Checking In...

I know, I know, I shouldn't treat a scant amount of time between posts as some kind of hiatus that had you all terribly worried, but when more than a few days goes by and I don't publish some kind of nonsense I get a little antsy. I try not to let the antsy feeling morph into guilt, because I know that I've been super busy and I don't need "Geez, Ash, get a blog post together for crying out loud" hanging over my head, but sometimes that happens regardless.

ANYWAY. Like I said, I have a whole lot going on these days. My plate is full and so is my salad dish and dessert bowl and maybe even a saucer or two. BUT I am making it, with the help of lots of caffeine (and prayer) along with my sweet husband and his ever-present willingness to ease my load.

In between all the craziness and moments of pure insanity have been some fun times that I will now share with you lest you think I've only been stressing out about Christmas play stuff for the last two weeks. Several of these pictures have been on Instagram (follow along at @dashofashblog!) but others are exclusively available right here. 

Call me mainstream (I'd be no good as a hipster) but I get just as giddy as the next girl over the holiday cups and drinks at Starbucks. Rarely do I see fit to spend four bucks on doctored-up coffee but I make an exception for the peppermint mocha frap. Bonus festive points if they throw some red sprinkles on top =)

According to Grace, I'm a "hat person" but clearly these were just for fun. Except the beanie... I'd totally wear that while my husband looked on in shame. (Time out- it's BEANIE. Not "toboggan." A toboggan is a sled, people.)

I've always loved this quote from Willy Wonka (For all you literary scholars... I'm aware it's actually a quote from Arthur O'Shaughnessy's poem "Ode" but let's be honest- I always think of the movie first.) I grabbed this canvas at TJ Maxx and it fits right in with my living room. 

Isn't Snoopy adorable? One of my favorite classroom purchases this year was a seasonal Snoopy set. And as hard as it is to believe, it's almost time to bring out Christmas Snoopy! Last week I went back and got his house (not knowing it was GIANT...seriously, it's like life-sized) so now he's got his little red house and I'm thinking about putting up real Christmas lights on it because I can.

One of the great tragedies of my life is that our Chickfila is completely out of the way and it will be a cold day before I get up at the crack of dawn to get breakfast before school... but on a rare and beautiful Saturday morning, we get over to the Chicken Heaven for some minis and it's delightful.

Our friends (and fellow Bama fans) Stephen and Lauren hosted a bonfire for the big game (against LSU, which we won by three touchdowns- booyah!) and we all camped out in their backyard with blankets to watch on the big screen. It was so fun! I made this soup (more about that soon!) and we had s'mores... pretty much a perfect evening. (Although this old lady with an old lady bedtime will not be sad if the next game doesn't start at 8 P.M. Yuck.)

One day I'll force him into something Alabama-related. 

Brandi and Stuart have become such good friends to us over the past year and we are so sad to see Stuart deploy today for seven months. Knowing a military couple/family really puts into perspective the sacrifices that those in uniform make to keep us free. We're praying for you, Stu! Stay safe!

So, that's what I've been up to lately, along with lots of other things that you don't want to hear me whine about aren't very interesting. And I do know that this type of "catch-up" post is not a money-maker and that the content I usually shoot for has been a little MIA lately, but I do promise it's coming back someday soon and in the meantime, thank you (really) for clicking back for the in-between stuff. I mean it... you guys are the best.


Ash