awkward

ok...so i am very aware that i should have posted much more recently than now. and i have felt like something was missing since i haven't been updating at all.

oh, and ireland was aboslutely amazing. it was all i was expecting, plus so much more.

the truth is, for the last few weeks i was struggling with the awkward-ness that comes with having just quit my job. gasp. can you believe it? in this economy, someone would actually QUIT a well-paying job when nothing else was lined up?

i know it seems unrealistic to you. i think that's part of why i haven't posted until now. i didn't know what to say. just like when i see someone i haven't seen recently and their first question is 'how is your job!?' yeah...about that.

i'm tired of feeling like i need to have a whole speech ready, or any justification to back up my reasoning. my job made me miserable. not wanting to go to bed miserable, because that meant i had to wake up and go to work. not able to enjoy the weekend miserable, because sunday was always too short and monday would inevitably come too quickly.

i stopped doing it because i felt like it was affecting my 'person.' there were about two weeks when i didn't know what i would do to pay my bills and it was scary, but it was exciting at the same time. i have now secured a position at the angus barn, raleigh's #1 restaurant and i begin tomorrow.

i still have that excited feeling. not necessarily for the angus barn, but for what is ahead. i honestly feel i still have so much ahead of me. i was beginning to feel that 'stuck' feeling at bmc, and i feel free again. i'm exciting to have my days to spend learning my camera and my nights to make money.

i don't know what is in store for me, but i know it's going to be great. i'm meant for something great, i'm sure.

in light of this fresh start, feel free to check out my new awesome (photo) blog: www.ashleykathrynlewis.blogspot.com

an ode to the 21 year old

suddenly, it seemed as though i didn't take very many pictures throughout the summer! i did though! i just didn't document them all in this blog =)

so because i somehow left out an update about jesse's 21st birthday, here's a look at our night out on the town!

all of jesse's bffs, ready for the fun night ahead:


me and the birthday girl!


blowing out her candles (while holding onto liquor)

jesse with her life-sized bottle of grey goose (everybody went in together to purchase her that 'little' present), and also with her life-sized martini glass:


we made a book to celebrate her 21st, and in it she had to do some pretty crazy things. one of the tasks was to take a picture with a cop! how great is this picture!?


tequila shots!


hahaha hilarious!


what a priceless face!


jesse 'proposing to a stranger'


jesse, have you had enough already?


love this picture:


'serenading a stranger'


'sandwich yourself between two strangers and dance it out'


cute friends


seven shots!?


annnnnd this is how the night ended =)



so glad we all got to celebrate with you! it was definitely a night to remember!

the office

just so that you all can picture me at work, i thought i'd share a few pictures from my office!

this is my lovely desk = )


another close-up view of my decorations:


here's a shot of what the actuall office looks like:

our kitchen!

my favorite part about working at bmc! free diet drinks all day long! =)


hopefully now you have can have a picture in your mind when you think of me at work =)

leavin' las vegas

on our fifth and final day in vegas, jen and i met up with david drew (again) at the rainforest cafe inside mgm grande for a long lunch.

us with our respective animal chairs at the bar =)

after lunch, we all ducked into a movie theater to see 'the time traveler's wife.' after the movie, we were basically trying to find anything to do to stay occupied! it was a bit of a bummer because our bags were waiting in baggage check, since we didn't need a room for the night. we spent time taking silly pictures like these:



for dinner that night, the three of us met up with jen's boyfriend again at 'Gonzalez y Gonzalez' inside the new york new york. we walked around all the shops the hotel had to offer, and then Michael and David left us for some girl-time before my flight departed at 12:45am (so late, i know!). so jen and i had coffee and took our time heading over to the airport.

i'm so glad i got to experience las vegas with jen before she left for graduate school in nyc. we had so much fun and while it wasn't exactly the trip we had intially planned, i'm sure we both are glad it happened!

what happens in vegas stays in vegas

on our fourth day together, jen and i took it easy! we started the day with crepes for breakfast at our hotel, and then we spent yet another day by the pool (and thankfully our last, considering the 'heat rash' that began to cover my arms and legs due to the level of intensity from the vegas sun!) at the paris. her mom even came to join us for a while! that afternoon we checked out and headed to our next hotel: the new york new york!

here's our room at the new york new york:

jen and i took our time getting ready that evening, and then had the most amazing dinner at Il Fornaio - an italian restaurant inside the new york. it was fabulous; we split a bottle of wine and had appetizers and just enjoyed our surroundings. following dinner, we headed over to 'the bar at times square' which was a dueling piano bar! we met up with three of jen's friends there, and enjoyed about an hour of good music and good drinks.

later that evening, jen and i had 10:30pm tickets to see Zumanity; 'the sensual side of Cirque de Soleil.' it was definitely different!



jen with a character from the show - awkward!


we didn't do much after the show, as it was so late! we did manage to swing by this larger than life slot machine =)

i'm in las vegas trick

day three:

so on our third full day in vegas (a saturday), jen and i spent the morning by the pool at the paris. her parents were nice enough to treat us to lunch at Mon Ami Gabi; a very nice cafe at the paris hotel. not only was the food amazing, but we were seated on the patio that overlooked the waters at the bellagio! i even KNEW one of the waiters there - small world!

after our perfect lunch, jen and i ventured to caesar's to check out their 'venus pool party' with european-style sun bathing. now THAT was an eye-opening experience.

later that evening, jen and i geared up for a FUN dinner at margaritaville with a few of our favorites from the disney college program. we knew that we would get to see our dear friend, david drew, as he is a native of las vegas. the surprise, however, came when we found out the day before that sara (one of our charm sisters) and her boyfriend, tony (also of the college program), were to be stopping through vegas for the weekend. it was the craziest coincidence ever - i really don't think we could've planned it if we tried!!

the three of us girls - we're only missing one! LISSETTE!


me and david drew =)


all of us outside of margaritaville!

my bff jen =)


me with david again!


after our dinner, jen and i decided to experience another night out on the town!

the eiffel tower by night!

the view from the top of caesar's nightclub: PURE.


jen and me on the rooftop!

like my sequins? =) that was a very vegas dress, for sure! pure left about the same taste in my mouth as tryst did - way too many people! 'the veronicas' were performing inside pure which added to the crowds. the most fun part was when jen and i left the club and we were too tired to walk all the way back to our hotel - so we literally sat right outside of pure for TWO HOURS (until 3am!) just people-watching. it was hilarious watching people that were so drunk they could no longer walk. it's probably sad that we had more fun doing that than actually inside the club, but it's the truth!

poker face

day two:
on friday morning, jen and i started the day off correctly at starbucks, and headed downtown to meet her mom at the paris hotel! jen's mom was kind enough to score us the weekend free at the paris hotel: essentially one of the nicest hotels on the strip! the room was AMAZING with the best view EVER of the eiffel tower - right out of our window!





we had a cute lunch at a little cafe inside the paris hotel with jen's mom. from there we headed to the pool again for some more action in the sun!!

us ready to bake a little more!


by the pool, i enjoyed this 'little' concoction:



the view while tanning:


on friday night, we decided to take it easy since we had gone out the night before. jen's boyfriend (michael) came to hang out, and we all ate dinner at the buffet at the paris (so good)! after dinner we took a special trip to the top of the eiffel tower, where we saw some unbelievable views of the strip!

waking up in vegas

enjoy reading about my trip to vegas, one day at a time!

last week i had the opportunity to fly to las vegas to visit my dear friend, jen guttman. jen and i met while at disney world for the college program - she and i both worked at kilimanjaro safaris! after we both decided to extend our programs, jen and i decided to move in together while in florida into a one bedroom apartment. we had a great month together, but jen had to abruptly leave the program for medical reasons. we did a decent job keeping in touch over the past year, and i was thrilled at the chance to see her again.

day one:
i flew into las vegas at about 11pm (2am to my body!) on a wednesday night, and went straight back to jen's parents house to sleep! on thursday i slept in a bit, and then we headed to the strip to take advantage of a connection jen used to get our names on the guest list at the wynn hotel pool. there, we baked in the sun all day - from 11am-6pm! we did take a break to have a nice lunch indoors at the terrace point cafe inside the wynn.

here's a photo with our view while laying out:



and of course, a classic myspace picture of us in the mirror of a bathroom:



that evening we headed back to jen's house for a fabulous dinner cooked by her dad, neil. he made grilled chicken (off the grill!) fajitas with peppers and onions, along with an amazing guacamole! later that evening jen and i took our time getting ready, and then we drove back downtown to the strip, right back to the wynn! we went to the wynn's nightclub, tryst.

jen and i before leaving her house:




the waterfall within the nightclub!



jen and i at tryst!



tryst was quite an experience. there were wall-to-wall people so it was difficult to make our way toward anything! we did manage to come out of the evening having not paid a dime, and we made it fun, despite the crowd!

ireland

i have much to post about, including lots on my (amazing) vegas trip and all the painting that has been ocurring at my new apartment...but since those of us that blog know that a post isn't quite as exciting without pictures (and i am currently at work which means my pictures are on my computer at home) i decided to get myself pumped for my upcoming trip to ireland.

i fly to ireland on friday, september eleventh (scary, i know) and i return on september twenty-sixth. while i will have to work every day from 9-5ish, i will have every night free and two weekends to explore.

if you are curious as to just how crazy this world is, i encourage you to search in my previous blogs for february 9th, 2009 - as well as february 1, 2009 (#3): in both of these blogs i conveyed my desire to visit ireland. interesting, eh? and here i am...ready to head to the green hills and NOT ON MY TAB. brilliant.

because my two weeks in ireland will exist because of extensive training for my job, i haven't had much to do at work, as of yet. so in my spare (all) time, i ordered two guidebooks (rick steves ireland, and lonely planet dublin...because i couldn't make up my mind)and i will probably have read them cover to cover before i even step out of the country.

check out these interesting facts from the dublin guidebook:

-in the summer of 2007, it never got above 59 degrees and it rained 59 days straight (did i mention how thrilled i am that the weather will be chilly while i'm there!!!? hello pashminas!)

-there is no smoking inside anywhere in ireland (unless it's your house, of course)

-dublin is the 16th most expensive city in the world (good thing i'm not paying!)

these are some places i definitely want to visit (within the walls of dublin...more to come on all of ireland later):

Irish Museum of Modern Art



Hill of Howth



Moore Street Market



St. Patrick's Cathedral



Temple Bar



so who knows if i'll actually make it to all these venues...and i'm positive that i'm about to find a million more places i want to see as i continue my reading today...