Navigating around the city.

So one thing I never had to worry about back home was transportation or how to get to places because stupid me never got her driver’s license *facepalm*. So I never actually learned how to read directions and get to places. When I got to the city I would only explore and go places if it was with someone else – I was TERRIFIED of going anywhere by myself!

I’m baaaaack

(1st picture was me when I first got to NYC, the 2nd is me this semester)

Wow, almost a year since I last wrote a post and I'm here I am now, leaving NYC in about 3 weeks! It’s such a shame I abandoned this blog when I was so close to actually moving into the city! I’ve decided to come back, even if I’m leaving again soon (but coming back in August!). I definitely have a lot of stories to tell, photos to share and tips to shed!

So super brief update:

1: I broke up with my boyfriend from back home. Being together while being in different landmasses just wasn’t gonna work.
1a: I have a new boyfriend here! We’ve known each other for almost 6 months and have been dating for 2 and everything is going wonderfully!

2: My hair is now short and red! (ok, it’s more of an auburn color, but it’s a crazy change!)

3: I took 9 classes last semester and 10 this semester and it went pretty well! (Got 5 B’s and 4 A’s last semester, haven’t finished this semester yet.)

4: NYC’s winter this year was so mild! It only snowed twice so my transition from a tropical island to here was not too bad.

Ok, so that update probably didn’t cover much but it’s a good base seeing as I’m basically starting this blog again! I’m so excited to be back, I really miss blogging and don’t care if nobody reads my posts. I know this blog will be helpful to someone out there dreaming of coming here.

 
 

P.S. Spring in NYC is so pretty! (Kinda chilly though!)

My Jewelry Design Portfolio (+ what I did on July 4th)

Hello guys, How was your 4th of July?

      I was going to go to the military base and eat food from the stands they set up and watch the fireworks display they do every year, so I was going to bring my boyfriend since he's never been to the base. I told him to bring some sort of ID so he brought the card you use to vote... No idea what's the proper word for it (lol I'm so grown up) Apparently even though he's a minor he needs a proper ID (like driver's licence) to be able to go in, so we ended up not doing the whole military base thing. It was kind of a bummer, but whatevs! We ended up watching the fireworks right outside the base then took a drive around Condado (it's a seaside community full of nightlife and super expensive, beautiful apartments and hotels and such) We had a super fun time in the end :)

So I thought you guys should see why I'm going to New York to study and what got me into the college of my dreams, my portfolio. I started this portfolio when I was 16, almost 17 years old, so I had been working towards this dream for a long time. My passion is working with wax and casting my pieces in silver, although I do work with copper sheets as well. So without further ado here are my pieces (in the order I made them) :

This is one of my first ever designs made real. It took over 9 hours to make.

This is the first pendant I had ever made by carving wax.

Finger armor ring (and yes, that's a ring on the ring :P)

Skull pendant

Hand-cut copper owl with crystal green eyes.

 I'm so glad all those hours of hard work paid off! I've been dreaming of going to college to study Jewelry Design ever since I first started making jewelry 9 or 10 years ago (when I was in 3rd grade). I've grown so much in my designs and I'm so proud of myself for getting this far in my skills at my age.

Hope you guys like my designs~

xoxo Aleks

Online Shopping Spree~!

D'Lilac - Lime Crime

So the other day Lime Crime cosmetics had this flash 24 hour sale where if you liked their Facebook page you'd get a code you could redeem for a 35% discount off your entire purchase! I didn't even think twice and I took this as an opportunity to finally get their beautiful lilac lipstick called D'Lilac (maybe you saw it on my wishlist ) But seeing as I wasn't about to pay so much shipping for just one lipstick, I got another one!

Cosmopop - Lime Crime

This one is called Cosmopop! I'd actually been talking to my mom about how I wanted a peachy or creamy orange colored lipstick but couldn't find any. All the ones I had seen were too pink for my taste. I love how this one kind of looks like orange sherbert, mmm! Can't wait to receive them! I've never tried their products before so I'm excited to see if they really are as opaque as people say they are.

Lana - Jeffrey Campbell

One last thing I've been wanting to buy for a long time (and when I say long, I mean years) is my first pair of designer shoes. I've been saving money for a while and thought I'd count how much I have and I have enough for a pair of shoes I've wanted for a long time: a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Litas! BUT when I went to buy them, another pair caught my eye. His Lana platform boots in Black Leather. I love how he describes them as "Lita's kid sister" haha, so cute~ It was a hard decision to make, but the Lana platforms are on sale, so it ended up being the obvious decision. What? I can't resist a sale (especially when it saves me $70!).



I'm so excited to receive everything. When I do I'll make sure to take pictures and make quality reviews *cough* crappySephoraLipstickReview *cough*

Wow I wrote a lot, hope you enjoyed. Bye Bye!

P.S. Follow my blog with Bloglovin'~!

Found out my dorm room + met roommate today~!

Ahh, the magic that is the Internet!

So at midnight I got a notification in my college e-mail that I had finally been assigned a roommate so I mozied on over to the Housing link and her name popped up! They gave me her full name so I looked her up in Facebook and found her, then minutes later we were already chatting. I'm still amazed how within seconds I was talking to my future roommate who is a sea and several states away... Weird how the Internet makes the world feel like the smallest place.

floor plan!

I also found out where I'll be staying! I can't see my exact room, but here's the floor plan of the typical dorm room in the hall I'm staying at. I love it! The dotted line represents a room divider, so we can have privacy whenever we want/need it. I start moving in on August 20th and since my last name starts with an A I get to move into my room before my roommate so I get to pick the side I want! I also heard that the closet space is decent, which is a perk I didn't think I'd have. Now I'm starting to get truly excited!

Any of you in my same situation (dorming, meeting new roommate(s) etc..)?