The Good Girl Gone Blog: B-more

When you fall for your best friend

Oct 4, 2010

I spent Friday evening with two of my favorite men- my talented photographer father and my dapper and very sweet boyfriend, Eric, who came in to visit for the weekend.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant, drank a lot of wine and posed for too many pictures. My dad and Eric talked about photography for what seemed like an eternity, and for once, I was ok with feeling like the 3rd wheel.

This was the first time Eric had come to visit since our situation evolved from friendship to relationship, and I was amazed and full of joy when Eric said the point of this trip was to spend time with me and my family. In fact, we didn't even go into the city to do typical "Baltimore" things. We spent the weekend going from meal to meal, cooking together (well, Eric cooked, I set the table and did dishes), enjoying Shabbat lunch with my mom and stepdad, and going to some of my favorite restaurants with my dad, stepmom and sister.

And you know what? My family, especially Zooey, loves him. What more could a girl ask for?

Farewell to the 40s!

Aug 2, 2010

My stepmom didn't want to have a 50th birthday party, so she had a 49.5 party...aka "farewell to the 40s" this past Saturday. (FYI, that's her in the first photo with the band, Fools and Horses.) It was LOADS of fun. The drinks were flowing, the band fantastic, the food tasty and the people fun.

Plus, I got to buy a new dress, which I did Saturday morning FYI and it only cost me $12.99! (Can you tell I'm proud of myself?)
Sophie and I performed the song "Stranded" by Plumb, which we first heard in 10 Things I Hate about You. It's actually the second time we've performed this song in front of a crowd. Even though I've been doing plays and singing in front of people for years, I still get nervous every time.

I think I'll leave you with this: the photo that I cropped and made my profile picture and the accompanying comments, which I personally find sort of hysterical.
I love my little sister!!

Blogger date with Kate!

Jun 16, 2010

A few weeks ago, I received an email from my blog friend, Kate (Hi Kate!) saying she'd be in Baltimore hanging out with her grandma and asking if I wanted to meet up. Of course I wanted to meet Kate- she's hysterical. You guys remember, she wrote that great guest post about her jegging dilemma!

You know how people say they read a blog and feel like they know the writer personally? Well, that's how it felt with Kate. There was very little time for awkward silence as we had a lot of "catching up" to do. (It's weird that you can catch up with someone you've never met, but I guess the Internet has that kind of effect on people.)

We had delicious brunch with my fam and even walked around a street fair near Hopkins. There were loads of artists selling their creations, as well as people selling seemingly random items. Even more notable: there was an entire grassy area covered in hula hoops just waiting to be....hula hooped (?) with. You know, just for fun.

Seriously, how cute does Kate look? She told me I wasn't allowed to wear anything too "chic" because she couldn't fit a lot in her duffle. I purposefully wore something pretty plain so she'd feel comfortable and guess what? She totally out-cuted me!

So I'm curious, has anyone else met up with their blog friends in real life? Did it turn out ok or was it super awkward? Do tell!

Welcome to Bawlmer, Hon

Jun 14, 2010

Yesterday, my parents and I took Thibault to Hampden to experience some Baltimore culture at Honfest.

"HonFest is a local tradition. The Bawlmer term of endearment, Hon, short for Honey, embodies the warmth and affection bestowed upon our neighbors and visitors alike by historic working-women of Baltimore. HonFest is an annual celebration in honor of these women."

We had a blast! There was a tent set up where you could get your hair done in a traditional Bawlmer Hon beehive, tons of greasy-delicious food and lots of women (and even men) dressed in amazing costumes.

Surprisingly, I'd never attended Honfest before. If I go again, I definitely want to dress up. I'm thinking leopard spandex, biggggggg hair, cheesy flowers and maybe something flamingo inspired.

Did I mention that you can compete for the title of Baltimore's Best Hon? This year's winner received $1000, a ton of bubble gum, a set of plastic flamingos and a bunch of other great stuff in addition to bragging rights.

I loved seeing all the little girls in their Hon costumes, it reminded me of Toddlers & Tiaras!

I really wanted the cute old lady to win. Sadly, she didn't. I guess there's always next year...
...and I'll leave you with these amazingly tacky leggings! TONS more photos here.

Oh, and just for fun, check out the Bawlamerese Lexicon and learn how to speak "Hon."

And one last thing- my dad always says his favorite Hon is Atilla. Tee-hee.

Casual Thursday: the secret spot

Jun 10, 2010

Normally, I save my jeans for Friday, but today was an exception. After spending way too much time listening to people with mullets talk about their Harleys at the MVA (my wallet was stolen yesterday and I needed to get a new license), I headed in to work for just over an hour.

Then, I went on a special mission with another intern that involved a lot of driving! We've been tasked to plan a company event for late July and spent a good chunk of today checking out one possible location.

These photos were taken by my sister, Sophie, when I got home from work. The dog is Bailey and the boy is Thibault. I like both of them a lot.

I'm wearing:

Shirt: gift from Sophie, purchased at "the shook" in Israel
Capris: Target
Shoes: New York and Co.
Necklace: Stolen from Sophie :)
Headband: CVS (I think!)

Sequins: not just for show choir

Jun 7, 2010

When I told Eric (the guy responsible for my AMAZING new blog design) that I was wearing a gold sequin skirt today, he said he only associates sequins with show choir.

Please. This outfit is so not show choir- although honestly, some of the kids in Glee have great style.

I scored this skirt at Loehmann's a few weeks ago. It's Romeo and Juliet Couture, and I've been dying to incorporate it into a work-appropriate outfit ever since Kristin wrote about summer sparkles here.

I'm wearing:

Shirt: Target
Skirt: Romeo and Juliet Couture via Loehmann's
Shoes and necklace: Primark

Anyway, I'm off to pick up the boy at the airport today. I haven't seen him in over a month!

Mixing genres

Jun 4, 2010

Recently, I've been really into mixing colors, patterns and textures. I'm pretty sure that's how this outfit was born. Just a few months ago, I never would have worn an outfit like this. Ruffles and a print? Come on!

How cute are these? I bought them on sale in London from Monsoon. Actually, I wore them to Thibault's ball!

I'm wearing:

Shirt: French Connection
Skirt: Target
Shoes: Monsoon
Hair bow: won from Daily Candy contest

Oh, and in case you're curious about the title- it's from one of my all time favorite movies. I'll give you the movie quote and you tell me the movie title. Go!

"So then Bianca says that I was right. That she didn't wear the Kenneth Coles with that dress because she thought it was mixing genres. Right? And the fact that I noticed -- and this is a direct quote 'really meant something.'"

Lemon Love

Jun 3, 2010

So far, there are very few things Sara (my boss) and I disagree on. We both seem to like the same snack foods (those yummy rice things), hate the same flowers (carnations and baby's breath) and have a love affair with shoes (seriously, they make the outfit).

One thing we do disagree on though, is my quest to bring yellow back. Sara HATES yellow. Apparently, it makes her look green so she avoids it. Well, Sara's dislike for yellow only made me want to prove her wrong...because hey, I'm bringing yellow back. I used to hate it myself (I thought it made my skin look funny too), but now I'm not so sure.

Though I actually have 2 yellow dresses, I thought I'd opt for a few yellow accents so as not to overwhelm Sara. (Plus, I didn't really want to wear either of them...) Truth be told, the scarf was actually worn in my hair all day, but made its way to my wrist after my haircut.

I'm wearing:

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft
Skirt: Uniqlo
Shoes: Thrifted, Brick Lane, London
Sunglasses: Giorgio Armani, gift
Scarf: from my childhood "dress-up clothes"

**Sara: please note my yellow table. It's totally cute.

Baltimore like tourists

Eric came down from Boston to hang out with me, see Baltimore, and do a little design work on my blog (coming soon). Though we were confined to the apartment for a good amount of time waiting for Comcast to arrive, we did make it out to Fell's Point for some window shopping and a delicious meal.

Eric and I definitely recommend you try Meli- an American bistro in Fell's Point. Meli, which means "honey" in Greek, offers a variety of different dishes, most of which include a delicious touch of honey. They also have amazing drinks, like my "adult" blueberry lemonade.

This weekend included a lot of alcohol, so needless to say, I made Eric do most of the driving.

After our trip to Fell's Point and the long wait for Comcast, we drove back downtown, this time to Canton, where we had THE BEST DINNER EVER. You should definitely check out Blue Hill Tavern the next time you're in town. Their food is both beautiful and delicious, service is quick and the drinks are amazing!

Eric has vowed to come back at least once a year...not because he wants to visit me, but because he wants to have Blue Hill Tavern's silken pie. It was just that good.

Unintentionally channeling Zooey

Jun 2, 2010

Sara: You look cute today. Are you trying to channel Zooey Deschanel?

Alana: Ummmm no.

This is just one of the reasons why I love my boss...she often compares me to my style icon, Zooey Deschanel.

I'm still having a little trouble with the self timer, so bear with me. I promise, eventually I'll be able to get nice pictures that include my head AND my feet!

I'm wearing:

Shirt and tank: H&M
Skirt: French Connection, via Loehmann's
Shoes: Steve Madden, via DSW
Belt: random store in Israel
Necklace: stolen from Sophie
Hair clip: The pebble collection