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Memorial Monday

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Happy Memorial Day to those who have or are serving our country.

I've been such a bad blogger! Coming up this week I'll have a corn pudding recipe for you, some more Neenah restaurant fun, and whatever else pops into my head.

This weekend was fantastic. I got three whole nights at home! Bryce and I enjoyed some wonderful meals, spent time with a close friend, and I even got to have a day in Kenosha with my parents. My mom and I went shopping and I found two dresses at White House Black Market for my bachelorette party and rehearsal dinner. I love, love, love them!

Now I just need to find a dress for my bridal shower. Any suggestions for a stylish, bright, floral dress? Bright florals aren't really my thing, but that's the theme so I need to find something that works!

Shout out to this guy. I miss ya!

The Worst Fashion Blogger Ever

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Last week I sent Bryce pictures of me everyday. I really had no reason for doing it except that I bought a bunch of new clothes and I was excited about my outfits.

I mostly decided to share this with you because I love my gold-toed shoes. They are the best shoes ever.

The pictures are terrible. So terrible. I don't care. Enjoy.

Sweater {Target}

Black Pants {H&M}

Shoes {Target}

Necklace {Vintage}

Button Down {Tommy Girl}

Blue Pants & Belt {H&M}

Epic Shoes {Ellen Tracy}

It's all H&M, baby. Except the shoes, those are Target again.

Shirt {Forever 21}

Skirt {Cynthia Rowley}

Shoes {Ellen Tracy}

Zombie Face {Allllll me.}

Wedding Menu Tasting

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Our menu tasting was probably the best part of wedding planning so far. I guess there are perks to having one of those big, fancy weddings after all! Bryce and I took our moms to the tasting and we celebrated mother's day for the rest of the afternoon. Iron Horse has one of the best restaurants in the city so we are very lucky to have them catering our wedding. Food is a big deal to us and we're totally pumped!

I didn't take the greatest photos of our food. Mostly because I was very anxious to start eating it! I forgot to take a picture of one of the salads and one of the entrees, but they were just as beautiful and delicious as the rest of it.

We started off with hors d'oeuvres. Out of the five we tried, three were chosen for the wedding. Bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes (pictured above), chickpea veggie cakes with red pepper sauce, and goat cheese crostini with asparagus, red pepper & micro greens. Some of it may sound a little weird, particularly the veggie cake, but that is one of the reasons we brought our moms to the tasting. We know we have cuh-razy vegetarian taste buds (mostly sarcasm), but I have to tell you the veggie cakes were our moms' favorite.

Here are the delicious losers: Portabella Sliders & English Egg Salad

Mmmmm, salad. The one we chose isn't pictured, but below is the wedge salad with green goddess dressing. Holy Goddess, it was incredible! Like I said, we aren't going with this one, but it was actually my personal favorite.

And the main event! We tried the Gnocchi, the Market Pasta, and one other delight. Hey, I'm not going to share our whole menu! That was the best gnocchi I've ever had in my life. It was lighter than a cloud. The market pasta was fantastic as well, but it didn't make the cut. We all enjoyed it, but decided that the two winners were just at another level.

Trying out the food I'll eat on my wedding day was pretty amazing. I can't wait to eat gnocchi with my husband.

Brave Face

I literally sat at my hotel window and sang "Lonely" with some altered lyrics to suit my situation. Yes, I'm actually that pathetic.

I've always been really good at putting on a brave face. Fake it 'til you make it kind of thing. I'm a major introvert, but if you tell some people that they would never believe it. Want to know why? Because I'm such a people pleaser that I learned how to be an extrovert. I've even learned to enjoy being social, but that only lasts for so long. I can only handle a few hours at a time of being away from home, away from family.

My first week out of town I was riding the high of my new job, exploring a new city and faking my extroverted-ness so hard that I even believed it myself. I was an independent woman! I did everything on my own!

You know what? Fuck that.

I miss my fiance, I miss my bed, I miss my freaking kitchen. Today was hard and I want to go home. I feel emotionally raw. The weekend was incredibly short with a drive home on Friday night and a drive back on Sunday evening. Throw in a wedding appointment combined with a mother's day celebration and you've got what felt like five minutes at home.

I need Bryce. I need snuggles, I need my carpool buddy (okay, driver), I need his emotional support to keep me sane. Yeah, I'm dependent on him and I'm perfectly happy with that. If someone else doesn't like it, that's so their problem. Dependence is a two-way street for us. Personally, I think you should be dependent on the person you are marrying. That's kind of the point right? I guess I'm just saying, I'm done with my brave face. Today, being away from home doesn't feel worth it.

I'll hop off my soapbox now. Apologies for the lack of posts. Obviously, I'm still adjusting to working out of town for the next month.

Aspen Coffee & Great Harvest Bread Co

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Aspen Coffee & Tea

Neenah has some fun cafes and restaurants in their downtown near my hotel. Thanks to Aspen and Great Harvest it means that I've eaten a lot of sandwiches in the past three days. 

At Aspen Coffee & Tea I had a Gardener's Veggie Melt that was loaded with brie, asparagus, red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, spinach, onions and tomato. I'm not usually a big fan of brie, but this panini makes it work. Aspen reminds me of Alterra in Milwaukee and makes me feel at home. They also have a number of veggie options which is always a plus for me. 

Great Harvest Bread Co.

At Great Harvest I had a hummus sandwich. It was yummy, but it was definitely a typical vegetarian sandwich at place that has no other vegetarian options. The big winner for me was the monkey bread. I am eating it as I write and I don't know if I have enough willpower to keep from eating the whole loaf tonight. Someone save me!

Patience, My Friends

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Oh boy. Please be patient with me over the next 5 weeks. This whole working out of town in a new job thing is going to take some time to adjust to.

Don't worry, I'll get back on track with the blog. My Neenah posts will include such things as:

1. My bad ass new shoes that all my new co-workers love.

2. The place I'll be eating pretty much every night for the next 5 weeks -- Aspen Coffee.

3. Tales from the only female staying at this hotel on business (including but not limited to the story of the horrifyingly sweaty old man hogging the elliptical machine).


It will be epic. I mean...it will be as epic as it can be...which isn't very epic. Uh, I don't even know anymore. I'm going to go drink the beer I brought with me. Yeah.

You know you're from Milwaukee when you bring your own beer with you out of town.

It's The Final Countdown!

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Today is my last day in my current job! I'm so pumped. I danced all morning and I'm pretty sure Bryce thinks I'm crazy now. Alright fine, he already knows I'm crazy.

I have 6 hours left as an administrative assistant. Maybe you have (or one day will have) an admin of your own. If you do, these might be some things for you to think about. You can thank me later, admins of the world (or of the three people that read my blog...)!

As an administrative assistant I've learned a lot of lessons about working hard, being flexible, and understanding the needs of the team. Those lessons will stay with me throughout my career as well as other lessons like cleaning up after myself (the admin shouldn't have to be the maid), independence especially when it comes to things like un-jamming a printer (as the admin I had no one else to pass my problems off to), and respect for people on varying levels of the corporate food chain (I'm not going to make someone mail my friend's lotion for me...so weird).


Things I'll Miss About My Job:

Talking to my cubicle mate throughout the day.
Reporting to my awesome manager.
My big, glass window walls.

(I'm staying in my department, just getting a new position so I don't have to miss my co-workers or potluck days or anything like that.)


Things I Won't Miss:

Fixing the printer every stinking day.
Running errands for other people around campus.
Working in a cubicle.
Sharing my cubicle with a microwave and a fridge (and another person).
Turning off my space heater every time someone uses the microwave so that the power doesn't go out.

Now on to bigger and better things! Have a great weekend!

Leaning In

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Right now I'm gearing up for 5 weeks of working out of town. I get to come home briefly on the weekends, but this means my blog post schedule needs some adjusting.

For now I'm thinking posts will go up at night instead of in the morning and you will be seeing some of my adventures from Neenah instead of Milwaukee. I'll get to share what it's like to wedding plan from afar, how to eat out of a microwave for five weeks (I don't even have a microwave at home!), and I might even talk about starting my "big girl" job. I'm leaning in, Sheryl Sandberg!

Career Links I'm Loving:

1. Details that matter when writing a cover letter.
2. Some workplace style bloggers I will be relying on so that I can look like a fashionable 9to5er.
3. A DIY gold polka dot mouse pad for a cute work space.
4. The best pancake recipe ever for a treat after a long week of work.
5. How to style a desk.
6. Since I'm leaving my job as an assistant this article made me happy and it's so true.
7. Three ways to impress when you're the youngest one in the office? Yep, that would be me.
8. Career books for young women.

Cooked

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Up here in Milwaukee we have an incredible local bookstore, Boswell Book Company. Yes, I have a Kindle and on occasion I buy books from there, but for the most part I'm a paper girl. I love buying a new book. My future children and grandchildren are sure to make fun of me for not being book tech savvy, but those little brats and kiss my future saggy butt. I'm never giving up my books.

Back on track, Boswell is fantastic. They have a beautiful selection of books and I've never gone in looking for something that they didn't have. A section of their store is dedicated to employee recommendations with little book reviews and another section is full of book club books.

Not only are they the best bookstore ever, but they host the best events. Most recently Bryce and I attended a Michael Pollan event at the Oriental Theater that Boswell hosted. Michael Pollan was amazing, informative, and entertaining. He read from his new book Cooked and gave us a nice long Q & A session.

Here's a quick excerpt I pulled from Boswell's website:

"In his new book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Pollan explores the uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements -- fire, water, air, and earth -- to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink."

I feel like it's important to mention that Michael Pollan said himself that this is his most light-hearted book. Cooked comes after Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma and more. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. If you haven't heard of him at all you are probably living under a rock. He is a wellness bad ass and you need to check him out (preferably at your local bookstore).

Leek, Chard & Corn Flatbread

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I'm gearing up to head out of town for 6 weeks for my new job. I get to come home briefly on the weekends, but my poor fiance is going to have to fend for himself at dinner time during the week. He is very capable of feeding himself. He's a wonderful cook and he's even the master behind the homemade pasta that I posted yesterday. But when it comes to being alone and feeding himself he tends to forget about eating until he's starving and then he downs a frozen pizza.

I guess I'm just worried about him (mostly because I'm going to just miss the heck out of him) and my hope is that if he is going to eat pizza every day that he at least makes a healthy version like this 

Leek, Chard & Corn Flatbread from Smitten Kitchen. 

It's delicious and easy to make. It is definitely way better than the food I'll be cooking up in my hotel microwave! 

Weekend Wrap Up

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~ A view of Milwaukee from Lakeshore Park ~

I love that I am constantly discovering new beauty in my city. The weather this weekend was gorgeous and I took every opportunity to be outside in it. I had a Girl's Night Out, a nature walk with my mom, and a Sunday afternoon spent enjoying the sunshine and delicious food.

~ Alterra at the Lake ~

 ~ Checking out Lucille's Piano Bar in preparation for my Bachelorette Party ~

Margo is too pretty!

 ~ Lakeshore Park ~

~ Homemade Pasta ~

The 1-3-5 List

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I am a list maker. I am an obsessive list maker. I make lists of lists.

Despite the environmentalist in me I use a forest's worth of paper in post-it notes on a daily basis.

I've heard about the 1-3-5 list before, but I've only recently started using it and so far I'm in love. It reigns me in from making my list excessive, but it also lays things out so that I actually accomplish them.

Check out 1-3-5.com for a virtual version of the list and get ready to spring clean your cluttered mind!

My 20's Bucket List

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I didn't realize how many cool things I've done already by the age of 23 until I started writing my 20's Bucket List. I was looking for ideas to inspire me, but I've done so much of what is on other similar age appropriate bucket lists (or it's things I just don't care about like partying in Vegas). Mostly because those lists were a bit lame and included things like "move out of your parents house". Which I respect, because I didn't go away to school so I definitely felt like I lived at home longer than everyone else. But I digress! I've seen some natural wonders of the world, I'm SCUBA certified, I can cook, I'm about to get married, I did cancer research, I live in a city where I have amazing food and fun, I just got a "grown-up" job.

It's funny how I compare myself to other people and think that I just live the most boring life ever. I'm a list person so I guess I needed to sit down and make one to figure out that my life is actually pretty amazing.

I'm so thankful for everything that I have experienced, everyone in my life, and everything that I have, but I always need to strive for more.

1. Learn a language...fluently!

I took 4 years of Spanish and hell if I can even speak one sentence of it now. For some reason I just really want to learn French so I can go to France and order some wine without looking like a tool.

2. Re-learn ballet. 

I took ballet for about 10 years as a kid. I really loved it, but was heart broken when my instructor decided to leave her studio to dance in Chicago and I gave it up. Ballet is the OCD girl's dance.

3. Visit New Orleans. 

I don't know why I want to spend time there so badly, but I want to soak up some voodoo and eat a bunch of beignets.

4 - 6. See the Northern Lights, learn astronomy, get a telescope. 

I feel like these three are related. I had a telescope as a kid and I'm pretty sure I saw a UFO. Don't laugh! My dad is in the aircraft field and I called him while he was at work one night to tell him about what I saw. He told me that only 1 plane could do what I described and there were only a couple of them left in the world. Therefore, I decided it had to be a UFO. SHUT UP.

7. Become a Wine Connoisseur. 

8. Meditate daily and practice yoga on a regular basis.

9. Donate Blood. 

I have the universal donor blood type and I am a universal chicken that needs to suck it up and give someone my blood.

10. Invest My Moolah in the Market.

11 - 12. Visit Pike Place and Go Whale Watching. 

These are also related because I've always wanted to do both and on our honeymoon we will be! I'm too excited!

13. Attend some TED Talks.

14. Learn more about US & World history. 

I feel like everyone knows more than I do.

15. Become passionate about a cause or charity and get actively involved.

16. Visit the Smithsonian.

17. Travel, travel, travel. 

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list." - Susan Sontag

18. Revamp my wardrobe and own everything that J. Crew makes. 

Okay, that part may be a bit unrealistic.

19. Trade in our falling apart cheap furniture. 

Get a new mattress, couch, and some real bookshelves.

20. Get married to my best friend.

What's on your bucket list?

Wedding Cake - Help Me Decide!

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As many of you know, Bryce and I have been engaged for a long time. That means I've had far too much time to change my mind about what I want for our wedding.

For most of that time we didn't want a wedding cake. We were going to do some kind of dessert buffet and cut into a fruit tart for the symbolism. My parents didn't have a wedding so definitely no wedding cake. On their 25th anniversary last year I threw them a surprise party and made a cake so they could finally cut into it together.

That made me realize I wanted us to have a wedding cake (that and my mom pestering me - love you mom!). But now the decision has to be made...what do I want my wedding cake to look like?!

Help me out! Let me know which of these cakes is your favorite.

Spring Green Pasta

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Bryce and I went to the Cubs vs Brewers game on Sunday and we ate so much junk food. It's a ball game. Junk food is a requirement. Nachos Grande, Loaded Potato, Soft Serve...

Okay, we didn't eat nearly as much junk food as the people around us, but I definitely felt like major crap later that night and the next day so I decided to made the healthiest darn pasta you ever did see!

It's a typical Ashley recipe where the measurements are made up and the points don't matter!

Spring Green Pasta

1 Head of Broccoli, chopped
1 Bunch of Asparagus, broken up
2 Large Kale Leaves, ripped up
A Handful of Snap Peas
1 Avocado, diced
8 oz Fresh Pasta (seriously, use fresh pasta)
Salt & Pepper
Shredded cheese like Parmesan to top





Prep all of your veggies (not the avocado) and cook down in a large sauce pan with a lid over medium heat until everything is tender. Add water throughout to keep it steaming.

Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

Salt and pepper the veggies.

Mix the veggies, pasta, and diced avocado together. Serve topped with cheese.

My body is thanking me for this meal!

Lovin' on the Earth Day

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Happy Earth Day!

It seems like everyone has really great blog posts for Earth day with tips on how to live a sustainable lifestyle by recycling, shopping locally and even by using natural beauty products. Those are all wonderful and important, but it kind of feels like ...alright already! Tell me something I don't know!

I mean, that could be because I study Environmental & Conservation Science and living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle is a huge priority for me. But that is also why I think it's important to share with you some information for why you should even give a crap about buying one lotion over another. It's really easy to disconnect our actions from what is happening to the Earth overall especially when we ignore the damaging evidence for more "important" news like which celebrity got arrested (looking at you Reese Witherspoon!) and which team won the game (never the Cubs :( ).

Somehow, at the same time, it feels like everyone just wants you to be a B.O. and patchouli scented hippy that lives in a commune, but that really isn't necessary. I live an environmentally-conscious lifestyle everyday and I think I smell pretty good. I'm no where near perfect, but it's not about that. It's about slowing down, preventing, and reversing the damage to our planet that little by little we each contribute to every day.

My favorite climate cartoon!

When I started writing this I wanted to share specifics of the damage being done to our planet, but honestly, where could I even begin?

Should I tell you about our endangered US rivers that are disappearing because we are overdrawing the water with outdated management techniques?

What about the lasting effects of the BP oil spill? Nope, that's not over yet. How about daily oil dumps from cruise ships?

You probably know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But did you know we have our own growing garbage patch here in the Great Lakes?

I could never begin to tell you about everything that is happening to our planet (I only know a fraction), but I can tell you how to become informed yourself.

1. Subscribe to Above the Fold, a daily newsletter from Environmental Health News. Above the Fold aggregates environmental headlines from across the world so that you don't need to dig to have the facts at your fingertips.

2. Check out Mother Nature Network. It's like CNN for the Earth.

3. There are bajillions of documentaries to watch. My favorite series is called Oceans. It is beautiful and I learned so much from it.

3. Make a sustainable lifestyle a priority! It's nearly impossible to read the news and not learn anything about the environment. It's like when you buy a new car and suddenly you see your car everywhere you look. Once you start looking for information, you won't stop finding it.

We will deal with the consequences of a damaged planet in our lifetime - it's not just about future generations anymore. In 35 years, 1/3 of land mammals may be extinct and the Arctic summer ice will be completely melted. I might not even have grand kids by then!

The Earth needs you to give a crap!

A Difficult Week

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Apologies for posts being few and far between this week. I think my life has been mirroring the nation's chaos. This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life.

Maybe things have been going well for too long? I don't know. I'm just happy to be moving forward now. I can't wait to spend fun time with friends and family this weekend. I'll be helping with bridal shower crafting, getting breakfast with Margo, and going to a Cubs game.

Next week's posts should be a lot more fun!

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. 

-Robert Frost

Blood Orange Mimosa

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I'm not really a drown my sorrows kind of person (anymore). My comfort is/was sugar-filled anything. I turn to a multitude of healthy outlets for my stress these days, but yesterday was a toughie. The real kicker was saying good bye to my brother as he left for boot camp. After we parted ways with Sean and my dad headed home, my mom and I grabbed breakfast at Simple Cafe. We were wiped so my mom drove home and I was left by myself with no motivation to do anything.

So you know what I did? I ate two desserts and drank wine straight from the bottle. Then I fell asleep.

Shut up.

I needed it. You know what would have made my indulgent day even better? Blood Orange Mimosa from Canella. I had it for the first time at Rustico and when I found a bottle of it at Glorioso's I just had to bring it home.

I never ended up finishing the bottle before it went flat (because I'm healthy like that), but I wish I'd had some to drink yesterday. Because yesterday, I was ridiculous.

Saying Bye Bye to My Little Brother

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I'm saying farewell for now to my brother, Sean, today. He's headed off to Texas for Air Force boot camp! Good luck, buddy. We'll all miss you, but we know you will do wonderful things!