Farewell

I've been thinking about this blog a lot lately and I know now that it is time for me to say goodbye.

Blogging is something I thought I would enjoy, but I have to be honest and say the majority of my time in this space has felt forced. I thought if I made myself do it and get into a routine, that I would learn to love it. I never really did though. I follow lots of wonderful bloggers and think I just wanted to be a part of a community, but it's much harder than I imagined. The planning, the writing, the everything. It's just not my thing. And that's ok.

I won't be deleting this space, but I won't be posting anymore. You can, however, find me on other outlets! While blogging may not be for me, I am on Instagram and I just made myself a Twitter. I made a new handle for both since @modernbohemian was just for this space and I want a fresh start with something that's just me, so I chose @entirelyashley. I hope you'll follow me and say hello.

Are You Skimming?

Are you skimming? No? Have no idea what I'm talking about? Neither do I half the time, but I swear skimming is a thing now. Enter theSkimm, a newsletter that takes all the day's major headlines and condenses them into one single email that gets delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. I signed up for theSkimm a little over two weeks ago and I'm smitten with it.

I first read about theSkimm over on Belle's blog, Capitol Hill Style. Belle seems to always been in the know, so I knew I could trust her recommendation. I'll be honest - the news is a little hard for me to grasp sometimes. I try to watch nightly news coverage and check CNN's website from time to time, but things move so quickly that it's hard for me to always stay up-to-date. I've often been in a situation where my husband (he's a poli sci major) or coworkers are talking about a current event and I'm not confident enough in my knowledge to chime in. Nodding and saying "yeah, mmhmm" only gets you so far before everyone realizes that you haven't a clue what you're talking about. Oops.

I'm also a Skimmer because it's a (for now) small start-up headed by two ladies who have worked in D.C. and for NBC News. These ladies believe in the power of our generation - where women are beginning to earn more money than men and hold positions of power on their own. It's great to see some ladies stepping out and presenting the news in a whole new way, geared not only toward professional, working women, but any woman that wants to stay in-the-know.

I haven't been paid for this shout out and I'm not benefiting in any way. I just enjoy theSkimm and think more people should know about it, so I wanted to pass it along to my readers. What are you waiting for? Sign up here!

Read This, Wear That \\ The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency

I can't even tell you where I picked up my tattered copy of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, but it's condition would tell you that I've read it a number of times. It's one of those books that I can read over and over and still enjoy. I'm not one to read or watch anything more than once, so the number of books I've done this with is minimal. The whole series is so honest and down-to-earth. I haven't gotten through all of the books yet, but I have a decent number of them in my collection and I've enjoyed them all. It's a different read from my normal picks since it's a mystery, but I'm glad I purchased it that day - whenever and wherever it was. I put together an African inspired tribal outfit to accompany the book since it takes place in Botswana, Africa.

Book Synopsis
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to “help people with problems in their lives.” Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.

Also Read
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan, Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, or Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

Outfit Details 
Shirt, Jeans, Sandals, Bag, Sunglasses, Headwrap, Bangles, Necklace

Feline Asthma

I've been sitting at my desk trying to write this weeks' posts. I had a Read This, Wear That planned out, wanted to work on the next letter in my Blogging A-Z series, and had some other ideas, but I can't do any of it right now. I've got something else weighing on my mind and I'm going to talk about it instead. I hope I'll get around to writing those posts soon, but if I don't you'll know why.

A few years ago Oz was diagnosed with feline asthma. He'd been having coughing fits that we figured were hairball-related. We ended up taking him to the veterinarian, who diagnosed him with asthma. I didn't even know cats could get asthma! There are a few options for treating it - oral medications, inhalers, or holistic remedies. Naturally I'd prefer natural treatment, but it really only includes things you can do to your home to reduce the allergens and dander in the air. We looked into inhalers as well. He would need to take Flovent and Albuteral and since there is no generic version of Flovent available in the U.S. the cost was outrageous - way more than we could afford. So we chose the oral medication option. Oz has been taking Prednisone and Terbutaline for years now and it's worked wonders...most of the time.

We keep is weight under control and give as low a dose of the Prednisone as possible since steroids aren't good for long-term use. It's the only option we've had though, so we do what we can to make the best of it. However, there are times when there's just something in the air that the oral medication can't touch. I've always supposed he's particularly allergic to certain allergens and when they start up, his asthma gets worse. When those allergens aren't prevalent, Oz lives a very good life. The steroids make him hungrier and thirstier and his weight is harder to control, but we manage. He's currently having a very hard time. Saturday alone he had about 12 attacks and today hasn't been much better.

Last night we went to the store in desperation and spent $400 on an allergen filter for the air conditioner, a large room air purifier, and a steam cleaner for our carpets. We cleaned the carpets this morning and were disgusted at all the crap that came out of them, but nothing has helped much. I don't regret the purchase because it might help over time and we could all breathe cleaner air anyway. It's incredibly frustrating because there's nothing we can do while he's having these attacks but up his medication a little and comfort him. We try to provide as stress-free of an environment as possible, too. We've been looking at the inhalers on a Canadian pharmacy website and were amazed at the difference in price. Tomorrow we're going to call our vet and get a prescription for them. Hopefully they will be more effective in keeping the asthma away. In the meantime, I'm a nervous wreck. I just want my poor baby to be healthy and happy. I'd do anything I could to make his asthma go away altogether.

I apologize for posting two "life kinda stinks" posts in a row. I'm a naturally optimistic person and I believe things will work out, but sometimes it's best just to get things off your chest, you know?

Currently + Link Share

What a week it has been! I wanted to post this on Friday, but I came down with an awful migraine on Thursday when I was scheduled to write it. I had to leave work early and ended up sleeping the rest of the day. The beginning of our week wasn't much better, unfortunately. We found out our neighbors have a sinkhole in their backyard and learned that our garage could have burnt down!

Our neighbor came by one evening and told me a small hole had opened up in their backyard over the weekend. I immediately began asking what they had done about it and was shocked to hear no one was willing to help her because it wasn't threatening any structures! I called our non-emergency police line and asked them if there was anything we could do. They dispatched the fire department to take a look and we came to two conclusions: it's either a broken water line or construction debris. When our homes were built in the '60s there was no law about disposing of non-toxic wastes, so lots of builders threw wood, concrete, etc from your home into your backyard and buried it. The debris settles over time and they have seen holes like this open up more frequently than you'd think. Still, it was scary!

Then, while we were gone on vacation our pool pump stopped working. We called an electrician since there was nothing wrong with our equipment. Our garage is detached and the pool electricity comes from its breakers. The previous owner didn't really know what they were doing and wired the garage themselves, making it an electrical nightmare. We keep the power to it turned off unless we're in there working because we're scared of fire. Rightfully so it seems - the electrician found the main line to our breaker box was completely crispy critters. He said the whole garage could have gone up if the power was on! We had it all fixed right away, obviously. It still makes me nervous though.

Anyway, I've been contemplating doing a Friday link share for awhile now, so I'm testing it out! I have them divided up into two categories in case you're interested in one and not the other. I may do this again and if I do, I might fiddle with the layout a bit. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Art + Design + Photography

I can't imagine visiting California and seeing trees so large you can drive through them! I'm adding the Sequoia National Forest to my must-visit list pronto.

The best rephotography project I've ever seen done by The History Channel.

Amazing photorealistic paintings of Chicago and New York City.

Absolutely beautiful animal photograhy.

Who says you shouldn't play with your food?

Mass transit maps recreated in the style of Super Mario Bros.

What it would look like if other planets replaced the Earth's moon. Can you imagine having Jupiter fill our skies at night? 

Helvetica + Cats = Helveticats

A sweet friendship between a girl and her cat.

Career + Life

An accurate representation of what signing for college loans felt like.

Sometimes you just need a new perspective on life. It's amazing how often the lowest points in our lives can teach us the best lessons. 

Taking one step back in order to move forward in your career.

I wear very little makeup, but Tieka's makeup routine seems easy and she looks great! Maybe I'll try something new soon.

Breaking up with friends can be harder than ending romantic relationships.

Key West & Nassau

I wanted to share what we did in Key West and Nassau while on our cruise. We had been to Key West on our honeymoon, but I didn't have much planned for us to do since I'd been up to my eyeballs in wedding preparations. When we docked, we just ended up walking around and never really left the touristy areas, which was a little disappointing. This time I did it right (for us!) and planned some things. Grant had never been to Nassau, but I had and knew it wasn't my favorite place, so I didn't put as much effort into figuring that port out. 

KEY WEST
When we got settled into our cabin on the boat, we made our way to the shore excursions desk to book a trolley tour. Trolley tours are nice because they drive you around the city and give you lots of background/history/humorous information that you wouldn't get otherwise! With that said, purchase from the source. I could facepalm myself for this, but on the boat we paid $29.99 per person for the tour. I didn't think it was bad until I found out we could have bought the trolley tickets online for $19! Doh. I basically gave Carnival $20 extra bucks for nothing. Oh well, live and learn. I totally knew better and didn't even think about it. I blame vacation brain! Anyway, we toured with CityView Trolley Tours and I would definitely recommend them.




We started out riding the trolley around until we got to the Hemmingway Home. We loved it! (One thing to note is that the Hemmingway Home does not have air conditioning. I can't imagine visiting in the summer when it's boiling hot. Yuck.) Once we paid, we waiting in the living room for enough people to gather for a tour. Don't tour the Home on your own! The guide was bursting with knowledge and told us so many things you could not have learned otherwise. The house and grounds are beautiful and we spent about an hour there. After the tour, the guides do appreciate tips. You can continue to wander the grounds on your own afterwards and there is a cute gift shop to visit that is filled with cat things, Hemmingway books/memorabilia, and more.




The next place we visited was the CGC Ingham Museum, a docked coast guard cutter. I don't think many tourists get over the the Ingham, which is unfortunate. You do have to be able to walk on your own and climb (sometimes very steep) stairs though. The ship was slightly eerie and definitely gave off a "stuck in time" vibe. You get to view or walk through nearly all of the public areas, the engine room, captain's quarters, and the decks. It was very interesting! You can tell the staff does all they can to maintain the ship to the best of their abilities, but it just simply needs some money put into it - another reason why it's worth the visit! Grant loves ships and military stuff, so it was particularly fun for him. I found the tight quarters a little scary at times, but it was so worth it! This also took about an hour, but you could easily spend more time on board.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS
Most cruisers and tourists visit the Bahamas because you can purchase things tax and duty free there. There are some beautiful areas, but if I'm being honest, it's also a scary place. People begin screaming things at you the moment you disembark and it can make you a little nervous. They want to offer taxi services, hair braiding, beer, cigars, tours, right off the bat. The touristy strip isn't so bad (when you get off the boat and go through the island entrance, make a right), but it's very crowded. We walked until we came to the Straw Market.

I'd visited before, so I knew how it would be. It's wall-to-wall vendors selling everything you can imagine. All prices are negotiable and if you don't haggle you're a fool. You can read about surviving the Straw Market here. I found a wooden wind chime from the carving section that I loved. We negotiated a price of $20 (they started at $45 and I basically pulled out a $20 after a few minutes and said "this is all I have" even though it wasn't) and they took it. But guess what? I later went online and found the exact same chime for $5. Again, I felt like a dummy. I'm over it though and hope that vendor needed my money more than me. My advice for Nassau? Walk around a bit and then get back on the boat to enjoy the emptiness. You'll bank some pool and deck time while everyone else is getting wasted at Senor Frogs or emptying their wallets.

I don't want to end on a bitter note because we had such a good time overall. We loved Key West so much that I'm dreaming about going back to visit sometime. There is so much to do on such a small island! We're also dreaming about our next cruise. Maybe sometime in the fall/winter we'll go on another.

Blogging A-Z \\ April Fool's Day

I read about a Blogging A-Z Challenge for the month of April. Participants would blog a letter of the alphabet every day (except Sundays) for the month and post their blogs to a link up. The idea was really tempting, but I know I won't be able to blog every day, so I'm going to turn this into a series. I'm hoping to post one a week until I'm through all 26 letters. I hope to explore some things I don't necessarily think I'd post otherwise while giving more insight into who I am. Enjoy!


 
I've never been a fan of April Fool's Day. More than likely it's because I'm the most gullible person in the world and will probably believe anything you tell me. What can I say? I'm a stupid trusting soul. One particular April Fool's Day will always stand out in my mind though.

It was an overcast day in 2007. I was on the Metra train riding into Chicago with my then boyfriend. We were playing hooky from school and going into the city on a photography adventure. I was in a photo class and had been having trouble with our latest assignment - taking photos of your natural environment in a way you don't normally see things. Our college was in a small country town and my natural environment was the city, hence my dilemma.

Boyfriend listened to my problem and suggested a day in the city so I could photograph what I really wanted to. I jumped at the chance to visit Chicago for the billionth time. Thankfully we weren't that far away and the Metra would take us into the heart of a city I had grown to love. It was blistering cold out. I must have been wearing five layers of clothing, but when we stepped onto the street from the subway, it felt like I was butt naked. They don't call in the Windy City for nothing.

Our adventure led us to all of our normal haunts, but I wanted a great photo of the skyline for myself. Boyfriend suggested Navy Pier - if we walked to the end and turned around the view would be spectacular! It probably wasn't the smartest idea considering how cold it was, but we went anyway. When we got to the end, I turned around and was greeted by the skyline. The clouds had begun to break and sunlight was streaming through, so I clicked away. When I was happy with my results, I put my camera down and turned to my boyfriend.

There he was, grinning from ear to ear while looking absolutely terrified, kneeling in a puddle and holding a small blue box. All I could say was "Oh. Oh!" while he opened it up and asked me to be his wife. I remember a fellow photographer abandoning his project to capture our moment as I nodded vigorously and said yes with tears in my eyes. I became my now boyfriend's fiance on April Fool's Day. It was far from a joke though. This year we will celebrate five years of marriage on June 22. I love that boy who braved the freezing weather just to propose to me at a place and on a day I will never forget more than anything in the world.

Photo by me. (Yes, it's one of those I took that day.)