Ashley Karlen Photography

11/01/2020

I have always read announcements about people leaving social media and always felt it to be intriguing in different ways, if not unnecessary to announce it. For the past several months, I’ve been considering stepping away from social media, what that would look like for me, and wondering if I should say something here about it. The thoughts of stepping away in 2020 and the what-ifs have been overwhelming to sift through. What if I step away and I miss an important message or update from someone I care about? What if I step away and no one reaches out offline? What if I step away and no one ever notices? What if I step away and miss speaking out on something that I deem important, and then am judged harshly for it? What if I step away, and it’s the best thing to come out of this crazy year? It’s been a really hard decision to make, but I’ve decided it’s time to go ahead, log out and be offline for a bit. It’s time to get some space.

I’m still 100% interested in you, that cute picture of your kids, celebrating and mourning all of the things, that dinosaur joke you saw that made you think about me, and seeing every single dog photo on the internet. Feel free to send me all the things via my cell phone or email me at [email protected]. Just please know that if you’re waiting for any type of acknowledgement in this space from me about something you sent or about an overarching and ongoing social media conversation, I won’t be here to see it or speak on it. (Rick is sticking around so you can always reach me through him if you need to go that route.)

One of the decisions I’ve had to sift through with going offline is what will blogging look like for me. (Most people read my blog from seeing it posted here.) I’ve decided to continue to blog when there’s something I want to blog about and am enjoying doing so, but I won’t be pressuring myself to show up solely for the sake of being present and consistent. If you want to stay connected with my writing, please consider going to ashleykarlen.com and signing up for my emails that will be delivered directly to your inbox. I promise I won’t spam you.

For anyone else struggling with the thought of stepping away from social media right now, I understand. It’s a difficult decision to make. It’s been a rough year and in a year where almost all social contact is done over the internet, being even more disconnected from others than we already are right now is not an easy thing to think about or to give up. Give yourself some grace, but please do consider what it may look like for you if you’re feeling the tugs of stepping away in any sense. For you, stepping away may not look like what I’m doing at all and that’s perfectly okay.

I love y’all, and will miss seeing y’all here dearly. I’m not sure when I’ll head back into this space, whether that’s in a few weeks or well into 2021, but I’ll let y’all know I’m here when I do return. Until then - Be kind, have grace for yourself and others, and wash your hands. I’ll be over here doing the same. ❤️

10/25/2020

I haven’t been showing up on social media a lot lately. When I have, I think I’ve scrolled for like 1 minute and then sought out a few particular accounts before exiting. (Honestly, they’re mostly videos of waves crashing on ocean shores.) I’m not really on a social cleanse or anything, but sometimes it’s nice to limit for no reason at all. Here’s a few of the things I’ve been grateful for over the past week other than videos of the ocean shore.

✨ Much needed virtual game night.
✨ Spooky Buddies and its calming effect on Scout.
✨ Having an eyesore spot fully organized in our home.
✨ A reading/FaceTime nook in our room.
✨ Having a rough sleep week, but being able to sleep in as much as I want on the weekend.

What are you grateful for this week?

10/18/2020

Rick got me these pretty flowers for our anniversary. He chose these because the colors of them seemed to go with the season with all the purple and oranges. Him buying me flowers is a rarity around here, although he never says no to me grabbing my own. When we read that fruit and flowers were the official 4 year anniversary gift, I laughed. I’m so thankful for him and for these sweet flowers though. It’s been a crazy fun two weeks with some big level things to be grateful for around here.

✨ Our room has been painted and we are back in it.
✨ Celebrating Sara + Kusha’s virtual wedding.
✨ Baking a really yummy margarita cake for our anniversary.
✨ The opportunity to vote.
✨ Celebrating our anniversary this weekend. ❤️

I always love to hear what you’re grateful for from the past week or so. Let me know in the comments!

10/13/2020

Hello anniversary week! ✨ I love to write down memories of our year together. I know it will be a treasure to look back on one day. Rick and I sat and had to rack our brains about what we've done and loved this year, especially anything pre-COVID. It's well worth it to have this little time capsule of our year together of shows we've loved, food we've devoured, and memories we've shared - even if the majority have been done from this couch. 😂

This Thursday is our fourth anniversary. Every year since we’ve been married, I’ve jumped on here to memorialize our year, mostly of our highlights and things we’ve done or loved. This year feels so different, and I honestly scrolled through my phone camera roll to remember anything from befor...

10/07/2020

October is here! Fall is in the air! The ‘ber’ months (September, October, November, December), are my absolute favorite months of the year. I love how the greens of summer fade into rich colors of leaves falling, the crunch sound of acorns underneath my feet as we go on walks, the brisk air nipping at my face as it beckons sweater weather, and pumpkins beginning to take over home decor and local church yards. I love it all. This year, it’s different though.

I haven’t done amazing at bucket lists in the past even when I’ve taken the time to make them. They can feel very constraining to me to have to check every single thing off or “fail”. With this year though, a bucket list of things to keep the season and our spirits up seemed like the right thing to do. We’re not set on doing all of these because we’re covering it in a ton of grace so there isn’t a “fail” when we miss something. Want to play along this season? 🍂 Our 2020 Socially-Distanced Fall Bucket List is under blogs on my recently redesigned website.

I won’t be out and about watching stores change out their seasonal aisles. I won’t be frequenting a pumpkin patch, getting lost in a corn maze, or hanging out on a hayride as we venture out to a bonfire. It’s going to be a quieter fall, a silent transition even... It’s begged the question in...

10/05/2020

This gal. My Scout. I didn’t pop in here to say it, but last Sunday, September 28th, was her 11th birthday and the smallest, quickest party ever. We celebrated all the love, joy, comedic relief, and spot stealing ways of hers with birthday hats for all of us, a fun walk that resulted in a car ride pick up when she was done with it, napping, a pile of salmon sticks, and a call to Aunt Lori to sing her happy birthday. God must really love us since he not only has given humans dogs to love, dog videos to bring a smile to our face, but he gave the amazing gift of Scout to be Rick and I’s dogter.

10/04/2020

Sunday gratitudes this week mostly brought by Scout. 😂 Huge shoutout to October though because it’s my favorite month where our fall/winter seasonal rhythms start with fall decor, Hocus Pocus, and all the holiday treats. This year, I’m extremely thankful for the changes of the leaves and this season.

✨ Seeing Lori enjoying Scout’s virtual birthday “party”.
✨ Home projects moving forward.
✨ Catching Scout before she caught our neighbor’s new chicken.
✨ Plans changing = unplanned margin + much needed rest.
✨ Having a few really good friends I can really talk to.

10/01/2020

October is here! 🙌🏼 While I love summer and I love Christmas, October remains my favorite month of the year. It’s sort of cooler in Texas - well you don’t immediately keel over trying to wear scarves and boots as you beckon for the sweater weather your heart longs for. Oh, just me? Hocus Pocus and Gremlins take over our TV set and our fall/Halloween decorations come out of hiding. Plus, costumes and candy galore.

Along with my beloved October comes another thing - a fresh month and fresh pages in my prayer journal. Honestly, some months a lot of prayer requests and ongoing prayer things get copied over to the next month. As I fill out my prayer journal over the next few days, I’d love to be in prayer for you. Feel free to drop a public prayer request below or DM me if you want it to stay private. I can’t wait to be in prayer for y’all. Happy October, friends!

09/29/2020

“To make me happy: Make me coffee, bring me coffee, be coffee …coffee.” - unknown

Happy International Coffee Day to all my fellow java lovers! I’ve got 3 fun coffee related facts for y’all today. 1. My favorite coffee shop in Houston is A 2nd Cup and I believe the only coffee shop I’ve been to in 2020. I love their mission to stand against human trafficking. Plus, they make a wicked brew. 2. I typically buy unflavored whole coffee beans at our house and prefer Westrock Coffee, Cafe Britt, Peet’s Coffee, and Eight O’Clock coffee. If you’re over here, you’ll probably find one of those brewers at our coffee bar. 3. I hate hazelnut coffee. It’s the only coffee that I’ll refuse to drink. Otherwise, please, bring me all the coffee! Okay friends, I’d love to know these 3 coffee related facts about you! Let me know below.

09/27/2020

This week, my gratitudes have been found in seasonal rhythms, conversations with loved ones, and the simple things. It’s what my heart has been searching for, especially after a long and hard week.

✨ Rainy days.
✨ Nights of deep conversation over pizza that end in watching The Princess Diaries.
✨ Really good conversations about social media + its effect on our lives.
✨ Updating our mantle for fall and the joy it’s bringing me with the changing of the seasons.
✨ Blue Jays in our backyard.

09/21/2020

Rick and I have been trying Pinterest recipes to liven up our meal planning. We all know about Pinterest fails and I've had plenty in my day. (Avalanche Rice Krispies in college was the worst! 🙈) It's been super nice to find some recipes on there that aren't only edible, but absolutely delicious. I'm curious, do you have any recipes from there that you love? Or any that we should avoid because they failed you?

Gotten pretty bored with the same old meals and hitting buy again in your online grocery cart? We did too. Luckily, a COVID side project came to our aid. Here are our favorite tried-and-true Pinterest recipes we love that are so good, we'e already making them again.

09/20/2020

Listening to the rain, coffee in hand, and a book nearby. It’s a wonderful Sunday afternoon to share some things I’m grateful for this week.

✨ A sweet email from a friend.
✨ All of our laundry being clean on the same day.
✨ Sitting on the patio is slightly cooler these days.
✨ The ability to see friends virtually who live far away.
✨ We have a new backyard friend, Harriet the Hawk. She’s beautiful.