Brick Walls Are Closing In // What I Wore

This is my last post from my trip to Ohio/Pittsburgh last month. As I said in my last post, I got to spend the night with Lauren and explore her town a bit before leaving. I took so many pictures that I thought it would be best to split them into two posts.

I got this dress at Lauren's favorite thrift store, and boy can I see why she likes it so much! I got this dress for a mere $2, and it is the perfect with eyelet dress! Every white eyelet/lace dress I've had before has been too short, but this one is seriously perfect. Not to mention that I also got a lovely purple shift dress for $1, and the most beautiful black velvet strapless dress known to mankind for $2. Seriously, I cannot wait for the weather to cool off more so I can take that dress for a spin.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Maddie and I are heading down south after I get off work to stay with our grandparents tonight before continuing on to Missouri tomorrow morning. I cannot wait to drive on the open road again! (I really am a Missouri gal at heart.♥

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: thrifted

denim shirt: Plato's Closet

belt:  Talbots

necklace: Little Black Bag

bag + Me Too flats: Forest Bootery

watch + bracelet: Francesca's Collections

lipstick: Urban Decay Revolution in Anarchy

Designer Skyline // What I Wore

{photos courtesy of Laura and Hannah}

I had so many photos from the Blog Days of Summer picnic, that I decided to split them up into two posts, and this is my proper "outfit post" post. *wink*

I've always been really interesting in traveling, and I was so, so excited to see Ohio and Pennsylvania for the first time, but the best part by far was getting to hang out with so many lovely gals! Laura and I ended up (by a really amazing set of parallel circumstances) sharing a hotel room - despite the fact that we'd only talked once or twice before this trip. In all honesty, I was more than a little nervous that we wouldn't end up getting along and it would be really awkward, but when it came down to it, it was really more like preschool- instant BFFs! Seriously, within the first two hours of meeting Laura, Hannah and I were crashing in my hotel room venting about crappy former-love interests. (What did you expect from three teenagers/20-somethings??) And I was so, so sad to say goodbye to her. For reals, you guys, if you've never checked out her blog do it now because she is such a doll. ♥

I don't really have all that many photos of the dinner after the picnic or the brunch on Sunday (I looked like such a mess on Sunday due to a wardrobe emergency and not having a blow dryer in my hotel room. Grrr!) but I'm probably going to do one more Pittsburgh with some random posts of Pittsburgh in general. Just as soon as I finish editing those pics... Ugh! Let's do that next week, kay? Kay.

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: ModCloth

belt: Pitaya

necklace: vintage

Steve Madden wedges: Forest Bootery

watch: Francesca's Collections

bracelet: vintage

sunglasses: Betsy Johnson via Little Black Bag

Umbrella Beach // What I Wore

The summer hasn't been too great here, lately, so unfortunately I've hardly gotten down to the beach, but a couple Sundays ago my friend Natalie from work and I decided to head down to the beach together. It was a perfect time to do it, too, because I'd just got a new bathing suit from ModCloth! I've wanted an Esther Williams bathing suit for years, and after three years of promising to buy me a new swim suit, they finally got me one!

This bathing suit is super cute, and flattering and comfy and I had so much fun at the beach with Natalie - even if she did try to drown me. *winks*

How have you all been spending your summer?

♥ ♥ ♥       

shirt: J Crew

shorts: Maurice's

bathing suit: ModCloth 

scarf: DIY

sandals: Plato's Closet

sunglasses: Betsy Johnson via LBB

Sunlight Conspiracy // Daily Outfit

Man, talk about abandoning a blog, huh? About a month ago I went full time at my job, and what with summer coming as well, and actually being involved with a church, I've been really busy.

I've also been feeling off and on emotional lately (I won't get into why), and on the ride home from work last night, I suddenly had this "omgsh I just want to talk to my aunt!" moment. My aunt Mary is one of those special people in my life, who has always loved me unconditionally, and always accepted me exactly as I am. I really don't know who (or where!) I'd be without her, and it was so nice just to talk to her again. It kills me that I won't be able to get time off to visit her and my uncle Duane in Missouri this July, but I'm determined to get back down there before the year ends!

In other news what do y'all think of my new TOMS? I got them courtesy of TOMS for being the store I work at's TOMS representative. Pretty cool, huh? I can't believe how much I love them. They are all I want to wear all summer!

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: borrowed from Molly

belt: thrifted

shoes: TOMS

headband: gift from Molly

How Missing Me Feels // Daily Outfit

Well you thought I’d wait around forever
But baby get real
I just kicked you to the curb
In my red high heels

Oh you can watch me walk if you want to, want to
I’ll bet you want me back now don’t you, don’t you
I’m about to show you just how missin’ me feels
In my red high heels

~ Red High Heels by Kellie Pickler

Do you know what feels amazing? Closure.

I'm one of those people who hate "what if" situations. I avoid them like the plague. I'd rather make a mistake that I have to fix later than go through life wondering "what if." It's a big part of the reason I have so much trouble making up my mind about things. So when an old friend I haven't talked to in over a year came back with a short apology and a request to be friends again, I really wasn't sure what to do. Especially not when he admitted that he knows I used to have a crush on him, and that he realized that he likes me, too. What??

After a lot of thought - and a good night's sleep - I decided that I couldn't get dragged into that, and so refrained from going all Kellie Pickler/Carrie Underwood on him, (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to send him a link to Red High Heels as my entire response!) and responded as nicely as I could. And as thanks for that I get back a response saying how I'm not as great as he thought I was. Are you kidding me!?

But in a strange way it was really satisfying, because now I have complete and total closure. I will never wonder what would have happened had I tried to be friends again. I'll never, ever again miss him. I've seen his true colors, and I know I deserve better. (So I busted out a little of the Carrie Underwood spirit in me, and replied one last time before blocking him on FaceBook *winks*)

I really can't tell you all how good it feels to finally be away from him and his family. It's such a relief and a breath of fresh air. ♥

In other news I'm pretty sure this outfit is the perfect summer outfit for work. It's cute, light, breezy and I don't have to worry about flashing anyone while bending down/standing up. I picked up the shorts at Francesca's Collections last week for a whopping $10. They're a bit big in the waist, but a safety pin fixes that until I can get them to the tailor. *winks*

Hope your week is going great so far, lovelies!

xo,

Katie

♥ ♥ ♥       

shorts: Francesca's Collectiosn

blouse: Maurice's

shoes: Sofft

necklace: Pitaya

tote bag: gift from ModCloth
lipstick: Kat Von D 's Painted Love in Underage Red

title: Red High Heels by Kellie Pickler

I'm Free to be Me // Daily Outfit + Accepting Ourselves

In my pre-teen/early teen years I remember that there were two things I was really self-conscious of: the first was my height, and the second my humongous overbite. (No, seriously, it's almost a centimeter in length.) I thought that I couldn't wear any heels over three inches tall because I was already 5' 8" - even though my favorite look was four inches and above, and I thought I looked like a gopher when I smiled, so I wouldn't ever post any photos online of me smiling "with teeth."

Over the past couple of years, though, I've come to appreciate myself for what I am. I'm tall, and I like heels that make me at least six feet high - so what? Does that mean that I should stop wearing them? Absolutely not! I love big heels and I'm tall - that's just who I am!

And as for my overbite, it actually kind of fits my personality. I'm not elegant and I'm not graceful. I am, to be honest, I'm a lot like Anne Shirley - especially with the getting into trouble doing stupid things. (I would totally chase a cow across a muddy field in my nice dress if need be!) I'm pretty crazy, I talk loudly,  and my teeth aren't perfect, and that's ok. I kind of like that about myself, because it's what makes me unique. It's like my mom says: I've got the personality of a dwarf with the looks of an elf - which means that I got the best of both worlds! (Come on! You *know* you were at least a little irritated when the elves wouldn't even help the dwarves get everyone out of Erebor in the Hobbit.) And when my photos turn out a little silly looking, that's ok, because that's just how I am. I'm actually starting to enjoy posting the crazy ones - all the neat and proper ones are all well and good, but that's definitely not all there is to me, and I'm starting to like showing the crazy side!

So what I'm trying to say is: if there's something about you that you don't like, instead of hiding it and trying to pretend it doesn't exist, try to find a way to rock it. Because it's our "imperfections" that make us unique. There are thousands of Victoria Secret's Angels out there, but what makes the characters were love in books so much so loved is their imperfections - just like with us. ♥

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: borrowed from Molly

JC Litas: Urban Outfitters

belt: Pitaya

bracelet: vintage

jacket: Old Navy via Ebay

title: Summer Day Dreams by Breanne Duren

Summer Day Dreams // Daily Outfit

One of the things I love about working retail is getting days off during the week. Hardly anyone else is out at those times, and since my family is busy with school/work I get the whole day to myself. Days like this are heaven sometimes. I get all dressed up, run some errands, take photos, and work on my blog. Basically I get everything done that I want to get done.

I've been feeling really great, lately. It's so nice to have some time to worry about myself without bending over backwards trying to apease other people. It's a great feeling to be able to go through life without worring that someone will be judging me because of the skirt I wore; or dropping what I wanted to do/planned on doing so I won't get yelled at later on. Basically, it's really nice to have a little less drama in life. ♥

In other news, what do you all think of my new skirt, bracelet and necklace? The skirt is from Shabby Apple via the gift certificate I recived from the giveaway over at Bubby and Bean's last mont. I was so excited! This was the first time I've ever won a blog giveaway. It really is the little things in life. *winks*

The bracelet is from the lovely people over at Fleet for participating in their Found by Fleet contest. It was a really unexpected surprise, and even though I'm not a huge fan of silver, I really like this piece! (Is it possible that silver is gowing on me!?)

And as for the necklace, well that's just a little something I picked up at one of the antique stores on Mother's Day for a mear $3. I swear this is the fourth time in a row I've gone to the same little antique store and walked out with another piece of jewelery. They have the best stuff + prices! ♥

♥ ♥ ♥       

skirt: Shabby Apple via gift card

blouse: Maurice's
JC Litas: Urban Outfitters

belt: Pitaya

necklace: vintage

tote bag: gift from ModCloth
gold bracelet: vintage
silver bracelet: gift from Fleet
lipstick: Kat Von D 's Painted Love in Underage Red

title: Summer Day Dreams by Breanne Duren