Monthly Archives

February 2017

How To

10 Ways To Be Happier

February 28, 2017

Hi!  Thanks for coming back to Allison in Wonderland for another post!  Today, I’m going to be sharing 10 ways to be happier in your everyday life.  These days, it feels like winter is dragging on and on, so I hope these tips will serve as a little pick-me-up!  Enjoy!

  1.  Watch the sunrise/sunset.  I tend to see more sunsets than sunrises, but I love them both!  It’s so cool how God makes the sky look different every night.  It’s calming to sit there and relax while you watch the sun go down; I highly recommend it!
  2. Look nice.  It’s so easy, especially in college, to go to class in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but it will boost your self-esteem if you spend a little time in the morning getting ready.  You don’t have to put on a full face of makeup, but a little mascara and a hair brush will do wonders to your outlook on the day!
  3. Do nice, spontaneous things for people you love!  Everyone loves being able to buy people little surprise gifts every once in a while but you don’t have to spend any money!  Doing something nice can even just be sending them a text wishing them a wonderful day.  It will make them feel good and it will make you feel good.  It’s a win-win!
  4. Take pictures.  This one might not apply to everyone but I love taking pictures.  Taking a photo and getting the shot that you envisioned in your head is the most incredible feeling and it lifts my mood in an instant!  Try it!
  5. Light a candle and take a bath.  This is one of my favorite things to do when I have a lot of time to hang out.  It’s so refreshing and you get clean at the same time!
  6. Be a tourist in your own town!  This is something that’s easier to do if you’re from a place with a larger population but you can make it work even if you’re not!  Every hometown has the things that make it special, so spend the day going to a few of your favorite spots.  Hopefully, you’ll get a great new outlook on your town!
  7. Spend time with your friends or family.  Spending time with friends and family is a great way to be surrounded by love and support.  Your friends and family want you to be happy so they’ll do everything they can to make you that way!
  8. Go to Target.  Target is one of my favorite places to go whether I need something or not!  I love looking at the home section and their candle section is to die for!  It’s so fun to walk around and see what new things they’ve gotten since the last time I was there.
  9. Listen to music.  Music is one of those things that’s perfect for whatever mood you’re in.  If you’re sad, there’s a playlist for that.  If you’re happy, there’s a playlist for that.  Whatever you’re feeling, music understands, and it has the power to work all your feelings out.  Give it a shot!
  10. Take a drive.  This is one of the best pieces of advice I can give for when you’re feeling down.  I love taking a drive, especially when it’s warm outside and I can have the sunroof open.  It’s such a good way to clear your head!

That’s all the advice I’m going to be sharing for today!  I hope it helped you out!  If you have any fun ways that you stay happy, let me know in the comments.  I’d love for you to share!  See you next week!

Travel

Travel Bucket List

February 21, 2017

Hi everyone and welcome to another week with me on Allison in Wonderland!  This week, I’m trying something new and doing a bucket list post!  I think I’ve mentioned this is previous posts, but I’ve really gotten the travel bug in the last year or so and I decided it’d be fun to put together a short list of some of the different places I’d love to travel to in the next couple years.  I hope you enjoy!

When I was in high school, I really wanted to travel out of the country.  That’s one of the reasons why I chose to go to James Madison University, because they have such wonderful study abroad programs!  Once I got to college though, I realized that we have so many cool destinations right here in the U.S.!  Because of that, most of my destinations are in the United States.  Check them out!

  1. Hawaii
  2. Banff, Canada
  3. Nashville, Tennessee
  4. Charleston, South Carolina
  5. Bora Bora
  6. Seattle, Washington
  7. Boston, Massachusetts
  8. Martha’s Vineyard

There’s one place that I left off the list and that’s because I’ll be traveling there over spring break so be sure to keep an eye out for all new travel posts coming in about a month or two!  Any guesses where I’m going?

Fashion

February Style: A Winter OOTD

February 14, 2017

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog!  Also, happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far!  This post is going to be pretty short and sweet, but I wanted to talk about some of my most recent style tips for dressing for chillier weather.  Let’s get started!

When the temperature really starts to drop, the first thing I think to do is layer my clothing!  I love the look of layering and it keeps you warm so it’s a win-win!  In the outfit shown above, I have an olive-colored peplum tee from Urban Outfitters and it’s so soft.  It’s short sleeve, so it can be worn all year round, but when I pair it with my striped sweater from Loft, it makes it perfect to wear throughout the winter!

On top of the sweater, I threw on a lighter, navy blue jacket that I found at a local boutique.  It wasn’t too cold outside, so I didn’t need anything heavy and it did just the trick!  I didn’t feel too bulky even though I had multiple layers on and I stayed cozy and warm all day.  It’s nice to dress in layers during the wintertime too, because you’ll be warm when you’re outside and then you can take clothing items off to help cool you down when you get to where you’re going.

That’s my colder weather OOTD, I hope you liked it!  You can take these ideas and interchange any cute tees, sweaters, and jackets that you might already have to make it your own!  If you recreate this look, let me know in the comments below.  See you next week!

Travel

Wintertime in Washington, D.C.

February 7, 2017

Hey everyone and thanks for coming back to read another post on Allison in Wonderland!  My boyfriend and I celebrated our two year anniversary in Washington, D.C. this past weekend and I’m so excited to share what we were up to.  My very first post on my blog was from this time last year, when we celebrated our one year anniversary in D.C., and I’m so excited to have come full circle!  Let’s jump into it!

As I mentioned before, we spent the weekend in D.C. this time last year, so we were excited to come back and do the things we didn’t have time to do last year.  We started out at the Library of Congress and it was incredible.  It was easily the most beautiful building I’ve ever been in and it wasn’t crowded at all!  I had never been to it before because it’s behind the Capitol Building so it gets a little forgotten when you’re exploring the mall, but it’s totally worth going the extra little bit!  The architecture was insanely intricate and I’m already dying to go back!

Next on our route was the Capitol Building.  We had always seen it just by walking up and down the mall, but we’d never been up close so we decided today was the day!  It was neat to be able to get so close to such an important building and it was even cooler with us visiting just days after the inauguration.

After the Capitol Building, we headed to the Botanical Garden.  It wasn’t my first time there, but it changes so often that you could go every day and it’d never be the same!  Next, we headed right to the National Museum of the American Indian, which is practically right next to the Botanical Garden, and spent most of the afternoon there.  They have a lot of different exhibits and they even have some short films playing throughout the day that are worth taking some time to watch!  It’s also nice to be able to sit down and give your feet a rest after running around all day. 🙂

After we finished up at the museum, we decided to head to the Tyson’s Corner area to grab dinner.  We were given a beautiful weekend to spend in Washington, D.C. and I can’t wait to see what we get into when we visit again!  Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you again next Tuesday!