New website coming soon!

I haven't updated this blog in awhile because..... 

www.wix.com/Jordan-Ligons 

will be coming very soon! Stay tuned and thank you for your patience! 

Which Bride are you?

All brides have different styles and different visions of themselves on their big day. The Romantic, Unique, and Gatsby brides are just three trending looks that I have seen surface onto the bridal couture scene. Which one are you?

The Romantic Bride

For the rehearsal dinner, I imagine this long-sleeve lace Esther dress for a bride who is a helpless romantic. The large patches of lace scream storybook ending to me! It's so classic and chic; I adore it. For the wedding, I immediately thought of Allure Bridal. They are known for their various lace dresses that are simple and romantic.  The low V-neck back is such a subtle, yet elegant touch. To me, it is so sexy and the lace adds a classic element that contrasts that-- I love this look! 

The Unique Bride

Unique-Vintage.com

The Unique bride is worried about the traditional way to do things. For the rehearsal dinner, I imagine this bride in a tulle, short, white dress that is fun and different. With a flattering sweetheart neckline, this Unique-Vintage cocktail dress would be perfect for a bride that is outgoing and not afraid to show her personality through her clothes. For the big day, this Pronovias Barcalona "Bengasi" beauty is unique in its all feather bodice and full tulle skirt. It's so beautiful. You'll definitely turn heads in this gown and it will be one that no one will forget! 

Pronovias Bengasi

The Gatsby Bride

Ah, the roaring 1920s where flapper girls roam the city in glamourous gowns. This Gatbsy inspired bride is all about the glam element in her wedding. This Neeam Khan dress would suit the bride well for the rehearsal dinner with its extravagant details, like the fringe dangling from the bottom of the dress. Designer Maggie Sattero ran with the idea of a Gatbsy gala and designer her Fall 2013 collection after it. This dress would be perfect for the bride's wedding day. It's simplicity of fullness yet full of sparkles and details embedded into the fabric. I personally love the deep V-neck with sheer straps!

Maggie Sattero 2013 Bridal Collection

Okay, I'll go back to my Say Yes to the Dress marathon now...

XOXO,

Jayy 

Snapshots

"We compare all of ourselves to other's snapshots and highlights of other's peoples lives when we can't see all of everyone else." 

The other night, I went to a hall event with my dorm-mates called Stand-Up For Your Sister. It was an empowering experience where we debriefed about a previous event where our Resident Director read off seriously deep questions and if the anonymous paper you had had answered 'yes', then you stood-up for your sister. It was great. In our debrief, my RA said the above quote that really stuck with me. I have always had a problem comparing myself with other people's seem-to-be-perfect lives with my imperfect life in its entirety. And I've come to realize that is a problem.

The 10 Worst Things People Do During Finals

By Alicia Thomas, SparkNotes.com

We all have pet peeves. But during Finals Week, our hatred for minor offenses like slow-walking, lip-smacking and vocal fry increases exponentially. Here are a few of the majorly annoying things that people do during finals—think of thy neighbor!




Chewing their gum loudly. I swear on Katniss's bow, if I hear you crack a bubble against the roof of your mouth one more time, I will hurl my pencil at your forehead like it's a target board.
Tapping their toes incessantly. I am not at your fifth grade dance recital, anxiously awaiting your tap routine to "Annie." Either start singing about how the sun will come out tomorrow or keep your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Cracking their knuckles. It starts a chain reaction, you know that, right? First you're doing it, then the guy in the row behind you is doing it, and pretty soon you can't hear yourself think because your ears are ringing with a chorus of tendons snapping over bones. JUST DON'T, OKAY?!

Yawning. We were all awake until 4 a.m. studying for this final. Much like knuckle-cracking, yawning is contagious. But this one is worse because if I catch you yawning, and the next person yawning, and the next and the next and the next, I WILL EVENTUALLY START YAWNING and then my brain will lose oxygen and I'll fail the test and it'll be all your inconsiderate fault. So just stifle it.

Tapping their pencils against their desk. Keep the percussion for the Stomp touring show and/or Anna Kendrick's "Cups."

Not bringing a pencil. Dude. You had ONE job. Bring a #2 pencil to fill in the bubbles and write your essay. Don't spend the five minutes before the exam asking every single person in the room if they have a spare pencil, because we'll all loathe you for your unpreparedness and wish Fs upon you.

Freaking out right before the exam... "Ohmygod, I'm totally going to fail, I definitely didn't study enough, what am I going to do with my life, I don't even know how to flip burgers... " JUST STOP. We're all having the same internal freak-out, but we're polite enough not to verbalize it and get everyone else all worked up. So just bite your nails, stare at the clock, and concoct your backup life plan as a Thai kayak instructor like the rest of us.

... or acting super cool and nonchalant. "Oh, yeah, we have a final today, don't we? I totally didn't study. I haven't studied all year and I've gotten As. I'm sure I'll be fine." GOOD FOR YOU. I'm not sure when outright laziness and academic apathy became a trend, but it's even uglier than Crocs.

Reading the questions to themselves under their breath. Sorry that you're not the greatest at reading, but I don't need to hear Parseltongue while I'm trying to focus. In your head, please.

Finishing in five minutes. This is the mother of all offenses. If you finish a final that takes the rest of us a full hour in just five minutes, you have officially succeeded in making us all look really stupid. Once you skip out the door, keep skipping.

------
That last one is my BIGGEST pet peeve!! When someone gets-up and finishes while I'm struggling and barely half way done. UGH! Go be smart somewhere else!
Any who, I hope Ryan and this funny article helped with your finals!
I had 5 finals this time around. Let's just say the odds were def not in my favor.....

BEST OF LUCK!

Stay Classy,
Jayy

Get Glam'd this Season with Sseko Designs + 31 Bits!

'Tis the holiday season with an Ultimate Glam Gift Set from fabulous accessory lines of Sseko and 31 Bits! One lucky lady will receive a 31 Bits Woven Delight necklace & bracelet, Sseko Designs' glam Expresso clutch and Sseko Designs' glam sandal. Only one winner will be chosen and it could be you! Click HERE for the chance to win! Entries will close December 4th at 11:59 PST! 

I did a feature on 31 Bits here where I talked about the organization's passion for fashion along with the passion for empowering women in Uganda to rise above poverty. Sseko has a similar mission- to generate income for high potential, talented women in Uganda to further their future by the girls in their program going to a university. By creating these beautiful accessories, 31 Bits and Sseko Designs are using fashion to provide better opportunities for the women in Africa. 

Photos from Ssekodesigns.com

Go out this Holiday season dressed in chic accessories that are not only stylish, but are also for a extraordinary cause! Check out www.SsekoDesigns.com for more information on their awesome project! Xoxo, Jayy

adidas by Stella McCartney

Designer Stella McCartney introduced her Spring/Summer 2014 collection "adidas", which adds to the Adidas brand female workout gear for the stylish performer. This line includes everything from clothing and swimwear to footwear to fanny-packs (yay!) in solid bright colors and fun, funky prints. 
As an athlete, it is lovely to see a high-fashion designer create a line for the avid woman who workouts and who still wants to be stylish! 

Photos from Nydailynews.com, Refinery29.com, and m.adidas.com 

Representing sports such as tennis, running, yoga, golf, and swimming, McCartney came with her A game to fill a void in the female sport apparel industry. I am looking forward to sporting McCartney's new gear! Hurray for the active, stylish women! Thanks, Stella.

XOXO,

Jayy

Religion and Rhymes: How hip-hop and Christianity are crossing paths

“Pac was like Jesus/ Nas wrote The Bible.” These lyrics by J. Cole from his album “Born Sinner” bring up questions of religion in rap music.

This summer, multiple albums released with elements of lyricism and culture heard over the radio. Hip- hop and Christianity are noted as polar opposites; but, listeners could not avoid the religious references with many of the albums remixing Christian terms and Biblical allusions into their lyrics, bringing to question the motives of many hip-hop artists.

On J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” album released in June, the words "Born sinner, opposite of a winner" echo through the song “Villuminati”. Similarly, rapper Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping track “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” from album “Good Kid M.A.D.D. City” released in 2012.

It rhymes: “I am a sinner, who is probably going to sin again/ Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me things I don’t understand.”

Lyrics, such as these, have raised the question of hip-hop artists using religious contradictions in their songs. One moment they could be praising God and the next using foul and vulgar language. 

Hit single “Amen” from Meek Mill’s album "Dreams and Nightmares" is a perfect example of “religious contradiction”. The song’s hook in itself is said to be mocking the church: “There’s a lot of bad bitches in the building, Amen!”

After the track’s release, Mill responded to much criticism about the song’s crudeness and association with religion. He was even asked to apologize and repent by a Philadelphia pastor. In an interview with BET’s “106 & Park”, a music video show, Mill defended himself against the church.

“No preacher, no church approve of any rap music […] ‘cause rap music period, there’s a lot of bad stuff that’s being said. But at the end of the day, it’s real life,” he said.