Me and this guy need to be friends. I don't think I need to explain why....you can see from the images above that other than total awesomeness, we have a lot in common!!! hehe! Enjoy!

All images courtesy of ShopBop!

So, after I posted this...my friend T.K. sent me an email with the Brian Reyes' website, and of course I had to agree with the subject of her email "I wish I was rich". I'm not supposed to be shopping at all, but I've been eyeing denim (like I need anymore), and I stumbled on the pants above....then I took my shopaholic self a bit further to see what else was on sale by this designer....and I was in heaven! I love the piping in the pants that make them different from the norm! Annndd those shorts call my name on many levels. The pattern, the color, the "wrap" detail....loves it all! 156 bucks though? Do I really want to do that??? Maybe I'll watch them a bit more then decide! Hehe!

*First, you need to check out his site and see the beautifully constructed clothing!
*Then....go here and see the sale and more ready-to-wear items!

...I would exercise like there is no tomorrow, if I was going to be decked out in these!!! I have loved Stella McCartney from the day she started designing for Chloë (remember the horse prints???)...then she started her own line which I just adore!! Now, for a few years she has been designing for Adidas....and I want all of it! I don't even play tennis and that dress with the pleats is calling my name. As for the top with the cut-outs??? I'd rock that with a blazer and call it a day! Enjoy! Have a super-dooper weekend!

Stella McCartney for Adidas available here.

I'm a big nerd, so when I hear about something like changing my handwriting to a font....I automatically get super psyched! There's just one snafu with this! My handwriting is kinda a mess at times! It's bad enough that the people in my life can't read it, but it's even worse when I myself can't read it a few days after actually writing it! Even my nephew at 7 years old, had the audacity to tell me I have horrible penmanship! And yes, he used the word penmanship!

Sooooo how ever will this work for me???? I guess I will be printing more than one copy of the sheet provided on the site....just so I get everything to be neat and tidy! OR...I can just let the world try figure out what it is exactly that I have typed! Enjoy!

To turn your handwriting into a font....click here. And when you watch the video....you tell me if you think "Gloria's" handwriting is just a bit too perfect!

shopbop

I remember so clearly the World Cup Final, and seeing Spain score in the last few minutes of extra time...which pretty much brought the game to an end. I was so upset I walked home...it was about 20 blocks! Poor me. I've become so engrossed in this sport, that I really can't take it...I was even ready to walk out mid-match, because sitting on the edge of my seat became uncomfy! I was thinking maybe I should quit following the sport, but before I knew it I was changing my favorite site from Fifa, to Barclays Premier League! I'm a mess!

I pretty much got hooked on football when I was watching the Premier League matches in the 2009-10 season. I was pretty impressed with how much I learned by listening to all the football-head boys, watching matches, and reading things online! So, Chelsea became my favorite team because I only watched their matches...while Ashley Cole became my fav. player because he assisted so many goals, and I personally felt that Chelsea started playing like crap when he got injured mid-season! Now, Didier Drogba is a super player, but after his hissy fit in the last game of the league, when Lampard took the penalty kick....I wondered if it was possible to love a team but dislike a player!! Hmmmm....maybe it is, but I've decided to watch the other teams this year, seeing that I was kinda brain-washed into loving this team and never really took a look at the others so that I could really find a love of my own. It's a tough call as the Man U. boys are wooing me with candy and food, while my mother has told me I'm a part of an Arsenal family! So we will see which team gets my undying love by the end of the upcoming season! It might just be Wolverhampton! haha!

Now this task is going to take a lot of football watching! I don't know how exactly I am going to do this with a full-time and part-time job! And after getting so upset over the World Cup finals, do I still really want to watch football???  Because obviously my temper likes to flare when my team loses! But I won't only be watching the Premier League....I will be watching the German League (Bundes Liga) as I heard its reeaallllyyy good! And I dabbled in the Italian League last year, but I think I may dabble in it some more...and then of course there is the Champions League, FA Cup, and Premier League! Phew...I'm getting tired just typing all of that! I may have to cut some of it...but for now that's what I'm focused on! I'm sure as I learn more, and watch more, I will start to focus on the ones that catch my attention the most!

And seeing that my blog is now slowly becoming sports filled, I'm thinking maybe I'll give you a heads up on what's going on in this girl's world of football! Skill on the field, plus hot wet bodies running around...what more could a girl ask for??? Enjoy!

P.S. I am now a full-fledged Celtics follower. Lebron kinda disappointed me with his cocky one hour special! Thought I'd let you know!

As you all know, on June 15th, I bought Drake's new album! And the nerd of all nerds read his thank you note, and he ended it with this! I thought it was so lovely, so I decided to share it with you! Enjoy!

"Who wears heels with a soccer jersey?" were the words that came out of my coworkers mouth today! Uhh Alia Michèle does! I woke up this morning, took out my jersey, and wondered how will I ever make this piece of fabric, with the name A. Cole on the back, look as girly as I am?!?! Mile high heels...thats how! haha! As you know, today was the first day of the World Cup 2010! And as I stepped out of my apartment building this morning, New York all of a sudden became a nice place to be! People in their jerseys or shirts representing their team, all smiled or said hello like we've all been buddy buddy forever! I was called World Cup girl...yay me; I was questioned about watching the England match tomorrow to make sure I wasn't a faker; I got into a tizzy because someone said jokingly that Jamaica is only good at track and field; and I expressed to a stranger why football is a big deal...and then we discussed Lebron coming to NY (totally off the topic I know). One person had the audacity to say I was repping a foolish English team...and I turned and said "they win games though"!!...which was followed by a word that would make my mother unhappy. Then one man said he's just going to watch me in my jersey while he licks his lips...ewww! Yes, NY was back to regular programming by the end of the day!

Now, the last time I spoke about the World Cup, my mind got to thinking....what if Jamaica hosted the 2018 games??!??!!! My creative juices immediately starting flowing...and I wondered what our logo would look like. Could my juices pour over to help me create one?? So, I did my research on past World Cup logos, and I found a site that showed all of them (see above)...thank you logo design blog!!! I was soooo excited to see every logo from the beginning!!! Almost all logos have a football, or a representation of it (the circle), and most show an abstract representation of the World Cup trophy! If you look at the logo this year (which I think has to be the greatest), you'll see the trophy represented where the ball is at the top, and that section also represents the South African flag! Genius!

I will admit that I'm not that good at logos....I mean I'm a fun, fabulous, creative design machine, but anything too technical has my patience on edge! I remember in college going over a logo a million times, to the point where my professor just said "Alia...no more...they're fine". I guess the perfectionist in me just can't settle on logos...so I steer clear of them! Anyway...I did one for our little island, just for the heck of it...hopefully you get it! I was even going to create a video, but I just didn't have the patience for that....but I did ask all my fellow Jamaicans what they thought would be a great theme song for this dream! Some answers had me rolling because they were purely idle, while others were really great choices for our country! I chose Holiday by Ding Dong because all I could see was our people, as well as the world, coming together to dance for a great event (and you got to love some of the dances the players do after they score)!!! Anyway take a look below at the other choices, and maybe you'll be able to look ahead, and see the dream too! Enjoy!

DW—JAMAICA by Elephant Man
SLJ—Hope and Pray by Mavado
SEJ—J.A. by Protoje
TK—Mr Officer by Vybz
KS—One Love Bob Marley
YG—Digicel Song for Haiti Various Artists
C—JAMROCK Damian Marley
JJ—Redemption Song Bob Marley
M—Count Your Blessings Damian Marley
BB—You Can Get it if You Really Want Jimmy Cliff
GB—Sweet Jamaica Tony Rebel
JD—Rise to the Occasion Sizzla

So the countdown has begun around the world for the heart pounding, skin-itching, hair raising, tear crying World Cup 2010!!! For some reason this one feels a bit different to me...it's almost the same feeling I had when Jamaica qualified in 1998! But that's probably because I have been blessed with this new found football knowledge...hmmmm! So today while I surfed the world wide web, I saw a picture of the singer Shakira promoting the Mango Waka Waka T-shirts...and I Alia Michèle went straight to google to try and find this shirt so that I could buy it right away (see above at top), but I failed...womp! However, I did find out that this shirt goes along with the World Cup 2010 Official theme song sang by Shakira and the African band Freshly Ground! Now if this song doesn't get your heart pumping for football...I really don't know what to tell you! As I did this post, it was literally on replay..both the Spanish and English version!!

Anyway, the video should be released soon but so far I have seen a preview in the Univision Ad, and it's really awesome! Apparently, there are quite a few football stars in it, with lots of people doing the waka waka dance....coooooolll! And even though the South Africans are kinda pissed that Shakira is singing the song (I guess if the World Cup was in Jamaica and Chris Brown sang our theme song, I'd be pissed too), you really can't help but move...and probably kick a ball or two! hehe!

Now seeing that this Waka Waka shirt got me in the mood, I decided to share a couple others that have caught my eye this year! I'm a real nerd, so when I see some logos...I kinda get extremely 'do the boogie dance' excited! So the 2010 Fifa logo gives me that feeling, so I'd love this shirt...preferably straight from South Africa. Makes it more authentic...right?!?!

I work in shopping central, so as I walked passed Puma one day, I saw their Love=Football shirt that I just had to have! Which team shall I choose? I'm not sure...I'd probably buy all of them if I could! And of course, seeing that I always cheer for Brazil (even though I'm quietly rooting for Argentina this year)....I got my Brazil shirt ready (see above), and I even got my Brazilian homies at the office to tell me how to pronounce Futebol!! Holler!! Enjoy and let the countdown begin!!! Oh...and let's DANCE!!!

For song click here! And extra effect...watch the video here!

Images from: Cartier; Nixon; Moma; Tag Heuer; ShopBop.