Hey y’all!

It’s time for another Ashley Lately photo dump! I’ve got a few pictures that don’t have their own blog post, so I’m sharing them here today.

This weekend, I spent a little bit of time at my shop! Feels so weird to call it that :) Grand opening is so soon, and I just can’t wait. I really think this job is going to be great for me. I’m so excited to be trying something new, and I’m thrilled to be working for and with such great people. It has definitely made the stress of the job search so worth it!

This is Adri, the manager of the Tulsa TVP. She’s been training me the last couple of weeks, and she’s seriously an amazing girl! She’s taught me so much, and she has quickly become a good friend. She has such a great heart, and I’m so happy to be working with her!

At the hotel I stayed at a couple of weeks ago, the drawer in the bedside table wouldn’t stay closed. I closed it probably a dozen times, and a few minutes later, it would be open again. Super creepy!

I’m sure most of y’all have seen the standing broom craze that’s been going on. After getting a picture from Momma of one of her brooms standing, Colby decided he could do better and stood up both of ours.

Colby tried to demonstrate at Joyce and Wade’s house the other night, but this was the only one he could get to work!

My poor kitty. He’s been left alone with Colby so much lately that he doesn’t want to let me out of his sight. Nearly every time I sit down, he’s immediately in my lap snuggling. I think he’s missed me :)

He’s also started watching Army Wives with me! Something about the hurricane last week caught his attention, and he watched for quite awhile!

Hope y’all have a great Monday and a great week!

As I’m sure you know, I’ve been dying for this new season to start! I love me some General Holden, and I’m thrilled to be seeing him on TV again :)

Ok, if you haven’t watched the new episodes but are planning to, stop reading now because I’m going to talk about it!

First of all, I’d read that one of the wives was going to be killed off in the premiere. THANK GOODNESS what I read was wrong! I still have a feeling they may kill off someone this season, but I’m glad we didn’t start the season off with a death. Not ready to lose one of the girls yet!

The scenes where Denise was dreaming about Jeremy while she was in a coma were really difficult to watch.

I never liked Jeremy, but I was really sad for Denise and Frank when he died. Watching her think about what life could have been like if he’d lived was soooooo emotional!

I’m also thrilled that Ft. Marshall is staying open! It was sad to think about all of the families going their separate ways. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season holds!

What are y’all watching this week? Link up with Neely and me!

…to be so excited about your new job that you can’t stop talking about it!

Hey y’all!

At Blissdom, I had the opportunity to create my own Easter basket filled with fun Hershey’s candy. The yummy goodies should be delivered in the next few days, and I seriously can’t wait! :)

Growing up, Easter, like all of the other holidays, was always a big deal in our family. Momma and Daddy always worked so hard to make sure we had a fun Easter morning. Even while I was in college, we still had Easter baskets waiting for us with colorful eggs hidden all over the house.

An Easter memory that always sticks out in my mind (and I’m sure he’s sick and tired of hearing this story) is Colby’s method for finding the Easter eggs. After we looked through our fun baskets, we would head off to find the eggs hidden around the house. For YEARS, Colby would follow along behind me and look in the exact same spot I looked, just in case I left an egg or two for him. When the eggs were all found, my basket would be overflowing, and Colby would be lucky to have two or three. Sorry Colby! :)

What are some of your favorite Easter memories? If you could design the perfect Easter basket, what would be in it?

Hey y’all!

My hotel internet has been down, and it’s finally back up this morning, so I thought I’d pop in really quick and say hi. So…hi! :)

I’ve had a running list in my head of things I wanted to blog about as soon as the internet was working, but now that things are working, I can’t remember many of them. Here are just a few things that have been on my mind the last couple of days.

Monday night, I met Jackie for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Bistro.

We had such a wonderful time! Jackie is super sweet, and I honestly felt like I’d known her forever. Jackie, we will definitely have to get togethere again soon! Neely, we missed you!

I’m having a wonderful week at The Vintage Pearl! I have learned so much, and I’m actually picking up things a lot quicker than I thought I would. I know I’ve said this several times, but the girls at the Tulsa store are awesome, and I wish I could bring them to work at the Edmond store with me!

One of my new work outfits. I’m feeling all kinds of official now! :)

Have y’all seen this?

Carrie Underwood’s new album Blown Away is being released May 1st! I absolutely can’t wait! Shocking, I know.

Army Wives started back Sunday night!

Did y’all watch? I’ll be giving my opinion on the new episodes on Friday for Boob Tube Babble.

Hey y’all!

Wow, I know it’s only been a few days, but it feels like forever since I’ve been around here. It has been a super crazy last few days.

I went to Tulsa on Thursday to start my training with The Vintage Pearl. It was a crazy busy few days, but they were wonderful! I learned SO much, and I’m even more excited about my store opening in a few weeks. Erin, if you’re reading this, you’ve got some WONDERFUL women working in your store!

I go back to Tulsa today, and I’ll be there all week learning more. It feels so good to be working again, and I love spending time with the girls there. I’m also ridiculously excited because I get to meet up with Jackie sometime this week! We live so close, but we’ve never met in person. I can’t wait to hang out with her!

I hope y’all have a great week! I will try to catch up on blog reading this week. I’ve missed y’all!

Skylar Laine

Phillip Phillips

Are y’all watching? Any favorites yet?

I also watched Parenthood this week.

Before I stayed with Neely last week, I had never watched a single episode of it. After watching with her, I’m now emotionally invested in these people, and I CRIED watching this week! I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but it definitely made me want to go back and watch the other seasons.

Still watching and loving Smash.

For me, it’s like a grown-up Glee. I adore Katharine McPhee, and I think the show is fantastic!

This week, the teams on The Voice were finalized.

I think all of the teams have some great people, and I’m excited to see the battle rounds next week. I will definitely be cheering on my favorites:

Chris Mann (duh!)

Jordis Unga

Tony Lucca

What are y’all watching this week? Link up with Neely and me!

Hey y’all!

Today I’m going to do my best to talk about the things I learned from Blissdom. There are so many thoughts going through my head, and I hope this post makes sense when I’m done! :)

Blissdom was more than just a few days of fun with the  girls. It was an incredible learning experience in an uplifting, supportive environment. I have never felt more accepted and supported by a group of people I barley know for doing what I do. I was in a place with 750+ women (and a few men!) who get me, who understand why I share my life online, and who realize how online friendships are real friendships. It was an incredible place to be, and it was difficult rejoining the real world. Today, I want to share what Blissdom taught me about life and blogging.

First, I want to share the opening video.

BlissDom ’12 – Opening Video from Blissful Media Group on Vimeo.

Let me tell you, that video got me even more excited about the conference! What a wonderful way to start!

Our opening keynote speaker, Jon Acuff, was the perfect person to start off the conference. He said so many inspiring things that I struggled to write down and tweet everything I wanted to remember! Here are a few of his words that stuck with me.

Hey, it was too good not to share!

Another thing he talked about was ignoring the haters, not listening to the negative voices in your head. He asked us to tell him on Twitter what our voices tell us. Here’s what I sent to him.

That insecure part of me tells me over and over that I’ll never be good enough. Jon told me that I am good enough!

I wish I could remember everything he said. There were times when I felt like he was speaking directly to me. He was absolutely wonderful. He gave us all signed copies of his book Quitter, and I can’t wait to get started on it.

The first session I attended was called “Living and Embracing the Best Life You Have Created for Yourself”, and it was taught by Jeannette Kaplun. I have two full pages of notes from her session. Again, I wish I could share everything with you, but I will pick out some of the most important things.

Oh, how I needed to hear this! In that moment, I closed my eyes and forgave some people that have hurt me. It felt so good to let those things go!

Another session I attended was called “Stop Monetizing Joy”, and it was led by the fabulous Alli Worthington and Erin Loechner. Here are a few words of wisdom from them!

In this session, I learned that it is really important to make time for the things that make me happy. I’ll be a happier person and a better person if I make time for those things. I forsee more writing for fun, reading, and piano time in my future!

Again, there are so many things I could talk about that I learned. As I continue to process information and go through notes, I may share more with you in other posts.

One of the biggest things I have taken away from my experience at Blissdom is this: I am a part of an amazing group of women (and men!) that are changing the world. We are bigger than just our small corners of the Internet. We all have a powerful voice and we shouldn’t be afraid to use it.

Blogging is so much more than the numbers, the followers, and the comments. Our blogs should be used to express ourselves and to support and build each other up. There has been so much drama lately that some people have been leaving the blog/twitter world. There’s no need for any of this. We don’t have to agree, and we don’t have to all like each other, but we should support each other as fellow bloggers. If you’re focusing on the numbers and popularity, you’re seriously missing out on the important part of blogging. The world of blogging is so much bigger than any of us.

My blog is something I’ve kept hidden from most of the people in my personal life. I was nervous and a little embarrassed to tell people about it, worried about what they would say or think. Blissdom changed that for me so much that I shared my blog link on Facebook this week! I’m proud of my blog and proud to be part of this wonderful place called Blog Land. Thank you to Alli, Barbara, Paula, and everyone on the Blissdom team for a life-changing weekend!

Hey y’all!

Today is part two of my Blissdom recap!

Saturday morning, we had another full day of sessions and parties!

Neely and Tiffany with their matching Tory Burch boots

Saturday, Chris Mann from The Voice performed during lunch. He’s performed the last three years of Blissdom. He has a beautiful voice, and I can’t wait to see how he does on The Voice.

We got to meet him after the show. He’s so cute, and he has the most beautiful eyes :)

Neely and Chris

Amber, Meghan, and Chris

Awkward family photos

Me and my girls at the closing keynote

Saturday night, I got to have dinner and spend some time with Amy and Brody. They are some very special people in my life, and I hadn’t seen them since Brody was a baby. I am so thankful that we got a little time to visit. It was definitely the highlight of my trip!

My sweet friend Carrie! We connected on Facebook and Twitter a few weeks before the conference, and we are so much alike that it’s a little crazy! She’s adorable.

Neely and Heather

Saturday night dance/karaoke party

“I ain’t no hollaback girl”

Rachel and Whitney sang with a group of girls

Rachel, Whitney, and Molly

The wonderful Jenny of Jenny On The Spot performing “Lose Yourself”

I won a $25 Famous Footwear giftcard because “People ‘like’ me”! :)

Oh goodness, we had so much fun. It was so nice to be surrounded by 750 people who get me, who understand what I do here, and who support each other no matter how big or small their blogs are. It was great to be completely immersed in blog land for several days with some of my most favorite people. I loved getting to meet new people and meet people I’ve only ever talked to online.

Blissdom was more than just fun with the girls. Blissdom gave me a new persepective and motivation for this little blog. I learned a lot about blogging, and I learned a lot about myself. Tomorrow, I’ll talk more about what I learned from Blissdom.

Have a great Wednesday!