Monthly Archives

January 2019

College

Things I Wish I Knew in College

January 29, 2019

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another college-related post. Today, I’m talking all about the things I wish I knew during my years in college that would’ve made it a heck of a lot more fun. Let’s get into it!

The first topic I’ll touch on is friends. A big part of college is meeting new people! When you head off to school as a freshman, you’re thrust into a new place where you know no one so a lot of the first year is spent finding your place. And once you do find your place, it’s awesome! But then when you graduate, it’s the opposite where one day you’re surrounded by all your friends, all living within a mile of each other, and then the next day, you’re whisked off to your new city with your new job and there you are again – knowing no one. I was in a few different organizations in school where I was surrounded by a lot of really wonderful women and I wish I had appreciated it more. Chances are you’ll never be living as close to all your college friends as you do when you’re actually in college so cherish it!

The second silly thing that I wish I appreciated more while I was in school is sleeping in. In college, I really hated the fact that your schedule is constantly changing. Each semester, your classes and meetings are at different times so I could hardly wait to graduate and finally have a daily routine. Well… that daily routine consists of waking up at 6:30am every day and, although I do love having my schedule, sometimes I think it’d be nice to go back to the mornings when I didn’t have to be anywhere until noon. Who’s with me on this?

The last thing I’ll talk about today (and probably the biggest thing I’ve realized in the last year or so) is that you shouldn’t put getting perfect grades above bettering the person you are. In college, I spent so much time stressing over my how well I was doing academically. Which makes sense because I’m the type of person who really puts a lot of my worth in my work. But since I graduated, I haven’t had a single person ask me what my GPA or class rank was. They didn’t even ask in my job interviews. Of course, you should always try to do as well as you can but I wish I spent more of those crucial college years growing and bettering myself personally.

Those are just a few of the things I wish I’d done differently or cherished more while I was at JMU. Do you have anything you regret about your time in college? Leave it in the comments below – I’d love to hear! Have a great week!

Beauty

How I Style My Hair

January 22, 2019

Hey hey hey babes, happy Tuesday! Before the holidays, I asked you what posts you would like to see from me in the new year and so many of you asked me to tell you how I style my hair so I thought I’d write about it right away… let’s get started!

My first secret to success is to shower at night. If I try to shower, blow dry, and then style my hair all at once, not only does it take forever but my hair always gets too frizzy and won’t hold a curl. I find it’s best to shower at night, let it air dry, and then style in the morning. After I get out of the shower, I use it’s a 10 Potion 10 Miracle Styling Potion (click here). I put a quarter-sized drop on my palm and then work it through the ends of my hair. I’m careful not to let it touch my scalp because it can make my roots greasy overnight. This product helps to control frizz and hold the curl once I style!

The curling iron I use to style my hair is the Conair Hot Sticks Instant Heat curling iron and it can be picked up at your local drugstore. I actually have two (they’re SO inexpensive) because, depending on the length of my hair, I prefer a different barrel size. I use a 3/4 inch barrel when my hair is shoulder length.

My technique has changed a bit over the years but I’ve found I get the best outcome when I only wrap my hair once around the barrel. This means the curl starts a few inches down from my root and then there’s about two inches left out at the bottom. Leaving those couple inches out of the curl creates a beachy look and gives a bit of a looser feel. I also curl in different directions – forwards and backwards. I don’t necessarily alternate but I make sure to switch up the direction every few curls and I ALWAYS curl the hair around my face backwards. After I’ve finished curling, I spray my roots with some dry shampoo for texture and I run my fingers through all the waves to break them up. This is my favorite part because it really brings the look together!

That’s all for my hair routine – I hope you’ll try it! I really love curling my hair like this – especially with the length that it’s at right now. If you have any styling tips, please leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear them!

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Healthy Living

Tips for Living By Yourself

January 15, 2019

Hi cuties, welcome to another apartment related post! If you’ve been keeping up with me, you might know that I’ve been living by myself for the past year so I thought I’d share some tips on how I do it. Let’s get into it!

My first tip is to be very “on top of” your bills. If you live by yourself, you’re the only one who will know when the bills come in. Whether they’re emailed to you or sent in the mail, you’re the only one who will receive it so you need to make sure they get paid because you won’t get any reminders from anyone. This is a big one!

My second tip is to get door and window stops. I always make sure my doors and windows are locked but having stops gives me a lot of comfort, especially because I’m living alone. It’s just one extra layer to deter people from trying to get in.

Another tip is to learn how to cook for one. This is something I’m still trying to get the hang of. Cooking for one is hard! However, if you do make a little bit extra, it is nice to have the leftovers…

My fourth tip is to make sure you get out of the house. Living by yourself, it’s really easy to get trapped in a lonely routine of going to work and coming home for the night. Once you come home, you don’t see anyone, so it’s important to get out and go to the gym or out with friends or just somewhere you’ll have interaction with others!

My last tip is to be prepared for the expense. Living alone is very expensive. Most times, you’re living in the same size place you’d be able to share with a significant other (therefore, splitting the expense) but you’re having to pay for it all by yourself. It is nice to have the space to yourself but paying for everything can be a lot (especially when it comes to furnishings).

Those are all my tips for today, I hope it helped you out! I absolutely love living by myself but it has come with it’s challenges. If you have any other tips, please leave them in the comments below. Have a great week!

Travel

My Week in Arizona

January 8, 2019

Hi cuties, welcome back to another post on the Allison in Wonderland blog! Over the holidays, I spent a week in Arizona so I wanted to share a little bit about what I was up to when I was there. Let’s get started!

As soon as we got there, all I wanted to do was explore around the area we were staying in so we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood because the weather was SO NICE. Coming from 30 degree east coast weather, I think anything warmer would’ve felt nice but it was around 70 degrees and perfect. Throughout our trip, we took a lot of little walks and it was nice to get outside and feel the sunshine!

One of my favorite things we did while we were out there was go to a place called Bowlero. It’s a bowling alley but also a restaurant, arcade, and an all-around great time. They have huge screens at the end of each alley showing different movies, TV shows, and sporting events. It was awesome! I’ll definitely be going back next time I’m in Arizona.

After bowling, we headed to the Phoenix Zoo to see their Christmas light exhibit. It was PACKED when we got there and had to stand in a line that was about a mile long to get in. Surprisingly, it didn’t take too long to get through and once we got in, we had a great time! There were tons of different light setups and shows and it was super fun!

The next day was Christmas Eve so we headed to a church service at Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV). They have a few different locations around the Phoenix area and it was absolutely incredible! They have quite the set up – it’s just like a college campus. They even have a coffee shop inside the church! If I lived in the area, I’d definitely be going there every week. After the service, we headed to Christmas Eve dinner at a restaurant called Roy’s and it was delicious.

The next few days were a little bit jam packed. We celebrated Christmas, got Thai massages, and I had a couple fun photoshoots! Recently when I travel, I’ve tried scheduling a shoot or two so I have the chance to work with other creatives that I wouldn’t have access to at home. It’s so nice to connect with people who are doing the same thing as you, just in a different place!

I had such a fun and relaxing week in Arizona and I can’t wait to visit again. I’ll be back next week with a post full of tips for living on your own so make sure to check back for that. Thank you for reading!

Holiday

My New Years Resolutions

January 2, 2019

Disclosure: Ann Taylor LOFT provided free clothing for me to review.  However, all opinions stated here are my own.

Hi everyone, happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends and are ready to start the new year fresh. Last year, I did a post stating my goals for the year so I thought I’d do the same this time around… let’s get started!

Fashion: One of my goals this year is to have more fun with fashion! I used to put a lot of energy into the outfits I put together but in the last year, I’ve gotten really lazy with it. One store I’ve been absolutely loving lately is Ann Taylor LOFT. During the holiday season, I picked up so many adorable sweaters from their store in the Annapolis Harbor shopping center and I can’t wait to style them in different ways throughout the year!

Work: This time last year, I had just graduated from James Madison University and I hadn’t started working full-time yet. My goal for 2018 work-wise was just to begin my career and see if I’d chosen the right path. Luckily, I really feel like I did! This year, I’d like to continue growing within my industry and I can’t wait to see where I am this time next year!

Housing: I’ve officially been living on my own for one year! I was a bit apprehensive about living by myself for a few reasons but this past year has been really, really great and I’ve learned a lot. I’ll be staying put for a little while longer but I might have some changes coming in the summertime…

Travel: This one is the most exciting to think about! In 2019, I think I’d really love to go on another road trip. Over Memorial Day weekend last year, I did a road trip to Maine and it was incredible so I’d love to be able to do another one this year.

That’s all for today’s post! Please share your goals for 2019 in the comments – I’d love to hear them. Also, make sure to check out the after-Christmas sales going on right now at LOFT! I’ll have another new post up next Tuesday so don’t miss it!

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