let the countdown begin!

I am so excited Christmas is here... and I'm counting down the days... I hope you'll join me! I've also added some Christmas music to my blog for the month woop-woop! So feel free to turn it up and jam a little while reading! I've been a little M.I.A lately so I'm going to give a little update of what's been going on in my life lately...

For the month of November I've been busy with my daily activites... such as work and volunteer stuff up at the church. Also one of my best friends got engaged and I am so happy for her! Check out her website to read about the purposal and all of there friends that will be part of their big day! (http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/LindleySummers&BrettSchaefer)

Its only the 2nd day of December and with my planner filling up before I know it will be saying Happy New Year! I have lots of Christmas shopping do to... a wedding shower to attend, birthdays, and Christmas parties and I'm looking forward to every second of it. I love shopping for people and I have a huge problem of keeping someones gift a secret... I get so excited about it that I end up giving it early or telling them what they got. This year I'm changing it up a little and I'm going to buy gifts, not tell, and NOT GIVE IN EARLY! I'll let ya know how my new plan works.

And as for 2010... Luke's sister is getting married at the beginning of the month, and Luke's 24th birthday is at the end of the month as well as a trip to Colorado in the making! I hope the trip works out!!!

Happy December 2nd! Only 23 days till Christmas.... yeahhhhhhhhh!

December already?

Ok- so my plans of doing a cool countdown for Christmas on my blog won't be happening for the first day of December... I will hopefully have time to blog tomorrow and start my awesome countdown... don't worry! I have been so busy that I haven't been able to blog about anything and there is so much I want to tell and catch up on. So bare with me and I hope tomorrow I can share a little and begin my Christmas countdown. Hope everyone is doing well and had wonderful Thanksgiving.... I'll be back soon!

bringing holiday cheer!

This is probably my favorite time of the year (besides my birthday) I'm a big birthday lover! But there is something about this time of year... the leaves changing, the smell outside, the weather... it's the most wonderful time of the year! As soon as Halloween is over the Christmas music comes out (I'll sometimes even do a little sneak preview of Christmas music before then)- yes I'm one of those people. I've recently discovered this awesome radio station that plays the best Christmas music and Luke and I listened to it all the way from Arkansas to Tulsa the other day... that equals a great road trip and an automatic good mood! I thought in honor of getting super excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas and my music listening I've been doing lately that I'd blog about it. I'm thinking about doing a fun countdown when December 1st comes and changing my playlist (see below) to chritmas music, but for now here is to the great holidays coming up! I love getting into the holiday spirit! Cheers!

Callin' the HOGS!

This past weekend Luke and I made a trip to Arkansas to hang out with his family and go to a Razorback game. We both really wanted to go to a game and finally found a great time to go and it worked out even more perfectly thanks to our great friends Seth and Chelsea for the tickets!! It was so great to be back in Fayetteville and it brought back so many good memories. I loooove football and the smell of tailgating! It gives you this exciting feeling when your at a college football game, I don't know what it is, but I love it! We hope to one day be able to purchase season tickets and be able to go to alot more games. It felt weird going back as an alumni and not as a student... it made me miss being in college so much! Here are a few pictures from the game! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

I love when the band comes out before the game starts.... and this guy runs out right as the drums start getting faster. I'm not sure if he has a name or not, but I love this!

Trick or Treat

I hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend! Eat lots of candy, I know I will..... yummmm!!

Halloween

Luke and I finally made our way to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin to carve! Last year we had a blast doing this.... we made dinner, listened to some good music and carved pumpkins! Last year we were creative and did our pumpkins free hand... Luke carved a scary pumpkin face and I did a peace sign (of course)! This year we decided to use templates that came with our cutting kit. Luke chose a scary skull and I did a wicked witch. We always have so much fun doing this and it's a great way to be creative and festive together! Here are a few pictures of our pumpkin carving date...

Before carving our masterpieces!

Luke doing a little pattern matching and me carving!

And the results.... Drum role please!!!

Ta-Da! This picture was taken at night with my flash on and it doesn't give the full effect.... but when there in the dark, lit up they look awesome!

Happy Halloween everyone! Love: Luke and Ashley

Jesus hates religion...

I know the title seems a little far out there, but hear me out! Our pastor at church is doing a series over this right now and today was the first day of it. You can also checkout this website that is connected with the Church at Battlecreek to learn more about the sermons and comment on what religion means to you (www.jesushatesreligion.com). Our pastor made many great points about how people react with talking about religion and talking about God and I couldn't agree more... if you're having a conversation with someone and you start talking about God most likely people want to turn there head and have no part in the discussion... if you start talking about religion it makes others feel a little more comfortable. Why is that? My opinion about religion is that it has become so "clicky" there are all these different groups and beliefs and lists of things you should do and not do. I think religion has stirred so far away from what it's really about and thats Jesus... he is the only one that can lead you through the walk of a believer, he is the only one who is perfect! When you get so caught up in "religion" I think you get confused about what exactly it is you believe in, who exactly your living your life for. I think people who say my religion is ___ and I believe it "SO THAT" I'll get to heaven is all wrong... I think people who say I'm a believer and I believe because he is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6) are two completely different things. I know this might sound a little confusing, but I've been talking to Luke about it and when I say it to him I feel like I'm making sense, but now that I'm writing it I'm like wow that sounds really confusing. I'm still trying to fully understand the difference, but just something to get you thinking a little... leave me a comment, I want to hear what you think. And look for more posts to come about the "Jesus hates religion" series my pastor is doing!

crooked paths

There has been a lot going on lately.... it's one of those chapters in your life that you'd like to skip over. I know later on down the road going through all of this is only going to make me stronger, but its tough! Luke and I have been having countless conversations just about everything. It has been a daily struggle lately to have faith. Some days are better than others... and then there are those days that you feel like you're all alone and you don't know whats going to happen. We've been graduated for 4 months now, the job market hasn't gotten any better and it's hard to stay focused and positive. I've been reading in Proverbs lately and it talks about having wisdom and trusting in God. One of my favorite verses is:

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Right now I feel like I'm on all sorts of crooked paths... I feel lost at times honestly. Confused about what it is that God wants me to do with my life and where he wants me to be. When I read this verse this time it spoke to me differently with everything I have going on in my life right now. I know it's easy to get frustrated and to sometimes not see the picture of God's plans for us, but theres absolutley nothing I can do except trust in him and leave my worries in his hands and he will straighten my paths for me.

My own father is a great example of someone who has never stopped trusting in God. He was without a job for about 8 months and had all of the stresses of how to provide for his family and get bills and everything else taken care of weighing down on his shoulders. I know my dad had tough days, but you never heard about them and you couldn't tell if it was a bad day or not. He is such a hard worker, as well as my mom.... they both will do anything for my brothers, sister, and I. But both of my parents trusted in God 100% to provide and take care of us and that's exactly what God did... he provided for my family and on those days that our paths seemed crooked he straightened them and gave us hope when it was much needed! Yes 8 months is a very long time, but God has a reason for everything.

This has been a long post, but it feels good to journal about this... There are bad days and it's hard to deal with them sometimes... but in the end God is always going to be there for us and he's always going to straighten our paths out, we just have to trust in him! And he has perfect timing for everything. Hang in there Luke... we're going to get through this (together). And we're going to look back in 10 years and probably laugh. =)Take a deep breath and runnnnnnnn! Life gets crazy, but be thankful for each day he gives us!

tulsa bound!

2 weeks ago Luke made the big move to Tulsa! After lots of prayer and 2 months of being apart we have both felt that God was calling us to Tulsa (for the time being). Luke has never lived anywhere outside of Northwest Arkansas so this is a pretty big deal and I tried to make the move as comfortable and exciting as possible! I think he likes it so far and he's only an hour and a half away from his country life of (fishing, hunting, etc.) It won't be long though till he gets Tulsa figured out a little better and finds those outdoor places here to run to!!! I am so excited he is here and it won't be long till he loves it and calls it home (it will just take some getting used to). I am so excited to see what God has planned for both of us and I feel like now we can really pursue what that is now that he's here! I had to take a picture by a Tulsa sign! I was such a mom on the whole way down... I went to Arkansas to help him pack up his car and mine and so the whole way down I was snapping pictures of him! He'll appreciate it them one day and be glad I took them. Love you Luke!

update on life

Ok so there has been lots of things going on lately.... last Wednesday (August 26th) Luke and I attended the Hillsong United concert at the Spirit Bank center in Tulsa. It was such an awesome night of worship and you could feel the presence of God. It was so awesome and not like anything I have ever experienced... words can't really describe that amazing night. It left you speechless and in awe of how great our God is! Check out there website to learn more about who Hillsong United is and what they are all about. http://www.hillsongunited.com/ You will be amazed... Post me some comments and let me know what you think! The next night Luke and I headed back to Arkansas and I spent the weekend there before I started my first day of work on Monday (August 31st) at my new part time job! Yeahhh!! I've had some ups and downs about this, but I just kept praying about it and I finally got some peace about it. It's going to be a really great start to my career and I'm going to learn so much and I'm really looking forward to it. My part time job is at CalicoCorners which is a custom fabric store and a design center. They do anything from curtains, upholstery, comforters, bed skirts, and pillows! So I will be helping customers/clients who come in and are needing design help! I have an extensive training to go through first, but there is lots to learn so I'll probably be blogging about the new job over the next couple of weeks. It has been very hard to find a job and especially one that is in the design field... it is not exactly what I expected to be doing, but for now it will work and I am looking forward to it. I believe you have to start somewhere and that it is important to know as much as you can about interior design whether your dealing with fabrics, furniture, or accessories... they all tie in together one way or another and I happen to be starting out with the world of fabrics!

That's about all that is going on for now! I'm excited about this new chapter in my life and I am loving the weather here in Tulsa right now.... you can tell Fall is right around the corner and I'm looking forward to sweaters, hats, leggings, and boots =) I'm ready for change!

friday! friday! friday!

Happy Friday everyone... take in the beautiful sunny day.... God is Great!

yeah! Luke is in town...

The past two days have been a-ma-zing! Luke came in town yesterday and will be here for a week! It's so good to see him and spend time with him.... (it's pretty ridiculous last time we saw each other was a little over a week ago)! Oh well, haha! Anyways not much going on but just wanted to post my thoughts for the day.

inspiration for the end of the day...

Ok so lately I have been thinking of ways to come up with my own furniture line... with the help of my lovely boyfriend Luke! I don't only want to just do furniture, but design different looks as well... I have been trying to think of ways to re-create expensive, stylish looks for half the price. I've been poundering on the idea of taking a look from a magazine (Interior Design, Elle Home Decor etc.) framing it in a cute picture and then setting it to the side of my version! Another idea that I love is adding a picture of a model or a cute dress and then picturing it with a cute room (both have the same colors in the outfit and the room) I love this because it gives a fashion twist on things and I'm obsessed with clothes, accessories, etc... I mean what girl is not? So I came across this blog http://delightbydesign.blogspot.com/ and she does that exact thing on her posts. I love it! Here are a few she had...

I'm working on putting my own styles together of clothes and rooms that inspire me... so look for them over the next couple of days!

time to start blogging again!

Wow! It's been a long time, but I'm back! I was MIA for awhile busy with lots of stuff... finishing school, going to the beach, moving out of my house back home to Tulsa, trying to find a job and basically just trying to adjust to life unemployed and living w/ my parents again! So I put my blog on hold so I could get settled and catch up on time to update it and write.... don't worry all I am back! My life has been crazy, but with lots of soul searching this past week I am ready for whatever it is God has planned for me and I am so excited and anxious about it because I know he has something great in store and I don't want to miss out on what that is. Just to get everyone a little caught up on the life of Ashley Stone I am busy applying and calling every place that exist in Tulsa, Oklahoma that has something to do with designing and I haven't had much luck. That's ok though because with this new outlook I have on things I'm not worried about it. There is no reason to stress or worry when God is in control.... and that is so comforting to know that when I'm uncertain about anything in my life he is certain that things are going to be ok! Gosh! That is so comforting to know isn't it? So besides the job search and the amazing things God is showing me and doing for me in my life I am away from Luke =( which at times has been difficult, but we're in this together and we know in the end we're going to end up together and that's all that really matters. Luke is so awesome... he lifts me up when I need it, encourages me ALL the TIME, and I don't know what I would do without him, I love him! Well in a big nutshell that pretty much sums up what has been going on lately. It's good to be back on my blog....! =)

may 9th can't come soon enough!

I have been so busy week and after week and all I want to do is BLOG!!!!!!!! Hopefully when things start slowing down I'll be able to get on here more. I will share this though... it might be old news, but I loveeeee this chandelier I used it in my casino, but I've fallen in love with it and I think it's going to have to be my first expensive purchase (ok- maybe 2nd or 3rd expensive purchase). It's by Piet Boon Zone... I think he only sells his stuff out of the country, but he might start selling it here. I'm not sure, I found a website the other day that had a lot of his collection, but now I can't find it. Anyways I think its the coolest thing... especially in a dining room =)

SENIOR PROJECT

In the beginning it began with an idea.... My concept for my senior project was a “Gothic Modern Design.” I chose to design a Casino that would also serve as other entertainment purposes besides gambling. I also created a bar, a live entertainment space, and small lounge areas for people to come and enjoy a drink and be entertained in other ways besides losing money! I know it sounds like a dark and twisted design, but I spiced up each room with pops of color and funky furniture and pillows to give it a modern flare. I wanted to create something that was above and beyond ordinary. So with the use of dark colors and black chandeliers I created a space that I secretly wish existed!

All my boards hung up! My last project!!! Yeahhhhh...

Floor Plan

Ceiling Plan showing the different ceiling drop downs and cut outs I have at various heights. Also showing recessed lighting and chandeliers throughout the space.

Close up of the lobby, showing the reception desk.

I decided to do the lobby in just black and white. I wanted to keep it clean and simple. And I didn't want to use to much color or that would have taken away from the "Gothic" concept.

Here is a close up view of the Casino perspective. The floors are white marble in the middle, with the black and white custom carpet in the gaming areas.

The main event! The Casino... again I used blacks and dark colors with reds. And the greens are apart of the two Private VIP rooms for the "high rollers." I designed a custom carpet that has Gothic Style writing on it.

This is a close up of the bar perspective.

Here is the "main" bar. It also has two private party rooms for people to rent out. I used black, dark blue, navy, silver, and light blues.

A close up of the live entertainment/bar perspective!

This is the live entertainment and bar. It has a stage for small bands and stand-up comedians to come. I found a really cool chandelier that looks as if its melting... it's a dark space, but I love it! I used blacks, dark silver, and different shades of teels.

Public Restrooms (Men and Women). This wasn't my favorite board, but I had to show them!