Bubbles and Brunch

Last weekend my lovely cousin, Molly came up for a visit. She and my sister - Maddie - spent Friday night through Sunday at my apartment, and we spent most of Saturday exploring downtown Kenosha. There's still a lot we didn't get to, but I was glad we got to check a few things off my list of places to explore.

We got breakfast at Common Grounds coffee, and then took a nice long walk around the harbor. It's so pretty! Growing up on of my favorite books was Anne of Green Gables. For those of you that don't know, Anne lives on Prince Edwards Island. So when I lived with my parents, I loved that I could say I lived in a harbor town - even if it was an industrial harbor - but now my new town actually has a cute harbor area with coffee shops and restaurants and piers to walk on! There's even a vintage trolley where I took some of my graduation photos three years ago. I'm so excited to have this all so close to my home, and I'm going to try to stay really busy with it all this summer. I want to go to the beach, try some of the new restaurants near me, and take lots of pictures!

I know that every year I say "I think this is going to be a good summer!" but this time I know it will be, because I'm going to make it one.

Speaking of Anne of Green Gables, though - who else out there was sent into "the depths of despair" to hear about Jonathan Crombie's passing?? He brought such life to the character of Gilbert Blythe; and was such a talented actor, I know he will be so missed. RIP Gil.

Outfit Details:

shirt - Francesca's :: jeans - American Eagle Outfitters :: cardigan - Forever 21 :: shoes - Me Too :: purse - Francesca's :: necklace - gift from Maddie

Loving Him was Red // What I Wore

{jeans//American Eagle Outfitters :: sweater//Francesca's :: army jacket//borrowed from my roommate :: scarf//Francesca's :: boots//Sorel :: purse//Francesca's :: necklace//Francesca's}

This purse and scarf have quickly become two of my favorite autumn accessories. The (teeny tiny!) size of this purse is a nice change of pace from my usual, bulky Mary-Poppin's bag; and this sweater seriously feels like wearing a blanket around my neck. It's so warm and cozy!

This outfit is super simple and casual - so different from what I was wearing last year! Like I said in my farewell post on Beautifully Pure, I was trying so hard to be one of the "cool kids"/hipsters last year. I know I talked a lot last year about how my confidence had grown, but that was nothing compared to how I feel now!  God has really worked in my life the last year, though, and I've let go of all that and am happy just being myself - as a result I'm drawn to more minimalist, comfy-casual but chic outfits.

Honestly, how I've dressed in the past has really been a bit of a mask. I felt that I needed those a-line skirts to hide my tummy and big thighs and all those colors and makeup and lipstick to hide my under-eye circles and tired-looking eyes. Like I said, God has worked in me a lot this year. One of the most important things I've realized is that the people who love me will think I'm beautiful no matter what I wear, and the people that will criticize me don't matter.

And since we're talking about accepting my flaws - can we take a moment to appreciate how often I've been posting photos of me smiling with teeth!? That used to be something I was super self conscious about, but lately it doesn't bother me. Maybe it's the fact that I've recently realized that several of my friends hate their smiles, too, despite the fact that I think they look adorable smiling with teeth. Or maybe it's the fact that closed-mouth smile just can't express how unbelievably happy I am with my life right now. Who knows? Either way I'm happy to see myself making progress in this whole "self-love" thing. ♥

Let's Run, Not Walk, Through This Beautiful Life // What I Wore

{shirt//Target :: jeans//American Eagle Outfitters :: vest//Old Navy :: necklace//Francesca's :: ballet flats//Me Too :: purse//Francesca's :: sunglasses//H&M}

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  

This is a short race, this is a short life
Let's run, not walk, through this beautiful lifeThis is a good day, this is a good signYou've got green eyes and I've got sunrise
~ Talking Dreams by Echosmith
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  

Lately I just feel like I want to hang on to every single moment of life. Lol. How cheesy does that sound? When I was in high school I had this idea of what my life would be like when I graduated... and then it wasn't anything like that at all. It's taken a lot of pain, heartache and hard to work to get where I am now, but I'm finally starting to enjoy my life. I have good friends, a good church, a good job and I actually do more than sit in my room on the internet all day on my days off. I'm just really enjoying my life lately. ♥

This outfit is actually quite old. It's from last month when me and some of my BFF's went (or at least, attempted) to see Maleficent at the outdoor. Some car troubles and one week later we finally saw it in a regular theater. Lol. Oh well, it all worked out in the end. xo

Days are Good & That's the Way it Should Be // What I Wore

P

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  

I think the universe is on my side

Heaven and Earth have finally aligned

Days are good and thats they way it should be

~ Bright by Echosmith

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Am I the only one who feels like everyone is getting into relationships lately?? Miss Lauren of Someone Like You just recently a wrote a post about marriage/weddings and it - on top of all my friends newly changed FaceBook relationship statuses - has really got me thinking about the whole thing. One of these days I want to write a post about the whole "courtship vs dating" debate, but I don't want to get into that yet. 

I just always find it so interesting to hear people my age say they don't want to get married young - for as long as I can remember I wanted to be married young. My mom was married when she was 25 and had me immediately - and while I definitely don't always hold my parents' relationship as the ideal relationship, I know that I do want to have kids while I'm still young enough to run and play with them. 

After high-school all I wanted was a boyfriend. I was tired of being single and - quite honestly - just unhappy with my life and wanted a change. And then God changed my life. I can't explain it any better than just "God opened my eyes." I realized how miserable I was in my life and set about to change it. I started running, lost weight, got a better job, and just got happy with my life! All of a sudden I found that I didn't "need" a guy in my life as much as I thought I did. I found myself thinking that if it happened, great! But if not I'll be ok. I'm happy with who I am and where my life is going.

Having said that, I do still want to be married someday. I want that companionship and love and I still believe it exists (despite all the terrible examples I've seen and continue to see in my life). I also want to have kids, and I'm not about wasting my time in the mean time. I don't need a boy friend, but if I'm going to put time and effort into dating, it's going to be with someone who shares the same goals/values as me, and wants the same things I want in life. I don't need a boy friend, but if I'm going to have one it's not going to be just a fling. You know what I mean?

Anyway, those were just my late-night thoughts last night. I'd love to hear other thoughts on topic, so if you have any please comment and share them!