glimpse//a sunday afternoon

The boys and pup are napping on the bed and I'm wondering the house, not quite sure what to do with these rare moments of silent alone time. I should probably be cleaning up or cooking dinner. That would be the prudent thing to do with these cherished hands-free moments, but instead I will walk around admiring the quiet beauty of the house and my favorite sleeping creatures. Each one of them drive me crazy in their own endearing way, but oh how I love them. I'm still trying to figure out this new mom life. I assume that will forever continue--does anyone ever really figure it out? But mostly it is hard and good. I think it is very best when that fat little fairy is asleep, but am quickly reminded that isn't so, when I walk into the room and his happy eyes meet mine. He is all the better fresh from a nap.

Love is Grand.

Last week Marcus and i celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary. We unfortunately both had to work on the actual day, but we decided that weekend would be good enough for celebrations--so Friday night we went out and had a delicious steak dinner and Saturday we planned to take a day trip somewhere cooler (in more than ways than one) than Mesa.

Saturday morning I woke up and asked Marcus where he thought we should go--we named a few places we had been before, like Flagstaff, Prescott, or Sedona, but then Marcus said, "Ashley, you were born and raised in Arizona and you've never been to the Grand Canyon--that's where we need to go!" He made a compelling argument...so we threw some things in a bag, hoped in the car with Poppy, and we were off!

It was lovely to watch the car thermometer drop the further we drove.

Because it's a canyon--there's not really anything to see until you're right on the edge of the cliff, as we parked and walked toward the look-out I was a little confused as to how anything that's supposed to be so spectacular could really be in front of me when all I saw was some desert forest, but oh-my-gosh was I wrong! When we got to the edge my breath was literally taken away--over and over again, every time i looked down into the canyon, I felt like the wind got knocked out of my chest. I'm not even one to fear heights--I'll always go to the edge of a cliff for a pretty picture, but this was unlike any cliff I had ever experienced--and as I looked out at it's expanse my mind had no way of comprehending that I was only seeing a tiny portion of this truly grand canyon. It was no wonder to after that, why Arizona holds one of the Seven Wonders of the World titles. I hope you all get to experience it someday.

We ate dinner on a restaurant porch overlooking the canyon as the sun began to set and talked about our future. It was such a beautiful evening with my best friend. I'm so lucky.

Party Time!

I don't know how I forgot to post about Poppy Reh's 2nd birthday party!

vintage kilim pillow//themodboho (similar here)
chair//vintage (very similar here)
rug//old urban outfitters (similar here)

vintage inspired two-piece//c.o. oasap (buy here $23)
floral fringe kimono//c.o. oasap (buy here $21)

On our long drive home from Utah, I mentioned to my animal obsessed niece, Coco, that it was Poppy's birthday. She immediately started asking about party plans, what Poppy's favorite things were, what she would want for a cake, etc... I obliged by telling her everything I knew about the Pop-star, thinking we were just killing time until we got home.

Turns out that the whole week after that conversation all she talked to her mom about was: when Poppy's party was happening, how they needed to get the decorations out and figure out how to make a cake out of watermelon, tomatoes, and lettuce (Poppy's favorite vegetarian options--Coco's a vegetarian). We even brought Poppy over a few times, thinking that would satisfy Coco's need to celebrate her favorite doggy friend, but without decorations and cake, it was no party...so Monday I get a text from Reachel inviting us to Poppy's birthday/swim party.

Poppy was so excited! We got our suits on and Poppy put on her prettiest matching scarf...

We arrived to see a house decorated to the nines, complete with a watermelon, tomato, and lettuce birthday cake, all compliments of Coco's immaculate attention to detail.

I asked Coco is she was happy and she replied, "YES! Planning birthday parties and having birthday parties are my favorite things! This is the best day ever!"

Poppy couldn't agree more. We're spoiled.

#BagleyPyramidSchemeLaunchParty2014 #BagleyCon

<<what marcus wore>>

sunnies//urban outfitters (buy here)

chambray top//j.crew factory (buy here)

classic leather watch//skagen (buy here)

jeans//levi's (buy here)

boots//last chance (buy similar here)

<<me>>

silk top//j.crew (similar here and here)

sandals//seychelles (buy here)

Family is the best. Who doesn't love some built in friends, am i right?
For the past week I've been surrounded by extended family and it's been so lovely.

We started off last weekend at our cabin in the mountains. Marcus, Poppy and I joined my sister, Leisel and her hubs Sterling for a weekend of hikes, pancakes and shooting.

The girls in our family have a long history of being naturally good shots, so it's always fun to show off our hidden talent to the boys.

<<what leisel wore>>

cali top//tj maxx (buy similar here)

jeans//old navy (buy here)

tennis shoes//tiger (buy here)

After a quick lesson on how not to hold a gun and how not to point it at people when you're talking to them, Leisel continued the tradition of being a naturally good shot. Her stance, on the other hand, had us all in tears...

B did her best with the BB gun, but I think she still needs a few years to develop some wrist strength before her talents can be properly judged :)

Marcus clearly looked smokin', so he gets the most photos in this post, because i love him, especially when he plays cowboy.

And I, although I much prefer riffles, held my own with this little revolver.

I gave Leisel the chance to reenact her stance to photo purposes. I think she looks much more intimidating in this shot.

 Sterling also jumped at the opportunity for more photos.

It was of course a lovely time in the forest.

 From the cabin, I alone, headed up to our family reunion in Utah. Marcus and Sterling couldn't get off work and Leisel dreaded driving twelve hours with a one year old, so she skipped out this year.

It was at a resort in Snowbird, and I've always thought Utah was gorgeous, but this place was insane! I felt like I was in Switzerland and also in a fairy tale, because chipmunks, and 'potguts' and weasels were constantly scurrying around my feet. We even had a few run-ins with a moose family and some raccoons!

It was so much fun to see all my out-of-town siblings and nieces and nephews, and taking the little one's on all the rides, but I missed my own little family terribly and Facetime wasn't a good substitute, so I was so happy to come home to them on Thursday evening--which just so happened to be Poppy's 2nd birthday!

For the second year in a row, she held onto her "Cutest Dog in the World" title. Boy, do I love her!

lately.

{Poppy's father day post to Marcus. She loves him.}

If anyone's been wondering why i've been MIA as of late, the following picture pretty much sums it up:

I'm basically a recluse in my own home, hanging out in my undies eating ice and stuff. We actually had to get ourselves together yesterday to venture to a family BBQ and if anyone could have seen us get in our car and turn the breath of Satan on (aka the AC before it cools off), it would have been quite a sight. There was screaming and crying, gasping for any available air that wasn't poisonous, and, of course, gnashing of teeth. Then Marcus accidentally touched the metal part of his seatbelt, branding himself in the process and a curse word may have been uttered. Let me tell you folks, don't let the pool pictures your friends here in Arizona may be posting fool you, it is a terrible place to be right now. TERRIBLE!

We stay busy scheming ways to get out of here ASAP, but until then I keep my mind distracted with things that are funny, happy or inspiring from the internet. Here are few I've been loving this week:

1. This amazing dancer who totally speaks my love language.

2. These freakin' cute baby + dog snuggles.

3. Some thoughts on modesty I can totally dig.

4. These awkward high-fives--now i know where my high-five anxiety comes from.

5. This beautiful story of love within a family.

And to prove I'm not dead--here's a photo from last weekend when my sister-in-law, Reachel made me actually put some clothes on and go out for a night.

similar dress here

How you holdin' up this summer and if you live somewhere cooler, when can I come and visit?

dresses+poppy+guy behind the camera=my best friends in the state of arizona

I got nothing for ya today, so I'm not going to BS some paragraph about nothing interesting.

But happy friday and come on over to instagram and enter to win a $30 credit to the shop i got this necklace at--you'll be happy if you win :)

<<what i wore>>

straw fedora hat//forever21 old (buy similar here)

sunnies//c.o. oasap (buy here)

bar and drop necklace//c.o. mourning dove (giveaway happening today on my instagram here:))

camille dress//c.o. junieblake (giveaway coming next week :))

tribal print heels//lulu's (sold out, buy similar here and these are adorbs too)

#thingsthataremakingmehappythursday

As I mentioned before, we've been having weekly planning meetings and setting new little goals for ourselves to try and get into more of a productive routine. One of those new hopeful-routines is a nightly walk around the neighborhood with Poppy Reh. It's a new favorite of mine (and Poppy's too). The weather is just heavenly and last night we got out right in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset. We have citrus trees around us and they're heavy with orange blossoms. Just when I thought the stroll couldn't get any better, we rounded the corner and Poppy spotted my niece and nephew in the community park. Baby J and Poppy are best friends and make-out buddies, so they were both pretty excited to meet. 

It's such a nice way to cap off the day. I'm grateful for this new routine.

What's making you happy this Thursday?

PS: You can shop my closet on instagram @shoptheunicorn --things are going fast :)

<<what i wore>>
polka dot headscarf//vintage (similar here)
lip color//really red by covergirl (buy here)
on the mark arrow necklace//stella & dot (buy here)
arizona state necklace//nordstroms (buy similar here)
navy blue midi dress//asos (buy here)
petty booties//sam edelman (buy here)