A Stroll Through the Old Market

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. I got to hang out with my boyfriend as we walked around the Old Market which is located in Downtown Omaha. It had been a while since I last visited this place so it was nice to get reacquainted with all the local shops and boutiques all around. What is really unique about the Old Market is the old style vibe that it gives with it's brick buildings, cobblestone streets, and even horse drawn carriages that can take you around town for a small fee. 

The Old Market is known as the premier arts and entertainment district. With it's long standing history as a commercial site for wholesale jobbing, you can still see remnants of old warehouses that have been renovated. It's one of the many cool places that Omaha offers. 

Seeing how it was Saturday, we had forgot that they had shut down a section of the street for the local Farmer's Market. Once we found parking a spot, we walked on over to see what they had going on. There were a lot of people walking around and checking out the local vendors and much more. It's always great to see people supporting local farmer's and small businesses by purchasing fresh produce from them.  Whenever there's a Farmer's Market going on, I am always drawn to the flowers. The bright and bold colors are always so welcoming. 

Our next and final stop since it was starting to get humid, was to the local bookstore. My boyfriend had been mentioning to me that he'd been wanting to go, so we finally had the chance to stop by! There's something about this place that is always so magical. I don't know if it's because of all the old books that they have but you can find a little bit of everything in here. I was walking around browsing at the books when I found a figure of a little man playing a guitar. It was the most random-est thing that I saw but it makes you appreciate that the most random-est places are the most unique. 

Until next time!
Fati <3

A Dose of Denim & Stripes Ft. MariChuy

Happy 4th of July everyone! 

On this weekend's adventure, my boyfriend and I spent it visiting one of my good friends and fellow blogger; MariChuy and her husband Oscar in Tecumseh, Kansas. It had been a while since we last saw each other so it felt great to catch up and enjoy the long holiday festivities. I met MariChuy at a Go Blog Social Conference in Kansas City about two years ago and since then we have been great friends. 

MariChuy and her husband showed us around Topeka and Kansas City and we got to meet some of their family members. Wherever we went we saw people lighting up fire works, having BBQ's and showing off their red, white, and blue so we decided to do a mini style collaboration to show you all two different ways to style your outfit using those colors. Check out some photos of my outfit of the day below and go on over to MariChuy's blog to see her outfit of the day! 

One of the things I reflected on throughout this weekend was how fortunate we are to live in a country filled with many opportunities to be able to meet so many like-minded and diverse individuals and learn from each other. I wear my red, white, and blue, to represent all the hard working people in the world and for those who have served this country to make it a better place. 

Many thanks to MariChuy and Oscar for being great hosts and for showing us around! Can't wait for you both to visit us in Omaha! Don't forget to check out MariChuy's blog for more style tips and cool travel adventures! 

*Photo Credit: MariChuy, Oscar, and Daniel

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

What Doesn't Defeat You, Makes You Stronger

I know I haven't been writing much lately, but I wanted to share with you all something that I have encountered within these last couple of months. It's a bit of a personal post, but I hope it gets a message out. I know on a previous post I talked about personal growth and the struggles of living that grown up lyfe. During the month of April, I had the idea of taking a beginner's Algebra class. Why you ask? Well...for one, it's a subject I have always struggled with since I was a little girl and two, it's something that has always stopped me from progressing. So I decided to challenge myself and enroll in the class.  

On the first day of class, I was super nervous. My legs were all jittery, I could feel my armpits starting to sweat up and I thought to myself, "Fuck, what did I get myself into." That little negative voice inside my head that always told me that I "sucked", regardless of how many times I tried started to creep up. It was the anxiety. The anxiety that has always haunted me, that has made me cry of frustration because I didn't understand, and that always reminds me of the countless times that my mom took me to tutoring as a little girl because it was so hard for me. I will never forget the time when my mom took me to see a math tutor and he got so frustrated with me that he walked off. All I remember was crying and feeling super shitty. 

The classroom door opened and a little, old lady walks into the room. She introduced herself as our teacher and went over the syllabus. I had flipped over the pages to see what I had to do to pass the class. In big bold letters it read, "In order to pass the class you need to get at least an 80% or higher." 

I started thinking to myself, "Will I be able to get a high enough grade to pass the class?", "Is it too late to drop?", "Can I really do this?". I've always been a "B" and "C" student so getting an 80% or higher would be a blessing for me. 

As she finished going over the syllabus, she began going over the first chapter and gave us our first homework assignment(s). 

After class I called my mom right away. She is my go-to person whenever I need someone to talk to. My mom told me that she understood my struggle and knew that this reto (challenge) was a big step for me and for my future. She always seems to have the right words to say to console me in time of need. 

She told me in Spanish, 

"Se que es algo que te ha dificultado por un gran tiempo, pero estoy tan orgullosa de ti que estas tomando este paso para mejorar. Tu eres una luchona y se que vas a lograr a cumplir tus propositos y pasar esta clase. Manos a la obra mama." 

("I know it's something that you've always had difficulty for sometime, but I am very proud that you are taking this step to do better. You are a fighter and you have the capacity to reach your goals and pass this class. Let's get to work mama.")

I don't know why, but those words made me cry. Those sincere, warm words that have always supported me are still there pushing me to keep going till thee end. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the months of April, May, and June so much had changed about myself. I was surprised to see how much I had accomplished throughout that time and how much my confidence level in math had improved. 

Some of the things that I had noticed about myself along the way and that had changed about me as a student/individual were:

 -  I started being more responsible and wrote down in my planner what days I was planning on studying/completing homework for my math class and what days I was going to be studying/completing homework for my marketing class. 

-  I had made sure that I had completed tasks from my full-time job early enough so that I could arrive to class on time.

- I was active in class and asked a bunch of questions to my teacher whenever I needed help and even stayed after class and went to the math lab to prepare myself for tests and quizzes.

- Whenever I would get my tests/quizzes back, I yearned to get a better grade than the last.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whenever my teacher would hand back our tests/quizzes, I would always be surprised at the grade(s) that I would get which ranged from 90%-95%. It feels weird to say it but I feel proud of myself that I was able to ponerme mis pilas (get my act together) and follow through with my goal. I know math hasn't defeated me and I know that I haven't given up.

 At the end of the semester, which was last week, I logged onto my student account and checked on my grades. Right in front of me was marked the letter "P" for pass. I had passed my first math class in 4.5 years and I could not have been anymore happier! I am currently taking another algebra class; which is part two to this first one that I completed and I am excited to take on this next challenge. Let's do this!

Lastly, I just wanted to share with you all my some personal advice/opinion. For those people or for mom's and dad's who have kids who are struggling or have struggled in math or another subject in the past, my biggest advice/opinion would be not to give up. I know it's probably an easy thing to do and this is probably a cheesy and cliche thing to say but if you really set a SMART goal for yourself and really put your mind and soul to what you wanna accomplish, you'll definitely see results. 

What's a subject that you've struggled with and how did you overcome it? Let's talk!

* Images courtesy of Google

From LA, With Luv
Fati <3

On The Streets: Greetings from Colorful Colorado

Hey hey everyone! I've missed you all so much! I know I've been absent from writing but I am happy to finally be back in the blogging groove. There are so many summer events happening in Omaha that I am really looking forward to sharing with you some of the local happenings and also catching you up on what I've been up to lately. 

But for right now, I wanted to share with you all a recent road trip my boyfriend and I did to Denver, Colorado this past Memorial Day weekend! I've never been to Colorado before so I was pretty pumped to check out some of the local shops, meet my boyfriend's cousin, Kaitlyn and her husband Paul; whom we were going to be staying with, and of course take some awesome photos. Well enough with the sweet intro- now let's get down to the nitty gritty!

One of the things I didn't know prior to this trip was that Denver is located about 7-8 hours from Omaha. It doesn't seem like a far distance but if you're not used to driving for that long, it may seem like forever. Luckily, my boyfriend has driven to Colorado before and was able to tell me what to expect. As soon as we both got off of work, we packed our bags in the car and we were set to go on our adventure!

About 4.5 hours into our voyage, we had passed various cattle ranches and farms, survived a massive storm cloud carrying lightening, rain, and thunder, spotted a triple rainbow, but best of all we got to jam out to some old school music and had some interesting conversations. A few hours later, not knowingly, we had crossed the Nebraska-Colorado border.  Ahh! We were getting close. Do you ever get that squirmy and excited feeling whenever you are approaching your destination? Well, I started clapping and jumping on my seat when I spotted the, "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" sign! 

A few minutes later, we had finally arrived! 

Seeing how it was a long weekend and there were so many things to see and do, I am going to share with you all some of my favorite things we did and places we visited in Denver!

   Red Rocks Amphitheater 

One of the places we visited was to the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater located just fifteen miles west of Denver. A few friends had previously told me about this place, so it was quite the treat to check it out. As we drove to Red Rocks, I saw the beautiful mountain scenery and then suddenly in the middle of the bright green grass were these giant, sandstone rocks that began to appear. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. We had parked the car and we began to walk up. Thank goodness I brought my comfy shoes, because it was definitely a work out.  

There were so many people in workout clothes and exercise gear coming to and from the amphitheater and there were groups of people tailgating for a band that was going to perform later on. As we started getting closer to the entrance, I was left in awe. It was so surreal. For some reason the giant, sandstone rocks reminded me of the ones on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland, because although the rocks were very much real, they almost looked fake. 

When we entered the amphitheater, I was just amazed to see the amount of people that were there visiting and also waiting for the concert to start. If you looked into the distance you're able to catch a breath-taking view of the city. Kaitlyn mentioned to me that whenever there are no concerts going on, people go and exercise. They even have free yoga on the Red Rock events that are free. She also mentioned that during the summer time they have movies at the rocks, which sounded pretty sweet!  After a few pictures here and there, we were off to our next stop. 

 Colfax Avenue

As we drove back down towards the city, Kaitlyn and Paul drove us towards a major street called Colfax Avenue. I was reading a bit of background history and something I learned about Colfax Avenue was that it's known to be one of the longest commercial streets in the United States, extending a total length of 26.5 miles. That's almost the same length as a marathon! 

Most of the neighborhoods that were located around Colfax Avenue in the 1800's were filled with many mansions of the wealthy and elite of Denver. Throughout the years, there have been many redevelopments made, but you can still see some of the remnants of how the houses and mansions used to look back in the day. 

One of my favorite things about Colfax Avenue other than it's historic background is the variety of eclectic shops and restaurants that you can find. From tattoo parlors to bookstores to uniquely-inspired street art, there is something for everyone. There is also a great variety of street style fashion which I was able to capture! As we passed all the shops and restaurants we started to see the Denver mountains starting to appear, which lead us to the next place Paul and Kaitlyn showed us to.

 Boulder, Colorado

Located about 30 miles northwest of Denver is the happy city of Boulder, Colorado which is home to the University of Colorado at Boulder; the state's largest university and where Coors and Anheuser-Busch breweries are located. Seeing how it was such a beautiful day outside, Kaitlyn suggested that we take a mini hike and see the boulders. As we drove there, a few of the things that I noticed was that everyone in Colorado (not being stereotypical or anything) are active. I saw people running, biking, hiking trails, walking their dog, and so much more. Also, whenever we would pass by a mountain range it felt as if we were passing through a different country because of how green they were and how peaceful everything looked.  

As we arrived, we started spotting gray clouds coming in so instead of hiking we just drove up the mountain. There are no words to describe how breath-taking the view was. There was so much to look at and so much to take in. My boyfriend stopped the car and Kaitlyn, her dog Boston, and I hopped out of the car to get a better view. It started to pour rain but we didn't care it was an amazing experience. Once we had reached Flagstaff Summit which was about 1300 ft elevation, we were able to get a better view of the surrounding area and even the University of Colorado campus. 

(Video footage from the mountain)

All that exploring made us hungry. Paul and Kaitlyn mentioned us about the Pearl Street Mall in Downtown Boulder and how cool it was cause of its shopping and dining amenities and since it was Memorial Day weekend there might be some weekend events happening. We decided to check it out!

The Pearl Street Mall is made up of four blocks filled with boutiques, bars, street acts, and even a pop jet fountain for the kids. It was funny watching a group of kids jump and run around as the water shot up in the air. During the time we were there, there was a huge event for the Bolder Boulder marathon. There were so many tents throughout the mall promoting running gear and energy bars. There were even people signing up for the race and getting their grab bags for the big day. Paul, my boyfriend, and I got to take a crowd surfing picture at the Clif Bar station! 

 After we had finished walking around and our tummies were full, we headed back to Paul and Kaitlyn's place to call it a day. As I sat on the bed, I picked up my camera and went through all the photos that I took throughout our time in Denver. It was an overall amazing experience being able to make a weekend trip to new place and discover things that we've never seen or thought existed. Special thanks to Paul and Kaitlyn for their amazing hospitality and for showing us around! A trip to Denver, Colorado is definitely in the plans for the future!

From LA, With Luv
Fati <3

Striped Dresses on Sunny Dayez!

Something that I love about spring time in Nebraska is that the weather is almost like summer, it's warm enough to finally wear shorts and a tank top. Whenever it's a nice day out and I'm at work, it just makes me wanna leave early and hang out at the park with a good book to read or even hang out with my boyfriend whenever he's in town and get some ice cream. I know I tend to write a lot about the weather but I mean that's how it is in Nebraska. You never know how the weather is going to be so you gotta take advantage whenever it's nice outside and do yo' thang ha-ha! 

That's what I did this Sunday. It was a beautiful day out that I decided to style and wear a striped ribbed dress by Monteau that I bought at TJ Maxx. I have honestly been finding really cute clothes at TJ Maxx lately and at an affordable price! I highly suggest you check out your local TJ Maxx, because  in my opinion, who knows what cute items YOU may find for yourself. 

Now if you've been following my style posts you can easily see that I hardly wear dresses, except on those special occasions. My 'go to' is pretty much a nice pair of jeans or funky pants and/or a vintage skirt, here and there. My goal with this dress was to see how I could wear it since I've never worn a long dress before and to see how comfortable I felt in it. 

Below is the outfit that I put together:

When I put the dress on, I was pretty amazed of how comfortable I felt in it. I really liked how stretchy the material was and that I was able to adjust it to fit my body type. Because the dress is made of ribbed cotton, it is very light weight and easy to wear. Usually with these type of long dresses like maxi dresses for example, it's hard to find the "perfect" one. I've tried on long dresses that looked really nice but they would just drag over my feet. Definitely not made for a short gal like me. So I'm glad that I found a dress that complimented both length and width. 

One thing I realized while I was wearing this dress was that I needed to do some hardcore accessorizing. Even when I was just wearing my colorful, pebble, dangle earrings I felt like my outfit was missing something, so I added a long necklace to clear that void. As for shoes, I had tried on my favorite pair of black flats from K-mart to see how well they would look and I liked how they looked but... I noticed that with these type of long dress you need that extra lift so I went with a pair of black Winki wedges by Restricted that I bought at DSW. My boyfriend was pretty surprised when I came out to show him my outfit. He really liked it and said I should buy more!

At the end of the day, I had a really great time styling and wearing this dress. I've learned to try on something new and just work with what I have and create a comfortable outfit that I could see myself wearing on another day. 

What are some ways you would style a long dress? Have you found a dress that made you feel comfortable? Share with me your thoughts!



*Photos courtesy of Daniel Narez



From LA, With Luv
Fati <3

OOTD: Cropped Pants and Sleeveless Blouses!

Although it's not Sunday, I wanted to share with you all my outfit of the day! 

I went shopping with a friend a few weeks ago and we stopped at Old Navy to see if they had any sales going on. I found these pair of Drawstring Tapered Cropped Pants and thought they were super cute and something that I could see myself wearing to work. Ever since then I have been trying to find a perfect day to wear them.

Living in Nebraska, I've learned to check the weather before I pick out an outfit because the weather can be a bit... cray cray. It can go from being super hot and rainy one day to cold and windy with a chance of flurries (mini snowflakes) on another day, so I never know. But considering how this Tuesday was a beautiful, sunny day and my boyfriend and I were celebrating our 3-year anniversary after work, it was a more than perfect day to wear them!

I've honestly never worn tan-ish colored pants before, so I had to do a bit of experimenting to see what would go well with them. At first, I was going to wear a black sleeve-less blouse that I bought from Target but instead I went with a white, splatter, sleeve-less top that I bought from a local shop here in Omaha called, Kleveland Clothing. The splattered top was designed with spray paint by a local artist in town.

As for shoes, I decided to go with my favorite pair of H&M booties. ("Damn Fatima, back at it again with the black mini boots!" I just had to, haha.) I wanted to see how the pants would look if I wore shoes with a slight heel on them and I just thought they complimented the black splats on the blouse.

As for accessories, I accessorized my outfit with a pair of gold elephant earrings from Forever 21 and a tribal infinity scarf from H&M. I felt like a mini Aladdin with my scarf and pants.

At the end of the day, all I can say is that I really liked how my outfit turned out! The pants were super comfortable and lightweight giving me that extra room for comfort. I'm excited to see what other ways I could style these pants!

Enjoy!

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Style it up With Coral

Hey hey chicas and chicos, I hope everyone is having a fantabulous week! It's almost the weekend, Yay!

I want to introduce to you all my good friend and co-worker, Coral Hernandez. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is an ESL teacher at the center that I work at called the Learning Community Center of South Omaha. She is also training to become a Yoga instructor! You go girl! I had seen Coral wearing some pretty dope outfits this past week and I asked her if I could feature her on the blog! 

Check out my quick interview with her and learn about how she styles her clothes below!

Fatima Alliyani: Describe your look, miss thang!

Coral Hernandez: This particular outfit is comprised of a long sleeve wrap cardigan and some color block scuba pants, both from Goodwill. [The] paid short sleeve [blouse] is from Forever 21 and the blue ballet flats were a gift from my awesome momma that she bought back home in Puerto Rico. 

FA: What do you usually look into when you are shopping for clothes (comfort, style, size, versatility, etc.?)

CH: I tend to check how I'm feeling before I choose an outfit. I always have my base items like black cardigans and black pants. I'm really into blues and I always make sure to have a pair of bright blue shoes in my closet. I don't know they, but they make me happy!

My style [also] relies on a lot of comfort. I don't like to feel cold or squeezed in or hang out all over the place. I still want to remain quirky while sporting flattering pieces. I guess I'd describe myself as happy goth, [because] I love wearing black, but I like to add some pops of color here and there. My outfits need to take me from work to the tons of extracurriculars I always have going on.

FA: Where are your favorite places to shop at?

CH: My clothing haunts are a combination of Marshalls, Goodwill, and Amazon.com. I LOVE LulaRoe maxi skirts and leggings too! I never buy anything at regular price while remaining mindful of buying cheap stuff that won't last. I comment Lane Bryant and Torrid for their efforts in Plus Size fashion, but they're not all that accessible to everyone in the price department. 

I do love H&M for their clothing recycling program and for their nice selection of fashionable items. What I don't appreciate is that they overcharge you for the same design if it's bigger than an "L". Would that mean that "XS" sizes should get a store credit?

FA: Lastly, what is one article of clothing that every woman should have in their closet?

CH: Essential items for me and virtually what I always pick from my closet when I'm not at work are organic cotton tees in black, black jeans, or cargos and vintage boots. Fun maxi skirts and black cold shoulder tops are also in heavy rotation when the weather gets warm because like to show off my shoulder tattoos!

Thanks again Coral for letting me feature you on the blog and for sharing your style tips! Have an style tips you wanna share on my blog? Write me a comment below!

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3