sassy saturday

Hello lovelies!

I have had an awesome and interesting weekend, and I am sooooooo excited to share with you a teeny little change in my life.....I'M A BRUNETTE! Hehe, I know that's not a big deal, but I've never been brunette (always blonde, once red, haha) so this is CRAZY strange and awesome to me. :)


I'm loving my new life, I love being married, I love my husband, and I love my new look and new focus on my passions.

Before!

After! Yay!

The other part of my weekend was buying more Victoria's Secret swag...I swear, I must be addicted, I've been there 4 times in 3.5 weeks, the lady who helps me knows my name, and I LOVE it. Not only are their bras SUPER nice (and actually comfy and supportive!) but their workout gear is awesome!

These pants are SUPER comfy; I have some bright colored ones too! 

With a free perfume sample! 

How cute is that tote?? SO addicted, so in love :)

Where do you buy your undergarments?

Where do you buy your sports clothing?

Have a great week, friends, and stay tuned for my #LoveBlog linkups for the month! 

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne 

engagement photo shoot

hello lovelies!

this post won't have much in the way of me writing stuff down,  i just wanted a place to show off our nauseatingly adorable engagement pics from October (thanks to the INCREDIBLE Margaret Marie Photography!! ) and not be blowing up facebook with them (for now anyway..... ;) )

so here are some pics! enjoy :)

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne 

re-ignite your spark

*****

So I'm trying to let myself open up more on this corner of the internet because I know it used to be so therapeutic and amazing for me to write and write and to connect with others through our words on the internet. But being real is hard, it's so much easier to fake a smile and only give the highlights of life and act all la-di-da. That would be so much simpler and easier, and I wouldn't have to write as much!

Heh, but that's not real life. Facebook and social media are lies, I get so fed up with the B.S. that people post, acting like that's truth and that they just have perfect lives. So fake.

(Oh and then there are the people that get WAY too personal and just downright whiny on their statuses.... oh oh and vague-booking, that's pretty bad too).

I digress. I want to be real, I want to help others by sharing my stories and struggles. I want to inspire someone. I want someone to know that if they need me I will be there, I am loyal and dedicated.

*****

Here I go, *breathes in, breathes out* phew.


I need to make changes in my life. I'm recently married and that is wonderful, but I live 2 hours away from my husband during the week and it's one of the hardest things I've gone through (and believe me, I have been through some horrific things, maybe someday I'll be brave enough to write about those). I'm also a senior in college and have a difficult degree full of drama and high emotions and stress and quite frankly some mean and rude people. I'm super sensitive so if someone ignores me blatantly, or curses me out during rehearsal, I take it pretty badly.


I could look at my schedule for the week and find all the things I dread, and count the minutes til I see my husband again (and yeah, ok, no matter what I still countdown til I see my love again, he gets me through the hard times). But if I focus only on the negatives, I will not be living my life to the fullest. I will not have joy, I will just be going through the motions (cue Buffy's musical episode) and I will be wasting my time.

Life isn't supposed to be just day-to-day fulfillment of obligations. There is no passion in that life, and if there is no passion, then what is the point? As a believer in Christianity, I am convinced by scripture and by personal experience that God has given us certain talents and passions for a reason, His glory and our joy. In my life I have been my happiest when I was using my talents and working hard for them. ("Find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life," great quote!!)

For 2016, my word for the year (cheesy right? Eh, at least it isn't just another fake resolution on the internet) is PASSION. And to accomplish this I will focus on some goals.



*I will find passion again for my music as I finish this last year of my Vocal Performance degree

*I will learn about the passions of a new marriage, and keep it alive and strong despite not seeing my husband every day

*I will find a church home to keep me grounded, and in the meantime discover more truths in God's Word

*I will open myself up in friendships and learn to trust and be vulnerable, despite the risks of being hurt (again)

*I will be passionate about my health and keep committing to taking care of myself physically and mentally!

*****

What are you passionate about?

Are you looking to connect with someone as flawed as you? Leave a comment or contact me if you like :)


xoxo,
Alexandra Anne


ps. Both pics in today's post were from my Summer trip to Europe!! Future blog post to come!

More Fitness Love

Hey friends,

It's that time again. What time, you ask? Time for another (read: full/real/legit) round of 21 Day Fix!! YEAH. I tried it a few months ago but had to bail because I traveled WAY too much, and honestly didn't give it my all when I was not traveling...oops...


SO. No excuses. I am #committedtothesexy and working towards a healthy fit bod! Also, MY WEDDING DATE HAS BEEN SET! WAHOOO!!! January 9th, I will be a Mrs. :) I'm so so excited, and you can bet that This Journey of Journeys will be documenting some of my wedding ideas, trials, experiences, etc.

But more on that later.

Right now, it's time to WORK.

If you've never heard of 21 Day Fix, here's an excellent intro to it!


AND I will be drinking chocolate Shakeology post-workouts (most days, sometimes it's my meal replacement, but my favorite is to have it after a workout, it's kind of my treat where I feel no guilt at the same time!)

I am excited to get on this journey again! I have a great team of accountability online (new friends that are on a similar journey who will message me and encourage me and make sure I don't crap out, it's awesome!!)

I will be utilizing the app that Beachbody just released called "21 Day Fitness Tracker" to keep track of how many containers I consume (i.e. if I eat 2 yellows and four greens, I'll put it in my app, and then, no matter where I am, I know exactly how much I've eaten; I can also track my water on it!)

For more tips and info, check out my pinterest board geared towards 21 Day Fix and my Committed To The Sexy journey! :)

So yeah. 30 minutes a day of my DVD workouts, clean eating, and YUMMY superfood-filled/nutrient-filled Shakeology; it's awesome!


Are you interested in improving your health and/or weight? Comment or contact me for more info, and I will be happy to get you set up! You can sign under me as your coach, or I can recommend you to someone on our team.

The coaches help us FOR FREE. All you buy is the program and Shakeology. AND I have full access to Beachbody On Demand; I can access all the Beachbody workouts online from anywhere with internet access. So when I go to Virginia in a few weeks for Historicon (More posts on this later!!!!)? Yeah, I'll be working out in my hotel with wifi!

So yeah, no excuses. I'm committed to the sexy, and KNOW I can do ANYTHING in 21 days!!!

Who is with me? Let's go team, no time like the present!

xoxo, 
Coach Alexandra Anne <3


P.S. Do any of ya'll use FitBit? I start my new job this weekend and will be saving for a FitBit Charge HR, so I am excited to see how that will help in my fitness journey! I love seeing my progress, and this will hold me accountable AND encourage me, all while living on my wrist. How cool?
Can we be fitness friends? Or FitBit friends? Comment or message me! <3

Best Friend's Day (fiance version)

I'm really lucky. No, I mean super duper lucky. I have had a wonderful day with my best friend; we hung out at NASA On The Square downtown, we got sushi, and we traded in some video games for the Mass Effect series on xbox360. We've just been hanging out and gaming all day long, being our fabulous nerdy selves.

The best part? I get to kiss him between battles and I get to hug on him while we learn new tactics and derp around.

I've been a gamer girl my whole life, but my fiance has unleashed a monster in me. See, I wasn't allowed to have video games as a kid, but I could play tabletop games (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons, that sort of thing) and some computer games (Tomb Raider WAS my childhood, which might explain my love of firearms). I never had a gameboy, or playstation, or xbox.

So now that I'm an "adult" and have been with the fiance, I have access to allllll sorts of games. He even gave me his old gaming computer when he upgraded to a newer one. And a few years ago I bought my own xbox360.

Monster = me.

Do you know how many games I'm playing through right now? Oh good grief, it's too much. And I'm SO happy about it.

I'm an adult, yes. But my summer is consisting of: planning my wedding, getting a job (interview on Wednesday, fingers crossed!!!), learning music for my recital in the fall, and gaming gaming GAMING.

Here's a list of games and series I'm loving or have recently finished and wish I still were playing...

Bioshock (beat the 1st one, playing Infinite now)
Assassin's Creed series (I'm on Revelations)
Mass Effect
Battleblock Theatre
Red Dead Redemption
Tomb Raider (any/all of them)
Deus Ex
Half Life 2

yeah, it's a good summer so far :)

But I'm just grateful to get to spend my day of nerdiness with my best friend and true love <3

----




What games are you playing?
Follow me on twitter and instagram at AlexandraAnne27 to see more of my gaming adventures!

xoxo, alexandra anne 

I'm a Business Lady!

Aloha Blog World! I have missed you!!

Life is so crazy right now, I'm busy in school, I'm in the opera, I'm starting my own business endeavors, and oh yeah I GOT ENGAGED. :) I'm SUPER excited about this year and all the new awesome things that are happening for me!!

The business endeavor you may have seen on my instagram (AlexandraAnne27): I am now an independent consultant for Jamberry Nail Wraps!! They are AWESOME and I am SO addicted. Did you know about these? I didn't!! But now I'm selling them and getting friends to host facebook parties so that they can earn FREE jamberry wraps :) (Yeah, free stuff is awesome, and most of my wraps I've earned for free or came in my consultant kit!)

I definitely want to use my blog as a platform for sales, so forgive me if I ever sound overly zealous; I am legit excited about this! (I'm gonna post a lot of pictures so you can see what it's all about!)

And I made my website name match my blog name, so you can very easily find me :)

As for my engagement (YAY!) I will have to do an entire post on that once we get our engagement pics taken next weekend :) I'm so very in love and VERY excited. More details soon!

So for now, JAMBERRY AWESOMENESS!! (Some pics are mine and some are my friends', they're so fantastic!)

If you would like to order from me, please visit my website! http://chandelier27.jamberrynails.net/


I'll try to post more often! Love to you all!!!

-Alexandra Anne


ps. Bloggers! I am looking to host a blogger facebook party for jamberry; contact me for more info if you are interested!! <3

New Year, New Me

Hello blogger world!

Boy, I really seem to abandon my little corner, don't I? I will get better and posting regularly, I promise!


I am so excited for 2015! Last year had some good moments, but overall was a truly trying year for me in every aspect of my life. This will be my year to re-become myself again, my year to prosper, my year to become stronger emotionally and physically!

Here are some of the things I am looking forward to :)


*Starting my Jamberry business! (This feels like a very blogger thing to promote!) I will become a consultant for Jamberry and can give ya'll all sorts of deals and such! I'm hosting a facebook party for it right now and will host many more in the future (maybe even some in-person parties!).
For more info check out my current party here!

Aren't these CUTE? Just in time for Valentine's day!

* I will be playing the role of 3rd Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the University of Montevallo in April! 

*I will continue my health journey by utilizing the paleo and whole30 lifestyles (a blend of both, still figuring out what my body needs and works well with) so that I can be fit and happy and healthy! I can't wait to do a post on my favorite whole foods recipes :)

*I will read more! I am part of an online book club and it's great! So far I have read "The Fault in Our Stars" and am reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night Time." :) I'm also reading Divergent, and The Fellowship of the Ring. 

*I'm taking ballroom dancing at school! It's not a big life choice or anything, but it is quite fun :) 

*I will fight for my faith more; I have not found a church in my area that I love or agree with enough to stay put at. I say I can just be with God alone in my house, but I seem to not give Him enough! I'd like to improve in that area. 

*I will be *hopefully* selling some of my paintings! I've been starting to spray paint for fun and I really am proud of my work (plus my friends and boyfriend all want their own!) so maybe it would sell? 

This was my first ever, I do all sorts of color schemes and sizes though! Gotta love space scenes!

What will 2015 hold for you??
Please let me know if I can hook you up with some Jamberry Nail Wraps or a Space Painting!! :) And may 2015 bring you much joy!

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne 

Dare to Dream- Five Minute Friday

Today we link up and write for Five Minutes with no edits/rewrites; raw, pure, unfiltered thoughts.

Scary right?

I love it.

Isn't it neat how open we bloggers are with others on the internet? Some of you I have never met but have become so close to via blogging and that is incredible to me!

I would love to "virtually meet" more of you! Please feel free to comment or email me (you can find my info on my contact page)!


So here we go...
Today's word?

Dare.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.... GO!


Truth or dare is a game played by (mostly) young children. We've all played it at some point or another with somebody in our lives. Truth can be scary, needing to open up about something potentially personal! But dare? Dare could be downright dangerous!

The past few weeks I have been wondering where my life is headed. I know that every college student dreads the question "so what are you gonna do when you graduate?" It's a nightmare to answer; especially as a music major! Non musicians look at me kind of funny and assume I want to be a big star but will never make it.

My voice teacher said I have a gift, but that I had been seeming to lack drive. So the question again came up, "What do you want to do after you graduate?" That question sat with me for DAYS. I had felt like I was settling on this degree and that I would never actually get to sing and that it was useless.

Isn't that sad?

But after many heartfelt conversations with loved ones, and some serious consideration, I had a bit of an epiphany.
I want to sing! I want the MUSIC!

Ya'll, I have loved music since I was in the womb, no joke, you can ask my Mom. My parents still have a piece of paper I wrote on as a kid saying that I decided I wanted to be on Broadway. I loved musicals all through growing up. :)

When I lived in Italy in 2011 however I fell in love with opera! Classical music is beautiful and so neat and fascinating, and I loved the characters and the music I was studying. (Being a mezzo-soprano has great perks!)

So my dare to myself is to dream, but not just dream a little, dream big! I want to perform, ya'll! Whether it's classical or musical theatre, or hey I could be a rock star, I will SING.

My dare to you is to do the same; I know paying bills isn't easy (especially not when you're an artist). But you can pay the bills and follow your passions and dreams too. If you love it, the work will be hard and scary, but wonderful and ultimately so rewarding.

Dare to dream!

STOP.
Ok so I wrote for six minutes instead of five, big whoop. I wrote what I wanted. My blog, my words, my rules ;)


What are your dreams?
What do you dare to do?

Have a great weekend dreamers!
xoxo, Alexandra Anne  

Stories Untold Through Music

Hello hello, it's music Monday!

I was riding in the car with my boyfriend yesterday listening to one of our favorite bands, and I mentioned to him that I am so glad we have so much music in common but also both listen to a wide variety of music!


Today on the blog I am sharing some music that's been on my mind lately, hope you enjoy and link up with Music Monday too!





This indie original is by my dear friend Erin Rea, currently performing in New York and sometimes Virginia. I cannot recommend her enough! My other favorites of hers include: Keys, Days, and Yellow Umbrellas. Let The Light is her latest single, and she has two EPs available on itunes OR free download on her site www.erinreamusic.com

She speaks to the subjects we can all relate to, but with a sweet beauty of music that resonates so very well with each of us. I love her "storybook" telling through music, I am always captivated by her songs!

Here's another vid from Erin that I adore :)






This past weekend I have also been on a musical theatre kick (thank you Wind Ensemble for playing a Phantom medley!), so of course, I watched my Phantom of the Opera dvd this weekend and have plans to watch Les Miserables tonight!

But here is a great live cast for Phantom and I adore this cast so so much!


Could Ramin Karimloo be any hotter?? And Sierra's high notes? YES. (Fun fact, she also has played the Little Mermaid on Broadway!)


My other indie love is definitely Lindsey Stirling! She is my dancing violinist love and I have been following her music for a few years now! It all started with her Zelda video...



Boyfriend and I were hooked!!

Her latest video came out today but can (for now) only be seen on this BuzzFeed article! Check it out :)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/premiere-lindsey-stirling-roundtable-rival#3jg0947


Next weekend the boyfriend and I are going to a heavy metal concert. Yeah, you read that right! There are three bands playing but we are going for Sabaton, a Swedish power metal band that sings about historical events! Their music is awesome and someday when I teach my kids history I will definitely be utilizing this music for their educational purposes too. Plus, they just rock, literally. ;)

This song is from their latest album "Heroes." If you watch the video you will see what the song is based off of. Can't wait to see them live!!!




My other favs from this band include: Primo Victoria, Swedish Pagans, Night Witches, and many many more :)




I'll leave you with a few other songs for funsies :)
Have a great musical monday and a great week!






xoxo, 
Alexandra Anne 

Stuff...?

Ciao blogworld!

I'm gonna post...I'm gonna post... YES! I am!!


I need to commit to this writing thing, ESPECIALLY since I will be attempting NaNoWriMo this year!!! Have you ever tried to write a novel in a month? I have, and have not succeeded. I always give up like halfway through, I need to not do that!!

But...I have no story in mind! I have 12 days to figure it out!!! I'll be a-brewin' for sure (or something like that).


Also, how would you like me to do vlogs every now and then? I want to get myself on the youtube world, I love watching youtubers and want to be part of that community. I've loved the blogworld, time to expand I say!


As far as generic updates, bullet point time!

*I love Montevallo! Tiny towns fit me; I can walk just about anywhere, except major grocery stores which are outside of main street or campus. If it's on main street or campus I usually walk to it.

*I'm taking TEN CLASSES. But that's normal for music majors here; it's 16 credit hours. I just have to sing a lot a lot and show up to a lot of places.

*On the singing note- would you like music major/profession vlogs or blogs? Give me your thoughts!!

*I've been on the Whole30 diet this month! I would say go Google it or Youtube it because I cannot give the definition justice. The gist of it is: no processed foods or sugars or grains or dairy or legumes. If you can't hunt it or gather it, you can't eat it. Ok, it sounds super strict, but there are a LOT of yummy foods you CAN have! And I feel SO good eating good natural foods. AND on a college student budget! If I can do it, YOU can. Look it up :) I'll post more about it once the month is over (it's only a month long program, but I want to incorporate it into my lifestyle after this month).

*I re-subscribed to Elder Scrolls Online! Find me, Chandelier27! :) I'll be trying out some other games and blogging about games soon!


*I got a part time job! I'm a cook at pizza hut :) Yeah, I love cooking and love pizza, so this will be a fun way to spend my weekends!

*Michael and I hit 3 years this month, my longest relationship ever! (And his too!) I love that man so much, he visits me frequently. It's another perk of living closer to home now. Gosh I love Alabama <3 and I love my Michael!! (Mushy pictures to come!!!)

*My cat is just as adorable as ever; she's a year and a half now and adjusting fine to living with a dog in the house (my roommate has a sweet pitbull). Today Zoe, the cat, kneading my stomach for a good 15 minutes straight! I thought it was cute so I let her. From what I've read, that means she sees me as a maternal figure and the kneading is like babies asking for milk? Anyway, I'm her momma and that's how it should be!
Again, pictures to come ;)


*I'm LOVING the temperature drop and would love for it to be 50-60something all the time! It's so crisp and beautiful, and the trees change colors, and oh yes I am so cliche and mushy gushy about it. I don't care! I love fall :)

*I'm a redhead! I have been since the middle of the summer, I love it :) I'm still getting used to it though! I look at old pictures of blonde Alexandra Anne, and think to myself "who was that? Oh right, me."


*Oh hey, I'm 21 now!!!!!!!!!!! So my roommates joke that I look like an alcoholic because I stocked up on some yummy wines and mixers. But really, I hardly ever drink. It's just good to have it there for when I do :)

Pictures as promised!

What's going on in your lives, dear blog friends? 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Alexandra Anne 

Music in My Heart

Hello blogworld!

It's been months and months since I've written here, but I am feeling led to actually commit to writing again :) Yay! I've wanted to for a while but the timing hasn't been right. Then, tonight, I was perusing some friends blogs and found Emmy's Music Monday linkup- what a neat idea! I'm too late for the linkup, but it is not yet midnight and still monday ;) Here I go!


I am now a Junior at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. This is a wonderful town and I can't wait to post pictures and share stories of the life I'm living/loving here. But that is not my topic for tonight. Tonight, I must share about music. Heh, since I'm a music major I have so many things I could discuss. I will share what was shared with me in a class today:

If you get the chance you should look up "The Lady in No. 6." It is about a concert pianist who is the oldest holocaust survivor and still plays the piano every day at the age of 109. Wow!!! Her story was so moving (she played for propaganda films during her stay at concentration camps) and she was filled with such love and peace despite her horrible circumstances as a young adult.

I want to be like that lady, finding joy in everything, and finding the spiritual in music. She said "Music is a dream. Music is God." A classmate mentioned that his belief is that music is the divine, it's something God gives us and puts in our heads. I agree! What a gift!


This post isn't long, but I hope that you will look into her story.

To end the post I will give you some music to enjoy as I have been enjoying it lately :)

I promise to keep writing more!







I'm a total fangirl for Lindsey Stirling! Plus these vocals give me lyrics to sing along with and a new idol in Lzzy Hale! :)





This song is so cute! How many songs are about a guy wanting a lifelong commitment? <3 Plus it's stinkin' catchy.



I've been watching old episodes of Chuck and this is the theme song. *Cue dorky dancing*



Orchestra meets dubstep? Yes. Just yes.



:Love me some Demi Lovato! This video is totes adorbs too. And I love her tattoos!


What music do YOU like right now? I'd love to listen!

xoxo, Alexandra Anne

LIST GIRL IS MY SUPERHERO NAME

I love lists. No, really, I LOVE lists. When my boss gives me a list of things to do, I get excited to do them and cross them off the list. It's a sickness, and I love it. 

Hello, my name is Alexandra Anne and I am addicted to lists. So addicted, I registered for 30 Days of Lists XD XD XD Yay!!! 

I've wanted to be a part of this for a while, and I'm finally on time and on board! 

Do you love lists? You too can register for this fun journey :) 

It's gonna be great. My first list is the test run example they gave us: What are you looking forward to this March? 

I'm looking forward to:

*Spring break!!! I get to go HOME and REST. Isn't that all we want? I just want sleep. And to sing a lot.

*Getting healthier- I am on Weight Watchers, I am going to exercise more, and I am going to get FIT and SEXY (for myself haha) ;) 

*Seeing the finale to How I Met Your Mother (so sad for it to end, though!)

*Singing the National Anthem at U of Houston baseball games!!! 

*Petsitting for someone and getting a temporary playmate for my Zoe kitty girl 

*Trying new flavors for my new Keurig

*Painting my army for Warmachine 

*Rocking my make-up jury 

*Seeing the next class of SAI get initiated :) 

*Going to my second blog meet up 

*Being a part of 30 Days of Lists!!!!

What will the month of March hold for you? What are you looking forward to most?

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne