stripes and spots

Sorry for not posting for the last few days, but I just look so adorable today! My friends are making fun of me for saying that, but you know, there are just some days that you're really, super excited about what you're wearing. And when I put on this leopard coat, that's just how I felt.

Christmas present headband

Vintage coat and necklace

J. Crew dress

Michael Kors Watch

Aldo boots

I don't know, I think it's just the combination of leopard spots in the coat and all the navy and stripes from my dress... this coat is one of my mom's, and if I ever thought I'd wear it out in every day life, I would steal it in a second.

One of my lovely new Christmas presents (in addition to the dress). Ever since Jenny got her rose gold watch from Michael Kors this summer, I've been lusting after one of his tortoiseshell ones. And now I have one! I braved the mall again today (Mall of America right after Christmas? Don't know if you all have heard about the crazy fights, but that definitely happened...) and got a few links removed, and now it's perfect! Also loving the necklace from my Grandma. It wasn't as much a Christmas present as much of a "it's Christmas, you're at my house, you should go through my old costume jewelry" - you know what Grandma? I think I can handle that. 

Went out for dinner tonight with a few of my lovely friends in downtown Minneapolis, trying to see everyone before I head off to Canada for New Year's to ski with the family, only to come back and get my wisdom teeth removed. Awesome, right?

Have a great evening everyone :)

new (old) skirt

So, here's one of my cute vintage purchases from the other day! I would show you the cardigan, but my mom just pointed out that the shiny gold buttons look kind of cheap and that I should replace them, perhaps with some cute tortoiseshell ones. So when I put it on all I could see were the buttons and now that I've noticed them I don't think I can wear the cardigan until they're gone. Thanks mom.

J. Crew sweater

Banana Republic tank top

Pendant from a street fair

Vintage skirt

Aldo boots

You guys remember my crazy, tribal-esque blazer? I'm thinking it will look great with this skirt. I'll wear them together, then pick up the small dog in a Navajo blanket I saw walking down the street the other day, and I will be perfect. Hope you guys were all as scared as my family was when you heard that idea.

I don't even know why I put close-ups of this necklace anymore, anyone who has read my blog more than once please tell me that some of you have has already seen it way too much. Well, at least you can see the skirt pattern up close and observe that it does, in fact, practically perfectly match my blazer. Get excited. (Would it be too ridiculous if I did a joke post of the aforementioned skirt and blazer look? No? Good.)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I don't know about you, but today has been all about last-minute present shopping (which I will never do again, by the way, it's much too stressful) and watching my mom and Natalie bake Christmas cookies. Not helping, just observing and eating - compared to the two of them, I really shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. It's the sad truth. But now I have lots of cookies to eat! Eating, that's really my job in this household...

I'm quite a fan of large sweaters

If you haven't noticed, I do seem to have a thing for oversized tops, especially if they used to belong to my dad and are cashmere... Yesterday he saw me in this one and asked if I'd stolen it, apparently he kind of likes it - oops? Promise I didn't steal it! Or if I did, I wouldn't be stupid enough to wear it at home...

vintage necklace

Dad's old sweater

target dress

aldo boots

 The sweater just goes with everything though! And coziness is always appreciated when you live in Minnesota, even if there's apparently no snow for Christmas... First time showing off my Target zipper dress in an outfit post though! Still sad I didn't show you the last time I wore it, it was really outfit perfection.

Isn't he cute? Mom got him awhile ago on Goodwill.com I think but then figured he would be too crazy for me to wear - because I never wear anything crazy? (see tribal-print blazer...) I mean he's huge, way too fun to play with and fiddle with, and has crystal eyes. I mean he takes a certain outfit to work with, but clearly I'm in love. 

Just noticed Tilly's tail in the bottom of this last photo - she just loves our photo shoots! Still trying to find a good place in this house for photos, the whole house is just filled with little corners that you think would be cute for photos but are actually just awkward with bad lighting. Oh, for the days when I could go out on the back porch and take self-timer photos for myself.

It's almost Christmas, get excited everyone! And have a lovely day :)

home for christmas

Wow. Just wow. This may actually be the worst I've ever done at blogging - barring the whole broken foot fiasco last semester that is (fiasco is a nice word for it, doesn't even begin to cover all the issues...). Point is, it's been over a week since I last posted, and I looked so cute this past week! I mean, it was finals week, but I was a very well-dressed college student in finals, if I do say so myself. These are pictures from yesterday, my first full day back at home! 

topshop necklace

Dad's old sweater

gap jeans

minnetonka moccasins

 Another sweater stolen from dad! Well, this one was already stolen by mom, who gave it to me when I was rummaging around in her closet for a cardigan (its' cotton, so she knew it would be perfect). And surprisingly, it's really not too light for the weather we've been having lately - as in, there's no snow. As in, no white Christmas for Alison? I'm kind of in shock. Why else do I live in Minnesota?

The puppies wanted to join in the photo shoot - we have Tilly, our old labradoodle to the left, and Sophie, my aunt's little dog (can't remember what she is again?) on the right.  Look how fluffy she is! Basically her winter coat makes her look ridiculously chubby, and I love it.

Now that I'm home from finals, it finally seems like the Christmas season! As evidenced by the little gingerbread man I've so awkwardly posed with? It's been really lovely to be home. Yesterday, Natalie and Mckenna and I went out and about for a little vintage shopping, and I found some adorable new pieces! Will probably make an entire outfit around them for tomorrow, so clearly I can't wait to show them off... Now I need to go make myself some breakfast before yoga, hope you are all having a lovely week!

 

odds and ends

Why is everyone leaving/studying for finals/taking finals and not here to take my pictures?! Leave me alone and this is what you end up with...

 My lovely new Minnetonka Moccasin boots - if I wear them with a dress they don't make my legs look as stubby! Quite the ringing endorsement, right?

My pendant and close-up of the pattern of my vintage dress. And yes, below is a camera-in-front-of-the-mirror photo. Yes, I did just die a little inside. But I'm dressed so nicely for finals and wanted everyone to see! Actually I'm not really dressed for finals, since today I did no studying whatsoever. Turned in my papers and now I have a break until Saturday! Which would be exciting if, I don't know, I could spend that break at home? But no, no going there until Tuesday...

One more random thing, don't think I've shown you this -  it's actually another one of my purchases from my Columbus Day weekend in New York? Yes I know I'm behind. It's actually pretty light, perfect for the 50's and 40's we're having right now (I know. Not real December) if I want to be a little nicer than my Northface.

Less than two weeks until Christmas! Can you believe how quickly this year went by? I'm slowly starting to realize that I'm halfway done with my second year of college, and kind of starting to freak out... Regardless, have a lovely evening everyone!

handbag perfection

 

 Ok, that's a bit of an overstatement. I'd really like happiness, world peace, an end to world hunger... But this is what Christmas would look like if I won the lottery tomorrow (a.k.a the $8,473 that these four lovelies total up to be). When I think of my four dream bags, these are always the ones I come back to - I mean, the Chanel quilted bag I've wanted my entire life, and may have seriously considered emptying my savings account in order to buy it multiple times... The PS1 and Alexa were added at later dates, most recently joined by Reed Krakoff's Boxer bag - isn't it the prettiest thing you've ever seen? The mixing of neutrals, the clean and classic shape, the belt detail... pretty much everything you could want in a handbag

Why am I telling you this now? Well, I just wanted to say hi, check in and say that yes, I am still a fashion blogger, albeit one currently in finals. And while I am a horrible student and don't study as much as I should, finals still means days where the only activity is going to the library - and it's really hard to dress up knowing that! (Also, everyone else actually has work - weird, right? - and are therefore harder to pin down for forced picture-taking) But good news, a week from Tuesday I'll be headed home for an entire three weeks! I'm dying inside a bit each day seeing all the statuses of friends already on their way home, and soon my own friends from school, who have less obnoxious finals schedules, will be doing the same... But it's only 9 more days, and I have faith in myself that I can do it!

...Sorry, apparently I complain a lot. That's all. Have a lovely week! 

finals have begun

Less than two weeks until I go home! Last day of classes was Wednesday, and now the studying begins (or, at least, I'm trying really hard to make it begin). My first test is Russian on Tuesday, then a couple of papers due Wednesday - so I'm trying really hard to get the papers done by the end of this weekend. And with the help of some muffins and copious lattes, I may succeed! This morning Jess and I went to a free yoga class and I think sweat half my body weight off... so needless to say I'm not really put together yet for today! But here are pictures of yesterday's outfit, I think I looked pretty cute for a day at the library

rachel rachel roy dress

vintage necklace

gap sweater

hue (maybe?) socks

target boots

 First time out in my other Black Friday purchase! My thought process pretty much went as follows when picking this outfit out: It's not raining anymore. Therefore I'm not going to wear tights. Or a jacket. Yes. Logical, right? I honestly still don't understand how this is considered December weather right now. I mean, I just wore flip flops to yoga. Let me repeat that: I wore flip flops. In December. This is so wrong.

Work just really doesn't sound like much fun right now. Thankfully, me and the other girls of Harmony are going to sing at the Study Abroad Christmas party in a bit, so I can I avoid it for a bit longer. But considering that I got up, dressed and got ready just in time for noon yoga, there should probably be some work getting done some time soon. Oh well, tonight I will just hole up in my room and research International Relations until I cry. Or just watch a movie. Maybe both? Who knows... Have a lovely Friday afternoon all!

zipper dress

I've decided that zipper dresses are my friends - first, I had the most adorable outfit last Friday showcasing my new zipper dress from Target (scroll down to two posts to see it on a hanger - I'm such a failure for not showing it to you in all its glory from Friday) and today is my other, a purchase from last year's New York trip!

cotton candy dress

h&m cardigan

vintage necklace

hunter boots

 So I should have listed another item of clothing in this outfit - my soffe shorts. Because honestly, this dress is too short. And for me, that's saying something (you may or may not have noticed, but short things don't really faze me). But it's so cute! I really don't know, I'll probably keep it and just make myself get over it, like I do with all my other inordinately short garments.

It's not really December. Or at least, the weather doesn't seem to think so - I didn't even wear a jacket today! How is that possible? I mean, the rain made it a bit chilly, but growing up in Minnesota has trained me to believe that come oh, October? You wear a jacket, no questions asked. But for some reason, Washington doesn't even come close to that standard. Which I guess I don't mind? It's just odd. 

Guess what? Tomorrow is my last day of classes! Beyond excited right now. So good luck to all of you still in classes or, as some of my lucky friends are, to those of you almost done with finals. And have a good night!

serendipity

So normally I don't do life-related posts (I generally just keep it to clothing) but since I failed at taking photos of my outfit for dinner last night, and it was a good outfit, you get to see it via random photos of me and all of my friends! We went to Serendipity as a late celebration of my roommate Nicole's birthday - so here you go!

loft button down

forever21 skirt

street market pendant

target boots

So when our friend Jess made the reservations, we were told that we had to wear pink, to fit in with the decor of the restaurant (which was absolutely adorable by the way - besides the dessert, it was the only thing I really liked about that restaurant, unfortunately). But then when we all met up, Nicole and I were the only ones in pink! And do you know how difficult it was for me to find a pink outfit? You are actually looking at just about everything pink I own.  Though I must say I like the juxtaposition of the red skirt and the pale pink blouse.

And here's an adorable group shot of (almost) everyone in front of the John Carroll statue at Georgetown - just ignore the giant dog stuffed animal.

 thegeorgetowndish.com

 And since I failed at taking photos of the interior myself, here is a picture of one of the rooms inside the restaurant - don't you love all the pretty lamps? The room we were in also had a chair hanging from the ceiling, and all of these pretty gilt  mirrors.

I have to say, the food wasn't my favorite, and they lost our reservation (and were completely unapologetic about it). But its an adorable place, the desserts are fantastic, and it was so lovely to be out with all of my friends - we rarely get all together like this, it's so hard to schedule time when everyone is free. As in, we literally made a doodle poll to see when this would work. So it's been a great weekend so far, hope you all agree!

happy december to all

.... And to all a good night. I really wish I could go to bed right now. Honestly, I've been so tired lately! On Tuesday, I took two naps. Worrisome, right? I have a capella in 30 minutes or so though, so no bed for Alison quite yet.

aran island sweater

street market pendant

gap jeans

minnetonka moccasins

 So, here is the only usable - a slightly relative term, looking at it now - one of the photos Nicole and I just took outside before my camera died and she had to run to play intramural basketball (if you knew her, you would find that just as funny as I do). Regardless, I love my sweater - we got it on our family trip to Ireland about 4 years ago, and its the only piece of wool clothing I can wear. I'm sure you all remember my rants on my wool, but for some reason this sweater doesn't bother me! Maybe if I wear it every day for a month or so, I'll be able to handle other wool, and a whole new world of fall/winter clothing will open for me!

And here are the lovely two dresses I picked up while Black Friday shopping! The top one is Rachel Rachel Roy from Macys, and though it came with a belt, I chose not to include it - it actually didn't have a belt when I found it, and when I asked where its belt was they pulled out some long piece of brown leather and said that's what it was! Brown leather with black zippers? I tried it on and felt like Robbin Hood. In fact, I may be Robbin Hood for Halloween next year now. The one below was cheapie from Target, and I'll probably wear it tomorrow, if I can find some combination of layering pieces that makes it possible to wear in this horrible weather...

So that's it for this random amalgam of a post. Tomorrow Harmony (my a capella group) is singing at the Christmas Tree Lighting and I can't wait! Christmas music is seriously the best thing ever. Sometimes I miss the days of high school choir, when I would lose my voice I sang so many concerts in the month of December... and for some of them, we were paid in food, it was lovely. But speaking of music, I'm off to practice, hope you have all had a great week so far!

all that glitters

I am literally so tired right now, I am incapable of doing anything. Anything. First of all, Natalie took me to yoga sculpt with her last night and I worked my butt off - when I woke up this morning at 5:30 am (the "second of all" of why I'm tired) I wasn't sore and foolishly thought I was fine! By midafternoon my abs hurt so much that I didn't want to hold myself upright anymore. Never. Again.

In the meantime, I didn't have time to take outfit photos but wanted to show you some of the pretty, glittery things in my life! Because really, who doesn't love shiny things?

New phone case for my new phone - it sheds glitter everywhere (which I'm hoping will stop soon?) but it's worth it, it's just so shiny.

My necklace for today! Just an old string of (I'm assuming fake) pearls, to which I added this Target ring I've had for a year or so - the elastic band makes it quite uncomfortable as a ring but, once again, it's oh-so-shiny. 

Do I sound like an obsessed child/weird bird-like thing yet? Mission accomplished. Now I can go to bed and make up for all the lost sleep (being home is quite fun but should really be more restful...). Have a lovely night!

last night home...

Sooo these photos for some reason managed to be both seriously unattractive and quite blurry, making it pretty much impossible for me to put together a good post (not to fault my mother's photo-taking skills) - so I apologize in advance for what is coming. However, I think my outfit is quite adorable, if I do say so myself (from what you can see of it that is)

vintage blouse

street fair pendant

gap jeans

nordstrom boots

I still have yet to find what's wrong with this blouse! Every time I put it on I remember the "$8, as is" tag, but it seems just perfect to me - if it means I get it for cheaper, I'll take it

And here is a lovely picture of me in my grandmother's old hat - it was just lying around in the kitchen so I put it on for some carol-singing :) Don't I just look adorable? (And sidenote: notice that gorgeous tree in the background? Picked out by yours truly, thank you very much)

And last but not least, what you always what for in my posts - amusing life anecodote! Just pretend you care please? My family did the Advent candle lighting this morning at church, and after the service this lady that none of us had ever met before came up and asked if we wanted a picture together - apparently we all looked so perfect, she wanted to know if we coordinated outfits! It was very sweet and made me happy, funny though that anyone thought our family was organized to plan outfits, let alone get out the door on time... (Oh and as another sidenote,  Nicole has been expressing her discontent over the lack of funny anecdotes containing her in my posts - does this count as an anecdote? I think so. You're welcome roomie)

And now I have to go pack, as I'm leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow! 5:45am, can anyone say coffee? I'm hoping if I really concentrate I can actually get on my flight this time. Have a good night, hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving break!