Walking' round London-town

Hands down, one of my FAVORITE things to do on tour is walk around a beautiful city by myself. It is such a great way to absorb it; people watching, popping in and out of interesting shops, discovering great restaurants - I love it. My first day off in London, I proudly marched into the Kensington-High street tube station doing my best to hide the city map I'd been given by the concierge. I rode the train to St. Paul's Cathedral (the site of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding), and walked across an extremely shaky (due to strong wind) Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern. I heart Tate Modern. If there was a t-shirt, I'd buy it and rock it proudly. Open now, is a special interactive exhibit by Miroslaw Balka entitled "How It Is." Sitting on the ground floor of the museum is a giant cast iron shipping crate that is probably 25' x 20' x 50', and it is only open on one end. The walls are covered in pitch black fur, so once inside, all light is absorbed and it seems as though you've walked into a black hole. It is meant to conjure feelings associated with the unknown, and allow the experiencer to observe and examine his/her own method of confronting or accepting that. Do you march in confidently? Do you inch forward slowly with your hand on the wall for guidance? I ran straight into the back wall. That's muh shee-it :) It's there until April, I believe so go check it out if you can! Also at the museum all the time is an entire floor devoted to surrealism. Dali, Miro, Masson, Tanguy, Arp, even a few by Picasso.

The following day, Saturday, Kim, Dara (our Def Jam Label rep) and I met up with Damian and Avigail (the stylists) at the huge TOPSHOP at Oxford Circus. --"heaven...I'm in heaven..."-- We pretty much made a killing. Afterwards, I walked over to Portabello Rd and explored the Portabello Market. No Matty, it does not rain Balsamic Vinegar. It does however sport rows upon rows of quirky antiques, wares, clothing, jewelry, fresh fruit, crepes, churros - you name it. I found some amazing jewelry pieces for dirt cheap, and had myself a nice little warm crepe before it started to get dark and rainy. Later on in the evening, Damian, and Avigail took me to one of the swankiest restaurants in London, called the Wolseley. I had eggs benedict just because I felt like it. Everything we had was delicious, and I will definitely go there again.

Which brings me to Sunday.

I fed Swans in Kensington Royal Gardens, and ate the best Lebanese food I've ever had in my life. Also got an amazing pair of denim heels. Peace out London!

Hello again my lovelies, I am writing to you from the Kensington area of London. This is a great part of town to be in - close to Kensington Gardens, which I have found is perfect for a scenic morning run, across the street from a starbucks, and in the midst of many of yours and my favorite shopping outlets. We have already finished our work for the week, which means that I have the three and a half days to just enjoy London! Luckily for me, my favorite modern art museum in the world, Tate Modern, is here. I think after my run tomorrow I will go check out what new things there are to see. There is also an amazing vintage store called "Relic" that I have been dying to visit again, and Portabello market on Saturday. Praying for good weather!

In London and for some events in Europe, the stylists we work with are Damien and Avigail, two of the cutest, and sweetest people I have ever met in my life - who also happen to have the most impeccable taste. One of the off days this week, Kim and I have decided, will be spent tackling TOPSHOP with them...I'm gonna go ahead and say that I'm excited for that. Left extra room in my bag. Holla.

In case you were wondering, we came here to film two TV shows, one evening talk show called "the Alan Carr" show (he is HILARIOUS!!!), and one morning show called "GMTV." Alan Carr has already aired, but I think GMTV will air later on this month.

Well, it is almost 3am here, and after a skype session with friends from home, I'm feeling cozy and just about ready to fall asleep. I shall write again soon...

Mee-ah-mee

Here's what I did in Miami...

Songwriting and other delightful things

Hi. This is the first time I am posting a blog while in LA, and let me just tell you, I like it. Watch out 12 followers, there is more where that came from!

Super bowl weekend was fun, and weird. Fun because the team I was rooting for (the Saints) was the underdog, and if you don't live under a rock, you will know that they won. Everyone loves a winning underdog. Except Colts fans. Weird because I sat on pillows made of mink and chinchilla fur and watched the game at someone's house whom I was not previously acquainted with, in the company of wide array of strange-os. After the game, my friend Kim and I were driven home by two Orange County homicide detectives...which would explain why they were at a Super bowl party in Beverly Hills (way too much time on their hands).

Today was a productive one for me - between a lunch meeting, an after-lunch-music-swap-let's-work-together-powwow, and a writing session, I'm feeling very inspired! I am looking forward to the month ahead, since I will be in Los Angeles working on new projects, and finishing those already begun.

Isn't the creative process incredible? I swear I get high from it. Pulling ideas from the ether and piecing them together in a way that makes audible sense is something I will never tire of. In the way that books are preserved human thought, I think music is preserved human emotion. The fact that you can listen to a song and feel what it's writer was going through when he/she wrote is SO FREAKING COOL. I love that my life has a soundtrack and when I hear certain music I am taken right back to the time in my life when that specific music was always playing around me. What an amazing gift to human kind. Thanks again God, you're brilliant.

love,

Ashleigh

Happy Coincidences

I want to be a person who hungrily consumes life, and I want life to hungrily consume me. I want it to be mutual, intense and emotional.

Ever have those moments when everything just makes sense? An epiphany, a sharp inhale, and then bliss? I usually have those around 10:30am at the top of a hill in Los Angeles, overlooking mansion-dotted hills, congested highways and thousands of buildings shrinking (on a clear day) into the Pacific Ocean. It is a feeling I try to color, number, and file away each time I have it, so that I may remember it physically whenever I need a dose of reassurance.

I am finding that every day, more and more elements of my life are matching up. Furthermore, they are matching up and now I am beginning to see the reasoning behind it, and the path in front of me keeps expanding. Cannes was one of those moments. I stood on my balcony after an awesome meeting with the friend of someone I'd met two days prior to leaving LA, and just marveled at the perfection of this turn of events - so perfect, that I know I most certainly had nothing to do with its inception.

Stop complaining about things please. Look for happy coincidences instead of reasons your life sucks and I guarantee you will find them, because God knows, we all love to be right.

(The picture at the top is one I took of a gorgeous sunrise in Cannes)

Sometimes when I witness something incredible, I try to think of how a poet would describe the situation. For instance - today as we were flying into Oslo, Norway, being high above the clouds was nearly a spiritual experience. I imagined a he would paint the clouds as "a simultaneously wispy-whimsical and ostensibly solid silvery blanket sheltering the earth with quiet majesty - broken only by the occasional Grand Canyon, water-falling perpetually downward toward civilization..." You know, stuff like that. I also (to my chagrin) laugh involuntarily every time I see the trailer for that new Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson film, in which he dresses like a big pink tutu-ed tooth fairy. So much for sophistication.

After a much enjoyed two weeks off in Los Angeles, It is back to work, for a few little things. Kevin, Brian and Nuno went to Chicago to play on the Oprah show today...they didn't use singers! :( Peforming for her show is still on my list, and this being the last season of it, time is getting down to the wire here. Instead, Kim and I traveled to Oslo, and are awaiting everyone else's arrival tomorrow. We are filming a Norwegian TV show, supposedly.

Off to Cannes on Friday! Can't wait. :)

love,

Ashleigh

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

How was your New Year's Eve? We had a blast...