"I don't know that a graveyard is a very good place to go to get cheered up"

"I'm going across to Old St. John's after lunch," said Anne. "I don't know that a graveyard is a very good place to go to get cheered up, but it seems the only get-at-able place where there are trees, and trees I must have. I'll sit on one of those old slabs and shut my eyes and imagine I'm in the Avonlea woods."
~ Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Ever since reading Anne of the Island I've loved cemeteries. L.M. Montgomery has a way of making it so romantic and old fashioned. So when I saw one on the drive to my aunt and uncle's house - just a couple minutes walk away - I knew I had to visit it. It turned out to be a perfect place to get some photos - especially with my new tripod. It is so nice. It is small enough to fit in my black purse (the one in the photos) without being noticeable. This will help with my photos so much as I was rather too shy to drag my parents big tripod around the place.

So what do you all think of my new scarf? It was a Christmas gift from my dear big sister, Heather. I love it so much and it was so sweet of her to get me something fashion related since she knows I love fashion - even if she doesn't. The sunglasses are also from her - for my birthday - but I'm going to wait to tell you the story behind those till I get the rest of her birthday present for me.

New Faces

So, as you have doubtlessly noticed by now - Beautifully Pure has a new look, and has also moved to a custom domain. Yay!! Say good bye to the old, hard to read, dark template, and annoyingly long url; and hello to the new, light, easily viewed one on a short, easily remembered domain. Hello!

All this is in preparation for my New Years resolution - to post more, and all around take my blog more seriously. So be expecting lots more posts and better content after the first!

On another note, you may notice that I have a "sponsor" page now, so if anyone out there is interested in promoting their brand/blog/ect, you can email me at katie(at)beautifully-pure(dot)com

Candy Land

I guess this is an appropriate name for this post considering I wore this outfit on Saturday, which also happened to a day I ate lots of candy in honor of Christmas. The real reason I chose this name, however, was because something about the colors in this outfit reminded me of bright colored candy.

I got these knee-high socks for Christmas from my littlest sister. The scarf was a gift for my birthday from my friend, Christina, and I thought the two looked nice together. Pairing the socks with the tights and dress was my friend, Heather's idea, since I don't like wearing the dress with anything but black or dark gray socks.

Outfit Details:

Dress - Target Children's Section

Tee-Shirt - Kohls

Tights - Merona

Socks - Xhilaration

Boots - Charlotte Russe

Locket - Plato's Closet

Gold Chain - Vintage

Gold Bracelet - A gift from my mom

Headband - H&M

Amid the Falling Snow

This is first time I've taken my own outfit pics outside since getting my new camera. The weather has been so - odd, and I've been missing the daylight so much, I would usually just have my mom or sister snap a picture of me while we were out and about.

Today, however, I was finally able to take my own pictures. It was wonderful. Will Scarlet (my camera) handles like a dream. When I got him I was a little nervous about the fact that he only has a ten second timer, but it wasn't a problem at all. I think I like it more than I would have liked a 10x timer.

He is also great for non-self portrait photos. I've been going on lots of photo shoots with my dear friend, Christina, since she is back from college for Christmas break. You can see some of my newest photos on my Flickr page.

Merry Christmas all!! I hope everyone has a great day! <3

"So I am just a replacement for your skull?"

Today my outfit was inspired by Dr. John Watson, in response to an idea my big sister gave me. She suggested I make some outfits based after characters, and since I love Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - and since "Watson" is a nickname of mine, I decided to start with him.

I drew inspiration for this outfit from the Watson (played by Jude Law) in the new movie with Robert Downy Jr, and from the Watson (played by Martin Freeman) from the new BBC mini series.

I love that my sweater looks just like one Martin Freeman wears in the mini series, and I paired it with my prairie boots and pea coat because I think they look rather military-ish, and Watson was in the Army.

So what do you all think? Does it pass for a girl version of Watson?

Outfit Details:

Sweater - gift from my mom

Tee Shirt - So...

Skirt - H&M

Coat - gift

Tights - Merona

Boots - Faded Glory (thrifted)

Locket - Plato's Closet

White Drop Photography

Last night, driven to creativity by a lack of sunlight outside, I strung up an old sheet, laid one one on the floor, and proceeded to have a photo shoot. I even tried editing the photos a bit after I uploaded them on to my computer. I still need some practice. You can see more, and a couple I tried out in black and white, on my Flickr account.

Blooming Brush Strokes Dress

(Not sure what's with my face there... :-/)

This is my birthday present for myself. The Blooming Brush Strokes Dress from ModCloth. I have been wanting a ModCloth dress for over a year and a half, so - needless to say - I'm thrilled. I love this dress so much, and I know you will be seeing lots more of it. <3

I wore it on Saturday when we went to my grandma's to celebrate Christmas with my dad's family. We were really busy all day, and didn't have much time for pictures, which is why they are so bad. I had to have Molly snap some for me in the thrift store, and I have no idea why they turned out slightly blurry. All I can think is that it must have been the lighting.... It bugs me.

Outfit Details:

Dress - ModCloth

Jacket - Wet Seal

Tights - Merona

Heels - Xhilaration

Sunglasses - Dollar General

Music Mondays - Carol of the Bells by the Trans Siberian Orchestra

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever.

I love this song so much. It is so beautiful. It starts out so slow and elegant and then in a flas it's so energetic and just - awesome. Love. Love. Love. <3

School Girl

Close Up of my Necklace

Random Winter facts about me:

- Every winter since I was little my hands have got super dry because I have eczema.

- Last winter I became religious about wearing gloves because it helps me exzema lots.

- This year I have become religious about putting lip chap on so my lip stick will actually look good on.

- I love the way the trees look right after a fresh snow when the snow is covering them and I wish it lasted longer.

- I have never been skiing before, but I plan to go someday.

Photos Courtesy of Christina

Cardigan - Gift from Christina

Tee Shirt - So...

Skirt - H&M

Leggings - Xhilaration

Boots - Thrifted

Necklace - Gift from Christina

A Red Rose

This is what I wore two days ago. Trying to keep to the girly-rocker look, and loving my new camera.

One of my best friends, Christina, got home from college for Christmas break this week. I am ecstatic. I've really missed walking with her, and talking to her, and I've simply been wasting away for a good ol' photo shoot with her. Luckilly we are planning on remedying that next week, so stay tuned. I think it is going to turn out really well (that is if I can get the kinks in the outfits worked out...).

Dress - Thrifted

Tights - Merona

Boots - Charlotte Russe

Jacket - Wet Seal

Purse - Sonny Monroe Collection at Target

Sunglasses - Dollar General

Music Mondays - #4 Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sister's Mele Kalikimaka

Finally! My songs can go on the playlist again! About time, right?

Nothing says Christmas to me like Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. I've listened to them all my life, and have been able to recognize their music almost since I could talk. Mele Kalikimaka has always been one of my favorites of their songs. <3

The Birthday Girl Part Two

Close Up of My Makeup

Bruschetta

Since we will be out of town on my birthday, my parents and my sisters and I celebrated my birthday yesterday, instead. It was nice. I got to sleep in, have a cupcake for breakfast and open presents. My dear parents got me a new camera - a Nikon CoolPix L110 - and my little sisters got me a new card, and a really nice purple case for it. The camera is amazing. The pictures are so much bigger, and so much clearer than my old one, and the zoom lens is incredible. <3 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I'd rather been looking forward to seeing that, so I was very happy, and I'd finished the book just in time (last night) for it, too! And then,for a perfect ending to the day we had bruschetta for dinner, and watched the second episode of Sherlock before bed. <3

For this outfit I also wanted something fun, but in this outfit I went with brighter colors than the last outfit, and busier look as opposed to the very simple look of the last outfit. I really love this dress - especially with the hot pink ties in the back - but I felt a little uncomfortable with how short it was without black tights, so I layered it over an old white skirt I've had for years. I really liked the way it turned out - maybe not quite as much as I did without the skirt, but I haven't fully decided yet.

I think my two favorite parts of this outfit is the headband and the bracelets. I got the headband months ago, but this is the first time I've worn it. It so reminds me of a bow that would belong on top of a present - which is why I loved it for this outfit. I also love the bold statement of the three gold bracelets. Seriously. Those are awesome. <3

So what do you all think? What is your favorite part of this outfit? Comment and let me know!

Outfit Details:

Dress - Children's Section at Target

White Skirt - Merona

Jacket - Wet Seal

Tights - Kohls

Shoes - Xhilaration

Bracelets - Vintage necklace, thrifted chain bracelet, gifted flower bracelet

Green Necklace - Gift

Pink Heart Pendant - Bristol Renaissance Faire (gift)

Headband - Plato's Closet

The Birthday Girl Part One

So, my birthday is actually on the eighteenth, but today we had a birthday part my grandpa, my cousin, and myself (everyone on my mom's side of the family who has birthdays in December). We had lots of sweets (two cakes; a giant, frosted chocolate chip cookie; and cupcakes as well as ice cream). It was lots of fun.

I wanted something innocent and girly for the party - something about this birthday is making me feel like a little girl again. So I chose this purple skirt to start with - I got it a couple months ago, but hadn't found a good way to wear it yet. To add an even more of a girly flair about it I paired it with my pink cardigan, and added the pink flower to tie it all together. I rather like the effect.

Outfit Details:

Skirt - Thrifted

Shirt - Candies

Belt - Charlotte Russe

Flower - Charlotte Russe

Cardigan - Old Navy

Tights - Merona

Heels - Xhilaration

Bag - Sonny Monroe Collection at Target

A Birthday Present

Yesterday my birthday present to myself arrived. I love it. I love it. I love it. I need to have some quick alterations done before I can post pictures, but let me just say that this is by far my favorite outfit ever. I really hope you all like it,

Wish List Wednesday - Necklaces

Necklaces. Here's a hint of what you'll see in this post: I like gold, I like simple pendants, and I like really long chains. With that said, here is my necklace wish list:

Gettin' Hot Rod in Here Necklace: These days, there are only two things that can make me swoon - big dogs and old cars. Seriously. I especially love cars from the 50's. So when I saw this necklace, I knew I had to have it - and I will... someday...

Locket Like It's Haute: Another thing I like is lockets. Put this many together on a really long chain like that and it's just perfect. <3

Wear Wolf Necklace: I really love this pendant (for no particular reason) but I would definitely put it on a different chain since I don't really like ones that are that short.

This Is Totally a Pipe Necklace: For those days I feel like adding a little Holmes flair to my outfit. <3 style="font-style: italic;">Sherlock, the new Masterpiece Theater adaption of Sherlock Holmes, let me highly recommend it!)

Brobdingnag Locket: A rather large, very simple, versatile locket on a long chain. What's not to like?

Music Mondays - Enya's White is in the Winter Night

Enya again. You all are seeing first hand how she really is one of my favorite artists.



This song is also from her Christmas album (and also not on playlist.com) and it's one of my favorites. My little sisters and I love singing along with it when we make pierogis for Thanksgiving each year. I hope you like it too.

Downtown Chic

Yesterday a little dream of mine came true. One of my outfits was featured on the Chictopia Style Gallery. And with 110 page views, my blog set a new record. Thanks so much to everyone who made yesterday such a great day! You all are awesome!

So, I have two new pieces in this outfit. I got the tights and sunglasses two days ago. I am so in love with the tights. They are knitted and so thick and warm. <3>

Special thanks to my mom for helping me get the pictures when we went out to breakfast today!

Outfit Details:

Skirt - H&M

Shirt - Xhilaration

Cardigan - Old Navy

Tights - Merona

Belt - Thrifted

Flower - Charlotte Russe

Heels - Xhilaration

Bag - Sonny Monroe Collection at Target

Sunglasses - Xhilaration

Sugar-Plum Fairy in Socks

We got snow today!! :D It even stuck to the ground! Granted it didn't amount to anything measurable, but still.

This outfit came together rather interestingly... I decided to layer this dress over my bell-sleeved turtleneck sweater, only one of my beloved pairs of black tights got a hole in the two a few days ago - and I can't find the other pair. (O.o) So all I had was a pair of leggings, which would have worked with my boots, but I didn't want to wear my boots today. So, instead, I borrowed a pair of my mom's patterned socks and tried my hand at layering socks and tights. And then I thought the flower would help pull the look together, and the hat - well, I just wanted to wear the hat. I actually like the look without it best, but like I said: I wanted to wear it.

This also my first time wearing socks with heels. Usually I can never get a look I like. >.<>

Also, I am switching to bigger pictures, so you can see them better. What do you think? I like it loads more!

Outfit Details:

Dress - The Gap

Turtleneck - Thrifted

Leggings - Target

Socks - Talbots (borrowed from my mom)

Shoes - Xhilaration

Belt - Thrifted

Flower - Charlotte Russe

Hat - Merona

Locket - Thrifted