Coastal Cottages

I'm back! I have been absent for far too long, but I'm back and here to stay. I took a break before because my computer was pretty much broken and the next week I was in Georgia for spring break. I was so happy that I was able to use the warm weather and beautiful landscape to shoot many outfit posts and overall just take pictures. Let me just say this spring break was pretty much amazing. I'm so grateful for this fabulous trip and all of the time I got to spend with family and friends. My family rented a house along with our family friends and I brought along my good friend gKe. We traveled to the beautiful Sea Island, GA. Sea Island is one of my favorite destinations to vacation. The island is truly beautiful and is super nautical and preppy. We stayed at a beautiful beachside cottage (although I wouldn't say it's a cottage because it was huge). And our house was among many beachside cottages in this location. I guarantee you will fall in love with all of these colorful beachside beauties.

PS stay tuned to my blog because there's plenty coming soon! gKe and I did plenty of photo shoots and there's a recap video coming soon! Stay tuned!

And I'm Off!

Today I'm headed to Sea Island, Georgia! I couldn't be more excited for warm weather and a fabulous time. It might be rainy (fingers crossed it's not), but still that beats the freezing cold! I can't wait to be wearing plenty of my new spring clothes and break out the beach attire. Also, it only helps that I'm going on spring break with one of my besties! I can't wait for tons of fun! 

But wait, there's more. I'm going to have plenty of different backgrounds to shoot outfit posts so hopefully I'll do a few of those. Don't hold me to it though...I'm not very good at keeping promises. But, I hope I can follow through with this one. 

XO, Kate

Week Recap + Links

Whew--this week has been a tough one, but at 3:04 on Friday I'm officially on spring break! I can't wait to just relax and have no worries at all! School hasn't been especially straining on me recently, but it's still nice to have a break from sitting in the boring classroom. 

I have my second badminton match tomorrow and I'm so excited! Too bad my doubles parters, and best friend Paige is on her way to Rome...or London (she's headed to both and I'm not sure where to first), but I have a temporary doubles partner for this match. Badminton may seem like such a loser-ish sport, but honestly it's a lot of hard work. It's a ton of fun though! I love playing the sport and even the practices are super fun. We had a match on Monday as well and we beat the team 15-0. In case you were wondering badminton is played in singles and doubles and you play agains the opposing team in games to 21 and it's the best out of 3. If you win the match then your team gets a point. So basically, we won every match in that game. 

And it only helps that all of the girls on badminton are so much fun to be around!!!

Also, I leave on Saturday for Georgia! I couldn't be more excited for warmer weather and just fun times! I am so excited for this upcoming week. Tonight is going to be a bit hectic with a badminton match right after school, going to my aunt's house for my cousin Jack's birthday (happy 18th Jack!!!) and packing for the week I think I left way too much to do for tonight. But, even if I get little sleep (we're leaving at 4 a.m. on Saturday), I can sleep all day in the car. 

I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend and here are some links that I've been loving!

-25% off your purchase at J.Crew! I think it's time to go spring shopping!!

-Check out the adorable new arrivals from Kate Spade

-An extra 30% off sale items is being offered at Vineyard Vines

Hope you guys have an amazing weekend?

How was your week?

XO, Kate

Spring Cleaning

For me spring is the perfect time of year. Everything turns pretty, the clothes are fabulous and... spring cleaning. I don't really like spring cleaning in my entire house (my mother gets a bit OCD about cleaning), but cleaning my room is definitely always a good thing. My room is my sanctuary, but it gets super messy super easily. I think that spring cleaning this year is essential though. This winter has been very rough on my room and I think the main thing I need to do is organize. Organization is truly the key to success and I think if everything has a place it can keep my room so much cleaner and make my life so much easier!

I think purchasing some containers that correspond with my room design would be a great idea. Bins and containers are a great way to de-clutter the entire space. I think I need shelving as well. I have absolutely no shelving in my room...oops. 

Do you enjoy spring cleaning?

XO, Kate

5 Tips for Natural Beauty

Ever feel like you wake up looking like a monster? I know with a hectic week in school it's sometimes hard to even look presentable at school. I'm all for the leggings and t-shirt look, but also sometimes I just look a mess when I wake up. I'm insanely jealous of those that can just crawl out of bed in the morning looking flawless. I know that I wish I looked like Blair Waldorf when I wake up--she always looks flawless! Now, everyone has flaws, but there are measures that can be taken so that you can wake up beautiful. I don't mean for this to be cliché, but don't we all want to be able to roll out of bed and look great? 

Here are my top 5 tips on how to wake up beautiful.

1. Get your beauty sleep. I know that with an intense work week it's usually hard to get the full 8 hours of shut eye, but do your best to make up for your lost sleep. If I plan out my night ahead of time saying what time I want to get to bed it helps me manage getting my homework done, along with eating dinner and having a bit of wind down time. Getting more sleep gives your body time to replenish and repair and it helps keep your skin looking great.

2. Eat healthy. This might be obvious to many, but eating healthy vastly helps improve your overall complexion. And this is a huge timesaver in the morning. If you can skip the 15 minutes of makeup application, you can have more sleep time! Also eating healthy foods can better help regulate sleep and not having sugar rushes. 

3. Drink water! I know, I know, everyone tells you this, but seriously drink water! Water is helpful to your body in so many ways and it is so beneficial to stay hydrated. Staying hydrated helps eliminate headaches, keeps your digestive system moving, clears skin, rids the body of unwanted toxins and is overall just plain good for you. (And, quit it with the sugary drinks. I definitely have a problem with sipping Gatorade or Sprite, but water is so much better! I'm definitely trying to cut back. A great tip is to always just get water at restaurants. It saves you money and saves your teeth from the sugar).

4.  Prep your skin. I know that we high schoolers especially struggle with having perfect skin. My skin is far from perfect, but there are measures that I take to have my skin looking the best that it can when I wake up. Use a spot treatment for any blemishes that have popped up and the treatment will help the blemish decrease in size or even disappear overnight. Use a light moisturizer meant for your skin type overnight as will. Your skin will be sure to thank you! 

5. Take time to relax before bed. With the hustle and bustle of a hectic day it's sometimes hard to take that special time to wind down and just relax. This time isn't necessary every day, but taking time to relax every couple nights. Taking this time will help you sleep better and wake up in a brighter, more cheerful mood. And happy girls are the prettiest. 

What are your tips to waking up beautiful?

XO, Kate

Update + Where Have I Been?

Wow--it seems like forever since I actually sat down and wrote a blog post. So where have I been? Well, my laptop was having major malfunctions. Every time my computer was on the fan was making outrageous noises. It basically sounded like there was a disc in my computer and that it didn't want to play. But, there was no disk. Anyways, I took my laptop to the Apple store on Sunday and they were so helpful! They checked out my computer and realized that it was the fan that was malfunctioning. They took my computer in and fixed it in less than 24 hours, now that's service! Anyways, I'm so happy to be posting again. 

So over the weekend was the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago. And let me just say St. Patrick's Day used to be my holiday. I was an Irish Dancer for 7 years and St. Patrick's Day was a huge holiday for us dancers. I was always so busy around the St. Patrick's day season going to so many shows. Well, those days have come and gone, but my mother was invited to a lovely brunch at the Trump for St. Patrick's Day so of course she let me come! And bring one of my best friends, Jane! Jane and I were both Irish Dancers so it was a bit of nostalgia being back at the parade (although it was a lot different watching it than being in it). Here's a little recap. 

 We had to take a couple shots on this location because the views are absolutely stunning! The Trump has the perfect view of the river and it was fabulous to see the river being dyed! 

 Sorry for a bit of a glare, but I wanted to show you the green river! The river usually has a green tint, but on St. Patrick's Day they dye it a bright green!

And lucky us, Vineyard Vines was having an event on the same day as the parade! They were supposed to have a shipment of sunglasses come in for the event, but sadly the shipment didn't come in! Luckily my mom made friends with some of the workers and managed to snag Jane and I sunglasses. And this makes 2 for my Vineyard Vines whale hat collection! It was pretty much my life goal to get one and now I have 2! At Vineyard Vines I also managed to exchange and purchase something. I ordered a Shep shirt online, but it was the wrong size so they ordered it in the store for me. And I ordered a t-shirt online, but they sold out of it. But, now I am the current owner of this t-shirt and my adorable Shep shirt is on it's way!

So, just to update you...I was gone, but I'm back! And here to stay! More posts are coming soon and I leave for spring break on Saturday and I'm going to shoot so many outfit posts in Georgia! 

I couldn't be happier that I'm back! I missed you all!

XO, Kate

St. Patrick's Day

It's St. Patrick's Day! I hope you all have a fun day filled with everything green! St. Patrick's Day used to be a huge season for me because I was an Irish Dancer, but now it's pretty much just a day I spend with my family and eat some green foods. I think that this recipe below would be such a fun treat to share with family and friends and it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day!

I hope you have a super fun St. Patrick's Day!

XO, Kate

Maxi + Midi

I've always been a fan of the mini skirt just because I think that it is a classic piece. I have a mint one that I think is the perfect color and it goes with so much. Also, minis are a perfect way to show off those legs! But, I've seen some pretty stylish maxis (skirts and dresses!) and midis that have been coming into trend. I think the maxi trend is finally starting to grow on me and I may take a chance and purchase one. The midi is still just "so so" in my mind. I think I need a bit more convincing to really like the midi skirt.

Do you like maxis and or midis?

XO, Kate

Throwback to Warm Weather

I am in desperate need of warm weather. Spring break is coming up soon and I'm pumped! I have absolutely no "winter" clothes. I can deal with fall (although I don't love the season, I like it a whole lot more than winter), but I hate winter. Every time on the news they announce more snow to come (even in March!!!) and I just stare at my parents and ask, "Why do we live here?!" Last year I left the cold for sunny LA and then was home for 3 days and then left for Mexico! Easily the best 10 days of my life! 

With the freezing weather, I've been reminiscing on the fun summer days and reminding myself of how much I long for summer. Over the summer I went to Lake Elkhart with my family and I'm so excited because we're heading back this summer as well! Here's some throwback photos of the trip.

Are you eagerly waiting for warm weather?

XO, Kate

Living Space

I always talk about moving to Los Angeles when I get older and I seriously can't wait to have a space all my own. There definitely is a lot more stress in owning a space of your own. You have to pay for everything and there's not always cheap items that you can include. Yet, that hasn't stopped me from imagining what my future apartment will look like...

 I think one of the essentials for my future apartment would be a bar cart. I think bar carts are perfectly chic and a great way to display drinks and bar accessories. I also love the idea of an adorable printout that says "pop fizz clink" and some DIY tassels. 

 In my future apartment I think the idea of white sheets and a white comforter looks amazing. And it leaves so much room to change up your style later on without having to do major construction. I think a foot bench and a blanket basket at the edge of the bed is a great way to use the wasted space in front of the bed. And monogram sheets? #ofcourse!

 Shelving is a must, especially when you're in a bit of a small space. I also love gold bookend accents that keep things organized on your shelves. Also, color coordinated storage bins are great for keeping things organized, or just shoving a bunch of clutter into and making it look pretty. 

 Chic books are the perfect way to play up the colors in your room. These pink and orange ones add a fun color flair. And fresh flowers look amazing stacked on the top!

I always remember going to my friend Jane's house and there were always so many different and interesting books stacked on the coffee table. I never really understood why, but now I absolutely love the look! And how can you not love the colored furniture in the background of this apartment!?

What will your apartment look like?

XO, Kate

Camera Pro

After contemplating, researching, saving and finally ordering my camera last summer I couldn't have been more psyched for it to come! I used it a lot over the summer in general, but recently I've been rarely ever using it. (If you're wondering I have the Canon EOS Rebel T3i). This was a rather expensive item and I feel badly that I don't use it to it's full extent.

Part of the reason being this: I don't quite know all the tricks to my camera. I know the classics, like black and white, different effects and flash vs. no flash. But, honestly there is so much more potential to a camera like this. I think I should take the time to become a "Camera Pro". I think that my camera will become much more useful if I actually learn how to properly take (dare I say) "professional looking" shots. I think having a quality camera is essential for a fashion blog because outfit posts are a must. I'm in dire need for outfit posts and don't fret because when spring comes I'll be all over those, but for now I think it's safe to say I should do my homework and learn a bit more about my camera!

Do you love your camera?

XO, Kate

Beautiful Blogs

I have an upcoming post taking about future blog design plans (eep!!!), but as for now I've been exploring through the wonderful world of blogging for inspiration as to what blog designs I truly do love. I've done quite a bit of exploring, and although nothing seems to fit me perfectly, I do admire many blogs! PS click the links to see the full blog design because I only featured the header.

Lemon Stripes // I personally love the mix of yellow and navy and I think this blog has such a colorful look. I love the simplicity of the two colors, but the yellow is so bright and the navy so dark and it gives a nice contrast.

The Skinny Confidential // This blog design incorporates peach, yellow and gray. The mix of the three colors is phenomenal, even though I would never guess the colors blend so well! I also love the use of geometric shapes in this blog design.

Bikinis and Passports // I absolutely love the baby pink with the gold and black in this blog designs. And I've always had a thing for incorporating more than one font into a blog header. The blog is so simplistic, yet so fabulous!

PS Happy Friday!

What are your favorite blog designs?

XO, Kate

Bright Lips

I've never been very into lipstick or lip color in general, but I've seen a lot of fun hues for the springtime. I think that a light pink lip color looks fabulous on so many skin tones and I'm thinking about purchasing a light pink lip color. I personally like lip stain better because it doesn't make your hair stick to it (like the dreaded lipgloss) or rub off on everything and get all over your teeth (lipstick). I've found so many perfect lip colors for the springtime and I thought they'd be perfect to share. 

What do you think of bright lips?

XO, Kate