best. playlist. ever.

Ok so let me first express this:
MIDTERMS ARE DONE!!! WOOOO WAHOOO YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYY!!!!

In celebration of this amazingness, I decided to make a playlist that I can not-study to :]
I hate to toot my own horn, but this playlist is perfect. I'm so proud of it that I made a mix CD of it for 2 friends!!!
And now, my (few) blog readers, I give to you...
BEST. PLAYLIST. EVER.
Long Shot - Kelly Clarkson
Such a fun song to jump around to with my friends...yes, we do that.
American Baby - Dave Matthews Band
I love this song...something about it is really different.
American Woman - Lenny Kravitz
My friends and I rooock out to this song at parties :]
The One - Backstreet Boys
My not-so-guilty pleasure. If you say you don't like the Backstreet Boys, you're lying.
Lady - Lenny Kravitz
I've loved this song so much since I heard it on the Apple commercial
Crossroads - John Mayer
I love John Mayer...in my opinion, he's the only artist today that can do good covers of the classics. The original by Clapton/Cream is one of my favorite songs.
Assassin - John Mayer
Obsessed with his whole record...this track is probably my favorite.
Dr. John - MIKA
So into MIKA right now, this album is great!!
Touches You - MIKA
All of his songs are so quirky and perfect!
Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Just a really good song.
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard & Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift + anyone = amazing...especially with Def Leppard
White Sky - Vampire Weekend
Just got their new album...incredible!
Holiday - Vampire Weekend
Cousins - Vampire Weekend
Giving Up The Gun - Vampire Weekend
Don't Stop Believin' - Glee!
Do I really need to say anything? Amazing.
Empire State Of Mind (Part II) - Alicia Keys
THE MOST GORGEOUS VOICE!! She's so talented.
Alison - Elvis Costello
I was named after this song :] my mom changed the spelling for me haha
BoysBoysBoys - Lady GaGa
So much fun.
Speechless - Lady GaGa
GaGa is genius, end of story.
Paparazzi - Lady GaGa
Hated this song...then I saw the music video. LOVE.
The Fame - Lady GaGa
This song just makes me want to dance.
White Horse - Taylor Swift
The lyrics. w o w.
You're Not Sorry - Taylor Swift
Just gorgeous, really.
Untouchable - Taylor Swift
Why is she so freaking talented?
Forever & Always (Piano Version) - Taylor Swift
Perfection.
Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
This song makes me so happy!
Keep Holding On - Glee
Never liked the original by Avril Lavigne...but this one is beautiful!
Leaving On A Jet Plane - Glee
Matthew Morrison has an incredible voice. I saw him in Hairspray like 5 years ago and I still remember how awesome he was.
And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going- Glee
Uh. Blows my mind. Ridiculous.
Hair - Original Broadway Cast
If you're ever in new york, go see HAIR. It's amazing!!
Don't Walk Away - Miley Cyrus
One of my favorites by Miley.
Dream - Miley Cyrus
Favorite song to just relax to.
Spotlight - Hannah Montana
Guilty pleasure! But it's so catchy!
Catch Me - Demi Lovato
So sweet and simple and pure. Demi's voice is killer.
Every Time You Lie - Demi Lovato
I have such a weak spot for this song...she wrote it with John Mayer!!
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
Obsession of the week!
City Of Blinding Lights - U2
Amazing
In A Little While - U2
Literally my favorite song in the world.
I'll Stand By You - Glee
So pretty!
Better Together - Jack Johnson
Everyone's camp song...it's just so good!
It's My Life / Confessions, Pt. II - Glee
Can you tell i'm in love? Haha..but this is a SICK mashup...so unlikely!!
Jump - Glee
The Van Halen version is one of my FAVORITE songs...this does it such justice!
Naturally - Selena Gomez
The only song I really like from her album...it's so good!!
Lean On Me - Glee
AMAZING cover of an iconic song.
You Can't Always Get What You Want - Rolling Stones
Sorry Glee, but the original is such a classic..
Big Girls (You Are Beautiful) - MIKA
Once again, MIKA is so talented!!
Before the Storm - Jonas Brothers & Miley Cyrus
Such a pretty song!
Barely Legal - The Strokes
SO. GOOD.
Breakfast At Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
Reminds me of the bus ride/jam sessions on my trip to Australia this summer..
All or Nothing - O-Town
I love boy bands. No guilt!
The Bird And The Worm - Owl City
I reallllly don't like the rest of their music, but this song is adorable. So sweet!
Waking Up In Vegas - Katy Perry
GIRLS NIGHT!!
Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon
Such a great song from an amazing group
Love Reign O'er Me - The Who
They amaze me. This song is incredible.
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Sounds like my Aussie trip :]
Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz
Kick ass song.
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
I go nuts to this song with my friends.
The Scientist - Coldplay
Just perfect, really.
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder
If you don't like Stevie Wonder, you have no soul. :]
Brighter Than Sunshine - Aqualung
This song is in every movie, but I love it!!
Santeria - Sublime
The epitome of Australia Trip-72
There's Hope - india.arie
So inspirational
Jumper - Third Eye Blind
After hearing this song in "Yes Man" I've been obsessed!
Obsessed - Miley Cyrus
Pretty pretty pretty
Kicking and Screaming - Miley Cyrus
Literally hated the Ashlee Simpson version...this one kicks ass.
When I Look At You - Miley Cyrus
GORGEOUS. It's literally haunting. Such an amazing step in a different direction for Miley.
Undiscovered - James Morrison
Just a cheerful song!
Yellow - Coldplay
First Coldplay song I ever heard. I love.
Lost! - Coldplay
All of their songs are so raw and perfect.
We Are Golden - MIKA
Pure fun. I absolutely love this song!
Wonderwall - Oasis
Again, classic camp song.
Free Fallin' - John Mayer
Another amazing cover.
Who Says - John Mayer
I love the lyrics so much.
Last Of The American Girls - Green Day
Who doesn't love Green Day
Many Shades of Black - Adele f. The Raconteurs
Adele is amazing
Hotel California - Eagles
This song is basically on every one of my playlists...
Message In A Bottle - The Police
I love The Police!!!
Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The chorus is incredible. So are the lyrics. So is the tune. Yeah.
Drops of Jupiter - Train
If you haven't heard this song, I'm honestly surprised that you even own a computer to read this blog on.
Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller Band
I love trippy music like this.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder
I bow down to you, Stevie.


WHEW! That took 25 minutes to type, no lie.
Hope you enjoy!!

xo Aly

hello winter.

Wednesday, December 16:
6:45am: alarm [apparently] goes off.
7:06am: snooze alarm wakes me up.
7:07am: realize what time it is, sprint into a shower.
7:17am: start to dry hair.
7:19am: give up on drying hair; settle for wetness and get into uniform.
7:24am: waiting for the elevator...
7:27am: still waiting. start to sprint down back stairs.
7:31am: run around like crazy person looking for cab.
7:34am: shit, it's freezing out here.
7:45am: no cabs in sight. run to bus stop.
7:52am: obviously there aren't any buses coming.
7:56am: start running towards the next stop in hopes of getting to school on time.
7:58am: clearly things just aren't working out for me today...
8:02am: eight blocks away from school, you can do it!!
8:12am: woohoo! make it to school with three minutes to spare!
8:13am: miss the elevator by thirty seconds. must sprint up stairs to ninth floor for physics!
8:18am: make it up the stairs, three minutes late (but i have a late note!!). turn the corner to class and what do i see?
McGowan's 1st period physics class is cancelled.
8:19am: drop all my shit on the floor and pant until perpetually late friend shows up at the door...and laughs at me.
8:22am: said late friend and I make a quick trip around the corner to grab bagels...
8:57am: ...make it back in perfect time for next period. we have a sub teacher who's not even taking attendance. why me?!

....and so my day went on (and on, and on, and on...). I ended up only having two actual classes, which rocks. however it doesn't rock SO much when you schlep your 20 pound book-bag the whole way to school and up 9 flights of stairs JUST to have classes cancelled. blehhhh.

on the bright side, WINTER BREAK STARTS TOMORROW AT APPROXIMATELY 10:40am WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm OH so excited to go to Florida and the beach and pool and warm and YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYY!!

expect an incomprehensible post tomorrow in which i will express my excitement.
WAHOO!!
HAPPY WINTER!!
YAY!
xoxo

quick hello

HAPPY FRIDAY!
Nothing too exciting for me tonight.
Unless, of course, you consider writing a paper about Abraham Lincoln and the Mexican-American War a wild evening :)
Anyway, just wanted to thank my friend Natalee at The Fashionably Late for my AMAZING new banner. THANKS NATALEEEEE :]
I need to start posting more here....I'm gonna try to post once every day, cool?

EEEEK time's a-wasting! Only 5 hours 44 minutes left in the day!
Must get back to Abe!
xx

wow.

i am the WORST blogger ever.
my only excuse is that junior year is quite similar to hell.
i have oh so much to worry about - homework, ACTs, SATs, blahblahblaaaah - and it's keeping me from spending time doing what i love. i can't even remember the last time i was in a darkroom, wrote for FUN, took pictures for me to enjoy and not for my portfolio...the list goes on and on.
and with that realization comes a New Leaf for Aly:

i hereby promise to do all my work, but reward myself with PLAY.

good. now that i got that out in the air, it's time for me to start an english paper due tomorrow first period.
...and as a reward, i'll do it while watching GLEE!

wish me luck!

5 things i love (right now)

i was overcome with the desire to make a new blog post.

what better to write about then 5 things that have every ounce of my attention right at this moment...

1. Taylor Swift "Fearless" Platinum Edition. AMAZING. i <3>

2. The envelope containing 4 tickets + backstage passes to the soon-to-be best night of my life: ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME CONCERT. STEVIE WONDER. END OF STORY.

3. An obscenely large bottle of SmartWater. seriously, it's been 3 hours, why aren't you done yet?

4. The short story I'm writing for English class inspired by Fitzgerald's party scenes from Gatsby (my all-time favorite, my bible, yadda yadda i read too much)...maybe if you're lucky I'll post it when I'm done.

5. My empty Polaroid...it's calling my name, waiting to be used: "ALY USE ME! CLICK CLICK CLICK!" See? Calling me. Curse the mail system for being so slow.

alrighty, consider yourselves enlightened.

photos coming this weekend, i promise.

back to writing about my dream world of blue gardens and endless rivers of champagne...

xo, your resident Fitzgerald groupie:

Aly

!!!!

Polaroid is bringing back instant film.

excuse me for a moment while i express my excitement...

;LKSDJFA;LSIDJKFNA;DKSUFHJADFIL;JAWE;LFIAJKDS;LFIAKJSA;SKDFA;SKLDFJ

WAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

NO MORE SEARCHING SKETCHY WEBSITES THAT SEND ME EXPIRED FILM!! YAYAYAYAYYYY!!

alrighty, that will be all.

homework time. blech

escape for a day

i really do love living in the city more than anything - the sirens, bright lights, polluted air - ah, i love it all. but sometimes, it's so nice to get away from it all. my best friend goes to boarding school up in connecticut, and for the 3 years she's gone, i've never been up to visit. [icky friend, i know...] however, this weekend i decided to be spontaneous [life goal numero uno] and woke up at 6:30am on sunday, hopped on the subway over to Grand Central [my 2nd favorite place in manhattan], and took a two-hour ride up to the BEAUTIFUL kent, connecticut.

when i say this place was beautiful, i really mean it. absolutely breath taking. everything about it made me smile. between the fresh air, my gorgeous best friend, oh so fast back-and-forth conversation, endless stories exchanged, and well over 200 hugs, it was the most wonderful day i've had in a while. the perfect escape from the fast paced pressure of the upper east side.

anyway, on the train there and back, i read the entirety of The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. it was an incredible story. so much emotion. but i mean, what else can you expect of Sparks? he's an absolute genius. this book literally had me in TEARS on the train. i'm talkin', mascara everywhere, shoulders shaking, had-to-keep-myself-quiet tears. and if you know me, you know that i hate crying in public. nothing wrong with crying at all, just crying in public. it makes me uncomfortable when i do it, and even more so when i see others cry. yikes. alrighty, let's not get into that. yes, it was such a touching story. finishing the book was the perfect way to end my day. alas, after this glorious 3-day weekend, i'm being forced back into the reality that is High School. woopdee-friggin-doo.

goodnight world,

Aly