Black Maxi

Found this Black Maxi at TJ Maxx and fell in love! It's beyond comfortable and I love the mesh detail in the front to add a bit of spice!

Oh hey Riley!! 

Busy day guys, I did my spring cleaning today ( a little late I might add!) Hope everyone is having a great week - Happy Hump Day!! 

xo

H

Wilmington for Birthday Weekend

My Birthday Getaway

Hello Everyone! My birthday was on May 5th - Sunday this year! (Cinco de Mayo!) Patrick took me to a river front town called Wilmington in North Carolina. Wilmington is small but beautiful and is right nestled on the Cape Fear River. When we arrived it was lunchtime on Friday so we went straight to the hunt for food. We found this cute little place right on the water called Riverboat Landing - It has nine private balconies that all seat only two! 

Riverboat Landing on Front St. in Wilmington, NC (night view)

 We ended up walking around the downtown area after lunch and doing a bit of shopping - there were so many cute little shops and boutiques to explore. One in particular that was my favorite was appropriately named, Dang. It had all sorts of things - jewelry, sundresses, flip flops, home decor, etc. A lot of the theme of the store was nautical theme (since it is a river city after all) I purchased the cutest little knot bracelet with a gold anchor on it - I am sure it will show up in some of my upcoming pictures! 

Nothing better than finding a cake shop with an Iron Man 3 cake in the window - I am sure Patrick would be thrilled to have this lovely spectacle as our wedding cake . . . not going to happen.

There was an Ah-Mah-Zing fudge/ice cream shoppe downtown as well. We stumbled in due to following our noises to the delicious scents. We got a tiny sample of two rich pieces of fudge - then we shared a chocolate covered pretzel... later to come back and get coconut ice cream....and later to return and get a carmel apple - yes, we were addicted to this place. I found this little box o' chocolates in the shape of golf - perfect for Patrick - unfortunately he is not into chocolate enough for me to get him these, although its pretty cute ;) 

Here is me standing in front of a beaded wall near our hotel - My dress is from Ross - and it was under $10 - I know, score! It's actually more of a beach/pool coverup but since I am short I can pull it off as a sundress. My jean jacket (my go-to for spring) is from Marshalls. You can see my new nautical knot bracelet - if you look really, really hard! 

Apparently, Wilmington is the Hollywood of North Carolina! We were out later that night to dance and in walks Hank from our favorite show, Breaking Bad! We totally went a little star struck and asked for a picture ( I also got a sloppy kiss on the cheek!) 

End of the weekend =( but happy to be home having a family bday dinner at my Aunt's house. This is us right before we dive in to this delicious Mint Chocolate Chip Coldstone Cake! 

Nom Nom Nom.

xo

H

Yellow, Navy & Leopard

Yellow, Navy & Leopard 

xo 

H

It's a Print-On-Print Kind of Day!

Yay! It's Friday!! I'm sure everyone is feeling that way right about now. I have the most glorious weekend ahead- Tonight is my younger cousins confirmation - I am his sponsor (deeply honored!). Also, my grandparents are coming in town. Weee! On Saturday we have a surprise party for George (my cousin's grandpa) Shhh its a SURPRISE! Don't worry - I highly doubt he reads this blog ;) 

I am keeping to the theme of Print Mixing in this post - here is my version of the trend! Striped nautical shorts and a floral tank! It's absolutely perfect on a hot summers day! 

My Emerald tote (another hot trend: Emerald) is actually from Target - on sale, it ran me about $15 - that's why I love Target =) 

By the way, SO SORRY about the sun glare!! I tried to get rid of it and it was just messing up the photo - forgive me! 

Thanks for reading all you lovelies! Have a wonderful weekend!

xo

H

Chilly Spring Morning

It was chilly in the morning this past Monday! I got up for work and decided I am not ready to give up my sweater and boots yet! I tried to not go too wintery by using appropriate colors for spring - yellow =) Just a casual, comfy kind of day! 

I got this light-weight sweater at Express - it was in the $20 bin and had an additional 25% off! Score! 

Don't forget the boots - I have worn these so much I probably owe the boots money. I got them at Target - two Thanksgivings ago! I always see some version of them in stores as soon as the weather cools down a bit. I love yellow and I can't seem to get away from it! In fact, I am sitting at work right now in a yellow cardigan!! Am I stuck in a yellow rut? I promise to expand my fashion for you all - great outfits to come (and much more season-suitable! 

xo

H

New Job & My Office Look!

Hello All! How is everyone's week going? Mine is extra swell considering I just started a new job this week. I work for Axial Exchange - a company backed by the Mayo Clinic which provides hospitals with Patient Engagement solutions! Patient Engagement is a generally new term in the healthcare world - but its very, very important. Patient Engagement is the basic idea that healthcare should be based around the patient and providing that patient with every possible tool that they need to stay healthy! I am a new member of the sales team and I am so excited to learn more and settle in to what is turning out to be a really great company! 

Today was my third day on the job and I decided to once again revert to the old neon/neutral look that I apparently cannot get enough of! Anyway - This was an easy to wear look that added some brightness to my day! 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you tomorrow! For now, I am off to the dog park on this gorgeous spring (or summer!? 83 degrees?!) day!

xo

H

Neon & Neutral + GIVEAWAY!!

Blouse: Old Navy | Sweater: Target (similar) | Pants: Marshalls! | Booties: Zara - old (Simliar) 

Sunnies: Target | Arm Candy: MK, Lord&Taylor, H&M, Misc Gifts | Pearl Bracelet: GIVEWAY (see below)

Today, one lucky Villa Alphie reader will win an Anthropologie Pearl/Gold bracelet. 

MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF VILLA ALPHIE TO ENTER

(via Google Plus on right sidebar) 

- Requirements -

• Follow The Villa Alphie Blog
• Like The Villa Alphie on Facebook
• Share this giveaway on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or blog 

- Additional Entry's -

• Follow The Villa Alphie on Pinterest
• Follow @hmdunne on Instagram
• Comment on this post on why I should pick you to own this fabulous bracelet!

Giveaway will run through Monday. Winner will be announced Tuesday.

Good luck!!

xo

H

Welcome to Villa Alphie!

Hello! 

Thank you very, very much for stopping by! Welcome to Villa Alphie - my new blog all about my addiction to fashion, my lack of funds to support that addiction, and all the lovely little things in between.

First off, you should know Villa Alphie is another way of saying Alphie's house - who is Alphie? My precious pup of course!

Alphie - 3 yrs old - Broken Coat Jack Russel

I have a feeling that he will be making many a frequent appearances in future various posts on this blog - considering my world revolves around this little guy. 

Another guy that could very well show up often is Patrick - my fiance! We just got engaged in February and are very excited to see what lies ahead in our future! 

Here we are the night we got engaged - I was a happy girl in the photo (as you might tell)

Here we are on vacation in FL doing a little dancing for my Birthday

I am starting this blog because, frankly, I have found myself with a lot of time on my hands as of lately- Patrick and I moved to North Carolina from New York this past January and I am having EXTREME difficulties in finding a job! I have been applying to jobs constantly and - yes have had interviews - but people move slowly down here, or dont follow up and Im frustrated. Regardless, all the better to take out my frustrations with writing a blog - no?! 

Well, I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to leave me comments and suggestions - You can contact me personally at hmdunne@gmail.com

H