On Monday, I turned 25! I’m a couple days late, but to celebrate my quarter-of-a-century year, I want to share 25 things that you might not know about me.
Before I jump ahead, I have to say that 24 was such a good year. I started Gilded Gal a week before my birthday last year, and I’ve loved this new addition to my routine. I started a new 9-5 job that I love. I visited Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Dubai. I met a ton of like-minded ladies who have become great friends and creative partners. The Cubs won the World Series. Alllllll of this, in addition to all of the weekends, happy hours and nights out I’ve spent with my family & best friends. Whoa. 25, you’ve got some big shoes to fill ?
So, curious to learn a little bit more about me? Here we go!
- I studied abroad as a sophomore in the spring of 2012. That’s when I fell in love with Florence and caught the travel bug. I have a longggg list of places that I’m dying to visit.
- My first-ever celebrity crush was George Clooney. I’m pretty sure I was three, but I swear it wasn’t weird.
- I could watch reruns of Will & Grace alllll day, but my favorite episode will always be the series finale. All of the tears. I can’t wait for the reunion season!
- My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. And although I’m usually not crazy about movies based on books, how can you not love Gregory Peck as Atticus?
- I love Audrey Hepburn, and Roman Holiday is one of my favorite movies. I made my list of things I had to do in Rome based on Princess Anne’s adventure (again, Gregory Peck).
- My mom is, and always will be, my bestie – saying this drives my brothers a little nuts.
- I have a super close family, and I grew up down the block from my Nonno and Nonna. Not a week goes by that I don’t see them a few times, and I’m very lucky for that.
- My mom, Nonna, aunts and I all love Marshalls. It’s not unusual to stop by the one near our house on a Saturday afternoon and run into someone I’m related to.
- Chicago has always been home, but I would love to move abroad for a year or two to experience life & work in another country. Think I can bring my whole family with me?
- Christmas is my favorite season, and I think it’s totally appropriate to kick it off the first day of November … when I start listening to nothing but Christmas music. Although I love the whole season, one of my favorite things to do is watch cheesy holiday movies on Hallmark or Lifetime. My mom and I DVR all of them, so we don’t miss a good one!
- Speaking of holidays, Halloween is my favorite. Mainly because, you guessed it, I LOVE dressing up. In college, we starting planning our costumes as soon as we got back to school {in August ?}. We would make way too many trips to Hobby Lobby for all our DIY-needs. A few of my favorites were Sophia Grace and Rosie {with my friends Stacie}, McDonald’s Fries {you are what you eat} and a piñata {for my first post-grad Halloween}.
- When I started school at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, I thought I wanted to be a news anchor. Then I found out that you usually have to move to a small town to get your start and that you have to talk to production before getting your hair but, and I was out ? I ended up majoring in Public Relations, and I loved it.
- I’m extremely accident prone, and broke my foot for the first time when I was three. I did it a few times after that, too, although my most embarrassing injury was when I broke my tailbone my freshman year of college. I slipped on a huge patch of ice, and had to carry around a donut everywhere I went, because I couldn’t sit without it. Shout out to my friends for still sitting with me at the cafe.
- I love making fancy cocktails, but more times than not, I order a Miller Lite when I’m at a bar.
- Every now and then, I will do something {make a fancy cocktail or bake a fancy cake} or walk out of the house wearing something fancy {my vintage fur coat}, and my dad will laugh and call me Betty Mae. I got my love for over-the-top treats and fancy clothes from my Nana.
- I get my eyebrows threaded once a week. Lucky for me – thick eyebrows are super trendy right now, but they weren’t my favorite feature during the 10-year fad of pencil-thin brows.
- My first job was at Dairy Queen. I started when I was 14 and worked there every summer for eight years. It will always be my favorite job – I made a ton of great friends and ate a ton of ice cream.
- Speaking of DQ, I’m super predictable and order the same thing every time I go. It’s not on the menu, but here’s a trick of the trade – order a peanut butter Oreo blizzard. You won’t regret it!
- My whole family loves the Cubs, so 2016 was a good year for us. Some of my favorite memories as a kid were made at Wrigley Field.
- Speaking of Wrigley, my favorite concert to date was Bruce Springsteen in the rain with my family a few years ago.
- Britney Spears was my first concert. I was in second grade and my dad got them for my cousin and me. He put ketchup on his hand, pretended he was bleeding and asked me to grab a band-aid out of his pocket. I can’t believe I fell for that.
- I love nail polish, and although one of my simple pleasure is getting my nails done, I love painting them myself, too. I have a huge collection of OPI and Essie – most of them were purchased on account of their clever names.
- I was a cheerleader from fifth grade all the way through high school, although my senior year I said heck with it and spent a majority of the season sitting on the sidelines and socializing with my coach – hey, Coach K!
- Today, I’m styling a shoot for my sweet friend Rachael who’s a wedding planner in Chicago. I love shopping for other people, but this will be my first time actually dressing them up, too! I got the dresses from my friend Alex, the owner of Ivy Castle, and the jewelry from 2 Sisters in Park Ridge. Follow along on my Insta stories! Hopefully, this will be the first of many styling sessions.
- I love wearing white, and strongly disagree with the no white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day rule.
Thanks for all the birthday ❤, friends! I’d love to get to know you better, too – tell me something that I don’t know about you in the comments!
Happy hump day!
xAlex
*Photo taken by Stephanie of Stephanie G Photography.