Valentine's Gift Guide: For Him

On Wednesday I did a Valentine's Day gift guide for the ladies, so I figured why not do one for the guys as well? No matter what holiday it is I always have the hardest time shopping for the men in my life. My boyfriend always gives me the same ideas: "Shirts, hats, video games, idk" every year. I just choose to think that he has the same picky taste as me so I make it a lot harder on myself than it has to be. So, for all of you ladies who are in the same boat as me when it comes to shopping for guys, here's a little Valentine's gift guide to make it easier.


Valentine's Gift Guide: For Her

I love Valentine's Day. Baking, flowers, all things pinkit's just such a fun holiday! However, I do know how difficult it can be to shop for your girlfriend, mom, or even your best friend. My boyfriend keeps asking me what I want for Valentine's Day. We're doing Valentine's Day the 17th instead of the 14th anyways because 1. I have classes from 12-8 at night that day and 2. we got tickets to see Brad Paisley on the 17th so we just decided that would be our Valentine's Day. I keep telling him I don't want anything major, but he insists, which led me to making a Valentine's Day gift guide for the ladies. Hopefully this makes your holiday shopping a little easier!



Handbag - $40
Kate Spade Watch - $195
Wine & Chocolates - Every girl loves this combo

How To Be Stylish Under $50

As a college student, when it comes to shopping I have to budget myself. I mean if I could go out and purchase $500 worth of clothing right now I totally would do it but that's just not realistic lol. I love affordable clothing though and throughout the years I have mastered in finding the best sales and getting great deals on fashion. Here are a couple of ways that I maintain an affordable budget while shopping.

1. Shop the sales!! I make sure I'm subscribed to my favorite stores through email so I can be notified when a sale is going on. Gap, and especially Old Navy, are my all-time favorite sale sites. Old Navy is always marking down clothes and sometimes they'll hold sales like "take an additional 30% off already reduced items" etc. LOFT has also been holding some amazing sales recently as well.

2. If you see something you like that's overly priced there is always a clothing store that sells it cheaper. For example, Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee boots that run around $800. I've always wanted a pair and if I had the money I would most certainly buy myself a pair. However, I looked around and got myself a similar pair from Target for only $30!

I'm also sharing with you guys below some easy outfits you can put together that are under $50.


Slip-dress and T-Shirt combo -- Total cost: $38
Distressed Jeans and Floral Blouse -- Total cost: $45 (original cost before current savings: $65)
Off-the-shoulder Shift Dress -- Total cost: $48 and how cute is it?!
Workout leggings and Fleece Wrap Hoodie -- Total cost: $32 (original cost before current savings: $42)

Bell Sleeves


I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting sick and tired of this cold weather. I just want to be able to throw on a cute dress with some wedges but instead I'm covering up my winter clothes with jackets and scarves to keep myself warmthat's besides the fact though. Can we just focus on this ADORABLE shirt I found at Gap?! I went in the store with intentions on just looking (let's be real that never works out), but when I found this shirt on sale I just had to buy it. I love the flowy look it has and the lace on the bottom is just gorgeous. 

I loved pairing it with my white jeans and nude lace-up flats. It made for the perfect casual and stylish outfit that can be worn to classes or lunch with the girls. And I'm already dreaming of styling it with a nice pair of chino shorts when it starts getting warm out.

Lace Hem Bell Sleeve Pullover - The color I have is sold out.
Lace-up Ballet Flats - Also under $30!

Monday Morning Coffee With Alyssa No. 10


While I was blog planning yesterday I realized I haven't done a Monday Morning Coffee post in awhile, so I figured why not start them again! I love blogging and I love sharing my fashion with you all, but as a blogger I feel it's important to share my personality in a way that's not through my outfits sometimes.

Happy Monday, everyone! This past week had been a really chaotic one. With classes starting back up, me working again, getting all my homework done on time and an internship it was a little annoying to say that least, lol. I wanted to get myself into the perfect routine that wouldn't turn around and stress me out halfway through the semester and I think I figured it out. I only go to classes Tuesdays and Thursdays (which is awesome) and don't start until 12:05 (which is even more awesome), so I realized that I have a lot more time throughout the week than I thought. However, on Monday I started myself on a routine of waking up at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday to workout before I got the day started and I have been feeling so much more energized than usual. I also filled my fridge with healthy foods and snacks so I'm no longer drowning myself in junk food. It's one of the cliche New Years Resolutions I set for myself, to get fit and healthy again, but it's so important for your body. Once I start getting more into my workout routine, I might make a weekly thing of sharing my workouts and some healthy recipes to full-fill the 'lifestyle' part of A Small Town FashionistaAND of course I'll share some cute workout gear :)

2017 Winter Must Haves

So, I thought it would be easy to be able to blog everyday while I'm in school but as of right now it's impossible (sad face.) I'm hoping in the next few months I'll be able to set up a schedule that will make it easier to bog everyday, but for now I'll be making posts every Monday, Wednesday and FridaySaturday's and Sunday's are TBD. 


How To Get Back Into Routine After Long Break

Christmas break was the best thing to happen, seriously. I was home for almost a month, had to turn my alarm on for no more than five times, got to see my best friends and spend time with family, and I also had a full schedule to blogwhat could be better?! 

Unfortunetly Saturday I had to return to my own apartment which was very bittersweet. I loved being home but I also love the comfort of my own place and getting back into my own schedule (especially the whole making money part.) Getting back into routine has been a lot easier than I thought it would be though. I figured I would be lazy and put off doing things, but surprisingly I'm caught up on almost everything needed before I start classes tomorrow. 

Here are a few of my tips for you college students or adults who are trying to get back into the routine of things after a long break off.

Create a schedule/to do list for yourself. I'm sure you've heard this before but I swear by schedules. My senior year has been really busy with working, an internship and classes, so when I have a set schedule I feel less stressed about everything. What has helped me the most with getting back into routine is to do lists. Seeing a list and being able to cross things off just gets me more motivated and organized. Seriously, sit down Sunday night and schedule the upcoming week and write yourself mini to-do lists every so often and see how less chaotic your life becomes and how much you actually get done.

Set monthly goals. This is one of my cliche New Years Resolutions, but so far I'm able to cross one goal off my list. Over break I was able to blog almost everyday because I had the time, with school starting back up and me working that time decreases. However, one of my goals for January is to get five more followers on my blog and increase my Instagram followers to 900 to reach those goals I have to blog, so basically it's more motivation for me to make a routine out of blogging. The goals don't have to be anything outrageous either, start out with small goals and work towards bigger things.

Go to bed at a decent time. Ok, I know I sound like a mother here but this helps a lot more than people think. Over break I was staying up until 1 a.m. sometimes even 2, but only because I knew I could sleep-in the next morning. Last night I went to bed around 10:30 I believe and was able to wake up at 8 a.m. and workout for the next 30 minutes no problem. If I stayed up until 2 a.m. I know for sure I would have hit that snooze button until the very last minute.

Don't stress yourself out over the little things. While getting back into routine your mind is probably all over the place with all of these things you suddenly have to get done. School work, having to go back to the job you hate, trying to figure out where all your money went over break, etc. Neither of those things are worth stressing over. Simply set time aside for your school work, whether it's at night or in between classes, don't let yourself get distracted until it's done. Don't stress yourself over the job you hateif it bothers you so much go search around for other places hiring and get yourself out of there. As a college student, I've worked in the food industry for years and I've always hated it but it's motivation to work hard in school so I'm not stuck in a job like that forever. As for the whole money situation, it's not the end of the world. Saving is hard, especially when all you want to do is buy new clothes. But if you're always saving your money, you'll always have money in the bank so you'll never have to stress about being broke. Now I'm not saying you can't ever spend money on yourself, just make sure you're balancing everything out and always treat yourself every once in awhile!

Stripes And Leopard

 

I'm such a sucker for a cute casual look and this one will definitly be repeated a lot! I love the simplicity of it and there is so much room to add pops of color or patterns to make it your own style. 

I recently purchased this leopard print belt to go with my Christmas day outfit and I've worn it with almost every outfit since. It's surprising how a simple item can have such an affect on your entire look! I may just have to invest in some more cute belts and use them as statement pieces for some of my outfits. I also need to purchase more colors of these tassel drop earrings from Bauble Bar because they are so fun and perfect for adding some color! 

Over-The-Knee Boots - On sale for $20!

How To Rep Your Team In Style


As our favorite sports season slowly comes to a close, we're getting into playoffs and the famous Super Bowl, where hopefully at least a few of you can cheer on your favorite teamunfortunetly, I will not be one of those people. Regardless of how your team is doing this season though that shouldn't stop you from rocking the sports gear.

I love reppin' my teams by wearing everyone's favorite accessorya baseball cap. I love baseball caps because I always want to put a stylish twist to my sports gear and this is just the easiest way to do so! For those of you who watch college football and recently saw the Rose Bowl game, my school unfortunately lost. It was, however, an amazing game and just like every other Penn State fan I'll continue to rep my school. 

For this look I decided to style my Penn State baseball cap a little on the dressy side and I love the way it turned out. It's a super simple look but works perfect for many occasions. If you're not feeling the dressy look, you can substitute the Oxford shirt for a sweater or long sleeve T-shirt and swap out the faux fur vest for a simple puffer vest. Whatever suits your style the best!

Faux Fur Vest - This vest is a little on the pricey side, but it was the most similar I could find to the one I'm wearing (purchased from Express a few years back.) Try Forever 21 for a cheaper option!
Leopard Velvet Loafers - In love with these!

6 Favorite Beauty Products

I had a couple blog posts lined up involving outfits and I meant to take the photos yesterday, however, it poured all day. Today it is also raining, so I'm hoping for a beautiful day tomorrow so I can get these posts out for you all! In the meantime, I put together a few of my current favorite beauty products. Enjoy!!

Garnier SkinActive Clean+Smoothing Makeup Remover  I use to swear by these makeup removing wipes. My face can be very sensitive to product at times so it was hard for me to find something to use on my face. These are amazing though! I know some people say you’re not suppose to use a makeup wipe to remove a full face of makeup but… I do and these do an amazing job of doing so. If you also have sensitive skin and are looking for something new I would highly recommend these.

Yes To Cucumbers Facial Towelettes  If you haven’t tried any of the Yes To products, you have too immediately. I did a previous blog post on one of their lip products, Yes To Coconuts, and it was the first product of the brand I tried. With the amazing results I received from their lip products I decided to try the facemasks and they left my face so smooth and hydrated. After I ran out of my last pack of the Garnier makeup wipes I decided to try these, since I was already loving the brand as is, and safe to say I made a good decision. It’s a lot harder to take things like my mascara and liquid eyeliner off with these, so I’ll have to look into finding something specifically for eye makeup, but I’m definitely going to continue using this product.

Mia 1 Cleansing Brush  I received this for Christmas one year from my mom and at the time it was one of those gifts where I was just like ‘eh, ok.’ I didn’t have acne at the time so I figured there was no use for it. I started breaking out every now and than so I started using it to wash my face and this is seriously the greatest thing to have. Not only does it make my face extremely smooth, but I’ll wash my face with the Mia brush after using my makeup wipes and there’s so much excess makeup that’s left on your face that the brush washes away. Mia brushes are a little pricey, but they’re also sold on QVC where you can pay it off in monthly payments.

Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser  If you’re interested in which product I use with my Mia brush, this is it. I’ve been switching between this product and ProActiv lately, but I always notice a change in my skin when I use Philosophy.

Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocoa Butter  I swear by this lip product. It took me forever to find something that actually helped with my chapped lips so I’d say this is a must-have for the wintertime. If you’re interested in how I use this product, you can check out my blog post on avoiding chapped lips here.


Real Techniques Miracle Sponges  I’m such a huge fan of beauty blenders, especially Real Techniques. I’ve tried foundation brushes before, but with the foundation I use the beauty blender applied it much more evenly and it gives a smooth finish. I recently snagged the miracle sponges pack at Target on a clearance shelf for $5, so I was pretty excited about that. I tried out the mini sponge for applying my concealer and because of it being so small and flexible it was able to apply the makeup better in the corners of my eyes. Go check out the clearance section in the beauty aisle to hopefully snag these for a great deal!

New Years Eve Shimmer






Truthfully, I'm not a fan of these pictures. I originally never took pictures of my New Years Eve outfit, however, I woke up the following morning and had a change of heart so I got glammed up again to snap a few shots. 

I had the hardest time finding an outfit for New Years. My boyfriend and I ended up deciding on going to a vineyard so of course I wanted to sparkle at least a little. I rushed around the mall to find something and this skirt immediately caught my attention. I love the rose gold color and the shimmery look! However, I'm not at all impressed with this bodysuit. The fit wasn't like any of the other bodysuits I own, it's loose and just did not suit the look of the skirt. Unfortunetly I was dealing with a limited amount of clothing so this was my only option. I will definitly be trying out new ways to style this beautiful skirt though!

Metallic Pleated Midi Skirt - On sale for $20!
Deep V-Neck Bodysuit - The sexier option
Off-The-Shoulder Bodysuit - Have this in another color and love!
Mix No.6 Pumps - Under $30
Tassel Drop Earrings - Love these and they come in a variety of colors

Best of 2016

It's so crazy that it's 2017, 2016 flew by! Looking back though, a lot of great things have come out of 2016the biggest one being starting my own fashion blog. It's something that I have wanted to do for a long time but never got myself to doing and I've learned that you need to put a lot of time and effort into it. I know 2017 will have a lot in store for me with graduating college and figuring out the next step in my future, however, I hope one thing that comes out of next year involves big things with my blog. In the meantime I'm sharing a few of my favorite looks from 2016. Enjoy and Happy New Year everyone!!