a sweet way to rep your city

one of my best friends is trying to figure out where she wants to live next year. currently the leading choice is chicago (i am still hoping california will end up in that top position when it becomes decision time). if she decides to make the move to the windy city, i think this tote from maptote would be a cute going away present...it will be very handy for her to refer to if she is walking the streets and gets lost.

picture via maptote

this website has several other cities as well including brooklyn, los angeles, and seattle...all of them are designed differently to represent the soul of the city...adorable!

things about alanna

hi loves, happy friday!! i am very excited to share my five things with you...hopefully these will give you a snippet (corny right?) of who i am and what gets me pumped.

1. i cardi-hardy...as in a have a slight obsession with cardigans.  i recently counted all of them and i have over 50 in total.  and i even wear all of them regularly.  i have about 20 jackie cardigans alone from jcrew...not obsessed at all.  so i can usually be seen wearing a cardi, jeans and sperrys...perfect outfit, right?

2. i am a bit of a running fanatic.  when i played sports in high school i used to loathe the runs unless they were sprints against my older sister (maybe one of my 5 things should be that i am very competitive too). but oddly enough in my senior year of college i got the running bug. like i mentioned before, i just got permission to run again and to celebrate i just designed an awesome pair of sneakers, so cool they deserve their own post so stay tuned.

jess and i after the philly distance run

3. i love lucky charms. i could eat these things for breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day of the week.  opening up a fresh box where there are tons of marshmallows on top...best thing ever.  and obviously i eat all of the cereal first and save the marshmallows for last and eat those by type.  i guess part of me is still 5 years old.

4. i am obsessed with painting my nails and  i usually paint them 2-3 times a week.  i think my obsession is more with buying the nail polish than with having the nail polish on itself, buying a new nail polish makes my day (and if i eat a bowl of lucky charms with freshly painted nails, i am in heaven).  i got a manicure last friday and haven't painted my nails since them...it is a record i think, jess is very impressed with me.

my week old nails...impressive right?

5. i really enjoy editing resumes and cover letters.  random, right?  whenever my friends or family ask for my help with writing a resume or cover letter, i get really siked about it.  which is good, because i think the majority of people dread it.  maybe i am in the wrong profession...
so that's my five facts, i could go on and on (who doesn't like to talk about themselves?) but i don't think anyone would want to read that.  so lucky for you i will stop :)

hope everyone has a very, very happy friday!

the youngest little monster?

if you're obsessed as i am with the new lady gaga single "born this way" then you have to watch this little monster's cover of the song. the single hasn't even been out a week - i've barely learned the lyrics to the chorus, and this girl already knows the music and the lyrics!

five things to know about jess

by now you are probably wondering: who are these girls? we want you to feel like you know us, so here are five things to know about me:

1. i have a habit of peeling the labels off my bottles of beer. it's like that sheryl crow song...except i don't like bud.
   
2. i'm an aggressive driver. the speed limit? it's whatever is posted +15. never drive behind a prius - trust me, they will not go the speed limit. but, i have no points on my license and i've never been in an accident that was my fault (knock-on-wood!).
   
3. i get really emotional when i leave vacations. it started when i was a kid and i would cry on the way home from our family vacations at the beach. but even now i notice how i get quiet, reflective, and even a little sad when i leave places. when you're on vacation, that place becomes your home for a brief period of time and so i get a little tug on my heartstrings when i have to leave. most recently this happened as i pulled away from the grand floridian resort in disney. i'm not even in love with disney, but i had so much fun during my time there that i got sad to leave...it's like saying goodbye to all of the memories.
4. i am petrified of cats. not even big cats like lions or tigers...i'm talking house cats (and the stray cats that live on my street and show up at the glass door in my kitchen when i'm making dinner and make me scream out loud - like a girl).
5. i'm very protective of my family and friends. i don't always do the best job of treating them the way they deserve to be treated, but the second someone tries to hurt or disrespect them, you better believe i have their backs.

next up: five things you have to know about my bff alanna

a little shout out to the awesome nineteenth amendment

yesterday was susan b anthony day and sadly, like the bad great great great niece i am, i totally forgot to celebrate (yes - that does mean that susan b anthony is my great great great aunt - totally rad right?)  i am going to blame it on a holiday hangover and my crazy valentine's day plans...but late is better than never to celebrate, right?

image via the history channel

sba was one fine woman - thanks to her and elizabeth cady stanton and hundreds of other suffragettes, women now have the right to vote.  although she died 14 years before the nineteenth amendment was passed in 1920, giving women the constitutional right to vote - her tireless fight was instrumental in helping this dream become a reality...she was even arrested in 1872 for voting in the presidential election (she wrote in stanton's name on the ballot...talk about representing a sister).  besides fighting for universal suffrage, she also fought for the abolition of slavery and women's property rights. 

her motto was "failure is impossible," perfect words of encouragement for the fight to vote, but also now 91 years later, as you go about your daily life and set forth personal goals.  if sba was able to keep this motto in mind and help change the constitution, i know i am going to try and do the same to achieve my goals and remember that failure is impossible. 

image via coin facts

so pull out your susan b anthony silver dollar if you are so lucky to have one and give sba a little thanks for helping our country be a little closer to a true democracy. 

the continual upgrade

although gilmore girls has been off the air now for 3 years (so sad), whenever i catch an old episode on tv, it makes my day.  yesterday's episode featured both dean and logan and it made me think...which boyfriend was rory's best??

throughout the series she had 3 serious boyfriends...

option number 1:  the perpetual good guy/boy next door:  dean forester. 

photo via share tv

with the small town charm, dean was head over heels since the moment he met her.  besides his minor crisis when he married lindsey (what was he thinking??), dean was by far the most loyal and committed to rory.

option number 2: the brooding, so jaded and way too cute jess mariano.  

photo via crushable

jess and rory had obvious chemistry, perhaps because alexis bedel  and milo ventimiglia dated in real life for several years.  it was strong enough to pull rory away from her first love, dean.  i remember thinking that jess was pretty much perfect for rory - he shared her love for reading, brought her out of her comfort zone, and made her life more exciting with a few car accidents (ok so maybe this wasn't his best trait...)  regardless, jess was just oh so cute and i remember being so sad when he left on that bus without saying bye.  (not a smooth move jess.)

and the final option: logan huntzberger - adorable, witty, and loaded: all the characteristics of the ideal college boyfriend.  

photo via oy with the poodles already

rory and logan had the cutest flirty banter throughout the series and his nickname for her "ace" made me wish that my boyfriend would give me an equally adorable nickname.  alas, when rory's graduation rolled around, she decided to turn down his marriage proposal for a job campaigning with the obama administration.  perhaps rory is a staff-assistant now at the white house...and call me lame, but i like to pretend that maybe a few years down the road, once rory got the chance to be on her own, her and rory would have gotten back together if the show was still on tv. 


for those of you who aren't gilmore girl fans - check them out on netflix or go to your nearest redbox and get all of the seasons, they are too good for anyone to miss. 

for those of you who are avid fans, who is your favorite bf?  it seems like rory had a constant upgrade from each boyfriend...not that dean was a bad place to start.

happy valentine's day!

i hope that someone makes you feel like this today :)

photo via flickr

daily inspiration

photo via allposters.com

today i ran for the first time since the end of september...for everyone who knows what i have been through the past five months, it was a day i was afraid would never come again.  with running on my mind, it reminded me of this story i heard on npr on my way home the other day (clearly jess and i drove separately that day).  stefaan engels, a 46-year old belgian man ran 365 MARATHONS in a row this past year.  i was in disbelief when i first heard this, can you imagine running 26.2 miles every single day?  i can barely imagine running that distance that once.  check out the whole story on the npr blog here...it is a great motivational story. 

stefaan engels completing his 365th marathon in as many days.  photo via npr

as promised... the cute shop from downtown disney

last friday, the morning after my cousin's wedding, my mom and i were strolling through downtown disney shopping, lunching, and lounging by the water. the entire place is full of stores that feature disney merchandise - the standard stuff and then things you couldn't even imagine existing. but right in the heart of all these plastic toys, christmas ornaments, video games, and stuffed animals was the sweetest little bath and beauty store called basin. the store is great for shopping, either for gifts or for yourself, but they also offer some do-it-yourself, create-your-own kind of options that really provide an experience.

here i am creating my own soy bead candle. there were fourteen scents to choose from. i couldn't choose just one so i layered a few of my favorites.

the final product! they shrink wrap it and tie it with a nice bow to make it perfectly easy to pack for the trip home.

there's also a sink where customers can try out the body scrubs. there are salt scrubs and sugar scrubs, and they come in flavors like pomegranate, orange vanilla, and pumpkin.

here's my mom testing out the exfoliators.



these fresh cut soaps make the perfect gift. there are so many options to choose from - there's bound to be one for every woman in your life.

clearly the wino in me was drawn to this one in particular :)

okay so i lied, it's not totally unrelated to mouse ears

the best part is, you don't have to go all the way to disney world. you can shop online at their website and have it shipped right to your door! check out everything basin has to offer

cute heart-shaped things

in honor of valentine's day and all things "love", here are some sweet hearts for your viewing pleasure.

heart shaped measuring spoons. the cutest part? read the labels on the spoon handles!
(photo via weheartit.com)

mmm these look delicious!
(photo via Joanna Si)

a photo i took of my cappuccino in florence, italy

photo print with a customizable candy heart and city of your choice
(capow Etsy shop)

je t'aime print ... because who doesn't love french?

(LoveSugar Etsy shop)

a heart mixed tape print with personalized label
(shannonpix Etsy shop)

a garland of hand-cut hearts
(PaperPolaroid Etsy shop)