

- Ashley

What does your spring palette look like? 

May Flowers

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I am thrilled that the warm weather seems to be consistently in place for the next few months. These past few days have provided me with some warm and sweaty morning runs (these are the kind I like.) And with the beautiful weather has come the beautiful blooms—the wildflowers that dot the side of the road on my runs and those leading up to the front doors of my neighbors. Even our flowers have started popping out. I would share a photo, but unfortunately we have bunnies living under our front porch. RIP flowers.

While the flowers outside are gorgeous, I love bringing the blooms inside to decorate and bring spring into the home. Here are a few of my favorite pieces of floral inspiration per my Pinterest page:

 

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<3 Ashley

 What kind of florals do you like to display?

When Will Spring Be Sprung?

I don't know what the weather situation has been like for everyone else, but I'm having hopeful flashbacks to just a few weeks ago when every day was sunny and in the 70 degree neighborhood. This was in Pittsburgh...it was magical. I'm back home now and the temps are still in the respectable 60-70 range but the sun has only made some very rare appearances. It's the middle of May. Where is the spring that I know and love?

My runs in the morning are still a bit chillier than I like. My skin is still a bit paler than it usually is this time of year—hey...if the sun is out, so am I!

I need the warmth, the sun, the bare legs to be here stat. For now, I'm inside avoiding completely unpacking all of my stuff from school and forced to commit most of my time to the job hunt. Dear employers, hire me and give me monies and responsibilities!

<3 Ashley

Are you enjoying fun in the sun yet?

Is That You, Spring?

So this weekend Mother Nature sent Pittsburgh for quite a loop: warm weather. That's right. February isn't even over yet and we got our first taste of spring. Saturday clocked in at a cool 64 degrees and I resolved to leave the house ASAP. I took all of my work (which if we are being honest is still not done) and took the long, sunny walk to a coffee shop for a bit.

The next treat was catching up with one of my friends who indicated an interest in dining al fresco that day. It was a mutual interest. Luckily, the college neighborhood of Oakland is not totally devoid of nice dining choices. We decided to walk over to The Porch and snag a high top outside where we split one of their delicious brick oven pizzas and sipped on white sangria. Just so everyone is aware: if you are in the area any time soon (the menu changes seasonally) and are hungry, the butternut squash pizza is to die for. I did not expect it to be as delicious as it was.

Even Sunday wasn't horrible with temps in the 50s. It was sunny enough that I was convinced to go for a run before gearing up for an evening filming Pitt Tonight. Episode III coming soon!

<3 Ashley

P.S. Today is National Margarita Day. Celebrate responsibly! 

Did you get some warm weather as well? How did you take advantage of it?

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?

Flat isn't always bad

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After months of wearing riding boots my feet (and legs!) are itching for a bit of freedom. Since spring has officially begun, tis the season for flats and sandals. There are only certain sandals that I can actually say that I like. Maybe I will do another post on them specifically--I prefer flip flops if I am going to bare the toes. For the spring, I live for flats. I currently have a pair of black Merona ballet flats from Target that are practically glued to my feet at this point. There are so many other styles and colors out there, though. I always tend toward the safe, black flat. I feel I need to go for the safe and the cheap, however because I am a completely klutz and it is not long before the bottom of the shoe begins to split from the rest...apparently I never really learned how to walk. Above are some of my favorites!

<3 Ashley

What is your favorite flat?

An Open Window Policy

Nearly 60 degrees with rain showers. After months of bitter cold and snow fall nothing seems any better. That's the situation today and you better believe that my window is open. There is a light breeze and the distant sound of raindrops hitting surfaces outside and I have all of my paper writing necessities spread around me.

I have been up since 3:30 this morning (for reasons quite unknown) and after an attempt was made to get through my 9:30 class this morning I made the decision to just not continue with classes today. Luckily, in both of the other classes there was either presentations or review of readings that we have already discussed--I picked the right night to be restless! While I probably should try to nap and rest up, I have decided to use this time to my advantage and get things done. I have so much coming up in the next few weeks that any extra bit of time helps! Let's just hope it manages to get even warmer and the sun makes an appearance so I can move my paper writing outdoors!

<3 Ashley

Is spring beginning to show its face where you are?

Welcome Spring

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That title should be sincere, right? I thought it was going to be sincere too when I woke up this morning to temps in the 40s and some rain. Then in the middle of breakfast things changed. Rain became...SNOW! It is beginning to taper off now, but that is not the point. Winter needs to take a hint and scram. Beautiful sunshine, singing birds and blooming flowers are on the way!

I am so excited for what spring has to bring. Easter (which I will be happy to spend with my roommate's family), the end of a tough semester, warmer weather, more sunshine and more walks in the park are right at the top of the list. Also, getting some more color and doing away with the pale, itchy winter skin will be on the to-do list as well.

In more immediate business: don't forget to pick up your free Rita's Italian ice today!!

<3 Ashley

Are you excited to step into spring? What do you enjoy most about the season?

Spring Things

Yes. That's right. Since I am (as I have made perfectly clear before) absolutely done with this winter and these temps are giving me the sweetest taste of spring, I am officially and probably prematurely breaking out the spring love on the blog. I'm not the first one to do it this year and I am by no means the last. With weather hovering dangerously, wonderfully close to 60 degrees today I see no problem with showing you some of my favorite spring things.

Running Outside | I am beyond thrilled to get back to running in the out of doors. I hate hate HATE treadmills with a passion. I'm not going anywhere on them and I just cannot run for more than five minutes on them. I just cannot do it. This week over break while the temps are getting warmer I have gone on my morning runs in cool but not freezing weather and the excitement is building for spring/summer mornings.

Skirts and Dress | Read: Skirts and dresses without tights underneath. That's right...showing some leg and actually showing some leg. If you follow me on Pinterest you probably noticed a huge rise in pins the picture mid-length and maxi skirts. The inspiration for bright, colorful and pretty dressing is coming back, folks!

Fun, Floral Prints | Along with the bright colors, the bold prints are coming back! Back on Black Friday I purchased a pair of bright heels with a floral print on them (kind of like the ones pictured above). Unfortunately, those sweet shoes have been sitting in my closet just waiting to see sunlight.

Flowers in general | I just want to see some color again. I have been looking at a white ground and gray sky for about a month now and feeling the cold bite my fingers. It is about time to see some colors peeking out of the ground and blooms on the interior as well!

One Step Closer to Summer | What excites me the most is the end of the semester and the beginning of summer. While I will have an internship/job to keep me busy most days, I do anticipate spending some days with friends outside and at the pool. Who says a day trip to the beach would be out of the question either!

<3 Ashley

Are you ready for spring? What are your favorite things about the season?