Quote of the Week

Friday Letters

I've been writing a lot of letters lately- Letters from London and Letters to my younger self (an idea I totally stole from my friend Molly, that you will see very soon).  So why not write some Friday Letters too!

Dear family pets, I am going to miss you Dodie (one of the horses I grew up with) and Nipper (my aunt and uncles dog).  You enriched our lives.  Rest in pet heaven!

Dear Real Housewives of New Jersey, If my future husband ever called me his "bitch wife" he would quickly find out what a bitch I could really be.

Dear Boyfriend, You have been really wonderful lately.  Thanks for being so great with my random emotion breakdowns and not making fun of me for crying through breakfast last weekend.  Thank you for believing in me when I was having a hard time believing in myself.  I love you- a whole lot.

Dear Family, thanks for being so supportive of me taking on this new adventure.  I don't tell you enough how much I love you.

Dear readers. I don't tell you guys how much I love you enough either.  Because I do.  Your comments, your support, your interest in my silly blog- it all means so much to me.

Dear Arizona, we have had our ups and downs over these last 26 years.  Thanks for the good times, thanks for building my character with the bad times.  Despite how much I have been wanting to get away from you, I will miss you more than I know how to describe.  Chances are very good that you are getting a post dedicated to my favorite Arizona spots.

Dear California,  I am so excited to see you everyday.  I am so excited for the many new adventures, people and places you have in store for me.  I'm excited... and also terrified.

Dear old job, We have just a few more days left together.  Thanks for teaching me a lot about nonprofit orgs, showing me what my strengths and challenges are and giving me some good friends.  Best of luck to whomever gets to take my place.

Dear Ashley (yes I am talking to myself), Don't be nervous, you got this! Figure out how to control the faucets that have recently replaced your tear ducts.  You will be back to visit- often.  Start packing! Your crap isn't going to get itself to CA!  Enjoy every moment and stop worrying so much.

Link up with Ashley at Adventures of Newlyweds!

It's My Party and I'll Give Stuff Away If I Want To

There is no crying at this party- No Way!  My birthday is quickly approaching and like any good party, my gift bag is going to be sweet!  I have already started compiling a few of my favorite things to send one lucky reader, but I need your help!

Alright blog readers, (and have I mentioned how awesome you all are lately- because you are.  Totally awesome! Is it too soon to say I love you?) this is your chance to get a little blog exposure, help me in celebrate my birthday and add to the gift bag!  I am going to be doing a rafflecopter giveaway, so anyone who wants to add an item to the giveaway will get included in the post, the rafflecopter options (Follow, twitter Facebook, etc.) AND for being a part of my birthday gift bag, I will give you a FREE month long sponsor spot! 

Sound like fun? You can give away anything you want, an ad space, something from your Etsy shop, one of your favorite things, one of mine... whatever!  Email me today so I can include you in my little gift bag swag celebration!!!! (Yes, I am so excited, I needed every one of those exclamation marks.)

ashley.ohwellsinsteadofwhatifs{at}gmail.com

Letters From London- Part Two: My digs and my job

This is a long one with hardly any pictures, but I thought it was a good read that tells a lot about the job I had in London!

Top of the morning to you!

Okay so actually it is nearly 8pm here.  So I started my internship yesterday.  It was very interesting to say the least. 

Let me first start with my first shower in the AT house.  It was the strangest experience I have ever had in a shower.  You go in and the light turns on because it is motion detecting.  Then there is one hook for you towel and that’s it.  The floor is disgusting and covered with hair and there is no temperature gauge.  You only have the option of pushing a button for the water to come out of the faucet.  However, once the button pops out the water turns off. It only takes about ten seconds for the button to pop out.  So, to get a constant stream it is best to keep your hand on the button or push it repeatedly.  The good thing is the water pressure is the same throughout.  It will take some getting used to, but on to my internship. 

A and I walked down to the tube and got on, however, as we did we were notified that the tube would not be stopping at the stop we needed to get out at.  So we got off at the next stop and had no idea where we were.  Luckily we left 45 mins early.  We pulled out a pocket map book that they gave us at check in and eventually figured out the way to go.  About a mile later we had made it to the tube stop we were suppose to go to that conveniently was closed our first day of work.  The pain I was feeling in my heels was excruciating, but I didn't want to walk into the office on the fist day limping.  Before we went in the doors we both checked to see how bad our heels were.  They were only bleeding a little on one side but I had a blister as big as a half dollar on my other heal that had popped along the way and was now only fresh skin and plasma. Ouch!

Finally at work, I was in for a more interesting day.  It is one of the most unorganized offices I have ever seen... and that includes my room.  However, it has a closet that I am incredibly envious of.    The closet has everything from Matalan products (which is like the UK's Target, and with decent quality goods) to Max Mara (which is a sister company to BCBG).  We have items worth about £2 retail up to £800.  And in the very back is a small room with a computer and filled to the roof (literally) with crap.   

We began the day learning how to do ship outs.  Ship outs are clothes that have been pulled for a magazine story.  These magazines include Elle, Vogue, Harpers Bizarre and many many many more..  We have to scan each item and create an itemized list, bag the items and address them to be picked up at various times throughout the day.)  Meanwhile, I met some of the people I would be working with.  J is from France.  She is very brash and emotional.  She hates her job and is only there to work on her English, which she has a ways to go.  She is hard to understand and gets frustrated when we don't understand her... but no one can. 

Our next big task was to organize the back room.  A and I took over and got the other girls to follow our directions.  Now it actually makes a little bit of sense.  By the end of the day I had gotten a work out from lifting so many boxes and I was exhausted.  However, the perk of the first day was getting things ready for donation to charity.  They asked us each if we wanted a purse and of course we took them.They were not worth the blisters.  The tube station was open on the way home, but by that time I had crushed my heels down over the backs of my shoes and wore them as slides for the rest of the way home. After lunch we learned how to do book in's (which is booking everything that has come back in, back into the system)  One of our bosses came back and told us that we had obviously mastered the back room so next week she would train us to make calls to the magazines and do some things up front. (unfortunately that never happened).  Then we stuffed some envelopes with look books for the fall and sent those out.  And finally at the end of the day they informed us that all of the boxes that we had packed for charity we could look through and take whatever we wanted.  And of course I did.  It was like going shopping with all the excitement of new clothes and none of the cost. 

I miss you all and I wish I could talk to you all on the telly.

Then at the end of the week, I had this to say.

So I have finished a week at my job and there have been some ups and downs.  First off, my boss (who was on vacation last week in Spain) is most comparable to Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.  Not to that extreme, but kind of.  She walks up to me and says things like, "Where's the dress", and seems completely shocked and appalled that I have no idea what dress she is talking about.  Then she replies with "you know the one I gave you the other day".  What other day?  What dress? What did it look like?  Why did you give it to me?  What should I do with this dress when I find it?  Was it a send out or a book in?  What brand was it? All these questions go through my mind as I painstakingly ask, " what did it look like?". 

Frustration comes over her face and she replies, "the black one".  Oh good, because that really helps when there is about a million black dresses in the closet.  So in an effort to not frustrate her anymore, I say "I'm not sure where it is, but I will look for it and let you know if I find it.”  I tell and she asks me if there was any further description and I say no.  We look for about thirty seconds and decide that hopefully she will either forget about it or provide us with a better description.  Fortunately, today it was the former.  Later in the day she pulls a pair of pants from a rack that we have not touched in the week we have been working and comes into the office somewhat rudely and says" I have told you girls a million times to not use hangers with stickers on them." A says " I know" and I say that it wasn't us.  And she looks confused, as if she didn't know who to blame and just walks away.  Then finally she asks me to arrange purses on a table.  Then she proceeds to repeat herself and re-describe the task saying, "you know place them on the table for people to see."  First off, I am neither stupid or deaf or unable to understand the language.  I guess because I asked questions about a vague description she felt like blatantly obvious and easy things must be explained in full detail. And L, the French girl is just annoying. I feel horrible for her even through my frustration. She can't understand anyone and no one can understand her.

(Side note:  There is a girl sitting next to us and she has dropped about 347 F-bombs in the 3 mins she has been talking to a friend on the phone.  She is using it to replace the word um.  I mean I know it is bad speech to use the word um, but I am not sure fuck is a better alternative.  A lot of people do that here.  Especially at the office they say it.  To each other, to the phone, to the newspaper... I think it is more common than the word 'the'.) 

The food at lunch time is really good.  There are a lot of options around where I work and they are mostly small cafes.  And the whole office shuts down for about 15 mins for tea and cake break.  Dinners are nothing too great thus far.  I am still loving it here in London.  For the first time, I have a daily schedule and I like it.  There is always something to see, even if it is just a run over rat in the middle of the road.  I have never seen a real live rat before...Not that I really wanted to and I guess it wasn't really alive.  But still, everyday has it's own interesting part to it and I love that.  I go to bed really early and I have finally been able to sleep on a regular schedule.  And to satisfy my hunger for celebrity gossip and such I get two free newspapers everyday as I walk onto the tube.  For the most part besides little things that remind me of people and things at home I am loving it here. 

Okay kids, the rest of my letters from London will be about places I went and things we did.  It was a packed 3 months so be prepared for picture overload!

Weekend Art, Collections and Sports

Over the next couple of weeks, while I get ready for the big move, my blog might be quieter than usual.  I am making a point to only work on it when I am home alone.  I only have about 10 more days to soak up as much time with my friends, family and boyfriend, before I head off on my own to California.  I am trying to visit all my AZ favorites and take some pictures.  Add that to purging the junk and packing up my life, I don't have a lot of spare time. 

But speaking of fun things, here is a little glimpse of my weekend!

I went to this really awesome place in Old Town Scottsdale called The Brush Bar.  What makes a place really awesome in my book? Wine.  Couple wine with a creative activity and girlfriends and you have a surefire recipe for awesome! 

If you live in AZ, I highly recommend checking this place out.  Got to thebrushbar.com and check out the calendar.  Chose a date with your favorite painting and make a reservation!  All the best painting sell out fast!  Then for $40 you get a glass of wine, all the supplies you'll need for the painting and full instruction.  Plus, August is their one year anniversary so you can do all this for just $35- totally worth it!

Ready to paint!  Note the aprons.  Lauren's was a bikini and mine said, "I like big brushes and I can not lie"

Before: a blank canvas and a full bottle of wine. (You can turn in two drink tickets for $5 off a whole bottle...we did.)
After: lots of paints mixed, empty wine bottle and a new addition to the kitchen!

I think they turned out pretty well considering the anxiety I was having staring at a blank canvas!  The Brush Bar also has an adorable store you can check out!

On Saturday I spent some time packing and look what I found!  When I was a kid I collected key chains from every place I ever went.  I still have over 100 individual memories captured by a unique key chain.  I don't know why I stopped, probably because it got really heavy!

Saturday night the boyfriend and (plus two of his friends) went to the AZ Rattlers game (Arena Football).  If you knew me, you'd know I was a seriously dedicated Rattlers fan in high school.  I still love how fast the game is and how the leader board can change in a matter of seconds.  It was a good time!

On Sunday, I went to see Step Up Revolution with my best friend Meggan.  Sadly I have no photo to share, but I can tell you I loved the movie.  We have seen all of the Step Up movies together and this one did not disappoint with insane dance scenes and a marginally better plot.  Lets be honest I watch for the dance not the acting.  If you love dance, check out the movie!

I hope you all had a great weekend too!  Talk to you soon!

Birthday Wishlist

Alright, some of you are going to think I am a very materialist girl after reading this, but the heart wants what the heart wants okay!  It's my birthday in a mere 17 days! So I put together a little wish list.  It's my party and I'll ask for what I want to! (Disclaimer: I don't actually expect to get a single thing on this list, but I wanted to look at pretty things, so I figured I would share a few things I am lusting over. What I actually plan/hope to get is much more practical, a new bed.)

Canon EOS Rebel T1i

I want it.  I want it real bad!  I have a digital waterproof camera, but it isn''t great for taking really good pictures and I want to get back into that hobby.

Now we enter what I'd like to call the Michael Kors portion of the wish list.  I mean, how can you not love MK? 

Hamilton Large Tote, Hamilton Satchel, Tristan Large Tote (either/any color)

It's not that I need a new purse, but I want a new bag.  I have showed a lot of restraint and not purchased a new purse in over a year!  I've been flirting with these ones for a while.

The Tortoise Jet Set Watch, Ritz Chronograph Light Horn

 I need a watch that actually fits my giant wrists.  These ones are so pretty.  I mean I am pretty sure I would be really happy with just about any MK watch.

Crystal Stud Earrings

 Aren't these just lovely?  My friend Lauren has them and every time she wears them I want to pluck them right out of her ears! 

I am behind on the whole Tom's bandwagon, but I want some!

What's on your wishlist?

It's Okay and Chik-fil-a

So, this started out like any of my usual It's okay posts, and then went of in a different direction.  I think you should know before you read this, I typically don't share my opinions on political things.  They are my opinions, I voice them with my vote.  I will get in the occasional debate, but I don't think my blog is a place to push any political agenda.  However, before you keep reading I think you should know a couple things. I consider myself a fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republican.  I also consider myself to be Christian, although my definition may be different than yours.  Okay, lets get to it. 

 

It's okay....

To be super excited about my new job and big move, but simultaneously super nervous and anxious.

To already have anxiety about packing even though I haven't even thought about where to begin.

To tear up at a Kelly Clarkson concert because the song was everything you needed to hear at that moment (I'm a total sap).

To want a whole new wardrobe for your new job, but show serious self restraint by meticulously planning the pair of pants (instead of every shade of the rainbow) you are going to get on a sweet buy one get one free deal and NY and Co.

To cry during the Olympics (see, I'm a sap).

To start every day with a Diet Pepsi (even though you have been "giving it up" for years).

To be really proud of yourself for being yourself, moving on and making positive changes.

To have an opinion on the whole Chik-fil-a thing even though I haven't eaten there since college, because I never really liked the chicken, just the waffle fries.

...and here is my opinion.  I think the whole thing is sad.  Here's the thing, it's all about the freedom of choice.  Christian or not. Gay marriage rights supporter or not. Chik-fil-a lover or not. Socialist or not.  We live in America, where we were given the right to free speech, where the government doesn't own and determine what companies we frequent, where we are suppose to have equal rights, where if you want waffle fries you have many choices.  I think sometimes if people just took a step back and looked at the whole situation, they would see what a circus it has become. 

We all have opinions.  We all have a right to those opinions.  So Dan Cathy doesn't support gay marriage.  That is his right.  His financial support of anti gay and lesbian groups, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, one that even those delicious waffle fries can't cover up.  So even if I was a Chik fan, I probably wouldn't go there anymore.  I don't want my money to be paid to a company that donates to to those groups. That is my choice. He allowed me that opinion by being honest about his beliefs.  However, I don't think a city or state has the right to ban Chik-fil-a.  Won't it probably go out of business anyway if people CHOOSE not to go there?

More than that, I think it so sad that people use this particular situation as a way to preach hate.  Having an opinion of totally fine, but you shouldn't have to put down other people for theirs.  I will never understand why the world or at least Americans can't accept that everyone is different and that is what makes life great.  After all, haven't people always come here to escape persecution and make a better life?

My belief system is based on a couple basic principles.
1. I believe in a God that loves all of his children.  Straight, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Black, White... whatever.
2. I believe that the bible tells us to love each other, not judge each other and be who we are even in the face of adversity.  Not to be corny, but seriously kids WWJD? 
3. I believe, as Americans, we all should have equal rights.  The right to marry whoever we want. The right to open food chains where we want.  The right to speak our opinions.  The right to spend our dollar in any way we like.

 I believe all this talk of waffle fries is making me hungry! 

 As a lover of getting to know and understand people, I want to know what you think!  Please share below!