Just a Girl & Her Little Dog

Well this post is going to be all about miss Lilly!

She turned 4 years old this month (can't believe it!) and I wanted to do a little walk down memory lane about this little girl! I think it's pretty clear to everyone who knows me just how much this fur baby means to me! I never knew I could love a dog so much! 

Lilly is a teacup Maltese and is from Korea. She is honestly the sweetest lil pooch ever. I remember before we got Lilly I begged and begged my husband for a dog! I sat online and searched for a teacup maltese for over a year. I always wanted one since I was a little girl. A little white puff ball. FINALLY we purchased our first home and Sean agreed to getting a dog! We flew to Vancouver to pick up Lilly and I couldn't have been more excited. We were sent this photo from the breeder before seeing her for the first time...

Oh. My. Goodness!! It was love at first sight! 

I will never forget seeing Lilly for the first time. She was the quiet one out of all the dogs, just wagging her little tail and standing up on the glass of her little fish tank she was in. 

She was SO tiny! She was 8oz and fit in the palm of my hand. 

I remember getting into the car with her for the first time and being like "Woah. We just get to drive away with her and keep her now?!" 

During our drive back to Fort St John we debated what to name her for pretty much the whole drive home.. Lilly just fit perfectly. Even though we seem to rarely even call her by Lilly anymore haha I mean how many nicknames can one dog have?! 

Lil, Lillian, Lilly Diva Murphy (that's her full name), Lillybug, Fluff, Fluff n' Stuff, McMuff, Muffin, Muff, Scruff, Duff, Little Butt, Squirrel, Moof n' Doof, Pooch... the list goes on and on!

Once we were home Sean had told me she was NOT allowed to sleep in our bed.. but that quickly changed once he was on night shift and I would sneak her into bed with me ;)

Lilly has become quite the traveling pooch! She goes everywhere with us. She LOVES long car rides and sleeps the whole time during plane rides.

First time staying the night at a pet hotel in Vancouver!

First time at the cabin!

Summer trip to Minnesota!

Walking in Jasper!

Christmas trip at Lake Louise!

Christmas trip at Lake Louise!

Lilly may be a teeny little dog, but she sure loves all the same things big dogs do!

Loves sitting on the couch looking out the window & barking at people who walk by..

Going for walks until she is tired. She then comes to a complete halt & waits to be picked up and carried for the rest of the walk..

Playing with her toys..

Visiting dad at work...

Bathtime... 

Hanging out at the beach...

Going for car rides...

Winning contests...

Oh and dressing up...

Lilly is my sidekick & I just love all the memories that have been made these past 4 years! 

I do have to say I am a little nervous for when the baby arrives in November with how she is going to act. She is so used to being my center of attention and I just hope she can get used to sharing me with the baby! I've been reading up on some ideas with how to introduce your dog to the new baby and hopefully she will be just fine! 

Lilly will always be my first baby.. I just love her with all my heart!

xo Ashley

Woah Baby!

Well as you can see I have been MIA and pretty much non existent on social media! The last 3 months have been pretty crazy and full of exciting new things. Including starting a new job, traveling for work, a trip to the Dominican, putting our house up for sale and finding out I'm pregnant!! I have been meaning to do a post for a while now with finding out and the pregnancy so far. It just seems like ever since the day we found out we are expecting our first baby my mind & focus has been on the baby! 

We announced the big news on our first wedding anniversary, May 1st and we were so excited to finally be able to tell everyone!! November 3rd is our due date.

Also on our wedding anniversary we had a prenatal appointment and were able to see the baby and hear his/her heartbeat. It is just absolutely amazing to hear that heartbeat inside of you! Baby looked so much bigger since the last time we saw him/her back at 9 weeks pregnant and it just looked like a white blob with a flicker. Now at 13 weeks you could actually see more of a baby and the hands and feet! I was amazed how much baby was moving around in there!

Baby at 13 weeks

The first trimester for sure had it's days that were awful compared to others. I was extremely tired. I'm a total night owl so it was kind of weird for me to be in bed & sleeping by 10pm every night even after taking naps in the afternoon! My other biggest challenge was nausea and eating. Nothing sounded good to eat! It was like I woke up one morning and all that sounded good to me was carbs. Oh and fruit. Even the thought of salad, veggies and meat made me want to throw up. I never even knew about pregnancy food aversions. I always just thought pregnant ladies craved food! 

Living so far away from friends and family I wanted to post pictures of my growing baby bump and little updates on Facebook so they can all go through this journey with me! There are a lot of people I wish I was able to see on a weekly basis, but unfortunately it's not possible so thank goodness for social media.

I am 17 weeks today and feeling pretty good! Feels great to have more energy and my appetite getting back to normal. I am getting back to my classes at the gym and going for walks outside with the nice weather and it feels great. I haven't felt the baby move yet, but hopefully I will soon! Just loving this journey day by day.

xo Ashley

Pop Up Shop!

I have been meaning to do a blog post about my new adventure with the boutique the last week, but my goodness I have been so busy! It has always been a big goal and dream of mine to have a physical store for the boutique and the opportunity came up to have a Pop Up Shop and I couldn't have been more excited!

I am not able to be committed to a store where we live in Fort St John right now, but one day I do hope to have a store full time.. wherever we may be :)

This cute little house is just the perfect little spot to have my boutique!

Of course, with only being in the store a short amount of time I am not able to completely have the inside EXACTLY the way I would like, but I love how it came together.

I would say the biggest challenge from the very beginning was to get the word out about the Pop Up Shop around town! I didn't even have that much notice ahead of time before it was all a go! Thank goodness with the help of my husband he helped me with getting signs made, going around town hanging up flyers and social media of course was a huge help!

YAY! 

You have to have coffee & donuts for the grand opening!

Just a few hours after I opened these beautiful flowers were delivered to me and I was so surprised! My sweet mom & sister sent them to me and wow did they make me smile & even feel like they were right there with me for a split second! 

Instead if leaving Lilly at home by herself all day I figured I might as well bring her to the store to hang out with me! Plus she loves seeing everyone.

I absolutely LOVE having the store and not just working from home with the boutique's website! I love being interactive with my customers and seeing them light up when they find pieces they fall in love with! I feel so blessed to be doing what I love and can only pray the boutique continues to grow! I am working my butt off and giving the boutique my all!

And after a crazy week I came home to a glass of wine poured and a delicious dinner on the table made by my amazing hubby. He is always there for me and just knows exactly what I need in that moment! I honestly don't know how I got so lucky. We enjoyed dinner and wine while talking about memories of growing up and all the good ole times. I just love sitting at the dinner table talking and forgetting about everything that is going on in life at that very moment.

The Pop Up Shop has been a total success and I am totally loving it!! I need a good nights sleep tonight & then I will be ready to take on this next week! :)

xo Ashley

Leopard & Leather

I must say I don't really have a lot of animal print clothing, but when I saw this easy-wear top I knew I had to have it! 

I love how the leopard print is on the sleeves and isn't too much! I think it is a perfect top to toss on when you don't feel like putting too much effort into your look, but it gives you a little touch of spunk!

I paired the Leopard Top with my knee high leather boots and red lips!

xo Ashley

 Leopard Top: AshleyKae Boutique // Jeans: American Eagle // Boots: Chinese Laundry // 

Bag: Coach // Sequin Hanger: AshleyKae Boutique

Nobody Said it was Easy

Who doesn't love an easy go-to adorable tee?? 

I recently added this new Spring piece to the boutique & it has become my new fav tee!

I love this tee obviously because it has cute lipstick on it, but also because of the quote. I read it as "life isn't easy, but I'm going to carry on like the strong woman I am!" 

I paired this tee with boyfriend jeans, a turban headband, brown boots & of course a stunning shade of lipstick.

I hope everyone has a great week!

xo Ashley 

Tee: AshleyKae Boutique  // Jeans: Express // Boots: Target // Headband: AshleyKae Boutique // Lipstick: Flat Out Fabulous MAC

Polka Dots & Pencil Skirt

I recently added a new Polka Dot Sweater to the boutique and it is easily one of my new favorite pieces! I am pretty obsessed with polka dots. It is such a classic, yet fun pattern and adds a little pop of somethin to every outfit! 

 

Another reason why I love this sweatshirt is that it is so easy to dress it up or dress it down. Yesterday I dressed it up and loved it. I love dressing pieces up.. the more dressy & girly the better!

Happy to see other ladies are loving the Polka Dot Sweater as much as I am because its already almost SOLD OUT! 

xo Ashley

Polka Dot Sweater: AshleyKae Boutique // Color Dot Bracelets: AshleyKae Boutique // Blazer, Pencil Skirt & Heels: Target // Wristlet: len // Lipstick: Blankety MAC