Happy 5th of July!

No, that's not a typo. I've never been one who is overly enthusiastic about the 4th of July, nor am I really all that patriotic. That said, playing with sparklers is fun regardless. Pyromaniacs rejoice!


Here are a couple sparkly sparkler photos for your viewing pleasure...

And with that I say to you, my fine friends, Happy 5th if July to you all.

Summer Snapshot: "My Best Friend Tommy"

This is Tommy and Lucie. They are cousins. In fact, they are my cousins as well. However, Lucie refers to Tommy as "My Best Friend Tommy" on a regular basis. She frequently asks me if I know her "Best Friend Tommy" and when I explain to her that yes, I do in fact know him, and he is my cousin, silly goose, it seems totally lost on her.

Anyway, I took this picture of the two of them having a love-fest a couple weekends ago in Lake George and felt I just had to share it with you all because they are the cutest little dude and dudette ever.

That was the life.

My 18 year old brother had a revelation this morning when I went over to my parents house for a little visit. I've pretty much been laughing at it since it came out of his mouth.

"If I could go back to any point in my life it'd definitely be when I was 4yrs old. Think about it. Grilled Cheese and Chocolate Milk. Imaginary Friends. Gushers. That was the life. - Cody

And, a little background on this picture...Cody was the Evil Kinevil kid who has had 11 sets of stitches. Roughly 3/4 of said sets of stitches occurred by the time he was like 7 years old. This picture, (which just happens to be him, post stitches and totally jubilant ) perfectly illustrates him, even now, as an 18 year old man-boy.

Snapshot of the Day: Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3.

I know I've been a bit MIA lately but I'll be back! SO much going on and business has been booming! Thanks to all my awesome customers :) I really appreciate all you guys and that your all spreading the word about my work!

Anyway, here's a quick little photo for you all. This is my best friend Lindsay (center) and her twin sisters, Cat (right) and Aliza (left). Beauties! I love the crap out of those girls. And so does my camera!

Hi girls! Don't hate me for posting this :)

Yikes! Lets play some Catch Up & Pearl Jam...

Just when you thought I was back on track with my blogging, I go and ruin it by not blogging for a whole week! Jeez! Get it together, Ashley!

While I haven't been able to blog this week, I can assure you there was very good reason.

The first reason...
Business has been booming! It's been so exciting for me to have such a great flow of sales and press mentions, I feel like things are FINALLY starting to come together for my brand :) Oh took what, 5 years? Hey, I'm no complaining, at least its happening!

The second reason...

My little sister Alex graduated from Endicott College! So I had to travel to coastal Massachusetts, to the beautiful Endicott College campus, right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and watch as my sister and 500 of her classmates graduated! It was a VERY windy day, so lets just say it was NOT a good hair day for most people in attendance, including myself. However, there was an especially cool aspect to graduation... award winning actor,Forest Whitaker, was thier keynote speaker! It was quick interesting and exciting to sit and listen to him speak. He even stood up there and shook every single one of those 500+ graduates hands as they walked across the stage. Very cool, Forest, very cool!

The third reason....

Shortly after returning home from a marathon weekend of graduation excitement my sister and I got in the car yet again to drive 3+ hours to Newark, NJ to see Pearl Jam. Wow, Newark is seriously yucky! But WOW, Pearl Jam is AMAZING live! The Newark crowd was not very energetic, and I unfortunately sat behind a section of the tallest people on earth, but the band still sounded incredible and I CANNOT wait to go to another show! I'll be ponying up a whole wad of cash to get a better seat, and better my chances of not having to watch the show from behind Sasquatch.

Anyway, I guess I'll leave you with a Pearl Jam tune to enjoy! Stay tuned to the blog, I have a couple new pieces getting ready to be rolled out into the Etsy Shop and I'll make sure to announce them here first!

So without further ado, here's Eddie and the guys performing an AMAZING live version of Crazy Mary, for your listening pleasure!

I Love You, Mom!!!

Just a quick post to say Happy Mothers Day to my lovely mother! I love you Mom, you sure are swell :)

This is a picture of me with my very pregnant Mom when I was roughly 3 and a half! My little sister Alex is in there somewhere too :) Thanks for always dressing me in style Mom! Your THE best!

Life in 1970 vs. 2010

My, my, what 40 years can do to a culture! What is it about great retro pictures that make it seem like life was just so much more fun and colorful decades ago? Don't get me wrong, 2010 is cool and all, but theres a certain charm from days gone by that unfortunately isn't a present in the modern day world as I wish it were.

This is a photo of some of my family, circa 1969/1970ish, and the little doll in the mod flower dress is my Mom! How cute was she as a munchkin??? She's not actually itching her head, or thinking hard, but she is saluting. In fact she is doing the "Woofum Poofum" salute. What is that you ask? Well, the short answer to that is, I have no friggin' clue! It seems to be some sort of family thing since most of my Mom's generation knows what it is, but I'm still in the dark about it. Either way, it's just as awesome.

Mom, you should have been a child model. :)

'Single Ladies' in the form of 5th Grade Boys...

I gotta make this quick because I have a day full of shopping for home goods, laundry, making cupcakes for my little brother and working in the studio for a bit ahead of me. But, I had to share this video with you all! I am dying over here!!! I've pretty much been peeing my pants over it since I saw.

This lovely little video is from my cousin Drew's 5th Grade Talent Show. He and about 8 of his buddies all got together and decide it'd be nice to channel their inner Beyonce. Seems as though their decision to perform 'Single Ladies' whilst dressed in black leotards and stockings is something that will go down in history at their school. Now, I know about a million people have spoofed the 'Single Ladies' song/video but I think this 5th Grade Boys version takes the cake.

Check out Drew & Co. shake, wiggle and neck bob to Beyonce. Clearly, they brought down the house :) Yay, Drew!

Goodbye Christmas, Hello 2010...

I meant to post these pictures a few days ago but never got to doing it. Christmas is over, and there are only moment's left in 2009, so why not take a looksie at how my family "does" Christmas? We're an animated bunch, as you might be able to tell by the enthusiastic thumbs up pictures and festive holiday ensembles. There's even a little nod to Step Brothers (the movie) mixed within these picture...can you spot it???

Goodbye Christmas, you were fun and exhausting, and you gave me a sinus infection that was all together unpleasant, but I will miss you just the same...

Happy New Year Everyone, hoping this year goes my way, and yours :)

Another Blast From The Past...

I kept digging through pictures after my last couple fabulous throwback picture finds and found this...and pretty much haven't been able to stop giggling about it for the past 5 mins. It's an excellently perfect 80's Sears Photo Center style family portrait of my parents and baby me!

It cracks me up! I hardly recognize my father in this picture, but my Mom hasn't changed much at all :) I pretty much look the same, I still wear that red jumper from time to time...

It's quite possible that I'm just a little punchy today, and will laugh at almost anything as I haven't gotten much sleep the past week. I've been a busy bee, not only with orders but with helping my Mommy bake things for tomorrows Thanksgiving gorge! I made a Cheesecake, Pumpkin Muffins, and some Cranberry Apple and Walnut Relish....Mmmm! I even spent some time in my jewelry studio, and it's only 3pm! Why am I being so productive? I need to cut it out! :)

Well, that's all for me today! I'm pooped and it's puppy nap time around these parts, and I'm thinking I just might join in! I'm sure I'll find time to blog tomorrow when I a bored to tears being forced to watch football :)

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Autumn Photoshoot: Meet The Poiriers

This past weekend, I spent some time shooting family portraits for my lovely neighbors, The Poiriers, all around Saratoga Springs. We had a lot of fun and I'm really happy with the images that came out of the session!

It was FREEZING and pretty blustery but we managed! Mama Poirier was a trooper despite her belly full o' baby! I've never seen such a super pregnant woman move around so easily! She will be welcoming baby #2 on October 30th, so we got these pictures just in time. I can't wait to take some newborn shots for them when the little chicken nugget arrives!

Mama and Papa Poiriers little girl, Emma, has such a magnetic smile! She wasn't so into the whole picture thing for the most part, but who could blame her when there are so many more interesting things for a 2 yr old to do! Luckily, we got some giggles and smiles out of her and I managed to capture some on film!

Anyway, on to the pictures! Enjoy!

Remembering Nikki & Daisy

Lately I've been thinking about my dogs Nikki & Daisy, and how much I miss them.

Nikki was a big furball bucket of love. She was very pretty, very fluffy purebred Golden Retriever. We got Nikki at the beginning of 7th grade and it was the first puppy myself and my siblings can actually remember having, as our first dog Sam, grew up along side me ( I will need to do a whole separate post for Sam, she was my sidekick my whole youth, so she needs more space). Nikki was a cuddle bug, loved her food, ate seemingly inedible objects, often humped children and was always looking for someone to pet her. We actually almost named her Honey, because of her golden color and sweet as pie disposition. She spent a year hanging out with our old girl Sam, and learning what she could from her. When Sam passed away that Spring, Nikki was pretty sad without her mother figure around. Enter Daisy, stage left.

Daisy was a street dog. A small German Shepherd Mix, who had a rough start in life. We got her the summer before I went into 8th grade, about six months or so after we lost Sam. She was found hiding under a friends car in their driveway, and was thought to have been dumped on the side of the road as a puppy and abused by a man, as she was petrified of men, especially those with very deep voices. She survived on her own for a while living in the woods and enjoying tasty bug delicacies for nourishment. When we found out about her from our friends, we decided to adopt her to fill the void for both Nikki and ourselves that was left when Sam passed away. It took Daisy a while to adjust, she was scared of both of all adults at first and would only come to us kids. Eventually though, she settled in and came to trust us all. Daisy was named after Daisy Duck because she made a strange quacking sound when she barked when she was a puppy. She was such cute little street dog.

Nikki and Daisy were the best of friends, and brought so much to our family. The both loved going to Lake George in the summer. Daisy would swim and gulp water simultaneously and Nikki would just stand in the water (she was a little lazy). Miss watching them do that, even though it's a little lackluster.

Nikki passed away pretty suddenly in the Fall of 2006, and 2 years later Daisy passed away too. They were quite the duo, loved their walks, and even loved to cuddle with each other when we weren't looking. I still think about them all the time even though we now have Mel, Macy, and Marley running our lives and keeping us busy. They were such great family members!

I love and miss you , Girls!

Laughter is the best medicine...

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." ~Woody Allen

Sometimes, your day just doesn't go the way you planned. Maybe your entire week isn't going your way. Maybe your month hasn't gotten off on the right foot and your starting to lose hope. All of these statements are applicable to me in this moment/day/week/month etc. That said, I'm trying my best to get myself out of this unfavorable funk, even though it might take a bit of time and a considerable amount of effort on my part, I WILL prevail. My stubborn streak can in fact work in the name of good as well as evil :)

About 2 minutes ago, my day took an unexpected turn for the better. Thanks to a walk down memory lane via my iPhoto albums on my laptop, I am remembering lighter moments and just how good it feels to laugh. I love to laugh. In fact, if you know me personally, you can vouch for the fact that I do in fact crack myself up on a daily basis, even if things are less than awesome that day. Anyway, as I looked through my photos from this past summer I noticed just how many shots I have of people laughing. There's nothing I love more than a great candid photo of someone getting out a good laugh for no good reason, reacting to a joke, giggling after a klutzy moment or all of the above combined. In fact, judging by the number of laugh photos I have, I think I must stalk people until they laugh so I can photograph them doing just that!

 My very winded, and unnecessarily lengthy point being, nothing is a better remedy for your crappy day/week/month or year than a good wholesome laugh. In that moment, your not thinking about anything else but the joy your feeling when you laugh. Who doesn't love laughing until their stomach hurts? It's one of life's simplest of treasures! Thanks to all these photos I've taken of my friends and family laughing in the past, I was able to bring a smile to my face in the present and begin on the road to getting myself out from under this storm cloud that's been hovering over my life for the past few days...

Here are a few of my favorite laughing shots from Summer 2009, hope they bring a smile to your face :)