Winvian Farm

It's 85 degrees, sunny, and breezy all at the same time. I'm sitting right now in a comfy adirondack chair, drinking a glass of cool ice water while overlooking 3 acres of beautiful gardens. We finally got to to the Winvian Hotel today! I'm so happy to be here, and even though we've only been here since 3, it feels like a lifetime since I was in New Jersey. This resort is honestly one of the most relaxing and serene places I've ever been (I mean, the spa?!). There's birds chirping everywhere, leaves rustling in the cool breeze, and organic gardens all through the 113 acres. We actually managed to push a lot of things into the itinerary today! 

We started the day actually off the resort at a nearby golf course, and played 9 holes. Fairview Farm golf course is extremely beautiful (and public), so I highly recommend to anyone in the area. I wore this adorable Vineyard Vines skort that has been a constant staple of mine since the beginning of summer. The fairway drivers up and down the sides are so cute! (And there's so many pockets!!! It even fits my iPhone 6+ inside). 

After a long 9 holes, a big lunch was necessary. We ate at the Fairview Farm restaurant, and I got a turkey club with fries. The sandwich was literally bigger than my head! 

It was time to head down to the farm for check-in. As soon as we rolled past the charming white picket gates, it seemed like another world. Immediately I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders- this is the first family vacation we've taken in a while! The lobby is so cozy and cute- it feels like the living room of someone's home, not a hotel! The mismatched chairs and tables provide a very laid back aura. 

The cottage we're staying in (Charter Oak) is adorable! A huge white oak tree is the centerpiece of the room- my Dad joked that he was going to try and climb it, haha. 

After putting our stuff away, the first thing everyone did was change into bathing suits and head on over to the pool! I wore my favorite monogram bandeau top, that actually covers quite a bit of your chest area (unlike other skimpy bandeaus). 

I feel like there are no other words to describe this place except for charming and beautiful! The brand new pool is no exception!! The tiny pool house and comfy lawn chairs make for a great afternoon. We spent the time between check-in and dinner just lounging around, reading, and dipping in the perfectly refreshing pool. 

For dinner, we made reservations off property and traveled to the White Horse Pub and Restaurant. I wore my Lilly Jesse skort romper that I can't seem to stop wearing! So comfortable and cute. 

The festive red, white, and blue background of our cottage paired perfectly with my outfit! 

Golf Skort // Golf Shoes // Sleeveless Polo // Baseball Hat // Monogrammed Bandeau // Monogrammed Wayfarers // Romper // Espadrilles // Clutch (old) // Watch 

Once dinner ended, we made a random trip to Stop and Shop for some snacks to keep in the cottage. It was pretty hilarious seeing the look on all the locals' faces as we walked through the store in our fancy dinner outfits! (Documented it on my snapchat story!) 

The night ended with a round of pool and shuffleboard in the hotel's lobby. A great end to a great first day! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 

Ashley Ann 

P.S. To follow along on the trip, check out my Instagram or add me on snapchat (ashleyann98)

Instagram Lately

I've been completely obsessed with Instagram lately. I've constantly been snapping new pictures every day! The beach during the summer provides a great atmosphere to take photos, and gives me a ton of inspiration for blog posts. Capturing the cool moments of my vacation is really important to me this year. By finding a new photo editing groove, I've slowly started to get back into the swing of Instagram (Went through a phase where I barely posted pictures). I love the way each and every photo has turned out. My process includes using Snapseed, VSCO Cam, and cropping things down to a square (or just taking all my pictures in the "square" setting on my phone).  I normally use my iPhone 6+ to capture everything, but occasionally I'll use my Nikon D7000 if I'm already shooting blog photos. 

Follow me here!

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo,
Ashley Ann  

Winvian Farm Packing List

This summer has seriously been amazing... How is it flying by so fast?! I've been really productive with my studying (I schedule all my study times in google calendar), and I've also been seeing a lot of friends/going to events. Even though I'm at the beach, I've been wanting a refreshing change of scenery- in comes Winvian Farm. 

I talked about going here back in June, and the trip is finally here!!! We leave tomorrow early in the morning to make our 11 am tee time. While I am very excited about the trip, I've been at a loss for what to pack here. The farm is technically a 5 star resort, yet we'll also be doing some major outdoor things (horseback riding, canoeing, ... river tubing!!). I've tried to keep my outfits pretty versatile, sticking to shorts & tee shirts, along with a couple of nicer dresses for dinner. I think I did pretty well in the wardrobe department! (Can you tell I tried to center my outfits around navy?) Here's some standout items I packed to bring with me: 

Shep Shirt // Shirtdress (currently 60% off!!) // Romper // Striped Tee // Navy Chino Shorts // Monogram Wayfarers // Espadrilles // Polo // Monogram Bathing Suit // Sneakers // Scallop Shorts 

More Winvian Farm posts on the way! Praying that the things I packed work out well on the trip! 

Any favorites from this list?!

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 

Ashley Ann

Weekly Round Ups

This week was productive, yet full of fun things! I got a lot of work done for school, and also managed to get through 3 books! I am re-reading the Harry Potter series for the 23rd time in my life this summer- the books truly never get old. I've been loving getting back into my old reading habits that were unfortunately compromised during the school year. A couple of friends also came down to the beach and visited- it was so great to see them. I went and saw Self/less with Ryan Reynolds (who I absolutely love). Omg guys, it's so good!!! I also spent some very relaxing time at the beach these past few days, and got some work done there as well- plus a few DOZEN sudoku puzzles! 

Tried a new restaurant/little cafe with my Dad early one morning and ended up loving it... New brunch spot? 

Also discovered the best little food truck with amazing paninis that conveniently parks on my street on the weekends. Love love love. 

Some interesting things this week: 

Minnie and Emma iPhone case// I just upgraded to the iPhone 6+ yesterday! Woo! I've been waiting to order this case for a few months after my old phone cracked and I knew I would be upgrading to the 6. It's floral, striped, and monogrammed... what could be better?

Loft White Scallop Shorts// I've been dying to get my favorite pair of Lilly scallop shorts in a plain, classic white but didn't want to spend the money. These ones are currently on sale for $25 and look exactly the same! *throws them into shopping cart* 


Go Set A Watchman// My favorite novel of all time is To Kill A Mockingbird- let's hope the sequel does it justice! I downloaded this a few days ago onto my kindle and am so excited to read it... I will share my thoughts later on when I finish it.  (Reese Witherspoon is narrating the audio version so you know it's going to be good). 

Draper James// Speaking of Reese... Her new clothing line is officially out and I'm obsessed. The dresses guys, the dresses. 

Beach Yoga// I officially started a beach yoga class yesterday morning at 8 am! I'm really excited and happy that I'm finally doing this for myself- it's been on my summer bucket list for longer than I can remember. It's actually every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning for $10. So, you don't need to purchase a bunch of classes at once and have to worry about getting to all of them. I can just go when I please, and if I miss one, not a big deal! 


Did I mention I leave for vacation tomorrow?!

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 
Ashley Ann 

101 In 1001 Days

I've been wanted to do something like this for a long time, ever since I read Mackenzie Horan's 101 in 1001. I decided to make my own list, which actually ended up taking a lot longer than expected! It's hard to think of 101 things you want to have accomplished in life come 2.75 years. Enjoy, I hope some of you are inspired to start your own list! 

101 in 1001: This list is going into effect July 1st, 2015 and will be complete by March 28, 2018 

1. Come up with 101 things (July 2015)

2. Regularly attend a yoga class 

3. Get into a good college. 

4. Create a personal brand & website for my blog

5. Go scuba diving 

6. Spend the entire day at a Farmer's Market 

7. Work for Lilly Pulitzer 

8. Create blog business cards 

9. Buy my first designer bag 

10. Travel on a mission trip (November 2015) 

11. Travel to Paris 

12. Drink 8 glasses of water every day for a week 

13. Keep a workout plan for an entire month & stick to it 

14. Try 10 new restaurants (10/10 Farm to Table, Maison du Chocolat, The Petrie Cafe, The Striphouse, Cafe Martinique, the Bahamian Club, Cafe D'Angelo, Turning Point, Restaurant Marrakesh, The Plaza Restaurant)

15. Try a food I normally wouldn't try (July 2015, yellow fin tuna)

16. Take a trip to Europe 

17. Find a beauty routine that works for me (December 2015) 

18. Take a cooking lesson (July 2015, Pastry cooking class)

19. Go river tubing 

20. Take tennis lessons 

21. Pack a lunch, and go sailing the entire day 

22. Host a fancy dinner party 

23. Make 5 recipes off of Pinterest (1/5 white chocolate pretzel rods)

24. Get a facial 

25. Get a professional massage (July 2015) 

26. Get a ping pong table (December 2015)  

27. Read twenty books I haven't read before (20/20 Go Set a Watchman, Orange Is the New Black, Down the Rabbit Hole, Yes Please, This I Believe, I Am Malala, Eight Hundred Grapes, Boy Snow Bird, Every Last Word, Big Little Lies, Everybody Rise, In the Unlikely Event, the Vacationers, Not That Kind of Girl, The Ice Twins, All The Light We Cannot See, Who Do You Love, Modern Lovers, The Silent Sister, Firefly Lane)

28. Find & develop my own personal style
29. Grow out my hair long 

30. Cut my hair into a bob (July 2015)

31. Go zip lining 

32. Go paddle boarding on the lake (July 2015)

33. Take a surf lesson 

34. Go parasailing 

35. Buy a DSLR camera 

36. Go to a horse race 

37. Have a job & a continuous source of income (October 2015) 

38. Open my own bank account (October 2015)

39. Save $10 from every pay check (October 2015) 

40. Visit Harry Potter world 

41. Be photographed for my blog by an actual photographer (April 2016)

42. Learn coding 

43. See the Washington DC monuments at midnight. 

44. Spend an entire day in Barnes and Noble & finish a book 

45. Try drinking coffee (August 2015)

46. Study & do well on my SAT subject tests (October 2015) 

47. Establish a calm night routine to help me get enough sleep 

48. Have a guest writer on my blog 

49. Have brunch in the city 

50. Go trampolining 

51. Get my liscense (September 2015) 

52. Spend an entire day in the city with just my friends 

53. Do yoga on the beach 

54. Watch the sunrise on the beach 

55. Sleep outside on a trampoline under the stars 

56. Gain 1000 followers on Instagram

57. Try rainbow bagels

58. Go to the beach after prom with my friends (June 2016)

59. Swim with dolphins (February 2016)

60. Travel to a city I've never been to before (April 2016, Miami FL)

61. Do something out of my comfort zone (April 2016)

62. Say yes everyday for a week 

63. Find a consistent volunteering opportunity 

64. Earn a senior superlative (January 2016)

65. Find a really solid group of friends (2016)

66. Buy flowers for someone just because 

67. Learn about my skin, and come up with a unique skin regimen 

68. Go shopping at an outlet mall 

69. Pay for a complete stranger's meal 

70. Vote in an election

71. Get into planning/organizing 

72. Complete 3 DIY crafts 

73. Completely redecorate my room 

74. Buy a domain 

75. Buy the full photoshop program 

76. Get good grades my first semester 

77. Go ice skating (January 2015) 

78. Do a 5k

79. Graduate high school (June 2016)

80. Go apple picking 

81. Attend a street fair in NYC 

82. Organize & back up my digital life 

83. Pull an all-nighter 

84. See the midnight premiere of a movie

85. Write hand written thank you letters 

86. Start a stationary collection 

87. Get a gel manicure 

88. Go strawberry picking 

89. Travel somewhere new solely for the purpose of blog pictures 

90. Do something new & exciting while staying local 

91. Decide where I am going to college (May 2016)

92. Do not repeat outfits for an entire month 

93. Go to Disney! (March 2016)

94. Watch 5 Audrey Hepburn films 

95. Watch all 8 Harry Potter movies in one day 

96. Ride a hoverboard 

97. Do something I normally wouldn't do (February 2016)

98. Go on a horseback riding trail ride 

99. Take a tropical vacation 

100. Try skiing for the first time  

101. Live on my own in a city (August 2016-present)

Some of these might be really small, trivial things, but they're the things I want to do! 

Any cool things I missed?!

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 
Ashley Ann

Fun Summer Fashion Picks

There's so many new summer pieces out on the market right now, it's hard to soak everything in! I've been looking through multiple websites, scrolling through the new arrival pages, and placing some orders. See below some things that have caught my eye: 

Tassel bead necklace(not pictured)//mirrored sunglasses//sailboat skort//coral romper//scallop shorts//pajama shirt//shirtdress//tassel clutch

What things have caught your eye recently?! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 

Ashley Ann 

Fourth of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! A great day filled with appreciation for this amazing country- so proud to be an American! 

Emily and I started the day off right with a great breakfast at our favorite local restaurant. I always get the French toast with extra crispy bacon! 

During the day, I ended up wearing my lobster sweater again. Seriously love it so much! A blog post is on the way featuring it, so don't worry! I paired it with an adorable navy and white striped skirt from Gap, and my white converse per usual. 

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best today. It was cloudy, somewhat breezy and rained on/off throughout the day. The skirt is a little thick, as is the sweater, so it ended up working perfectly for the weather! 

Max had to get in on a few of the shots! 

We got the little guy in a festive bandana... How cute is he?! 

We ended the night with a lovely dinner! Obsessed with this fireworks popover from Old Navy. Even after the holidays are over, I'll still be wearing it like crazy! 

My favorite lobster clutch (that as we all know, dropped off the face of the earth and no longer is sold ANYWHERE) and a red lip completed the outfit. I found a cute little clutch on Etsy that looks like both my Lilly and the Tuckernuck one!

Wearing:

Lobster sweater//striped skirt//white converse

Fireworks popover//white jeans//navy espadrilles//clutch//lipstick

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! 

What did you do today?! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 

Ashley Ann 

Old Navy!

Old Navy has absolutely changed directions over the years. They started off as a warehouse of sorts, with cheap basic tee shirts and shorts. They slowly began to transition into an affordable preppy brand. Although sometimes it is hard to pick out cute pieces from all the options, I do find some perfect gems from time to time. Tassel smoking flats, white eyelet dresses, quilted vests, plaid swing dresses, and simple button downs have all been great pieces I've found in the past. Whenever I see something I like in JCrew, I can almost always find it at Old Navy for a better price! (meaning, not ridicuously overpriced ;)) Recently, I stopped in for a return and ended up buying a few things.  

Seersucker strapless dress:

This dress is very lightweight. It almost feels like you're not wearing anything! (Which is so nice on those humid 100 degree days). I wore it to dinner the other night in Princeton, and got so many compliments on it!

Pink seashell shorts:

These shorts are charming! The tiny little conchshells all over make for a fun pair of shorts that can be worn all summer. A cute chambray shirt tied at the waist is something I've been pairing with these lately. 

Pixie pants:

Photo via the glitter guide
Love love love these! Blue and white is definitely a trendy color combination for this summer. (Note: not to be confused with navy and white. Those are two totally different things.) The little flowers all over make them fun statement pants. 

Striped yellow flats: 

These were only $15! Old Navy has the cutest little smoking flats. They always come out with ones in such fun and unique patterns. As you can tell from the photo, they are very well loved. Unfortunately, Old Navy does not sell them anymore- I did find a cute navy and white striped pair though if you want something similar.

Brown leather wedges:

These sandals are quickly turning into my favorite summer sandal. I've worn them at least 10 times already since I bought them! They took 2 days to break in (2 very painful days), but totally worth it. Now, they're comfortable enough to walk around town all day. I like how the wedge is very subtle-not so tall that you can't walk, but enough to give short people like me a little height. I  styled them in a blog post a couple of days ago with my new Lilly shorts!

**Update: they keep going back into stock every time they run out. So keep checking! 
I only have one thing to say: Good job Old Navy! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 
Ashley Ann 

My Most Used Apps

There's a select hand full of apps that I reach for on a daily basis that, long story short, I would not be able to live without! I've been wanting to share for a while what apps on my iPhone help me the most (or take away boredom the best). I have a few different ones in the mix here: practical, fun, social media, organizational... Here are my favs! 

Google Calendar // this app honestly changed my entire life and how I schedule things!! I used to use the basic calendar that came with the iPhone, but finally decided to upgrade to the google one after the iPhone one just wasn't cutting it for me. Needless to say, I've never looked back! It helps you plan EVERYTHING. I can put an event into my phone and add: the location, start/end time, invite people to the event through the app, and my personal favorite, add notes! The note section really makes this app stand out from the rest because I can plan everything I need to do for that specific event/task inside the calendar. That way, everything is all together. For example, we're throwing a 5th of July party Sunday. Under this event in the app I have the guest list, menu, stuff that needs to be purchased, and a small list of things that need to be done before the party. Google Calendar is such a simple way of organizing ALL of your plans, I highly reccomended! (That being said, I still do use a paper planner for some day to day things!) 

Sudoku // I may just be a tad obsessed with sudoku. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved attempting to figure out all the little boxes and rows that make up the game. It's therapeutic in a way, because I really have to concentrate to be able to find all the numbers. Even though it's the best to play the paper version, the app comes in close second. It times you, and also shows you how long you can go without messing up or plugging in the wrong number. If I'm bored, I'll pick an extreme puzzle and see if I can get it done in under 20 minutes! The app is great fun, and a great distraction. 

Instagram // Out of all my social media accounts, I think Instagram has to be my favorite. I love this world that's been created, how everyone is able to share bits and pieces of their life with each other. There's nothing better than someone with a beautiful Instagram- they are essentially mini blogs! Instagram has become a way for companies to connect with consumers, and in turn has become a modern networking tool. I scroll through my Instagram feed WAY too much! However, it's a great way to pass the time. 

Check out my Instagram here.

Snapchat // I love snapchat! It's such a fun and fast way to connect with others and share the less glorified parts of your life, unlike Instagram. Snapchat stories are in the moment, instantaneous, and require almost no editing (except for a few cool filters). I feel as if snapchat stories have become an art of their own! I open each and every snapchat anyone sends me, and love to look at other people's stories! Follow me at ashleyann98. 

Notes // A bit of a boring one to end off with, but I love notes! I find myself jotting things down (rather, typing) whenever I need to remember something. An event or date that needs to be scheduled? It goes right into my notes file and saved for when I have the time to put it into my calendar. At the end of every day, I'll go through my notes and determine what needs to be attended to. I love looking back through my old notes- like my blog, it's sort of a mini diary of my life! I know a lot of people carry around a paper notepad and pen to write things down, but I find just typing it into my notes is a lot easier. Believe me, I tried the whole pen/paper thing, but being able to access your thoughts at anytime knocks that out of the park. 

Hopefully you enjoyed reading about my favorite apps! 

What are some of your favorites?! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon! Xoxo, 

Ashley Ann