Journal through South Korea Part 4 More Pictures

Posted by Rachel Ashley on May 18, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 0 comments

So glad it is Friday!  This week has gone by surprisingly fast.  Today I am working, organizing, cleaning and getting ready for a garage sale! I wanted to share a few more pictures with you from our travels.  This is  my first street shopping in South Korea.  I had so much fun, going up a down every street!  The wedge converse shoe in the picture below I wanted so bad, but they didn’t have it in my size.  I wanted a shoe that you don’t see in the States, but oh well, I guess a picture of it will have to do!

Enjoy our pics and Happy Friday y’all!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

Journal through South Korea Part 3

Posted by Rachel Ashley on May 17, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 0 comments

Hi again!  This week I will wrap up my Korean vacation, but I have a few more outfit posts to share with you before I do!  We had so much fun in Korea and although it’s nice to be home, my husband and I both enjoy exploring the world together.  It is always fun to explore new places together.  Life is so much fun when you get to experience life with your best friend by your side!  As you know our trip included a lot of shopping, but on this day (in the pictures) we explored the middle of Seoul, where the old world meets the new!  We toured the Palace, which is located in The National Folk Museum of South Korea.  You have an ancient palace, rich in history, lush with plants and tress, architecture and paintings that make designers weak in their knees, lined with cobblestone paths.  But if you stop and pause for just a moment you will hear cars honking and you will see a bustling city just beyond the walls. When looking beyond the Palace’s walls, the backdrop is modern day Korea, with soaring high rises, new technology and heavy traffic.  It was almost like being transported back in time and and seeing into the future.  It was fun to see how this city and culture has progressed over time.

We also visited the Seoul, World Cup Stadium.  My love for fashion and design, is just as strong as my husbands love for Soccer.  We had so much fun exploring the Stadium.  We were able to go down on the field, enter the field where the players do, visit their locker room and practice room.  We couldn’t believe that we were able to go all around the stadium by ourselves!  My husband and our sister-in-law Kristen (also a soccer player) had so much fun in the stadium, as did Scot and I.

This day was packed, because that evening we went to Nam-san Tower too!  We enjoyed looking out over the entire city of Seoul, while eating ice cream cones..lol.  I ate so much good food while in Korea and I didn’t follow any strict eating rules like I do at home, so it was fun not only to explore the culture by foot, but also by taste!  Anywho, Nam-san Tower if you have never heard about it,  it’s a tower that you can see from almost anywhere in Seoul on a clear day, because of its height.  Nam-san Tower reminds me of  the make-out hill everyone had in high school.  Everyone is holding hands and walking around with there lover.  My favorite part of Nam-san Tower is the tradition of the locks.  There are thousands of locks attached to the fences!  Check out my Instagram, to see what I am talking about.  The meaning behind the locks is the promise of endless love!  How romantic, right?  Since forever ago, there was a story that if lovers make a wish at a shrine at Nam-San it comes true!  Since that this place has become a symbol of promising and everlasting love for couples, by hanging their lock together, hence why its so romantic!  I am so mad that my husband and I didn’t leave a lock there!  We should have, because who knows if we will ever be back.

Hope you enjoy our pictures!

XO,

Rachel Byrd

My Journal through South Korea Part 2

Posted by Rachel Ashley on May 15, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 0 comments

I finally have time to sit down and share the second half of my journey in South Korea with you.  These past two weeks have been non-stop and a bit overwhelming.  I have been overly exhausted, have had too much to do and I have neglected all of you for far too long.  It’s been so long I nearly forgot how to blog…haha!  Life has been moving at a frantic pace!  I am getting geared up for an exciting summer and I am excited to be back with all of you!

Needless to say, South Korea was a lot of fun and far exceeded my expectations.  I had no doubt in my mind that my husband and I would have fun with his brother and our sister-in-law.  They were gracious hosts and awesome tour guides.  It was fun to be in their environment experiencing the life they have led for the past four years in Seoul.

My sister-in-law Kristen wasn’t there the first three days of our trip.  Kristen and our niece Tatum were still in the states.  My poor husband and his brother were stuck with me for three days, following me up and down the streets of Itaewon and Namdeumun.  On Monday, April 23^rd (which in the states it was Tuesday) – we went to a bar drank beer and ate ribs with a whole bunch of guys, so I guess since they took me shopping I can to endure a whole evening with the guys!  I am not complaining, it was fun and the crazy part about it, was I didn’t even feel like we were in Seoul.  It felt like we were in the States.  We were sitting next to people that were talking about back home.  We were sitting outside on this awesome patio enjoying a beautiful night and of course plates full of BBQ ribs!

One of my favorite day’s (which my pictures are from) was when we went to Shinsegae!  Shinsegae is Korea’s #1 department store.  The store came in 1930 and brought light to the history of distribution industry in Korea!  For all you fashion lovers, this place is off the chains!  I thought I walked into a dream!  If you ever get the chance to go, make sure you are there right when the doors open.   When the doors open first thing in the morning, you are greeted by all the employees on the lower level bowing as you walk by.  You feel slightly like royalty for a split second!   Have you heard of Shinsegae before?  Well, fashion lovers, this place is BANNANAS!  Ready for the lineup… Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Hermes, Tiffany & Co., Celine, and the list goes on… eight glorious stories of unending shopping!  Lucky for my husband I moved quickly perusing the floors and taking in all the fashion and inspiration I could!

To sum up a few of the days in Seoul, shopping in South Korea is AHH-MAZING!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

Brief Hiatus

Posted by Rachel Ashley on May 5, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable, Fashionably Fit, Fashionably Interior Design, Fashionably Organic | 0 comments

Good Afternoon!

I apologize for the brief hiatus!  I have not forgotten about all of you!  As many of you know I traveled to Seoul, South Korea, if not you can catch up here.  I had so much fun, but the day after we flew back into the States, I came into work, with a little bit of jet lag and a 65 hour work week.  Needless to say, I lack sleep and have been overly busy the past two weeks.  I plan on cathcing you all up on my travels and sharing all of our fabulous pictures with you!  I’ll see you all tomorrow for part 2 of  my journal through Seoul, South Korea!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

My Journal through South Korea

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Apr 26, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 0 comments

Hello from Korea!  I can’t believe that I am here, but I have officially been roaming the streets of South Korea for the last few days.  My husband and I flew over here to visit his brother, our sister-in-law and niece.  They have lived here the past four years and will be moving soon, so we wanted to make our way out to Korea before they left.

Upon arrival it was raining and it was about 8pm, so we weren’t able to see much.  The freeways were full of Hyundai’s, Kia’s, foreign cars I have never seen before, and luxury cars.  The homes here are definitely different from home.  Winding roads full of homes stacked on top of each other.  The architecture of some of the homes are beautiful, its so fun to see architecture in other countries.  It’s crazy how close the million dollar homes are to the non-million dollar homes.  You will be in a middle-class neighborhood and you literally walk up a hill and turn the corner and your passing by the home of one of the big-shots in Samsung.

The streets in Itaewon on a week night, remind me of how the streets must be in New York City.  The streets were full of couples and friends walking the streets headed to their favorite restaurant or shopping the night away.  Itaewon is very ethnic in their food selections, providing you a wide variety of food choices, anything from Turkish, Indian, American, Jordanian, etc.  The streets are also full of people from all over the world, you see many different nationality’s represented for here in Itaewon.

The second night in South Korea we went to a Broadway show called Jump!  It was hysterically funny and made me giggle the whole time.  The actors were very talented gymnast and martial artists.  They pulled a few people from the audience to join them on stage during the show and of course the curly head blonde girl in an aisle seat stuck out like a sore-thumb and I was pulled on stage.  It was a lot of fun and defiantly a fun memory.  I was able to meet and get the cast’s autographs after the show too!  It was a fun night!

The street shopping in Namdeumun was amazing!  I have never been shopping like that before, the only thing I could remotely compare it to was shopping the streets of China Town in San Francisco, but Namedeumun was China Town on steroids.  My husband and his brother followed me up and down the streets for a little over two hours.  I swerved in and out of the shops, tried on shoes, sunglasses, jewelry, tried some of the street food and had so much fun!  The children’s clothes were so cute, the jewelry choices were endless and pretty much anything you could think to buy you could have found at Namdeumun street market.   One of my favorite random shops was full of wrapping paper, ribbons and bags!  I would go crazy living here, you can pretty much find anything and everything you want and more!

Well, I will journal again soon!  This entry pretty much wraps up my first few days in Seoul!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Burberry and Orange

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Apr 19, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 0 comments

I love, love this post, because it incorporates two of my favorite things: Burberry and the color orange!   Many of you know that orange was the accent color in my wedding three years ago; there is something warming and yet fun about the color orange, it just makes me happy!   I know orange is one of those colors that can remind our parents of the 70′s and yet it has come around again full circle and is fashionable again, but thank goodness its not orange and brown together!  And Burberry of course, what preppy girl, or anyone for that matter doesn’t like Burberry!?  Burberry is is a British luxury fashion house, that is timeless, need I say more?  I was strolling around town last week and walked by all these beautiful flowers and areas of green grass, it was such a pretty afternoon to take a walk and snap a few photos!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

Dress: Forever 21

Leggings: Splendid

Flats: Burberry

Purse: Michael Kors

Necklace: Francesca’s

Bracelets: Forever 21

Pearl Earings: Forever 21

Makeup: Arbonne

Deconstructed Furniture

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Apr 17, 2012 in Fashionably Interior Design | 0 comments

Have you seen the new trending design craze?  Well, if you haven’t received your Restoration Hardware catalog, you might not be familiar with deconstructed furniture.  Restoration Hardware has taken vintage and antique to a whole new level.  These beautiful pieces of furniture including settees, wingback chairs, sofas, etc. are being appreciated for how they look on the inside.   As designers and consumers we are used to picking out furniture based on the color and quality of fabric.  The unique thing is that Restoration Hardware has capitalized on their minimalist approach to design.   With their fresh approach to design, it’s no wonder they have been successful at setting themselves apart from many other furniture retailers.  One of the many reasons I love the design world, is the ability to see beauty in something that somebody else might not.  Who would have thought the next craze would be deconstructed furniture?  What do you think of this style?  Do you like it, or isn’t pushing your limits on design.  I happen to like it, but I might stop by an antique shop to look for a deconstructed piece of furniture first, before rushing to Restoration Hardware.

XO,
Rachel Ashley