Week Links

 

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If you have been on social media in the past few days you probably read about the Ta-Ta Towel. While I appreciate its mission...not quite sure how I feel about it.

McDonalds has a lobster roll? Has anyone had this? Please provide thoughts if so.

The Apple iOS11 update will include a screen recording function. I feel like this is one that will get people into some trouble.

Have a great weekend!

-Ashley

The Weekend The Sun Shone

The South Central Steam at Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. was too good

We are just entering the last stretch of February, and this weekend Mother Nature gave us a small preview of what spring holds for us. Seriously, ya'll...it was in the 60s ALL WEEKEND! I don't think I've ever spent so much time outside consistently.

Saturday saw me consuming some very yummy fish tacos—does anyone else eat just a little bit lighter when it's warm out?—before taking a warm jaunt through probably the largest park in the area. Lesson learned: when you're walking an extended period in 65 degree weather, shorts are acceptable; I was burning up a bit in my leggings! Sunday was even more full of exploration in Downtown Carlisle. This time around, instead of passing by the Molly Pitcher Brewing Co. (as I usually do!) we stepped inside for a glass and were pleasantly surprised by how nice the setup was. Next time, I will be sure to also order a plate of, I'm thinking, the pulled pork nachos? Yeah that sounds good!

Looking ahead, this week doesn't look so bad either. Don't get me wrong: I do love this weather since it motivates me to get out more and be active. However, it's not even the end of February. Does this seem ominous to anyone else? Does this mean we are going to get destroyed by snow and cold temps in March?

I guess time will tell!

<3 Ashley

How did you spend this gorgeous weekend?

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?

Photo Diary: Embracing the Fall

Delicious Pumpkin Spice Sugar donut!

I'm writing to you from the couch in my living room today...notice how I am not frantically getting ready for class. It's Fall Break (aka...a three day weekend!) Instead I am lounging in our actually kind cold house, wrapped in a fleece, sipping on coffee, and enjoying a plate of pumpkin pancakes--recipe coming later this week!

This past weekend has been a blessed on, which I spent with friends and family. On Saturday, one of my friends and I took a half hour drive to Wexford, PA to spend the day at Soergel's Orchard. Let me tell you it was the BEST day to be there. Perfect weather + Amish donuts + all of the apples, pumpkin and cider a girl could dream for = a very contented Ashley. I got to show off my very impressive apple and pumpkin picking skills and we even took some cute snaps throughout the day.

One thing that we were sure not to leave without was our own bottles of the orchard's apple wine--sampled that night...it was very crisp!

Sunday I spent the (very cold) day with my dad at the Steelers v. Cardinals game. Thank the Lord we won that game despite a very depressing start. I don't know how this city would be consoled otherwise. Haha!

With the weekend fun winding down, today will be spent doing all the work that I should have maybe started earlier. This will be done a lot easier now that I am in the early stages of a cold and refuse to leave this house! >.<

<3 Ashley

What did you do this weekend? Have you fully embraced the season?

Weekend: Homecoming

Friday night fireworks and laser show to kickoff a successful homecoming!

Gooooooood morning friends! All it takes is one solid weekend and I am ready to take on the week. This past weekend was homecoming week here at Pitt and this place was packed with families and alumni. Saturday this household was up bright and early and in the parking lot the football stadium by 9:00 with containers of breakfast in hand. Side note: if you are ever in Pittsburgh, brunch at Pamela's is the way to go; their breakfast potatoes are the bomb!

Super amped to finally be able to tailgate with all of my friends before the games.

The game itself was amazing! The stadium was packed, the student section was full and loud, and we won--take that, Virginia! After the game, one of my best friends from home arrived to spend the rest of the weekend with us. We spent a lovely night out touring the bar scene around the campus. Sunday morning we took a drive down to the Strip District for brunch at Deluca's, which claims the "best breakfast in the 'Burgh." After waiting in line for a whole hour to get seats, we could verify that claim--all of our dishes were delicious! I would like to go back and try their crepes sometime since I got an omelette this time.

We also celebrated a friend's birthday last night. Per Taylor Swift, he is definitely "feeling 22!" This weekend was definitely great, however, I now have to deal with the feeling that maybe there was school work that I should have been working on! Uh oh!

<3 Ashley

How was your weekend?

Weekend Links

A harvest moon, blood moon and lunar eclipse? And it will be super close to the Earth?!

Here are a few things on the internet lulling me into the weekend:

Small Space Home Office Solutions on The Everygirl
A Supermoon and Lunar Eclipse on AccuWeather (check out your viewing conditions for this rare occurrence!)
17 Music Facts That Will Make '00 Kids Feel Old AF on Buzzfeed
Ryan Adams '1989' Cover Album on Wired

It's a small list, but to be fair...my internet time has been limited this week due to multiple papers and assignments. Thanks, college.

<3 Ashley

What's been good on the Web this week? Also have a great weekend!

Weekend Inspiration

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Just a little weekend inspiration for you! As I head into finals week and getting down to business, I read this and remember...I'm still a fun person...no matter how I act this week.

<3 Ashley

Have a great weekend! Keep the wild in you!

TGIF

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I have never been so happy in my life to see the end of the week. My days have been filled with paper after paper and presentation after presentation. Is the semester almost over cuz really...I couldn't tell! *sarcasm* Just a little bit longer and my summer break will be upon me; of course I will hopefully will have an internship lined up so it won't be all rest and relaxation.

It is currently storming in Pittsburgh and I all I want to do is go back to my apartment, make some lunch, curl in bed and finish the third season of Mad Men on Netflix. However, one more paper stands in my way and I need to get it done so that I can watch the Pirates game tonight. Fingers crossed I get it done fast enough so I can start my weekend!

<3 Ashley

Any fun plans for the weekend? A lot of cleaning on this end!

Easter Sunday

Feeling beautiful in my Easter dress and floral heels!

Hello friends! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and for those who celebrate, Easter Sunday. Despite being away at school and not getting to go home for the holiday, I did have a wonderful day. My roommates and I got ourselves up for the 10 AM mass, which was standing room only. We stood. I made the good choice to not wear my heels to church! Then we spent the day with my one roommate's family since they live close by. We had a beautiful meal and was topped off by macarons, cookies, brownies and cake. If I didn't gain weight, I clearly didn't do it right. Now that all of that is out of the way, it's back to work for me. Next week is our last week of classes and the amount of work definitely reflects that. I have three papers and one presentation this week alone; so don't mind the silence from this corner of the Internet!

While they may be 4 hours away, my parents still know how to take care of me

<3 Ashley

How did you celebrate your Easter Sunday?

Weekend Reading

Pittsburgh is Most Livable City in U.S.--Well there you have it...out of all of the cities in the United States, Pittsburgh is the most livable! I made the right decision, yes? It's not in the top ten though. Kudos to Canada and Australia for being such livable countries!

De-Clutter Social Media--IFB recently posted about Just Unfollow which helps to de-clutter your social media in an organized way. I know I'm not the only one who once in awhile decides that there are too many people that I don't even interact with...so why follow them?

The Cutest Hug Ever (Of Course It's Cats!)--Last night my roommate share this video with me. Cute for two reason 1) Kitten having a nightmare. 2) Cat embrace!

Have a great weekend!

<3 Ashley

Sunday (on a Monday) Brunch: Finals Edition

The last brunch of the fall semester occurred yesterday and it was just as dreamy and wonderful as all of our other get togethers. The difference? We took the brunch abroad to a restaurant rather than making it in our apartment. The reason, of course, being that it is FINALS WEEK--which is also why this post is coming to you late. None of us can barely find the motivation to make a grilled cheese let alone a fancy shmancy brunch. We decided since we were going out to find available study locations we could still have brunch and just let someone else do the cooking!

We packed backpacks with textbooks, notebooks, lecture print outs and tech and elected The Porch right on campus as receiver of our money and giver of food. Boy did they give! I ordered the "Porch Scramble" and couldn't have made a better decision. There is chicken and mushroom in that egg pile up there. So much yum! They also came with some wonderfully spiced potatoes, a homemade English muffin and a side of their HOMEMADE ketchup which also had a bit of a spice to it. Michelle ended up getting their quiche which also looked absolutely to die for. On top of the delicious meal and the wonderful company and conversation we are convinced that Pitbull was dining a few tables away--not really but this guy looked WAY too much like him. 

Now if you will excuse me, I still have one more paper to blaze through. (Prayers are being accepted)

<3 Ashley

Do you have a favorite restaurant you like to brunch at?

Sunday Brunch: Crustless Veggie Quiche

Sunday brunch is coming to you late today because, well...brunch came to us a little late today. I actually went out for breakfast this morning with my family who was visiting this weekend, and Michelle had a friend from home here as well. This is was the weekend to have visitors too! It was Light Up Night here in Pittsburgh, the Penguins played some hockey (they did lose in the shoot-out unfortunately!) and our Pitt Panthers finally pulled out a win for our last home game against Syracuse. With the determination to make brunch happen still, we elected to have brunch for dinner. After the sweetness that was the stuffed French toast last weekend we opted for savory this time around with a crustless veggie quiche.

Ingredients:
- 3 egg white
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 c skim milk
- salt & pepper
- veggies of your choosing
- spinach
- mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese

Step by Step:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cook veggies (we used onion, garlic, mushroom, tomato) on the stove until tender
- In a medium bowl mix eggs, egg white, milk, salt and pepper
- Spray a pie plate and arrange veggie layer. Arrange spinach layer Sprinkle mozzarella cheese then pour egg mixture over top. Sprinkle top with parmesan.
-  Bake for 45 minutes.

As I look back on my blog content thus far, I see a lot of food. Is there anything else you guys would like to see me talk about? Not that food is a bad thing!

<3 Ashley

Are you a quiche fan? Did you have a good weekend?

Sunday Brunch: The Weekend We Had No Brunch

Unfortunately today did not work out for our group Sunday brunch. I will admit that it was my fault...I slept in way too late and at that point no one was too committed to making our stuffed french toast. Perhaps next week we will have more success! There are some fantastic things to talk about though:

Movin' on in: Well...not until August. The girls and I got our first off campus house! It is actually nice and homey too--unlike many of the dumpy places in South Oakland. We are meeting with the landlord tomorrow to sign the lease!

A+: Out of all of the stress and constant work that I have endured through this semester, it finally feels like it is paying off. We got our midterm papers back in History of Mass Media and guess who got a perfect score....THIS GIRL!

Let's hope that all of this is all continues into this week to make it a good one too!

<3 Ashley

What good has happened to you this week?