Life As I Know It

My name is Alanna, and I'm not very consistent in blogging, welcome to my life. I can't even tell you what my blog page looks like right now; I'm sure it's not very good. Maybe I'll work on that, but most likely I won't lol. To preface this post, I'm going to tell you it's not going to be rainbows and butterflies...It's going to be real and raw. (Although I am finishing this in a better place than I left the draft originally. When I was originally writing this, I was crying in my bed. Now...still in my bed...but enjoying a nice glass of wine on a Sunday night after a wonderful weekend at home). Because I'm at a weird point in my life, I'm not living all of my dreams...let me explain.

So as most people know, I graduated college in May. Although college wasn't always peachy and keen, it was a cake walk compared to what it is now. College is a little cocoon of safety... you're forced to have social interaction with people who are going through very similar if not exact experiences as you are. Post graduation doesn't present those experiences so easily. Especially for someone who has suffered from social anxiety since high school. While this might not be something that many people know about me, I have moderate (I'd say) social anxiety from a combination of scarring experiences in high school and just the way my brain is wired. For a long time, anywhere I went, I was convinced people were talking about me, staring at me, judging me. While I don't care about what anyone thinks of me, I also do. It's a complicated mix, but in summary, meeting new people is really hard for me when I have no moral support. It's hard for me to meet new people without being with old friends. I don't feel comfortable around strangers because they might not understand me and judge me. Some people understand, and then there are the people who say, "You just have to get out there and do things and you'll naturally meet people." Yeah, it's not that easy for me. So living in a city completely alone has been difficult.

You're whole life you grow up wanting to move away. But for me, I grew up wanting to move away and basically instantly regretted it. I have suffered with moderate to severe anxiety and depression through high school and college. It comes in waves, but it can be debilitating. After I accepted my job, there was a lot of talk with my mom about if I made the right decision and if I should take back my acceptance. We both knew that my depression spiraling out of control was a very serious possibility. I remember talking in Target in Fort Dodge saying, "I really think this is the wrong decision because my depression is going to get worse." And to be honest, it did.

The first couple weeks were fine. It was new. I was settling into my job, I had Sullivan (my 7 month old Malshi puppy for those who aren't familiar), and it was still fresh. But then it started settling in...I was completely alone, I knew no one, I went to work and came home every day...and it wasn't cool anymore. While I know some people are totally fine and blossom in new cities alone, I don't think I'm one of those people. Anyone who knows me can quite quickly pick up on how close I am with my mom. And that's a blessing and a curse...even as a 22 year old woman (I guess girl isn't the correct word for my anymore even though that's how I feel) I genuinely cannot live without my mom. And there are just so many reasons that I could go on and on about, but ultimately when it comes down to it, there were times when she was the only thing keeping me tethered to earth. Without my mom, I can honestly tell you, I would not still be here today.

Without going into too many details, work was not always a cake walk. Certain personalities didn't necessarily mesh with mine, I was dealing with all these personal issues, and it. was. hard. I wouldn't be able to drag myself out of bed until 7:30 AM when I needed to leave for work around 8. I would cry in my car on the way to work, on the way home for lunch, on the way back from lunch, and after work. I was miserable...I would cry all the time. I felt hopeless, like I was completely alone, just...it's hard to put into words how I felt. And my poor mother, I'd text her about how miserable I was and how much I hated my life. We would talk about if there was anyway I could quit and come home, what were my options, etc. Basically what the hell was I going to do so I didn't off myself to be honest.

And on top of being alone, not necessarily loving my job, having depression, there would those bumps in the road that would make things worse. It felt (and honestly feels) like nothing just purely good ever happened (happens) to me. I mean I'm sure I could think of a longer list but there are some major events that stick out:

1. My precious puppy was hit by a car (I guess him being completely okay was a good thing, but it's questionably a good thing when he had to be hit by a car in the first place). 
2. My high school boyfriend got engaged. I drank a lot of wine the night I found out and acted like I was okay. But I was not okay, not okay at all. It is a ginormous pill to swallow when you can't even pull yourself out of bed in the morning, and your high school boyfriend is getting married. Like shit...excuse my french, but shit. It's still a lot honestly, it's so weird. The person you used to imagine marrying one day, jokingly had picked out children's names with, went through all the first love emotions and things like that with is getting married. To someone else. While I don't think it ever would have worked out between us, it's still just a lot. That one really knocked me down a peg or two for a while. (Anyone who knows me or knew me in high school can obviously figure out who this is, but that's fine. I'm fine with my feelings.)
3. The person that I was talking to at the time who I've had an on and off again relationship for years dropped one of the most devastating things he could have ever said to me on me after I tried to talk to him about how I was feeling about above thing (I believe that all past relationships make you who you are and don't mind talking about them [both parties] in current relationships.) (I'm sure some of you can figure out who this is as well).

It just seemed like the little world I had left was crumbling down around me. All these things happened within a week of each other mind you, so it was jarring. I didn't want to go to work, I didn't want to get out of bed...I didn't want to do anything, and sometimes quite honestly, I just wanted to die.

But in time, it got better. I am by no means diagnosed with such, but I would describe myself more on the bipolar scale. There are stretches when my mental state is gut wrenchingly terrible and there are times (like now) when I'm more okay. I don't know that I could extend the olive branch to the word "happy" but I'm fine. I live life day to day. Am I where I want to be? Absolutely not, but I'm where I'm at. Even if things aren't perfect, I wake up every day and do what I need to do. But it's hard right now not to be at home right now.

A lot of people know this, but my dad is an alcoholic. He is a raging, cyclical alcoholic. And it's frustrating and our relationship has gone up and down, and he's at it again. He's back on his bullshit, as the kids say. I am publicly calling him out whether he wants that or not...I don't even think he knows I know. Because when a 61 year old man is destroying his life yet again with no regards for anyone else, why would I care to deal with that? I'm not 4 or 8 or 12 or even 16 anymore; I have the choice if he's in my life or not. I could write a book about this topic, but for another day. The hardest part of all of this for me is not being able to be there for my mom through it all; I feel a huge sense of guilt and pain not to be able to be with my best friend while this happens. But I'm grateful that I'm not where I was at 2-3 weeks ago and that I'm able to cope with what's going on. 

There are still days when I hate my life. There are still days I wake up and go to bed crying. But I am able to look towards the future. I am able to know that my life will turn around, that I will get to a point that I'm happy with. I want to immerse myself into things that better me as a person: reading, running, I want to lose 15-20 pounds, etc. I have goals: move back to Iowa (the funny thing about leaving Iowa for me was the fact that I've grown to miss everything about Iowa; not the cold though, yuck), eventually open my own business, do freelance makeup for fun, maybe write a book someday. But mostly I have people in my life who make me grateful everyday: my sister and her family, my extended family, my friends. My pride, joy, and the light of my life: Sullivan. But mostly, my mom. I will keep grinding, I will keep moving forward, and I will keep living life as I know it.


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(Maybe people were expecting a post about how awesome everything is and how happy I am, but that's not always how it goes.I just wanted to give everyone a glimpse into my life as of now.  It's not perfect, it's not pretty, and it's definitely not glamorous. I apologize if this blog post was all over the place, but that's the way my mind can tend to work. I don't seek pity about what I go through, I seek understanding.  I want to let the kids younger than me know your life won't necessarily be perfect or everything you always dreamed of when you graduate college. You won't necessarily work your dream job and you most definitely won't necessarily be rich or even financially stable when you graduate. That just because everyone around you seems to be "living your best life" doesn't mean you always will. All of our journeys are unique, and they are ones we must experience individually. All the love to the people who support me, and all the best to the people who don't. <3)

October Favorites 2016

Hello, it's me, blog. Do you remember me, your creator? Probably not. But I'm going to try to be better. In leu of election eve, all of our timelines could use a little bit of a break. This is my round up of favorite products from October (and the last 6 months, really) from hair, makeup, beauty, etc. 

Makeup

1. Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick

While everyone is obsessed with Kat Von D at the moment, these liquid lipsticks are my absolute favorite. The colors are on trend, and the formula is amazing. Liquid lipsticks can feel so heavy on your lips; Colourpop is a good example, they are an awesome price point ($6!), but it definitely feels like you've got a coat of goop on your lips. Huda's are thin and smooth and don't dry out your lips! I have literally the world's driest lips, and these don't bother me. Some of the reviews online complain they don't last long enough, but because it isn't thick, it won't cake up if you need to reapply! You can buy a full size for $20 at Sephora, or there's these neat kits that you can try two lipsticks and a lipliner (I might pick them all up!)

Liquid Matte Lipstick in Flirt...I get compliments on this color every time I wear it! (Sephora)

Hair

1. Sachajuan Silver Shampoo 

Blondes: if there is one star of my life right now, it is this shampoo. This shampoo was sent from heaven itself on a cloud of pixie dust. I used to use Clairol Shimmer Lights...that doesn't hold a candle, not even a match, to this shampoo. It is pretty pricey ($31), but you get what you pay for. The packaging is sleek and modern, but the product inside is amazing. It puts incredible shine and luster back into my highlights (and it's been a hot minute since I've gotten them done). Go get it, now! 

(Sephora)

Skin

1. Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 PA++

If you are an oily skinned girl like me, you need this. I have tried a lot of things that claim to mattify your face, but this one is the only one that has truly worked. It is a moisturizer, so I apply it under my makeup. It's pretty thick, but a little goes a long ways. The fact that it has SPF is great too! It is also formulated without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates. After watching the documentary "The Human Experiment" on Netflix, I definitely want to be better about what chemicals I am putting in and on my body!

$39.50 (Sephora)

Fragrance

1. CK2

This smell is amazing; I generally prefer clean scents. I'm allergic to plants, so floral scents are typically not my jam. Online it says its notes are "fresh notes and warm woods." Perfect for me. It's a good price as well! $55 for 1.7 oz. Another unique thing about this fragrance is its "gender free." So you and your boo can share it (not that I would know.)

(Sephora)

2. Moschino Fresh Couture

Another fresh fragrance of course. Its notes are "Bergamot, Mandarin, Ylang Ylang, Raspberry, White Peony, Osmanthus, Cedarwood, White Patchouli, Ambrox." I don't know what basically any of that means, but I know it smells good. And the packaging is so freaking cute, how can you go wrong? 

$62 for 1.7 oz (Sephora)

I think I'll wrap it up here; I will try to do an unfavorite product blog v soon! Honestly, that list might be longer. I try lots of products, and it's easier for one to not live up to expectations versus being successful. I've probably forgotten some, but oh well! These are the best of the best!

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The Divided States of America

I don't even know if I should be writing about this.

I would like to preface this by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form qualified to talk about this besides being a concerned American citizen.

And if there's one thing we should all be...it's concerned.

But more than concerned: terrified, disgusted, exhausted, of what our country is going through right now. 

If you are going to respond to this post saying I'm stupid or ignorant or whatever you can think of, you can kindly guide yourself out now. While I could be all of those things, I warned you ahead of time to get out.

Of the many years sitting through social studies and history classes, I never thought I would have to witness anything like what happened in the 1950s or even the Civil War. But here I am, 3 years removed from my last history class, and history is repeating itself. 

I hope that our country can look at itself in the mirror, like after a rough night out, and say "What the hell are you doing with yourself?"

I can only hope that one day my kids will sit in the same history classes I sat in and say, "They were still judging each other by the color of their skin? They were still being judged for who they chose to love? They weren't even safe going to their job?" 

But it doesn't even feel that way... it feels like we've dug ourselves into a hole, and how the hell do we get out?

Honestly, I don't even feel comfortable thinking about having kids because I would feel bad bringing them into a country that is literally losing its shit.

One of the most painful things for me to hear is, "America is the greatest country in the world."

Based on what?

Obviously, we have it much better than 3rd world countries, and war filled countries like Syria.

But what about our country makes it so much greater than every other country. Because right now, moving to Sweden or Canada or basically any other civilized country is looking pretty damn nice. 

Saying we're the greatest country in the world is insinuating that we have every aspect of our country perfected past all the others. And there is nothing perfect about the world we're living in right now.

Maybe at one time America was the greatest country in the world. But I also think, that people are grasping so tightly to the past and that somehow, miraculously, our country is going to snap back to a time long, long ago. One of the things that pisses me off the most is when anyone states that the founding fathers did this and that because they foresaw this happening. If you genuinely think that the founding fathers foresaw anything that is happening right now, you're out of your mind. The founding fathers didn't even know there would be cars and electricity, let alone this shit. God bless the founding fathers, but please, leave them out of your conversations about today's current events.

It honestly boggles my mind that immigrants even want to come to America anymore. Maybe they don't see the news stories that pop up numerous times a day about everyone being shot, from club goers to black men to police officers. I don't know what their American dream is but mine is to make it through each day without being in a public place and being shot. I wish that sounded ridiculous, but  it just doesn't anymore...

While I won't directly state my opinions on gun control, obviously something that we're doing is not effing working. Going back to living in the past, get over it, we're not. We've been rudely and abruptly been evicted to the past. You can either stand there staring at the house that was once yours, or you can get off your ass and go find a new one. SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE. I don't know what that is, but the scary thing is, no one does. Not even our two presidential candidates (I'll let you form your own opinions on them; Kanye for 2020 isn't looking too bad). I just wish everyone could stop being so caught up in their own selfish feelings. We get it, you're a Democrat, you're a Republican. Now that we've gotten the titles out of the way, maybe we can work towards a compromise. Because as much as I wish I could live in this country completely alone right now, I'm stuck with you millions of other people, so I might as well think about the resolution for the greater good.

While I know some people want to blame everything on terrorists, I hate to break it to you, but terrorists are a tiny fraction of the issue that is going on within our borders. The events that have happened in the past couple days have not included a single terrorist, just plain ol' American citizens like you and me. It is police officers killing black men, black men killing police officers, mothers killing their daughters in the streets outside their home. "But that lady was crazy." Well thank you for guiding me to my next point. There is an overwhelming correlation between mass shootings and mental health issues. While gun control is a major issue, we have to, have to, have to look at our mental health services. While the population is growing, governors like Terry Branstad are closing mental health facilities. How does that make sense? A higher population of people means more people affected by mental illness but let's just shut these places down? I'm not a genius by any means, but for me, the numbers aren't adding up on that one. I also don't think it should be controversial to want a country where mentally ill couldn't as easily purchase guns, but..what do I know, right?

And the fact that race is a huge fuel to this whole nasty fire...like why? I saw in a story about the Dallas shootings that police were talking to a "lighted-skinned black woman." Why does it matter what race she is, but even more so, the level of her blackness? If that's a thing; I didn't think it was, but the story seems to state otherwise. Like that should be our smallest issue, so we could focus on important things, but instead, we are all still caught up on a biological trait that no one can help. I think we should all just take "black" and "white" and "Muslim" (which by the way isn't a race) out of our vocabularies. It shouldn't be a relevant fact in any story that "they were black" or "they were white." They were a person, just like you. 

A word that is seemingly often forgotten is the world "united." Yes, the world in the name of our country...where is it? I know it's not here. There's absolutely nothing "united" about our country. Black versus white. Gay versus straight. Democrat versus Republican. Guns versus no guns. It's a joke to call ourselves the United States of America...we're the Divided States of America. 

I don't know, this post probably rambled and possibly made no sense. But my mind just races thinking about all the atrocity that is happening in our country. I don't care what your opinions are or if you care what mine are, but I just hope one thing everyone can agree on is that there needs to be change. I just wish people would get mad, but instead of at each other, mad at the situation our country has made for itself. Mad that we've become complacent to the terror that exists every day for an American citizen. Mad that our newsfeeds are constantly filled with story after story of people being murdered. Mad that amongst it all, we can't even come together, look past each other's physical appearance, and try to figure out a solution. 

"The best way out is always through."

Alanna's Summer Chronicles: Volume 1

Summer Chronicles a la Alanna.

I thought about calling it "The Intern Diary" but I feel that my summer will consist of more than just that.

I transported myself out here to good ol' Omaha, Nebraska (thanks Mom and Dad).

I am interning at Hayneedle, Inc. as the Merchandising Intern.

Alright, now that we have the boring stuff out of the way, in the past 4 days I've been here, I feel I've learned a lot. Such as:

1. You could get places a lot faster if you went the right way. 

Most of my time is driving around, realizing I went the wrong way, and desperately struggling to get back on track. While sometimes I turn to my friend, Stacy (AKA: GPS, AKA: Godsend; although, Stacy has been being replaced by Margaret sometimes. A. I don't like it. B. Margaret sucks, and says things like "Go south." That means nothing to me, Margaret), I have started to become increasingly stubborn and yelling that, "I can figure it out myself!" My work commute home could be about 15 minutes shorter if I just turned the right way. This also leads me to...

(Instagram-Norvina)

2. I'm not very observant

A main solution that would help in the lesson above is if I could become familiar with the buildings and businesses around me. I have driven the same routes everyday for 4 days, and every day, it's like I've never been on it before. I stared at the turn I needed for a full stop light rotation, and only at the last second realized I needed to turn. I proceeded to turn left across four lanes of traffic in the far right lane.

(Instagram)

3. People in Nebraska honk their horns a lot.

If one more God damned person honks their horn at me, I'm gonna freak out. Every day I get honked at at least once. But it's never when I'm doing anything illegal like mentioned above. It's when the stop light turned green a millisecond before. Maybe their teaching something different over in Nebraska's drivers' education programs, but I don't appreciate it.

4. The "bad parker disease" is everywhere.

Now, I might not be able to drive that well, but I can do the most basic thing and pull into a spot without being too close to the line on either side. We're not talking parallel or any other type of difficult parking (?), just the basics. And no. one. can. do. it. (Including my mom but I forgive her.)

(Google) While not precise, much like this.

5. If you are in the market for a children's bed, there are at least 1200 options to choose from.

I'm sure you would have never guessed this because neither would I. Until I started looking at the category placement of them. On a 5000+ row spreadsheet. I am on row 1600 some after 8 hours of work.

(Pinterest)

6. You can absolutely get sick of eating fast food.

The past 5 days, at least one (if not all) of my meals have been fast food. While I have become a burger and fry conisseur, I hope to never eat one again (JK, I'll probs eat one like tomorrow). 

7. Five Guys Burgers and Fries is overrated.

I had to get my headphones over my lunch hour, so I thought I'd stop and grab Five Guys. Seeing as it's the biggest deal it is coming to Iowa, I figured this place had to be a big deal. No. I'm over it. 

A. It was the slowest freaking "fast food" I've ever gotten. I was number 57 (arrived at 12:15, assuming it started counting at 11 when it opened; that's less than one customer per minute), and it was a good five minutes between 56 and me. 

B. I don't approve of this weird "just shovel the fries into the bag and not into a sleeve" game.

C. This weird ass man would not stop staring at me. Like not out of the corner of his eye either. Turning his whole body around and staring at me for the whole 15 minutes I was waiting for my mediocre food. Boys, this is not flattering. This is weird and rude and lots of other not positive adjectives. Look away, freak.

D. Some lady flagged me down in the parking lot and asked me if I was at all familiar with Lincoln. Well, last time I checked we were in Omaha, but I drive the wrong way so freaking often, maybe we are in Lincoln.

Creep

8. Piles of emails will plague me for the rest of my life.

As I am writing this here blog post, my phone shows that I have 21,106 emails (that was after I refreshed it from yesterday at 21,066). I understand that I have done this to myself, and that it is very unlikely I will ever crawl out of this hole I have dug. But the very first time I logged into my work email on my very first day, I had 49 unread emails. And this my friends, I simply cannot take the blame for.

The proof's in the pudding, people. 

9. Blow up mattresses are not that uncomfortable.

While, yes, I would rather be writing this atop a plush California King, this blow up camping queen has been doing me well. Most nights I am so utterly exhausted that I couldn't care less if I was sleeping on the floor. I woke up at midnight last night curled at the foot of my bed; I'm not picky.

10. I have become one of those psycho Iowa State people.

Because I am out of campus, I find myself clinging to anything and talking about everything Iowa State. I have attempted to befriend all the Iowa State employees at Hayneedle. I find myself yammering on about Iowa State all the time ("Iowa State's great." "Oh yeah, we have this street called Welch." "I'm happy to be here but excited to get back to Ames." "I love Iowa State. Do you love Iowa State? You don't? You should because I love Iowa State and if you don't, you are wrong and need to reevaluate everything about your stinkin' life.") I also found myself scowling at some man in an Iowa hat today in the office. 

(Pinterest)

Thanks for reading!
I hope to blog at least once a week to let everyone who cares or doesn't know what's going on in my life. I thought about vlogging or starting a Youtube channel, but I don't know if even I care enough about me for that. We'll see where this summer takes me. 


Live, Love, Lan

Nail Colors for Fall 2015

Fall is finally upon us.

One of the best parts of fall is breaking out the dark, vampy colors to add to your cosmetic routine. 

While this season everyone is focusing on the 90's lips, let's not forget about your "claws."

Playing with color on your nails is one way to get into the fall spirit.

Dark doesn't always equal black.

Many hues can be deepened and still maintain their original color. 

Many nail brands offer sample kits of their fall color line up.

 Morgan Taylor Lacquer (available here) has rolled out their fall kit called Honky Tonk Honeys.

(What a cute name, anyone remember dancing around their room to Honky Tonk Badonka Donk...*hand raise emoji*.)

The four shades in this kit are similar and different enough to help you ease through this fall season.

Tex'as Me Later

Tex'as Me Later is a shimmery mauve pink that will appeal to anyone who might want to be stepping away from their "Ballet Slippers" usual. Adding a clear, high shine topcoat will really help that shimmer pop.

A Touch of Sass

A Touch of Sass is a dark fuchsia with lots of red. This nail polish would be great with a trendy matte topcoat or the traditional shiny topcoat. It's dark without being "too dark" so many girls (or boys) could get a lot of use out of this polish.

Plum Tuckered Out

Plum Tuckered Out is a nice deep purple "plum." Adding a gold, sparkly accent nail to each hand would make a really fun, easy manicure. Purple and gold always look good together (maybe a biased opinion...my high school colors were purple and gold, go eagles!)

Pumps or Cowboy Boots?

Pumps or Cowboy Boots? could easily go with your trendy 90s brown hued lips. This polish is a brown base with slight purple undertones. The purple helps make the polish not a "blah brown."

Mustard from the 60s

Hi guys, still not good at posting regularly butttt...this is actually way better than I have done!

The weather is changing, and I am loving it.

I love fall.

Or "autumn" as the proper people say. 

While it's still not chilly enough to my liking, it's probably for the best.

I've been waiting to bust this mustard (although it leans a little orange) since I got it in August. 

I didn't feel like it was appropriate in the hotter days. The color helps transition into fall.

Mustard has been such a trendy color as well.

And if it's out next year, I won't feel bad because I got this at Forever 21, so cheap cheap cheap.

Similar dress here

Ooo... don't mind those roots. Natural roots are in, I'm writing an article on it! 

I feel like this outfit has such a 60s vibe to it (that's what I was going for anyways).

My boss even said my outfit looked like something from the 60s.

The 60s and 70s have been popping up everywhere in fashion lately.

Suede, fringe...far out man. (that was lame.)

I've been so obsessed with gold chains lately.

This one is a little more "classy" and dressy. 

You can find similar necklaces here and here.

Kind of annoying because I literally just saw this exact necklace on the website this morning and now it's gone... if it ever pops up, i'll let you know.

But basically any long necklace is the same I suppose..

And you all know I love makeup; I don't know if ya'll would want to see makeup specific posts.

Videos, I don't know. 

Makeup look of the day:

In other news, my week is completely crazy.

Four tests, work, class.

Today at my test, my teacher tried to accuse me of cheating on the test before she had given it to me.

And then I was attacked by a bee in lecture. 

Trying to get my life together like...

But I think that's it.

I hope you all have a happy and blessed week!

Live Love Lan

Sharp in Chartreuse

Here in Iowa, we're in that weird period of time of time.

Is it on the brink of fall or are we still in summer?

Trying to decide on the right mix of garments to make a weather appropriate outfit can be tough.

At least in Iowa, I feel like it's completely acceptable to wear a sweater with shorts.

It helps even out the body temperature; you never know what the buildings on college campuses will feel like temperature-wise, so I think it helps play it pretty safe.

I may not be old (20), but I feel past my days of short short shorts.

Although I am by no means fat, I definitely don't still have my high school body.

A bit longer inseam on shorts help hide troublesome upper thighs, and it's also more work-appropriate at our age.
similar here

A lot of people comment on this sweater and ask, "What color is that?" 

It is a bit of an odd color. But I have come to the conclusion that it's chartreuse. 

I think it's a fairly appropriate color for pre-fall.
(I got this sweater at Target eons ago, and it's a size large. I am having trouble finding any dupes to it.  Any color of plain sweater or any style chartreuse top will do!)

It has a warmness to it, that say a lime green doesn't have. I think it's that warmness that helps it act as a fall transitional color. 

The coral and gold add fun accents to the outfit.You can easily tie together things that might not at first glance appear to go together by the metallic accent color of the pieces.
I can't find any close dupes to the necklace, but pieces with similar colors are all you need to look for!
option 1 option 2 option 3 option 4 option 5

I think some people are afraid to mix colors. Don't! Most people honestly won't notice, and the great thing about clothes/accessories is that you can take them off. If you notice something doesn't work, you can tally it up, and not wear it again. 

I added in some print with the leopard print espadrilles. I love these shoes, but got them at JustFab. I've really come to not like JustFab's company structure. They're super cute, but just beware if you buy anything from JustFab...They will rip $39.95 out of your account every month if you don't go in every month and cancel for the month. The shoes help tie in the gold from the necklace and the belt as well.

(Please excuse the bandaids; I was hit by a skateboard.)

----
Bear with me as I familiarize myself with blogging more. I'm working on the layout of my blog, etc. It's a work in process, and with school, it can be put on the back burner. I know i could improve my photography; I'm figuring out how to use my little tripod. I never realized how curious people would be if you go in to buy a tripod. This is not what you think it's for, sicko.
Anyways, as I always say, "I hope to post more on here."
I hope my first fashion post is okay!
Lots of Love,
Lan.