Five Outfit Friday!

Happy FRIDAY!!! Can you believe January is practically done? We sure are having a crazy winter here in Michigan and all of the midwest, with the most amount of snow in years! To brighten up your wintery weekend I have put together five casual outfit ideas for you all! Enjoy your weekend and stay warm! 

Top: 3brunettes boutique 3brunettes boutique

Jeans: Old Navy Rockstar Jeans (similar here)

Boots: Macy's (Exact here)

Necklace: (Exact old)

Bracelets (Similar here)

Chambray top: Kohl's (Similar here)

Leopard vest: Forever 21 (Exact old)

Black Legging/Pants: Kohl's (Similar here)

Boots: Charlotte Russe (Exact old; Similar here)

Necklace: Charming Charlie (Similar here)

Watch: Fossil (gift from husband)

Earrings: Thrift Store

Top: Target (Similar here or here)

Pants/Jeggings: Aldo (Similar in a corduroy version here)

Boots: Aldo (Exact here)

Necklace and Earrings: Charming Charlie (Similar here)

Watch: Local boutique (Newb's)

Sweater: H&M (Similar here)

Leopard leggings: Local Boutique (Glik's) 

Boots: Payless (Similar here)

Scarf: Kohl's

Watch: Fossil (gift from husband)

Bracelets: Exact (old) (Similar here)

Earrings: World Market (Exact here)

Sweater: Express (Similar here or here)

Jeans: Old Navy Rockstar Jeans (Similar here)

Booties: Forever 21 (old) (Similar here or here)

Necklace: Our World Boutique (Exact here)

Bangles: Exact (old) (Similar here)

What is your favorite casual outfit?

What is your favorite winter accessory?

Thanks for stopping by today! Its a work weekend for me (and my birthday) so I will be in my scrubs for the next couple days! Take some time to relax this weekend!

Ham and Potato Soup

I absolutely LOVE soup! In Fall and Winter I think I could eat soup every day! I made this Ham and Potato Soup last week and once it was all gone, I couldn't stop thinking about making more. Luckily I still had left over ingredients so I made some and froze the leftovers so I all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer and enjoy when I get the craving! Plus this is just the perfect thing to warm me up on these cold winter days we have been having.

This recipe was adapted from:  The Girl Who Ate Everything 

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes (approx. 4-5 potatoes, I use Idaho potatoes)
• 1/3 cup diced celery (approx. 5 stalks)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 of a small onion)
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced (approx. 3 decent size carrots)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham (buy a ham steak in the deli section)
• 4 cups chicken broth (I use two of the 16.9 oz. chicken stock from Costco- could maybe go like 1 and 3/4 of one, depending on how thick you want it to be.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk

Instructions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot, ham and chicken broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Make sure that your burner is not too hot because it will quickly thicken up! Slowly stir in milk so that lumps don't form and until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes. 
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.
4. Top with cheddar cheese, chives, and bacon if desired. Serve immediately.

The most time consuming part of this soup is all the chopping of the vegetables and ham, otherwise it is pretty quick. You could always do the chopping ahead of time and then throw everything together when you're ready to cook if you wanted to. This also makes quite a bit of soup. I think that it's perfect for a freezer meal (and some now!). 

What is your favorite kind of soup?

Thanks for stopping by! 

Here's to New Beginnings!

Hello there! Welcome! My name is Ashley and well, here it is... my very FIRST post on my very OWN blog! I have been talking about this project for months now and I cannot believe the time is here to let her go "live" for everyone to see! I am excited that you are here!

My passion for creating this blog stems from my husband's decision to go back to school. While he has been preparing for that new journey (starting September 2014) I was looking for an outlet for myself; something that I could start to do in my spare time as he will soon be busy with classes and studying.

To start, the name of my blog stems from the fact that I work full-time as a registered nurse. While sometimes it's easy and comfy to spend 36 hours a week in scrubs, I am also a shopaholic and love to try new styles and patterns. Since I will be the sole person working in our household I will have to become more budget-conscious, therefore: closet remixes, sales and deals, and DIY projects! These are some things that my blog will tend to focus on as well as some of my favorite recipes. I will also be teaming up with Michelle Marie, owner and stylist at Bloom Beauty Boutique, for some hairstyling tips and tutorials!

I am so glad that you stopped by and I hope that you will join along with me on this adventure! So I ask, raise your glass this is a toast: Here's to new beginnings and all that is in store for this new journey! Cheers!

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