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

Starting a Hope Chest

Traditional Hope Chests

Some of my readers may be unfamiliar with the term "hope chest," despite the fact that it used to be a popular gift for girls on their 18th birthday all the way up to the 1950's. The idea of it is that when a girl turns eighteen she would be given a chest in which to store anything she might want to keep for her future house (example: linens, books she loved as a kid, etc.). Then, when she's married and setting up house, she'll unpack all the lovely things she put away when she was still a girl.

The idea has mostly died out, but it still remains popular in some Christian circles. Molly's older sister got one for her birthday, as well as several of our older cousins. But by the time Molly and I turned eighteen our parents had abandoned the idea.

Our Twist on the Original Idea

About the time Molly and I turned 18 we decided to start our own hope chests. Molly has a lovely wooden chest she's painted a weathered blue color, and I - well, I don't have a chest yet, but I do have plenty of stuff to put in it! Lol! We like to collect more dishes, and kitchen ware than most traditional hope chests, but the fun thing about starting your own hope chest is that you can do it however you want! Since Molly and I both love vintage Pyrex (and have no use for it right now!) we love storing it away for whenever we get our own place. The great thing about this, too, is that once we get our own place, we'll have a good start on all the stuff we'll need for living on our own!

The Contents

I have way too much stuff to do just one post on,  but I thought I'd take a moment to show you just a few of my absolute favorite finds.

1. What: A nine-piece set of matching condiment containers. There's a mustard pump, a ketchup pump, a sugar shaker, a container for syrup, a creamer, and two sets of salt and pepper shakers (I couldn't find those to photograph them). 

Cost - $6

2. What: This is one of my favorite finds ever. A beautiful, handmade crocheted afgan in the loveliest colors. I found it at a garage sale on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The owner wanted $10 for it, but I didn't want to pay more than $5. They went down to $8, but I was still hesitant so I decided to leave without it. As I was walking down the driveway the lady called after me that she would do $5. Haggling FTW!  

Cost - $5

3. What: Vintage metal mixing bowls. I love the pansy pattern on these, and they'll be perfect for baking, or even just eating popcorn or cereal in. I don't remember exactly how much these were, but definately no more than $7.  

Cost - under $7

4. What: Hand crocheted pot holders/coasters. I picked these up at an antique/thrift store. They match the colors I want in my future house perfectly and will be so useful!

Cost - $5

 

5. What: vintage Pyrex mixing bowls with clear bottoms. When I saw Molly's bowl like this teal one I was so jealous, so when I found it on eBay with a matching pink one, I had to get them! One of my favorite finds ever!

Cost - $9.99 + $8.52 for shipping

6. What: Clear glass Pyrex nesting bowls. I've had one of these bowls for months but I just recently re-discovered it and it made me want the whole set! I looked around on eBay but shipping is just so expensive, so I was thrilled when I found the full, four bowl set at a thrift store earlier this week!
Cost - $12

7. What: A non-stick frying pan in the most gorgeous teal color - it matches the colors I want my kitchen to be! I just couldn't pass it up.
Cost - $8

So what about you gals? Do any of you have hope chests? If not, would you ever consider starting one?

How I Became the Sea

 

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I'd be lying if I said I never thought of you anymore. I'd be lying if I said nothing ever reminded me of you. Shoot, I'd even be lying if I said I never cried for you. But I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't know that would get less and less every day. I'd be lying if I said there was still a hole in my heart left by you.

I have good days where you never cross my mind. I'm so happy with my life right now. I know that you probably think I've wandered off the straight and narrow path. That I've given into the world. It makes me happy to thing that I'll never have to undergo your judgement about that again. I feel free knowing that you can do now is judge me from afar. I don't have to deal with your judgement anymore.

But I also have bad days. Where I miss having a "best" friend. I don't have a best friend right now - at least, not the way you and I used to be. But that's a good thing. Sometimes I envy my friends who are "bffs" and so close. They do some of the things you and I used to do, but now I'm on my own in that sense. But then I think back to how closed off I was back then. How you were the only person I had room for in my life - and I know that I wouldn't go back to that even if I could. I feel like the person that was cowering inside myself our whole friendship has finally busted out and I love her. I love who I am, and I know you wouldn't approve.

I've made peace with who I am and how I got here. I can look back on our friendship and smile on them as part of my past. That's all behind me and "no one can be mad [or sad!] about the past!" as Phoebe would say.

I know I'm not what you thought I was.

xo,

Katie Burry

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

Livy Love Designs 50% Off Sale!

If you read my room tour post you may remember that I have multiple prints from Livy Love Designs. So when I heard that she's having a 50% off sale, I knew I had to let all you lovely guys and gals in on it!

I am such a huge fan of Diana's work! The designs are gorgeous, and the quality is great - not to mention  that there are so many perfect prints! I really want to start collecting one state print for every state I've been in. I hope to have at least 48-50 some day! ♥

If you've never ordered any of Livy Love Design's prints (or stickers, or buttons!) I encourage you to use this opourtunity to get some great artwork! Just use the code: summer50 to get 50% off, now through the 27th!