Ashley DeLarge

Mountain Air and Maple Lattes…

September 6, 2017by Ashley DeLarge1 Comment

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day, everyone! With Labor Day and my taking this coming Friday off to jump start a long-overdue “Girls Only” weekend with my mom- I’ve been more than a little busy at work with trying to get everything done and wrapped up neatly since it’s a pretty short week for me at the office.

This past weekend was completely relaxing and maybe a little indulgent, however. My best friend Sean and I headed a couple hours North of the city to stay at the White House Inn overlooking the absolutely picturesque and rustic Wilmington, Vermont for an evening. Built in 1915 as a Summer home to a lumber baron- the house was spacious, beautifully furnished, and had breathtaking views of the Green Mountains (when it wasn’t pouring rain or foggy outside, of course!) It also had a hidden staircase (you can watch my video of it HERE on my Instagram!), a wine cellar and an old vault that was available to view. When Sean and I weren’t outside taking in nature- we were roaming every inch of the house we had access to.

The inn is associated with a ski resort a few miles away that offered a spa and fitness center for guests. Although Sean and I dropped by to utilize the facilities and take a look around (another beautiful building, by the way! I don’t ski but I’d love to see it in the Winter!)– any hard work put into achieving or maintaining fitness goals was thrown right out the window by the amount of food we ate during our stay!

We had headed into the small and quaint Main Street area of Wilmington a couple of times- including one stop on Sunday evening to have an early dinner at Dot’s Restaurant– but most of our face-stuffing took place back at the inn. Not only did I have one of the best breakfast sandwiches of my life on Monday morning before we headed back into town and then eventually returned to Boston- but Sean and I split two desserts (since we couldn’t make up our minds!) late Sunday evening that blew my mind. Tempura chocolate cake AND lemon & lavender pavlova. Absolute heaven. I’ve been looking for the recipes online on and off since we got back!

To close out the weekend, Sean had wanted to go antiquing to find some items for his bedroom that he’s currently updating/remodeling. With maple lattes in hand- we hit up a couple of spots in downtown Wilmington to browse some of the local goods and see if we could find anything with a cool history behind it.

Sean ended up walking away with a pretty nice picture frame he plans on fixing up and putting on display after he’s found an appropriate replacement painting for the one that had originally been inside the frame- and I found a book of poetry from 1886 that I plan on giving to my mom since she’s an even bigger fan of antiques than I am. I know she’ll find a good spot to show it off to her guests.

Overall, I had such an amazing time- and even though I ate way too much- I returned home feeling refreshed and relaxed and ready to get back to work. I am head over heels in love with the White House Inn- and with Wilmington, really- and I’m hoping to return again later on this Fall to take a longer look around and maybe stay a couple more nights since no ghosts or ghouls surprised me while I was trying to sleep. I’m sure the views of the mountains are even more gorgeous when the leaves start to change colors!

And now, I’ve got to dive right into my cases for the day.

Have a good Wednesday, everybody!

– Ashley –

Quick Eats: Baking Sheet Quesadillas

September 4, 2017by Ashley DeLargeLeave a Comment

Good Morning, Happy Monday- and Happy Labor Day, everyone! This post was drafted right before I left for a long weekend away in the middle of the mountains in Vermont with my best friend. I’m heading home later on today- and I’ll be sure to have plenty of photos from my trip to share this week once I’m back in my home office (where I have a more stable WiFi connection than out here in the woods!)

This coming Thursday is the kickoff to the New England Patriots’ regular season- and to celebrate- we’re having a tailgating party at work (I swear, we do actually work now and then) where everyone has been encouraged to bring their favorite game day food. Although my go-to recipe to satisfy a fairly large group of people has always typically been a big plate of nachos- this time around I wanted to try something a little different- and I came across this 20-minute recipe for mess-free quesadillas that looked delicious.

I did a trial run a few days ago to see if it was something I could pull off in the early morning hours before my commute so they would stay fresh and warm by the time our party started- and I’m pretty excited to share these with everyone at the office- because they turned out awesome!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
12 tortillas or wraps
½ cup salsa
12 ounces shredded cheddar or Jack cheese
Shredded and cooked chicken or beef (depending on your preference! You can also go meat-free and stick to just the cheeses and salsa.)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons sliced green onions
Sour cream, as needed for serving
Salsa, as needed for serving

READY? HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of the butter.
Arrange half of the tortillas in the prepared pan, overlapping them as needed to fully cover the base.
Spread the salsa in an even layer on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the salsa and add your cooked and shredded chicken or beef.
Arrange the remaining tortillas on top of the cheese, salsa & meat- overlapping as needed to fully cover the pan. Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons butter evenly over the tortillas.
Bake until the tortillas are golden and the cheese is fully melted, 9 to 12 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and green onions.
Serve immediately, warm, with sour cream and salsa on the side.

I’m not even going to lie- I ate enough of these to the point where I felt like I couldn’t move- that’s how good they tasted. Fantastic flavor aside, I couldn’t get over how quick, easy, and painless these were to make- and I think I’ve found my new favorite party recipe for this coming football season!

Enjoy your Monday, y’all! (And Go Pats!)

– Ashley –

August 2017: In a Nutshell

August 31, 2017by Ashley DeLargeLeave a Comment

I am the shameless and quintessential Autumn Enthusiast, or “Basic Bitch” as it’s more commonly referred to whenever September/October roll around. Pumpkin Spice? ALL THE THINGS. Ugg boots? Mandatory and comfortable (and okay, yes- a little hideous looking). Sweaters and scarves? Can’t get enough of them. Apple picking and football? Every weekend, baby! Long drives to look at the changing foliage? Hop in! I made us a Fall-inspired playlist to listen to along the way! Halloween? It’s better than Christmas!

You get the idea.

I am all about Fall- but I’ve got to give a proper send-off to August- the last month of what has been an incredible Summer. I knew things were going to be great when my best friend Sean returned home to Boston at the very end of July after a month-long stay in Spain- and sure enough we’ve spent the better part of the past few weeks at the beach soaking up the sun with our friends. When I needed a break from being covered in sand and saltwater- I had also managed to squeeze in a quick (and rain-filled) hiking trip to the White Mountains, a stifling hot afternoon at Six Flags, and caught a live WWE house show in my hometown for the first time since I was about 11. I’m not even going to try and play it cool- I had so much fun and got really into it- and that was even before my friend’s Summer Slam party a couple of weeks ago where I successfully managed to pull off baking a wrestling ring cake!

I stood up against hate speech with 20,000+ of Boston’s best, sat through a solar eclipse, cooked up some really tasty recipes and got to hang out and catch-up with old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time now that all of our work and/or vacation schedules seemed to have finally settled down- a trend I hope continues throughout September, too!

So what’s in store for next month? Well, I’m kicking off Labor Day Weekend with an overnight stay at an (allegedly) haunted inn up in the mountains of Vermont because I’m already in Halloween Mode- and a trip to NYC I had initially planned for August had to be postponed for this coming month instead due to a scheduling conflict- so I’m pretty excited to finally head back out there for a day or two! I’ll be attending a couple of early Fall weddings, preparing some of my favorite Autumn-inspired dishes- and sharing plenty of my chillier weather wardrobe staples in the coming days.

And who knows- maybe there will be a couple of other surprises, too!

So here’s to what was undoubtedly an awesome Summer of 2017- and to hoping that Fall is just as fun!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

– Ashley –

Favorites: August 2017!

August 29, 2017by Ashley DeLargeLeave a Comment

Good Morning and Happy Monday 2.0, everyone! As September and Labor Day Weekend creep closer and closer- I thought I’d take a few minutes before I get down to business with meetings and telephone calls at work to share a few of the things that made this past August extra fun for me while I savored these last few weeks of Summer as much as I could!

Product-wise, there isn’t much to share- and that’s mainly because a lot of my favorites from June and July (particularly my beach-friendly beauty finds) carried over into August while I was spending a lot of time in the sun before the temperatures drop over the course of the next few weeks- but three things definitely stood out!

The first was this body wash/shower gel from Bath & Body Works, simply called “At The Beach”. I love fragrances that can transport me to other places whenever I smell them- and this Shea and Vitamin E-loaded wash sends me right back to Southern California whenever I use it. It’s a really lovely mix of coconut and flowers that makes me think of sunsets on OB with my friends whenever I’m visiting the West Coast. Better than that, though- is that it cleanses and moisturizes my skin at the same time.

I can’t wait to pick up a couple of bottles of this stuff when the Fall scent collection is released!

Keeping on topic of beautiful, Summery scents- I had to include this ‘Bahama Breeze’ air freshener from Yankee Candle– which has helped make my car, my home, and even my office smell like a freshly made margarita whenever I’m doing my weekly cleaning ritual and don’t want my desk or my upholstery to smell like bleach or the usual strong/potent detergents. A couple of spritzes of this stuff and Summer gets extended an extra few hours!

And, like the body wash from B&BW- these aerosol sprays are going to have their Fall scents released shortly. I’m looking forward to making the transition from beach-side cocktail to pumpkin latte in the coming month.

Finally, with all the time I’ve been spending at the beach or hiking in the woods- I still need to stay vigilant on my sunscreen application. While my usual go-to had previously been spray-on SPF- I’ve been really enjoying this mousse formula from SuperGoop! that I had received in my July POPSUGAR “Must Have” box. This lightweight SPF50 applies evenly and smells really clean and refreshing- and I like that it doesn’t make my skin feel sticky or greasy.

When Fall rolls around, I’m definitely going to be looking into getting face-friendly versions of this stuff. I wear a lot of sweaters and layers when it gets cooler outside, but my face is still exposed to harmful rays.

I think that’s it for the products I’ve been using- but there were a few other things that made my Favorites List this month!

– MUSIC/MOVIES/TELEVISION –

The War on Drugs: “A Deeper Understanding”- I know, I know- everyone is talking about Taylor Swift’s new single that dropped last week, but there were two other great releases, too! One of those was the latest from The War on Drugs. This has become my current and quintessential “long drive” album to listen to in it’s entirety when I’m on the road. It’s so relaxing and beautiful from start to finish- and I have a feeling a couple of the tracks will be making an appearance on my annual Fall playlist I usually put together this time of year.

Queens of the Stone Age: “Villains” – If “A Deeper Understanding” is my driving album, then the latest from QOTSA is definitely my “getting ready to go out for a night on the town” soundtrack. The album is this sort of unexpected mix of rock and a little funk- but I’m so into it. It’s bad-ass- and it makes putting my mascara on every day a little more fun when I have it blasting in my bedroom.

“Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” – I absolutely binge-watched this at the beginning of the month during an extended bubble bath on a quiet Friday night- and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This entire series- from the original movie, to the prequel on Netflix and to this long-awaited sequel- has been laugh-out-loud funny and completely insane in the best possible way. Gene and Mitch remain my favorite duo of all time.

– MISCELLANEOUS –

Dunkin Donuts Maple-Pecan Coffee – So I may have gave in to temptation a little early and ordered a Fall-inspired beverage over the weekend when I made a quick stop at Dunkins while en route to Western Massachusetts. With the usual lineup of pumpkin-flavored everything being advertised in the drive-thru- my eyes immediately went to their newest coffee flavor- which is a combination of two of my favorite things. I couldn’t help myself- and honestly the coffee was so good that I didn’t regret it for a second.

Your move, Starbucks. This one is going to be hard to beat and it’s a lot cheaper, too!

And I think that’s everything for August! Now that Fall is (almost) here- you know I’m going to have lots of favorites to share in September!

Alright, I’m off to get some work done- and enjoy my maple-pecan coffee, of course!

– Ashley –

Protests, Roller Coasters and SummerSlam 2017…

August 22, 2017by Ashley DeLargeLeave a Comment

Good Morning, everyone! Have all of your eyes adjusted back to normal after looking at the solar eclipse yesterday? I shared a pair of those special protective glasses with some of my co-workers yesterday when we viewed the phenomenon from a clearing outside our office. Pretty neat stuff- even if it didn’t get as dark out as I had thought (and sort of hoped) it would!

Before I launch into what I did this past weekend, I wanted to get serious for just a couple of minutes.

I try not to get too political here on Blondie Birdie. It’s not because I’m not interested in current events and it’s certainly not because I don’t care about what’s happening in the world around me- a peek into any of my social media would disprove that misconception very quickly considering how vocal I am surrounding the issues I care about deeply- but a good portion of the news and politics continues to be depressing, infuriating and downright horrifying 99.999% of the time. For that reason, I try to keep things light here. Not only for my readers and subscribers- but for myself, too. Sometimes it’s nice to have a small corner of the internet to escape to when things are looking bleak and rough literally everywhere else.

I do have to comment on what happened in Boston this past weekend, though- because I was on the sidelines for a brief period of time and couldn’t have been prouder of my city for the display of unity, decency and peaceful protest that sent a message to the world and set a precedent for how to drive out hatred and bigotry when it dares come knocking at your door.

For those of you who didn’t know, a small group of white supremacists/Neo-Nazis/”Alt-Right” enthusiasts had scheduled a “Freedom of Speech” rally in Boston Common on Saturday so they could get away with as much hate speech/rhetoric and propaganda as they wanted. Following the events in Charlottesville just days earlier- Bostonians weren’t going to just let it stand- and the handful of losers who ended up hiding and huddled together with police protection in a gazebo right in the middle of the park were surrounded by 20,000+ peaceful protesters who came armed with nothing but signs, banners, and chants until the Nazis (and let’s not mince words. They’re Nazis) were eventually escorted out of the area and back to their basements in armored police vehicles while the crowd cheered, clapped and hollered.

Now, the section I was standing in was well-behaved. I’d heard about a couple of people getting riled up and who attempted to start some trouble long after the rally disassembled- but there’s always and inevitably going to be a few bad eggs in groups that large- and they were far outnumbered by good, decent people who knew that Boston’s strength comes from and relies heavily on the diversity of it’s citizens. I was so, so proud of each and every single person who showed up. THAT’S how you get rid of ignorant and hateful cowards.

And if anyone thinks what happened in Boston didn’t change anything or doubts it made a difference- a bunch of scheduled and similar white supremacy rallies around the country were cancelled following what happened in my city. It DOES work.

Following my stopping by the Common to voice my support alongside those fighting against inconceivable and poisonous hatred- I wanted to close out my Saturday with something fun and carefree- and headed to Six Flags New England with some friends for the remainder of my afternoon/evening to ride roller coasters until I sustained a mild thoracic spine strain (those wooden coasters will get you every. single. time- but I’m healing up nicely!) and eat gigantic ice cream cones until the park closed. My friends continue to buy season passes to Six Flags and then never use them for reasons that are beyond my comprehension- but I get a discounted entry when they bring their passes with them- so it works out for me, anyway!

My favorite coaster is still the Superman (formerly the Bizzaro)– because there’s that .3 seconds where you feel like you might legitimately fly out of your seat and die- but they’ve got a couple of re-vamped ones that I really enjoyed, too- prior to my injury, anyway.

The cost of food and beverages in that place is a whole other story, though. If you ever get the urge to go to Six Flags- pack a good, filling picnic lunch and enjoy it outside the gate before you re-enter the park during your stay. You’ll save yourself a small fortune. I promise! Charging $5 for water bottles during the hottest days of the year are NOT okay.

On Sunday, after a long time in the kitchen making sure my baked goods came out just right- I headed over to Allston for my friend Phill’s WWE ‘SummerSlam’ party to view the event with a group of equally passionate professional wrestling fans. Phill has 3 events per year for the three biggest PPVs- the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam- and up until now I’d never been to one of his parties. The rules were simple: don’t cheer Roman Reigns (a universally disliked and over-hyped character)– and if you bring a snack, it had to be wrestling themed.

My contributions to this event- and my attempt to win the coveted SNACK-Down Championship Belt (AKA best party food) was my “Undercaker” chocolate cake shaped like a wrestling ring- complete with turnbuckles and ropes!- and some gluten-free Balor Club cupcakes specifically for an attendee, James, who I was informed had an allergy and who I didn’t want to exclude. Overall I think everything paired nicely with the huge SummerHAM that one of Phill’s friends- dressed like John Cena, naturally- brought, as well as a dip called ‘Bean Ambrose’- among many other snacks.

The creativity was seriously awesome, and I had the best time- and while I was debating dressing up like Alexa Bliss, I went for a more simple look and rocked my WAY oversized Finn Balor/Demon King shirt- just in time for him to re-emerge in all his body-painted glory for his match. To say I was delighted is an understatement.

Next time, for sure- I’m rocking the Alexa look. New Cosplay project!

Overall, I had a really fun, really fulfilling weekend- and needed a full day yesterday to recover in-between work and catching up on some errands and much-needed sleep at home. My posting schedule is a little off as a result- but it should be back to normal by next week.

Enjoy your Tuesday/Monday 2.0, everyone! I’m getting ready to throw an impromptu, in-office, surprise Bachelorette party for one of my co-workers who is getting married this weekend! I’ll be sure to take some pictures!

– Ashley –