mani monday!

I know, I know. I'm already TERRIBLE at keeping my resolution  to blog more. But, I've managed to keep my resolution to eat better and exercise more! I did 2 miles i n 30 minutes  on Saturday morning, walking, and I'm really proud of myself for that. Plus, I started being a do-gooder this weekend too. I had my first volunteer session with our local SPCA. I work at the cat center, cuddling lots of furry friends :3

I'm trying to blog more, guys, I really am. I don't know when I became this busy person, always going, going, going. I suppose all the Bones I've been watching is not helping either. I've flown through the 2nd and 3rd  seasons on Netflix in no time and loving every minute of it.

On to the nails!!

This weeks manicure is brought to you by Target's awesome sale endcaps. I picked up an e.l.f. 5 polish set on clearance. It came with a gold glitter topcoat, a shimmery red, rose, shimmery purple, and a holographic glitter graphite. Of course, the gold glitter bottle broke when I tried to open it. I guess I just don't know my own strength.

Right now, I'm rocking the shimmery purple, known by its official name of "Royal Purple." It's a shimmery red-toned violet color. It went on fairly smooth and I didn't have any problems with bald patches or it being too goopy. It's a great set of 5 nail polishes for (when I bought it) $4.25. I definitely suggest you pick up a set if you can.

Hopefully, my first Birchbox will be arriving shortly and I can share it with you guys. I'm expecting my two free Zoya polishes to be coming any day now as well, so be expecting  post about that.

See y'all tomorrow!!

xo, ali

I don't wanna lose your love toniiiiiight

Do you ever just have a dream that sticks with you all day? That you can remember, scene for scene? I had one of those last night. With everything that's been going on lately, you'd think I'd be having nightmares, but this dream was pretty good.

I should start by saying how much I love Gabe Saporta (follow him on twitter here) from Cobra Starship/Midtown. He's so fly, so handsome, so talented.

I actually had kind of a run-in with him one night while out with friends. We were in the "hipster" district of Buffalo called Allentown and all of a sudden, he was coming out of a local sub shop/chain. I rolled down my window and just shouted, "Gabe!! I love you!!" Not the most original, I know, but it's all my teenage heart could muster at that moment. He said he loved me back, anyways :)

Why am I telling you all about my love affair with this electro-hipster? Because he was the star of my dream last night. Most that I can remember is him. Cobra Starship was playing at a school auditorium and when I happened upon the very sparse audience, they were performing a Midtown favorite of mine--a cover of The Outfield's "Your Love." I figured that with the few people that were in the audience, this was now my chance to impress Gabe and maybe even have a shot with him. This is why it was a dream. Never in a million years would this be happening. I remember finally getting to see him and hug him and get my picture with him. When I hugged him, he was SO SKINNY!! Skinny is not my type at all. Neither is overly muscular. I just like a guy somewhere in between ;)

And that was my dream. It may have happened because I fell asleep with the song in my head and also had some very chocolatey milk before bed.

What's been  your favorite dream that you can remember lately?

Happy New Year!! and Wear-It Wednesday

Hello lovelies!! So sorry I've been absent. The holidays were great and I hope yours were too. My sisters came to visit--Ashley from Erie and Aimee from Charlotte. Ashley could only stay for the long weekend, but Aimee was here for a week. We all spent Christmas together and went to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I received so many great gifts including a nail dryer for my Sunday night manicure. :)

That brings me to my next topic! I have some exciting things planned for my blog--a couple theme days to start. Mondays will be Manicure Monday (which is pretty self-explanatory) and something I'll be highlighting today--Wear-It Wednesday where I'll share my favorite runway looks and trends. That will come a little later in the post.

I also wanted to talk about resolutions. They are so hard to keep. Why is that? And why do we insist on making the same ones if we knew they didn't work last year? I guess all we can do is try to do and be better. Which is where some of my resolutions come from. Over the past year, I actually changed my eating habits and started walking almost everyday and I lost 30 pounds. One of my resolutions is to keep that going and drop more weight. I don't set a goal so I am not disappointed when I don't reach it, but am happy when I see the scale go down. It helps that I got new walking sneakers for Christmas and picked up Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.

The next resolution I made is extremely relevant--to blog more!! I really enjoy it and definitely need to make it a more regular thing. 

And finally, I have resolved to not let people take advantage of me or take me for granted. This may be the hardest one to keep as  I am definitely a people pleaser and never want to ruffle any feathers. It comes with the territory of being a middle child.

Anyways. I'm going to work hard at all of these and they will definitely give me something to talk about here.

On to Wear-It Wednesday!

This winter, I am loving a lot of things but today, I want to spotlight peplum! For those that don't really know what peplums are, it's pretty much a ruffle or flounce attached to a skirt. They definitely recall those days when ladies were ladies and wore gloves and hats. A lot of designers showcased that on the runways in a lot of different ways.

Jason Wu-Spring 2012

He's doing a line for Target that debuts in February--so excited!

more Jason Wu.

Peplum shirt from asos.com

and a little twist to the peplum trend from Dries Van Noten!

What are your thoughts on the peplum trend? It's definitely something I want to try out for spring. I absolutely LOVE anything retro.

(I just told my mom I'll be getting a peplum skirt from Torrid and she told me I don't need anymore flounce. Oh, mom!)

Blink and you miss it!

That's how I'm feeling life has been the past couple of weeks. Every aspect of my life has been so busy; the end of the year is just flying by!!
I wanted to post real quick to let my lovelies know I haven't fallen off the face of the planet...yet.
(Just kidding!)
Work has been absolutely crazy! In November, we doubled our mortgage portfolio and now we are trying to get everything squared away, which means there is overtime available! Overtime=more $$=Ali getting her iPhone faster!
Plus, I've been going crazy trying to get everything ready for Christmas. I finally finished ALL my shopping on Saturday with the help of one of my besties, Blair. The mall was PACKED!! But I managed to get it done and pick up my craft supplies for some of the gifts I'm making (Pintrest tutorials, ftw!). And I am going to be making those projects tonight, along with the jewelry set I'm making for my mom :)
And I've been watching A LOT of Bones on Netflix, so that gets in the way too.
Oh, and there has been personal drama, and I'll try to see what I can do with that in this forum without whining too much ;)
Hopefully, once everything calms down, I'll be able to post with more regularity (if I dont get distracted by David Boreanaz...mmmmmm).

Santa Baby

We all know the song "Santa Baby," done so wonderfully by Marilyn Monroe, Eartha Kitt, Madonna, and Kellie Pickler, just to name a few.

But if you need a refresher: Santa Baby by Kellie Pickler

This list is full of classic items: a sable (fur), a light blue convertible, a yacht, real estate, and of course, what every girl dreams of: Tiffany's!

But what if we were to update it for Christmas 2011? I certainly wouldn't include a fur. 

Here are a few things that I'd be asking Santa baby for

that's right. Christian Loubotin peep toe platforms

a coach bag.

the iPhone 4S...which I will have soon enough :)

the classic Tiffany pendant.

and, the piece de resistance:

Ryan Gosling ;)

(a girl can dream!!)

What would be on your updated Santa Baby wishlist?

Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge, Day 8: The Christmas List!

Good afternoon, lovelies!! Another day, another little post for the Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge. Today's (yesterday's) topic is (was): The Christmas List. My favorite!!

I make mine out by November 1st each year and when I was little, I remember making it even earlier, whenever the Sears or Penney's catalog would come. Ashley and I would sprawl out on the living room floor and make our lists. Mine was very organized, of course, and I made sure my mom had an easy time finding the items in the catalog. Back when I was a kid, I asked for everything, no matter how expensive it was, with hopes that it would appear under the tree. If my parents couldn't afford it, Santa Claus surely could. Then I found out the horrible truth and my lists became more realistic.

This year was no different, but I'm happy with the things I put on my list, such as:

what girl doesn't want Robert Pattinson under her tree ;)

some cozy slippers--it gets cold at night in Buffalo and to go along with the slippers, I asked for a new robe.

and

were asked for as well. Hopefully Santa is good to me.

Of course, that is realistic Christmas list. I also have the pipe dream Christmas list but that is another story for another time. Look for Day 9 later tonight!!

Have a great Thursday afternoon, lovelies!

my word!!

Over a week since my last post, what you all must think of me!!

I'm so sorry, lovlies, that I've been M.I.A. Life has certainly been busy!!

We took on a HUGE new portfolio at work that we have all been working together on to make sure it goes smoothly and my family and I are trying to get ready for Christmas, mostly by shopping and my parents do it by visiting my family in Charlotte.

Also, I spent the weekend in Erie, visiting my sister and her boyfriend. And came down with acute pharyngitis (aka a SUPER sore throat and fever).

I'm back, though and I'm going to do better, I swear.

I wanted to participate in a challenge put on by A Complete Waste of Makeup called the "Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge" and I guess I'm a little behind, but better late than never!!

Today is Day 7: How do you celebrate the holidays?

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. My sister comes home from Charlotte for her Christmas break and we all take a day off of work to have a family day together. Usually we see a movie.

For as many years as I can remember, our family has exchanged gifts through the mail with another family that my parents met when my dad was in the military. A box comes in the mail with a present for everyone in it. It gets carefully placed under the tree until the majority of us can be together. Usually that is Christmas Eve. Once we're all together, we crack em open. Every year. And they are either handmade gifts or cute little tschotkes. It's something I always look forward to.

Some years, being Catholic, we try to find a Midnight Mass to attend and that Gospel is my favorite of the whole year, about how Mary and Joseph had the little baby Jesus in a space shared with barn animals. Then, it's home for some cookies and putting our presents under the tree, followed by  me falling asleep to Elf, or Nightmare Before Christmas, Mickey's Christmas  Carol, or, Home Alone.

We spend the next morning opening our gifts, drinking coffee, and Skyping with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece down in Charlotte. And watching A Christmas Story, of course!

The rest of the day is pretty low-key. When I was younger, Christmas was always really busy. Christmas Eve we would go to church and then to my Grandma Cescon's.

Christmas day we open our presents and stockings, then we would put on some of our new threads and go to Grandma Lovelace's with all my uncles and aunts and cousins.

Even though some of the traditions are different, I still love Christmas and all that comes with it!

How do you guys celebrate the holidays?