First Day of Sophomore Year

Hey everyone! Along with many others, I started school today! Today was my first day of sophomore year, and it was fairly similar to last year's first day, except I knew where everything was, and I didn't get lost. I thought I would share my initial impression of each class because it's super fun to reread these at the end of the year.

{classic before-school pic}

1. Honors Math Analysis

I started my day off with math, which isn't ideal, but isn't the worst thing. Thanks to a seating chart I sat in the very back, but forgot my glasses, so I couldn't see much (don't worry- they're packed and ready for tomorrow). There were seniors in this class, as well as 3 of my friends. I think this class will be good as I like my teacher. 

2. Spanish 2

I have one friend in this class. I certainly forgot a lot of my Spanish over the summer, as I didn't have any opportunity to practice it, so I do need to review. My teacher seems nice, and she is my only female teacher. She said she doesn't like homework so (:  

3. Honors Chemistry

This teacher is ... odd. Is it just me, or are science teachers always a little strange? I have 3 friends in this class, as well as a bunch of other people I know, so at least the people in the class are nice. 

4. Honors English 2

My English teacher seems really cool (I mean, he told us all to follow him on Insta so...). We're reading a bunch of books this year; 10, I believe. I have one friend in this class, but a couple other friends have him in 5th period so we can help each other out. 

5. AP European History

I think this class might be my favorite, as well at the most challenging. It's my first AP class (!!), and I have 5 friends in this class, but I know almost everyone in the class. The teacher seems like a good one, and really stressed the fact of preparing for the AP test which makes me nervous.

6. Varsity Soccer

I had this class last year, and I'm excited for this year's season. Hopefully we'll have a better season than last year. This counts as my PE credit, but it's better because i enjoy it.

How was your first day of school?

xoxo,
alyssa

Travel Diary: Avalon, Catalina Island

Hey everyone! Today I'm sharing some photos and a sort of "Travel Guide" to Catalina Island. My mom and I went last Monday, and it was really fun! We woke up super early (4:30) and drove to Newport Beach, where we took the ferry. We made the mistake of sitting on the top deck- it was freezing! We sat on the top on the way home and it was perfectly warm, so just don't sit on the top on the way there. We arrived at Catalina around 10:45, and we were really hungry because we had been up for so long already. We decided to eat lunch at a little beach, and then walk along the main street that parallels the water. 

We walked along the street until we got to the Casino, which is a main attraction for visitors to see. We didn't go in, but it was cool to see. 

This is the view walking back from the casino. 

This building reminded me of one that should be in Cape Cod.

This hotel on the main street is just the cutest! So many houses were painted bright colors. 

My mom and I took the tram up the hill to the Wrigley Nature Center and Memorial (Wrigley, like the gum). It was really interesting to read about the plants that only grow on Catalina Island, and see the plants that grow there naturally. 

There was a huge memorial for Mr. Wrigley, who lived on Catalina Island. Here's a pic of my mom and I. 

We then took the tram back into town and got some ice cream. We went to Scoops because they sell their own ice cream and not Dryer's. We took our ice cream and ate it by the beach. Yum.

I loved going to Catalina for a day; it was so fun!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Life Update

{pic from Catalina}

Hey everyone! Life has been pretty busy lately, so I figured I would update you guys. I start school next Monday, so I'm finishing up my summer projects and trying to memorize all of Europe for AP Euro (wish me luck...).  I leave for Europe in around a week and a half, and I'm so excited! Yes, I will be missing 8ish days of school, so please bear with me as I will have a lot of makeup work when I return.

As you can probably tell, I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to. Between school (summer assignments), soccer, and traveling, blogging unfortunately gets pushed to the back burner. I have been blogging for almost a year and a half, and blogging is something that I do enjoy. I try to think of posts that people would enjoy reading, which is important, but I personally would rather put out content that I enjoy and have fun making. From now on, I'm going to focus on writing posts on topics that I want to talk about, as well as sharing things going on in my life. I hope you guys enjoy this change :)

A specific type of post that I have been wanting to do is OOTW, or Outfit of the Week posts. I have some outfit posts up on my blog currently, but I feel like outfit posts can often be fake. I want to show what I actually wear on a daily basis, and hopefully it will help me wear soccer clothes less (haha). Expect OOTW posts as soon as school starts! 

Last week I went to Catalina Island as well as the Reagan Presidential Library. If you would like to see pictures from these places, let me know!

xoxo,
Alyssa

Travel Diary: Mammoth Lakes, California

Hey everyone! I'm back to blogging after a week long camping vacation. Every year we go to Mammoth, California and usually camp (we have also stayed in a hotel/a cabin). I thought I would share some snaps from our trip. 

Upper Twin Lake

Lake Mary (our personal fave)

How pretty is this sunset from our campsite?

My first favorite hike is Emerald Lake, and this creek runs next to the trail. 

My other favorite hike is Heart Lake. When you hike to it, you get a great view of Lake Mary!

Hey Cookie and Mom :)

This is the view from the Heart Lake trail. Not too shabby.

Cookie hearts Heart Lake!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Happy Friday everyone! This week has gone by pretty fast and was packed! Last Friday my mom and I drove up to Big Bear Lake and went kayaking. I volunteered at the pet rescue Saturday, and worked on my English summer project Sunday and Monday- I finished! Now i just have to do my History one (yay...). I had lunch with a friend Tuesday, had my first behind-the-wheel driving lesson Wednesday, and did some school shopping after that. This weekend I have a soccer tournament, and next week I'm going camping! Here's some snaps from this week:

one:

Last Friday, my mom and I drove to Big Bear Lake. I hadn't been for a couple years, so it was nice to go back. We rented a double kayak, and spent about an hour and a half out on the lake. I made sure to wear my favorite hat because I always get sunburned ): Also, I think I should have probably re-done my braid... don't you think?

two:

On Monday, my friend invited a bunch of our friends over to have a pool party. Unfortunately, a lot of our friends were out of town or couldn't make it, so there were only three of us. We ate really good food and just hung out. Who knew that an inflatable pool could be so fun?

three:

When I returned home from my driving lesson on Wednesday, I saw that my new soccer cleats had arrived! Somehow the order was messed up so we ended up with two of the exact same pair, but I'm not complaining. I like the solid green, and the embroidery- 7's my number!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Georgetown University Tour

Hey everyone! I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I have been really trying to focus on getting my summer project done, so I left blogging on the back-burner. Today I will be sharing some pictures from a tour of Georgetown University that my soccer team and I went on around two and half weeks ago. 

Georgetown University is located in the neighborhood of Georgetown in Washington DC, and is situated on the Potomac River. It has an undergraduate enrollment of around 7600 students. 

This was my favorite building on campus!

This is the view from the football field looking up at the business school.

There were definitely different materials used to build the various buildings on campus.

Here's the view from some student housing- not too shabby!

The campus has a lot of open green space, and this particular building reminds me of Princeton!

This is the view looking down at the football field from above.

These houses are the cutest, and they're just across the street from GU!

Overall, the campus is super pretty and the town of Georgetown is really cute. Georgetown University is pretty rigorous academically, and is comparable to an Ivy League school. It was interesting to visit another college after committing to Colorado, but I know that i made the right choice!

xoxo,

Alyssa

What I Received In My July Birchbox {VIDEO}

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with a different type of post. I received my July Birchbox last week and realized that I had never shown a Birchbox to you guys before. I thought it would be fun to switch it up and do it in video form! Please excuse my not-styled hair, chipped nail polish,  and no makeup face; I wanted to keep it a casual video (:

I hope you enjoyed the video and let me know if you would like to see more videos in the future!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Hey everyone! Happy Friday. I'm so excited to be back blogging after a crazy two weeks! I mentioned in the Fab Friday two weeks ago that my soccer team made it to Maryland for finals. Last week we flew to Maryland, and were there for 6 days. We were able to explore Washington D.C. as well as parts of Maryland and Virginia. It was really nice to be back on the east coast, as I hadn't been there since last August. I will have a few recaps of our trip coming up next week because I did take a lot of pictures. For this post, you'll just get a little sneak peek ;) 

one:

On our first real day in Maryland my team and I headed over to Georgetown. We were given a tour of the campus by the coach, and were able to see a bit of the town. Georgetown is so cute! I'm obsessed with all of the brightly painted homes, as well as fun streets packed with preppy stores. 

two:

Like I just mentioned, we toured Georgetown University (let me know if you would like to see a post just with snaps from GU). The campus is situated on the Potomac River and it's a really pretty campus. The buildings are interesting because some of them look like Hogwarts, while others are brick. 

three:

If you follow me on IG (@lotsoflys) you would've seen this snap from Mount Vernon. I had been to DC before, but had never been to Mt. Vernon. We went on our last day and it was so pretty! There were so many pretty flowers, and the views of the river were spectacular!

four:

When in DC, it's pretty essential to make a stop at the White House! It's such a touristy thing to do, but I always enjoy it. This was about the best picture I could snap with all of the fences and guards and such, but I think it looks pretty good. 

As you're reading this, I will be heading to the beach with some of my friends. Tomorrow I am volunteering and they are bringing in 8 puppies in the hopes of getting them adopted (heart eyes emoji)! Have a great weekend and make sure to lookout for some recap posts next week!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Happy Friday everyone, and happy Fourth of July weekend! What a week it has been! If you read last weeks Fab Friday, you would know that I had soccer playoffs last weekend. We played really well and are moving on to the national semi-finals (hopefully finals) in Maryland next week! It's been a crazy last couple of days trying to figure out everything for the trip that's only a week away.

one:

My mom and I tried the new Strawberry Lemon Limade Granita from Starbucks! It has a slushie consistency, and is super refreshing (not to mention being the prettiest color!). I want to try the other flavors now.

two: 

I shared one of my favorite outfit posts ever this week! I have been obsessed with this romper, and have also been wanting to show you guys my Madewell purse. If you haven't read the post, you can check it out here. 

three:

Yesterday I volunteered for the first time at a local cat and dog rescue. I am such a big animal person (especially kittens), and it was so awesome to just hang out with animals for a few hours. This is Garfunkle, and he's a 10 week old kitten that is just so playful! I'm actually off to volunteer again today in half an hour!

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Outfit: Patterned Romper

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with an outfit post. It's been a while since I've posted an outfit post, but I'm super excited to post more of them because they're my favorite! I purchased this romper last week, and I'm so obsessed with it! It's super cute and it has pockets (#sold). 

Gap patterened romper | jean jacket (similar) | FitBit | gold watch (similar) | Jack Roger sandals | brown Madewell crossbody

I can tell that this outfit will be on repeat this summer, and it seems perfect for our Europe trip! The blues on the romper, the pattern, the high-neckline, the pockets... what's not to love?? #obsessed

xoxo,

Alyssa

Yoga

Hey everyone, and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Today I wanted to talk about something that I have a love-hate relationship with: yoga. Last summer, my mom and I tried to do a 30 Day Yoga Challenge on Youtube, but I ended up quitting because I was just not flexible enough to properly do the poses. This past year for soccer, my high school coach had us do yoga every Monday morning at 6:00 am for 6ish weeks. It was nice and a relaxing way to start the week, but I haven't done any since. I've always wanted to be good a yoga, but decided that I was not flexible enough. I have decided that I should try and do a little yoga everyday in order to gain flexibility and to improve. There are so many benefits to yoga, and it definitely seems like an easy thing to fit in your daily routine. 

{via}

{via}

Do you do yoga?

xoxo,

Alyssa

Ann Taylor Loft + LOFT Sale

Ann Taylor Loft and LOFT were stores that I thought were for moms only (#truth). However, I'm beginning to realize that they actually have super cute clothes, similar to that of J. Crew or Madewell. They are having a sale currently, so a lot of their items are half off, making them really great deals! I thought I would link a bunch of my favorite items down below. 

Have fun shopping the sale!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Fab Friday

Hey everyone, and happy Friday! I've been out of school for 2 weeks, but it definitely feels longer! This weekend I'm off to San Diego for soccer playoffs, so that should be fun! Here's what I've been up to!

one:

Sunday was Father's Day! I wanted to give a shoutout to my dad for everything he does for me. He also takes all of the outfit pictures that you see on the blog, so thanks for everything!

two:

After soccer practice Monday (it was 108 degrees... and we were playing on synthetic turf) we went to the beach! We went to a hidden beach in Laguna called Victoria Beach, and it was so pretty! The water was pretty cold, but it definitely felt good after practice.

three:

I have been obsessed with my newest purchase. This denim skirt is super cute and only $15! I talked about it all in this blog post, and here's the link if you're interested in purchasing. I know that I will be wearing it a ton this summer!

four:

Wednesday night my dad and I went out to dinner because Mom had book club. We went to a restaurant called Loving Hut. It's all vegan, and they also have raw and gluten free options. I ordered the meatball sub and fries, and my dad had an avocado and mushroom sandwich with a side salad!

Posts from this week:

Trend: Off the Shoulder

2 Ingredient Mango Frozen Yogurt

Splurge vs. Save: Denim Skirts

5 Ways to Improve Your Sleep

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Alyssa

5 Ways to Improve Your Sleep

If you are fairly normal, you probably like getting a lot of sleep. I personally always make sure to get 7ish hours of sleep, both during the school year and summer. I know that a lot of people's sleep schedule can get messed up during the summer, so I wanted to give some tips on how you can sleep better. 

Make your room dark
The more your body thinks it's nighttime, the more it is going to want to sleep. If your room has a lot of natural light like me, you might want to invest in blackout curtains so that your room can stay darker.

Cool off your room.
I personally love to sleep with the same bedding in the summer and winter, but this does get tricky when it's 100 degrees here. When my room get's hot, I can't sleep. I always sleep with my fan on and try to make my room cool, especially in the summer.

Ditch the caffeine.
I personally am not a coffee/soda drinker, but those who are often have trouble sleeping at night. Make sure that you are not drinking caffeine too close to bed time, and opt for a glass of water instead!

Don't nap,
Once again, this doesn't really apply to me because I hate naps (#truth). There's just something about sleeping during the day that I just don't like. Naps seem like a great idea in the moment, but you'll regret them when you're trying to sleep at night, because if you sleep during the day time, you'll be less tired at night.

Exercise before bed. 
Try to tire yourself out and use some energy before bedtime. If you feel tired, then you will obviously want to sleep. If you still have a bunch of energy, your mind will race and you won't be able to sleep.

I hope these tips were helpful!

xoxo,

Alyssa

Splurge vs. Save: Denim Skirts

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with another Splurge vs. Save post. I think that denim skirts are super cute, and despite the fact that I haven't worn one since 4th grade, I'm considering purchasing one! When I was shopping for some, I noticed that denim skirts come in quite the range of prices, and thought that I would share an affordable and a pricey option. 

AG Adriano Goldschmied Skirt | Forever 21 Skirt

Definitely thinking about purchasing  the Forever 21 option! Are you a fan of denim skirts?

xoxo,

Alyssa

2 Ingredient Mango Frozen Yogurt

Hey everyone! Today I have a recipe that is so easy and simple to make. It's vegan (and super healthy) mango frozen yogurt (could also be a smoothie bowl). There are endless variations to this recipe, but I figured I would share the easiest way to make it. 

What you need:

frozen mango

banana

food processor/good blender

Another yummy combo is:

1/2 cup of frozen mango

1/2 cup of frozen pineapple

1 frozen banana (in chunks)

splash of almond milk

There are no specific measurements, and mine turns out different (but yummy) every time! You want to make sure that the majority of items in the blender are frozen, because otherwise it will turn out more like a smoothie than frozen yogurt. You can really add however much mango/banana you want, depending on how much fro yo you want. The measurements for the second recipe are just what works for me. Once yours is done blending (you will have to stir it), you can top it. My favorite toppings are shredded coconut, chia seeds, and blueberries- so yummy!

This recipe is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. Let me know if you make this recipe!

xoxo,

Alyssa