friends are the best...

This weekend was legitimately one of the best in my life. but first, some background... Currently, I am on the committee for an event called "Woo Fest" at CBU. This is such an exciting privilege to be a part of this process, but it is also kinda... well... taxing! ANYWAYS, lets just say that I needed a relaxing weekend before the intense craziness of this week started.

My staff from last year had been planning on visiting one of our bosses, Jana, who lives in Santa Monica and works as a Resident Director there. So... the weekend started off wonderfully with a relaxing drive (minus a bit of traffic) to Santa Monica with two of my dearest friends in the world sarah and bradyn. this car ride was a blessing in itself because of the encouraging conversations and the laughs! these girls just bring so much joy to my life. we get to santa monica and just had a wonderful night that was full of wedding talk (seeing that Jana and Kristin just got engaged in December). little did any of them know that I was holding in a secret. a HUGE secret. I was about to burst.

...luckily I was able to keep it together to enjoy a wonderfully relaxing day with Sarah and Bradyn at the beach and the Santa Monica pier. we were able to catch up, talk about life, and encourage each other in our struggles and our weaknesses.... after all, the pier was about a 2 mile walk from where we parked. we enjoyed each other's company, a ferris wheel ride, and bubba gump's shrimp all day until finally it was time to go "home".

as we approached the exit to the freeway, I nervously, but unsuspectedly asked Bradyn and Sarah to blindfold themselves. I took them to the orange groves in Citrus park, where my wonderful friends Kris and Sarah GOT ENGAGED!!!!! WHEW! i've been keeping this in since November.

Kris and Sarah are the funnest, most amazing couple I know, and they deserve the best engagement, wedding, and marriage. They are seriously such a wonderful blessing in my life and I honestly don't know where I would be without them.

FRIENDS ARE THE BEST!

this post is devoted to my wonderful, beautiful, inspiring mother. She is the most amazing example of a Proverbs 31 woman I know. I decided to write this post because I have been thinking a lot about how incredible she is and what an amazing blessing she is as a mom. so here it goes...

basically the gist is that I love my incredible mother.

I hope you have a great day.

stay joyful.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Hey all!
So, my sister Jessica discovered this great deal on Shutterfly Christmas Cards. These cards are cute, modern, and suitable for every kind of Christmas card. They could be for a family of 8, or for a newly married couple. Shutterfly gives you a great opportunity to keep your memories with you always with their calendars , photo books, and thank you cards to make your life easier, and keep the memories alive. Also, they have tons of different styles of Christmas cards, so you have pretty much unlimited options for your Christmas cards!

It's the middle of the Christmas season and, believe me, I know all about not having any money to pay for all of the presents, let alone Christmas cards for dozens of people. This promotion makes your life easier and also cheaper! I think its too good of a deal to pass up. I am actually doing this as a Christmas present for my mom so that it saves her money on Christmas cards and saves me money on buying something else for her! Everything seems to work out very nicely for this deal. So, if I were you, I would jump on this deal.

stay joyful during this crazy holiday season!

~Ashley

...fall joys

ok, i know that i am a little slow on the uptake... bloggers everywhere started posting about fall three weeks ago. but i'm not one to roll with the crowds, so here goes!

i am not the biggest fan of Halloween-- not only the message behind it, but REALLY,  orange and black? anyways, here are some cute and inspiring designs that i hope will make halloween decor a bit more appealing to you!

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shabby-chic halloween decor. who knew!?

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cute fabric makes everything better!

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pumpkin garland--made from paper towel tubes!

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just imagine these cute little guys all over your house!

ok, ok i kinda transitioned from halloween decor to fall decor, but just embrace the season (however you choose to celebrate and decorate!) 

stay joyful!

time flies by!

now i know that college students are supposed to be busy with work and school and friends and such, but there are just some days when i want to sit in my apartment, watching "you've got mail" working on crafts. TODAY is one of those days! but where has the day gone? in the business and the mundane-ness of life, i love to find joy in the small things!

..so i gather my inspiration today from the beautiful art of crocheting.
                               (all of these images were taken from Ravelry)

simple, but elegant

bohemian chic

who can resist this crocheted OWL?

i am becoming a HUGE fan of cowls!

 retro trendy

i know you don't really need them in So Cal, but, i mean, why not!

these pictures, and the mere thought of crocheting them, bring joy to my heart! so, i urge you: crochet something pretty!

stay joyful!

blustery

it is a cloudy, warm, blustery day today here in riverside--not that i mind since it has been over 100 degrees the past few days. it started raining ! not heavy rain, but rain nonetheless. it makes me wanna do this:



...which is exactly what i did! not for long because i had to skeedattle off to work, but it was wonderful!



coming soon...

boring backpack refashion!

day of disciplines.

this conference was mind altering. beyond what i could have even imagined!

the main topics: prayer & meditation.

speaker, Don Whitney, brought the idea of praying into a new light for me. he introduced an in-depth concept called praying through scripture. i had heard this term before, but i never really understood it--much less put it into practice in my own devotions. using this concept, you can literally pray for hours on end. i felt like Dr. Whitney had me pegged when he said that most Christians spend little time in prayer every day, and the time that they are praying, they pray for the same things, which make it boring. he explained that it is normal to feel that way, but that there is a simple change that needs to happen--PRAYING THROUGH GOD'S OWN INSPIRED WORDS AND HAVING A ACTUAL CONVERSATION WITH HIM. what a concept!

he also taught about meditation and the study of the word of God in depth. these practices are age old--Jesus Himself did them. SO WHY DON'T WE?! Dr. Whitney's whole talk revolutionized my whole devotional practice and changed my whole perspective. i looked forward to devotions before this conference, but now i have this unquenchable hunger to read His word for hours. and isn't that how it should be!
be encouraged and...

stay joyful.