Things I'm Thankful For

Sometimes it's easy to just look at the negatives (like that I'm going to be working about 60 hours a week for the rest of the month or that my space heater is trying to kill me or that I lost 2 $30 MetroCards over the weekend...) and it's times like these where I just have to enjoy the little things that make me happy. So I thought I'd make a quick list of some New York-specific things that have happened in the last couple days that have made me happy.

1. The super/man (hehe he's not Superman, he's a man who's the super of a building I walk by on my way to the subway) who's usually sitting outside his building and says hello and tells me I work too much and that I need to take some time to have fun because life is too short to work all the time!
2. Getting a computer right away at the library THEN getting my tickets printed no problem AND finding books I actually want to read! (Going to the library has always caused me problems here...)
3. Being asked by another graphic designer if I'd just redesigned the header on a website at my internship because it looked really cool! (Check it out if you like and if the background is just black, refresh it)
4. All week the D train has arrived at my 34th street station right as I was getting there and I was able to get on it right away!
5. My new phone. My first smart phone (I'm finally in the 21st century!) which I probably would not have felt the need to get if I weren't living in New York.
6. That I live in a house with some cool people who go into action when they hear the carbon monoxide detector going off in my apartment instead of a) not knowing what it was or b) ignoring it and waiting for me to get home and deal with it.
7. The awesome people I work with at Hill Country who notice that I haven't been around much and tell me they've really missed me.
8. Having entertainment during my commute on the subway - usually awesome breakdancers. Tonight a troop of 4 brothers, the oldest about my age and the youngest probably 8? They were done after performing for the car I was in, then they just turned on their music and were flipping and jumping off the doors and twisting around the poles just for fun and it was so fun to watch. Those guys are so talented! Much respect for breakdancers.

Those are just a few things off the top of my head, but those are the things I need to remember. Being thankful for the little things isn't something that should be reserved for Thanksgiving, it should happen everyday.

Rainy Day Music

It's been a rainy day here in New York, which, since it wasn't actually raining while I walked to and from the subway, I didn't mind at all! Rain has always been relaxing to me. It's clean and cleansing and fresh. I love the smell of rain, the sound of rain, watching storms roll in, and the sharp chill in the air right after a rain shower takes away the humidity.

Rain is very conducive to relaxing. I always imagine curling up near a window with a good book and cup of tea. However, since this rarely actually happens, I have to find other ways to bring the calming effect of rain into my daily schedule.

The best way I've found to do this is by listening to my Rain Music playlist. Yep, that's right--I have a playlist devoted to rain. This is because I identify music with emotions, certain events, people, or places, moods, seasons, and, yes, weather. Sometimes the songs actually mention rain, sometimes they don't. Rain music is mostly chill, lazy sounding music. I would say it's in the style of artists like Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Florence + The Machine, and Train, but I am in no way exclusive--when a song speaks to me, it speaks to me :)

Some songs can go either way while others go into my Rain Music category as soon as I hear them. Here are 14 of my go-to rain songs (because I couldn't narrow it down to just 10!). These are songs that I can't listen to on a sunny day without wishing it were raining.

~ Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson

~ Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles

~ Boston by Austustana

~ No Rain by Blind Melon

~ Don't Know Why by Nora Jones

~ Bubbly by Colbie Caillat (also on my Morning playlist)

~ While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles

~ Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Shop (summer rain)

~ Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

~ Hallelujah covered by Rufus Wainwright

~ She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5

~ Stay With Me by Josh Gracin

~ In the Glass by OK Go

~ Love by Matt White

Does anyone else associate certain music with rain? I'd love to add to my collection if you have any suggestions :)

<3 Ash

The Obligatory "About Me" First Post

Well hey there :)

I'm Ashley and here are 20 fun facts about me

1.) I'm 20 years old. (Hence the 20 facts)
2.) I grew up in a small town in Ohio (like the less than 2,000 people kind of small)
3.) I went to a 2-year liberal arts college in Kansas (Hesston College woot woot!) and majored in graphic design.
4.) I worry that those 2 years of college might have been the best years of my life.
5.) I love music! I listen to a wide variety of genres and love finding a new bands that I enjoy.
6.) I moved to New York City at the end of June to do a web design internship at a Resource Magazine, a photo/video magazine in Brooklyn.
7.) I knew no one in NYC before moving here, which was kindof scary but I figured when else am I gonna have an opportunity like this and just be able to just pick up and move to the Big Apple?!
8.) I always spell the word opportunity wrong. I put a "u" where the second "o" goes and get a little red squiggly line underneath. Every time. Thank goodness for spell check!
9.) During the 4 days of the week I'm not interning at Resource, I work at Hill Country BBQ Market in Manhattan as a hostess.
10.) My favorite color is lime green although really any bright colors are great :)
11.) My favorite time to do yoga is in the evening on a rainy night.
12.) I love to cook and bake! One of the most fun parts of living on my own has been cooking for myself and finding new recipes that I can make for just myself and without an oven.
13.) I originally wrote "funnest" in the last fact but knew a certain grammar obsessed friend would mock me for it...
14.) I love to travel! I have been to most states in the continental US and traveled overseas to England and France.
15.) I dream of living various places before settling down anywhere, which is another reason I picked up and moved to New York City right after college. And where I'll go next, I have no idea.
16.) I love taking personality tests and seeing how accurate they are as well as using them to figure out more about myself.
17.) I would be totally fine with being a stay at home mom when I get married.
18.) I'm a Christian. I was raised Mennonite and am in the process of figuring out what that means exactly.
19.) I come from a very close-knit family consisting of my two amazing parents and my wonderful younger sister.
20.) I'm a total night owl and like to stay up late and wake up leisurely to a cup of tea.

That's just a little about me. But stay tuned for more on this crazy, random, adventuresome (or sometimes awkward and boring) life I lead :)