Wonderful Weekend {on a Wednesday}!

Here are some pictures from the weekend with the family! It was such a good weekend! Although I'm pretty sure we are all getting sick now from freezing our butts off on Saturday! Oh well! It was worth it!

Friday night family started getting into town and I got to hang out with cute Baby Madison. 

We like to take pictures together. :] 

Saturday morning we woke up to GORGEOUS snow!

Then we headed to 

Out of Africa Wildlife Park. {If you live in AZ

and you haven't been to Out of Africa

you should definitely go!}

Saturday night was spent opening, presents and reading the 60 memories talked about in this post. 

It was such a special night for everyone. We all laughed, got emotional, and just loved hearing about Dad Ashby from all different points of views.

Finally, Sunday was spent going to church and then squeezing EVERYONE into our itty bitty apartment and eating dinner. The whole weekend was filled with so much love and laughter.

It was so much fun and also absolutely exhausting. After everyone left Sunday afternoon I spent the rest of the evening sleeping. And it felt so good!

There were a billion other pictures that I could have posted but I figured I would try and keep the photo overloading to a minimum! Haha. Now tell me about your weekend! 

{And go check out this post by my sister-in-law at Thrifty {Modest} Threads. She transformed a shirt and I LOVE it!}

And today I am grateful for a comfy bed. :]

I Love Me Some Fall Clothes!

Does anyone else just absolutely love fall style? I do. I love the colors and the warmth/comfiness that all fall clothes exude! Here is my favorite fall outfit so far this season! Also, my favorite way to do my hair this season is in this awesome sock bun! Check out this tutorial for help on making it look as awesome as mine! ;) 

{This is the most perfect spinning dress. AND it has pockets. Basically it's perfect in every way.}

Breakdown:

Shirt- Old Navy {$10}

Dress- Old Navy {$3}

Belt- Wet Seal {$0.99}

Tights- Charlotte Russe {$?}

Shoes- Target {$6ish}

Jacket{Ruffles are seen in second picture. Full jacket seen here}- Charlotte Russe {$10ish}

Grateful Catch-up!

Sunday: A home that can hold our huge family. {We had EVERYONE over to our itty bitty apartment for dinner after church on Sunday. It was crazy but we got everyone to fit and it was just so full of love. It was a good day!}

Monday: I was grateful for how gorgeous our campus is covered in snow. The first snowfall is always so magical!

Today: I am grateful for cute fall/winter clothes! I love the change up in outfits with every season. {Is it weird to be grateful for clothes??}

Well, have a wonderful Tuesday everyone! Come back tomorrow for a post about my crazy awesome weekend with our family!

Also, you should check out my outfit post over at Thrifty {Modest} Threads! 

And you should go to the Thrifty {Modest} Threads Facebook page and do some liking! 

Happy Birthday Dad Ashby!

This weekend will be spent celebrating my Father-in-Law's 60th Birthday!! EVERYONE is coming up to Flagstaff and today we are heading to Out of Africa. It's going to be a lot of fun! I wanted to share a little bit of a gift that Race and I got to be a part of. My sister-in-law Tyne found an awesome idea on Pinterest where you gather 60 memories for the past 60 years. I wrote a memory and Race wrote in a TON of memories. I thought that I would share some of them on here because they are just that special.


Here is mine:


Dear Dad, 

I don't remember exactly when this was but it was probably pretty soon after Race and I were engaged. We had spent the weekend in Show Low with family and as we were about to leave you gave me a big hug, kissed me on the forehead, and said "I love you." I remember feeling an overwhelming love for you and being so excited to be a part of the wonderful Ashby family. I look forward to that hug and kiss on the forehead every time I see you Dad! Thanks for making me feel so included in your family! I love you! Happy Birthday!! 

Love, Emma Frances Ashby 

Here are some of my favorites that Race wrote: 

How on earth can EVERYTHING under the sun be related to a math problem?! “Dad, can I drive the BMW? I don’t know Race… this sounds like a math problem to me…” “Dad, how do you spell ‘biology’? Well Race, where’s your calculator?” “Dad, do these cookies taste o.k.? Tell you what Race, get me a piece of paper and a pencil…” “Dad, should I add a few more boxes of cereal to this cart? Add… subtract… whatever it takes.”

Dad is kind of an artist. Like when I was really little, and Mom wanted me to be the Phantom of the Opera for Halloween. I don't know how long it took Dad to make my Phantom mask, but he sculpted it like he had made a career out of paper mache mask masking. Every detail, right down to the left nostril hole added at the last minute with a sharp pencil, remind me that Dad took his job seriously- no just as chief costume designer, but also as my Dad.

I've been called the "cookie doctor" in our family, and the title is well deserved. I've wasted more sugar and flour than anyone I've ever met in an effort to perfect every cookie recipe under the sun. I'd be working on something I'd found in Grandma's old recipes- some cookie-delicacy I was sure would impress the whole family, and Dad would wander into the kitchen and ask something goofy like "why aren't those chocolate chip cookies?" I know I inherited my love of cookies from Dad, but in his eyes, there is only one kind of cookie; chocolate chip. Anything else is practically a vegetable.

We've all probably changed our "favorite movie" a hundred times. Not Dad. He has one favorite movie; Matilda. Teal and I can weave movie lines in and out of any conversation, but we learned all that from Dad, who can't talk about cameras without asking if you know how to "adjust the eyepiece," or spell the word "difficulty" without shouting "why are all these women married?!"

I remember playing soccer as a kid- I was never the best on the team, or the most coordinated. I did get a lot of playing time though. I could say that was because Dad was my coach, and it would be true, but not for the reasons you might think. Having Dad as my coach made me want to work hard. I wanted to show him I could play soccer well, because he liked soccer. I wanted to show him I could run fast, because he liked to run. Dad watching me has always made me push myself to do better- without saying anything he made me want to try harder in high school sports, academically, and as a worker. Dad’s not watching me all the time anymore, but just thinking about him still has that effect of making me want to do the best I can. And while I’m pretty sure Dad was never impressed with my bicycle kick in little league soccer, I’m glad he coached my team then.


I remember singing the primary song “I’m so glad when daddy comes home.” Dad was in Korea, and he would be coming home soon, so I really worked on getting the words and hand motions right; including the whole “pat his cheeks and give him what? A great big kiss!” part. I remember exactly where I was and how I felt when I saw him. No matter how long it had been, or how young I was, I remember when Dad came home. And I made sure I got that hug and kiss just like the song said.


{How cute are Race's stories? And isn't he an absolutely wonderful writer? I think so!}

{This is both sides of the family at our wedding. I don't have super good pictures of Dad Ashby and Race and I anywhere. I'll have to get some of those this weekend!}


So many wonderful memories of such a wonderful father. :] I loved this gift idea and I loved learning more about my father-in-law. He really is a wonderful person! Happy Birthday Dad Ashby!! 


{Today I am grateful for my in-laws! They are all such wonderful people. I gained an absolutely wonderful family when I got married!}

Phone Photos Ep. 5 {Insta-Friday}

My week in Instagram photos!

Happy Halloween everyone! This is what one of the maintenance guys at work 

recorded as what he had got done on Halloween day! So funny!! :]

Some outfits I wore in the past couple of weeks.

This picture is from a post I wrote for Kylie's blog.

You should all go check it out!

A shoe collage. Didn't this turn out geometrically awesome?! 

Earrings that I made! I LOVE them! 

Apples+Caramel. My favorite snack that I had pretty much every day this week. 

I didn't always have the caramel but I love apples with or without caramel. 

I have eaten an entire bag of apples by myself this week. Mmmm!

Race was a little excited to rent this game from Redbox. Haha. He's been playing it nonstop. 

{I can't wait til he finishes it!}

Well, that was my week in photos! :]

This weekend is Race's dad's birthday so there will be a little post about that. 

There are some cute little stories in there so you should definitely check it out! 

Also, these giveaways are ending so you should check that out!

And, my sister-in-law wrote a cute post on our blog so you should also check that out!

And don't forget about my guest post on Kylie's blog!

So many fun things to check out! Now head on over to Insta-Friday and link up your

week in cell phone photos!

Today I am grateful for my phone. I use it for everything. Mostly for pictures and entertainment when I am bored. But really, iPhones are just so much fun. So that's what I'm grateful for today!

Handwriting+Gratitude

I hope you can see these okay! This is my handwriting! 

The rest is written below so squint hard and read away! 

Also, today I am guest posting over at my real life friend Kylie's blog! You should go check it out and then read the rest of Kylie's blog. She has great date ideas, an adorable Etsy shop, and is just overall awesome! Also, that's where I'm talking about the things that I am grateful for today. Happy November everyone! 

Me & My Husband {Thirteenth Edition}+A Giveaway Winner!!

So, I  don't know if any of you remember these posts I was doing a while back. If not, you should go check them out! I will be continuing the posts. There are only four or five questions left so enjoy it while it lasts! ;} 


Today's question is: Honeymoon: Where did you go? Was it good? ;)


So this is going to be a pretty boring one! Sorry everyone! We went to Sedona, AZ for our honeymoon and stayed in a little hotel. It was pretty nice with our own personal jacuzzi! That was the fun part! We had a super short honeymoon though and didn't do much. I don't even think we have pictures of us on our honeymoon! We took a couple at some of the fun places we went to eat but they are all on Race's phone. It was really nice though. We turned off our phones and just enjoyed being together nonstop for a few days.  We were married Friday morning, in Sedona by 2 or 3ish, spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Sedona, and then headed home on Monday. Our honeymoon wasn't much but it was perfect for us and for the amount of time that we had. And honestly, I was just really excited to get home and move in together! Someday we'll probably head out on a cruise and do something more honeymoonish and it'll be a blast! But our mini-honeymoon was just wonderful!

Now before I leave for the day I want to tell you 

something I am grateful for. And that would bemy job. I am 

so grateful to have a job but I also grateful for 

what my job is.  I get to sit in an office for a few hours a week

and answer phones. I am lucky to like the people I work 

with, to like answering phones and helping people

solve their problems. And I absolutely LOVE typing. Weird , maybe

but I do love it. I love the sound and seeing how fast I can

 type. Is anyone else weird like me? Anyway, I 

am lucky to have a job. And I am grateful that I can help my 

family in this little way.

  

This picture displays what I do at work. Take pictures of the flats I wear basically every day and make collages. Jealous? Your probably should be! ;} Happy November everyone!

Oh wait! Before everyone heads out I have a giveaway winner to announce! So, I used random.org for this but I don't know how to do the whole picture thing to prove that I didn't pick my favorite person so you'll have to trust me! The winner is comment #19. Kaitlin Graff! Email me at emsmilesss {at} gmail {dot} com. If I do not get an email within the next 48 hours I will pick a new winner using random.org. Congratulations Kaitlin! 

November {Q&A Answers--Finally!}

October seriously flew by. It was filled with falling leaves, cool weather, scarves, tights, and Halloween! It was a wonderful month! And now November begins. The month of gratitude. I am looking forward to this month so much! My goal for the month is to try and write something I am grateful for every day on my blog. So check up on me and make sure I'm keeping to that! I will be writing about other things as well. For example, today I am FINALLY responding to all of your questions from this post! Excited? I hope so! I am!

Number 1. So, you  have two blogs now? Jessica of Live Laugh Love
I do have two blogs! I have this one that is all about Race and I and our newlywed lives. Then I have a blog that I co-write with two of my sisters-in-law! It's called Thrifty {Modest} Threads and we write a little about fashion, crafting, sewing, and any other things that catch our fancies! It's a fun blog so you should definitely all go and check it out! {And here's a little secret--I may be having a double giveaway soon! One on this blog and one on Thrifty {Modest} Threads!} I do most of my outfit posts over there but I think I'm going to start to split it evenly between the two because I miss having cute outfits featured on this blog...not that I did it that much before but...you know!

Number 2. What is the story of your wedding dress? Jamie of Shehan and Jamie: Two Lovebirdies

I have actually answered this question before here. But I will answer it again because I LOVE talking about my wedding dress! My wedding dress was my mom's wedding dress. She was married in 1984 so it was a super 80s style dress. Poofy sleeves, weird high neckline, looong sleeves {just google 1980s wedding dresses--you'll get the idea}. I had tried it on right after I got engaged and it fit perfect but I didn't think much of it because of the out of date style. But, my mom is a pro seamstress and started thinking of all the ways we could change it up. She took out the high neckline and the poofy sleeves. Then my sister-in-law/best friend had the wonderful idea of making a huge lace skirt to go over the bottom half of the dress {I wasn't a big fan of the fabric on the bottom}. So we made a skirt out of lace and then a belt out of some tulle-like fabric {I don't know what it's actually called}. Oh, and a good family friend made the sleeves shorter for me and lined them. So basically my dress is lots of different layers with the main body being my mother's wedding dress. I love that I got to wear her dress and I love how unique it turned out. Take-home-message: You can make weird styles look awesome and super unique. And wearing your mom's wedding dress is really special. I hope that wasn't a way too long answer! If you aren't bored of that yet then you can look at the post mentioned above for more information!

Number 3. When will you have kids? Ashley of Sloanbook
I am not going to say much about this one! But, ever since this General Conference talk Race and I have definitely been praying about starting a family. Does that help? Haha. I do LOVE babies though and will be incredibly happy whenever we do get pregnant!

See photo below {and photos in basically every post} for proof that I absolutely adore all babies! 

Number 4. What is your favorite roommate memory? Kylie of Love Always.
This is a hard one! We had some good memories in Apt. 96! I think that one of my very favorite memories is of the night that we all took turns sliding down our stair railing! I need to find those videos! Also, I loved that we did that little talent show reenacting this video in our footie PJs! I'll link up to our video but I'm not sure if it will work...Try to go here. Good times were had in Apt. 96! :] What's your favorite memory Kylie?!

One of the ONLY photos of all of the roommates together!

Number 5. Did Race go on a mission? If so- how have those experiences impacted your relationship? Trinkets and Talmud
Race did go on a mission. He served in the Chicago Illinois South Mission- Spanish Speaking. I'm going to be honest. This is a really hard question. Especially since I haven't gone on a mission. It makes it kind of hard to distinguish between what things Race learned from his mission and what things are just his personality. I'm going to write my answer and then I'm going to share Race's point of view on this.

Here are some things that I think Race gained from serving a mission and how I think they impact our relationship.

• Strong testimony of the gospel. Race knows that the church is true. And he knows the importance of following the teachings. He has learned these things for himself while teaching about them to others. This has really strengthened our relationship because when we struggle with attending our meetings regularly, or saying our prayers and reading our scriptures together we are both able to help each other do these things because of our personal testimonies of the importance of them. 
• A strong work ethic. After spending two years walking around a city in all kinds of weather for hours every day you build quite the work ethic. I know that Race will work his  butt off in school and with his current and future jobs to support our family. When we graduate and he starts looking for a job I know that he will not give up in finding one and that he will be willing to work however many awful jobs as he needs to just to take care of me. That is super reassuring. {And it is a work ethic that I definitely need to gain!}
• Finally, I would say that Race learned to pray on his mission. Ever since the first prayer I heard Race say {sometime early on in our dating life} I knew that he had a good relationship with his Heavenly Father. He knows that Heavenly Father is listening to, and knows him personally. His prayers have taught me so much and definitely strengthened our relationship. Praying together has strengthened both of our testimonies and brought us closer to God as a couple. 

Now here is what Race said: 

First off he said that when he went on a mission he knew that he was obeying a commandment. And with obedience to commandments come blessings. He hasn't recognized all of them yet although he is sure they have and will continue to come. Some of the ones he has recognized are these: 

• He learned how to work with another person and to not run away when things get hard. On a mission you are with your companion 24/7 and you really can't run away. So he learned how to stay and work things out rather than just leave. This definitely helps in any relationship because running away should not be an option. 
• He also learned the importance of prayer and scripture reading. I talked about these a little bit above so I'm not going to go into that too much more but he did say that he learned how important it will be to teach our children to read their scriptures and say their prayers. 
• And finally he said that he learned the importance of being brave. This has impacted our relationship because Race does a lot of things that I'm too scared to do. It works out pretty well for me. :] It is also good because he is teaching me to be brave in a lot of ways. 

There are so many other things but I already took forever answering that question. I loved thinking about how important it is that Race served a mission for two years. It really has impacted our relationship for good!

I'll leave you with those pictures and say that today I am grateful that Race served a worthy mission and then came home and married me! :] Happy November everyone!

{P.S. If you have any more questions just let me know! I will either email you back or write a post about it if it's just that good!! 

P.P.S. Today is your last chance to enter the My Memories Giveaway! I will be announcing the winner tomorrow! Thanks to everyone who has entered so far!

P.P.P.S. Go here to enter TONS of wonderful giveaways!! One of them is even something made by yours truly!

P.P.P.P.S. If anyone is interested in being Swap Sponsors please e-mail me at emsmilesss {at} gmail {dot} com! I will be introducing my Swap Sponsors sometime next week!}