Fun on the 4th

July 8, 2013 By ashleylately 7 Comments

Hey y’all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!

I took a couple of days off work, and I went home to see my family for the first time since January. It had been waaaay too long, and it was wonderful to get to spend a few days at home.

I drove down Thursday morning, and we went out to my grandparents house to have a cookout for lunch.

Momma and me!

Me and my grandparents

My cousin K was staying with my grandparents for a few days! We had a lot of fun!

She likes taking funny pictures about as much as we do :)

Carol Ann, Kenny, and Aunt Betty stopped by!

Yeah, I used a Disney princess placemat at lunch. Don’t judge me.

Oreo just hangin’ out

Shredded wheat ice cream! I know, it sounds weird, but it’s amazing. I was super bummed that I missed out on it last year, so this year I made sure to have a little extra :)

My bestie, my Sweet P, and me!

Sweet P had so much fun with the sparklers!

That is pure happiness on that sweet little girl’s face

K and N had a little too much fun. They were trying very hard to set the grass on fire!

It was a great night! After spending last 4th of July away from my family, it was nice to get to be back with everyone and to carry on the traditions we’ve had for years. Such a fun holiday!

The Sunday Social, Week 57

July 7, 2013 By ashleylately 4 Comments

Hey y’all!
Hope y’all are having a great weekend! Mine has been amazing, y’all. After spending a few days at home with my family, I came home yesterday and spent a good chunk of the day in Norman, Oklahoma for Toby Keith’s Oklahoma Twister Relief concert. I got to see Garth Brooks, and it was one of the best nights of my life! More on that later this week :)
Alrighty, here are this week’s questions!

1. What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?

I have been on two really awesome trips! In 2009, my Momma, Mom-mom, and I went to Memphis and Nashville! In 2011, Neely and I went to visit Meghan in Chicago! Both trips were incredible and I can’t wait to go back to both places!

2. What is your best idea for a girls weekend trip?

I love having girls weekends in Dallas! There’s lots of fun things to do, and a lot of my favorite people are there :)

3. What is your best idea for a couples trip?

Got nothing for this one!

4. What is the best vacation on the cheap?

I enjoy going home to visit my family. Even though we live in the same state, it’s so hard for me to get away to take a trip home, so I really cherish the time I do get to go, and I consider it a vacation for sure!

5. What is the place you most want to visit?

I am dying to visit Europe! I want to go to Paris, London, and several places in Italy!

Your turn! Answer the questions, grab our button, and link up with Neely and me!

Next week’s questions

These are all fun music questions!

1. What is your all-time favorite song?

2. Who is your favorite singer/band?

3. What song reminds you of your childhood?

4. What songs put you in a good mood?

5. What is your music to rock out to in your car?

6. What is the most embarrassing album or song you own?

Have a great Sunday!

Seattle’s Best Coffee Giveaway

July 3, 2013 By ashleylately 1 Comment

Hey y’all!

I have a super fun giveaway for y’all today!

Seattle’s Best Coffee was a Blissdom sponsor this year, and they provided a fabulous breakfast for us at the conference! Seriously, it was really good stuff! They contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to giveaway a hot iced gift-set. I know many of y’all are big coffee drinkers, so I thought this would be perfect for y’all!

Here’s what one of you will win!

One-month supply of Seattle’s Best Coffee® (4 bags!)
Seattle’s Best Coffee Tumbler for your iced and frozen coffee drinks
Seattle’s Best Coffee Hot Travel Mug to enjoy brewed coffee on-the-go
Melitta coffee brewer and recipe for a totally new way to make a single cup of coffee
Simple Iced Coffee recipe featuring their go-to cold brew method
Coffee scoop to measure the perfect amount of coffee

Pretty awesome, right?

Enter with the rafflecopter below!

Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Neely, New Kids, and 98 Degrees (and Boyz II Men!)

July 1, 2013 By ashleylately 9 Comments

Hey y’all!

Wow, I don’t even know how to begin to describe my fabulous weekend! Sorry for the picture overload, but I had a really hard time narrowing down pictures :)

Neely came to OKC to visit me for the first time! I was so excited to be able to show her around my city.

Reunited and it feels so good :) I have missed this girl SO MUCH!

After we settled into our hotel, we went to lunch, and I took Neely by The Vintage Pearl! We also made a quick stop by Peachwave, a frozen yogurt shop.

I had to share this pic! At Blissdom, Heather got all of the roomies these adorable bags with our blog logos! Of course we had to bring them :)

We did a little more running around OKC, and then it was time to go to the concert!

So excited! Our seats ended up being amaaaaazing! The main stage was in the middle of the floor, so we were really close!

Up first was Boyz II Men!!

These guys are just so good! They have phenomenal voices and still perform as good as they did back in the day!

We were sooooooo excited to see them!

98 Degrees came next! I had already seen Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block before, so the highlight of the concert for me was 98 Degrees. I was SO HAPPY, y’all!

I. Love. Nick. Lachey. He is beautiful.

Yeah, I was a little excited. Don’t judge me :)

Drew! He’s kind of adorable.

Justin & Jeff!

They were so awesome! They sang all of their best songs like “The Hardest Thing”, “My Everything”, and “Because of You”. They were number two on my favorite boy band list, and I have wanted to see them for YEARS! It was so fun to finally get to see them!

New Kids on the Block closed the show!

It amazes me that after so many years, they can still put on a fantastic show!

Not gonna lie, they all still look pretty good too :)

It was such a fun day! Having Neely here was so wonderful, and the concert was incredible. We missed Jessica a lot, and hopefully the three of us can get together soon.

Hope y’all had a great weekend!

The Sunday Social, Week 56

June 30, 2013 By ashleylately 6 Comments

Hey y’all!

I am having a fabulous weekend because Neely is in town! We spent the day exploring OKC, and we went to the NKOTB/98*/Boyz II Men concert last night! We are exhausted, but it was soooooo good to see each other for the first time since Blissdom!

This week’s questions are all about movies!

1. What is your favorite movie of all time?

Miss Congeniality! I adore Sandra Bullock, and her movies are so good. Miss Congeniality is just awesome!

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2. What is your favorite quote?

“A dream is a wish your heart makes”-Cinderella

“Life should be a little nuts. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of Thursdays strung together.”-Rumor Has It

“Regrets are a waste of time. They’re the past crippling you in the present.”-Under the Tuscan Sun

3. What is the best movie to watch for girls night in?

I like good girls movies like She’s All That, Mean Girls, Bring It On, Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia, or something Madea :)

4. What is the best breakup movie?

I think girly movies are good for breakups too!

5. Who would you want to play in a movie about your life?

Reese Witherspoon! I like to think she’s a lot like me, and I think we’d be friends!

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6. Which movie star’s closet would you want to raid?

Again, Reese Witherspoon! She has such great style, both in everyday and on the red carpet. I love her!

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Your turn! Answer the questions, grab our button, and link up with Neely and me!

Next week’s questions

These are all about vacations!

1. What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?

2. What is your best idea for a girls weekend trip?

3. What is your best idea for a couples trip?

4. What is the best vacation on the cheap?

5. What is the place you most want to visit?

Have a great day, y’all!

Happies & Crappies

June 28, 2013 By ashleylately 13 Comments

The Vintage Modern Wife: Happies and Crappies Link Up

Hey y’all!

It’s Friday, and I am SO EXCITED! Linking up with my girls Stephanie and Sarah to share the good things and not so good things about my week! Here we go!

Happies

TOMORROW is NKOTB/98*/Boyz II Men day!

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I can’t even tell you how excited I am! Jessica and Neely are coming up so we can all go together! It’s fun, because in 2010 Jessica and I saw Boyz II Men together, and in 2011 Neely and I saw NKOTB together, so now we’re throwing in 98* and seeing them all together!

Jessica and Neely have never met each other, so it will be so neat to get to hang out with them both together. It’s also Neely’s first time in OKC, so I’m trying to plan some fun things for us to do before the concert. Of course, a stop at The Vintage Pearl is on the agenda :)

Today is one year from when Little Girl, Little Man, and C came into our lives!

It’s amazing to think that a year has gone by already! Sometimes it’s hard to remember what life was like without them, and I don’t know what I would do without them. I love these Littles so much, and I am thrilled that we get to be a part of their lives forever.

Crappies

Unfortunately, there is a big possibility that Jessica won’t be able to come this weekend because of some stuff at home :( We are still holding out hope that it will work, but we still aren’t sure.

I’ve had ridiculous sickies this week :( Stomach bug, which flared up my stomach ulcer, which left me curled up in a ball in severe pain for a couple of days.

I’m finally starting to feel human again, but I’m still not great. Hoping it will be all better by the tomorrow!

What are the happies and crappies of your week? Link them up with Stephanie and Sarah!

Tuesday Tunes

June 25, 2013 By ashleylately 5 Comments

Hey y’all!

Not much to say around here today, so I thought I would share a few songs currently on my playlist!

Enjoy!

Get More:

“The Chain”-Little Big Town (from the CMT Music Awards)

“Bruises”-Train featuring Ashley Monroe

“Home”-Blake Shelton & Usher (from Healing in the Heartland)
*proceeds from the iTunes downloads go to Oklahoma tornado relief!*

“Never Gonna Let You Go”-Tony Lucca

“Next To Me”-Emeli Sande

“This is Not the End”-Liz Longley

What’s on your playlist?

Ashley Lately

June 24, 2013 By ashleylately 2 Comments

Hey y’all!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

It’s been a little while since I’ve checked in on life happenings, so here’s what I’ve been up to lately!

As always, Colby and I have been spending a lot of time with the Littles. They are wild and crazy, but so sweet!

Friday night, I went to hang out, and during a movie, Little Girl reached over and held my hand. She’s usually all over the place and rarely slows down, so when she does, it’s SO SWEET!

Y’all know how much I love Gussy Sews, right? A few months ago, I joined The Gussy Club! For three months, I get a fun new Gussy product!

This one came in June! So stinkin’ cute, right?

Oh, the kitty cat…I’ve been working a lot lately, so when I’m home, he’s so excited that he can’t leave me alone! It’s not enough to just lay beside me. He has to lay ON me!

I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle Smith and being a community leader in her session at Blissdom, and I was so excited when I found out she was writing a book on social media engagement. The book just recently came out, and I was so excited to find it!

On Saturday, I got a surprise visit at TVP from some of my cousins that I haven’t seen in years! They were in town for a family reunion on the other side of their family, but they stopped in to say hi. It was just wonderful! I briefly saw them at church Sunday morning, and then when Colby and I went to lunch after church, they were in the same restaurant, so we got to eat together! It was so nice to be able to catch up.

It’s been a crazy, busy, exhausting few weeks, but I’m looking forward to some fun with friends, a trip back home, and a VACATION (I mean, I’m just going home, but still!)!

What have YOU been up to lately?

The Sunday Social, Week 55

June 23, 2013 By ashleylately 7 Comments

Hey y’all!
Today’s questions are all about shopping and style! Can’t wait to read everyone’s posts!

1. What is your favorite store to shop at?

Um…Target? :) I love Gap and Old Navy too!

2. If you could afford anything and everything, which designer brand would you covet?

I do love me some Louis Vuitton!

3. What is your must have closet staple?

Cardigans and skinny jeans! They are my favorite things ever!

4. What is your favorite kind of shoes? (brand or type)

If I’m being totally honest, Old Navy flip flops are my favorite shoes to wear. I practically live in them March-November if I can!

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5. What is the best clothing deal you’ve ever gotten? (sale or amazing find)

Um…I’m a bargain shopper, so I get lots of things on sale. Can’t think of anything specific right now!

6. What is a style you’d love to try?

I want to try maxi skirts! I love maxi dresses, but I’ve never been really sure about how to style a maxi skirt. I am sure loving this one from Hazel and Olive!