Until We Meet Again...

Us girls on ice skates in Rockefeller Center for Grandma's 80th birthday (2006)

"May Angels Lead You In"
-Jimmy Eat World

There's no one in town I know
You gave us some place to go.
I never said thank you for that.
I thought I might get one more chance.
What would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that,
now I'll never have a chance.
May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
So what would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that,
now I'll never have a chance.
May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.
And if you were with me tonight,
I'd sing to you just one more time.
A song for a heart so big,
god wouldn't let it live.
May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.
May angels lead you in.

R.I.P
Dolores McKenna

The Daily Jones: August 27, 2009

I was a bad girl last week. I shopped. Or at least, I thought I did. I've been jonsing for a new purse since the springtime. Unfortunately I haven't had the ability to muster up some cash to actually afford the ones that I want. Until, last Thursday. As I was perusing Macy's website in search of the inevitable perfect purse, I saw it.

Now, I'm not usually a Dooney & Bourke fan, but the Luna was adorable in its cobalt blue (the color of my car, sooooo meant to be!) shade. The size was perfect, the price was perfect and the purse would look awesome on my shoulder well into the fall season. So, I purchased it. I put in on my Macy's Card (no balance, woo hoo!). My credit card info was saved on the website, so I never actually had to take out my card.

I waited impatiently for my package to arrive the next couple of days. It never came. I checked my account, my purchase never registered. I called the Macy's credit card company, I have no record of a purchase.

Did I imagine the whole thing? Was it really too good to be true?

The Dooney and Bourke, Luna purse is no longer available on Macy's website for the amount I saw, nor the color I wanted it in.

Now comes the hard part, do I purchase the purse that's perfect for me at the asking price of $245? The kicker? I have looming credit card debt, not as bad as it was a year ago, but still debt is debt. I do work hard, and I pay for everything in my life. Which is why I treat myself to expensive items such as a new purse.

Oh, the dilema.


Store: Dooney & Bourke
Designer: Dooney & Bourke, Luna
Price: $245.00
(via)

My Backbones

I'll never forget, I was about 10 years old, clad in Lee jeans and my super snazzy white Keds sneakers. The elementary school nurse was doing her routine checkup's on us little tykes. She had me bend over and they rolled a ruler type contraption down my back. I had scoliosis (I would come to find out, at age 15, that it runs in my family). I had a slight curve in my lower spine, not drastic enough to put me in a brace, but just enough of a pain in the ass to send me to a back specialist where he told me "not to run track and do yoga." I was on my own with that one.

Thanks, doc.

My family has been in shambles ever since I can remember. We were happy once upon a time, but what Walt Disney fails to tell you at the end of every fairytale is that no one ever lives "happily ever after." Some people say that family is supposed to be your backbone. I unfortunately don't have that luxury. My friends have become my makeshift family and I, for that, am truly grateful. They are my backbones.

I won't bore you with the scarring details of my family's past, that's best saved for my therapist. What I will tell you is that I have the best girlfriends I could ever ask for. They are there for me, without hesitation, and I don't know what I would do with out them. At the risk of being too mushy, I will just post their photos and embarrass them a tad.

Alicia, 10th Grade, Wife, lives too far away




Meg, College cube mate (J2 Crew!), Sister, PIC




Maggie, 2005, work PIC, GF's



Giselle, 8th Grade, Chai and Chat buddy, bathroom stall hater

I seriously don't know what I would do with out my backbones. I wouldn't be able to pick myself up...literally and figuratively.

The Daily Jones: August, 24, 2009

To somewhat hinder my shopping addiction, I am instilling a segment in my blog called "The Daily Jones," a.k.a what I'm jonsing for at the moment. Currently, it's a pair of cowboy boots for my upcoming trip to Nashville. I have a hard time stomaching paying such an obscene amount as a NYer. They are cute though, right?




Store: Piperlime
Designer: Jessica Simpson
Price: $129.99
(via)

Awaiting the Weekend: Mets VS Phillies

I love attending sporting events: Baseball, football, hockey, basketball. I have been to only one New York Giants football game, and that was on Christmas Eve in 2006. My current boyfriend took me to Shea Stadium for the first and last time last summer and it was a blast. I've been to the new Citi Field a handful of times and even ventured into enemy territory (ie. the new Yankee stadium and Fenway Park).


Saturday, I am going to see the Mets play the Phillies, in the midst of Hurricane Bill, with the people I love most. My sister and my boyfriend. Instead of getting blown away by the hurricane, I hope the Mets blow me away. The game last Wednesday against the Braves was LESS than stellar, with Atlanta up 8-0 in the 2nd inning. They eventually lost 14-2.





Charlie Donovan: Vaughn's been looking good out there today.
Rachel Phelps: Don't worry, he'll blow it.
(via)

Blast from the Past: When Life Hands you Lemons

...you make lemonade. What if I want to make an awesome life, minus the lemonade? I've been doing a lot of complaining lately, mainly because nothing is coming very easily. I'm at a job that I feel is a dead end and I've had so many jobs in different fields that I have yet to find my niche. I should star in a reality show called "Finding my Niche..." I can try a bunch of different things and stick with the things I'm good at. Think of it like the Simple Life meets The Apprentice.

Or...I could have the life I always dreamed of (well, technically, not always...just recently is more accurate).

-I want a cute apartment (nice size, great location, near a park).

-A full time job doing public relations and planning events where I can make my own schedule

-The ability to freelance for a number of fashion, beauty and lifestyle mags (or just this blog becoming hella successful...whichever comes first) to which I would be inundated with free samples to try and report on.

-I want a dog. A boy. And he better be big.

-I want to hang out with my dog at home and work, I want to be able to take him to the park every day and he'll just chill at my feet when I'm on the computer or on the phone making the big bucks.

-I want to cook. Like REALLY cook. Make dinner every night for my significant other.

-I also want a fabulous wardrobe.

CariDee English, Cycle 7 winner of America's Next Top Model may have summed up life the best way I've heard in a long time.

"There's no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs."

*Sigh*

I'll settle for a 3rd floor walk up.


This post via, The Steps.

Blast from the Past: Taking a Step Back

I started my new job a few weeks ago and I am loathing the adjustment period. It's easy to forget your first few weeks/months at a new job previous to the current one, simply because they are completely different. I'm a perfectionist and I strive on a routine. Throw a wrench in the mix and I'm discombobulated for days. So far, it's been several. I have been "emotionally" eating and constantly saying "yes" to the Bossman when he asks to take me to lunch or buy me lunch. I haven't found my balance with this job yet and it's starting to take its toll.

During my work day I contemplate many scenarios of my life and how they could turn out and which one will make me the happiest. And I got nothin'. I can think of a few possibilities but neither make me jump for joy. The realist in me sees the flaws in my potential plans, not letting the dreamer in me have any fun. Also during my work day, actual work is interspersed, I wonder if I am really cut out for my job...and if I actually like my job.

I hope once the dust settles and the smoke clears I will be able to make an informed decision on what to do next. Hopefully I will be granted with that choice. Until then I'm pretending I know what I'm doing. And I think I'm doing a damn good job.

Let's Adopt Her!

One of my favorite movies of all time is a classic: Clueless. Besides the obvious fashion and slang phenomenon’s that spawned, it also sent a message to teen girls alike. As if.

If you recall, Cher and Dionne befriend Tye, a recluse from the East coast with buns nothin' like steel. A pure fashion and personality disaster, but she wasn't a Monet. After the girl's "project" Tye becomes a total Betty. Full of confidence, a fashion maven and actually gets the guts to go for the "good guy" or in the movie's case, a Loadie.

I have this friend, Serena, who is gorgeous, smart, funny but lacks confidence. When she walks passed, men’s mouths drop, puddles of drool form and penises perk up. It’s only natural.

I am determined not to let her settle for a Loadie. I want her confidence where it needs to be and that’s through the roof. She has the ability to demand what she wants and should have no qualms about it.

"Let's adopt her!"

So it has come down to this. Mine and Meg’s "Project” to help Serena see how gorgeous she is and that she deserves better in life. Our collective confidence is a fluke and completely by accident did we get so good at faking it. Granted we are confident women by practice, we get what we want. Well, sometimes.

The three of us went to Vegas in the beginning of June. Meg and I talked our way into the V.I.P section of the clubs, hung out with celebs and drank for free. All because of a little thing called confidence. Serena has the potential - she just hasn’t crafted her practice yet.

If you or someone you know is also lacks confidence, take a look at the tips listed below:

1. Walk in like you own the place.
2. Don’t wait in line. Ever.
3. Buy the first round of drinks for yourself. When you’re holding a drink talking to a guy and you are getting low, if he’s worth it, he will buy you another. If not, it’s a good excuse to escape and find someone more interesting to talk to.
4. Make eye contact and SMILE. No one likes a sourpuss.
5. Body language. There are classy ways to let guys in without seeming slutty or desperate.
6. If it comes down to the exchanging of digits, take his. This keeps YOU in control.
7. Never set plans on the first meeting, always keep them wanting more.
8. Seem mysterious. Men love women they can’t figure out.
9. Add a touch of bitchiness to your voice, it keeps men in line, where they should be.
10. HAVE FUN! Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive.

***

Meg has written a fabulous post on how to "Fake it ‘til You Make it." You can read it here.

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing

There are about 10 bands/artists that I would like to see perform live before I die, well, more accurately, before THEY die. And the article that was plastered all over my Yahoo homepage a few days ago triggered the "band-aid" inside me and got me thinkin'. At the age of 61, Steven Tyler, a man who I grew up listening to, fell off the stage at his most recent concert.

I still have yet to see Aerosmith in concert and they stand firm at the top of my favorite band's list, they are, however, the authors of my favorite song EVER. To which, got me thinking (as I so eloquently stated in the previous paragraph) how many other bands/artists I would like to see play live before they croak (or fall of a stage and break something...). The list is as follows, in no particular order.

Aerosmith-by default, my favorite band of all time. I grew up listening to them and I own every single one of their albums. It would make my life complete.

U2-Also grew up listening to U2, I heard they put on stellar shows and being the casual fan that I am, I can't help but get sucked in by Bono's stage presence.

John Mayer-OK, so he's dated a few celebs in his day, and has a tendency to be an a$$ but that doesn't take away the fact that he is one talented mofo. His songs drip with raw emotion and I'm a sucker for a man that can wail on a guitar like that. If you haven't heard "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" yet, you haven't heard John Mayer.

Bon Jovi-Undeniably New Jersey's golden boys. I'd love to see them play in their hometown with a beer in my hand singing along to all of their hits. They're classic.

Billy Joel-I blame my Dad for getting me hooked on Billy Joel. He used to sing to me "For the Longest Time" before I went to sleep every night. One of my Dad's cousins also claims to have been an original member of Billy Joel's band back in the 70's. Whether it's true, I doubt it. Regardless, he's awesome and responsible for fond childhood memories.

Madonna-The Queen of Pop. She rules. Granted I would have love to have seen her in her hey-day, but I'll settle for her next go-round. Legen-wait for it-dary.

Cher-My Mom was a huge Cher fan. Her, like Madonna, are unapologetically themselves, and I admire that. They told the music industry to kiss their perky asses and have made history. I would like to be a part of that.

Green Day-I was one of the only 6th graders I knew wearing a Green Day t-shirt when they first came out. I stole it from my younger brother and I thought I was so cool. The band has gotten progressively better with age and I don't see them slowing down anytime soon.

The Beatles-OK, I know this can't happen. But oh man, if I could see the Fab Four in concert, I'd be in my glory. If only...

KISS-The original 4 AND in makeup and costume. If I had my choice, it would be under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Treading Lightly

I've never been one to brag. I usually keep my work, my accomplishments and my good news to myself. I don't really have a reason as to why, maybe because it's not anyone's business, or even that anyone would care. They were my goals, mine to reach for... so why should I share?

A few years ago, I met with my mentor/college professor before I graduated from college. I wanted her to look over my resume. The one thing she told me:
"Allie, you have to brag. Brag. Brag. Brag."
"Really? I'm not sure how."

She had said, in so many words, that I have to sell myself to these companies. They look for confidence, they want to know everything that you've done and why it's relevant to the position you're applying for.

I sat down on my bed after our meeting and I kept a running list of everything that I've done. It was a lot. Professionally, I was awesome. Instead of working as a waitress or folding clothes at the local mall, I had been building up a nice little resume for myself to shop around to potential employers.

I always wanted to be a writer, or to at least to have writing somewhere in my job description. I've been lucky thus far. I have also been taking cues from my partner in crime, my BFF and my sister soul mate, Meg, on how to market myself to actually do what I want to do. And that's write on my own terms, about what I want and to have significance and importance.

This brings me to my post on Think Communications' blog about being anonymous. I was never comfortable about being myself on paper (or in blog). I always had an alias. Alas, I was always torn and my other projects rarely lasted more than a few months. I wanted my work to be showcased, but as me. But, who was going to care to read it? What if I'm just bragging to crickets? Will the one lone tomato be thrown from the dark crowd? Fortunately, this is the blog-o-sphere and said tomatoes are virtual and rarely leave a stain.

What I'm trying to say (and what has taken me this entire post to get to the point of) is that I am slowly integrating myself into the blogging, social media marketing myself and twittering my thoughts and accomplishments.

For now, I'm testing the waters.