Back to Life, Back to Reality

It's time to go back to school. After working, and adventuring, and eating all kinds of food, it's time to get back to the real life of 7:30 alarms and as many cups of coffee as humanly possible. Oh who am I kidding, the unlimited coffee was part of the break too.

For me syllabus week was last week, and after taking the Monday off for MLK Day, we are finally in full swing here at LSU.

To make it a little easier for you all I've compiled some links for you to devour. Feel free to spread them throughout the week or just take 'em all in at once. It's your life, live it.

Weekend Update: How to Avoid Any Lingering Responsibilities

Before you do anything else go ahead and throw yourself a little party. You made it through Monday, and that's a cause for celebration.

See it's my celebration dance!

I might be over exaggerating, but Monday is. the. worst. It's especially the worst when you have the beginning of the semester (did I mention that starts Wednesday) staring you directly in the eyes.

Let's just say that I'm coping with the start of the semester very well. And by that I mean I threw all of my money at a weekend getaway to New Orleans and never looked back.

Here's a look:

Hello 2016 You Are Beautiful

My goodness I love New Years. The idea of a clean slate sounds really really nice. Everyone has an excuse to start fresh and new again, and we're all filled with hope at the promise of a brand spankin' new year.

For the first time ever I'm actually going to make some resolutions. I would expect nothing less for the beautiful year that is 2016. Nothing too crazy, but enough to keep me motivated:

Here's to a New Year

My goodness is it almost 2016 already?! Where did the time go? Did I just sleep through some really misguided alarm or is this year really over?

For those of you who found 2015 to be a struggle, congratulations you made it through. Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back, it's time for a clean slate.

Thankfully my 2015 wasn't too shabby. 2015 was the year I graduated high school, got into several colleges, rented out my first apartment, joined a sorority, got a grown up job, and several other accomplishments and failures that I can't remember.

2015 was my year of change, and I have no doubt that 2016 will not disappoint.

Enough about me though. Let's talk about you. Here's what the world found most interesting in 2015:

• More people cared about Adele's new album than the 2016 presidential election, and I have to say that I'm 100% okay with that. Google's 'A Year in Search' 
• If you prefer your data in ranked lists check this one out: Google Trends
• Maybe in 2016 I'll learn how to effectively cook a meal other than scrambled eggs... The Kitchn's 10 Essential Cooking Lessons of 2015
• Joy the Baker launched Drake on Cake, and I have to say it is my newest Instagram obsession.  
• Speaking of Instagram... Caroline Calloway (yeah that girl who writes about her life on Instagram) got a book deal this year. If you haven't hear of her I hereby present you with a new year's gift. Her tales about life at Cambridge are sheer magic. 
• The Good the Bad and the Ugly, some of the greatest photographers documented it all for us to look back on. The Most Astonishing Photos that Won Awards in 2015
• The Oxford English Dictionary gave up on all of us and dubbed an emoji the word of the year...

I hope your 2016 treats you well, and that you've come to peace with where you're leaving your 2015. I'll be back with my resolutions tomorrow. Until then eat, drink, and be merry. Oh, and if you find a cute sparkly dress to wear send me a link because my obsession with sparkly dresses is what fuels my excitement about new years. 

Cheers!

- Ally

Weekend Update: Jazzy Sunday

Midterms stressing you out? Yeah me too. Why do you think I'm writing this? If you guessed "to avoid all life responsibilities" you are 100% correct. Welcome to the little corner of paradise that doesn't require you to make a bajillion flashcards or turn out a paper. Welcome, to the land of procrastination.

I was well aware of how stressful midterms could be, so to prepare myself I de-stressed ahead of time. Or at least that's how I justified running downtown to enjoy a jazz concert. Does the reason really matter?

We Need A Break

So before you pull out the tissues know that "it's not you, it's me".

With school starting up and being in the middle of a move I need to step back from the blogging for a few weeks. But here comes the good news, I won't be gone too long (pinky swear), and there's nothing stopping me from updating you with pretty pictures during my 'break'.

But I figured I should let you know that no it's not forever, and no you do not need to file a missing persons report.

See you soon!

xo

Ally

Oh by the way here's pretty picture #1 (aka the place I'm moving all of my stuff to)

Dutch Princess Meets Taylor Swift

I'm not a fashion blogger. Repeat after me: Ally is not a fashion blogger.

If anything I'm a grandma that somehow ended up in a college girl's body. Please don't go sharing this blog with your friends telling them I'm a fashion blogger. Because trust me, they'll get all excited, start looking at my posts and realize that all I do is write hilarious anecdotes complete with scrapbook layouts. And while you and I might think that's the coolest thing ever, they won't. They'll probably cry, and then I'd have to hand them a tissue, which I guarantee you will be single-ply because I'm a college student and can't afford to splurge.

So before we go any further remember one thing: Ally is not a fashion blogger. [If I was a fashion blogger I would've had enough sense to pick a better pose. Like really self? You went with the awkward "I'm going to hide one leg behind the other aaaannnndd yeah arms will look good by my side" look? Really?]

So here it goes. Basically I actually had time to get ready this morning so I decided to put some effort into my appearance.

Sunglasses: Papaya

Top: Old Navy (but it's like really old because I got it at Plato's Closet [aka the best store to find clothes])

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Payless (because I'm classy like that)

Topped it all off with a dutch braid and some red lips because that's just how I roll.

So ladies and gents, share this with your friends but remember: Ally's not a fashion blogger.

xo

Ally

I Just Spent Hard Earned Money on Coloring Books and I Don't Regret a Thing

Yeah, you read that right. Coloring books. Like the things that used to keep you entertained for hours as a kid. or maybe just a few minutes if you were more of the rambunctious type. Nowadays artists are making it big in the world of coloring book designing.

The fad of Adult Coloring Books has taken off and I am totally on board. You don't have to tell me that scientists say it reduces stress levels to get me to grab a crayon and get to coloring.

Here are the coloring books I just ordered, and thankfully through the grace of Amazon Prime they'll be here in two days. Just in time for a road trip! Don't worry there will be plenty a post about where I'm going later.

Animal Designs 

Balance

Until then, pick a coloring book, grab a pencil, and color your worries away.

xo

Ally

Inside Out

I rarely go to the movies. Nowadays there's just no point. With Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu plus and so many other ways to stream movies it doesn't hurt to wait a few months for them to be available.

However when it came to Disney Pixar's Inside Out I was like a kid waiting for Christmas. I COULD NOT WAIT for the release date. It was one of the most innovative concepts I had ever heard of. Pixar did it again.

News outlets are saying that it's the number one grossing original film of all time, and it's not hard to argue with that.

You can read more about the concept of the film all over the internet, but I want to talk more about the backstage magic.