time capsule

A few days ago I was reminiscing with my Grandmom about a basket of toys and activities she used to keep in her closet for whenever me or my brother visited her. It had some play food, card games, crayons, etc. and even though we go over my Grandmom's house multiple times each year I hadn't actually seen the basket since my little brother outgrew the toys inside.

I asked if she still had it, and she offered to give it to me and my brother if we wanted to come pick it up. So over the weekend we went over and sat on her floor, just like we did when we were little, and went through the basket. It was one of the most pure moments of fun I've experienced in my adult life. It's amazing how many memories just came rushing back to me, and how many things in the basket had slipped my mind until I saw them again. A green pitcher, a yellow canister filled with used crayons, a mini cardboard box of Reynold's aluminum foil, a 101 Dalmatians puzzle, a crazy eights card game with jungle animals on the cards, play food peas that snap into their pods.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of nostalgia. I love reliving my childhood and I am a big proponent of letting your childhood and adult life coexist in harmony. So this was very special to me. It was like opening a little time capsule! I'm just so glad that she saved everything.



Unrelated to what I've written here but very much related to my photos -- the necklace was a DIY project that me and my mom did last year for my New Order outfit. It mimics the color coded squares from the cover of the Power, Corruption, and Lies album! We made it out of wooden tile beads, wire, and paint and it's one of my favorite projects of all time :)

dress - modcloth (old) | shirt - vintage | shoes - bait footwear

necklace - diy | wig - keke wigs

laughter is the best medicine

The last several days have been very crummy, but today I'm going to see Jen Kirkman live and I am SO looking forward to laughing until my sides ache. If you're not familiar with her stand-up, I highly suggest checking out her specials on Netflix. Her newest one, Just Keep Livin?', was taped in New York last year and I was in the audience! They always tape more than one show (so they can edit together the best versions of the jokes) so I keep showing up and disappearing in the video. It's probably less noticeable when there isn't an audience member with bright pink hair in the front center lol ;D

Speaking of hair, I think it's safe to say I'm a wig convert now. I've been wearing this one constantly and I just feel SO much better about myself. I'm planning on keeping this up until the pixie grows out (and even then I might still keep it up because who doesn't love an instant good hair day?!) A few days ago I went to run errands and I got a lot of compliments on my "hair" though and I felt so awkward about it. Do I just blurt out "IT'S A WIG!" to strangers? That feels weird, but smiling and acting like it's actually my hair feels weird too. I don't know what the proper etiquette is here lol.

I will say though that I've watched a lot of youtube videos about how to wear wigs and make them look more like your real hair, and the best tip I've learned so far is to take dark eyeshadow and brush it into the roots to make it look like the hair is actually growing out of your scalp. Ever since I did that to this wig I feel like it's blended into my hairline better and it really does look like actual hair! I've also started styling mine more rather than just wearing it down, which feels more me-ish since I didn't used to wear my real hair un-styled when it was long. This week I styled it into a "half up- half down" do and have just kept it that way when I put it on my wig stand at night so I don't have to style it again the next day :)

dress - charlotte russe | cardigan - h&m | collar - asos

shoes - bait footwear | wig - keke wigs | heart pin set - my shop

bon voyage

I'm leaving for Paris in less than three weeks! eep! I have to say, I wish I could go back in time and hug 2016 Kate for treating 2017 Kate to a trip to France. (Although one could argue that if 2016 Kate had been more diligent about saving money instead of spending it on trips, 2017 Kate wouldn't have so much financial stress... hmm...) Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the trip. It's a joint 60th/30th birthday vacation for my mom and I. She hasn't been to Europe since before I was born, and I'm so excited about being able to take her back! We're planning on eating all the bread in the city and just taking it easy for the most part.. wandering around, stopping in a few museums, and just taking in the atmosphere :)

dress - vintage (another shop-my-closet keeper, ugh!)

shoes - bait footwear | wig - keke wigs

feel good movies

You know I love a good themed outfit, and this is one of my favorites because it's movie themed! Popcorn dress? Check! Movie camera purse? Check! Stack of DVDs to watch while I'm wearing said outfit? Check! ;)



I tweeted about this bag over the weekend and one of my friends saw the tweet and bought it for me as a gift! It's one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. I've had a lot of financial setbacks this year so I never imagined I'd actually get to own this bag when I saw it. I'm so grateful I can't even put it into words. Thank you, Amanda!!! :)

dress - folter clothing | shirt - asos | shoes - bait footwear

bag - modcloth | wig - keke wigs

leftovers

My last shop my closet sale didn't go over too well, but on the bright side I got to keep a lot of clothes that I would have been sad to part with, like this lilac/pink dress. I could have used the money a lot more than the dress, lol, but still it's nice to be able to wear it since it was one of my favorites. It's just such a pretty color and goes with a lot of the other separates in my closet.

It's funny though how there are always some leftover dresses in every sale, and I end up feeling bad for them, and start wearing them WAY more than I did before I put them in the closet sale. I feel like they have hurt feelings and deserve more love now. It's crazy. There are three dresses in particular (a blue/black striped dress, a coral and tan lace dress, and a white daisy print dress) that have been in three closet sales over the last few years and still never sold. I've reached a point where I decided they're never going back in a closet sale again, and I'm going to wear them ALL THE TIME to make it up to them, lol.

Anyway, speaking of closet sales -- my vintage sale on the Whurl app is live today! I posted about 20 dresses including some of my absolute favorites. I know I always say that but really, there's some goodies in there. Also Sam from Whurl posted an interview with me on her blog today, right here :)

dress - charlotte russe | shoes - asos

cardigan - oasap | wig - keke wigs

what a bigwig

What a difference a wig makes, huh? Is it weird that this feels more "me" than my real hair does right now? I've had this particular wig since I got my pixie cut earlier this year. I bought it as a just in case kind of thing, but didn't really end up wearing it much. I've been wearing it a lot more often lately, though, since my pixie has been feeling so meh. And I really love it! Honestly I'm a little tempted to just keep the pixie and wear the wig more often.. it's like an instant good hair day, every day! haha!

Also I'm so excited that I can still take outfit photos in front of my pink shelves! I was worried when I decided to move my desk that it would make this area too cluttered (or too close to the other side of my room where my camera sits) for me to still take pictures, but it worked! Not quite as flawlessly pretty as it was before, but I did always like having my work desk in my old outfit photos (pretty much all photos 2010-2014) so it's nice to return to that setup :)



If you're in the NJ area, I'll be doing a little pin/patch sale at the Red Bank, NJ Urban Outfitters tomorrow! The event is on 9/7 from 3-7pm and the theme is "denim customization" so you can bring your jean jacket and have it embroidered, add patches and pins, etc. It looks pretty cool! Hopefully I'll see some of you there :)

blouse - modcloth (old) | skirt - h&m (old) brooch - vintage

cardigan - trashy diva | shoes - bait footwear | wig - keke wigs