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

Blog Days of Summer Picnic

{photo credits to me, Katherine and Hannah, Sarah and Laura}

Phew! I've been slowly, but steadily going through all my photos from last weekend, and goodness, there are a lot! These are all the non-outfit photos from the Blog Days of Summer picnic last Saturday. It was held at Grand View Park in Pittsburgh, which is ridiculously hard to find using Apple Mapas, as Laura and I found out the hard way. Boo! Construction is what started it - we couldn't turn left where we needed to, and Siri could no for the life of us figure out how to route us around it. Add in a few extra long turns, and we ended up being lost for nearly two hours! Yeah, it was pretty much hell.

I (mistakenly) thought that since I've been frequently driving in Chicago for the past year and half, that I was prepared to drive in any city, but Pittsburgh proved me wrong. Let's get one thing clear: I live in the prairie state. The prairie state. And while my aunt and uncle's ranch in Missouri has made me accustomed to driving on hills out in the back woods, driving on San Fransisco-like hills in the city was a totally new experience for me! And then with the whole Siri thing, the whole "driving in Pittsburgh" part of the trip was just miserable! Laura and I didn't get anywhere on time except brunch on Sunday. Way to go, us! *sarcasm*

Later this week I'll share some proper outfit photos from the picnic, including one of my favorite ModCloth dresses. Eep!

Hope all of y'alls week is starting out well, and good luck to all who start school today! I'm really excited for life to get back to normal. :)

(P.S. Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words about my re-brand! All the lovely comments/Instagram comments have seriously made my week. ♥)

Cocaine Blues // What I Wore

Hello, all! Goodness! It feels like forever and a day since I've posted! I can't believe how crazy work has been lately, not to mention I've been in a bit of a lull lately - this is the first time I've felt really happy wearing a dress in I can't remember how long!

Speaking of this dress, I'm so glad Emily talked me into buying it! It's so pretty and I love the cut-outs in the side! For $14 it was a total steal! I'm so excited to take it to Pittsburgh next week for the Blog Days of Summer!! (Heck! I'm just plain excited to take a trip without any parents!) It'll be so much fun to meet Sarah, Katherine, Hannah, Lauren, and all the other gals!

In other news, I have some big changes for this blog upcoming in the next few weeks that I'm really excited about, so keep your eyes out for that!

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: Francesca's Collections

belt: Talbots

bandeau: Coobie Bra via Forest Bootery

shoes: FitFlops

necklace: vintage

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

Taxi Down the Street // Daily Outfit + Small Adventures

After working six days in a row, I finally had a day off, and what better way to spend a day off than browsing around Wicker Park in Chicago? It was a really lovely day - the weather was pretty good, albeit a little cold; and I even managed to park! (Parking in Chicago is one of my biggest fears.)

One of the biggest reasons I decided to drive all the way up to Wicker Park was so I could stop by the Buffalo Exchange, which is basically a really nice, upper-end resale shop. They sell gently used clothing along with vintage clothing. I've only been there a few times, but I usually find at least one nice piece. This time it was this adorable pair of shorts. They fit great (a rarity for me when it comes to shorts!) and are the prettiest color of brown leather. I was a little unsure of them at first, to be honest, because of the leather, but after texting Lauren, Amber, Sarah and Emily for advice, and getting back a bunch of "yes!" texts (Amber's wins best text: "Life without those shorts is an abomination." Lol!) I took the plunge. Twenty-seven dollars for a pair of Top Shops shorts!? Yes please!

Afterward I picked up a couple other small pieces + a soap cupcake from Mojo Spa for Maddie, I grabbed a thing of green tea froyo from iCream (not the best flavor out there, but it wasn't bad), took some outfit photos in front of this gorgeous flowering tree, and headed home. All in all it was a great, albeit tiring day!

Did any of you do anything interesting with your day off this past week?

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: Francesca's Collections

jacket: Old Navy via Ebay
shoes: Xhilaration via thrift store

necklace: flea market

bag: Jo Totes

lipstick: Kat Von D Foiled Love in Valentine
title: Metropolis by Owl City