Shop Frankie's Giveaway! [CLOSED]

 WANNA WIN THIS SWEET DRESS?

Okay, so you might remember when I went to the so-cal blogger meet-up a few weeks ago..... no? Let me remind you, I won this sweet leopard print dress from Shop Frankie's   and loved it so much, I snagged another one to give to one of you all!  The dress I have to giveaway is a size small (its very loose and flowy, and I believe it would comfortably fit anywhere from a size 2-8).  It's super cute and $55 dollar value!  And guess what else?  You don't have to jump through hoops to enter.  Simply leave a comment for once chance to make this dress yours.  If you really, really want more chances then you can leave a second comment by going to Frankie's  website and telling me what other fabulous spring fashion you love.  If you would like a third entry then you can like adventures of newlyweds on facebook.  Bam, Bam & Bam.  Three chances to win this amazing piece of spring fashion!  

So let's recap:

+1 entry: just leave a comment. 

+2 entry: head over to frankie's website and tell me something that catches your ey

+3 entry: be my friend on facebook!

oh yes, giveaway will be open through this weekend! 

Over & Out, 

A

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Last Call!

I still have a few spots open for March sponsorships---- I would love to have you, I am sure. E-mail me and claim your spot!  (p.s. three 250X125 spots are available !)  ashley@adventuresofnewlyweds.com

Over & Out,

A

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Things To Do In...California

A little drive down the freeway will bring you from Los Angeles to Orange County.... Sunday afternoon we landed in Newport Beach.  There is a fantastic and super popular spot called Balboa Island that you can take a ferry out to, and we are planning on driving back down and doing that this coming Sunday afternoon.  Only this time we will bring Baby Bella, who missed out on all of our fun.
It was a little chilly, (ha! It was 60 degrees but we all felt like we were freezing!) so we didn't stay out for too long.  I loved Newport Beach because it was so clean, and along the pier there were dozens and dozens of fishermen catching buckets of mackerel.  One chinese man even let me hold his rod.... his pole... crap, that sounds dirty no matter how I say it.  Well I held his fishing equipment and got to pose like I had just caught a fish.  And then, there were the swings.  If I needed proof that I am getting older (I don't, by the way), the swings proved it to me. The seats were tiny and my butt was hurting within 30 seconds, I also can no longer do a "superman" because I am too big.  I just kind of layed on my stomach on the swing while adults with small children tried to decide if I was drunk or just an idiot.  I think they figured it was a combination. Second, can you believe what a workout it is to swing anyway? I mean you have to be constantly pumping your legs..... talk about feel the burn.  Also, apparently infamous '"El Torasco" from that Hoku song from 2000...come on, you must remember it.  Here is the link, so you can be nostalgic. The video was filmed in the OC too!

the bottom left pictures is me swinging with a friend, David Welch. He is one of my husband's closest friends (college buddies) and he just moved back to CA from Israel where he was in school in Tel Aviv and serving in the Israeli army. He is crazy like that!   And, lucky you, I took a few videos while we were out that day.

That is our friend David, giving his opinion about the fish....

and my husband in the background shaking his head "NO!" haha 

My husband always thinks it is hilarious to pretend that he is 

taking pictures but really, he is videoing. HAR HAR husband. 

AND OH, ONE MORE THING!  Remember when Julie and I went to the Dr. Phil taping!?

Well, I made it ON CAMERA!  SHE DID TOO!  I didn't get a video of her, but I think she DVR'd it and will get the screen shots.... my parents on the east coast saw the show first and told me I made it on so I made sure to have the video camera ready!  I should tell you, that although the show material was pretty terrible, I was hamming it up and making really upset faces and hoping one of the camera men would pick me-- I am so glad it worked!  I am a star!  You can call me hollywood if you'd like :)

Here is me on the video!  See me at the 40 second mark! 

Over & Out, 

A

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Overheard In LA... {Part 5}

Is it too soon for another one of these?  I went hiking this past weekend and literally got almost all of my material just from eavesdropping on conversations on the way up and down.  Runyon Canyon has turned into one of my favorite spots to hike.  For one, its not ridiculously far from us, there is always great people watching and the view at the top is one of the prettiest 360° view of LA, the valley and the Pacific.  Anyways, this time, I left some of my own comments in pink after the conversations.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I always do!

::Runyon Canyon::

Hipster guy (dressed in skinny jeans, alligator skin shoes, a v-neck and shades...on a HIKE.)

Hipster Guy: So, I guess he has been more successful in the "traditional" sense than me.

Girl: Like, he is making a lot of money?

Hipster: Riiiiight.  Which is so overrated if you are compromising your craft.

*rolls eyes, trips on a log*

you're right hipster kid, getting paid for a living is so overrated. 

::Runyon Canyon::

Fit, Tan, Australian Man: You've gawt to reeeally lewk inside your haert and pool from witheen. 

(translation: you've really got to look inside your heart and pull from within).

Pudgy,White Kid With Lisp: yeah I really think thasa good idea, and I should jus get out here and walk!

Fit, Tan, Australian Man: Pri-Sci-Slee! (Precisely)

Pudgy, White Kid With Lisp: Then I can set a goal to be like you.

Fit, Tan, Australian: Well... everyone is different.

You mean not everyone can be as pretentious as you?

::Runyon Canyon, at the very top::

Girl #1: Look at all that fog!

Girl #2: That's like smog. Like dirt or something.

Girl #1: Do you think if everyone turned on their blow dryers and pointed up that it would push it all

higher in the air and then it would be clear?

Girl #2: That would be sweet!

Go for it girls, that would be a nice way to spend a Saturday.

::Chipotle, Newport Beach::

Girl #1: How many calories does cheese got?

Guy #2: It depends I think.

Girl #1: But vegetables don't have any calories, right?

Girl #2: Um, not like of fat.

Girl #1: I bet ice has like zero calories. And then you burn like 100 when you chew it.

I don't think it works that way. 

::Newport Beach::

Tourist woman: You know I heard that Balboa Island is surrounded by water..all the way around!

hence the world ISLAND?

::Runyon Canyon, two film students, I assume::

Film Student #1: So what is your film about?

Film Student #2: I don't know what is about, but I can tell you what happens.

It's like in a classroom, but....its really just a room.  And when Mallory 

pukes in the corner its like, exquisite. 

I have no words for this one...

Over & Out, 

A

And in case you missed it...
PART 1   
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4 
PART 6

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Fetch & Co. {Everything Must Go!}

This is a little screen shot of my etsy shop.   I have neglected it, my little shop...... but I am coming back with a vengeance! To help fur babies get the surgeries they need and deserve!  First things first, everything that is sitting in the shop has gotta go.  I marked half of the things down to 50%, the others 20% and a few of the more expensive items to 15% off.  Everything is marked down though, and is priced to move.  (Do I sound like a furniture store commercial yet?! I would totally dress up like the statue of liberty or something if I could make a commercial, by the way. And do something with a voice echo. But I digress).  I hope you all will swing on by and see if anything catches your eye.  It was made by Bella & I with lots of love------  so please check it out!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Shop Now! Shop Now! Shop Now!

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Honeymoon In Jamaica

It was Monday morning, and we were officially wed.  Our Sunday afternoon wedding had gone as perfect as possible, and the shock and reality was setting in.  We had made it, we were  husband and wife.... and it was 9am.  Crap. We jumped out of bed and raced to get ready for our trash the dress session.  [For any soon-to-be-marrieds out there I want to highly discourage a morning after the wedding trash the dress session.  If you are anything like us, it sounded like a good idea, but that morning we didn't want to do anything but sleep a little longer and relax!] We made it to our location and splashed around in Lake Michigan for about an hour and then headed to breakfast..... our flight wasn't until Tuesday morning out of Detroit so we made the 6 hour drive and tried to let the fact that we were really, really, REALLY married sink in.....  Tuesday morning, off to Jamaica we went!  We stayed at Couples, Swept Away and it was as amazing as the cheesy name makes it sound....here is our trip..

It was rainy in Detroit, but we knew we would soon be basking in the glorious sun

Upon arrival at the airport we were brought into a lounge area and our bags were taken from us, we got a local jamaican beer and started listening to Bob Marley music that would be the soundtrack to our entire week.  The drive to the resort was a a little scary--- I never realized what a poor country Jamaica is, and the driver was insane.  The fact that we made it there alive and in one piece was a small miracle.

impeccable dining

During the days we lounged on the beach and swam in this insanely clear blue water.  All guests got a little flag, when we stuck it up in the sand someone would come out to take our drink orders and get us whatever we needed.  It. Was. Awesome.

We  loved coming here mid-morning and getting fruit, coconut water and baked sweet potato chips!

via

via; we got a couples massage in the spa and soaked in this soaking pool. ahhh, heaven!

One of our favorite activities was the catamaran sunset cruise.... we went along the coast and anchored and everyone got to slide off a slide that was rooftop. You can't tell, but it was quite a drop!  I went the "regular" way down, but of course, husband entertained the entire ship sliding off the slide in the craziest ways he could think of.  We also got to jump off the boat and swim out and into a few caves.  It was so cool (and scary) to be inside the caves!  The water shallowed and deep inside you could walk around and pretend you were a pirate hiding treasure.  It was so fun!

husband got to play soccer with the local guys and they loved him :)

we sailed out to explore the "pirate ship" anchored in front of our resort

The one thing that stands out about our honeymoon for both husband and I was the amazing, amazing food we were served morning, noon & night.  I swear, I dream about it sometimes. I have never had better food anywhere in my life and that is saying something.  Maybe it was the fact that we were so hungry after a day of beach activities, or maybe it was because we were so relaxed that everything was that much better--- either way, I would go back here just to be wined and dined the way we were.

I would definitely recommend Jamaica to anyone--- specifically Couples, Swept Away! 

Over & Out,

A

p.s. thanks for the shout out casey!

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My Phone Was Returned!

Can you believe it?? I still can't believe it! Thursday afternoon I got an e-mail from my husband that said "your phone was just located in the building one hour ago, but it has moved".  The dumb stealer turned the phone on and thanks to apple's genius programs (Thank you Steve Jobs), it automatically updated its location.  We had already locked the phone the day I "lost" it so we knew that the person who had it could not get into it and gain access to everything.  And I do mean everything because I run my etsy shop, blog, emails, facebook, and almost everything from my phone.  In the e-mail you can see the gray dot showing the phone, below.....

When I got it, I got really excited because you can see that the building is shaped in such a way you can tell exactly which apartment it has to be in...the problem was not knowing which FLOOR it was on.  It was late at night and I didn't want to go banging on doors and upsetting people who had no idea what was going on.  My husband said "Print out flyers and offer a $100 reward!"  So, I did and I put them up in the elevators.  I decided to call the police too since we could basically see where it was, but they said unless you see who takes it that they do not come out for cell phones.   Well it didn't matter because yesterday a weird number kept calling my husband's cell phone and when he answered a russian woman came on the line saying "I think I have phone, I found by pool, was all wet".   Great, I thought...... they dunked it in water to ruin it.  She told us where her apartment was and we went down to the second floor to get it back.....  she ended up being in the EXACT apartment shown by the dot in the picture above.  So obviously she had it in her apartment since Thursday when icloud located it.  I had to basically grab the phone out of her hand because she didn't just hand it back to me when she answered the door, but she never asked for the reward money and couldn't really explain how she had it, except that she found it down by the pool...and she thought it was her daughters.   I don't know, and I don't care because I have it back --- and I turned it on and it was perfectly FINE.  Thanks to us locking the phone nothing was accessible so nothing had been tampered with!  And it was still at the same battery level it had been when someone swiped it.   Our guess is that they finally realized they couldn't use it, and then saw the signs for a reward and thought to cash in.  But again, who knows and who cares----- I got my $600 phone back and don't have to pay for another one.  Hallelujah! 

Now, I can enjoy my weekend! 

Over & Out, 

A

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Friday's Letters

Dear Husband, Thank goodness the weekend is here. It has been a tough week on so many levels.  And then my phone got stolen, and then we were worried we might be evicted since our landlord is illegally sub-leasing to us. Let's do something FUN, okay? I love you. Dear Bella, It makes me so happy to go back through old pictures and see some of my favorite ones of you, like the one above from your first time swimming in Colorado. Dear Phone Stealer, I have been really really upset at you, whoever you are.  I can't ever imagine stealing someone's things so I think you probably have to be a really low person.  Regardless, its a material object and it is replaceable.  I still hope you stub your toes everyday though. Dear San Francisco & Grand Canyon, I can't wait to cross you off of our bucket list in the next few weeks. Dear Friends, If you are really working on getting fit and healthy I have two websites to share with you: endomondo.com  It uses your phones gps to track outdoor workouts and also calculates calories burned in workout classes as well.  Even better, you can sync up your heart rate monitor if you have one for extra accuracy. The second is  myfitnesspal.com ; you input your current weight, weight goal and it calculates how many calories you should be eating (broken down by fats, carbs & proteins) each day. Add workouts as well.  These both have apps for your phone too.  I am on both (ashleyjps on myfitnesspal and Ashley Slater on endomondo, find me!)  Dear Husband, I am so excited about our tax return this year.  Not only did we think we were going to have to pay (we're not), but we are getting way more back than we thought.  All of this money is going to straight to the credit card... we are going to have it paid off by this SUMMER.  I can feel it.  Can you feel it?! Believe!!!!!

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A Plague On Your House!

A fork in your eye!  A hoard of locusts in your yard! Boils! Hives! A nasty rash in an unmentionable area! UGH!  These are all the bad things I am wishing on whoever swiped my beautiful, precious, wonderful Iphone earlier today.  I wanted to cry.  I went down to the pool and came back up to the apartment, went down the hall and picked up the laundry, came back and realized I didn't have my phone.  I went straight back down to the pool (not even five minutes later) and my phone was no where to be found.....and the girls who were out at the pool had mysteriously vanished as well. It hasn't turned up, and  I have located it via find my iphone, locked it, suspended service and now... I may just cry.  So if you stole my phone and somehow found my blog through my e-mail I want you to know that you are a very bad person and I hope you stub your toes every single day for the rest of your life.  Like the really bad stub that makes you hop on one foot, fall to your knees and cringe in pain.  This is going to be one expensive loss....  I am so sad. And I feel so lost without it!  I thought I felt alone before, but now, being stuck here all alone without any connection to the outside world (minus the computer) is really terrible. Ughhhhh.  Give your iphones a huge for me, everyone.

Over & Out, 

A

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When The Grass Is Greener...

Will you laugh at me if I tell you a secret?  (Say no.)  Okay, here it is--- we are living here in sunny, beautiful, perfectly temperate California and all I have ben doing these past few days is searching for homes for sale in Michigan. What is wrong with me?  I have decided that I am just never satisfied.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade the winter for the glorious weather we are living in right now, but I am also getting so excited to have the adventure of searching for and buying a home.  It makes me kind of giddy to think about husband going out to do "yard work"  (that is man talk for tinkering with a lawn mower and walking around, hands on hips surveying the property).  I could finally make use of the hundreds of home ideas I have pinned on my pinterest boards.  A downside to this traveling thing is the fact that we haven't had time, money or space to start collecting pieces of furniture for when we finally do get around to buy a home.  Literally, all we "own" (and I use that term loosely because we actually don't own anything) are some random pieces from husband's college days.  But, like I said, we don't actually own those.  So technically we have nothing as far as furniture goes, OR major appliances like washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher, stove, etc. You may also think that since I am talking about buying a home that we have everything all lined up and ready to go, which is also not the case.  We are doing this traveling thing to get to that point and hopefully it will be soon!  We found a really awesome tool (amazing, actually) at mint.com   It is a website that syncs all your accounts, debts, financial goals, and so on to give you the big picture.  It automatically tracks spending, tells you which credit cards would be the best for you based on what you purchase and also tells you when you will meet financial goals.  I can't say enough good things about it, and I would suggest you check it out!  For those of you who ARE home owners, I am curious:  did you spend more on a home that was already finished to your taste, or did you spend less and use the excess money to upgrade and replace things?  What do you think the most important things are to look for when buying a home?  Please, tell me everything!

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Things To Do In...Los Angeles

Though the news report had called for a rainy weekend, we woke up and pulled open the shutters hoping for sunlight.  A few rays were peeking through the passing clouds.  I started the coffee as the husband came out to survey the sky, his fingers quickly moved over his phone screen and within 10 seconds the radar and forecast was up.  "It doesn't look like its going to rain, Ash"  he said.  Perfect.
"Well.  Then we should go hiking. Somewhere with waterfalls."

And so, we did. With Bella in tow we headed into Malibu and found a tiny parking lot right off the PCH.  We followed the road back through a neighborhood of fancy homes overlooking the ocean and found the tiny trail leading to Escondido Falls.

The hike took roughly 2 hours and we totaled nearly 5 miles.  At one point the trail dropped off entirely and dozens of hikers lined up to grab a lone rope and walk themselves across a rock face to get to where the trail widened again.  Obviously, this required both hands and I couldn't carry Bella with me across, so into the backpack she went.  She was more content than I imagined she would be and even started falling asleep.  The "falls" were covered with moss and very pretty, totally different than the colorado waterfalls though! Afterwards we decided to grab a sandwich and enjoy the last few specks of warmth on the beach.  We found a popular surfing spot and watched the amateurs and a few pros ride the waves.

One thing I have noticed is that Malibu has some of the cleanest, most gorgeous beaches of anywhere we have been. I walked along the waters edge and marveled at the colors under the clear water.  I was so excited to spot a starfish, a few crabs and even some fish.

I know that when we leave this place and I think back on California, I will think back on these beaches and all the beauty in such a tiny place in the world.

Over & Out,

A

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