alia michèle blog

You really have to love the designers who think outside the box when it comes to watches. All of the ones above are simply fun and exciting! When I first saw a Nooka watch in 2007, I thought it was interesting but unbelievably hard to read. I always thought that if I got one, I wouldn't really read the time....I'd just let it be decoration on my wrist! I just wouldn't have the patience to get used to it! But you really can't knock them...especially when they come in loads of colors...and you know my fav is up there....hehe!

Now the Reveal watch is one that I am definitely getting....soon! Why? Enter nerd mode now!!!.....the hours and minutes fade to black as time passes! How awesome is that??? When I read about this watch, I got so excited that I did a funky dance! Poor me! And of course Nixon is once again on the list...the yellow one (the rocio) with the numbers all over the face is simply  refreshing (it looks like a lemon ready to be squeezed), while the Newton is just plain awesome! It's all about reading dots now....rather than numbers and hands! Read the rest of this article »

I love these time pieces mainly because of the super bright details! Most of them are from Nixon (man I love that brand)...but I'd just love to own all of them! The love is so strong that I couldn't even decide which one of the digital ones to put on this post! I adore them equally...what can I say! As for the grey ones with the splashes of bright colors? Put them on my wrist anyday!!! You gotta love simple things with super cool details! Enjoy!

Watches from Nixon and Appetime!

Tomorrow is the beginning of what's going to be a great 2 weeks, as my team the Celtics will face off with the Lakers in the 2010 NBA finals! My love for basketball began in high school...I remember sitting with K.K. and K.C. under the tree by our 4th form classroom, to discuss games, the plays, and of course the players! The Chicago Bulls ruled almost all the years we were in high school, so we all had love for Jordan and Pippen...but even though I cheered for them each year, I had a soft spot for the Orlando Magic and Penny Hardaway! I even had love for boys in high school who simply wore the Pennys! haha! They definitely caught my interest as they walked around in the sneakers. They didn't even have to be cute...as long as the Penny's were on...they got this girl's attention! Hot mess! Anyway, after high school, I kinda lost interest and my Bulls and Magic caps were put aside to gather dust! Read the rest of this article »

'Watch mi' is a term used when we Jamaicans are feeling pretty full of ourselves, and ready to prove someone wrong. For example, when I was in India, they told me that doing henna by yourself is hard...I just said "watch mi"! Then I failed at the task...Womp! But today I use this term to express my week of watches!!  In college, I switched my watches like underwear...and a few were later returned (no comment)....and then I only wore the watch my parents gave me, which I  loved so much that I wore it till the battery died. It sat in my jewelry box after that, and for 2 years I didn't wear anything on my wrist that told the time!

Anyway, I love love love men's watches! Women's watches are just too girlie and frilly for me! I think wearing a man's watch is way more chic...and I kinda feel more "boss" like when I have one on. So when I saw that men's watches were pretty much making their way onto women's wrists (I'd personally like to believe that I was doing this first, back in 1998)...I felt the need to get back into my watch game. So I did! It all started with my gold Michael Kors watch...then I added my Raised By Wolves digital watch to the mix.  Now, I sit and just look at watches about 4 times a year, wondering which one will bless my wrist next! Siigghh! Soooooo...here is the first of the "watch mi" week...Enjoy!

P.S. Looking at the watches above, really brings flashbacks of my driving test (10 past 10, 10 past 2...not cute)! And on a side note...can someone buy me the black on black Nixon?? Thanks!

Images from: Nixon; Timex; Raised by Wolves; Net-a-Porter; Michael Kors; J. Crew; La Mer Collections.

Over the weekend my friend T.K. was telling everyone how eerie it is that the hip hop artist Drake filmed his latest video in Jamaica, and that his love interest's name is very similar to mine (my mom wasn't amused)...even though my name is waaaayy cooler! Anyway, the only reason why T.K. said it's eerie is because I am a big Drake fan. Okay...HUGE Drake fan. I've followed him since his first mixtape (Comeback Season)... I think he's the only person besides Lil wayne that killed the 'A Milli' beat (I actually got into the Lil Wayne version just because I listened to Drake's); I've got into numerous arguments with people about him (don't get on this girl's wrong side); I've sold him to everyone who asks me for new music to listen to; and I turn my nose up to anyone who tries to send me songs that weren't released on his website (not worth my time). And yes, we all know I find him to be a cutie (thank God for the shape up!)....but that doesn't change the fact that no matter what the critics say, I will be purchasing his first "official" album, Thank Me Later this June! Read the rest of this article »

So, I have become quite the football fanatic...it is quite weird. As a child when my grandfather watched football every single day with my sister, I was outside playing with dolls or swinging from trees with my brother. It never really appealed to me unless I was at a match cheering for my country. But this new found love began with the Premier League. My mom is still totally surprised to see how engrossed I've become with the sport....and I'm amazed that I wake up at crazy hours of the morning (you know I love my sleep), just to watch football. Even my male friends are surprised...I guess a girl so into fashion and frilly things, isn't necessarily one to name players, especially when my name calling isn't based on good looks and hot damn diggidy bodies! This year, what has caught my attention the most for football (other than my fav. player/baby daddy Ashley Cole), is the ESPN ad for the world cup called "Power of 10". Seeing that I'm new to the game...I had no idea how important the number 10 was in football. So I did my research as I was quite confused...and I warn you...it's about to get real geeky on this blog!

Numbers were put on jerseys for the referees, the spectators and the fellow-players to tell each other apart (duh!). Then apparently the numbers became as immortal as the players themselves, and for some strange reason (probably a divine intervention)...only the greatest players wore identical numbers. But number 10 of course, always stood out. In general the number 10 is considered the most perfect of numbers...it signifies the perfection of Divine order; it's the highest score possible in the Olympics; it's the number of violin sonatas composed by Beethoven; in rap music it's used to describe the perfect woman...otherwise known as a dime piece; in science it's the atomic number of neon; you know the ten commandments; and in football it's usually the "playmaker". Read the rest of this article »

....let me play among the stars! So I got my second tattoo...which was totally spur of the moment! I always wanted a star on my wrist that meant something, and I've created many designs in the last few years. But, they all failed because how much meaning can a star really have? So while I walked on the streets of Vegas by myself, I got the impulse to just do it (like Nike)...and that I did. I was scared out of mind as I walked into the shop. This girl who is always planning, and making sure that things are perfect before anything is done...just wasn't up for walking into a shop, to sit down and get randomly inked. You should have seen me in the lounge area, googling the shop for reviews because all kinds of horrible visions of things that could go wrong came into my mind.

After battling with the man in charge about what I wanted, I just got a piece of paper and designed 3 little stars. Then I was in the chair and as the tattoo artist did his thing with the needle...I realized my 3 stars looked uneven...so I asked for one baby one to make it work! And in the end...this tattoo had a lot more meaning than I expected...and this I shall explain... Read the rest of this article »

I have always wanted to have a wall filled with pictures...and when I moved to this apartment I was blessed with a huge wall in my hallway. Everyone knows that I love, love, love to take pictures. And I have those friends that despise the ones I take, but when we go back and look at the pictures from our "younger" days, we all have a good laugh looking at the fun-filled, hot mess, happy-happy-joy-joy memories. Anyway with all the frames I received in the past year, I began my wall this weekend....Yippppeeee!

As I put each picture up, I felt so warm inside as I looked at all the lovely memories that began to cover my white wall. Like the one of T.K. and M.O. which was taken on  the day we celebrated what would be my grandfather's last Father's Day (my nephew took that picture too), or the one of a group of us taken on the day I lost my voice, because I screamed for my team Italy in the 2006 World Cup at some random bar, or the one of my father as he crossed the finish line at the reggae marathon, while my eyes were being held open with my fingers because it was so darn early in the morning. Each picture represents a special memory and the special people in my life...and don't worry, if you don't see yourself there, I assure you there is a picture of you just waiting for the perfect frame! Enjoy!

So it's that time of year when the weather goes completely psycho. One day it's in the 60's and the next day it's in the 30's...if you lived in these climates you'd think Mother Nature was on crack. Anyway, this is how it is in the fall as well as the spring...and each time these times of year roll around, I close my eyes and wish for the perfect leather jacket to place itself on my body. A leather jacket is always perfect because it's not cold enough for a winter coat...or warm enough for a light trench. Ugh...it can be a bit annoying figuring out what to wear sometimes!

Anyway, this week the "big man" is in town and he expressed the need to get a leather jacket for himself. You know my eyes widened with glee when I heard those words come out of his mouth!!! Any excuse to get off my shopping "ban" is always worth it...and maybe I can kiss kiss, hug hug, and put on those puppy eyes to see if daddy's girl can get a little treat! Hahahhha! I'm sure I'm going to get a big fat NO, just like when I wanted a Honda Civic hatchback at the tender age of 16, and he very much told me to go get a job. Errrrkkkkss! Anyway, we will be going around to see what we can find...so let's hope that this year I get that leather jacket I have dreamed of...and in the end give mother nature a karate kick....HIII YA! Here are the styles I'm drooling over this year. Enjoy!

Clockwise from left: Rick Owens; Hanni Y; Helmut Lang; Vince; Rick Owens; Rick Owens.

So while I spoke to my mom tonight, she let me know that Amber, our lovely Cocker Spaniel dog of 16 years, passed away this week. Of course I broke down into tears because she has been a part of my life since I was 13 years old. Amazing right? I remember the day we got her...it was the same day as my high school buddy A.G.'s birthday party, and my mom picked me up from the hairdresser with this HUGE surprise in the backseat. I was so excited, that I carried her along for the drive to A.G's house...just so I could show off our new munchkin. Amber was a fighter! Our Rots who lived outside never liked her, and there were many times when we would have to pull her away from huge teeth, and each time we almost lost her because of this. And when she got better, she went to the gate (that the dogs once pulled her through btw) and barked at them like she didn't almost get killed days before. As she got older, she lost her sight. My nephew asked my sister one day if someone can get their sight back because he prayed that Amber would....and then when he found out that blindness is usually irreversible...he prayed that she would be able to get around the house a little bit easier...and she did! Then she got a tumor on her stomach, and  the vet said if we operated we might lose her..so we didn't. But then we had to operate because it got so big, and that increased the chance of it bursting...and thankfully she made it through the operation. Each time I went home, I was excited to see her by the door to greet me. I will miss her very much...her huge wet kisses if I came too close to her face...her barking whenever someone stopped by and her need to be cuddled and loved. I love you very much Ambi Lambi, Amberloo, Amber...always will!