Decorating

Can't wait to decorate my own place! I want it to be bright and chic with splashes of color.

I really like this room.

Photo by opendoorstudio

And of course a bookshelf.

Thrift Store Fun!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am frugal. Okay, that's a nice way of putting it. I'm cheap lol! Anyways, on this beautiful Memorial Day Weekend, I decided to hit up one of my new-found (thanks Sis) favorite stores Platos Closet. It's a thrift shop where people buy and sell name-brand clothes for great prices and I just loove it! This go round I bought 3 dresses, a pair of capris, a skirt, a blouse, 2 necklaces, and a book (of course) for $55! Yes, all that for just $55! I mean, you can't beat a Vera Wang dress for 7 bucks, no kidding.

I have so much fun when I go to thrift stores. You never know what you're going to find there! Plus I am more creative in picking out the clothes than if I were to shop at a department store. I don't know why but it's something about second-hand shops that make me want to put together the craziest things! But not only do they sell clothes, they sell furniture, books, household items, basically everything. And a lot of thrift stores donate their proceeds to charities, like Salvation Army.

So if you're opposed to thrift store shopping or have never thought about it, I beg you to try it! You will have a blast!

Artist Spotlight: Lauryn Hill

I gots to get these earrings! Love, love, love Lauryn Hill.
She did her thing in Sister Act II.
"Killing Me Softly" with the Fugees was and still is my jam.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album is still a classic!

Come back Ms. Hill!

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/52891339/l-boogie-earrings

Love this song as well. Enjoy!

"What is this thing called Love?" Part I

Relationships are super hard. Whether it is with friends, family, colleagues, or a significant other, they require a lot of work and dedication. And when you enter in the "love" word, that takes it to another level. For example, one of my favorite authors, Elisabeth Elliot, says that after a man tells a woman he loves her, the next thing he should say is "Will you marry me?" I just love that! Even though it may seem old-school, I believe it could save a lot of heartache.

When I hear or say the love word, I am thinking commitment. And to be committed to someone means that I am making a choice to love them unconditionally no matter how I am feeling that day, how upset I am with that person, or how much I want to give up on the relationship and just walk away. It is a choice I have to make everyday to stay with that person, in spite of both of our flaws, and choose to work it out.

So one thing love is...it is Commitment.

On that note, I'll leave you with a little bit of Al Green. Classic!

Photo of the Day

British model Julia Jamois. Fierce hair and style!

Source:www.naturalbecomesher.com

True Life: I Stutter

Today I stumbled upon MTV's True Life: I Stutter episode and I was super excited. I have had a stuttering problem since I was little and it has always been embarrassing for me to talk about. My close family and friends sometimes tease me about it lovingly, especially when it is really bad. But I don't talk about it much because I try to hide it and hope that people don't notice.

There are certain times when it is at its worse and I can't hide it. Phone calls can be very hard for me, especially important ones when I am already nervous. I also tend to stutter a lot when I am telling a story and excited. My mom often has to tell me to calm down and talk slowly. It gets frustrating because I have to focus on getting my words out clearly and it takes longer but my brain is moving so fast. Words that begin with vowels are really hard for me too. I have trouble saying my first name which is so annoying. I can remember the first day of school in 4th grade my teacher was telling me to introduce myself in class and I kept saying my last name because I couldn't get my first name out. The kids were laughing at me and I was so embarrased. I also want to speak Spanish more but I get nervous because I stutter so badly when I do speak it. With stuttering, you have to think ahead of time. I know certain words that I will stutter on so I have alternate words I say instead. It's a lot of work.

Public speaking is definitely one of my biggest fears, as a lot of other people. I dreaded taking speech classes in school and always signed up for summer speech courses. I was terrified of giving a speech and stuttering in front of the entire class. But the funny thing was I never stuttered during any of my speeches! My high school teacher said that I was one of the best speakers in the class and I should consider joining the debate team. My college professor and entire class voted me as the best speaker in the class. I couldn't believe it, and I still don't get it!

I'm learning now to embrace my stuttering and be open and honest about it. I have no reason to hide who I am, especially with those who love and care about me. For those of you who know someone who stutters, try to be supportive and encourage them to talk about it. For more information on stuttering, check out http://www.nsastutter.org/.

Whew! I finally put it out there. I stutter. And I'm okay with it.

The Katinas

This amazing group of five Samoan brothers visited our church this Sunday and led the entire service. It was so powerful! We sang worship songs and listened to them speak about Jesus and their families and it just felt like we were all apart of one big family.

One of the things that stood out about this group was their focus on the FAMILY. They emphasized forgiveness, love, and staying connected with each other. This really hit home for me. Since I have moved back home, my family has been struggling and things have been hard. I've been feeling discouraged and hopeless. But the brothers said something that blessed me. They said no matter how the situation may look, or what your family has been through, God still has a plan for your FAMILY. To hear that meant a lot for me because yes I've always heard God has a plan for me, but rarely if not ever have I heard someone clearly say that He has a plan for my FAMILY. And this impacted me so much because it gave me hope that even though times are tough right now, God can heal brokenness and use it for His glory. We can and will be a strong family united with God and with each other.

That is my prayer for my family. Thank you Katina brothers.

One of the t-shirts they were selling. Check out their website!

http://www.thekatinas.com/

Relationship Tips with God

I can't remember who I heard this from but I had it written down and I want to share it with you!

 

1) Find out what He likes/dislikes.
2) Share His interests. Whatever is on His heart better get on yours!
3) Celebrate His achievements.
4) Look for His work in other people.
5) Hang out with Him. (Sidenote: Most important because if we're not spending time with Him it will be difficult to do the above!)

 Additional Tips I have Learned:

• Evaluate the relationship from time to time.
• Tell others about it. Since this is The Best relationship we could ever have, we should be sharing Him with others so they can experience it too!
• Enjoy it!

Feel free to share your tips.

Photo of the Day

Model: Inna Modja

Totally wanna do this to my guitar. But first I have to start playing it again! And of course I'm loving the hair.

"Rolling in the Deep" Cover

One of my favorite songs right now by Adele. Too cute huh?  Check out more of their videos on Youtube.

Devotional Thought: "God's Kingly Representative"

Psalms 8:5 "Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."

I just love this Psalm! It is so powerful and speaks highly of God and us, His creation. Particulary the last part of this verse caught my eye as I was reading in the ESV Study Bible this morning. It comments being crowned with glory and honor means mankind is "God's kingly representatives." Now that sounds like an awesome privilege and responsibility!

However, often times I forget I am representing the King. I am a follower of Christ yet I am not consistent with that being displayed in my everyday life. Lately I have been thinking and praying about my relationships and interactions with people whether it is with my mom, boyfriend, clients, colleagues, friends, family, and even strangers. I want my relationships, words and actions to be pleasing to the Lord and resemble His loving and gracious character.

God knew He wanted us to represent Him (He made us in His own image according to Genesis 1), and thankfully He provided help for us to do so. I am beginning to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me to represent God well. I know for a fact that I cannot do it in my own strength. I need His Spirit to help me be patient with my boyfriend when he annoys me, to be empathic towards my clients and what they are going through, to be loving towards my mom when she is having a bad day.

We, as followers of Christ, are King's kids! We represent the King and what an honor that is. So let's show the world who our Father is!

Tomorrow, I Run

Ok, so I've been on this whole running kick. I was so inspired by my co-worker who absolutely LOVES running and talks about it all the time. And it helps that she looks great and always has so much energy. So for those of you who know me well, yall know when I decide to do something new, I can go a little overboard lol! So I bought new running shoes (gasp!), I subscribed to the Runners World magazine, I bought a Beginners Runner book, runners clothes, and last but not least...the Runner's Diet book. I know, I know. Crazy huh? Told ya so.

Anyways, my goal is to run a 5k by July. It's been about a month and a half now and I have yet to run a mile! So sad. Now I am really starting to understand that running is just as mentally challenging as it is physically challenging. Sometimes when I'm running, I'm thinking "Just stop Ashley, it's too hard and it hurts. You can't do this, you suck!" I know, that's a shame. And I listen to that crap. But instead I should challenge that thought and say to myself "Dont' stop Ashley, you can do this! Yes it may hurt but you haven't run in ages so it's going to hurt in the beginning." I need to learn to push myself more and not give up so easily.

We can be our biggest critic or we can be our biggest cheerleader. (I don't think we need to add anymore players on the critic team.)  So instead of being negative and beating up on ourselves when we make a mistake or even fail, or when things aren't progressing as we think they should, we can applaud ourselves for at least staying in the game. Every morning I get out there and run, I am going to pat myself on the back regardless if it's 1 lap, 2 laps, or 10 laps. No more negative and defeating self-talk. I am going to run hard, however long and fast that may be. I will be my biggest cheerleader.

So, tomorrow I run.