Back in business, folks

A friend of mine wrote to me today and asked why I had stopped blogging.  It dawned on me then that I hadn't written in a very long time.  I was certainly aware of my unannounced hiatus but it really hit me this morning that I was letting people down who read this blog.  I have friends, family, and readers who have contributed so much love to my blogging experience and I was very ready to throw in the towel.  I had decided about a week ago that my laziness might as well be a hiatus and I might as well just return after the holidays.  The thing is, I've been feeling very uninspired.  About three months ago when From Scratch was in the design phase, I wrote another blog which chronicled my life in my relationship....and then my relationship ended.  So, the inspiration for From Scratch derived from the idea that my life was starting over.  Remember that age old saying, "don't put your eggs in one basket?" Yeah, don't.  I did and it totally sucked.  The point is, I was motivated to start From Scratch because I literally had to press the abort mission button on my old blog and restart.  I essentially changed my identity.  I was so inspired to write openly and honestly and then I realized I wanted privacy...just for a little.  I got rid of Facebook and just lived my life.  It felt good and I don't necessarily feel like putting myself back on the grid and sharing all of my deepest darkest thoughts and opinions about life in general, but still.  I do however feel like putting time into something I love...which is this blog.

So for those of you that do read...hang tight.

Why I blog

About two years ago I stumbled upon the blog Tulips and Flight Suits, written by Mary (who is just lovely by the way) and I was hooked.  I loved the idea of having something personal to update and having a space on the internet that felt private, like a tiny community.  From there I found more and more blogs that I loved to read and soon enough I had a daily reading list.  When I made the decision to start Hair Bows and Smiles it was one that was not easily made.  A lot of hard work goes into writing a blog like this as well as a lot of decision making from how transparent you want to be to the content of the blog.  Regardless, Hair Bows and Smile was underway and I began seeking opportunities to grow the blog every day.  I thought about the reasons that I fell in love with the idea of blogs in the first place and it went back to that idea of community.  It was then that I began reaching out to the women on the blogosphere that I admired most.  At first, I thought I wouldn't get a single response, but I did, the emails were (mostly) returned and I remembered why I loved blogging in the first place....that sense of community.  Even though all of us are at different stages of life our blogs bring us together.  We are connected by what we do and with that our community is formed.

This week on Hair Bows and Smiles I am so excited to feature a guest post by Claire from Eat Well. Party Hard.  Claire and I are old college friends and while I am still completing my undergrad, Claire is off doing amazing things.  I've loved reading her blog and was so excited to welcome her onto Hair Bows and Smiles. Since we are trying to be health conscious on our end, I've asked Claire to develop a healthier recipe to put up on my little section of the Internet.  I'm so excited!  It's amazing to include Claire in the blogging community that I hold so close to my heart and I hope you all will welcome her with open arms!  Make sure to come back daily, but especially Thursday to give a big, exciting welcome to Claire!

Reading, Living and Loving Relish

I'm pretty certain after reading Daphne Oz's new book, Relish, that her and I should be best friends.  I bought the book simply because I love Daphne Oz and anticipated it to be just a cookbook but friends, it's so much more.

Relish is a book to live by.

From cover to cover, Relish contains practical tips to eating well, loving well, and living well.  From healthy recipes for all three meals to beautiful cocktails and deserts, Daphne Oz gives you a taste of her world.  You can tell how much love when into writing this book and boy do I love it back.

As women, I feel like we often need a few good words to live by and now it seems we have a book.  Every woman should own Relish and not just because it's filled with phenomenal recipe's that are also good for you but because it's filled with advice from hosting a dinner party to navigating a food store.  There's no shortage of incredible, wholesome advice in Relish and as a girl in her young twenties, I needed that!  It's not often you pick up a book and think, "Gee!  This woman read my mind!"  I like to think that in the near future I will need to crack this book open to recall what Daphne said about applying bronzer or when I need to host a dinner party.  Guys, I'm glad I own this book and if you don't already have it, go get it...

To be it simply, Relish is beautifully written.  There's nothing complex about her writing, which, I think is the best part.  To open Relish is to read a conversation with an old friend, it's that good. 


*This is not a sponsored post, I just needed to share this all with you!

What I'm reading

Or rather, what I read...

As you all know, Hair Bows and Smiles is brand new to the blog scene.  After avidly reading sites like Love Taza and Tulips and Flight suits I felt inspired to create my own.  The idea was simple, I wanted to write about life and all things Ashley.  So far the experience has been great but I don't want the growth of the blog to simply plateau.  I want to continue to strengthen what I am writing and doing on this blog so that you, my readers, will keep coming back and continuing to tell your friends about the site!

So that brings me to the book I just finished, Blog, Inc.  Perhaps some of you know the author, Joy Cho, who is over at Oh, Joy!.  Regardless if you do or don't, the book was phenomenal!

I was nervous that the book would only discuss ways to start a blog and thus not include all the important information about the aftermath of creating a blog, but I was wrong!  Joy chronicles every aspect of blogging, from gaining followers to adding advertisements.  I am so glad I picked this book up because I already know it will serve as my little encyclopedia for the rest of my blogging career.

If any of you visiting are bloggers yourself, I seriously suggest getting this book as fast as you can.  It was excellent.