Ashley Leigh

Tuxedo Bikini

2009-05-20T19:07:00.004-04:00

I just *had* to show you all this bikini. I absolutely love it.

Stepankalicious is selling it in her shop and I'm just crazy about it.

********** View Listing **********

Pretty Butterflies

2009-05-14T19:54:00.003-04:00

As I sat on my porch today, I noticed a caterpillar crawling by. This reminded me of those "Grow Your Own Butterfly" kits and I wondered if maybe I could find an article on how to care for a caterpillar without buying a kit. I found this neat article on Wiki:

How to Raise Butterflies

Surprise!! (and an unlikely happy mother's day)

2009-05-10T09:44:00.005-04:00

Friday we had some severe storms in our area. As I went down to my house to eat lunch, I got a call from Debby (our riding instructor) that the storms were moving in and that we needed to get all of the horses in from the pastures. Naturally, I brought my two horses in as well. They normally stay out 24/7 but in cases as this I bring them in for more shelter.

I put my horse, Bear, in one of the open stalls and put King in the foaling stall next to him so they could still "talk".

(Bear)

The storms were scary, but thankfully did no damage. Later on that evening, I went over to check if the doors to the barn had been opened back up to let air in after the storms. I walked in to see Bear standing in his stall looking rather sad. I walked up to him, thinking that he should have plenty of hay to munch on for the rest of the evening, and looked in his hay manger. I saw that it was filled with hay.

At this point, I was becoming a bit concerned because my horse has never turned down hay. About the time I was starting to think there was something seriously wrong with him......

I heard....

"mew".... "mew"....

I opened the stall door and lifted up some of the hay... what did I find?

KITTENS!!! SURPRISE!!! No wonder Bear wouldn't eat his hay, it was mewing!!!

Of course this meant I had to move him to another stall away from his buddy (he didn't like that at all and now he thinks the kittens are more important than he is), but I knew that Momma Cat (Happy Mother's Day!) would come back to take care of her kittens and there was no way I was going to move them. So, Bear got the raw deal (at least I gave him another manger full of hay!)

We already have six kittens in the main barn that are about a month old (guessing? they just started eating hard food and drinking water vs. nursing this week.) Now we have 10 kittens altogether. Hopefully the kids at the barn will be able to talk their parents into getting a new pet when they are ready to find new homes! ;)

I Made A Video

2009-05-03T11:31:00.002-04:00

I took some video clips with my digital camera on Friday of one of the geldings we have for sale. I realized I had a video editor on my computer that I didn't know I had and created this video. It's not the best quality video clips because my digital camera is 5 years old, haha. I told my boss to invest in a high quality digital camcorder so I could play director more!

My Magic Me

2009-04-24T20:26:00.003-04:00

I freakin' this shop!!!!

My Magic Me has the coolest photo morphs you could imagine! And reasonable priced! After you purchase a listing, you send in your photo and this wonderful artist magically morphs it into a masterpiece! Check out these before and after pictures:

Too awesome!

Another One of Our Beautiful Horses!

2009-04-19T10:27:00.003-04:00

I took more pictures this week of our horses for sale. I love American Saddlebreds and this girl is one of our lesson horses. She is such a sweetie!

Also, I absolutely LOVE this new song by Eminem "We Made You". It would be such an awesome song to get ready for a horse show. In the Saddlebred world (and other breeds I'm sure) we like to make playlists for our IPods. You will see girls and guys sitting in chairs with riding habits on in front of tackrooms with headphones on getting psyched up for their classes.

Happy Easter!!!!

2009-04-12T18:04:00.002-04:00

"Shelbyville" Horse Show Print

2009-04-10T22:23:00.003-04:00

This is my all time favorite Saddlebred print. It captures every aspect of a horse show for me and the location is one of my favorite shows to attend. This is a print of the original painting by C. Marcus Stone.

Link: "Shelbyville" Horse Show Print
Price: $20.00
Shop: World Champion Horse Equipment
Category: Art

Photography Rocks

2009-04-07T19:36:00.003-04:00

Today was quite the productive day at the barn. We hired a new guy, so he was able to groom the horses that I usually take care of and I was able to actually get stuff done. We had a couple calls from people interested in buying some horses, so we got to work photographing them and sending pics out via email.

This is my fav picture I took today. This is a nine year old American Saddlebred gelding named Champagne's Prince Charming. He is quite the handsome man and I love this pic because it just shows his personality so well!!!

It's Sunday!

2009-04-05T10:05:00.000-04:00

Which means my boyfriend is home for 6 hours. This is the way I forsee my Sunday going....

Weekend Amusement

2009-04-04T17:40:00.003-04:00

So, my boyfriend has been gone all week to a horse show in Perry, GA. He was supposed to be home Sunday and stay home for the rest of the week. NOW, he has to go to Oklahoma for a horse show next week. It's not his choosing, he works as a caretaker for a farm and has to go to whichever shows they choose SO..... he will be coming home Sunday morning, he has 6 hours to get his laundry done and whatever, and then he is off to Oklahoma in the afternoon. 6 hours?!?! EEK! I get to see my boyfriend for 6 hours and he will have been gone for 2 weeks. This is no fun. It's not like I can just drive to Georgia or Oklahoma to hang with him at the show either like I would normally do if the show were in, say, Lexington, KY.

So I thought I'd find something to cheer me up. This sure did!

see more pwn and owned pictures

Pretty Pink Scrabble Tile Graphics

2009-03-31T20:54:00.003-04:00

So.... I love horses, and I love pink. Doesn't get better than this. Check out this adorable digital collage sheet available at Cupcake Cutiees.

Eek!! Tornado Warning!

2009-03-28T19:09:00.004-04:00

Scary stuff!!!! Tornado warning was issued for my town half an hour ago. There was a funnel cloud less then a mile from my house. My boyfriend is in the town getting hit while I am writing this, so I'm waiting to hear back from him when the storm passes. My friend sent me a picture on her phone of a funnel cloud in the neighboring city where she is right now!

(picture my friend sent of the funnel cloud)

Luckily for me, the storm passed and now the sun is out and there are rainbows!!!!

Puggle Adoration

2009-03-26T19:14:00.002-04:00

I love my puggle. She is the most amazing dog in the world. The books don't lie when they say they are hard to train, but I love her anyway. She likes to crawl under the covers and cuddle up next to me at night. :)

Wedding Bliss!

2009-03-25T21:52:00.002-04:00

No, I am not getting married; however, I was traipsing through my favorites today and was reminded of a forum thread on having kids and getting married that I had participated in. I love this dress. It is gorgeous! So yeah.... I'm not getting married but it doesn't mean I can't drool over the beauty of a wedding gown!

Link: Lace Gown with Corset back
Price: $530.00
Shop: CiCiBridal

Horses - The IASHA Warm-Up Horse Show

2009-03-23T13:28:00.006-04:00

As you may know from reading my other posts or visiting my other blog, The Swanky Saddlebred, my full time job is working as an assistant at Armon Effinger Stable, working with American Saddlebred horses. This past weekend our barn attended the IASHA Spring Warm-Up Show in Cloverdale, IN. We took four horses and our riders did a phenomenal job! One of our Academy riders made up a video of the trip!

Clover Dale Warm Up Show 3/21/09 - You And Me - Lifehouse @ Yahoo! Video

I also took some pictures when we were loading up the horses to head out -

Our truck and trailer

Loading Greg (Double Click)

The horses all snuggled up and tucked in. :)

Everyone had a good time, I stayed home at the barn to keep an eye on everything, but I had minute-by-minute updates from our awesome instructor! If you would like to know more about American Saddlebreds, visit The American Saddlebred Horse Association. If you live around Evansville, IN, and would like to sign up for a riding lesson, email me at ashleyleigh83@gmail.com

He's Got a Tattoo of me on his chest???

2009-03-20T21:52:00.005-04:00

Haha, just kidding. This is a really neat feature, though. I took this picture:

and uploaded it to http://www.photofunia.com/. There are so many different ways you can play with your picture, and the face recognition technology is amazing! Check it out!

Entrecard

2009-03-15T12:34:00.002-04:00

Due to Entrecard's new announcement that it will now be accepting third party advertisers, and subsequent new rules that the widget has to be above the fold, I have moved my Entrecard widget to the left side of my blog so it can comply. :) Thanks for dropping!

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-13T19:22:00.002-04:00

St. Patrick's Day is on it's way!!! Yay!! But aside from the green beer and "Kiss Me I'm Irish" buttons, I do love jewelry. I found this gorgeous necklace on Etsy and wanted to share it. Take a gander...

Link: Emerald Gardenia - Vintage Spring Steampunk Assemblage Necklace
Price: $159.00
Shop: Bionic Unicorn

Fail

2009-03-12T13:41:00.001-04:00

Had to add this. It's from failblog.org, one of my new favorite sites to visit. This is too funny!

see more pwn and owned pictures

St. Patrick's Day Punch

2009-03-10T22:58:00.003-04:00

I'm such a softy for punch. I love it. The sweetness mixed with the tingle from the carbonation gets my tastebuds cheering! Here's an awesome recipe I found at Family Fun. The original page can be found here.

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St. Patrick's Day Punch

As long as you are going to be wearing green this Saint Patrick's Day, why not drink something green, too?

Children will appreciate the opportunity to join in the festivities with this sweet and sparkly beverage. Since it's made with milk, the punch is good for them, too.

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
4 drops mint extract
2 ice cubes
2 drops of green food coloring in a blender
Frosted 16-ounce glass
Splash of seltzer water
Dollop of whipped cream

Directions

Combine milk, ice cream or frozen yogurt, extract, ice cubes, and food coloring in a blender.

Mix until smooth. Pour into glass. Add a splash of seltzer water and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Featured Blog

2009-02-28T16:10:00.006-05:00

Many of the blogs I have listed on my blogroll are those that I have been reading for awhile and that I always go back to. I thought I would give one its due credit today given that it is one of my all time favorite blogs to visit. So....

without further adieu......

you guys need to go visit....

The Tiny Fig!!!

Because her blog is just amazing and all her products are too!

I like to call blogs like this "dessert for the eye."

Super Giveaway from The Muddy Moose!

2009-02-24T18:57:00.003-05:00

The Muddy Moose has the coolest giveaway on their blog. They are giving away two AWESOME gift baskets and entering is SO easy! I especially love the Basket of Romance which includes a massage candle, edible body powder, massage oil, and chocolate body paint!! Imagine how much fun you could have with that!!!

GO ENTER! What are you waiting for???

Music Monday

2009-02-23T13:25:00.003-05:00

I saw this video on Shaibaer's blog Household 6. The song plays at the end credits of Inkheart. Before I saw this I had no desire to see Inkheart, but now I think I have to go see it. I have a weakness for movies like this. I just watched The Neverending Story (for the millionth time) last night. :)

On My Own

2009-02-19T20:42:00.003-05:00

So apparently I have been living in my own little world of "keep on swimming, keep on swimming..." for the past month now. I have recently taken back my old job of Assistant at a show horse barn and I've moved into the assistant's house on the property. It is a 3 bedroom ranch style home that I share with my puppy, Emma.

Keep in mind that I have NEVER lived on my own before. In fact, before now, I would have been absolutely terrified to live by myself (thank you Celexa). It's been such a tremendous series of life changing events in the past few months that I have only just now realized that I am actually ON MY OWN.

About a year and a half ago I moved 4 hours away from home to live with my then boyfriend and his father on a 120 acre farm. I took with me my four horses and all my belongings. After a year of living on the farm, 2 and 1/2 years being with my boyfriend, minus 2 horses and plus 1 dog later..... his father turned psycho and started accusing me of doing some seriously crazy stuff. For a couple months I would fight with his dad nearly every day. We're talking screaming matches that would leave me in tears... so upset that he was accusing me of doing things that I never did. My boyfriend would never stand up for me to his father and it left me lying on my bed saying "I want to go home, I want to go home."

One Friday morning I had enough. His father had threatened me. He said, (speaking of my bf) "he was here last night so I couldn't do anything, but he won't be tonight... let the games begin." With that, I called my dad and stepmom and had them bring the truck and jeep to come get me and my things. I loaded up nearly everything that day, including my dog and horses, and went home.

It didn't take me long to realize how unhappy I had been. Once I started explaining out loud to my friends and family what had been going on and how my boyfriend had treated me, it was like a kick in the face. Suddenly I was away from it all and I could see so clearly how things had gone wrong. As each day went by I began to feel like my old self again, no longer on a "leash", and I was actually happy again.

I went back to my old job working with horses, I even found a new boyfriend who also works at a horse barn half an hour from me. But this leads me to my overall theme for this post. I am on my own. Never before have I felt so scared yet so self-confident in my life. I am a 25 year old woman who is independent. I doubt I will live with a boyfriend again before I get married (that seems to be a mistake). I feel comfortable with the arrangement of him coming to see me on the weekends and I go to see him on a weeknight or two. It just feels like this is how it should be. For the first time in my life I am taking complete care of myself and a house! I am a strong woman. LOL, I don't mean to keep repeating but it is really just now sinking in. I have actually written WAY more to this post that I originally planned, but I think it all had to come out :)

So... on this note I would like to share a couple of blogs that I am going to pay close attention to for hints and tips to make my life easier!!!

Pink Lemonade
Tip Junkie
Jenn Cooks
The Best of DIY
The Coupon Coup
Wit's Bitch

And of course.....
I Can Has Cheezburger