Tag: women

Recent reads

Published on by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

I love reading – and buying! – books written by women. I like to spend my money on these books because I want to support them. Some people splurge on new clothes; I spend my money on shiny new books with glossy covers. Recently I’ve read Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison and Live Fast Die Hot by Jenny Mollen.

13704089_1344940888853343_2105312685_n

Both books are a collections of anecdotes; though the subjects are pretty different. Overall, I enjoyed Live Fast Die Hot more because I thought it was really funny. Jenny is neurotic and self-absorbed but in all of the best ways. For me, it wasn’t a great read before bed, but as soon as I started reading it during the day/on my commute, I devoured it.

Down the Rabbit Hole was a decent read. It was very telling of Holly’s opinion on Hugh Hefner and I’m sure he wasn’t too happy with the book. I occasionally watched The Girls Next Door when it was still on TV and, reading the behind the scenes from Holly’s perspective, just goes to show you how fake “reality” TV is. Overall, I don’t think I would recommend this book (this is me being nit picky but I hate cliches in writing and this book is filled with them!) unless you’re looking for some dirt on the Playboy Mansion. That being said, I do like Holly Madison and respect her for writing about her experiences!

Next on my list is I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual. I am really looking forward to this read – especially given important movements like Black Lives Matter – and will write my thoughts on it as soon as I finish!

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe.**

Girls weekend!

Published on by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

This weekend I spent a lot of time with my girlfriends. The older I get, the harder I find it to carve out quality time for friends because of hectic schedules and the miles in between us. It was great seeing so many of my girls and spending more than a shared meal or quick coffee catch up sesh with them. I’ve noticed that too often we spend our time together reminiscing on the “old times” – and all of the memories we made once upon a time – instead of creating new stories to tell years from now…

One of my good friends Leslie is in town and we spent all day Saturday together. We started the day in San Francisco, wondering Union Street and eating breakfast at a place called Perry’s. Lucky for me, Leslie doesn’t eat much meat either so we happily split a veggie scramble and the California eggs Benedict, plus 2 lattes; but no splits there! 🙂

IMG_20160521_113614

After breakfast we did some window shopping. Shortly after we decided we could both go for another coffee and popped in a Starbucks for round two. We stumbled into a place called Urban Remedy; which is a vegan storefront that offers juices, quick grab and go meals, and a few other snacks. We picked up a bag of their Ginger Brittle and sat with our coffees, chatting, snacking and sipping.

After some vegan noshing, we headed across the Bay to Livermore for late afternoon wine tasting with Leslie’s mom. We started at Wente Vineyards and then went to Concannon. I am actually the worst at wine tasting because I find that I always forget what the last wine I tried tasted like, so I can’t compare the wines the way other people seem to do. Plus I’m also not a picky wine drinker by any means (being way more bougie about my beer than my wine) and can’t tell a merlot from a cab from any other red… Nonetheless, both vineyards were beautiful.

IMG_20160521_181301
IMG_20160521_173545
IMG_20160522_220946_01

After wine tasting we went downtown for Italian at a place called Bruno’s, which was delicious but really, what Italian food isn’t?

On Sunday, Leslie came down to my house, along with our friend, Shelby, and her cute little chunk of a baby. We spent the afternoon poolside while snacking on chips, hummus, and guacamole.

IMG_20160522_221053_01

My other good friend Morgan was also in town for a work conference and came over shortly after we got back from the pool. Morgan and I used to be neighbors but now she lives in Washington. I haven’t seen her since October when Mike and I went to visit her and her fiance.  We caught up for a while at my place and then went to our friend’s Jules and Ben’s house for wine and burrito bowls.

Overall, it was a fun weekend spent with some of the best girls I know (and, not to mention, a few cute babies and glasses of wine too). Good stuff, if you ask me!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **