What I Wore: Friday 3/29/14

Top: Edge, Jacket: Sans Souci, Pants: Victoria's Secret, Lipstick: Ruby Woo by MAC Cosmetics, Bow: Forever 21

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It’s time to dare and endure.”

 — Winston Churchill

I am home from school and ready for a week in LA! I have always wanted to go to California and my sister and I are finally going on Monday. I’ve had a countdown going for about 40 days and I can’t believe the trip’s finally here!

For someone with such a strong desire to travel, I haven’t left my little state much. (I went on a plane for the first time last year). I went from rarely traveling anywhere to booking trips across the country and- in 5 months- on the other side of the world. There is so much to see and I am making a vow to take in as much of it as I can. “You can always make money, but you can’t always make memories.”

Think about what you want so badly to do but haven’t yet done. What’s stopping you? It is up to you to make things happen for yourself the way that you want them to. Forget about why you are feeling hesitant about going after your dreams and just go after them.

Here’s to an amazing weekend!

-          Alissa  

What I Wore: Sunday 3/16/14

Shirt: H&M, Top: Garage (in red here), Pants: PacSun, Sneakers: Converse, Lipstick: Heroine by MAC Cosmetics, Lip Pencil: Nightmoth by MAC Cosmetics, Flannel: Thrifted 

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” — John Lennon

Make your happiness and well-being a top priority. When you value who you are, you will learn to better value others. Stop putting your needs on the back burner. Embrace life. Every day can be a good day as long as you choose to make it one. Find people who are passionate about life and what they love. Spend time with them. People who are passionate about life can do some truly amazing things. Life is a whole lot different when you choose to spend it with people who are excited about the future.

Go out and do something. Take risks and realize that no matter how big or small the effort you make, every single thing you do matters. Everything we have done and everything we have gone through has led us to the people we are and the places we’re at today. We wouldn’t be who and where we were had we not pushed on through all of those hardships and basked in all of the glory of the good times we’ve experienced. Quite often, we will find that the bad times teach us more and help us grow even more than the good times. Everything has a purpose- it is up to us to find it.

Be fearless and open-hearted. Have a vision. Make things happen. Learn to love yourself and most importantly- embrace life.

-          Alissa 

What I Wore: Sunday 3/9/14

Blazer: H&M, Shirt: Forever 21, Jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch, Shoes: Charlotte Russe, Lipstick: Heroine by MAC Cosmetics, Lip Pencil: Nightmoth by MAC Cosmetics 

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

 — Steve Jobs

After a week off for spring break, I had been unsure whether or not people had noticed that I had been on somewhat of a blogging hiatus. After my friends told me how much they missed my posts, I knew that I had to put something together. As much as I say it, I will always believe that there is no better feeling than having people support you and want to see you live out your dreams. Thank you all for coming back and appreciating my little space here. It means more to me than I could ever explain.

This week was full of lots of time for reflection and figuring out what it is that I want to do next. I want to continue with Vogue and Vibes but I know (even more) now that I want all of my posts to be completely authentic, and I never want to post something just for the sake of posting something. There are days where I'm at a loss for words of inspiration to offer. I'm thankful for these days (not only the good days, where I have so much to offer my viewers). The days where I find myself needing to feel inspired are the days where I learn most.

Nobody in this entire world knows it all and we do not always have the right answers. We're only human, and there are no rules that say that we all must be happy and have everything perfect all the time. We carry an unrealistic pressure on ourselves, believing that we should berate ourselves for falling short. It's only natural to feel unsure, unhappy and uninspired. That's life. Embrace every single state- the happiness, the sadness, the inspiration and the lack thereof. Be gentle with yourself. Don't deny any feelings of sadness. Realize that you can't always fix everything and sometimes, things are not in your hands. Life has a funny way of working itself out- just when we are starting to believe that there is no possible way that it could. Understand that there's a high for every low- but never get lost in these lows.

Here's to the end of a wonderful break.

- Alissa

What I Wore: Friday 2/28/14

Sweater: Garage, Skirt: Forever 21, Shoes: Charlotte Russe

Today’s officially the first day of my spring break and I am so happy and relieved to have a week off to relax and spend time with my family at home. I have no major set plans and I am happy that way. With no stress, I am going to let each day happen as it may and accept it for what it will be. With my family and close friends and the feeling of happiness I get when I am home, I know this break will be nothing short of wonderful.

This week I thought a lot about mistakes. I had been thinking a lot about how certain things could have worked out differently if I had made different choices or done things another way. We may love the wrong person, cry about the wrong things, stress about insignificant things, and believe we make the wrong choices sometimes. One thing is for sure: mistakes help us find the things and the people that are right for us.

We all must realize this: You are not your mistakes. You are not your struggles. Though every person has their fair share of both, these things do not define you. We are all here now and have the ability to shape our day and our future. Choose, instead, to reflect on the lessons you have learned from these so called “mistakes” and realize that every single thing that has ever happened in your entire life has served to prepare you for both a glorious moment and for a lifetime that is yet to come. 

Here's to learning lessons- not "making mistakes"

- Alissa 

My Weekend and What I Wore: Sunday 2/23/14

Hat: Zumiez, Coat: Forever 21, Shirt: Urban Outfitters, Pants: Urban Outfitters, Shoes: Charlotte Russe, Glasses: Tobi, Bracelet: 66 Links, Watch: Michael Kors, Lipstick: Ruby Woo by MAC and Rebel by MAC, Lipliner: Vino by MAC

Over the past few weeks, I've come to realize that making others happy is important, but making yourself happy is vital. I am always trying to make the people around me happy- so much so that I often lose sight of the importance of my own happiness. It is not a crime to be selfish with your happiness. At the end of the day, that is ultimately what everyone is seeking- their own happiness.

Doing things for other people makes me happy. Seeing other people happy makes me happy. At some point, we will find that spending every minute of our days only doing things to ensure someone else’s happiness will sometimes drain us of our own. This week, vow to find out what your source of happiness is. Focus on making those around you happy, but don’t allow yourself to be unhappy.

I find it so important to sometimes focus on some “me” time. Spend some time alone to gather your thoughts, sort out where you are at in life and where you would like to go next. Focus on what will make you grow and what will make your journey more worthwhile in the end. Making others happy will come so much more easily when you are happy yourself.

Here’s to focusing more on our “me” time.

-          Alissa 

   PS: This weekend, I went to the Kanye West concert in Connecticut with my sister and my cousin. He is so, so talented and such an amazing performer. On Saturday, I went to the cutest little place called Sweet Indulgence. They have all different kinds of desserts and drinks (my favorite: frozen hot chocolate). I recommend it to any and all of my RI readers!

What I Wore: Friday 2/21/14

Dress: Forever 21, Shoes: Dr. Martens, Socks: Urban Outfitters 

"Make room for good things and good things will come your way." Although we are only two months into it, this year has been one of the best years yet. I have focused my attention on the things that truly matter and the things that are important to me. I've made an effort to ignore any and all negativity and remove toxic people from my life. If you focus on the things that you value and appreciate, and the people that value and appreciate you in return, everything will fall into place.

Life is too short for anything that isn't beneficial. In two short months, I've realized a number of things.
1. Don't waste time on people that don't want to see you happy.
2. Don't stress over the little things.
3. Don't get caught up in seeking the approval of others.
4. Good things take time.
5. A bad day does not mean a bad life.
6. Be open to trying new things.
7. Take advantage of every opportunity you have.
8. You have to get up, go out and go after what you want. Nothing you desire in life will be handed to you.
9. Things will only bother you if you let them.
10. Make the most out of every single day. Appreciate the people in your life. Focus on what you do have rather than what you don't have.

Here's to making this year a good year.

- Alissa 

A Week of Good News

This week was full of good news for me. My blog was featured in my college's newspaper on Wednesday and I was ecstatic about it. My sister and a few of my friends shared their thoughts about my blog and how they are inspired by what I am doing. I'm so lucky that people find joy in what I am doing here, because it's the thing that has brought me endless amounts of joy, as well. When you find what it is that you are passionate about and you share it with others, you inspire them to discover their passion, too. I'm doing what I love and I am inspiring others along the way- therefore, I'm achieving so many of my goals all at once.

Yesterday, I found out that I have been accepted into the study abroad program for the fall semester. I will be studying in Italy for four months (!!!!!!) and I could not possibly be any happier or any more excited about it. At the start of this year, I vowed to take advantage of every opportunity that I possibly could. I have always wanted to travel but haven't had many chances to. I'm so lucky that I have a family that supports me every step of the way, wants to see me happy, and will do all that they can to help me live out my dreams.

I'm so excited to take Vogue and Vibes to Italy and all around Europe with me in six months. There is so much in store for me, my journey and my blog and I'm happy I have a place where I can share stories every step of the way.

Ask yourself how you can take advantage of the opportunities in your life. What can you do to be sure that you live out your dreams? Is there something you've wanted to do but have never allowed yourself to do? Do it. You are only young once. Grab on to every opportunity that comes your way and make the most out of every single day of your life. Create something that matters. 

Here's to a week full of even more good news.

- Alissa