project life 2014 // week 20.

May 12 - May 18. Though I feel like I'm still running out of steam a bit these days, this project makes me happy.What went on this week: It was Max's third birthday on Saturday, so the whole week leading up to it he was just so excited about his party and being three. We spent a lot of time outside blowing bubbles and driving cars, and some time inside eating our body weight in clementines and goldfish. It was a relaxing week.About this spread: This week was the Max show. All of my pictures were with him or of him or with him right next to the shot but not in it. I kind of love the way that it turned out with just photos of him and us and the great outdoors because rather than my weekly spread being a snapshot of my week, this actually was my week.Details + interesting tidbits: I included two cute photos from Max's birthday party and a little bit of journaling about him right now and the party itself, but other than that everything else is pretty typical. I tried to use up some of my studio calico kits to make room for the next one, but there's so much goodness in all of those kits that it seems impossible I could ever finish one. I enjoyed using rub on letters (though they are a major pain in the tush), stickers, stamps, and hand journaling on this spread because rather than making everything seem to busy I think it pulled everything together nicely.Photo breakdown: phone photos: 11 // canon t3 photos: 0 // polaroid photos: 0. Taken by me, the self-timer, and shutter remotes.Materials, supplies, and tools I used: midnight core kit, design A pocket pages, studio calico camelot monthly kit (journaling card, rub on alphas), SC bluegrass farm kit (banner sticker), SC office hours monthly kit, less is more stamps, elise joy stamp, amy tangerine yes please alpha stamps, fiskars corner rounder, fiskars paper trimmer, staz-on jet black ink, hp everyday photo paper, smash date stamp, zig writer for vellum marker in black (on photos), zig writer marker in black (on journal cards).

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Project Life is a simplified solution to scrapbooking created by Becky Higgins that helps you to record the memories of everyday life. Document your story either physically or digitally along with me and so many others. Find out more here, how to start here, & see all of my PL 2014 posts here.

currently.

feeling a little bit overwhelmed working on three separate blog projects at once.
wanting to get back into blogging here regularly because it makes me happy, not because I feel like I need to.
laughing at max every time he mentions the reason why he can or cannot do something as "because I'm three now" (while holding up five squeezed together fingers because his fine motor skills won't allow him to hold his pinky down with his thumb yet).
listening to this band over and over and over on spotify because they are amazing + remind me of my high school self mixed with my adult self in terms of music style preferences.
praying that I get the job I applied for even though it's bittersweet thinking about leaving max.
living in these tees every single day.
exploring new diet and exercise regimens to keep it new + fresh.
trying to get a little bit of color injected into this pale winter skin.
rewatching seasons one + two of new girl on netflix before I binge watch the third on hulu plus.
getting excited for my friend's graduation/birthday bash next weekend.
thinking about what to make for the party.
finding it hard to believe that May is already over and that June, the official month of the beginning of summer is already upon us (where the heck is this year going?! slow dowwwwnnnnnn!)
reading a few different things and trying to make up for how much time it took me to read this.
taking pictures of max more and more because I swear that every time he sneezes he grows another inch and I'm just having some troubling coming to terms with it all.
quoting movies and television shows more than I realize now that my friend's new boyfriend seems to always catch my quotes and spit back the next line (#imsoannoyingthough).
racking my brain for new ideas and concepts for this blog, Chelsea Dogs, and Buzzfeed because I feel a bit burnt out and uninspired right now even though my brain would like me to get off of the couch and stop watching netflix.
driving with the windows down, sunnies on.
loving this slow unfold to summer weather + all it's glory (before it gets so effing hot that I want to curl up in front of a fan and never move again until fall).

may beauty favorites.

1. Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in 'to nude or not to nude?' // 2. NARS blush in 'albatross' // 3. Benefit Gimme Brow // 4. Stila One Step Complexion brush #33 // 5. Benefit Watt's Up!6. Burt's Bees Cucumber Facial Towelettes // 7. Herbal Essences Naked Cleansing Conditioner // 8. Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask // 9. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial WashI went back to an old favorite this month with the albatross highlighter blush. It was the first NARS product I ever bought, and it's so much better than I even remember for highlighting the cheek and brow bones. The Watt's Up! is a sample I received for my birthday from Sephora last year, and I just found it in my drawer. It's amazing! It highlights like a dream under or over concealers, BBs, and foundations. I've never had an issue with my eyebrows not looking full enough, but I started tweezing them a little bit thinner and Gimme Brow is the perfect lightweight eyebrow gel to add a tiny bit of color and keep the shape looking good. The lipstick was a random clearance find that I am so glad I got because I've been trying to find the perfect everyday red. This is named as a nude, but it's a very sheer red color that looks great during the day or at night. The brush was recommended to me by an associate at Sephora, and I'm so glad he told me about it. I use the larger side for concealer, even though that side is meant for foundation, because it really gets in the corner and evens everything out under my eyes. I use the small end to dab concealer over blemishes, and that also works like a dream. Such a great brush duo.

This month I made a few breakthroughs with my skin, with the help of the charcoal mask pulling gunk out of my pores and the tea tree oil cleanser. I swear by that weird green stuff now, my skin has never been so clear! The cleansing conditioner is interesting - I would recommend it to people who wash their hair every day to use it every other day because it does leave the scalp a little less clean and more oily than freshly shampooed hair. I wash my hair twice a week, so if I use this I use regular shampoo on my roots only, and then this stuff everywhere else, which leaves my hair clean and soft after three or four days of non washing. The cucumber wipes have been awesome for nights when I'm out late and I just need a quick swipe to get my makeup off. Normally I hate wipes because I don't feel clean after using them and they usually dry out my face, but these are very moisturizing and I can't complain about their removal skills. Another great month for beauty and more proof as to why I should never go anywhere near a Sephora (#cantstopwontstop).

project life 2014 // week nineteen.

Dated: May 5 - May 11. Though I feel like I'm running out of steam a bit these days, this project still makes me happy.What I did this week: This week was kind of a crazy one. I realized that my passion for blogging and writing could actually be something more in terms of a career. I applied for a position at BuzzFeed (but still haven't heard back, wah) and started posting on their community site (see my page here) to show them what I can do. I got featured on their homepage twice in 24 hours, and it was a crazy roller coaster of emotions and opportunities for me. While this was all happening, my best friend Meagan graduated from college. Before all of that craziness, I had a pretty calm week with Max aside from panicking over my BuzzFeed application.About this spread: At first I hated all of the colors that I had going on, but then I realized that yellow was a recurring color from the first half of the week, and green in the second half, so I played on the colors. I like the way it turned out really bright and colorful, because a lot of weeks turn out pretty neutral. Details + interesting tidbits: I created the date card out of a bunch of the SC Camelot elements, and then kept the journaling on photos, but used cards as well. I journaled about Max getting a big boy bed early in the week, as well as BuzzFeed stuff. On the right side I included two screenshots in lieu of journaling cards to show my first two featured BuzzFeed posts at the top of their homepage. Like, right at the top #surreallife.Photo breakdown: phone photos: 11 + 2 screenshots // canon t3 photos: 0 // polaroid photos: 0. Taken by me, the self-timer, and shutter remotes. (Bottom right photo on the left taken by Meagan with her selfie arm, and both shots taken with Meagan in her cap and gown by her mama).
Materials, supplies, and tools I used: midnight core kit, design A pocket pages, studio calico camelot monthly kit (kraft 4x6 card, * sticker, wood flags, hello sunshine card), SC bluegrass farm kit (speech bubble card), less is more stamp, fiskars corner rounder, fiskars paper trimmer, staz-on jet black ink, hp everyday photo paper, smash date stamp, zig writer for vellum marker in black (on photos), zig writer marker in black (on journal cards).

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Project Life is a simplified solution to scrapbooking created by Becky Higgins that helps you to record the memories of everyday life. Document your story either physically or digitally along with me and so many others. Find out more here, how to start here, & see all of my PL 2014 posts here.

happy birthday, max.

Dear Max,

On Saturday you turned three (thank goodness, because you've been asking for months, "I'm three yet, Alessia?") and I just cannot believe it. The other day you and I went through my vine videos that started a month or so after I became your nanny, and you kept saying, "this is when I was a baby, right?" To me, you are still a baby, but I agreed with you and told you that it was, in fact, when you were a much smaller boy.

Though there are a million things that I wish I could figure out how to tell you to try and explain how much you mean to me and how much I love you, it's impossible. So to keep it simple, I'll let the photos of your growth over the last year and a half do the talking. I am so proud of the little boy you are becoming out of the bright and happy toddler that you have been.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. I love you so, so much - more than you could ever know.

Love, your Alessia.

friday link love | 5.

This response to hate video went viral right after my last link love post, but I figured I'd throw it in because it's just so awesome.
A family friend is getting married and instead of a registry at pottery barn or Target, they registered here & it's the coolest thing I've ever wished I thought of myself.
I really want to make this because it's so up my alley.
My computer has been feeling slow these days, so I enlisted the help of this video to permanently delete some applications on my mac that I never use and all of the files that go with them.
This new song Ed Sheeran posted a video of is amazing, as is this video, which is the song he wrote for The Fault In Our Stars.
This new One Direction video for 'You & I' is so cute it hurts (it's also really cool, yet simple).
Shameless plug: I just became a BuzzFeed Community member, and you can check out my posts here (four of my six posts so far have been featured on the homepage!).
Because I've been spending so much time on BuzzFeed, I've had a lot of favorite posts, but this one had me rolling and in tears.

date night ideas.

R and I have been together for almost six years (a quarter of my lifetime!) and because we are long distance, we like to do a lot of things when we're finally together. We're both creatures of habit to an extent, so whenever we visit each other there are places to eat and hang out that either of us have in mind. For example, when R comes here, he always wants to get pizza at the place down the street (usually more than once), and when I go to visit him I like to get sandwiches at a place called Gregg's (usually more than once). No matter what country we're in though, one of our most solid dates is going to a coffee shop or book shop (book shops with coffee inside of it are preferred and respected immensely) and doing work or reading, just being with each other without having to say or do much to enjoy ourselves.I created a little survey for both of us to fill out so that we could both jot down our favorite types of dates for when we're together, bearing in mind that when we say "let's go on a date!" we don't usually mean getting all fancy and going to a nice meal (though the survey will reveal that Rich likes doing that from time to time, and honestly, so do I #makemefeelfancy). If you're looking for a random assortment of date ideas, read on!

(R in blue, me in pink)
1// favorite at home daytime date: cooking/preparing a meal together, reading + coffee side by side
2// favorite at home nighttime date: watching a film, takeout and a movie or netflix
3// favorite out 'n' about daytime date: going to a pool, going to ikea to walk around or shopping
4// favorite out 'n' about nighttime date: going to the movies, concert
5// favorite outdoor daytime date: bike riding, picnic by the water
6// favorite outdoor nighttime date: going for a walk (in NYC specifically), a sunset somewhere pretty
7// favorite indoor group date: bowling, hosting or attending a dinner party
8// favorite outdoor group date: an outdoor bar, a fire and s'mores
9// favorite out 'n' about group date: mini golf (or crazy golf as the Brits call it), sporting events
10// favorite special occassion outdoor date: a concert, seeing the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center every year
11// favorite special occasion indoor date: a themed party, baking/cooking for holidays
12// favorite active date: a long walk (countryside or by the water this time), bike riding
13// favorite intellectual date: barnes & noble hang out, doing work at a coffee shop or B&N
14// favorite romantic date: a fancy meal to get dressed up for, make dinner together and drink some good wine
15// favorite simply fun date: a football (soccer) game, bowling with a group of friends

These are just a few examples of the things we like to do together, and great ideas for couples who are a little bored with their normal dating routine, but more often than not we just like to put on netflix and devour a bag of popcorn in front of the tv with a glass of wine or two. We're simple people, and I like that about us.

project life 2014 // week eighteen.

Dated: April 28 - May 4. May is a little backed up so far, but it's not feeling like a burden when catching up is fun to do.What I did this week: This was the first week of May, so Max has been super excited that he can say "my birthday is this month!" I wore shorts for the first time, which is always a monumentous occasion every year, and it wasn't an isolated incident, which is the best part. I drove to New Jersey for the weekend to meet up with three out of four of my college housemates, which was amazing and made me want to move out of my parent's house even more (have I ever mentioned that I want to move out of my parents house? Once? Ohhh, several times? Sorry).About this spread: I didn't have that many photos for this week, so a lot of photos from the same day with Max were thrown in, as well as a super grainy front iphone camera photo (hate those), because I needed to put some evidence of my awesome weekend trip. I've noticed that I haven't been pulling out my phone to take pictures as much, so in the present week (week 20), I'm trying a lot harder to remember to capture the little moments quickly and then get back to my day.Details + interesting tidbits: This was my first week using the Camelot kit from SC, and man, oh man, this kit is my spirit animal #allhailcamelot. We'r talking gold foil, great stamps, asterisk stickers in that seafoam green color I've been addicted to, and the cards are just ridiculously perfect. LOVE. I used a few of those items for this spread, and for my monthly currently cards, I used the hello stamp from the kit and then journaled as usual (see other uses of the beginning of the month currentlies here, here + here). Photo breakdown: phone photos: 9 // canon t3 photos: 2 // polaroid photos: 0. Taken by me, the self-timer, and shutter remotes.Materials, supplies, and tools I used: midnight core kit, design A pocket pages, elise joy calendar card,  studio calico camelot monthly kit ("hello" and ">>>>" stamps, rainbow photo tag, week card + today journal card), sn@p! cardstock alphabet stickers, paper source & stamp, fiskars corner rounder, fiskars paper trimmer, staz-on jet black ink, hp everyday photo paper, smash date stamp, zig writer for vellum marker in black (on photos), zig writer marker in black (on journal cards).

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Project Life is a simplified solution to scrapbooking created by Becky Higgins that helps you to record the memories of everyday life. Document your story either physically or digitally along with me and so many others. Find out more here, how to start here, & see all of my PL 2014 posts here.

tunes tuesday // may playlist.

This past month I've been a bit guilty of the top 40 lists because I have been listening to the radio a lot (even though I freak out at how repetitive it is and want to gauge my eyes out every time I hear "Happy" or "All of Me"). I've also continued to get my Frozen on for the past few weeks, as well as my Beyoncè. Not to mention that even though there are plenty of songs on this playlist, I have been playing Ed Sheeran's two new songs, "One" and "All of the Stars" on repeat ("All of the Stars" is on the soundtrack for The Fault in Our Stars and it's ah-mah-zing). Listen to the playlist on spotify here, and check below for links to the songs marked with a * because they're unfortunately not on spotify yet.

One - Ed Sheeran // Pretty Hurts - Beyoncè // All Of The Stars - Ed Sheeran // Mine - Beyoncè ft. Drake

wishlist wednesday | summer edition.

1. vans authentic lo pro neon sneakers // 2. apolis + kinfolk garden tote // 3. ceramic mason jar mugs (initial personalization available) // 4. birkenstock mayari sandals // 5. herschel supply co. heritage backpack // 6. canon selphy printer (on sale right now!)

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When I think of summer I think of sandals, bright colors, picnics, and being outdoors. The sandals and the sneakers are both perfect for summer, as is the tote bag (which has outside pockets for wine/beer transport, which is amazing). The mugs would be so great for coffee outside on a sunny morning, or even for iced tea or any other beverage really. I'm thinking that these would also make really awesome housewarming gifts because you can personalize them with one or two initials (two initials shown in photo). The backpack is the perfect type of thing I'm looking for because I need something practical but cute for my trip to Europe this summer (more on that soon!), and I've heard the printer being raved and raved about all over the internet, so I figured since I print all of my project life photos at home, this would be kind of perfect. I spend so much time futzing with my printer now, and the ease of this seems so appealing, especially because I'll have so many awesome summer photos and I'll want to be spending more time outside and less time fighting with inanimate objects inside. Bring it on, summer.

ipsy glam bag review | april.

The ipsy gods from above must have read my last ipsy post because man oh, man was this month a roaring success. Not only did they go back to a five product bag this month, but the bag itself is adorable and useable and the products are completely my taste and perfect.1. dr. brandt microdermabrasion skin exfoliant // 2. elizabeth mott pop! goes the shadow in champagne // 3. starlooks longwear lip pencil in naked // 4. urban decay 24/7 velvet glide-on eye pencil in black velvet // 5. coastal scents medium shadow brushI was considering buying the urban decay pencil because I had gotten like a half of a half of the ipsy size sample and loved it, so I was so happy to see a decent sized sample in here. It's everything the name suggests and more. The eyeshadow is exactly my color, and is aptly named champagne, which is how I describe my perfect base eye shade. It took a while to get that sheer swatch on my arm (above), but it's definitely buildable. Another match made in heaven. The lip pencil is in a color in which I don't own any lipsticks, but it's so beautiful that it is giving me an excuse to go out and look for a match, which I'm not complaining about. The eyeshadow brush is perfect for packing on color, and according to the website it's cheap as chips, so can't go wrong! And finally, the skin exfoliant, which I have only tried once so far, but will definitely keep using, is pretty good. Leaves my skin feeling fresh and not dry, which is all you can ask for really. I'm not sure about the long term benefits though seeing as I've only used it once.This month was loads better in terms of matching my colors and styles, and the products are all things that I use, unlike last month's blue liquid liner and eyeshadow, and the dark oompa loompa shade of self tanner. Check plus, ipsy, you've made me happy this month.