The Good Girl Gone Blog

Daddy's Girl

Alana — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

I have a great relationship with my parents. Sure, it's not perfect, but what relationship is? If I'm upset, I know my mom will give me the tough love I need- she's great at putting things in perspective. My stepdad and I don't usually talk about serious things, but when we do, he's always willing to listen. My stepmom is great at discussing my love life, and serves a friend/parent role. My dad doesn't always know what to say, but it's clear from what he does share that he loves me and only has my best interest in mind.

Here's an excerpt from a Skype conversation I had with my father yesterday:

"I really can't do the boyfriend thing, just dumb horse jokes pictures, You really need Donna for the boyfriend stuff. Alls I know is that you are really beautiful, inside and out and any boy would be extremely lucky to have you. So, that being said, just keep doing what you are doing and life will be good."

And then he emailed me photos of my sister's horse, Tuesday. My stepmom recently rescued her (she saves a lot of animals...it's kind of her thing) from an unhealthy living situation where she was malnourished and unhappy. The photos below are from when she and the vet gave Tuesday a bath at her new home:

Look at that smile! Those teeth! Her nose hair! How can you not smile?

Fashion makes the heart grow fonder

Alana — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

From the Farmers' Market in Copley

After writing a highly emotional piece about my love life, I decided to put on my favorite boots and some bright red lip stick. I still maintain that dressing in an outfit you love makes you feel beautiful, even if you're sad and feel, well, ugly.

Keeping with the theme of fashion, I decided to put together a roundup of the most stylish links from around the Web. Hope it brightens your day :)

Feeling a DIY mood coming on? Why not make these beautiful rufflly headbands?
Check out these "airmail" inspired pieces from Kate Spade.
I'm so inspired by color- that's why I loved these tulip fields. Amazing, aren't they?
Looks like the ladies at Grazia are doing something I've been doing for years: buying children's clothing! Check out Stella McCartney's new line for Gap Kids.
I'm loving tights right now. So much so that I might even make these super sparkly ones!
Advanced Style: proof that you can be fabulous even with wrinkles...and a hip replacement.
I think the new Amazon Kindle commercial is absolutely gorgeous. I love the stop motion film technique- it reminds me of Her Morning Elegance.
I submitted a photo to "Fashion Friday" on The Daily Balance and guess what? I won! (Ok, so I was a "randomly generated integer"- but still!) You all should enter next month :)
I'm loving Friend in Fashion's most recent post. The photos are gorgeous and I love what she did with a vintage pink dress. Very inspiring!
Have some extra t-shirts lying around? Why not make two awesome scarves?
I love when bloggers don't take themselves too seriously. These outtakes from my friend Emily are priceless.
A special congrats to Jessica of What I Wore on her engagement. It's going to be such a stylish wedding!

That's all for now! You guys seem to really like fashion posts, so let me know if you want to see more!

Sunday Confessional: I've been holding out on you

Alana — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:22:01 -0500

To my dearest readers,

I've been holding out on you. I admit I've been selfish, kept something to myself for close to two months. Though I hinted of its existence here, you'd have to either know me very well, or be at least an ammeter detective to figure it out.

So here goes:

I've been seeing someone and he's really quite amazing. It started out as another jdate. I had a nasty cold around our first date, but I spent two days staying home and eating chicken soup so I could meet him in person. We met at a fancy French restaurant and got to know each other over a bottle of wine. He was tall and blonde, intelligent, caring and easy to talk to.

The more he shared with me, the more I reveled in our similarities: 13 years of Jewish day school, divorced parents, a need to travel and see the world. It was like I'd finally met that one person who truly understood me. I know that's a hugely sweeping statement, but I think shared childhood experiences make for a great foundation for any kind of relationship.

I let him kiss me goodbye under my pink umbrella, forgetting about my cold and feeling horribly guilty when my cough came back after we parted ways. It's like I was so happy to be with him that I forgot to feel sick.

We continued our courtship, making time in our busy schedules to grab dinner or take a walk around the Boston Common. He met my roommates, watched chick flicks with us and even cooked me dinner. I'd make fun of the two sweaters he always wore on dates and he'd tell me he liked my new boots. We'd communicate via DMs on twitter and laugh at how nerdy we both were.

I think the best date we ever shared was a rainy day brunch together. We were both in need of caffeine and in search of a dry place with excellent food. After brunch, he came back to my apartment and endured my roommates' extremely loud chatter. I saw him fading and offered him refuge in the form of a nap. We fell asleep together for less than an hour, and only left each other so I could go to a cappella practice. It was a seemingly unexciting date, but it meant so much to me.

Though our relationship continued to grow, something dark and ominous threatened to tear it apart from the foundation: an expiration date. I leave for London in less than 6 weeks. I've tried to push that out of my mind, to live in the moment and to move forward, but that ticking clock was always there.

And now I don't know what will happen. Two nights ago, I called him after dinner, expecting to hear excitement in his voice after a week apart. Instead, I heard something else. Maybe it was dread, or nervousness. Something was wrong. When I saw the look on his face, I just knew.

And that's where we stand right now. We had a talk that lasted three hours. He voiced his concerns and I sat there listening, unable to cry. There were so many thoughts swirling through my head and I had no idea what to say or how to fix something that might be too far broken.

Maybe my life was going too well or maybe I was just too happy. All I wanted was for him to stay, to comfort me and hold me in his arms. But that wasn't what he needed. I guess I learned that when you care about someone so much, you have to give them space and let them go.

I hid my head under my covers, unable to watch the door close behind him. As soon as I heard the click of the door, I broke down. The tears I'd held back before finally surfaced.

Is it over? I don't know. Will giving him space help him figure things out? I don't know. Should I protect my heart and just move on? I don't know.

The one thing I do know: it's out of my hands.

So, as I sit here in my pajamas, hurt, confused and helpless, all I want is to help him, to make him happy, but I can't.

Girl's Night Out

Alana — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Shecky's Girls Night Out! It was particularly fun because I got a (FREE!) press pass and was allowed to bring a friend. So...I brought Arielle. Although I wanted to take pictures (I brought my camera and everything), I forgot my memory card.

Fortunately, Arielle brought her camera and took these photos:

We just had to stop and take a photo at "Lan Nail Salon" in the south end. I definitely need to get my nails done there and meet the other Lan.

One of those drinks is actually mine, Arielle's not an alcoholic!

x-rated flirtinis. Very delicious!

Jewelry from Emerge, an amazing foundation that empowers women who have survived abuse.

Overall, we had a great time. There were a bunch of vendors selling everything from handmade knits to jewelery. To be honest, Arielle and I weren't really there to do any shopping, we just thought it would be a fun and relaxing night out. A chance to enjoy free drinks, window shop and get a great goody bag.

If you're planning on going to a Shecky's event in your city, make sure you get there early- the lines got a little crazy!

Hot Pink Hair

Alana — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

via

...and when I say hot pink hair I mean "hot" pink hair, as well as "hot pink" hair, if you know what I mean! Not everyone can pull off this look, but my dear blog friend, Andrea, definitely nailed it. Thanks for the Pink Thursday submission!

Have a fabulous pink photo or find you want me to share? Email Me

Blogger seeking Cranberry Bog

Alana — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:27:50 -0500

A few days ago, I was greeted with an email from BU mail services saying a package had arrived...for me! And guess what it was-- my wellies! The box was gigantic, literally 2.5 feet tall. I carried it up to my room and immediately opened the box.

I slipped on one of my boots, and realized, holy-moly, these things are tall! They practically go up to my knees. And that's when I thought to myself- these would be perfect for a cranberry bog! And then the video below happened:

Thanks Kristyn and Izzy for letting me humiliate you online. (Actually, I didn't technically ask them permission...)

A weekend in photos

Alana — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:43:51 -0500

No folks, these aren't my Halloween pictures...they're actually from my parents' visit last weekend, but I thought they were kind of fun and that you'd like to see them. Enjoy :)

Charlestown

Waiting for the T...

The library

A "Timothy" bird

Lauren looks cute at SOWA

I would have bought this...but it was $80. It goes so well with my coat!

The Haberdash!

Thanks for taking all these fun photos, Dad!

Sunday Confessional: I think I might be Flo

Alana — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:40:46 -0500

As you all know, I'm studying public relations, and in order to succeed in PR, you need to be good at talking with people. And promoting your company. And getting people pumped.

Well, I'm pretty sure I've almost mastered all of those skills. When I think back to my role at Blogher09, I remember smiling my face off and trying to get people excited. I remember using little rhymes and mnemonics, trying to make people laugh and being, well, extremely perky.

It's the perky factor that worries me the most.

Every time I watch those annoying Progressive commercials with Flo, the extremely upbeat salesperson, I see myself. I would totally get excited about a "big tricked out name tag," or try to make really awkward jokes. My perkiness would overwhelm the tv watchers, yet somehow charm the pretend insurance customers in the commercial:

I somehow simultaneously love and hate Flo....and I'm pretty sure that if I worked at Progressive, I would simply be her. Only difference? My name tag would say: LAN

photo via

Blue

Alana — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:51:24 -0400

via

Blue- that's how I'm feeling, and coincidentally what I'm wearing. Yup, blue shirt, blue jeans and....err, green socks. I can't really explain the mood I'm in, but it's been a few days now.

I try hard not to be pessimistic or depressing on my blog, because no one wants to read that. But today, I just need to write this all out for myself.

On Wednesday, I got caught in the rain and a driver decided that rather than slowing down or avoiding the large puddle, he would race through it and splash the well dressed pedestrian, aka me. I'm pretty sure that one incident describes the past few days pretty well.

Hopefully a nap and a shower will take my blues away.

The science of pink

Alana — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0400

Happy Pink Thursday, muffins!

Megan, my fabulous roommate from last year, sent me this photo of her bio notes. I think it's particularly fabulous, and very fitting, because Megan is coming up to visit this weekend.

I miss her tons, and I'm so excited for a great weekend filled with food, costumes, coloring, the mustache game, debauchery, shopping, pumpkins and reading some very interesting poetry from our favorite 15 year old- don't ask.

Anyway- I hope you all have a great weekend and a fantastic Halloween. Be safe and have fun. Oh, and send me/post your costume photos- I want to see what you all come up with!