Dress by ASTR at Nordstrom | Necklace by J. Crew

This season of my life has been filled with so much joy. Things I once prayed, yearned and desired for so greatly in my heart have come to reality in ways I would've never imagined and in such abundance.  I feel like I've gained so many genuine friends and engaged in such wonderful relationships in such a short period of time. Truly a rush of grace and favor has come upon my life. I've been asked to partake in projects I never would've even imagined I would have the opportunity to do. I've felt that my opinion, my effort, and my work has been desired and cherished. And though I'm not really someone who has ever looked to man for approval, it's a nice feeling. I've been able to collaborate, contribute, listen, share, pray, think, empathize, and grow.  It's absolutely amazing how God delivers. 

In this period, I've found at times that you don't need to have an explanation for everything. If you're joyful, it's okay to take time out to simply be. To simply be happy and to enjoy life just because. Just because I feel like it, just because God's grace moves me, just because life is good. Like sit and paint outside, or get myself a frappuccino with caramel and mocha AND a shot of expresso, or to go out of my way to serve or give or share love and compassion with someone. This weekend, before one of my best friend Esther's birthday dinner's, was one of these times I wanted to do something just because. I asked my best friend Thuy-An if she would wanted to go take pictures in a field before we headed downtown, to which she graciously agreed, with heart eyed emojis and everything! The sun was setting so we parked and ran across a few lanes of traffic to frolic in some wheat and catch some warm rays.

Clean Lines + Smooth Times

Madewell blazer | BR similar denim | similar wedges | BR similar oversized t | Daddy's raybans

Let's face it. Sometimes life is truly a breeze. You're finally pursuing the things that drive your passion, you're getting recognized for your hard work, you're growing in areas you've prayed for, and things finally seem to be falling into place. And then there are times in life when things feel a little rocky. It may be your organizational skills, study habits, your quiet time, a relationship, or maybe something internal.

Growing up, whenever I was faced in a difficult situation, my mother would pray over me and then always say to me "Mind over matter, Kelsey. Mind over matter." And though that was probably the very last thing I wanted to hear, sometimes it was the very thing I needed to. 

An Upcoming Fall Fashion Soiree

So life can be whimsical, wonderful, overwhelmingly great, overwhelmingly stressful, but rarely mundane. If life is mundane you're doing it wrong. I'm positively sure of it because there are too many amazing things in this world for you not to be excited about something! If it's stressful, you may ALMOST be doing it right, but may need to scoot some things off your plate, get a sense of what items you find irresistible and want more of, which you might not want to go back for seconds to get, and what proportions work best for you. Food analogies are my favorite if you can't tell... I will try to work food into nearly any situation... bacon.

Which is totally where I'm at right now - not with bacon, but the rest of that paragraph. I know what I like and what I dislike. I like interacting with people who are passionate, who also like interacting with people, and who like to make working fun. I like people who focus on the positives, but who are also willing to be real and express a frustration or concern now and then. I like writing and painting and drinking tea outside. I like reading my Bible and realizing what a doofus I've been and how great people are and how good I have it. I like Jesus and how great He is. I like the fall, the warm air and the cool breezes. I like layering, the cozy color palettes and dark hues, slipping into something comfy and cute. I like the changing colors and all the frozen frapps I can't seem to get enough of each weekend. I like small gatherings, warm hugs, and smiling faces. And last but not least, I'd really like to see you this Thursday if you can make it! I will be hosting a little event in Via C at Nordstrom at NorthPark. There will be great people, sweet treats, killer tunes, and overall it will be a pretty darn neat time. Stop by between 6 and 8 to meet me and awesome new people, chat, shop, take a few pics with me or in the photo-booth and have a great time!

I would so love to see you guys there! Hope you can make it out :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Fall...

On Friday, fall hit us. Hard. Giving us a break from the hot hot, all encompassing heat and possibly ushering in an early winter. In Texas's temperamental weather, there's no guarantee how long it will stay, but with the damp air, the cool breezes, and the number of hot drinks pumped out at Starbucks today, I'd say fall is definitely among us and winter is probably quickly following suit.

I have been super overwhelmed these past few... weeks and sometimes it becomes easy to feel misunderstood. And as odd as it sounds to me, nature has been a place in which I've felt peace. Sitting on the porch, walking across campus, down the street, shooting in parks, at the water, whatever. It's been so nice to just take moments to experience peace.

A fashion post? What?! I know.

So I've been hanging out with my dear friend Tiana, quite a bit recently and let me tell you, this girl has serious style. I'm pretty shocked I haven't included any of our escapades on the blog yet! I'll have to fix that soon. Each time we hang out, we are always up to something creative, snapping photos, arranging items, "elegantly" stuffing our faces, laughing at the ridiculous things that come out of our mouths & striking up conversations with strangers. But in all seriousness, being around her not only encourages me to be kinder and to love on others really well, but also to actually try with my appearance. Now don't get me wrong, I do make an effort to make myself presentable everyday, but in general I'm just extraordinarily lazy when it comes to it. I usually don't like matching and I'll throw on a bag and shoes that will round out an overall feel of an outfit instead of trying to put pieces together that really work. And then I'll grab whatever accessories I have laying around and voila! So it usually takes me about 2-5 minutes to get dressed, including scouring the area for something that I don't have to iron. My mentality is that your attitude contributes to your overall look a lot as well. So I just put together whatever I feel like and then believe I can pull it off haha. However, for this special blog post, I figured I would throw in a little more effort and show you guys a few different ways I would style a black leotard. I wanted to make this fun, so I figured I'd go for a few different looks. One out for a casual brunch downtown, one for a concert and one out for a night on the town with friends.


out for brunch

"My insides are crying!!!"

So this week's post is just going to be kind of backwards, for the sake of my desires!

Yesterday afternoon, our awesome friend Erika (featured above) took some photos for Victoria and I to display our our website! She knows her way around the camera pretty darn well (which I suppose she should considering we used to take pictures together!) Especially because she's a Nikon (or used to be, even though she's a Canon at heart) and Victoria and I are both Canons :)

 Also, she's an incredible makeup artist, so hit her up! We stocked her up with our gear, adjusted the settings, and put her critical eye to the test to capture some great shots for us! And ummm duh, she delivered.

Well, maybe after this one. Some things you just can't help...

And so it begins....

she's so gorgeeeous!!!

Afterwards, we took a brief trip down the road to Chocolate Secrets, this adorable chocolate shop with live jazz music at night and a beautiful array of liquor infused chocolates and delectables.

  

 We grabbed an assortment of beautifully marbled pieces and bought our first bottle of pinot noir as a gift for the birthday man! We also got to hear a few initial moments of the jazz musicians before we headed off to a  surprise party for the husband of a friend of Victoria's, not to mention another amazing photographer, Heather.

We had to explain our connections to the couple so many times, but basically we second shot a wedding for a photographer who referred Victoria to help second shoot for another photographer named Heather, who's a second shooter for another photographer, when she can't be there. So Victoria began second shooting for Heather and has kept in touch with her and I even met Heather at the Bell Jar Prom we attended a few months ago. Ultimately, Heather invited Victoria and alas, we end up at the party, despite Victoria's apparent fear of strangers haha.

Pretending to snap a photo of Victoria, so I could at least show a snippet of how beautiful this place is hahaha.

Once we arrived in the building, it was like we stepped into an alternate universe. And even more so once we stepped into the apartment. Imagine an urbanized Friends apartment, meets the apartment in New Girl, with a rustic and industrial twist. Basically, it was spacious, artistic, and gorgeous. I probably gawked over the apartment for the first 20 minutes we were there, which ultimately kept us away from meeting all of the amazing people at the party that were even MORE gawk worthy. Like seriously, we were in the presence of photography royalty. I really wanted to ask everyone for pictures with them, but didn't want to make my age (or lack of worthiness) even more apparent. 

Korena, Victoria, Heather & I! They are such lovely ladies! Instax picture snapped by Rocky Garza!

It was so beautiful to be in a room surrounded by creatives. Literally, each person we engaged in conversation with was doing something creative and amazing. Something that creative people must take for granted is that constant environment. I remember last week standing in a room full of business professionals feeling so misplaced. I just knew it felt wrong and honestly thought to myself about how this isn't how it should be for something I'm meant to do for the rest of my life. And then came last night -- I felt so comfortable and ultimately felt really understood. And in turn I felt like I really understood their concerns and their desires. I don't know. As cheesy as it sounds it was really like seeing a piece of their hearts. It's beautiful how passionate people can become about their art and how much of the world it can open you up to. So basically Victoria and I were in a room full of people who were living our dream lives. GAWKING.

Everyone was SOOO beautiful and sweet and open with us. I was absolutely overwhelmed by how incredible everyone was and thus I coined the term "My insides are crying!!!" because as strange as it may be, I never cry tears of joy. But, it felt like I was crying... even though physical tears were not present. 

Victoria, on the other hand, most likely went home and cried real tears. And oh my goodness, as if we weren't already on Cloud 9 some not so shabby (meaning actually really cute) fellows complimented us on the way out for being beautiful haha. Goes to show happy girls are the prettiest ;)

Another thing that made me cry on the inside this week? ONE REPUBLIC'S NEW ALBUM. If you know me, or have known me for like... more than a month, then you probably know about my love of One Republic. So when I finally got the deluxe version of my boys' new album I literally couldn't contain my excitement... i.e., snapchatted pictures of it TO EVERYONE. And bought it for my mentee... And Victoria and I listened to them on the way to and from Dallas.... I mean, helllllooooo. They're wonderful.

YET THE AWESOMENESS CONTINUES.

This Tuesday, Emily actually got to come to Bible study! ANDDDD Thuy-an got baptized!!! Which is amazing :) So excited. So happy! SO WONDERFUL!

I was happy to get to reconnect with my girls afterwards, and to have the opportunity to catch up with a couple friends throughout the week as well. Even though I had like 3 yucky exams this week, it ended up being so awesome and wrapped up really well. I had an amazing week and now I cannot wait until next week and the next and the next and the next leading up to graduation. Soooo many awesome things are in store, I'm so excited :3

I also got $50 for taking an assessment exam.... so that was awesome. And after I left the room, the world appeared to be so beautiful hahaha so here's a photo I snapped leaving COBA.

So on a closing note, here's a few pictures that at least made me laugh...

I thought this was going to be a snapchat. Hahaha, ah the wonders of technology.

Here's Erika on her victory stump!!! Though it doesn't look like it'd be difficult to reach, it was a struggle, for suuuure. Quite steep, actually.

Namaaaasteeee!

Me: Omg, I can't deal with you. Victoria: WHAAAAAAAA?!

 Gotta love your friends. Like seriously, I have the best friends ever. I'm SOOO fortunate and grateful for everyone in my life. And everyone who reads my blog, oh my goodness, it's crazy that people will read my jumbled rambles. Y'all are so wonderful. <3

I hope everyone has an absolutely AMAZING Easter and is ready for my presence on social media once again ;)

Happy New Years Everyone!

I decided to start out this New Years with a new blog! I will be posting about everything from food to faith to fashion. Basically just a blog about life and appreciating it! This first post of the new year will be about my new years outfit. Please excuse the low quality images. My mother was my photographer for the day and calling her rusty would be an understatement because that would suggest she was once fully functioning with the device.

Today, my attired was decked out in Gap from shoulders to ankles! Gap always has wonderful sales, especially during the holiday season, so make sure to take advantage of this! Sometimes sale items are even an additional 50% off. I got a great deal of steals this past year!

My Steve Madden wedge pumps that I adore oh so much:

My charm bracelet that I've had since elementary school! Gentlemen, sisters, whoever, this is a great gift to give someone you care for. It's a way they can document their life as they journey through it! You can add charms as different things change in your life. It compliments almost any outfit (I almost never take mine off other than the occasional days when I wear gold and sometimes not even then!) and it's also a great conversation starter. I'd definitely look into getting this gift for someone if you're still a bit behind on your gift giving.

My purity ring that reads: True Love Waits and my James Avery heart link ring below it. I wear these two every day as well. They serve as not only a reminder for me but also, I love how they look stacked together.

And then, here's just a taste of what it's like to do a photoshoot with my mother. At first I'm just asking her to stop, but as time goes on, I can't help but laugh haha.

Yeah... I lost my composure a bit. And yeah, it's about time to take the Christmas tree down... But here's to a happy 2012! Hope you all have a wonderful New Years <3