30x30

Today is the day. My Birthday.

The day I turn 30.

Do you know what special event happened today to mark the end of a era?

None. 

And it was perfect.

I woke up to a love letter in my bed.

Black label Maple Bacon

in my belly.

And a fun little trip to Home Depot.

We played out side.

Lounged around.

It was the perfect day.

Thank you all so much for following me

along this journey to counting down 

the last 30 days of my 20's.

It was such a great experience and taught me so much.

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What better way to celebrate those last fleeting moments of my 20's 

than a big kids dinner party?

We had a spread of cheese and other yummy goodies

for the perfect DIY grilled cheese.

I couldn't decide on what kind of grilled cheese, so I doubled down.

One cheddar and bacon with spicy sauce,

and one apple and brie with raspberry chipotle!

YUM!!!

It was such a wonderful evening of awesome friends,

lots of laughter, and a few too many yummy beers.

30x30

After all that Fried Chicken and Hot Dog Talk,

The debut of PS561's new truck seemed 

like the only thing to do for Day 3.

Dinner from a food truck was already on my list,

what better way to get out of making dinner! 

And in my opinion there is not better food truck than PS561!

Love the new truck and the same old dogs!

Thanks so much to Aaron for feeding us!

You never disappoint! 

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Today. Day 4.

I took some guilt free time to myself.

15 minutes to be exact.

15 minutes to sit in the sauna after a  very hard yoga class.

And do you know what?

I didn't feel bad about it at all.

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Take care of your tootsies! 

This has become increasingly more important,

the older I get.

Mainly because my feet hurt so much, all the time.

Years of dancing? Maybe.

The cure?

A pedicure.

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Day 6 was devoted to 

fulfilling the quest for the perfect white shirt.

This crisp clean beauty was a thing of perfection 

hanging there on the thrift store rack.

I feel like I have been searching for this shirt for a life time,

although I really only looked for a few minutes.

#wherehaveyoubeenallmylife

The white button down can be paired with so much,

and something about it instantly made me feel sexy-ish.

See what I wore here!

It was the perfect blank canvas for my new Firmoo glasses,

and my new Lorna Ruth gold glitter earrings!

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Last night as the hubs was settling in from a long hard day at work,

I said to him:

"Want to have a sketchbattle?"

His eyes turned on with excitement.

I continued:

"One word. One hour. No other rules."

Once the shock and excitement wore off, he answered:

"Is this Day 7?"

I gave him a nod.

"God damn it, I love you!" was all he could say,

and it was on...like donkey kong.

The hubs got straight to work.

Working diligently, like a master, 

as if he was making sure to make the best of every single second of that hour.

I love watching him.

He pays so much attention to every detail and attacks them with such intent.

I, on the other hand, 

work more so as the mood takes me.

Dabble here.  Doodle there.

This was my first 'sketch battle' you know.

And I have to admit I was really nervous.

 We had so much fun with this, and will be doing it far more often.

Even found a black book for myself on clearance today! 

Score.

I told the hubs to pick the word.

I was too nervous that I was going to blurt out something 

stupid and cheesy like "LOVE". 

So here they are...

our interpretations of the word 

"KICKS"

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I had on simple request for 

Day 8....

Honey, You're making dinner.

Needless to say,

He nailed it!

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Oh man...single digits now.

Day 9...eeeek only 9 more days until the big

THREEEEEE OHHHHHH!

Day 9: Make something yummy.

So the hubs an I are starting a three week cleanse after my birthday, 

(I want birthday cake...hence 'after')

but for the past few weeks we have been making a change in our diets...

to sort of ease our selves into it.

We love food.

We are a snacky family.

Because of those two facts one of the biggest changes 

in our previous diet was the elimination of of processed snacks.

NO more junk food.

While we are not going crazy just yet,

we have been making that change.

So, today I made humus...instead of buying it.

Sort of a play on a 'My New Roots' recipe.

Roasted Golden Beet Humus

Ingredients: 

1 cup of roasted golden beets

1 cup dried garbanzo beans

1/2 a large lemon

3 tbsp of olive oil

2 tbsp Tahini

1/3 cup of pine nuts

salt & pepper

Step1:

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Follow instructions for soaking and cooking garbanzo beans.

Meanwhile chop beets.

In a large mixing bowl drizzle raw beets 

with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. 

Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 30 mins.

Step 2:

In your food processor

(or bowl if you use an emersion blender like me)

Combine all of the ingredients and purée. 

And enjoy! Serving ours with celery sticks. Yum.

If you want to follow us on our journey to clean, we will be blogging about it.

By the way honey, we will be blogging about it. Smiles!

If you are interested in joining us on our journey here is a link to the cleanse!

I am so excited because all of the recipes are written by one of my favorite blogs, 

My New Roots!

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First I must begin with a brief apology 

for Day 10's tardiness.

You see, it has taken my almost 30 year old ass

all day to feel like a human being again.

Needless to say,

I don't get out much.

But when I do, I tend to get silly.

Last night was full of giggles,

jokes about 30 year old boobs,

tender moments between friends,

and a very cold, long wait for a cab.

Friends of your 30's are so wonderful.

I was fortunate as a child and teen to move enough times 

to have a very formative and diverse community of friends.

Through the wonders of social media, 

I have really had the awesome opportunity

 to stay in contact with so many of those wonderful women.

I can almost pull layers of myself apart like an onion, 

and tell you who influenced that tid-bit of my personality.

Those tid-bits that make me who I am today.

The memories, laughs, tears, and fights that got me to where I am today.

And as I take a good hard look at the women, 

MY LADYBIRDS, 

who are major parts of mine and my families lives,

I am simply humbled.

xo

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On Day 11, I decided to replicate my new favorite skirt! 

You know when you fall in love with a clothing item,

and wish that you had more of them.

Well, I am making that happen.

So sometimes you don't have to spend any money on patterns.

Drawing your own and constructing with out instructions is quite simple is you have 

a good understanding of sewing.

A simple wrap skirt like this one can be made quickly.

Quickly when you have the energy to dig 

through your fabric stash to see what you have to make it with.  Haha.

I really should have finished this skirt today,

but being inside was the last time on my mind.

It was so beautiful outside today and had to be taken advantage of.

The skirt could wait. 

The boy and my garden could not.

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As I am sure that you have noticed before, I love succulents.

They are beautiful and hard to kill.

A while back I made a terrarium for myself, and another for my neighbor.

Many of you responded to the images with a desire to know HOW???

So here it is.

Day 12: DIY Terrarium

The wonderful thing about making your own terrarium 

is that you can really be as creative as you want.

You can use any kind of vessel.

You can choose all sorts of different gravel.

And the choices of plants are essentially endless.

Step 1:

You will need:

Cactus soil

a container (I used a large glass jar)

gravel (I recommend hitting up petsmart or an aquarium store for better choices)

a variety of succulents, air plants, or cacti

1 chopstick

stones or figures (optional)

How to choose your plants:

There are really no rules here, but let me educate you a bit.

There are slight differences in the care of some of these plants,

especially between air plants and succulents.

(most succulents and cacti like the same conditions)

When choosing your plants you want to look for ones

 that not only coordinate in color, but also in care.

Looking for ones that like the same living conditions is key since they will 

essentially be living in their own mini ecosystem.

You also want to look for balance.

You need enough width and enough height so that your jar doesn't look empty.

I generally like to cover 3 zones.

1. plants that cover the base and won't grow taller, but wider.

2. medium heigh plants that are fuller that take up volume.

3. tall and thin plants for height.

You don't need to fill your jar with plants for it to look beautiful either,

sometimes less is more.

A little tip about how many...

Odd numbers are always more pleasing to the eye.

So instead of 4 plants, go with 3 or 5.

I have recently fallen in love with air plants, and found a great retailer on etsy.

Twisted Acres was so helpful in teaching me the ways of air plants.

They gave me great tips to keep my plants looking spectacular.

The customer service was second to none, and the plants came delivered in the mail so quickly.

Definitely check out their etsy shop!

Step 2:

First you must put a bottom layer of gravel on the bottom of your jar.

Succulents DO NOT like their roots to be wet and will rot if they sit in water.

Next, you will need to add enough soiled to cover 

all of your succulent and cacti's root systems.

Arrange your plants with enough space for them to grow.

Add more soil to cover the root systems and stabilize your plants.

Remember DO NOT plant your air plants in the soil.

Step 3:

Once everything is exactly where you want it,

add the top layer of gravel.

This is where I use a chopstick to help guide those pesky little stones into place.

Add your air plants into your arrangement right on top of the gravel.

Also this is a great time to add larger stones or other figurines.

I love the way that raw crystals look in terrariums.

Step 4:

Simply find the perfect place, 

making sure that your plants get just the right amount of sun.

It is so humid where I live that I rarely have to water these terrariums, 

they provide themselves with enough condensation to survive.

I sometimes remove the lid so that they can get fresh air 

and not build up too much moisture.

30x30: Giveaway

I am so very excited to share Day 13's 30x30 event! 

Today marks the start of a giveaway.

For those of you that follow e.trumble photography,

you know that I adore photographing families and kiddos!

What you may not know is that I also really really love photographing nature.

The winner of this little contest will receive an 

8x10 print of the the flower of their choice.

Here's how to play:

Simply choose the photograph that you like the best.

They are each numbered above and the full size images are all below.

Leave a comment here or on Instagram.

All votes count as an entry.

Want to better your chances?

Spread the love!

Share this post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram

and receive additional entries for each! 

(that's 6 total entries if you hit up all your social media!)

The winner will be chosen at random,

5pm eastern time on Feb. 6th

Best of Luck to everyone!

(did anyone get that lucky day 13 reference?)

30x30

Well, as these days are adding up, I have found that some items on my list have proven 

to be a bit harder to actually accomplish than others. 

Take Day 14 for example...

take a swim in the ocean.

Doesn't seem so hard since we live a mile away, 

yet I didn't take all the factors into account.

Even thought Monday was a beautiful 80°, 

welp that water was still icey.

Joining the Polar Bears Club....not on the 30x30 list.

Among other things were the terrible rip current and choppy waves 

and a major mess of sea weed.

All factors for a relaxing float were a negative.

Hey at least it was warm and sunny.

Yet the boy and I managed to play in the freezing shore break

 for long enough for him to end up soaked.

Of coarse it ended up just a perfect day,

just the way it was.

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Do you know who attended Day 15's activity?

Just me and the hubs.

Thanks right, just the grown ups.

We don't really "go out" much, 

and I couldn't remember the last time that we ate a meal in public with out the boy.

Day 15....Brunch Date.

It was a beautiful south FL winter morning at the beach.

No one minds waiting 45 minutes for a table when this is the view.

Brunch was delish.

The conversation was amazing.

The boy loves his new babysitter.

All was right in my almost 30 world.

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Day 16 was dedicated to friendship.

My initial plans for an over due skype date with my best friend.

I really miss her more than I am able to cope with.

Then the age old adage:

"make new friends, but keep the old.

some are silver and the other gold."

came into play.

This has always been one of my favorites.

I was blessed as a child and teen.

I had more best friends than anyone could imagine.

I changed school many times throughout my adolescence, 

which really gave me the ability to meet so many wonderful women.

And thanks to the powers of social media 

I am able to keep in such close contact with many of them.

But back to the silver lining.

While I did not get to skype with Jess,

Our wonderful friends the Tidwell's decided to throw a last minute shindig.

It was decided that it would be a fun relaxing evening 

with children scampering and parents actually getting to talk to other adults.

Trey, with his absolutely charming Tennessee way, made us ladies some delish coffee.

And the kiddos....well they all got very sandy.

I am still finding sand in between the boys toes.

The evening wound down with a bonfire and roasted marshmallows.

The boy caught his on fire, but it was Ay O.K.! 

His new friend, Maxwell, came to the rescue.

It was great to see all the kids being so independent and awesome.

I just love all their littler personalities maturing.

It was a perfect perfect evening!

Thank you again Tids' for hosting all of us! 

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Day 17 was declared 

"Ashyr Day"

I told the boy that he could pick 3 things to do.

Anything that he wanted. To an extent.

That sweet little boy of mine could only think of one thing.

Playing with one of his best buddies, Tosh.

(I had honestly expected him to come up with some elaborate plan 

to get me into a chuck e cheese.)

So, he informed to that he wanted to have a picnic at the park.

Check.

He wanted to play at the park with Tosh.

Check.

And he would "tell me the 3rd thing later."

His day went on with playing and laughter.

As the day got later and later I anxiously waited for him to "let me know" 

what his 3rd thing would be.

As I tucked him into bed and kissed him good night, he said:

"Mommy, the 3rd thing that I want to do for 'Ashyr Day' 

is go to Legoland...with Tosh...Right now!!!"

Nice try kid. Nice try.

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Day 18 was kind of a test run for something I would love to do on a more regular basis.

The boy and I had a silent reading date at Starbucks.

We started off with a lovely stroll through downtown.

We meandered our way into the Lake Worth Public Library.

After choosing our loot, we headed up the street to our local Starbucks. 

He did such a great job, although he felt the need to read the stories out loud.

We put a 15 minute cap on it, I didn't want to push him

to long and put a negative ending on it.

Over all it was perfect! We will for sure make this a regular date! 

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When I told Brenda that I wanted to spend Day 19 going to a "u-pick farm",

 I had a vision of laboring out in a field.

So you can imagine my confusion when I pulling into a strip mall plaza 

that she had suggested for our family outing.

As soon as the initial shock wore off I saw that sweet strawberry car,

and I knew Brenda would never steer me wrong.

The Girls U-Pick Strawberries had all the kids screaming with excitement.

You enter through the country store that is stocked full of 

yummy fresh baked goods and homemade ice cream.

The shelves are full of "cracker barrel-esque" gifts and trinkets.

Local canned goods and hot sauces, gum balls and pop guns,

 needless to say our head were spinning.

When you step through the back door you are greeted by a beautiful garden filled with the squawks of hundreds of birds in the rescues sanctuary, turtles munching heads of lettuce and donkeys poking their noses at you.

All of this is surrounded by a back drop of strawberry pathces and cherry tomato plants.

And the kids were off.

No one was even that disappointed that the strawberries were not ready to be picked.

Laughs and giggles were interjected between each joyous pluck of a juicy red cherry tomato. 

These were the fruits of our child labor.  

We all had such a great time. 

The store even sells my favorite hard to find hot sauce, 

so need less to say, we will be back!