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. ♥

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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! ♥

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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!

Lovely Friends

This month I have some super awesome sponsors to share with y'all! I just love Sarah's balloon-themed photoshoot, and ModCloth's newest road trip lookbook is making me wish I had a pickup and could go driving off right now! ♥

Blog :: FaceBook :: Twitter

Website :: FaceBook :: Pinterest

Blog :: FaceBook :: Twitter

 Website :: FaceBook :: Blog

Mother's Day // Daily Outfit + Little Adventures

On Mother's Day my family has a tradition of making my mom brunch, and then going antiquing in some of the little towns out west of us. This year was no exception, except that it was bitterly cold! (Ok, "bitterly" might be a bit of an exageration, but low fifties in the middle of May is pretty stinkin' cold for Chicago land!) There's an ice cream stand that offers free ice cream to mothers on Mother's Day out in one of the little towns, so we always go there for ice cream, and this year we got hot dogs and fries as well - it was delicious!

The night before I had a mini-fit because I had no idea what to wear (sometimes I take things like clothes a little too seriously) but I ended up deciding on my little shop-printed dress, since it seemed apropriate. *winks* I even added my Gettin' Hot Rod in Here necklace from ModCloth, so there's a car to drive on the roads! I know, I know, I'm really lame, but I don't care.

Mother's Day is one of my favorite holidays. We get to spend a lot of good, family time together, and show my mom how special she is to us. It's been an especially special holiday to me the last couple years, since I've realised just how much I owe to her. I honestly wouldn't be the person I am today without my mom. I love you, mom!

P.S. Check out my FaceBook page to see what my littlest sister did while my mom was taking my outfit photos!

xo,
Katie

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dress: made by Molly

belt: Plato's Closet
JC Litas: Urban Outfitters

cardigan: Maurice's

necklace: ModCloth

tote bag: ModCloth
jacket: Old Navy via Ebay

Experimenting with Freelensing // Photography Post

Last weekend while I was hanging out with Molly, we decided to head to the park and play with our cameras + my new lens (guess who finally got the 18-55mm!). While we were there I decided to try out some freelensing with a lens I had for the film camera I used for Molly's graduation pictures.

These definately aren't the best freelensing shots known to mankind, but considering that this was my first attempt and I didn't even do any research on it before hand, it could have turned out worst. *winks*

Have any of you ever tried freelensing or select focus lens like the Lensbaby Spark? Do you have any tips? I really love this style and want to experiment with it more in the future!

I Hope Your Dreams Stay Big // Daily Outfit

Well if you plan to motor west  

Just take my way it's the highway that's the best 

Get your kicks on Route 66

~ Route 66 by Chuck Berry

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope your work week is going well so far! It's nice to be home and settling back into the norm after a drama-filled weekend with the fam.

While I was out of town this weekend Molly and I had a great talk about finding the balance between being practical, and yet not giving up on our dreams at this delicate time of our lives, and it made me realize something. I want to travel. I've wanted to for years, but lately I've been trying to stuff the idea down because it seemed so impossible. But now... now I have a plan.

I'm currently saving up for a pickup truck that I hope to get by the end of the year (prayers much appreciated!) after that I'm going to dive head first into saving up for a vintage trailer - another of my teenage-long dreams, and after I get that, I hope to have it in working order and have enough money saved up for a trip along the course Route 66 took: all the way from Chicago out to L.A.. It's been a dream of mine for years and I don't want to get married and settle down without being able to say that I at least tried to make that trip happen. How sad would that be?

So that's my plan, and I'm really excited! I know it's kind of a long shot, but I'm going to do my best to make it happen! Life's no fun if we can't dream, right?

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dress: Dahl Clothes

Converse: the Forest Bootery

denim jacket: Old Navy via Ebay

title: My Wish by Rascal Flats