Ashley | The Grits Blog

Ashley | The Grits Blog

Monday, April 28, 2014

Hello! I hope this Monday is treating you well. I have a lovely to taking over things today and I'm seriously happy about it. Meet Ashley! Lover of makeup, fur mama, blog designer, and the voice behind The Grits Blog! She just happens to be one of my favorites as well. I fired a few questions at her and here are her answers! Get to know her a little bit and definitely stop by her blog!

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration where my life really began - Panacea. It's this magical little place where only locals go. There are dolphins, manatees, and marine life everywhere. Every time I go there this sense of peace and calmness comes over my whole body, mind, and spirit. Call it cliche - but it's true. It's my mecca - when I come home from there I have this whole new clarity. I say it's the place where my life began because where I met my husband, it's where I decided to go to FSU, it's where I decided that there are good things in life worth fighting for. 

What are three things you absolutely can't live without?

Okay since Jen used the word "things" I am truly going to stick with things and not get all deep like I did in the first question. 

My three things....gosh, there is just so much to choose between! But after much consideration I decided I can't live without chapstick, hair detangler, and my naked palette. As I mentioned in my post reviewing these items here, they are the bomb. Go read my post for all the details!

Tell us something we don't know about you!

I am an absolute nut about my dogs. Seriously, they are my babies and if you mess with them you mess with me. 

 How did you get into blogging?

I wanted to talk. Like a lot. 

To be honest, I just wanted a place where I could talk about anything and everything my heart desired. Whether that be makeup, the latest and greatest shampoo, or my all time favorite dip. Also, I was driving my friends and family crazy with all the stuff I wanted to talk about ALLLLLL the time!

What do you do to stay creative?

See number one. BUT when I can't make it to my mecca - I get outside and work with my hands. Right now, my father-in-law and I are working on a garden together. To see it grow and turn into food brings such a cool joy. You can follow along the garden journey with me on my instagram!

I hope that you all stop by The Grits Blog and say hello!

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SACORY ROASTED ASPARAGUS

SACORY ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Friday, April 25, 2014

I know that Fridays are supposed to be Pinterest Favorites, but I made a Challenge Accepted dinner for the family yesterday and I really wanted to share one of my favorite and signature side dishes, Savory Roasted Asparagus, with a kick. I don't know where you stand with asparagus. Do you like it? I think it's fantastic and I've pretty much convinced my family that it's fantastic too with the recipe. As with everything that I whip up in the kitchen this is super easy to make, because that's how cooking should be!

What you'll need :

1 package of Asparagus 

2 tsp Olive Oil

3 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Instructions.

Preheat oven to 430˚. 

Cut one inch off of the ends of the Asparagus. The lower part of the stalk is bitter and you really don't want to eat it! On a lined baking sheet lay out the Asparagus and drizzle with Olive Oil and Worcestershire, then sprinkle with Red Pepper Flakes and Garlic Powder. Toss asparagus together on baking sheet, and pop in the oven. Roast for 15-20 minutes.

Note: I really like spicy. If you're shy with spicy food cut the Red Pepper Flakes in half ( 1/2 tsp ) or leave out altogether.

That's it! Asparagus has a slightly bitter taste, so adding the meaty flavor from the Worcestershire and sweetness from the Garlic Powder balances out the flavor, and the Red Pepper Flakes add a nice kick!

Do you have a fail proof, family approved recipe? Share it with me!

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Easter Sunday Recap

Easter Sunday Recap

Monday, April 21, 2014

Happy Monday lovely people! Now, I know I have been dragging with my posting consistency. Can I send apologies all around? Midterms. ran. away. with. me. I'm all caught up now, so the ole blog will be getting it's due attention! I hope. I have a paper due tonight that I haven't written a word for yet, and I have no intention of typing a word till at least two o'clock! There's coffee and conversation to be had. What's a college girl to do? Writing papers is my forte, or so I like to think, so I'm going to confidently say that I'll write it tonight.. and get it in on time. Expect tweets about the entire process + rate of dark chocolate consumption. I thrive under pressure and apparently like to create pressured writing environments for myself. It always works out just fine. Wish me luck anyway!

To make some kind of an effort to reestablished my blogging consistency here, I'm kicking off this week with an Easter Sunday recap. I hope each and every one of you had an absolutely beautiful Easter Sunday by the way. I spent the day with some of my favorite people, which is always fantastic! I got to serve at the Easter party for all of the children's sunday school classes. It's so sweet to be with them and see them learning about Christ's death and resurrection. What a beautiful thing to celebrate with those precious little children; The death of death! We live because Jesus Christ died and rose again!

On a more casual note, the afternoon provided laughter and ice cream eating + a nap. Are you a napper? I'm not. I don't know what happened. I was awoken at seven o'clock by the dog licking my mouth. Horrifying experience! 

Anyhow, I have some fun things coming up on the blog that I hope you'll enjoy! How was your Easter Sunday? Tell me all about it!

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The Nina and Pinta

The Nina and Pinta

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Hello hello! I hope this Wednesday ( Hump Day!! ) is treating you well. I most certainly shouted hump day like that camel in the Geico commercial. You did too when you read that.  Admit it! You know you did. Anyhow, this past week provided some fun shenanigans. Replica ships of the Nina and Pinta made themselves at home at the downtown marina. For a happy eight bucks you could tour them. It was a blast and half, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.

For the record, my mother came along for the mischievousness. She made it into zero pictures. She's what you call a talker. It's not a bad thing. She meets some really interesting people! While my dad and I are bounding around quoting Pirates of the Caribbean, and taking selfies in our sunglasses' reflections, she's learning all about the volunteers who sail the replica ships around. 

It was really surprising how small the ships actually were. I can't imagine willingly boarding one of those ships. It's not at all Disney glamorous with Johnny Depp and Legolas swashbuckling around. It would take quite a measure of courage. I'm iffy on a pontoon boat; 1492 wouldn't have worked well for me. At any rate, we had an awesome time wandering around the Nina and Pinta replicas and reading all of the interesting facts posted around. It was a spectacular Spring day outing!

Would you have the courage to sail away to a new world?

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$45 Paypal Cash Giveaway + Sponsor Love

$45 Paypal Cash Giveaway + Sponsor Love

Monday, April 7, 2014

Hey! It's time for another giveaway + the opportunity to meet some awesome bloggers! Some of my lovely sponsors have pulled together to bring you this $45 Paypal cash giveaway! It only takes a few minutes to enter and you'll discover some really great bloggers along the way! I can think of a whole lot of things I could do with $45. Clothes, makeup, wedges, froyo, riding boots, camera fund. So many wonderful things. You can put it toward anything you want! Your blog, a new spring wardrobe addition, or tuck it away in your Starbucks fund! Enter below, and have fun meeting some terrific ladies!

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Pinterest Favorites Of The Week

Pinterest Favorites Of The Week

Friday, April 4, 2014

Happiest of Fridays! It's time for Pinterest Favorites! I noticed something. There are always at least two favorites that are recipes in every Pinterest Favorites post. Look, I like to eat. Food is delicious! My favorite quote this week also has to do with food. I should really balance this out with a workout pin. Hey, there's always next week.

As much as I hate to admit it, I have kinda sorta been slacking off in my blogging. Life gets away from me sometimes. I do have a fashion post coming up so yay! for that. There's also a giveaway up on the blog so have fun entering that! All right, moving on to this week's favorites..

Ham Lentil and Kale Soup. I love food. I particularly love food that is yummy and fresh! I've made kale soups in the past, but none quite like this one. The flavor paring sounds way too delectable!

"You Only Live Once, Lick The Bowl". Yes. This is my quote for the week, and just YES. Food is delicious. Cake batter is even better. Lick the bowl. This is my ode to yolo. Don't ever tell anyone I said yolo.

Lash Curling Extreme. I'm sure you've heard of heating your eyelash curler with a blow dryer to get a better curl. Well, I found this and gave it a try. I'm just going to be honest and tell you that I 100% burnt myself the first time. I was really gung-ho about it and didn't check the curler to see how hot it was. The heated curler actually works very well and it is absolutely worth trying. Just make sure you check how hot it is first like the tutorial suggests!

How To Top Knot. Do you still struggle with the top knot? I do. At least when it comes to doing a top knot with straight hair. I can do it with curly hair no problem. If you have any issue with a straight hair top knot, this tutorial is nice and helpful!

Simple Breakfast Smoothie. I don't know about the breakfast part. I'm more of an afternoon smoothie kind of person. There's healthy + yumminess in this smoothie so it doesn't count against your calories.. right? I mean it's spinach. And bananas. And an orange. Blueberries.. Raspberries. Yeah, that does't count!

9 Fashion Blog Photography Tips. This is such a helpful post! Yara shares some great tips. If you want to improve your photography skills this post is worth a read!

Career 101: Interviewing. This post was put together by Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. She shares 8 tips and I thought they were quite helpful.

Stripes + Elbow Patch. I really really love elbow patches. I still don't have a single top with elbow patches. It's not okay. Do you know any shops that have some cute options to choose from? Let me know in the comments if you do! This pin is here because it's so cute. That's really it!

DIY Sequin Blazer. Blazers are fantastic. Sequin is sparkly and that's a very good thing. This combination is so fun! It's pretty easy to do and would add a spectacular pop to an old blazer that needs revamping.

That's all she wrote for this week's Pinterest Favorites. What's your yolo stance on cake batter bowl licking?

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