California Trip: Part 1

After High School Graduation, most people take some sort of monumental celebration trip with their friends to the beach to celebrate.  And I think we all know what goes on there, let’s just be real about this.  Not being really into that sort of thing, I opted to skip that trip, and instead head out to LA and visit my Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins.  And I think I got the better option.

In the week and a half that I was out there, I met celebrities, traveled up and down the coast, went to DisneyLand, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios, and spent precious time with family.  I mean what could beat that?  All of my friends that went to the beach admitted that they were jealous of me for the experiences that I had, and while that was in no way my goal, it just reaffirmed that I had made the right choice for me as opposed to going to the drama-filled beach trip.

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the trip, and one of the first major things to happen was happening across the red carpet premiere of the film “The Proposal.”  Yes, the Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds film.  No, I’m not kidding.  My Aunt and I were going to just walk down the street and when we got out of the car we noticed large crowds and wandered over and saw the signs, and BAM!  We made it to the front of the crowds and managed to MEET BOTH STARS!  When Sandra came around, we almost got crushed to death by these huge biker-looking guys and Sandra literally said, “hey, you’re crushing these little ladies up here!” I’m not even kidding.  I wish I was.  My Aunt even made it onto Access Hollywood!  How cool is that?!?!?

Sandra Bullock at the premiere

The next night we attended a show taping of the ABC Family show, “Ruby and The Rockits,” staring Alexa Vega (the girl from Spy Kids).  Sadly, this show was cancelled after only one season, so you may not even know about it.  But, I was part of the first ever studio audience!  If you’ve ever seen the show, or know about it, the episode that I saw taped was the second episode, the father/daughter dance episode.

One of my favorite aspects of the trip (because I’m still a kid at heart) was going to the theme parks.  Over the course of the ten days I was there, we visited Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and DisneyLand.  I’m not sure which was my favorite, but Universal wouldn’t be the winner.  I’ve always loved aquatic life, so the dolphins and orcas were just incredible to see up close (and you know I was all up in that splash zone with my little cousins!), and Disney is…. Well it’s Disney, what’s not to love?

"Shamu Rocks!" (night show at SeaWorld)

Stay Tuned for PART TWO of my California Trip – coming soon!

Me Without Makeup: Blog Version

For those of you who aren’t as familiar with the YouTube beauty community, a popular video is the “Me Without Makeup” video.  To view my own personal no makeup video, click the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8syNW6tKl0

Even though I’ve already done the video, I wanted to take it further and do a blog post on this subject.  While I am a huge make-up junkie, I do spend a few days a week without makeup on.  I personally find it refreshing to do so (not to mention a time-saver!), and I wish others would do the same more often.  For example, my Mom NEVER goes without makeup.  It’s a huge requirement for her.  I personally think every girl, especially those who wear makeup on a regular basis, need to know that makeup isn’t required to look your personal best.

The first time I went out in public without makeup felt so strange to me.  I felt as if people, complete strangers, were judging me and only caring about my outward appearance.  But, I continued to try going without wearing makeup, even skipping it on days when I had classes to go to or Program Board duties, and now I’m completely comfortable without it.  To be perfectly honest, once you get over the initial ‘fear,’ you tend to stop even caring how people are seeing you. 

Don’t get me wrong; I initially was terrified to do this.  I’d been wearing makeup every day since high school.  But making this change just felt like something that should be done.   So I gave it a shot, and now I can’t even believe I almost didn’t try. 

So here’s my personal challenge to all you ladies.  Spend one typical day not wearing any makeup.  Not even an ounce of concealer.  Go out, run your errands, go to work, do all of the things you normally would.  And see how it feels.  It will feel awkward in the beginning, but eventually you won’t even care.  You may even prefer skipping makeup a few days a week like me.

To encourage you on your own personal no makeup journeys, here are a few pics of me without makeup.  Freshly showered, wet hair, bare face, and running on 4 hours of sleep.  If I can post these pics on the internet, then you can go out without makeup.  Just give it a try.  Please?

After all, MissGlamorazzi of YouTube said it best when she said “makeup should be a supplement, not a requirement.”

If I had $1 million dollars…

I think we’ve all had those moments where we say, “I want that, and that, and that…” but how much of this is actually possible?  Unfortunately, there are certain monetary restrictions that we must all abide by, no matter how much we wish they didn’t exist.  But have you ever thought about what exactly what you would do if you were handed one million dollars to spend however you choose (and with no taxes on it)?  I was asked this question recently, and I came up with the following list (in no particular order) of my own personal ‘spending’:

1.     Apartment – One of the first things that I would do with my new fortune is move out of my parents’ house and get my own apartment.  Nothing extravagant in size, just a nice, small, apartment somewhere.  Where?  I have no idea.  But I do crave the freedom that comes with living on your own.  Yes, I know it’s more responsibility but in an odd way, I want that responsibility.

2.     Car (Chevy Equinox) – Another thing that is important to me is getting a car that is in my name.  My first choice would be the Chevy Equinox.  And, with my million, I could afford to get it brand new, although that definitely isn’t necessary.  But that type of car (size wise), is what I want.  And to be honest, I really wouldn’t mind getting a used car.  After all, there are other things I want to spend money on!

3.    Travel to Europe for 1 month min. – If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you know I studied abroad in London while in college.  Well, I definitely want to go back to London and see the things I didn’t get the chance to see when I was there, as well as travel around more in Europe.  There are so many places there I want to see! 

4.    Pay off Student Loans – The first of my ‘sensible’ moves with my money, paying off my student loans is a must-do for me.  I hate the idea of these loans sitting on my shoulders, and if I obtained this money, those loans would be paid off immediately!  I think we can all agree that this is a very practical move, right?

5.    Pay off Credit Cards – Another sensible move on my part, I would make sure that all of my credit cards are paid off.  Not that I have a lot to pay off, but I would just want to make sure I could start with a clean slate.  Another sensible and practical move, yes?

6.    Summer Olympics in Rio – A bucket list type thing for me, going to the Summer Olympics in Rio is something that I really want to do.  I’ve always really wanted to travel to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and the fact that the next Summer Olympics (2016) will be there makes it a perfect time to make that trip a reality.  What event is my most desired to see?  Women’s gymnastics of course!

7.    Books/Movies – I admit, I’d probably do some shopping in Barnes and Noble and hit up the movie section in Target.  But hey, reading is good for you right?  And movies… well… there are worse things to be spending money on.

8.    Clothes/Makeup – In this category, I would most likely buy some ‘dream’ items.  For instance, I would buy both Urban Decay “Naked” palletes, things like that.  I wouldn’t spend a ton of money on little Revlon eyeshadow quads!  I’d more likely spend money on more quality, higher-end products, and call it a day.  In the clothing department, I’d spend money on pieces to fill out my closet – blazers for work, more professional style clothing for the workplace as opposed to shorts and t-shirts, and maybe a nice, new pair of jeans that fits well since mine are now old and ripping.  See?  I can spend where necessary and limit myself.  Perhaps I did learn from “No Buy August.”

9.    Savings - The rest of the money I’d put in savings.  I’d save for a house one day, for retirement, for kid’s college, a wedding, whatever I need to be saving for at the time.  The point is, I wouldn’t go and blow a million dollars in one go.  I simply can’t even imagine how many material goods that would amount to be. 

What would YOU do if you had a million dollars to spend?  Let me know in the comments below!  I’d love to hear your thoughts on spending and what your dream items are!  Unfortunately, I don’t play the lottery, and even that is taxed, so I don’t see this happening anytime soon.  But, it was still fun to think about, and definitely made me think about different priorities. 

Don’t forget to leave comments below, and please leave me requests for future posts and let me know what YOU would like to be reading about!  Links for other social media are listed on the side!

Happy Reading,

Allison

Changing it Up: A Closet Transformation

Hey everyone!  For today’s post I wanted to share some ideas that I utilized in my very own closet makeover.  For those of you who don’t know, I’ve challenged myself to make changes in my life this month, as a response to Nikki Phillipi’s “Change it Up September” videos on YouTube.

The first, and most basic step in my closet transformation was going through all of my clothing and shoes.  I went through things first to check style and look: if there was no way I’d wear it again, then I got rid of it, no questions asked.  The second time I checked things, I tried everything on to make sure it still looked good on, and didn’t have major holes or staining.  I created a pile of clothing to sew to fix holes, and piles of things that didn’t fit anymore.

With things that didn’t fit perfectly, or were too tight on, I packed away in a bin from Walmart and stored it in the basement.  Since I’m in the process of working out again (another post on that soon!), and have been losing weight all summer, there is a good chance things will begin to fit again.  Storing things away meant that I could hold onto things I want to fit into again – sort of like creating a goal weight or size. 

Once that was done, I also began a GoodWill pile, and donated a large amount of things to the organization that I no longer wanted or needed.  This way, someone else could enjoy them!

The next thing I did was clean the shelf on top of my closet, as well as the floor area.  I organized my shoes on my rack better, got rid of excess hangers, and overall just made it look pretty again.

The last major thing I did – and I highly recommend this – is utilizing huggable hangers.  These are extremely thin hangers that make your clothing more compact and enable you to fit more inside of a closet.  I began using these hangers in my dorm room in college to accommodate a smaller storage area, and since Target had them on sale this week, I picked up some more.  I now have almost all huggable hangers in my closet and am able to fit twice as much in my closet.  If you don’t want to purchase these hangers at Target, I’ve also found them at places like Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Ross. (the huggable hangers are the pink, black, and tan hangers that you can see in the pictures)

So there you have it- my closet transformation.  While it may not seem like a huge deal, I feel much more organized and less cluttered knowing that my closet is organized.  I now know that my clothes all fit and look good, and donating things that didn’t work anymore just felt good.  I also decided to sell my prom dresses (eek!), a major thing for me since I’m so attached to them.  But, I know I’ll never need them again, so I should let someone else enjoy them on their own special night.

That being said, I hope you all are having a fantastic day, and I will talk to you guys again soon!  Be on the lookout for new videos and blog posts about my September Change it Up challenge!

To see my “closet tour” video, where I go into detail about my transformation and what my closet looks like now, click here:

http://youtu.be/ROs2Ma7nvbw