Wedding Wednesday (On a Thursday).

There are a few main reasons why I love having a secret blog. I love the anonymity of it, and the fact that I can express my feelings without worrying that someone I know might be reading it and judging me. I can share my passions and things that a lot of people in my everyday life might not know about, without feeling exposed or vulnerable. This post is making my extremely happy that no one from my "real life" knows about my blog - because the last thing I would want is for J to think I'm trying to hint towards something (definitely not!).

I love weddings. I love going to them, I love planning my (very far into the) future wedding, I love the dresses, the decorations, the food. Now that TWO of my roomies are engaged (with one getting married in June), I feel like it is just fueling my love of weddings. My one roomie R and I (aka the two girls who aren't engaged in the apartment) are always comparing notes on what we want for our weddings - I know this makes us sound 100% pathetic, but I promise we talk about other things too.

For the most part, I think every little girl (and grown-up girl too!) dreams about her wedding day - unless you are like Ms. Samantha Jones, and if that's the case, good for you, girl! Maybe it's because I have a huge family and grew up going to weddings, and being a flower girl (like 15x, seriously), but I've always loved them. When I was in fifth grade, I started pulling ads and articles from magazines, compiling them into a binder, which has grown and grown over the years. (I'm horrifying myself with this, seriously). But the more I see, the more inspired I get by all the creativity out there!

So in honor of my two roomies, I'm posting some of my favorite wedding inspiration pictures found from all over (Many from Style Me Pretty and Polka Dot Bride).

And trust me - the one roomie is having a purple and black color scheme - she could use the advice ;) Just kidding, but seriously when my mom saw the invitation she said, "Oh wow, Al, I didn't know they were having a Purple Rain theme!".

Clearly I have no direction with this, these are just little things I love! Hopefully I'm not completely turning people off of my blog with all my future planning! ;)

Mojitos in a pitcher! Mmmm.



I think it's safe to say I have a love for paper lanterns. Simple chic.











J'adore tulips. And these ones are so beautiful!










I love this color scheme and these dresses!


Currently: Watching Survivor. I can't help it, I love it and hope it never ends.

P.S. The gorgeous Couture Carrie, who won the Misikko giveaway emailed me and mentioned that she already owns a flat iron from Misikko - with that being said, I will update tomorrow with the NEW WINNER of the flat iron, since she was gracious enough to tell me to pick a new winner! :)

P.S.S. I really want to update my blog and try to resize it... I feel like it looks so cramped and unstylish - any tips or ideas? I'd love to pay someone to do it, but unfortunately student teaching/paying for gas and being unemployed is really killing my bank account! Any help would be MASSIVELY appreciated! xox

And the Winner Is...

I consider myself pretty tech savvy in some regards. I mastered my dad's Blackberry when he had one of the HUGE ones back when they first came out. I was a pro at my first iPod that weighed about 12 pounds and really worked out my arm muscles when I ran. And the DVR? Psh, I had the filled before my parents even knew how it worked (to the point where they had to get DVR in my room because I hogged the entire DVR).

I brag about all my wonderful accomplishments (sarcastically, I hope you all know) to explain how dumb I am when it comes to figuring out how to pick a winner for giveaways. As you all know, this was my VERY FIRST giveaway ever! (And I loved it, so anyyy more companies out there are more than welcome to offer me fabulous giveaway items).

Honestly, I had no idea how to even choose a winner. So, just so you understand the pathetic nature of the process, here is how it went... I copied EVERY name into an Excel spreadsheet (glad that my resume says I'm equipped with Excel!), and then called up J. I simply said "Pick a number between...", which he did. And that, my dears, was how I chose a winner for the contest. Easy peasy, but terribly unprofessional I'm sure!

The winner of the fabulous Misikko giveaway, and a gorgeous Hana straightener is... the darling Couture Carrie, who has been one of my favorite fashion bloggers since I began blogging! She posts gorgeous, lust-worthy styles every day and is just fabulous!

Carrie, send me an email with your name and address, and I will contact John at Misikko for you to get your straightener sent out! :) (Allison_ladolcevita@yahoo.com). Congrats, darling!

A real post is coming sometime this week - I'm on spring break and LOVING it (though I'm still going to bed early and waking up early.. guess I'm on a whole different schedule now!).

My First Ever Giveaway!

It has been too long - I know that. I'm teaching the FULL DAY now, dealing with discipline problems (believe it or not I'm actually VERY assertive when I need to be! - I had no idea!), and trying to keep my eyes open when I finally get back to my apartment. It's pretty overwhelming right now, and I'm babysitting as much as possible, because it is a 45 minute drive to get to where I teach, and another 45 minutes home, AND my stupid little car only takes premium... niceee.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining a ridiculous amount, but truth be told, I DO love it. The kids are bad, but they make me laugh so hard (I'll have to post up some of the quotes soon!), I'm having a great last semester, and right now the sun is heating my bedroom so much that I didn't sleep with blankets last night :) Quite the reprieve after the never-ending snowstorms/freezing cold weather! \

I wish I had an extra 5 hours in the day - because I miss blogging terribly and I miss all of YOU so much. I love reading your blogs and seeing what you've been up to - it really, truly makes me happy because you are all such fabulous and talented people.

Because I've missed you so much, I have a little something for all of my readers - MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! :) The fabulous Misikko company, that specializes in high quality hair products, has offered one of my readers a fabulous Hana Professional hair straightener, that I also received and reviewed for them :)

I can still remember my very first straightener. A big, fat, huge, gold plated Hot Tools black straightener that did absolutely nothing besides fry my poor head. I can still remember my hairdresser SCREAMING at me, telling me that my daily routine of blow dying/straightening was destroying my hair. After that, it was a while before I trusted a straightener again.

At this point, I decided that I needed to spend more money to ensure that I wouldn't be completely frying my hair on a daily basis. I approached my same hair stylist, who informed me of several brands that he recommended over anything else. I've had my CHI straightener now for years, and was devastated when one of my roommates who won't be named totally destroyed it, straightening her wet hair day by day.

When John from Misikko, a family run business that specializes in high end professional flat irons contacted me to ask if I wanted to try out the Hana professional, I was really excited! Misikko is a fabulous company that really went out of their way to send me a top quality product - and on an additional note, which was a massive plus in my book, the owner of Hana products sent a $25 check for me to donate to any charity or person in need that I saw, because he was so moved by the tragedy in Haiti. We all know I love social justice, so that made me love Hana products even more.

Please check out Misikko - they have a very wide variety of products, including CHI flat irons, and some fabulous and lust worthy professional hair dryers.

I cannot even tell you how fabulous the customer service at Misikko is - John emailed back and forth with me, answering my every question about hosting my very first giveaway ever! (And let me tell you girls, I asked a lot).

When I received my Hana Professional, the first thing I did was let out a squeal of delight, because it's pink! Lovely. It's also very small, and perfect for traveling (plus it comes with a travel case - awesome!). Another HUGE plus is that the Hana Professional can straighten damp hair - another huge advantage (especially when living with someone who is constantly on the run in the mornings to get to student teaching on time).



The only negative thing that I encountered (and this is only an issue because I did have a CHI for so long) is that the Hana did take a bit of time to heat up to it's full capacity. But girls, once it got heated, this little baby was PERFECT! My roommates and I have been using it like crazy and it is working on all our hair - which has all different lengths and types. And now you can have the chance to win a fabulous PINK $120 straightener too :)

It definitely made a big improvement with my hair (and that of my roomies!):





There are some rules to qualify for winning!

1. You must be a follower of La Dolce Vita. Leave me a comment if you're a new follower!
2. You must live in the U.S. (sorry international readers - I'll have another giveaway soon for everyone!).
3. The giveaway will close on Friday, March 26th. Winner will be announced that day!
4. BE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT! Super important :)

For additional chances to win...
1. Follow Misikko on Twitter.
2. Blog about this giveaway on your website - and send me the link in a separate entry.
3. Join the Misikko newsletter.

Good luck everyone!

Currently listening to: The Beatles - Dear Prudence. (While I wait for J to finish showering so we can go to Rita's for free Italian ices 'cause it's the first day of spring!).

Remember, you can also follow me on Twitter now! :)

LOVE YOU!