Monthly Archives

October 2017

Fashion

Sweater Weather // An Autumn OOTD

October 31, 2017

Hello everyone and happy Halloween!  If you’re still searching for the perfect costume, check out last week’s post (linked here) for some quick and easy costume ideas for you and your friends!  This week, I wanted to share a cute autumn outfit that I’ve been loving lately!  Keep reading to find out where everything is from.

Starting off with my incredible burnt orange sweater, I purchased it from a little boutique right here in Harrisonburg called The Yellow Button.  I’ve been shopping at The Yellow Button for years and am so sad I won’t live ten minutes away from it anymore when I graduate in a few months.  The brand of this sweater is French Connection and I’m obsessed!  Moving on to my hat, this one’s from Target!  I think it was only about $15 or $20 and the brim is the perfect length.  I don’t like when hats are too floppy so this one was just right.  My last accessory is my glasses.  I scooped up these glasses a few weeks ago from Urban Outfitters and they were only $10!  They add so much to any autumn outfit and they’re so adorable!

That wraps up this post, I hope you enjoyed!  All of the photos in this post were taken by my very talented friend Eleftheria so follow her on Instagram at @elefthographia for some more amazing photos!  If you have any post requests, leave them in the comment section below.  Have a great week and I’ll see ya back here next Tuesday!

Fashion

Couple + Group Halloween Costume Ideas

October 24, 2017

Hi everyone, happy early Halloween!  Last year, I didn’t do any Halloween posts and I totally regretted it so this year, I’m throwing in a costume idea post!  I came up with a few ideas for both couples and groups so I hope you find one you love.

Couple Ideas:

  1. Jenny and Forrest Gump.  This one is super easy!  The guy should wear a short-sleeved button down shirt tucked into brown pants and the girl should wear a yellow and white short-sleeved dress.  Chances are, you might already have these items in your closet and everyone will instantly know who you are!
  2. Scooby and Shaggy.  I think this idea is adorable!  The guy has it easy and can just wear a lime green t-shirt with red pants but the girl has to do a little more work.  Grab an oversize brown t-shirt so you can wear it as a dress.  Next, get dark brown construction paper or felt and cut big circles out and super glue them to the t-shirt.  Finish off the look with a teal choker and your hair in two buns on the top of your head and you’re good to go!
  3. Jessie and Woody from Toy Story.  This one is super cute as well!  I love Disney themed costumes and this one is perfect for you and your boyfriend or girlfriend!  Amazon has some great, cheap costume kits you can order or you can DIY it and create your own.  Either will work and you’ll have a ton of fun putting the outfits together!

Group Ideas:

  1. Cheetah Girls.  This is a costume idea that I’ve been dying to do for years!  Grab three of your best girl friends and buy a few of the classic velour jumpsuits in different colors and you’re instantly Cheetah-ized!
  2. The Avengers.  This is an idea that works well with a larger group because there are so many characters to choose from!  Whether you have a group of three or a group of seven, there are plenty of characters for everyone.  I might have to use this idea myself!
  3. Cast of Riverdale.  Riverdale is one of the hottest TV shows right now so it’d be a blast to recreate some of the key character’s looks!  Get some red hair dye if you’re going for Archie or Cheryl or grab some lipstick and pearls if you’re being Veronica and you’re set!

Those are all my ideas for couple and group Halloween costumes!  I hope you found at least one idea that will work for you and your crew and if you do decide to use it, make sure you let me know in the comments below!  See you next Tuesday for another post!

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Travel

24 Hours in New York City

October 17, 2017

Hey travelers, welcome back to Allison in Wonderland!  This past weekend, I did a whirlwind trip to New York City and I’m here to share all about my time there.  Keep reading to see what I got up to in the big city!

Driving to New York City only takes about 2 or 3 hours from where I live in Maryland, so we usually drive or take a bus, but this time we decided to take a train!  I took my mom on the trip with me and it was actually our first time on a train.  When we went to Chicago (Chicago travel post linked here), we rode a commuter train into the city but that ride was only around 20 minutes and a little bit different than the Amtrak train we took this time, so we were really excited for the experience!  It ended up to be an absolutely amazing way to travel into the city and we can’t wait to book our next train trip!

Once we arrived in Penn Station, we quickly hopped in a taxi and were on our way to our hotel.  After we were in the taxi for about a minute, we actually got pulled over and the driver got a ticket!  It was strange to have that happen because I never thought about the possibility of getting pulled over in New York City but we just hopped out and got in another one.  We stayed right by Central Park, so the ride took about 20 minutes and we were already checked into the hotel after only being in the city for a half hour!

Once we got settled in our room, we hit the streets!  Originally, we weren’t supposed to get to the city until after dark but we were able to change our tickets so we arrived earlier and we were so glad we did!  We walked around the Columbus Circle area and W 59th Street and got our first taste of the city in the fall!  I’ve been to the city many times before but never in the fall and it’s amazing!  The leaves were changing in Central Park so it was neat to walk the streets and have the city skyline on one side and the colorful leaves of the park on the other side.

The next morning, we were up bright and early because I had a Central Park photoshoot at 10am!  A couple months ago, I contacted one of my favorite photographers that I follow on Instagram and found out she was coming to the East Coast this month and I jumped at the chance to work with her.  The shoot was incredible and she was just the sweetest girl!  I’ll be getting the photos back soon so make sure you’re following me on Instagram (@allisantmyer) so you’ll see how amazing they turned out!  Also, leave me a comment if you’d like me to write a post talking about the details of the shoot!

After the shoot, we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel to grab our things.  Once we took a little breather, we headed back out with all our luggage to do the rest of our exploring.  Luckily for us, we each managed to only bring a backpack so we didn’t have a ton to carry around with us.  We walked a lot of Central Park, looking at all the beautiful bridges and the carriage rides and I got to see the Central Park carousel for the first time!  Before this trip, I hadn’t spent a lot of time in the park so I was really stoked to get to see more of it.

When it was close to the time we had to catch our train, we grabbed a taxi and headed back to Penn Station.  Penn Station was a lot busier than the station we left from at home, but it was still very easy to maneuver.  Overall, the trip was incredible and 24 hours went by way too quickly!  I’d been looking forward to this trip for months and I’m sad it’s over but I guess that just means I’ll have to go back again soon!  Thank you so much for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed it!  Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see more photos from my trip.  See you next week!

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Beauty

My First Experience with Gel Nails

October 10, 2017

Hi beauties and welcome to another one of my weekly blog posts!  This week’s topic is beauty related and I’m talking all about gel nails!  I’ve been getting my nails done for years and years now but I’ve never gotten gel nails so I decided to try it out earlier this week.  Keep reading to hear about my experience!

Originally, I went into the salon to try the dip powder trend that I’ve heard a lot about during the past couple months.  When I spoke to one of the ladies at the salon and told her that was my intention, she looked at my nails and said they were in wonderful condition and that she would rather not do the dip powder.  When I asked her why, she said it actually harms your nails and makes them weak!  I have a friend who gets the dip powder done frequently and she says it makes your nails stronger, so I’m not sure what to think about it but I ended up going with the gel instead – just to be on the safe side.

Since I didn’t know a lot about the process of getting gel nails prior to going into the salon, I wasn’t sure what the experience would be like but it was really nice!  They cut and file your nails just like usual but then they move on to do coats of different things that they wouldn’t do if you were just getting polish put on.  In between the different coats, you put your hands under a light that dries and hardens the gel and it works very quickly.  When we were done, I was expecting to have to go over to where you put your hands under the fan but with gel, you don’t have to do that!  Once you do one or two cycles of putting your nails under the light, you’re good to go!  It’s extremely time efficient and works like a charm!

As you can tell, I’m now a big fan of gel nails.  I’ve had them for over a week and they still look beautiful so maybe this will be my new go-to thing when I get my nails done in the future!  Have you ever gotten gel nails?  Let me know in the comments if you liked it or not.  See you next week!

College

The Best Classes to Take at JMU

October 3, 2017

Hey everyone and welcome back to Allison in Wonderland!  If you’re new to my blog, welcome!  I’m Alli and I post once a week about whatever exciting things are going on in my life.  Today’s post is going to be all about the best and most fun classes to take at James Madison University so I hope you enjoy it!  Let’s get started!

Beginning with the easiest of the easy classes, Basic Tennis (KIN 125) and Basic Volleyball (KIN 179) are the way to go.  They’re meant for beginners, just like they sound, and don’t require you to have any preexisting skills going into the class.  I played both tennis and volleyball in high school, so I knew a little bit going in, but the professors are really just looking for you to put effort in during your class time.  Both of these courses are a blast to go to and require barely any work outside of class.  Plus, you don’t have to go to the gym that day because you’re already getting your workout in!  In addition to offering these two KIN classes, JMU also offers other KIN courses like Kickboxing and Basic Golf.  I haven’t taken any sport classes besides tennis and volleyball, but I would assume they all require about the same time and energy commitment.

The next course that I would 100% recommend enrolling in is called Dollars and Sense (UNST 475).  Dollars and Sense is a once-a-week course where you’re taught the basics of budgeting and money management.  I’m taking the class now – I’ve only been in it for a few weeks – and it’s already one of the most beneficial classes I’ve ever taken.  With the information I’ve learned so far, I’ve already changed some of my spending habits and I feel so much more competent when it comes to setting up my financial future.  Although this course requires quite a bit of work outside of class, the assignments aren’t hard and they’ll really benefit you once you graduate.

My next recommendation is called Wilderness First Aid (KIN 175).  This is a course that’s only 8 weeks long and I had never heard of it until last semester.  In this class, you learn about everything from splinting injuries to helping shock victims and we get to go outside during every class!  There are a couple quizzes throughout the curriculum but you get your wilderness first aid certification at the end of the class so it’s all worth it.

My last course recommendation is Sign Language (CSD 420).  Sign language is so cool and I’m so glad I’m finally learning it!  The class is taught by a graduate student and is one of the most fun classes I’ve ever taken at JMU.  There’s obviously a lot of memorization in this class but we do a lot of reviewing and you can always look things up on YouTube if you’re confused about a particular sign.  Sign language is also a skill that not a lot of people have so it’s a great resume booster if you’re looking to improve your job outlook!

Those are all the course recommendations I have for you today – I hope they help you in planning your future semesters!  If you end up enrolling in any of these courses or have already taken any of them, comment below and let me know which ones.  Have an amazing rest of your week and I’ll see you next Tuesday!