striped dresses

H&M dress; Old Navy dress; Forever 21 necklace

Me wearing a striped dress - real surprising right? Well, there's a funny story to go along with them today: so I was wearing the first one for a few hours this morning, when I went to the dining hall for breakfast and then stayed there through lunch to study. At one point, I got up to go to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and oh god - yes, yes you can see my pink and black polka-dot underwear. I frantically called Nicole and told her to come to Leo's with new underwear and/or another dress, preferably at that exact minute. Then I scurried back to a table to wait for her, getting absolutely no studying done until she came, despite my Russian midterm tomorrow (one of the reasons why this is a short post devoid of actual me-photos). Fun, right? Yet another one of the many, many times that I wonder why I don't have my own TV show.

On that note, I really should do that studying now! Good night all :)

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 :)

stripes... again

I'm sorry if you guys are getting bored of this dress! I feel like every time I wear it, the outfit post is basically the same. But it's so easy! It's the weekend, it's hot outside, I want to look put together - solution? Put on my striped dress. As simple as that.

old navy dress

heritage 1981 belt

forever 21 necklace

minnetonka moccasins

vintage raybans (courtesy of my friend Jen, of The Haute Road, thanks bud)

 These are actually from yesterday as today is Sunday, and I don't do cute on Sundays. As a fashion blogger am I obligated to look cute all days of the week? Probably... I mean, I don't look bad today, just in jean shorts, a loose button down and flip flops, but nothing special. Jen, my friend who gave me these fun sunglasses, is probably not happy to see me wearing this dress - she's waiting for me to decide that it's too short so that I'll give to her. And yes, I know, it's a bit short, but I love it so! The envelope neck, the comfy cotton, the loose fit, even the short hemline - kind of my ideal piece of clothing.

Love this necklace. As you may have noticed, I have a penchant for long pendants (alliteration anyone?) and piles of chains, but don't really do short necklaces, with the exception of the above beauty, and my lovely topshop bauble. The moral derived from the two of these? I will forgo long necklaces only for chunky, oversize short ones. Oh, and sad news - the belt pictured below is falling apart! I mean, not surprising, since it came with a cheap dress from Heritage (an offshoot of Forever 21). But still! I love the weaving of the "leather," and I'm seriously lacking in waist belts.

I feel like I've been rambling on in this post and have said nothing informative or even amusing. Sorry about that. Happens to the best of us. Exciting news though! I've been chosen to be one of the 8 or so Principles of Economics tutors! So basically everyone in my school (the School of Foreign Service), has to take both Principles of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. And everyone dreads them. Basically the horror story of freshman year. So, to help all the poor freshman out, the Economics departments pays older students who did well in those courses to act as tutors! I had my interview last week and found out this weekend that I was chosen. I start Tuesday. Good to know that I succeeded in the basic courses of what will probably be my major, right? And with that fun story, I close this post. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

pretty birds

Forgive me my failure to post these last few days. It's not like I was badly dressed and didn't want you all to see - I looked adorable, if I do say so myself. Problem was, it would get to 10:00 or so at night and I would think to myself "Did you get anyone to take pictures for you today Alison? No? Well..." And then I would attempt to take self-timer photos in the room, proceed to see the horrid fluorescent lighting, and decide that no one in their right mind should see them (though I am tempted to put up an attempt later in the week if I forget to take my daily photos again). But today I remembered! So here you go

forever 21 top

target skirt

born sandals

vintage necklace

 Well to be completely honest this is yesterday's outfit. Today I am in a much more basic tshirt and shorts combo, as is my Sunday (a.k.a. homework day) routine. Also part of my Sunday routine: Starbucks! Random thing to share, I just love it. Every Sunday morning I get up and bring all my books over to the Student Center, where I get some sort of muffin-esque pastry-thing and a coffee and spend a few hours in a comfy chair reading and people-watching. In case you were wondering I know you weren't.

For the first time my pendant is long enough that I can take a picture of it and not be snapping a picture of my chest! Nicole is always laughing about me taking the camera after our photoshoots, turning it around and taking awkward photos just for this purpose - oh all the inappropriate failures... Oh and if you look closely at this necklace you can see it's actually quite a disturbing scene! I think they're breaking someone's neck on the stage, can't really tell. I love when people compliment me on it and I can tell them what it really is. Simple joys in life, right?

I feel like I've already shared enough random stuff about my days, so I'll probably leave it at that! Except here is my activity of Friday night, namely night-monumenting! You can see another one of my outfits, in dark group-picture form:

(I was wearing a J. Crew cardigan, Martin & Osa tank, thrifted belt, Gap shorts, and Toms) Assuming you all have the day off tomorrow like I do, enjoy the long weekend!

summer business casual

So today is my first day home alone, yet again (well, Aunt Lori is still here, but as I said she is out and about a fair amount), so... yay for self-timer photos! I must say, I think I've found a pretty good spot in our back porch, so today (for once) I didn't do too badly! I had training for my other internship (this ones all online, helping to search-engine optimize videos for a non-profit in the Twin Cities) and I wasn't sure how to dress, so I figured a button-down can never hurt!

gap button-down

theory shorts

born sandals

 So both the shorts and the shirt are consignment store finds, and I'm pretty proud of myself for the shorts! They were one of my finds from My Sister's Closet in Minneapolis, and with the 50% sale they were basically $20 - when would you ever find something by Theory for that cheap? Only annoying thing is that I noticed a loose thread on their hem while I was on the phone and absentmindedly pulled it - and managed to pull the hem off the right short, causing it to sometimes flip down. As I normally wear them cuffed, this hasn't posed too much of a problem so far...

Alison, repaint your toenails! This is getting ridiculous, I'm sorry. I paint my toenails in the summer (which takes a lot of coaxing in and of itself - I'm just much too lazy) then basically let them go until the big toe is practically unpainted. As you may have noticed, the big toe is basically the only one painted. Classy, aren't I? I think this shirt is absolutely adorable. The sleeves are perfect for rolling up, the fabric has a nice amount of stretch, and it has this little tie around the neck! I haven't been brave enough yet to see if I could tie it in a little bow (would that even work?) but it is perfect to dress up a basic outfit, I especially like to wear it with skinny jeans and a little pair of ballet flats. Perfect slightly-dressed-up casual dressing :)

So I picked up a dress from the tailors today that I can't wait to wear! I bought it at a vintage store in the Twin Cities a while back and though it was huge, I thought I could just belt it and it wouldn't be a problem. It was. So, probably about a year later, I got it taken in! Although I'd say it's a bit long for this weather (a.k.a. too much fabric for the sauna that is Minnesota) I can stop thinking about how it would be perfect with an oversized, chunky knit and some boots. Regardless of that dream, I should be able to show it off before December I'd think!

In other news, tomorrow Mckenna and I are going to a zumba class! Only problem - I can't really move my hips, and have very little rhythm in general. Should be interesting, no? Pray for me... :) Anyways, have a lovely evening!

ace&jig

Well, as long as we're on the topic of me posting pictures of some of my favorite new brands (as unattainable as they may be on my budget), here is another one I discovered! While reading an article in Elle's July issue on global-conscious, sustainable designers, the name Ace&Jig popped up. This label is designed by Cary Vaughan and Jenna Wilson (a.k.a. the designers behind LaROK), and they produce all their clothing through a textile manufacturer in India that is committed to sustainability and a healthy lifestyle for their workers. After seeing that the picture featured in the magazine was a striped dress (my weakness), I had to look them up. And their spring collection is absolutely adorable! Full of striped tops, skirts and dresses perfect for a breezy summer day.

Adorable, isn't it? If you want to see the whole of their spring/summer 2011 collection, click here.Perfect for a summer picnic, a day at the beach, or a trip up to the cabin... Speaking of the cabin, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I'm having a good time (I'm writing this a few days in advance so fingers crossed) and assuming I don't re-break my foot waterskiing (just kidding. No way am I going waterskiing this year) I will be back and posting this Wednesday or Thursday! Have a lovely Sunday!

super-adequate

This would describe a lot of things today... my outfit (which I would call simple, which is basically just code for "boring" - that's what happens when you're about to get in a car for approximately 5 hours), my friend Elizabeth (her own words, not mine), but most definitely not the weather. It is beyond hot today. Honestly I don't want to leave the house to walk to the car. It's that bad. Ughh

 old navy tshirt

martin&osa shorts

born sandals

So as I said, the weather is pretty horrible today. We spent approximately 2 minutes outside and ran back in. One benefit of the crazy hot weather though is getting to douse my sister with cold water from the hose when she gets back from yoga. Oh so satisfying, especially considering how annoying she was this morning :)

And this is my friend and lovely photographer for the day, Elizabeth. Great photo, right? She let me put it up, don't worry. Normally she makes perfectly normal faces, this was just special for the camera, thanks bud :)

And this is my pretty new purse! Natalie got it for me at an estate sale a while back, and the only problem is that whomever it belonged to before was a smoker, so it smells pretty bad. We've let it sit outside on the porch hoping that the smell would leach out with no luck. So the next step is probably baking soda. Don't want to be carrying around a bag smelling like smoke, people will get the wrong idea...

Ok, so that's about it! Hopefully everyone will get themselves together soon so that we can start driving and avoid the worst of the pre-4th traffic. Fingers crossed, but to be honest I don't have that much faith in Natalie's ability to move quickly... Have a lovely weekend!