Category: lifestyle

Coffee that Saves Pups – Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co

I was so excited when Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co reached out to me to try their coffee (ad)! If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram, I love to review coffee over there and give my honest feed back. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, quality wise, but I wanted to reveal my honest opinions here! I’ve heard about Grounds & Hounds for a while, they strive to create coffee with a greater purpose.

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What’s great about Grounds & Hounds is 20% of their profits go to supporting pups! Through their coffee sales, they strive to support dog rescue initiatives and organizations throughout the country.

-but is Grounds & Hounds coffee any good?

well, yes! better than expected for sure. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since the coffee came pre-ground (which drastically reduces the freshness of the coffee). So, at first I was a bit worried. Turns out, the coffee is good coffee!

Is it the best coffee I’ve ever had?

-well, no.

Is it coffee I would purchase in the future?

-maybe. So far my favorite coffee of theirs is their “Morning Walk” blend! It’s a nice light/medium roast with unique undertones.

The mission of Grounds & Hounds is what sets them apart from other coffee companies. Knowing that when I purchase from them it goes to such a great cause is what would keep me buying coffee and other goodies from them. I really admire the dedication and money they put towards such a great cause. Who doesn’t love supporting dogs????

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I do have a discount code to save you 15% off (I don’t get anything from it), it’s “CoffeeeNut”

Or you can shop using this link!

Big thank you to Grounds & Hounds for reaching out and sending me some coffee to try! I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.

Have you tried their coffee before? What did you think?

As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

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Masters school update + other life updates

I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you! It wasn’t intentional I promise.

If you know me, I “love” to keep busy so I’ve been up to a lot. I just got back from a three week vacation in Alaska and those vlogs will all be up soon on my youtube. The first Alaska vlog is actually already up here.

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My first semester of graduate school ended back in mid May and it was a hard one. I don’t even know how to describe it briefly, but it was a lot mentally and emotionally. The Australian time difference was taxing, but even more so, doing it all virtual was so isolating. It was just me in my room on zoom late at night in class all alone. It made me really miss the experience of being surrounded by other people in the same boat as me as well as being able to ask the professor questions in real time (not wait for them to check the chat minutes later).

My second semester starts tomorrow actually (I’m terrified) so that shall be interesting. Since Australian semesters go 1 & 2, instead of spring & fall, I only had about a month off as a “winter break” in semesters. I even took an accelerated course on the statistical program “R” which ended the other day. So that’s been OH so much fun.

I got a new part time job, which if you’ve keeping up with my youtube vlogs, or instagram, that would be no surprise. I hit a breaking point with my job at Lululemon and decided it was my time to move on. For shts and giggles, before leaving Lululemon, I looked into other jobs. I came across this whale watching naturalist position and though it was cool but didn’t think much past that. I briefly mentioned the job listing to family and friends and they strongly encouraged me to apply, so I did. I applied on a Saturday, got reached out for an interview that Tuesday, got hired Thursday and left Lululemon on Friday (a crazy week for sure). So I am a whale watching naturalist on a whale watching boat!

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Oh, wait, did I mention on here I got published finally? I think I did cause that seems like forever ago. But my undergraduate thesis got published alongside a professor I worked with in New Zealand earlier this year. Crazy enough, the first time my article was cited (in May) was by HARVARD!!!!!! super insane.

Anyway, I think that’s enough rambling for now.

Hope you all have been well!

As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

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Day in the Life of a Coffee Blogger – NJ Cafe Hopping VLOG

Hello! I’ve been drowning in grad school assignments so I haven’t been posting as often as I would like. I’m hoping to go more in depth with updates in my next post but for now here’s how I like to spend my days off from work and grad school – cafe hopping, what a surprise!

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I hope you have a great week/weekend!

As always thank you SO much for all of your support,

Lots of love,

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How I am Going to Graduate School Internationally During the Pandemic

Happy Sunday!

I filmed an updated full Masters Journey. I tried to make the video more cohesive than my original one. I go more into detail on some of the more recent updates. Thanks so much for sticking with me through this journey!

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As always thank you SO much for all of your support,

Lots of love,

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ALSO

What kind of content would you like more of from me?

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Positive Masters Degree Updates – Feb 2021

I have an EXCITING life update.

If you’ve been keeping up with my masters degree journey of the ups and downs, the questions & the unknowns…

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BUT if not, here’s a quick rundown: I applied to get into a masters program in Australia last year that I was dreaming of, got rejected, was told I didn’t quality for the degree but I reapplied, got accepted, was told I could do some courses online as I’m still very much stuck in states, tried to enroll in courses, was told last week that it might actually not be possible to start online with all of the lab and field work, and FINALLY last night was told that I could officially take courses online (at least part time to start) and I WILL be able to start my masters degree while stuck here in the states with the Australian borders being closed.

Here are a few other posts going into my journey.

An emotional chat with my masters professor

Here is an update to my post yesterday so check that out here first! My call with my professor last night went more somber than i ever thought was possible. I’m feeling much better today than I was yesterday. Basically, it’s up in the air if i can even start my masters online since the degree is a lot of lab and field…

Emo International Masters Update – this keeps getting harder

I guess you could call this part two of “road to my masters”. Just me being honest here. I got another update on the graduate program I’ve been trying to apply to for very close to two years now. Here’s the next update: Thanks, as always, for all the support, Ashleigh

My Entire Graduate School Journey + Updates

I decided to finally sit down and lay my entire masters journey out. Check out the video below (it’s a long one) while maybe sipping on a nice cup of coffee. I really wanted to create a cohesive bit with everything from how I got into marine science, how I chose my masters program and hopefully where I’ll be going from here. *spoiler…

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okay, that was a lot, but yeah, that’s what’s going on.

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So, I get to start at least two courses this month (the start of the Australian semester) and they sound incredible i’m so excited! and then if I’m still unable to get into Australia by July (fingers crossed I’ll be able to), there are some courses lined up for me that I would be able to take second semester this year. so it’s been a rollercoaster of yes and no’s, ups and downs, and LOTS of anxiety.

Sadly the rollercoaster is far from over but I am so thrilled to say that I will FINALLY be able to start my masters this month. WOW.

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I ALSO filmed a full video update going more in detail into all of this and I will be posting that later this week!

As always thank you SO much for all of your support,

Lots of love,

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Starting Graduate School Online – An update – it’s been too long

Hello!

Long time no real talk. I apologize for that! I guess I haven’t really felt I had anything interesting to really post about. After everything with the holidays and my family my mind has been overall great, but still all over. More than anything, my first graduate school semester is creeping up.

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With Australian International borders still being very much closed, my graduate school degree will be starting online. I’ve thankfully come to terms with although this isn’t an ideal situation, I understand it’s out of my control. Thankfully this newish degree (not the one I originally applied for back in June 2020, but both degrees are within the same department) is able to start some courses online. The Australian semester starts end of February so I still have some time to mentally prepare for that.

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Actually this week’s graduate school saga has mainly been focused on enrolling in my courses. I attempted to earlier in the week but when I went to actually enroll it said the courses were only available in person… soooo….

I reached out to the professor I’ve been in contact with over there and we are thankfully chatting tonight. I’m hoping the chat will really sort out the jumbled mess that is my brain right now haha. I’m like will my classes be live? will I need to become a night owl to take them with the time difference? do I need any textbooks? are academic advisors a thing in Australia? I have so many questions.

I also have been struggling to come up with helpful, worthwhile content on here. Last year it was a bit easier as I could post about a bunch of past trips and such that I’ve been on. With the pandemic still being full force, I barely have left the 20 mile radius around me.

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I’ve been really enjoying slower mornings. The pandemic really opened myself up to them. I’ve been still loving my pour over coffee at home and of course my cat. I hope all of you have been well!

Lots of love,

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someone close to me tested positive. mental health updates

I’ve been a bit behind the Christmas content because of some family things. Everyone is safe! We are all quarantining for two weeks. Here is a vlog where I go into everything.

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ALSO DON’T FORGET I have a giveaway going on in this post

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As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

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Bean and Bean Coffee Review

Happy Sunday! I haven’t done one of these in a while so I thought this post would be a nice treat for all of you (gifted, not an ad).

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I do currently have a giveaway going on with them over on my Instagram here!

I’m here to chat a bit about Bean & Bean Coffee Roasters out of New York City. Family owned and women-led specialty coffee roaster out of NYC for over 10 years! They stand for gender equity – focusing on partnering with female coffee producers and over half of their coffee is sourced from female led farms!!!

It’s so nice to hear even in the coffee roasting community, there are companies striving for gender equity in the field!

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WOWWW! I love the morals and values that they are bringing to the coffee community!

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Let’s Talk Coffee

So lately I’ve been sipping on their Indonesia Sumatra. It’s a nice smooth dark roast with heavy, tart cherry undertones. It’s a nice roast to have first thing in the morning as a pick me up!

The mother-daughter team that runs Bean & Bean Coffee ACTUALLY are professionally trained to cup coffee. This means that they reallyyyy know what their doing.

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Fun Fact: a dream of mine has always been to go to a coffee cupping and be taught how to professionally taste coffee undertones.

The Bean and Bean Coffee Partnership with the Sloth Institute

Bean and Bean Coffee Roasters also focuses on working with small coffee farms who work alongside the environment RATHER THAN deforesting it. They partner with the Sloth Institute (hint hint their adorable packaging) where % of online coffee sales goes directly to care for the sloths in need.

When they mentioned this to me I was so happy to hear as I personally didn’t even think about the deforestation aspect of coffee farming.

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Don’t forget there’s an international giveaway for some of these goodies here & also in my last post another giveaway! wooo!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Lots of love,

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Unique Gift for a Coffee Lover | JORD Coffee Watch

I am so excited to chat with you about a great gift you can give your fave coffee lover!!

(PLUS a giveaway so keep on reading)

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Here’s an easy gift idea for someone who loves coffee (like me)!

I’m sure you’ve been in a similar boat as me where you want to find more unique gifts for your loved ones that aren’t just generic things on amazon. I’m here to recommend JORD watches. They have much more than just wooden watches. Thank you to JORD for partnering with me on this post!

They have a Barista Collector’s Edition Watch!!!!

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The Barista Watch Gift Set for Coffee Lovers

JORD Watches is known for the materials they incorporate into their unique accessories. Some examples in the past have been wood, stone & even marble; they focus on sustainably sourced, natural materials.

But now….

JORD watches have been able to create a way to suspend REAL coffee beans around the watch (and it’s even cooler looking in person)!! This is such a cool watch for any coffee lover you have in your life.

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Unique Features of the Barista Collection JORD Watch

This watch is a collaboration with St. Louis Roaster Kaldi. The dial of the watch actually depicts the coffee bean roasting process and the band is a deep roasted brown made of JORD’s vegan cork leather.

I’m not much of a watch wearer myself, but with the minimal style and cool features of the watch I can’t help but admire it! The Barista Watch is a unique gift idea for anyone.

Shop Small this Holiday Season

Something I didn’t realize was that JORD watches actually is a small family run business out of St. Louis with less than 10 employees!!! As I’m personally trying to shop small this Christmas it makes me happy knowing that shopping from JORD is supporting a small family owned business.

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Other JORD Gift Ideas

All of JORD’s signature timepieces pieces are available with custom engravings (like the back plates and cedar gift boxes can be personalized with monograms, images, & personal messages).

JORD watches also sells unique vegan cork leather luxury handbags, natural sunglasses, blue light glasses, gift sets, hats and limited edition wood & leather apple bands like these ones!

Giveaway Time!!!!!

Want to win a custom JORD gift set yourself? Just enter from my custom link here.

Just by entering you’ll get a 20% of coupon code to shop!

Giveaway ends in two weeks!!!

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I am just as excited as you are!

*LINKS are AFFILIATE links so using them does support me*

Big thanks to JORD Watches for working me on this giveaway!

Shop all the goods here

shop jord watches
shop jord handbags
shop jord blue light glasses
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As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

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Week in my life: decorating for christmas, hanging home & running errands

Hello! It’s been a bit since I really sat down to give a mini life update. Work over at Lululemon for the holiday season has definitely been keeping me busy, as well as I am slowly starting to upload more content over on my youtube!

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Not much to update on in regards to my graduate school journey; still some back and forth on final paperwork and deposits so I can get my certificate of enrollment to then FINALLY be able to apply for my Australian Student Visa. A lot of stuff with the process is just a stepping stone to then have another thing to do and check off the list. Also, there’s still hope I can move to Aussie in Jan/Feb but not getting my hopes up as that’s SO CLOSE!

My recent vlogs over on my youtube are pretty accurate representations of my life lately. I’ll put them here for you!

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How’s everyone doing prepping for the holidays? do we feel good? are we stressed?

As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

Lots of love,

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