Sometimes the Best Things In Life Can't Be Bought

Spring break is finally here!

It seems to get later and later into the year every year, but it's probably because our school tries to keep it with Easter since it's a Christian university.

It's amazing to be back home. It's my first time back this semester, so I'm really enjoying it.

Sure I didn't go to Miami, Florida or even LA, California; but family sure beats both of those.  However, I will be going on a missions trip next week ;)

One of the huge benefits to being back home is that I have my old clothes back!  However, now that I'm here, I realize there aren't that many really nice blouses here either..... shopping spree???? jk

Thankfully, I had this cute shirt I snagged at last year's clothing swap.  It was my first time wearing it and at first I wasn't sure how cause I left all my camisoles at school, however I realized if you wear a strapless bra with it or a bandeaux bra, you could easily wear it without an undershirt.  The loose flow of the blouse also makes it perfect for the warm weather and helps shape you nicely, especially if you're petite and/or curvy.  

Paired with a pencil skirt and gladiator sandals, this creates a really cute "casual" outfit. Perfect for the park, church, a party, or anything really.  And as usual, accessories always make a difference from making an outfit nice to complete and stunning.

Bracelet with 1 Corinthians 13 the Love Passage engraved

My favorite necklace.

Hoop Earrings

Kickin it Casual

Every time I wear this hat it makes me feel like I need to match the rest of the outfit with a very tom-boy look.

Need tough, endurable shoes that can withstand the rain and long walks?  Hiking boots are the way to go!  Add some skinny jeans, an oversized sweater and a hat for the look.  Then keep it girly by adding a statement necklace.

Simply Sweet

 If fashion is all about self-expression, then who says I need to be an expert to talk about fashion?

After a fun reunion with my bestie from the dorms (six hours of walking in the mall), I decided to not be ashamed of my fashion blog.  Sure I may not be an "expert" or super "trendy" but I'm Perfectly Me.  And like she says, there are tons of girls out there who's job is to run a fashion blog, and they display tons of simple outfits.  However finding where my digital camera ran off to, might be a helpful start ;)

Somehow this semester in my effort to pack "light,"  I accidentally brought more shoes than actual clothes leaving me with barely any fashion choices.  That was in January, and I haven't been home since.  When my family came up in February for the school's musical I was in, I asked if they could bring some sweaters, T-shirts, and regular clothes..... yep, you could imagine what happens when you're that vague.  I got a stack full of fifteen T-shirts, two old sweatshirts, and a few other items.   Thankfully, Spring Break starts next week so I'll get to venture my closet back home and bring back everything I need.


Lately, I've been trying to take the fewer nice clothes I have here and mix 'em up.  Get some new outfits I haven't done before.  I really liked this one.  I've always worn this gray zebra print cardigan with gray or white or black, which has kind of made it really dull or not that appealing.  However when thrown together with a pink cami, it just makes the outfit that much girlier; plus it gives sleeves to a shirt that otherwise I would not wear in public by itself.

What I love most about wearing pink is that it softens the appearance of an outfit.  Such as the outfit with the leather jacket from the other day.

I accessorized this outfit by wearing pink earrings and my prayer box I got for my Quince Años.  I also threw on a white bangle for fun and contrast.

Another great thing about this cardigan is that it has pockets.  Not that I ever use them, but still.

Boots go great with everything.  I love these ones in particular.  They're super comfy, black, and flat.

So it may seem weird that I'm using bathroom pics on my blog, but it's so much less embarrassing than posing in front of a tripod and taking pics of yourself, and honestly I haven't found many other mirrors lately. The lighting in this bathroom was especially good too. lol

Anyways never give up on your dreams, you never know where they'll lead. 

Grease is the Word

Everybody enjoys the movies: Cry Baby, Grease, Footloose, Dirty Dancing.

Why? Cause it's fun to kick back and see how culture used to be.  To see how much fashion has changed.  After watching Sara Bareilles' music video for "Gonna Get Over You" I felt totally inspired to copy this old greaser style.

Sara Bareille's Outfit:  Leather Jacket, White-T, Denim Jeans, Sneakers, and high-pony with a ridiculously awesome poof!

MY OUTFIT:

Cropped peach top with a white undershirt, tan shorts, animal print headband, and white Reebok.

Soooo.... maybe my outfit doesn't quite resemble hers. The truth is as simple as her outfit was I don't have some of the main pieces, such as the white t-shirt.  Why?  Cause my only white shirt turned a mucky yellow when I accidentally washed it with my scarf, and my jeans are hidden somewhere in the bottom of my laundry basket.  Thus I decided to stick with a crop top, and the shorts just went so well with it.

Why not throw on a pair of shades to rock with the jacket?

The softness from the peach, white, and beige added just the perfect amount of sweetness and femininity to contrast with the tough and rebellious look created by the headband and jacket.   

Leopard print always adds extra spice to an outfit

So as it seems from above ^ ^ ^ ^  I'm not quite a "college pixie" anymore..... and as fun and adventurous as pixie cuts are, I've got to say I'm thoroughly enjoying having longer hair. 

And when experimenting with different hairstyles, you'll come to the realization that "Grease Is the Word"

Walking on Water...

So this Christmas, my family and I spent a week up in the mountains at a friend's cabin. It was so nice.  I totally didn't realize it till we were there, but it seems that every pair of shoes I brought were boots. lol

I just love them. I think I have four pairs of boots and some rain boots a friend let me borrow.

So I decided to just show several of the different outfits I put together this week in one post.  I'm kind of bummed I didn't take more time to choose "cute" outfits but I just kind of threw several warm sweaters and my jeans in my bag and hoped something would work, only to realize I could've gotten some sweet pictures in the mountains (without so many random people staring at you).


 This is probably one of the simplest: an oversized sweater, jeans, a scarf, and a cute pair of rain boots.


So these are my friend's boots and they are the cutest!  they're pretty comfortable and don't really look like rain boots, but they definitely block out water.

Here's another one: a cropped-sleeve sweater, a long sleeve shirt, jeans, a scarf and tall boots.  Not to special, but it works well.  Great for a chilly day, you could add more layers too if it gets really cold, in this case I'm wearing leggings under my jeans. hehe


Lastly, I wore this next outfit when we visited the frozen Lake Alpine.  I probably should've worn different shoes, but I didn't realize there was gonna be snow.  Thankfully it wasn't too deep. 

Anyways if you've never seen a frozen lake, you definitely should go see one sometime this winter.  They are beautiful!!!  The floor looks like crystals/glass.  It's just super pretty.  Plus walking on water is pretty legit.  

Well I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Nicole Alejandra

Art Show Opening Reception

I absolutely love getting super dressed up. Thanks to our school's new Art Show held in our library I got to dress super formal without feeling over-dressed. Everyone there was wearing some sort of suit or dress with a huge winter jacket, it looked really cool, and fancy.  Well I actually had to dress up.  Why?  Cause I got asked to play the background music for the Art Show for two hours.  So much fun! Piano is definitely one of my favorite instruments, and I don't think there are too many things more fun in life than just sitting at a piano and improvising for an hour or two, well at least not for a song-writer. Forget all the rules and theory and just let your feelings flow out.  That's when I believe some of the prettiest music comes out.

So anyways, dressing up is pretty simple, just wear a black dress, nylons, heels, and you're good to go.  Having a really nice jacket can help too though.  I got this one for about $20 at Teen Challenge a few years back and now I've finally gotten to use it.  It's been super cold recently and it actually fits well now so I've just been using it to style up everything from leggings, dresses, skirts, jeans, any oufit possible. lol

I've also been using this purse a lot. My bestie Elika gave it to me last year. I love it, cause it's quite spacious without being ridiculously big, and it's brown, thus it goes with pretty much everything. :) It's also the perfect size for carrying my lit books, much lighter than carrying a huge backpack, more stylish too! 

<3 Music is my life.  I thank God for it every day.  <3

Here's another example of a time I wore this jacket. This was for our new choir, Master Works Chorale's very first concert.

Wearing Your Sunday Best

Hey! So I know I've been gone for forever, sorry about that. I guess you can say I needed some time to stop pretending I was a fashionista and actually learn how to dress like one lol.  So, since I turned 18 I've been paying more attention to what I wear.  Yes, this meant not seeing what looks "cute" but what looks nice, put-together, and not kiddy.  I guess you can say my style has changed significantly then, but for the better.   So I finally decided to show you guys one of my outfits, this is the one I wore today!

Welcome to my aptarment, yes this is my room, which I share with the best roommate ever. Anyways this is more of my style now, simple but classy.   Really it's only a pair of leggins, flip-flops and a nice shirt. If you've got a cute enough blouse all you need to make the outfit are the accessories.  See how I did it.

Well my roommate found the prettiest earings at Target on discount so she got them for me. I've practically worn them everyday since.  The variety of colors in the beads make them go with pretty much any outfit especially ones with earth tones in them (which I wear a lot).  I've also got a simple bracelet and my purity ring.

My roomie and I also decided it was time both of us invested some money in accessories, so we bought some jewelry at Kohls. I chose this owl necklace. I have fallen in love with it. It just spices up and completes any outfit I wear it with.  You can adjust the length of the chain for it and because it has purple, blue, and green, it can be worn with practically anything!  and these flip-flops have flowers on them, making them just a little cuter ;)

What I'm seriously thinking though has made the outfits look more grown up lately though is my new haircut.  Yes, I know it'll take longer this way to grow out my hair, but I was tired of it having no shape, so I added some bangs, and the rest it does naturally. It's super simple to maintain and I think it looks cute.

 Lastly, my roommate the other day helped me do a smoky eye look, which came out super pretty, so I tried to copy it.  Probably not quite the same, but I'm really liking it.  The trick she told me is only using the darker eyeshadow on the outer half of the lid and using a lighter color on the inner corners, then blending them. And of course you always gotta have the eye-liner and mascara.

And that's all!

Yep, I love Sundays, cause with going to church and all, I have a reason to dress-up and look cute.  hehe

Well God Bless Ya and check out my other blog for more: lifelaughterandsmiles.blogspot.com

Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now

 

So I definitely spent my 18th B-day with my fam, but that doesn't mean I didn't make sure to also go party it up with my friends, two weekends later.  For my b-day, my girlfriend took me shopping for my grown-up woman dress.  It was so funny to hear her say after I would take a dress off the rack, "put that back, you're not 17 anymore."  kind of made me realize though how much I do dress like a kid still. Thus these past few weeks I've been doing my best to dress like a big girl! lol 

For my B-day outfit we went for a classy satin blue strapless dress and some silver sandals.  My favorite thing about it is that I could totally wear it for a casual event too. I plan to wear it over the winter by changing it up with a blazer and different shoes. 

  

We had the funnest time, just being girls, dancing with each other, and having a nice dinner afterwards. Though I do agree with them, I will prolly not go back to a club for a long time. I don't grind, only dance.  Anyways when in that type of environment it's pretty easy to show people to respect you.  Demand it.  If you don't dress trashy and if you act responsibly, you can have tons of fun without being treated like a ho.  The guys are begging for your attention, let them know you're not the typical girl, but someone of value, the daughter of the king.

San Francisco The Bay

So I'm finally back... from San Francisco. We visited for a day trip.   Where I've been all these other summer months: working, enjoying my family, having fun.  :)  So after watching "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday morning, I realized I needed to get back to my fashionista self. lol  And here's my post for today.

We actually didn't visit the bay, but the beach.  The weather was amazing.  It was cool and windy but not cold, and the sand was so warm.   The waves looks fantastic and it was lot's of fun to walk around with my family.

At the beach, my little brother and I found the coolest wall full of graffiti.   Looked pretty boss. lol   So this was the first time I tried pulling off these pink legwarmers, they're really long, but worked nicely for keeping warm.  They also gave my outfit a more juvenile look.  And for the shoes, I just used some comfortable hiking boots. 

For accessories, I added a nice blue bangle and a pretty cross necklace my boyfriend gave me two weeks ago.

 

Well hopefully, I'll keep up a bit more on this blogging since my internet seems to be back :) 

Anyways God Bless You and Enjoy Your Summer!