Fluctuat Nec MergiturRocked by the waves but does not sink I recently learned the motto for the city of Paris. It is quite poetic, given that Paris is my soul city and just has that emotional gravitational force over me that is difficult to put into words (you can read more about that here). The…
A month ago today, we received unimaginable news: I was having a miscarriage. My first appointment was supposed to be filled with pure joy and excitement for the future, but instead it was nothing but crushing devastation and heartache. We quickly went from imagining our growing family to mourning a loss. A loss that I am…
My first international trip was May 2016 when I was 26. I did not grow up traveling (or know of anyone who really traveled for that matter), but always fantasized of far away places as dreamers do. It never occurred to me that I could make it my reality, and I honestly was content with the thought of…
Everyone has a soul city; it may be New York for some, Barcelona for others. But for me, it will always be Paris. A soul city is a place that has an emotional gravitational force over you that can be often difficult to put into words. For as long as I can remember, Paris has…
Reading isn't a new found thing, but recently my passion for it has been reignited. I used to read a lot when I was younger, so it's quite nice to be able to find such pleasure in it again. As of today, I've already read 11 books this year. Just goes to show that once…
Southern California weather is a fickle thing. It can be warm and sunny one day then cold and rainy the next. The latter happens to be the case right now. The weather is forecasted to rain off and on for the next week, which naturally has me dreaming of beautiful, sunshiny days. Dress (similar) |…
It's taken me a long time to get to the positive place I currently am with my body. It hasn't been easy; I have to work at it every day, actively replacing the negative self-talk with more self-love. I truly do think my body is beautiful, and I genuinely love it, but that doesn't mean…
As I'm sitting here writing this, it's officially winter in California. The cooler weather is making me miss my summer in Provence more than ever. I miss the warm July sun, the song of the cicadas, and most of all, the lavender fields and turquoise lakes... ValensoleOne morning, we woke up early for a little…
I've had some time to reflect back on the last year, and boy, was it a whirlwind. January though April felt like a year on its own, we had the longest summer ever, fall was 2 seconds, and now SoCal cannot make up its mind about winter. There were a couple of exciting milestones, like…
Last year, David and I made our way to Oak Glen for some apple picking, and had the best day. We got out of our Huntington Beach bubble, enjoyed the changing of the leaves, and partook in a new activity. It was something so fun and different; therefore, we decided that this would be our…
la vie d’ashley 