omg fashion EMERGENCY!

...in the best way humanly possible, obviously!

after a fabulous weigh in of 141.8 this morning (hooray!) i was patiently googling BB Dakota (after realizing that my last two successful and beautiful dress finds were from their website) and came upon these two adorable numbers from www.chickdowntown.com , which i had seen full page ads for in a lot of magazines but never bothered to visit:

 

 BB Dakota Coral Pink Crawford Dress + BB Dakota Coral Pink Samantha Top

Now get ready for the prices: $74 and $31, respectively.  A steal, right? IT. GETS. BETTER.

SO I am surfing around their site because i might as well since i'm paying for shipping, and I discover - 70% OFF RETAIL PRICES 

with the code CD70

 not even freaking lying, i feel like i have died and gone to heaven.  originally, my cart had over $2300 worth of beautiful, beautiful clothing in it, until i realized i couldn't use more than one code at a time (i had sale stuff in there).  thus, i give you my full priced (and now 70% off) cart: 

 

Product: BB DAKOTA Black Lovely Dress
Product: BB DAKOTA Eggshell Collins Lace Long Sleeve Tunic Tops
Product: BLACK ORCHID Gemma Cuffed Shorts Shorts
Product: BB DAKOTA Katharine Shirt in Beach Blue Tops
Product: CITIZENS OF HUMANITY Santorini Kelly Bootcut Jeans
Product: CITIZENS OF HUMANITY La Jolla Kelly Bootcut Jeans
Product: JOE'S JEANS Ludlow Socialite Kicker Jeans
Product: BB DAKOTA Coral Pink Samantha Top
Product: BB DAKOTA Coral Pink Crawford Dress Dresses
Product: RACHEL LEIGH Hinge Bow Bangle

and now...
the final reveal...

Sub Total: $885.00
Shipping: $10.00
Sales Tax: $0.00
Discount (CD70): -$619.50
TOTAL: $275.50

THAT AVERAGES OUT TO $27 AN ITEM, INCLUDING SHIPPING! FOR CITIZENS OF HUMANITY AND JOE'S!

and that concludes my fashion emergency. whew.

please stay tuned for your regularly scheduled blogging, including my usual plug for www.stellanddot.com/alannastrei (i canNOT. WAIT. to wear my jewelry with my new clothes!! april and home, please come soon!!) and our donations of 20% of the profits from all purchases to save the children's help for haiti campaign, and the following contests for you to visit:

http://www.letshaveacocktail.com/2010/01/jimmy-choo-and-cocktails-too.html

http://sonjaaislynne.blogspot.com/2010/01/sprinkles-giveaway.html

http://whaleflipflops.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-01-09T11%3A51%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

http://www.terenceandbecky.com/2010/01/giveawayfor-my-pretties.html

yay!

january 30th is basically spring when it comes to shopping, right?

...i mean, there's no reason i shouldn't start obsessing over beautiful dresses right now, right?

[note, i'm aware that i'm delusional about the weather, but i won't be getting back to dress wearing until april (and if we get extended, may/june) anyway]

 

BB Dakota Double V Voile Dress, $80, South Moon Under

Okay, looking back at my post from last week, i think i must have a thing for coral this year (probably to balance out all of the turquoise, obviously), which is odd, given that i look horrible in coral since i have red hair.  this will look fab with the following jewelry i have purchased (yes, i sell stella + dot because i can't stop buying it and get a great discount. thank god)

 [sidenote: we just tested one of our weapons systems and i nearly had a heart attack...hearing high powered rounds fired out with no warning is definitely not anxiety-reducing]

anyways, back to shopping...i have another lip gloss recommendation (i know, personally in the summer i'm more inclined to do sheer gloss and then just use bronzer and blush, but since i'm soo crazy fair right now (especially without the help of misting every week and sunless tanner) i like to add color to mah lips, and this stuff looks like i've been eating a cherry popsicle (it also smells like it...i walked up behind someone in the engine room this morning, and he turned around and saw me and said, "i thought i smelled something good!" - this is obviously a good thing as it means that i am associated with good smells evidently, but also a bad thing if it means that i could stand close enough to him that he could SMELL me before he noticed me...what if someone was plotting to kill him?? the guy has to up his observance level!)

so, without further ado, this is from the discontinued jessica simpson 'dessert' line - jessica simpson dessert lip gloss in 'slip' . . . this is don't go out of the lines vibrant, but so flattering and berry-like once it's on.  i personally find it spectacular and apply it nonstop.

annnnnd finally, the best news is i weighed 142 this morning!  i drink a bottle of water (24 oz) every night before bed, so i know that the weight loss isn't just water weight :) we pull into our next port in about a week and a half, and i'd really like to break 140...wish me luck!  a lot of the guys have nothing better to do then work out when we're underway (obviously in addition to our taxing work and watch schedules, haha) so they're ridiculously fit...i, on the other hand, consider all of that free time to be time for eating!  j/k...it's more like time for shopping...and blogging...hahaha what have i become?

check out these awesome valentine's day giveaways:

http://bisforbrown.blogspot.com/2010/01/hearts-and-feathers-giveaway.html

http://miss-kriss.blogspot.com/2010/01/be-mine-benign-valentines-day-giveaway.html

http://kristenlawlor.blogspot.com/2010/01/be-my-love-bird.html

http://southerncinderella.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveaway-time.html

http://missyclarabelle.blogspot.com/2010/01/shell-bracelet-giveaway.html

and as always, please visit www.stellanddot.com/alannastrei , where 20% of net profits until Valentine's Day are donated to Save the Children's Haiti Relief Fund!

ETA: i'm ordering that large Lilly 2010 Planner...hopefully it gets to me before i get back from deployment, bahaha...also WHO are those random people who friend you on facebook?  like those ones that you have literally no one in common with?! where do they come from?! how do they get my name?!

barbie lip colors + abs inspiration

yesterday was such an exciting day! we were so lucky to have the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders fly out and do a performance for us

and yes, they really do look like that in person...definitely totally toned and super slender and tan...they were incredibly sweet but they also made me say, 'hey! if these girls can have full time jobs or go to school full time and maintain those figures, then i'm only cheating myself by not trying to do it to!' ...so0o0o, maybe jillian michaels' 30 day shred will make it back out of the DVD case. probably not.  but maybe.  haha i'll probably start with denise richards hit the spot pilates, do three of the segments, get exhausted, and swear off exercising altogether.  i think maybe i'll wait until my board is over (it's on the fourth of february - it's like a promotion board). 

and, i was digging up some photos for my mom of me in uniform, so i thought i'd share with you guys our different types of uniforms (i only have two shared here, there are LOTS more):

The dark blue one piece is a pair of coveralls - it's like wearing pajamas every day!  for clarification, my hair is out of regulations because it's showing from underneath the brim of my ballcap...oops!  hahaha i have a very firm stance against hairsprays and gels in uniform - until someone else is going to pay to get my hair fixed after it's all dried out from being pasted to my head every day, i am going to just rely on the help of bobby pins, and Lord knows bobby pins are useless on naturally big hair.  c'est la vie.  the second picture is me and my daddy! at my commissioning ceremony (that's when i officially became an officer).  SO exciting!

AND!! Remember how I said my goal was to get a boyfriend when I got back for the summer?  Well, here is my legwork in advance:

From: "S****, Alanna ENS USN LSD47"
To: Rebecca P*****; christina o***
Sent: Tue, January 26, 2010 10:58:25 PM
Subject: my bridal shower
Since you know it will happen (although it may not be for another 10-20 years), here is what I’d like my bridal shower to look like:

(#1, ohmyg, RIGHT?!)

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca P***** 

Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 6:08 PM

To: S****, Alanna ENS USN LSD47
Subject: Re: my bridal shower

noted. i suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it? :) i hear that the groom is sounding a lot like [mutual guy friend]?? hehehe

yes!  This means my plans are working!! i am manifesting a boyfriend without even being home!!  there is seriously no justification for why he is still holding a candle for me, but good for him...i can totally get used to the sweet drunken facebook messages i get from him every weekend :) oh, early 20s romance...

until then, i have the BEST find to share!! i just discovered the most beautiful, work appropriate Barbie pink lipcolor!  I am obssessed with MAC Dazzle Glass in Extra Amps, but it's a bit much in uniform (even for me, haha), so I was SO happy to discover Estee Lauder Pure Color lipstick (i KNOW, lipstick...not even exaggerating, it's a pleasure to put on - great scent, so smooth and, obviously, the best color known to man...BARBIE PINK!!) in Pink Light...it looks lighter in the picture than the actual stick does - the stick looks like cotton candy.  On your lips, though? PERFECTION!!!
I'm on the right, wearing my MAC Dazzleglass in our first port visit - Guam!

and that is an AWFUL picture of the pink light lipstick - if you try googling the gloss, you'll see what shade it is, but i didn't want to post a pic since i haven't tried the gloss, and it's the stick that i'm seriously psyched about :)

finally, please don't forget to visit www.stellanddot.com/alannastrei, and pick out a valentine's gift for yourself, grab a mother's day gift for your mom, sister or friend, or even a gift for yourself - until Feb. 14, 20% of net profits will be donated to Save the Children's Haiti Relief Efforts!

I'd rather be lucky...

Current song: "I'd Rather Be Lucky" by Brad Johner [country; sooo catchy!]

eee, so it's really starting to sound like we may get extended...i can't believe this is happening!  they told us that when we were originally set for seven months, it was basically a guarantee that we 'couldn't' get extended...  Optimistically, though, this is more time to get qualified, more time in tax free, fewer opportunities to spend money...less time in San Diego...longer time away from family...

annnnnd focusing on the good again, i made it a mission to lose 6 pounds before our next port visit (in a couple of weeks - i started like on thursday or friday, i don't remember).  so far i've lost 2.6 pounds, putting me at 143.4...which means a grand total loss, since the beginning of deployment, of 14.6 pounds! yay!!  i am just shy of 5'8 so going by the age old 100 pounds @ 5 feet and 5 pounds for every inch after maxim, i should be somewhere between 135 and 140 pounds, annnnnd now it looks like i will have an extra month or two to work on getting down to goal.
i'm reading on people's blogs that stores are closing and people are losing their jobs - the people up the street from my parents literally had a Fun With Dick & Jane [the Jim Carrey movie, not the book] moment, when their lawn and the fountain they had in their front yard got repossessed...obviously didn't help the property value of the neighborhood, either.  SO i am going to make a CONSCIOUS effort not to blow my money...meaning that my dreams of owning these boots: [Stuart Weitzman Topup Boots] may be dashed for now.  unless i can convince myself that they're a wardrobe staple.  whiiiiiich i probably can.  except for the fact that i live in San Diego and own all of 3 pairs of jeans (what can I say? i'm a lilly girl!!) to tuck into them.  they're gorgeous though, aren't they?

lastly, please check out Short Southern Momma's blog for a cutie bag giveaway!

and FINALLY i wanted to give SUCH a warm thanks to these blogs for helping to spread the knowledge about my Stella + Dot Haiti Relief Fund Efforts.  For every purchase you make (until Valentine's Day...I suggest letting your hubbies + boyfriends know) via my Independent Stylist Stella + Dot Website, I will donate 20% of the profits to Save the Children's Haiti Relief Efforts.

!thank you!

Starfish and Sundresses

Preppy 50 and Loving Lilly

The Pink Washingtoniette 

P.S. Such an amazing and cute story...Melanie of The Pink Washingtoniette went to Cornell, I went to University of San Diego.  Opposite sides of the country, shouldn't know anyone in common, right?  WELL, she went to HS in the D.C. metropolitan area, where I also went to high school, so maybe we'd know someone from that, right? NO! it turns out our one mutual facebook friend is her boyfriend, who i did some military summer training with seriously maybe six years ago, and i'd just stumbled on her blog!  small world, huh?

SO, since I missed a San Diego Christmas, I leave you all with images of something I can't wait for...

 

 

SUMMER in San Diego!

Images: Coastal Living Magazine Tree and Entree, Ginger Bikini Printed Border, Stella and Dot Bloom Charm Bracelet

to don't list!

Here is my 'To Don't List'...I made it for myself a couple of weeks ago in the halfhearted hopes that writing down things I wasn't "allowed" to do would make me not do them...ha.

To Don't List

- no ship's store

- no vending machines (hershey's with almonds...oops)

- no cookies

- no more salt (my soup was too bland! wtf!)

- no more buying makeup
- no more buying shoes
- no more eBay

- no more Facebook when there are things to do on to do list! (note to self...facebook should not be my home page)

- no more than 1350 cal./day

- no more eating while reading (does blogging count?)

- no extra cheese

- no eating after late watches

- no more bagels
- no seconds or double servings
- no eating things without writing them down
- no more eating when not actually hungry (what if i was hungry later and mad that i didn't eat when they were serving dinner?!)

everything dark blue...well, that means i already did it today, despite the hardcore black and white seriousness of my list in my notebook.  i think i need initiative...how cute is this dress?? how about if i follow all of these things for an entire WEEK i get it? 

++

or i could go with contrast for accessories instead:

ok...so to don't list starts tomorrow! haha...

as a reminder, 20% of the net profits of all purchases made through my Independent Stylist Stella + Dot site will be donated to Haiti Relief Efforts via:

Also, i have decided one of my goals for this summer? 
to get a boyfriend.
 ..bahaha i will keep you updated with my progress.  being gone for 7 months could be horrible (everyone's forgotten about me!) or great (everyone likes a new addition to the landscape, hehe).

i'm loving right now...

...1) end of season sales:
South Moon Under is offering an additional 30% off their sale items with the code EXTRA30.  Stella and Dot has also taken some major mark downs.  Worth it? UM, yes! Look!

BB Dakota Lace + Cotton Tube Dress $108 $54 $37.80!

 Stella + Dot Paige Chandelier Earrings $69 $52.00!

Eight Sixty Gold Brocade Dress $118 $82.60 $57.82

Stella + Dot Eternity CZ Necklace - Gold 60" $128 $82.00

... 2) Haiti Relief Efforts

Want to help but don't know how?  From now until Valentine's Day, 20% of the profits from all orders on my personal Stella + Dot website will be donated to Haiti Disaster Relief through Save the Children.  All you need to do is visit www.stellanddot.com/alannastrei and make a purchase – shopping you can feel good about!  

...3) getting extended

I know, it sounds counterintuitive...I shouldn't be happy at all.  I kind of am, though, because it means another month of tax free income!  It's pretty sad when you're so used to shipboard life (being underway for more than 50 days anyone?) that you can see the bright side in staying on deployment...instead of being super bummed about it, I embraced my new collateral as Public Affairs Officer and looked at some photos of the cool operations we do:

These were both taken during deployment...not too shabby, huh?

Photo Credits: MC2(SW) Bitter, CM1(SW/SCW) Goff

Pantone Color of the Year: Turqouise!

"Turquoise is a color that most people respond to positively. It is universally flattering, has appeal for men and women, and translates easily to fashion and interiors. With both warm and cool undertones, Turquoise pairs nicely with any other color in the spectrum. Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.  In fashion, Turquoise makes a statement that can look elegant and dressy in fine silk and gemstones, or casual and fun in cotton and athletic apparel. Because of its versatility, Turquoise is a great accent color in jewelry, purses, shoes, hair accessories and even nail polish for women, and ties, shirts and sportswear for men." - Pantone's press release unveiling TURQUOISE as the color of the year!

Paris knows the power of turquoise...come to me, Matt Leinart!  i will wear nothing but turquoise swimwear and accessories!! it sets off your unnaturally red skin! come to meeeeeeeee!!!!!
[Par-bear is wearing: Stella + Dot Charlize Bib Necklace]

Look at how well Lilly hit it on the head - "...especially trendsetting with yellow-greens..." with the BEAUTIFUL and elegant Lilly Pulitzer Petula Dress Printed (comes in 3 shades/prints - I'm also a huge fan of the pink + green coral one).  Imagine this with a super tan (I wish the dress form was tan!), 

these Stella + Dot Starfish Earrings and

some white and silver Bonannos!

 or, keep the Bonannos, switch to a gorgeous brilliant white dress (a la Eva Mendes at the Golden Globes - I know is is from last year, but Rachel Zoe is ON POINT as a stylist!) like this Merona Sundress ($31.99) and and pick a turquoise necklace (like the Bloom Flower Necklace or Turquoise Sea Necklace) and/or cuff (like the Colorburst Enamel Cuff)!

[sidenote: i do NOT know why they chose black shoes for her...weird].

On a totally unrelated note, weighed in this morning at 146.4.  I've decided to make it a personal goal to hit 140 by the time we pull in to our next port.  It's a couple weeks out and at 3 pounds a week weight loss, it's allegedly feasible...the thing is, I've gotten really good at tracking what I eat, and really good at not doing other things while eating and focusing on the food.  the bad part of that - i realize how good some things are and want to eat more and more and more!  Wish me luck losing weight, and staying away from my nemeses: