Color Week Day Two: Orange, Yellow, and the White Album

Ok, so the Beatles' White Album has nothing to do with Color Week. However, we have been discussing it the last few days of class, and for those of you who don't know, it is a double album meaning that when it was released it was on two records, four sides, with a total of 30 songs.

Their producer, George Martin, encouraged them to try to narrow it down for a single record, but they weren't having that as they had just written a good many songs while in India. Of course there was also the John vs. Paul battle for who got the most songs, and then Ringo and George struggling just to get a few of their songs on... so no one really wanted their songs dropped.

Anyways... my professor talked about how he used to have his students in the Beatles class make their 'ideal White Album', and pick 12-14 songs that THEY would have chosen for the White Album out of those that really made the cut. This wasn't an assignment, but I decided to make my own White Album list anyways, and it ended up on an ORANGE post it, which brings it to you today, since it is ORANGE (and yellow) day of the Color Week Challenge!

So, I present to you my ideal White Album:

Back in the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
Sexy Sadie
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Julia
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Don't Pass Me By
I'm So Tired
Helter Skelter
Why Don't We Do It In the Road?

*I must admit, I'm a sucker for some of the weird stuff (Bungalow Bill), and definitely a sucker for all of Ringo's silly little songs! (Don't Pass Me By) There are definitely others I like, but just not as much as these.

I encourage any other Beatles fans out there to do the same! It's really kind of fun! What would make your list?


And now, for today's Orange and Yellow photos:






(Tonight's stormy sky was really working with me!)

Tomorrow: Green!

Color Week Day ONE: Reds & Pinks!

I've decided that with every color this week (The Color Week Challenge), I'm going to try to incorporate it into my outfit. This of course requires me to actually put the effort into coming up with outfits worthy of posting pictures of, so I guess it will be a secondary challenge of sorts.

Today's Color: Red! (And Pink)

Much to my dismay, I don't have all that much red in my wardrobe, so today red was an accessorizing color! It was unbearably hot and sauna like today... so the ultimate goal in getting dressed, other than incorporating red, was really just to keep it lightweight and airy!!

Outfit
High Waisted Skirt: Old Navy
Red Tank: The Buckle
Floral Tank: American Eagle
Headband: American Eagle
Necklace: Italy
Flip Flops: Old Navy
Purse: Target


And now for the Color Week photos:

Red seems to be a bit hard to come by in the summer, particularly with my wardrobe, so I'm hoping that these will just keep getting better all week!

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

New recipe post up at Wonderland Kitchen for a fun summer twist on cupcakes!
(Yes, I really am trying harder to keep up!)

Picture Post- Bloomington Summer!

Last night Betsy came back into town and brought her friend Eser, and another friend, Kyel, was also in town from Ohio. We grabbed dinner at Nick's (Yummm!) and then popped on over to The Upstairs Pub for some $1 wells. And by some, I mean way too many, mostly tequila. When will I ever learn!? Sometimes you can't help but take advantage of all of those summer specials!!

Keeping it classy, ladies and gentlemen.

Outfit
Dress: Target
Sandals: Gap

Last Boat Leaving Feature

First of all- thanks to those of you who have recently started following! I always love seeing new people and visiting all of your blogs!!!


Second, Allison at Last Boat Leaving currently is featuring me as her "Beloved Blogger"! I was so excited when she e-mailed me... she is so sweet, and happens to be one of my OWN beloved bloggers! She also has an Etsy site with some really cute stuff... I personally have been drooling over the John Lennon painting her brother did, and would totally have gotten it if I had any money whatsoever right now. She also has some really cute rings, other jewelry, and even some dresses!

(Click each picture to see the item in Allison's Etsy shop!)

You can see the Alex's Wonderland feature here, but definitely check out the rest of her blog (She's worth a follow!) and especially her etsy site!

Color Week!

Next week, Cat at No Wooden Spoons is doing a "Color Photography Challenge", with different colors assigned to each day to try to capture in pictures. Most who know me know I'm a complete color freak (pretty obvious in my choice of colors in any of my own art, and by most of my interior decorating) so this challenge was something that sounded right up my alley when I came across it on Simplest Form of an Elle.

The color specific days are as follows:

Monday, June 14th: Reds (&pinks)
Tuesday, June 15th: Oranges (&yellows)
Wednesday, June 16th: Greens
Thursday, June 17th: Blues
Friday, June 18th: Purples
Saturday, June 19th: Rainbow/multi (&grays &whites)

I am hoping to be able to keep up with a daily post for each color, and to maybe even try to integrate them into posts of other sorts as well! Hopefully this will lead to a vibrant, colorful week on Alex's Wonderland.

Up Close and Personal

In a post I did a bit ago, Rai noticed my tattoo peeking out of my shoes (as it frequently does) and wanted to see a close up, so I thought I'd do a post with a few pictures.

I've had it since the summer after my senior year of high school (2007). I actually got it done in two parts, shown below. I had been wanting to get something for a while, and my best friend Lauryn was also wanting to get one, so she ended up convincing me to get an appointment with her. You can see my hesitation... I'm actually not at ALL a fan of needles, so quite frankly everyone was a little surprised when I ended up going through with it. did the design of the first part myself... it's an Aries sign and an A (for Alex...).

I've always been interested in Astrology, not so much that I completely believe in it, but just find it fascinating. I have also always felt that the typical characteristics of an Aries REALLY represent me to the T (both good and bad), and figured that would not be anything that would ever change.

(You all are getting this rarely seen pictures of me in the process of the tattoo... which are OH SO attractive. Haha)




I went and got the background negative shooting stars added later when I went to get the first part touched up. My dad, who went with me to get the first part, wasn't so happy about THAT little addition... and worried over my ability to get a job in the future with such a prominent display. Honestly though, if you're not going to hire me because of a tattoo on my INNER ankle, then I probably don't want to work for you anyways!!


I think that next will be a "family tattoo" with my dad and brother, once he turns 18 in December. I still need to work on the design of that, and think of a good discrete place to put it.

All You Need is Love... and money.

I do love the Beatles, but Love is NOT all you need!


(And Baby, you're a rich man too.)

Book Recommendation: Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice, penned by an "Anonymous" author, is reportedly a real life recollection of the events of a young girl's life in the late 1960's. Many have questioned this, and it has since been categorized as a "fiction". It is said that this book was originally written, and not found, as a "warning" of the perils of drug use, but it comes off as nothing more than a beautiful and often heartbreaking story of the struggles of this young girl.

The story is written in diary format from the view of an unnamed girl going through what many people experience in high school: self image, acceptance, peer pressure, sexuality, and so much more. She receives her first hit of LSD unknowingly in a Coke can at a party and is there after thrown into a roller coaster of drug abuse, recovery, and relapses, as well as her many relationships with not only boys, but also friends and family.


Go Ask Alice is a VERY quick read. Given that it's written from the point of view of a struggling teenager, it is no literary master piece, but it does elicit such empathy on behalf of the author. The imagery is so wonderful that you cannot help but feel as though you understand exactly what she is going through at any point, despite perhaps never having done any of these drugs at all. I definitely recommend it: to teenagers, college students, twenty somethings, even middle aged parents dealing with their own troublesome teens.

Advice: If you have trouble starting out with it, believe me, just keep reading. Some parts can seem too brief while others may appear to ramble on, and some entries may leave you in confusion until they are explained a few pages later. It does all eventually come together, and is followed by an epilogue which is merely a small paragraph that may be the most emotionally loaded part of the whole book.

Summer Love... CORAL!

It seems that with every new season, my wardrobe tends to veer towards a dominant color, most often unintentionally. This summer? Coral! Along with this, I've noticed I've been picking turquoise up pretty frequently as a complimentary accent color.

OPI Nail Lacquer in 'Cajun Shrimp'

Target Merona Bandeau Shirred One Piece in "Red" (Believe me, it's Coral, even though it looks red on the site.)

Delias Sharona Knit Dress in Coral

Old Navy Looped T-Strap Sandals in Turquoise

Do you have any coral pieces that you just love this summer? For me they all somehow built up slowly and under my radar, until all of a sudden I noticed the abundance of it in my closet!!