Bakerbots. Finally.

I've been hearing about this magical land called Bakerbots.

I was told it was a wondrous place near Ossington and Bloor where cookies were filled with ice cream in exquisite flavors like burnt marshmallow and lemon meringue. I had also heard that not only did they offer these fantastical creations, but they also carried extra special gluten free and vegan treats too. On Friday night, I finally went to experience the wonder that is Bakerbots. And now I just want to go there every day. 

Dani and wandered down Bloor giggling and skipping after a delicious dinner at Live to have our first Bakerbots experience. There was a line up out the door when we arrived (after 10pm) but thankfully it moved quickly. It smelled like heaven inside the shop and we were thrilled at the Ash & Dani friendly options that presented themselves. We opted for a gluten free oatmeal cookie filled with dairy free chocolate ice cream. 

It was divine. 

The cookie was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and filled with decadent chocolatey goodness. I was probably making omnomnomnomnomnom sounds whilst enjoying every single bite. It got a little messy, but it was entirely worth it. I've managed to stay away since Friday and continue reminding myself that moderation is probably a really good thing. That being said, I'm really looking forward to another special treat day. 

Go run to Bakerbots. What are you waiting for?

A Beautiful Mess - 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed the increase in selfies over the last few weeks. That's because I was taking place in the A Beautiful Mess 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge

While I post selfies on a regular basis, I had a lot of fun coming up with different ideas and backgrounds and ways to take selfies for this challenge! I also loved following along with the #abeautifulmess and #30dayselfportraitchallenge hashtags on instagram and discovered some lovely new folks to follow. It was fun compiling them tonight and thinking about what/where/when I took each of these photos over that 30 day period; there were certainly a lot of great memories. 

All of my photos were taken on my iphone and edited in the A Beautiful Mess app, which I'm still loving! I'm also really looking forward to picking up a copy of Emma and Elsie's book for more photo inspiration and know-how! 

Selfies - yay or nay? 

choose love

I'm often asked about the positive, open attitude that I carry in life.

"Have you always been this way?" someone recently inquired.

And the answer is pretty much yes.

Growing up, I was a happy, bubbly, open child. It was something that my mum recognized at a very young age and as a result hoped that I would be someone she could confide in later on in life. "[Ashley] is such an open child and I feel very close to her, maybe she'll be the one I open my whole heart to. Time will tell".

Following my mother's death, I made a conscious effort to maintain my positive outlook. Her death was a tragedy, but I didn't care to wallow in my grief. It wasn't easy, but I knew that my mother would have wanted me to continue to fully live, learn from my experiences and embrace all that life has to offer.

“I believe that every single event in life that happens is an opportunity to choose love over fear.” ~Oprah Winfrey

During savasana in a yoga class over the weekend, I found myself thinking "in with love, out with fear" and I was overcome with a wave of calm and acceptance. I've realized that my positive attitude and my perspective on life comes from my decision to choose love. 

Over the last two weeks I've had to make some big decisions. I've had moments of being overwhelmed by the choices at hand and how they would impact my life. While maybe a little frightening at times, making a conscious shift to positivity and love has had a profound impact. My decision to choose love over fear has allowed me to feel excited and rejuvenated by these choices, trust my intuition and recognize the abundance of awesomeness and potential in my life.

When we choose love instead of fear, doors open, serendipitous opportunities present themselves and we are empowered to live the life of our dreams. Isn't that what we're all striving for?

Today (and every day) I encourage you to choose love.

Looking for more? Check out my sweet friend Meghan's creed and Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles.

All the fun in Fuchsia (The Wedding of Lindsay and Krishna)

After a wonderful week of wedding festivities, Saturday June 29 was certainly a day to remember (I told Lindsay over the weekend that it was probably one of the best days of my life). I woke up at 5:30am, filled with excitement and joy like a child on Christmas. It seemed that I wasn't the only one feeling this way as Linz and I started imessaging one another with many a silly wedding emoji around 6am. The anticipation was building and we still had 4 hours before we were due to get our hair done and 10 hours before Lindsay and Krish were scheduled to get married!

The team at Evoke was amazing. I had been there once before to get a haircut and was really looking forward to the experience. They paired me up with Chris and the two of us just clicked. He immediately was on board with my rockabilly updo aspirations. The end result was a mega fun morning spent laughing and talking about musical theatre and an incredible updo, complete with a custom made fascinator from my sweet friend at Elizabeth Victoria.

Lindsay's vision for the bridesmaids included fuchsia dresses, black shoes and black & silver accessories. She gave us a lot of flexibility on dress style as long as we stayed within a range of fuchsia (which we've discovered is the colour that men cannot see). I found an incredible dress by Trashy Diva that was the perfect colour, fit and interpretation of my personal style. Elizabeth did an amazing job with my custom fascinator and somehow matched the fuchsia perfectly!I chose a pair of black sparkly peep toe heels that I had bought a couple years ago for a show, and found a stellar bracelet and ring from my sweet friends at Damzels. I was so happy with how everything came together and it was a lot of fun to be in a bridal party where we were encouraged to express our individuality.

We headed back to Linz's parents house to continue getting dolled up. I had stopped by Belmonte Raw the day before the wedding for fresh juice and yummy lunches for Linz and I to make sure that we were happily nourished in a gluten free, vegetarian fashion for the big day. Carol did an amazing job hooking us up with incredibly food and fresh green juices to make sure we were well fueled and ready to go.

Watching Linz get ready and seeing her in her dress for the first time was truly magical. The bridesmaids' had had a sneak peek at the dress at one of our gatherings in the months leading up to the wedding, but that did not diminish the feelings I had that day. Thank god for waterproof mascara.

She was stunning.
And glowing.
And radiant.
And exuding so much joy.

It was such a beautiful thing to experience and many times over the course of the day I reflected on how thankful I was for her friendship and what it meant to be able to stand beside her as she married her love.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day - the sun was shining, traffic was easy and we arrived at the venue with the sounds of Pride happening two streets over. We hurried into the bridal suite and waited for our time.

The room for the ceremony was full of people from all over the world who had come to see Linz and Krish tie the knot, and the love in the room was palpable as soon as we walked in. I think I probably started crying around the time I started walking down the aisle. Seeing Krish waiting for Lindsay was so moving, and all of us bridesmaids were doing a terrible job of keeping our emotions in check. Being at the front and having a perfect view of Lindsay walking down the aisle with her dad was another really special moment that I'm going to cherish for a long time.

The ceremony was beautiful and very reflective of the couple. They incorporated great readings (including a sweet Ogden Nash poem that Shaun, the best man and I got to read), beautiful music, and handfasting into the ceremony.

With the ceremony over, we were whisked away for many fun photos with the bridal party and familias. 

Following the photos, we made our entrances to the reception for an incredibly delicious gluten free & vegetarian friendly Indian buffet feast from Bombay Palace (why doesn't everyone have Indian buffet at their wedding?), great speeches, a kransekage wreath cake and a whole lot of dancing and shenanigans. 

Aside from briefly setting the head table on fire(!) and having to sew the bustle back onto Lindsay's dress on my hands and knees in the rest room, the evening went off without a hitch. Everyone was thrilled to be celebrating Lindsay and Krish's union and were ready for a great night of merriment. It was truly a spectacular day, and I'm incredibly grateful that I was asked to be a part of it. Congratulations to Lindsay and Krishna - I wish them nothing but happiness as they enter this new chapter of their life together!!

Photos from my iphone, Instagram feed & Wedpics - an amazing app for weddings!