ombre hair

The ombre hair trend has been going strong for quite some time now and I don't see it leaving anytime soon. It is a way to (in most cases) subtly add color and most of the time looks fantastic! It is low maintenance, so touch-ups aren't needed as often, especially if the color on top is your original hair color. I really like the ombre hair trend, and these fab ladies below look perfect!

Lately I've been looking through photos from when I studied abroad a couple summers ago. A few months before I went abroad I had a "trim" that turned out to be more like 5-6 inches off my hair. I love having long hair and was so sad to see my length hit just below the shoulder. So I got hair extensions. It looked great at first and it was nice to have more volume. However, during my time abroad, my extensions faded!!! The color changed to a lighter brown. A few people thought I just got highlights.....haha. My hair kind of looked ombre:

I actually like the look. If I weren't afraid of dying my hair (I've never colored it, ever) then maybe I would do this. I love my original color too much to color it, but ombre wouldn't change the roots.

HOWEVER, I saw this photo from my last night in Florence. My extensions look so fake. I just CRINGE when I see this photo!! Needless to say I took the extensions out when I got back to the US :(

There are times when I think I might put those extensions back in to get more volume and an "ombre hair" look but then remind myself of the photo above. Sometimes it just ain't pretty. Maybe I'll be able to find a way to make it look more real....hmm if you see any future photos of me with semi-lighter hair that's probably what I tried to do!!

Anyways, I am a big fan of the ombre hair trend and I have a feeling it will last longer than we think. What do you think of ombre hair?

xo-ally

dance team end of the year party & more senior ball [tons of photos!]

Yesterday was quite the day for end-of-the-year celebrations! First, I was at a Student Publications lunch, then a dinner for the communication honor society, which I left early to go to the Dance Team end-of-the-year party! What a day. My feet were so worn out from being in my giant 5.5 inch heels all day that by the end of the night I had to switch to my backup flip flops. :) Here are some pics!

With Lindsey wearing our honor chords! I cannot believe how close graduation is...

Tiramasu, so good. It took me back to Italy! 

Pink lemonade :) 

Then it was time for the dance team party.....with a surprise party bus! HAHA it was great.

 We were driven to an "undisclosed location" which turned out to be a dinner in Coeur d'Alene!

Those of us 21+ had drinks with dinner ;) 

Then we went back to campus and got little gifts! Love the shiny wrapping.... 

We exchanged our final "secret sister" gifts and revealed who we had all semester, watched a lovely end of the year video (oh the memories), and did fun awards. I got the "Miss Congeniality" award (YAY) and then for my fun award I got "Most likely to...own a fitness empire." Haha :)

In the shiny wrapping was a neon crop top from American Apparel! So fun. We also got mismatching socks and a DVD of the video. For my "Miss Congeniality" award I got nail polish, a mini loofah, and the quote wall decoration. Lauren, who was revealed as my secret sister, gave me the makeup bag, pink wine opener, coasters, floral earrings, a notepad, nail polish, and candy. It honestly felt like a birthday! (In fact it actually happened to be one of the girl's 22nd birthday).

One of the girls' secret sister gifts was a Guess Who board game made specifically with our dance team faces! It was so creative and hilarious and thoughtful that I had to take a pic!  

 I only have a few photos with us actually in them for now (forgot my camera and only had my phone), still waiting on Facebook and Instagram for the rest of the cute photos!

That being said, here are some more senior ball photos either from my phone or from what I've collected from a bunch of different people this past week:

With our friend Will

and again 

With Ellie (why we chose to take a photo in the bathroom of all places...) but love our sparkly dresses! 

With Alexa outside 

You can only kind of see in the photo, but I was all scratched up from the sequins from my dress! Haha 

Lauren and Patrick

Someone said something funny that made Lauren put her hand on her face, wish we could remember what it was.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoying the end of the year for those of you still in school!

xo-ally

one outfit, two pairs of shoes

Today I was indecisive on my shoes. I wanted to wear my floral heels to add some color to the outfit, but knew I would be running errands later, so I brought some sandals along as well. So I just took photos with both pairs of shoes!

And the sandals:

Anthropologie top (old, slightly similar here) | Brandy Melville skirt (similar) | GUESS sandals (old) | Anne Klein heels (similar) | Ray-Ban sunglasses | Michael Kors watch

xo-ally

friday's fancies - april showers

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with long distance loving is April Showers. Here's a lovely spring outfit I made for when the weather is a little dreary! I'm loving the cutout sleeves on the top.

shirt, jeans, boots, bracelet, umbrella

And doesn't the adorable umbrella remind you of S and B's umbrellas from that Gossip Girl episode?? Fab.

xo-ally

sunny days in spokane

I just got back inside from a couple hours laying in the sun! A friend and I sat out on the grass by campus and enjoyed the beautiful weather. This is the time of year where everyone gets so excited because it's warm, and literally every spot with grass has people either relaxing, studying, or playing some kind of recreational sport on it. So fun!

Screenshot of the app on my phone - it changes the background to match the weather. It's refreshing seeing the blue sky/sun today, because it's usually dark and cloudy!

Tomorrow it's supposed to be 75, so I'm guessing it'll be a repeat of today :) and then it'll get cold again :( we'll enjoy it while it lasts!

xo-ally

blue ray-bans!

Wellllll, you can see my friend Lauren (friend and today's photographer) in the reflection, haha.

 Ray-Ban sunglasses | Free People dress (similar) | Martin + Osa cardigan (similar) | Report flats (similar) | Nordstrom bracelets (similar) | Entourage earrings

I am so loving my new blue mirrored aviators. I went to Nordstrom 4 times to look at them before actually making the purchase! They have already becoming a favorite in my accessory collection, even if they are a little crazy. I don't care, I love them anyway! It took my a while to admit that because they are a newer trend and a little "out there" ... also, my ex-boyfriend from high school used to wear mirrored aviators and I thought he looked like the biggest tool. Haha. So....

I'm also wearing the earrings from Leslie that came in my blog swap gift!! Love the subtle addition of orange next to the blue.

xo-ally

all things spring swap!

I received the most adorable package from Leslie when we were set up as partners for Lindsey's All Things Spring blog swap! Going to the mail room on campus on a rainy morning and finding this in my box brightened up my day! Here's the package:

I didn't photograph the inside of the package, but it the gifts were wrapped in the most adorable checkered tissue paper. Checkers are my favorite print!

I loved all the little gifts:

Leslie gave me a pair of earrings, colorful hair elastics (I've worn all the colors by now!), some thank you cards, sticky notes/note pad, lotion, nail polish and nail file set, pens, and a pink lip stain.

It was fun to "meet" Leslie through the blog swap - you should check out her blog and I see what gift I sent her :D

xo-ally

friday's fancies - nice + neon

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with long distance loving is nice + neon. I'm loving neon, and my "travel bug" has been acting up lately - these past few days I've been dreaming about the French Riviera and how badly I want to visit! Nice is a beach city on the Mediterranean Sea. I thought there could be no more perfect way to use this week's FF theme with a neon outfit inspired by Nice, France.

[photos found on pinterest]

tank, pants, hat, bracelets, sunglasses, shoes

xo-ally

PS - the social media buttons on the side are now fixed! YAYY :D

army green & polka dot jeans

Nordstrom jacket (similar) | Nordstrom top (similar) | Michael Kors watch | Henri Bendel ring (slightly similar here) | Henri Bendel earrings | Nordstrom flats (similar here and here) | Articles of Society jeans | Nordstrom sunglasses

I'm loving colored denim and printed denim, but haven't gotten into the crazy prints quite yet. I've been keeping it more simple these subtle polka dot jeans, paired with a crochet top, army green jacket, and sparkly brown accessories.

Tonight Florida Georgia Line is having a concert on campus. I'm so excited! :D

xo-ally

more updates...

Hello, hello! I am still working on cleaning up that virus on my computer so this post is just a super quick update! Coming soon: the lovely Darcy nominated me for a Liebster Award (thanks girl!) so I will post my responses to her questions soon. Also, an outfit post is on the way, as well as Friday's Fancies and Tumblr Saturday! In the meantime, feel free to check out my Pinterest or Twitter. :)

Have a wonderful day!

xo-ally

friday's fancies - shoes, shoes, shoes

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with long distance loving is shoes, shoes, shoes. I'm loving these shoe styles for spring :) and crafted a spring pastel outfit around a fabulous pair of Miu Miu pumps below.

From left to right: mint heels, cork flats, pink loafers, green flats, gold heels

dress, necklace, bag, shoes

I'm reaaaally thinking I might get that Vince Camuto bag soon! It's on my list and I have a gift card....hmm ;) we'll see. And as much as I'd like those pink Miu Miu pumps to be on the shopping list, they definitely aren't due to the price, haha!

Enjoy your Friday!

xo-ally

a spring outfit

J. Crew shirt | Swank Boutique pink necklace | Max & Chloe monogram necklace | Sanctuary jeans | Sperry boat shoes (they brought back the original pink!) | Kate Spade bag (similar) | Kate Spade ring | Nordstrom belt (similar) | Nordstrom sunglasses

Today we went out near the small lake on campus to take photos in the grass! I love a good blue sky/bright green grass combo for photos. The geese were there today, and luckily didn't start chasing me (yeah, that happened sophomore year....)

I pulled out my favorite pair of Sperry boat shoes, which I've had since I was 13 years old. They've stood the test of time and are still in fantastic shape! They definitely look "worn." The pink Sperrys match my necklace perfectly, and with the necklace's gold accents, I added some gold jewelry and a bag. It was fun to add pink (my favorite) and gold to the neutral blue and white of the shirt and jeans.

xo-ally

my senior ball dress

Today I took a quick little trip to a local boutique in between classes. Little did I know that I would find the perfect dress for my senior ball! Every year Gonzaga has a formal dance called the Senior Ball for everyone to enjoy a nice dinner and night with the awesome class of 2013. I got a sleeved, black and gold dress. It is super sparkly (would I get anything less?) and it is pretty versatile year-round. It was on the cover of People Style Watch in November :)

[source]

This dress is formal but still young, and I feel like I will get a ton of use out of it in the future. Yay for sparkle!

I also got this necklace today. I had my mind on it a few weeks ago when I bought this necklace, but decided to wait. Luckily, they had one left today! When I got the dress I loved it right away, and with the necklace I had actually been thinking about it for a while - those moments are the ones where you know you will not experience buyer's remorse!

^Expect to see this in an outfit post soon ;)

xo-ally

PS - this is also my 100th post of the year! Which means it is the 100th day of 2013. WOW, does time fly! And, that's a lot of posts. Haha. Happy 100!

derek lam for kohl's

Have you checked out the Derek Lam for Kohl's line yet? I'm loving this black and blue color block dress. Having the color block on the sides like that makes dresses so flattering!

You can browse the lookbook here. Which look is your favorite?

xo-ally