FamousAshleyGrant

bd’s Mongolian Grill, the popular create-your-own stir-fry restaurant, has returned to Lakeland under corporate ownership as of Monday, June 6, 2016.  The restaurant is located at 1474 Town Center Drive, in the Lakeside Village shopping mall.

To celebrate, the restaurant has sent me a $25 gift card to giveaway to one of my lucky readers! You can register to win below beginning at 12:00 EST 6/8/16.

Enter to win by 6/11/16 at 11:59 p.m. EST. A winner will be chosen on Sunday 6/12/16 and announced Monday 6/13/16! Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor 🙂
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So, I’m doing the Live More Weigh Less Challenge with Sarah Jenks, and this time I’m trying to actually follow through on the entire 21 days.  I’ve been working on self-care a lot more these days since a health scare in March that made me decide to overhaul my entire life. I’ve been moving my body more, trying to eat healthier foods, up my water intake, see people more regularly and take better care of my mind and body. Today’s Live More Weigh Less challenge was to watch her free video and then write a comment answering the questions she asked in the video. She asked what we would do for fun today? What is our current relationship with our bodies? And, what has our journey been until now. Below is the answer I felt moved to write:

My current relationship with my body is work in progress. I’ve had the yo-yo diets and been up and down with my weight. My lowest weight was in high school and that’s the last time I was genuinely healthy. I ate better and moved more. Then, I got to college and stopped moving, and started eating crap foods. Unsurprisingly, the weight came on quickly and then was a bitch to get off. A few years ago I got fed up and tried a medical weight loss program and was thrilled to get just 10 lbs shy of my “goal weight” only to run out of money for the program and gain all the weight plus 20 lbs back.

Fast forward to today and over the past 6 months I’ve been trying to eat healthier and move my body more. I’m doing it for healthy rather than vanity now and things have improved a lot more. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m a hell of a lot closer than I was when I was yo-yo dieting, not moving my body and giving up.

For fun today I’m going to hang out with some fellow bloggers and jam on food and the joys of summer. I’m also going to have to try the eating without distractions thing and then I’ll check back in with how that goes. Very anxious to see what it will be like. I’ve heard you talk about it before, but I’ve never honestly given it the chance to work because I’ve always been convinced I need to multitask more (yet another thing I’m working on LOL).

Looking forward to actually following through with this 21 day challenge and I’m more excited about living more than I have been in a long ASH time! 😀

Fair warning, this grievance post is all about wanting what I want and if you are a Debbie Downer that leaves a comment telling me I’m wrong about how I’m feeling, I’m going to just delete it. The idea of this post is to explain what I want, and if you can’t give me an encouraging thought, then I don’t want your opinion. You’re entitled to your opinion of course, but it doesn’t mean I have to listen to it. Not anymore 🙂

Last year I was posting a LOT on Facebook about a travel goal of mine to hit the road in an RV and see the United States. I was also posting a lot about wanting to go on a cruise and wanting to see Europe, more of Asia and Australia. Then, one day I posted about how badly I wanted a house. Suddenly, one of my Facebook friends commented on the post “You can’t have both. You have been posting about travel so much Ashley, and you just can’t have both.”

Defeated was the best way to describe how I felt, and it made me so mad I deleted the house post completely and pouted. Yes, I still pout. It’s my process, leave me alone! LOL!

Since that day I’ve been thinking a lot about what that woman commented. I began seriously considering letting go of one goal in favor of the other, but couldn’t figure out which one I wanted most. It became a crazy internal debate that plagued my brain a lot. After arguing with myself for months trying to figure out which one I wanted more, I still couldn’t decide which life to go after. I was desperate for a house, but I was also desperate to sail around Europe on a cruise. I couldn’t choose between them. I couldn’t let go of the thought in the back of my mind which kept whispering “Why can’t I have both?”

Then, it hit me- I CAN HAVE BOTH! There is nothing wrong with that. It’s okay for me to want a life of travel AND a home base. Why was I letting someone tell me what I could and could not have? More importantly, why was I letting someone tell me what I should and should not want?

Will it be harder to achieve this? No, not necessarily. Will it cost more money? Sure, but if I want it bad enough isn’t that my problem to worry about? After contemplating this for a few months I’ve realized just how many times in my life I’ve allowed what other people think to influence my decisions, my thoughts, and my wants. NO MORE!

I’m done letting others dictate to me what I can and can not have. I’m done allowing others to influence my wants. I can have whatever I want and can go after my desires regardless of what others think. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting travel AND a house. So, I’m going full force after that dream because it’s mine and I want it. I have started to look at cruise deals southampton so that I can fulfil my dream of going on a cruise and seeing Europe. I have also started pricing up a trip to Australia. I won’t let anything hold me back from what I want to achieve and do now.

With that said, I’m putting my actual desire out into the Universe, regardless of what haters and naysayers may think! I want an adorable, organized home that is set up perfectly for me and I want to be able to travel the world three to six months (maybe more) every single year.

Ask and it shall be given to you. Inspired action is the secret ingredient to the Law of Attraction, and I choose to be inspired and act on my desires from here on out 😀

For the first time this fall, I’ll be an author in a book fair. Most people don’t know this, but I’ve now written three books under my own name. Slowly, but surely my plan is to start promoting these books and future books that I plan to write. Anywho, the book fair I’m participating in is the On Point Executive Center Book Fair, and this year’s exciting event will be held at none other than Westshore Plaza in Tampa!  It’s going down on Saturday, September, 17, 2016! Want to join me as a featured author? Read more about this literary event and sign up HERE!

Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to announce that I’m a blog ambassador for the Florida Festival of Flavor & Fire being held Jun 11, 2016 – Jun 12, 2016 in Lakeland, Florida!

***Update!*** The winners have been chosen. Two tickets have been given to Lisa E. and two to Tabitha W.!!!I’m so excited and can’t wait to see everyone there this weekend!!!

Because of this I’ve been given some tickets for myself, but I’ve also been given a few to give away! With that said, you can enter to win simply by doing one of three things.

Option A – Leave a comment below telling me your favorite recipe that calls for hot sauce

Option B – Tweet this “I like it hot and I want @AshleyisFamous to give me a ticket to the Florida Festival of Flavor & Fire! June 11-12 in Lakeland”

Option C -Tag Famous Ashley Grant on Facebook with a post about why you want to attend the Florida Festival of Flavor & Fire.

Want three entries? Do all of the above!

I have FOUR tickets to give away and you could win one of them! Enter between now and June 8 at noon, EST. Winners will be announced that evening on my Facebook page, on twitter and HERE on this post!

Want to know more about the festival? Read on to learn what to expect:

The Florida Festival of Flavor and Fire is billed as “A Gourmet Food and Craft Event” and will feature hundreds of artisanal producers of hot sauce, salsa, marinades, rubs, dips and other flavorful sauces.

Festival Hours

June 11 – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
June 12 – 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Attendees will be able to not only sample, but also purchase, a wide variety of award-winning sauces, salsas, barbecue rubs, cheese snacks, pickles, olives, jams and jellies while at the festival. The event will also provide the opportunity to speak directly to the producers of each product, pick up recipes and cooking tips, and learn more about how the sauces are made.

Vendors at Florida Festival of Flavor & Fire are expected to come from across the United States and will showcase their products that will range from spicy sweet to XXX hot.

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Buckle up folks, because this might just be the longest post I’ve ever written on my personal blog, like EVER! LOL! But, it’s not my fault, that’s just how much was packed into my one weekend at the Food Wine Conference. Enjoy the read…

Although the ambassadorship did score me the awesome deal of a discounted ticket, this did not affect this recap of the conference. All opinions below are my own!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 Food Wine Conference put on by Sunday Supper Movement hosted by the fearless leader known as Family Foodie aka Isabel Laessig. Not only did I simply attend, I got to attend as a brand ambassador for FeedBlitz which is a kick ASH ad-free email service perfect for Bloggers looking to grow their brand.

 

The weekend began innocently enough with my arrival at the stunning Rosen Shingle Creek hotel. If you have never stayed there, I highly recommend it for Disney and Universal Studio visits. It’s gorgeous. Ya know, if you can afford it! Luckily, we had a group rate 🙂

After checking in, my roommate and I quickly set up shop. We created an instacooler in one of our sinks and I had brought along a minibar in a bag filled with snacks to avoid any ill-advised overpriced purchases. Here’s the cooler and below is what was in my minibar bag:

Once our room was all set up, it was conference time! First up, registration and mingling with CK Mondavi wines. Here’s me with the biggest wine glass I’ve ever seen in my life:

Once we’d wined a little it was off to the Florida Milk Spa! I rather enjoyed this! They allowed us to make Greek Yogurt masks, gave us a bottle of lavender scented milk bath and there was even a milk bar. I didn’t drink the milk, but everyone said it was really yummy!

At the conclusion of the spa time, I headed back to my room to drop of my swag bag. Although I had it in a cart instead of carrying it on my shoulder this year, my roommate wanted to drop them at the room before heading out to other festivities, so I complied. We hurried to the room and then hurried back to the end of the Strawberry Reception hosted by Florida Strawberry Grower’s Association. Luckily, even though the reception was all but over, they still had some of those delicious milkshakes which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Once I sucked it down, it was off to the Taste of Rosen Shingle Creek to try some miscellaneous food items. As a blogger I’m embarrassed to report I didn’t get any decent images at this event. For my next conference I’m bringing a better camera and/or an external flash! This was the end of “day 1”, but there was still much fun to be had!

Onto day two…

Day two was filled with classes and information. I did get a cool pic with Food Network Star Donatella Arpai

Why yes, this is me with #foodnetworkstar Donatella Arpaia at @foodwinecon! I’m #internetfamous #bloggerlife #bloggingconference #FWCon

A photo posted by Ashley Grant (@famousashleygrant) on May 14, 2016 at 8:16am PDT

and I met some awesome people! I even got a yummy “around the world” lunch by the folks at Idaho Potatoes complete with my own personal Spuddy Buddy, but, the highlight of my day was….

Mac and cheese bar with @cabotcheese at @foodwinecon!!!! #thisisiwhyiblog #baconbliss #bloggerlife #FWCon

A photo posted by Ashley Grant (@famousashleygrant) on May 14, 2016 at 12:32pm PDT

Oh my goodness! A mac and cheese bar. Why was THIS my highlight of the day? Because mac and cheese PLUS bacon equals heaven. If you can’t understand that, you can’t sit with us! (us being me and my many personalities! hahaha)

Moving on…the end of the day brought the wine to the food wine conference and CK Mondavi did not disappoint! Overall the dinner was a fabulously fun experience and I loved the folks I got to sit with.

The after party was a VIP experience poolside, but I confess I didn’t partake in it very much. So, I’ll wrap with day two by saying this – It was a day of fun, food, wine and truths, and I am grateful for the experiences I had and the lessons that came from them!

Day 3, The Final Day

Day 3 was spent mostly at the Rosen  College of Hospitality. There was a fun brunch by the golf course prior to that, but it was a little too sunny for my taste. I was melting! The bacon and waffles were delicious though!

Onto the College of Hospitality – The morning started with a cheese lesson from Cabot cheese. Man oh man! The pairings they created with the cheeses were out of this world! I was so amazed by all the things I never thought to do with cheese, and can’t wait to play with my food now that they have schooled me. They even gave us a copy of their cookbook and I’m looking forward to exploring it.

Anywho- during the tasting my bloggy friend Tracy and I had a crazy urge for a soda take over so we slipped out to the vending machines. Both her and I won steaks during our expedition! Yep, the awesome people from Certified Angus Beef had been hiding these little cows all throughout the conference and if you found one that said “you win steaks” you won! I found a cow, and then Tracy found a cow in one innocent trip to get our carbonation fix! Amazing! Oh, and I scored an extra soda when two popped out of the machine instead of one. I was on a roll!!!

After the cheese it was time to go to class. I enjoyed the Podcast class with Carole Sanek and Josh Elledge, but felt the class was too short. Can’t wait to learn more from them now that the conference is over.  Once class was over, this happened:

Before the craziness ensued! #teamcakeordie #FWCon #hashed #gonnawin @wishfarms

A photo posted by Ashley Grant (@famousashleygrant) on May 15, 2016 at 9:49am PDT

I have never pretended to be a chef or even a decent cook, but when you’re asked to be in a #hashed competition not once, but twice, you accept! My team was called Cake or Die and although we didn’t win, it was the most intense competition I think I’ve EVER been in! It was nuts, it was crazy, but above all – IT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!!!

The competition was perhaps the most fun I had all weekend and I sincerely hope that Isabel and the team behind the conference make the #hashed competition a staple of every conference going forward.

The rest of the day consisted of another class, lunch and then an amazing presentation by Denise Vivaldo and Kita Roberts on food styling and photography. Finally, the weekend was over and it was time to go home. I argued with myself all weekend as to whether I not I would attend in 2017, but after digesting everything that happened this year, I sincerely hope that I will be a part of next year’s Food Wine Conference event in some way! I have even inquired about potentially being on the planning committee, so we’ll see what happens next.

All in all, the conference was a rewarding experience. Although there are some things I would have done differently, I’m exceptionally grateful for the lessons I learned and the relationships I made and/or renewed. I’ll post some additional things on the conference later, but for now, I think that wraps up my wild and eventful weekend at the 2016 Food Wine Conference!

Now, I want to hear from you. Did you go to Food Wine Con? If so, leave me a comment with your favorite part of the conference! And, if you were there, follow me on my social channels of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn, and I PROMISE to follow you back 🙂

I am crazy excited to report that my blog Tampa Bay Freebies is almost back up and running. My team and I have been working on the page and getting it ready to re-launch and are slowly, but surely getting it back online. I’m so happy to be reporting this because the page was nearly dormant for almost two years. After a depressing hack that lead to me losing the site for a while I was just too upset to rebuild it. However, something about 2016 lit a fire under my ASH and made me want it back and to make it better than ever. I’ve hired a couple of people to help me with it and will be posting more news about it soon. Bottom line- Tampa Bay Freebies will be back and this time I’ll make damn certain it is here to stay!