Thursday, September 29, 2011

lace

zara tshirt
vintage lace vest
thrifted bracelet
gap jeans
minnetonka moccasins
thrifted coach satchel

I really thought I'd gotten into a thing, doing these every other day posts... apparently not so much. And I looked so cute yesterday! I wore this adorable shirtdress my mom got me from J.Crew and my Frye boots (which would be a much-appreciated change I'm sure, since I believe all you've seen me in lately is moccasins - promise I don't wear them every day)





Found this bejeweled little piece at a thrift store in Fort Collins, Colorado (when I was helping Mckenna move back to school at the end of the summer). I think it may actually be a choker - quite the trendy piece nowadays, not sure if I'll be participating regardless... much prefer it as a wrap bracelet.





 I showed this vest earlier this summer, only as a crop top, a la Natalie - not sure if I could pull of the same look, as I am lacking the rock-hard yoga abs... She actually also wore it for her senior pictures, which I must say are absolutely gorgeous! I might just have to pick my favorites (if that's possible) and put them up in a post so that you can all marvel at them yourselves. Funny anecdote: as we were getting ready for Natalie's senior pictures - a.k.a picking out like 5 outfits from all of our closets, filling up the car with props, driving out to our uncle's horse farm, I remembered my senior pictures. Which were basically "Alison grab a few shirts from your closet, we'll go wander the yard and figure something out" - notice a difference? Oh well, photoshoots are more Natalie's thing. Which is why I'm the one with a blog?

  Can't believe that one week from tomorrow I'll be in NYC and that two weeks from tomorrow my mom will be here in D.C. with me! October is most definitely going to be a good month... Good night all!

P.S. You may notice that this post, unlike my others, is completely devoid of text formatting. Not saying I like it, but I'll try anything once. You're welcome Emily :)

Monday, September 26, 2011

moths

Well, I'm sorry to say that today's photos aren't my best. I know Nicole will take this as a personal offense to her photography, but... Still, I'm quite enjoying my insect- and animal-themed shirts from All Saints. Walked past the store today and a guy who was cleaning the front windows told me he liked my shirt... also, it was really difficult for me not to go in and browse. You're saving your money for NYC Alison, just remember that...

all saints spitalfields shirt
old navy skirt
minnetonka moccasins
coach bookbag
jewelry thrifted, gifted, from various travels (a.k.a I'm no help if you want to know where it's from)

 So besides the whole beginning-of-a-new-week-I'm-so-tired thing that inherently comes with Mondays, today was actually a pretty fun day! On Mondays and Wednesdays I have a break in classes from 12:15 - 6:15, so basically I have the whole afternoon to do whatever! Today I walked to this vintage/consignment store up on Wisconsin Avenue (just 10 minutes or so off campus), where I found some really cool stuff. Didn't buy anything, as I'm not shopping before New York, but if I was that Chloe cardigan would be mine no questions asked. Also probably the adorable quilted Brooks Brothers bag. Just saying.




This shoe picture up above is really awkward! It looks like my skirt doesn't exist on the right side... it does. In case you're wondering. And below, the classic "cover my face so that you can see my rings but not my weird facial expression" photo. Or as Nicole thought it was - the "I'm so distraught you didn't take good photos" photo. I mean really, I'm not that melodramatic yes I am



 
Oh, in addition to checking out vintage clothing today, I got a cupcake! A free cupcake to be exact. A German chocolate fudge free cupcake to be super exact. Yes, be jealous. And on that note, hope you all had a great start to your week :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

out and about


loft button down
vintage necklace
jcrew belt
gap shorts
sperry topsiders
thrifted coach satchel

Sorry for the quick and awkward photos here, but as you will read below we were on a little excursion and I don't like people looking at me while I have photos taken. So we were very sneaky...



I just realized looking back at these photos that my belt is most definitely not in place! Ignore that please, as I hope everyone else who saw me today did.


 
Photos in today's post were taken at the Textile Museum! Nicole, Colleen (my other Colleen, who goes to Georgetown with me) and I went on this trip sponsored by a Georgetown group called "Breaking the Bubble" and got to explore a bit of the city today! A lot of students really never leave our campus and the surrounding M street area (there's shopping, restaurants, cupcakes - what else do you need, really?), in what is colloquially called the "Georgetown Bubble." So this group received a grant from the school to subsidize trips for students to get food, see music, explore galleries all around the District! We went to the farmer's market (so. many. free samples.), ate dozens of empanadas, explored a used book shop, walked up embassy row, and went to the textile museum! It was a fun little trip, and definitely inspired me to get out into the city more often from now on! Oh, and I took a city bus for the first time. Pretty proud.

But now I'm getting some work together and headed to the library for a muffin. And to do work, you ask? I mean yes, I suppose I may do some work at the library. Mostly just there for the pastries. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Friday, September 23, 2011

fall florals

I'm starting to lose faith in the fact that the sun actually exists on the East Coast...but seriously though. It's been raining for like a week straight. The blue sky peeked through for about 5 minutes after dinner today. I almost cried with happiness... It's gone now. In case you're wondering.

vintage necklace and dress
hunter rainboots

 We really need to stop taking photos around the outside of the Jesuit residence... people are starting to give us odd looks. But I hate people seeing me when we're doing photos! So we run around to the back of the building and I can do my awkward photoshoots in peace.



What would I do without my grandmothers' jewelry? They've both sent me so many beautiful pieces, my jewelry collection would seriously be sad without them - I mean look at my bejeweled pringle. Perfection.  




It's Friday! Can we all just take a collective sigh of relief right now? It's been a long week, I must say. But guess what? Two weeks from now,  I will be in NYC! As per our new tradition (yes, you can have a tradition after just one year), I will be going to visit my friend Beth at Fordham in New York every year over Columbus Day - though I may need to make an earlier visit next year for FNO... We'll go shopping, go to a museum, maybe find tickets for a show - and I get to see my lovely friend for a weekend :) Can't wait! Ok, now I'm going to go meet Colleen once she gets off of work in Chinatown for some lovely late-night cupcake bonding and a movie! Have a great weekend all

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

gross weather

I hate attempting to dress in weather like this. Daily temperatures ranging from 60 - 70, humid and muggy, will it rain, will it not? Can I wear my green pants or will they clash with my rain boots? These are the questions I have to ask myself every morning (and in response to the latter yes, yes they will). So here is what I came up with, sorry this shirt doesn't photograph very well, there will be detail shots farther down...
vintage shirt
coach bookbag
 citizens of humanity jeans
minnetonka moccasins

Woah. Can we just take a second to recognize (as I'm sure you'll notice when you look at the detail photo with my shoes), that I'm wearing pants that aren't skinny? I know, when was the last time this happened? I've been thinking about it, and discounting trousers, I probably only one 4 or 5 pairs of non-skinny pants. To be honest I think the largest category of pants in my wardrobe are the "skinny-and-cropped". Not sure what that says about me?



So apparently since the buttons are in the back of this shirt, it looks like I'm wearing it backwards? I was hurrying to class and some friends from my last class were behind me. I heard them say, "should we tell her?" so of course I turn around and ask, and they tell me that they think my shirt is on the wrong way - oh boys. Don't you understand the concept of decorative buttons? Though I did try it on the other way when I got back to the room just for kicks, and with a tank top and the tag cut out, it could be quite cute backwards too.


Super attractive photo right? I had Nicole take a close-up of my shirt detail and, assuming that my head wasn't included in the picture, made a very attractive face. I was going to crop it, then decided why not keep it? Why not give readers a true taste of what I probably look like most of the day? A.k.a. really odd


Sorry that I haven't posted since Sunday! I'm sure you were all so proud, me posting an actual outfit on a Sunday, then I totally go and ruin it by not posting for two days. Typical me. Thing is, I was super busy yesterday! I know. Me, busy? I'm pretty excited about it too. In addition to classes I went to my Econ professor's office hours to ask some questions, checked answers to our problem set with a girl from my class, had my second experience tutoring, and had my first actual-singing-practice with the girls from Harmony (the internationally-themed, all-girls a cappella group I joined!) - needless to say it was pretty crazy. Unlike today where I watched 3 episodes of Gilmore Girls - a.k.a. my life back to normal, you can all breathe a sigh of relief :) Hope your week is going well so far!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

dressed on a sunday

I'm pretty proud of myself right now - I'm doing an outfit post on a Sunday! As you may or may not have read in earlier posts (because you all clearly voraciously read everything I write) I tend not to dress well on Sundays. In fact, as I write this, I've changed out of my skirt and am in plaid pajama pants. But I decided to make an effort earlier this afternoon, and here are the results...

jcrew sweater
target skirt
thrifted coach bag
aldo boots

 I've been itching to wear this skirt for ages! Having been a Catholic schoolgirl for upwards of 6 years, I've worn my fair share of pleated skirts. But I still love them! I considered bringing one of my old uniform skirts with me to school (I would not be the only one from my school to bring my uniform to college with me, trust me) but when I found this adorable gray version from Target, I decided to trade up.




For one, I am in love with this bag. My love for satchels is well-documented, but this one is just particularly good - the size is absolutely perfect, the black leather goes with everything... it's love. Speaking of special things, I love these boots. They were my first pair of boots (well, first pair that wasn't solely for snow-protection purposes) and they have given me a pretty good 5 or so years. Not sure if you can tell in the photo below, but they're kind of falling apart. It will be a sad day when I no longer have my gray flannel boots...



Today was a lovely Sunday! Nicole and I walked down M Street to Lululemon, where we attended the free yoga class they give at noon on Sundays! It was extremely crowded, but a good workout nonetheless. Just what I needed after baking a cake, then eating half of it myself directly out of the pan with a fork. Don't tell my mom but this may not have been the healthiest weekend for me, food-wise...  (oh don't worry, I'm aware of the fact that she will read this and most likely chastise me for it later ^^). Now I'm just trying to get a bit of work done, then going to the common room to watch The Little Mermaid! Gotta love Sundays :)

Friday, September 16, 2011

wait, it's fall now?

So I looked at my phone this morning to check the weather and saw that it would be around 60 degrees. I mean, ok, I can handle that... But then I step outside my dorm. And it's chilly! This was totally unexpected! I mean, I could handle 50s and 60s - in November. This is not what I left the frigid north for...

nordstrom cardigan
costco tank top (yes, they do exist. and are quite comfortable)
j brand cords
teva flip flops

I'm wearing flip flops in an outfit post! This is my first time doing this, not sure how I feel about it. It was just a flip flop day I guess? Oh, and this cardigan? I love how it kind of has a tweedy, Chanel look to it (at least it does in my head), but in reality it can get kind of annoying. You see, it has they hook-and-eyes, and they attach to the sleeves - basically it's slowly pulling itself to pieces. Drives me insane.

 And p.s., my cords are actually a dark shade of green. I'm realizing it doesn't look that way in the photos, just wanted to advertise that I'm wearing one of my much-beloved pairs of green pants :)




Sorry for the limited visibility of my owl, he's hiding. He's a bit shy...



It's Friday! Can't believe I've already had three weeks of school. Sophomore year is so much different than freshman year - and I think I'm enjoying it! I mean, we'll see what I have to say when classes really start to heat up and I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off - except, sadly, it's more likely that I'll get bored than get stressed. I know, I know. Don't hate me. It's just that so far, I haven't really had much to do! And when I have too much free time on my hands, I get stressed. So we shall see. Maybe I'll fill it all up by obsessively blogging and annoying you all with my pointless posting? Always an option... have a lovely weekend all :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

i hate shopping bans

Seriously, what is this "I can't buy any new clothing" thing? What, just because I have a limited income and extremely limited space in my closet doesn't mean that I can't have new things, right? Right? Sigh. I was just browsing around and ended up on yoox.com, a very fun shopping website that I don't look at enough (because clearly I need more temptation), when I found these perfect specimens of the button-down:



These beauties are from French Connection and Adam by Adam Lippes, respectively. I know, all buttoned up like this they look a bit odd. But imagine them with the top button or two undone, with some skinny jeans and flats? And did I mention they were on sale? Yep, to buy them both it would only be $43!? $18 + $25 = $43, yes, I'm an Econ major and can do simple math. Oh, and it's hard to tell in the photo, but the second one is actually a really pale shade of purple - ummm, get in my closet, like now please?

And for those of you that have been noticing and appreciating my use of color lately, I bring you:
This one is by GF Ferre, and $45 (but orginally $170) - so, still pretty awesome. And the best part?


Look. I mean, just appreciate this back detail. It looks like an envelope! This might be the cutest thing I've ever seen...

So what do you guys think? Would these be worthy additions to my closet? Worth breaking the shopping ban? And what are you craving right now?

Oh and p.s., just to make you smile...


Yes, these shoes are actually amazing.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

green

Today was a lovely day, and I felt like wearing something that would sway in the breeze - kind of a weird feeling, but since skirts that can sway in the breeze can get a bit sketchy, I decided to opt for my lovely oversized sea foam-green shirt!

american apparel button down
gap tank
jcrew belt
charlotte russe shorts
born sandals

All my friends are kind of baffled by my wearing of color. I mean, look at this shirt! It's green. Seafoam green. And I wore a purple dress a few days ago? It's a revolution in my wardrobe! Except not really. When fall returns I will be back to my neutrals, don't even worry about it.





And this is the awkward "Alison's shirt is longer than her shorts in the back." Almost long enough to be a dress - I mean, it's me, so if it wasn't so sheer I would probably wear it as a dress.


Had my first tutoring session earlier tonight! Got to be honest, it was kind of stressful. First of all, I got there a bit early and started answering someone's question but was having some issues, so the first thing my co-tutor had to do when he got there was to correct me and fix all the confusion I had just created - great first impression for him to have, right? Totally going to trust me as a co-tutor now... And secondly, they told us that it probably wouldn't be busy, so we should just bring extra work along. So I bring all these books, expecting to work most all of the two hours. And how much time to I get to read? 15 minutes. At the very end. I mean, I can't blame them for having problems already, it is after all microeconomics. I will just have to know from now on that I will not get much work done in those two hours. Which is probably good, as that's not what I'm getting paid for? Anyways, Nicole and I have to watch "The Lying Game" now, have a good night :)