the big day

{cred}

it's here! the day i've been waiting for! it's moving day.

today, after everything was all packed up in the truck-thanks to the strapping lads i hired-i went back up to my first apartment. i always have a hard time leaving places i've lived. not to say i'm not over the moon excited about the move, being in boulder, my new amazing roommate, cutting my commute from 65 minutes to 6 minutes-because trust me I AM THRILLED. but, moving, for good, always seems so sad to me.

i sat down in the middle of my (now bare) living room and took it in. i thought about all the things that happened in this apartment, and all the things that happened in life during the past 21 months here. i had mostly good times in my little city apartment, some sad but mostly just happy.

i made new friends, and spent time with old ones.i ran my first marathon while i lived here, i started my financial lockdown, and let go of a heart heavying relationship here.  i made plans here-some i followed through on and some i didn't. i had a good talk with my mom about happiness here. i got the phone call that i'd lost my grandpa while i lived in this place. i had one of the most fun weekends with my sister in this apartment-come to think of it i picked out this little place with my sister and that memory is so happy for me. i reconnected with an old friend who now i can't imagine life without, my best friend told me she was having a baby and my niece was born while i lived here. i celebrated engagements, babies, weddings, anniversaries and accomplishments with the people i love. my best cousin had a beautiful baby boy and moved up to her lovely cabin in the woods. my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. my sister got hurt and then got better. i threw parties, i walked to coffee shops, and i went to concerts. i made mistakes. i surprised myself. i dated, i laughed, i cried, i danced, and ran, and traveled, and really got to know a city i always dreamed i would find myself. i grew up here, in my little city apartment.

the funny thing is, until i sat down cross legged on the hardwood floor today and really thought about it, i felt like i was never here. i felt like the past (almost) two years flew by, and nothing had really happened while i was here. so, you see, when you sit quietly in a place, you realize how much life can happen to you in a short time.
it was a good reminder to be an active participant in my life.

be present.

live.

what a great takeaway to start the next chapter.

goodbye leetonia-it's been fun.
all the best to you and yours.
xoxo ashleycolean

i hope...

you get everything you wanted!

~happy holidays~

xoxo ashleycolean

i'm off

{cred}

i'm outta here for the holiday. heading back home to kansas city for 5 days to drink coffee, do the flying squirrel with my sister onto my parents bed, sleep in a cozy bed, wrap (and OPEN) gifts, see my best friends for a brunch or two, and relax. i could not be more excited.

i'll hook you up with a december recap when i get back!
hopefully i will get some cash to put down on those loans! :)

happiest of holidays to you and yours,
xoxo ashleycolean

a night to cocktail

{cred}

tonight's the night! the good ol' company holiday party. i love this night. it's the greatest. we have a small company so the conversation is good, the laughs are plenty, and the wine flows like...well, wine.

we celebrate each year at the gorgeous, and amazing st julien hotel....with a fab dinner at jill's. lucky gal (both thumbs pointing inward)!! this year is much smaller than normal, so going solo made the most sense but its always a fun night, and recapping all the antics from the last year at the office is always pretty funny.

i have three outfit options. still no idea which i will go with. bbe always looks like a freakin' rock star so it 'ups the ante,' if you will.

good dinner, good company, and good times. the only bad part about it is the rockin' hangover i have the next day, and having to roll out of that amazing bed at the julien in the morning. blah.

here's to the cogs in the machine.
xoxo ashleycolean

fashion or finance

i love fashion blogs. lifestyle blogs. any blogs with pretty people, pretty things, pretty outfits.

it's fine. sure, it makes me want to spend every once in a while, but i don't simply click the link and buy that 'have to have' jacket...anymore.

the problem...i used to love financial blogs. lately, when i go down my blog list in the morning to catch up on what everyone is up to, the only financial blog i am still checking out is and then she saved for my dose of financial reminders. i skip right over all the other blogs that tell me DON'T BUY IT!! or SAVE!! and go straight for the BUY THIS $288 CASHMERE SWEATER.

oops.

in 2012 less fashion, more finance.
xoxo ashleycolean

full hearts

{cred}

as much as i would love a couple of extra dollars this holiday-more important to me is doing a little bit for others.

i always 'adopt' someone for the holidays through the boulder housing community. it's a $75.00 maximum commitment per person. it is immensely eye opening to see what you can get someone for $75.00. especially after an overzealous trip to the mall for a holiday party dress. dumb.

this year, i shopped for the mother of the family our office was given. i got her dress pants, a top, dress shoes, a scarf and two pairs of gloves for less than $75! it is amazing. a small amount of money can provide so much happiness and gratitude.

i hope she loves all of her gifts, and her family has a wonderful holiday.
xoxo ashleycolean

side job extraordinaire

i have a disease...it's called inabilitytoturndownanythingicouldgetpaidforitis. it's pretty serious. despite plans, commitments, daunting tasks (like moving) i can't say no to a side job. can't do it.

this weekend i have two lined up! friday, i have a 1 night tails job while some clients head out to what i can only assume is a rockin holiday party. saturday, i am bar tending for bbe and her hubby's holiday party. it'll be pretty great people, and i will make some money-double bonus.

even though its pushed all of my packing back to sunday i am pretty excited about it!

makin' money! makin' money!
xoxo ashleycolean

on the move

for the past 6 weeks or so i have been slowly packing. packing up all my stuff makes me want to become a minimalist.
all of the cute sitarounds i just HAD TO HAVE are suddenly the things plaguing my life!

i wish half of my stuff would just disappear to make life easier.

i've been craigslisting the hell out of my stuff-trying to remove the 'clutter.' so far i've sold my bed ($40), my bookshelf ($15), my mirror ($40), and my weeds dvds ($20). i still have a dresser, tv, and skis up for sale. so, i've made a little bit of money. not much, but a little. and yes, i have been without a bed almost a month now...so all the money i have made should probably go to the magic hands of a massage specialist.

it's amazing to me how much moving costs! somehow i've managed to only spend $36.00 so far on tape, boxes and packing paper. bbe has been bringing me in boxes each day from her christmas online shopping which has been a big help. my momentary lapse of good judgement in my own online shopping adventures on anthropologie.com have also provided me some decent boxes. i hired movers-against my desire to save-because the last time i moved myself i cried the whole time. this time, three men will come and handle all the lifting in three hours for $222.00. worth-every-penny.

still to go-kitchen (ugh), and all my clothes. funny how hours of clothes packing is the result of 'never having anything to wear.'

with moving day quickly approaching, i couldn't be happier to be done with this place and on to the next. hopefully my deposit will come back to me in full so i can throw that $785 down in one chunky lump on the good ol' student loan.

december 29th baby.
xoxo ashleycolean

hiccup

{cred}

agreed. unfortunately, i am one of the least patient human beings alive. i've gotten myself into a bit of a predicament this month...so eager to pay off my high interest rate student loan i forgot to leave myself any money in my bank account. oops.

i need to take a breath and be smart rather than simply shoveling all of my money into www.myedaccount.com.

it'll getcha.
xoxo ashleycolean

whata day!!

{cred}

today is a big day for my little bitty baby beginner blog. today marks ten thousand views!!!! TEN THOUSAND!!
thanks to all of you that are reading, and responding. thanks to anna from and then she saved for giving me the motivation to start this sucker!! thanks to all of you that give me ideas. thanks to all of you that are patient with my sometimes long stays between posts-and thanks to my boss for continuing to pay me so i can continue to pay down debt!

total debt down in 10,000 blog views: $9,535.21!!

here's to finishing this debt thing and making this sucker a travel blog :)
xoxo ashleycolean