Current Favorites

Published on January 23, 2019 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

I can’t believe it’s 2019, and January is already almost over! Where has the time gone? If you’re anything like me, you probably started this year super motivated to make some lifestyle changes, like most people are at the beginning of a new year. However, the second I mess up or put things off for another day, I start to feel like a failure and tomorrow turns into next week or next month. I hate to say this, because it seems like lately everyone has their crap together, but I am a mess. I have sat down in an attempt to write this blog post several times over the past couple of weeks, but fear and anxiety of it not being good enough, kept me from accomplishing it and continuously putting it off.

But that’s not how I want my 2019 to go. So I’m going to focus on the positives today by sharing with you some of the things I have been loving lately. These things have inspired me, motivated me, and kept me entertained over the past couple of weeks.

Beauty Favorites

Silk Scarves: Vintage Jewelry and Hair Clips: Vintage Hair Care: Ouai

Since chopping my hair into a bob, learning how to manage and style my new haircut has been a journey. I love the length and color, I think it comes off super chic and fashionable. However, my hair tends to lay flat and sticks to my head like an unflattering helmet, so movement, texture, and volume have been my biggest hair goals.

Thanks to my Sephora Beauty Insider points, I was able to get my hands on some samples from the hair care brand Ouai, and they have been life changing to say the least. The samples included a leave in conditioner that makes my hair look soft and healthy, a finishing creme that cuts my drying time in half, a hair oil that adds the perfect amount of shine, and the texturizing spray that is like my favorite dry shampoo and hair spray had a baby. A combination of these products has helped me learn exactly how to style my hair into the wavy bob of my dreams. I may have to repurchase all of these products in full sized bottles (that is if funds allow).

Speaking of styling my new hair, I have been loving the vintage touch of hair accessories lately. Whether it be the hint of glamour with a bejeweled hair clip, or the flash of pattern with a silk hair scarf. I am all about accessorizing, and hair accessories are my latest obsession. I feel like they complete a look, and add a fashionable detail to even the plainest outfits.

Last on my Beauty Favorites list will come as no surprise to those that know me. I have not been able to stop wearing them. I’m talking about the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bombs. We all know that Kylie Jenner helped add to the hype of matte liquid lipsticks. I used to wear them religiously. After a while though I got sick of the drying damage it did to my lips. Thus Fenty Beauty lip glosses walked into my life, and changed it forever. Now hardly a day goes by that I don’t have one of the shades on my lips. They are the perfect product to layer over any lipstick to add some of that glossy, moisturizing shine. Plus they give me early 2000s vibes in the best way!

Fashion Favorites

If you follow me on Instagram, the items in this category will not surprise you at all because they have been repeatedly featured in my pictures. I never used to be a hat person. In fact, growing up I would always convince my mom to buy hats for me and then proceed to never wear them because “they didn’t look good on me.” I wanted to be the kind of person that looked good in hats, but I just wasn’t. That, however, has changed now. I’m not sure if it has more to do with my new hair cut and color, or the fact that I have grown into a much more confident adult, but I love wearing hats now. My absolute favorite hats are berets, but I also love my baker boy/newspaper boy hats. They add a finished look to a lot of my outfits, whether that be through a splash of color or pattern or just covering up my bad hair day.

Another Fashion Favorite of mine, as you can probably tell by the above photos, is my large, gold initial necklace. It’s almost an exact dupe for the old Celine one that everyone and their dog had late last year, but for a fraction of the price.

Speaking of fraction of the price, I have been super into thrifting lately! Not only is it great for the environment, but it’s great for the wallet too. I snagged this colorful Lucky Brand sweater while on vacation in Florida, and it has quickly become a staple in my winter wardrobe.

Another piece I haven’t been able to stop wearing? these wide leg, leopard print pants. I never would have thought that I’d fall in love with such a wild (ha, “wild” get it?) pair of pants, and yet here we are. They are beyond comfortable, and I feel amazing every time I wear them.

Although the blazer trend has been in the forefront of runways and street style alike, I was never one to hop on the train because I simply thought I didn’t look good in them. I would buy a professional looking blazer to wear to job interviews and the like, but then when I tried to style it any other way it just looked weird. Ever since, I had been on the hunt for a plaid blazer that I could wear everyday. Then I found this one, and the rest is history.

Last but not least is my new designer baby. This purse was a Christmas gift, and I couldn’t be more in love with it. The quality is amazing, it goes well with everything in my closet, and I know it is going to be a forever item. This is the first purse that I own that I would consider “designer” and I plan to treasure it. You can definitely expect that this won’t be the last time you see her. (Side note: I’ve noticed a lot of people name their designer handbags. Is this totally weird or totally genius? What do you think I should name mine?)

Miscellaneous Favorites

This last category is for things that I have been loving lately that are technology, pop culture, or food related. Another gift I received for Christmas was a Fitbit Alta. I had been wanting a smart watch for awhile now, and when the Alta went on sale for Cyber Monday, I made sure to notify my parents. I absolutely love it, and because the style is slim and black, it goes with everything. Another technology item that has been changing my life recently is my WaterPik. I’ll admit, I have never been very consistent with my flossing. And with the advice of my dentist, I decided it was time to invest in a water flosser. Lucky for me, this particular model is cordless and relatively inexpensive. Needless to say, it has changed the game for me.

These last couple of things are pop culture related, and if you know me well you can probably already guess them because I haven’t been able to shut up about them. The first is the new movie Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. If you haven’t seen this masterpiece of a film yet, then run (don’t walk) to your nearest theater and buy a ticket. I truly don’t think I can put into words how amazing this movie is. It even won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film! Let me end by saying this, the second the end credits rolled, my brother and I wanted to buy tickets again and go see it the next day.

One more to go! Well technically two. These last two are both albums, and I have not been able to stop listening to them since they were released. The first one is Trench by Twenty-One Pilots and the second one is Sweetener by Ariana Grande. If you haven’t heard of either one of these albums, then I’m sorry but you must be living under a rock. In my opinion they are both of these artists greatest work. Cohesively, each song on these albums tells a story. If you have not listened to them, then I highly recommend you do so from start to finish. It’s the best way to enjoy them fully.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s been a long one. If you’re still reading this, congratulations, you made it to the end! I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the things that have gotten me through this New Year slump. What are some of the things you have been loving lately? I’d love to hear about them!

And don’t worry, I have tons of content planned for 2019. I appreciate your patience, and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Until next time!

Love, Kendall

My Summer in Film + Life Update

Published on November 15, 2018 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

Hello everyone! It’s me again, and I’m here today with a post that has been a long time coming, literally. As you probably noticed, I went on a bit of a hiatus after graduating from college. Truth be told its been a rough couple of months. With the holidays and New Years just around the corner, the pressure to meet my goals and be successful is higher than ever. But life just kind of sucks right now, and I feel like I am no where closer to being where I want to be in life. The break has been much needed, and although I can’t promise that I’m back for good, I can say that I am focusing a lot more of my attention on blogging again. That’s because blogging and creating fashion related content brings me joy, and going into the New Year, I want to focus on things that bring me joy.

Speaking of things that bring me joy, I wanted to share with you some photos I took over the summer with my vintage film camera. I just got the negatives and scans back, and I can’t wait to show them to you. I must admit, when it comes to photography, I am pretty mediocre. But nevertheless these pictures take me back to fun memories made with my family. And I love that.

My extended family, uncle, aunt, and cousins, came to visit us this summer. It was a really great time full of quality family time, which was much needed considering we only get to see them once a year. My cousin Abbi helped me start my first roll of film, because she has been taking pictures on 35mm film for a while now (thanks Abbi!) So I started out by taking pictures of things around the house, to help get an idea of how it works. As you can see, I still haven’t really gotten the hang of it since most of these pictures are out of focus or dimly lit.

After the first couple of “test shots” for lack of a better word, I started taking my camera everywhere with me in case inspiration struck. I am by no means a professional photographer, so I mostly used this roll of film to capture memories, whether they were aesthetically pleasing or not. To me, taking pictures on film is very similar to taking pictures on your phone, but in a much more tangible way.

A lot of these pictures are from a trip to Crystal Bridges, an art museum in Arkansas, with the family. If you are a long time fan of the blog you may remember our las t time going there. It is one of my favorite museums (I love museums!) and I wanted to take pictures of everything.

This picture of my brother is the last one on my roll of film. It was taken the day we moved him into his college dorm, and it signified the end of summer for our family. I miss him all the time, and he is one of my closest friends. I can’t wait to see him for the holidays! He also got into film photography this summer, and he has much more of an artistic eye than I do!

These final two pictures were taken by my cousin Abbi, who is definitely more experienced than I am. Also they make me look cute.

To me, film photography was such a unique experience. In a world where we can take out our phones and take pictures whenever we want to, it was nice to actually take the time to choose what I wanted to immortalize in my limited shots on my roll of film. There was a bit of pressure in making sure each shot was perfect, but the fact that I couldn’t tell if it came out the way I wanted until I got it developed made it so much more fun. If you ever have the chance to work with film, I highly recommend it. It can be so exciting, and the results will leave you so proud of yourself.

I know this post was a little different than usual today, but I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you have ever worked with film before, or if you want to try it someday!

See ya next time!

Love, Kendall

4 Cute Halloween Costumes from Your Closet

Published on October 30, 2018 by kendallshea221 Comment

Guys, it’s the day before Halloween, and we all know what that means. You’re still scrambling to come up with a costume in less than 24 hours, because you decided to wait until the last minute. To make matters worse, you need to spend as little money as possible. Don’t worry, this is a judgment free zone. We’ve all been there before, and sometimes procrastination still gets the better of us.

As someone who has most definitely been in the situation before, I have equipped myself with an arsenal of last minute Halloween costume ideas that I can put together with the contents of my closet. Below, I have selected four of those costumes to show you. So let’s get the creative juices flowing with some inspiration!

Holly Golightly – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

This is by far one of my favorite costume ideas, inspired by one of my all-time favorite movie and character! If you haven’t seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s, then stop whatever you are doing and watch it immediately. It is a cinematic masterpiece starring Audrey Hepburn as the darling Holly Golightly, a sophisticated women with a troubled past and a tendency to never put down roots. For this costume, which recreates the iconic opening scene, you need a little black dress, black heels, lots of pearls, and the biggest sunglasses you can find. Bonus points if you wear a tiara, long white gloves, and carry a coffee and breakfast pastry.

Lydia Deetz – Beetlejuice

This costume was so fun to put together, and it fits the Halloween theme so perfectly! Beetlejuice is a Halloween classic (at least to me it is) and this costume seemed only fitting considering it is the 25th anniversary of Beetlejuice. Lydia Deetz is played by a young Winona Ryder (one of her first movies, actually). She is the epitome of a goth queen. From her outfit, hair and makeup, and her witty one liners, recreating her look is simple! For this costume, you need an all black outfit, black choker, grunge makeup, and big teased hair. Bonus points if carry a vintage film camera, the Book For the Recently Deceased, or slick your bangs like Lydia.

A Hogwarts Student – Harry Potter Films

If you are a Harry Potter fan like me you probably know your Hogwarts house, and own the corresponding tie/scarf (no shame). If you do then this costume is a no brainer, and if not, don’t worry! This costume is still fairly easy to create, you just may need to buy/borrow a tie or scarf. For this costume, I went with the typical Gryffindor school uniform which consisted of a black skirt, black tights, black shoes, a white button down, and the Gryffindor tie. Bonus points if you add a gray sweater, school scarf, wand, or Harry Potter glasses and scar!

Edna Mode – The Incredibles

Okay y’all knew when I dyed my hair dark and cut it into a bob that I had to recreate a look by the Queen of Fashion herself, Miss Edna Mode. Honestly, if she’s not your favorite character in The Incredibles then I question your judgement. But for real though this look was so fun to do and I truly think she is a fan favorite this Halloween. For her super chic ensemble I wore another all black outfit, but this time with a skirt, collared shirt, and blazer. You can’t forget the black shoes and tights, and a red accent around the neck. I opted for a statement necklace, but a tie or ascot would also work. Bonus points for the Edna hairstyle and a rolled up magazine to beat some sense into your friends while screaming “GO, FIGHT WIN!” at them.

I hope you enjoyed my second Halloween blog post. What can I say? It’s my favorite time of the year! Now go run to your closet and create your own Halloween costume, whether it is inspired by my creations or something completely your own. Have a fun and safe Halloween! Boo to you!

Love, Kendall

Today’s Look: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Published on February 14, 2018 by kendallshea221 Comment

Hello everyone! I know that Valentine’s Day is such a polarizing subject; you either love it or you hate. But for me, regardless of my relationship status, I tend to be pretty neutral. Valentine’s Day is a great time to be with loved ones, romantic or not, and treat yourself and those around you to something special. For me, today is a pretty normal day full of work, class, and blogging. However, I plan on treating myself to one of my favorite meals and a night of relaxing and watching some of my favorite shows. There’s also something special about telling those closest to you how much you love them and what they mean to you. Regardless of your feelings on Valentine’s Day, I hope you enjoy today’s post.

Sweater: H&M Jeans: Old Navy Booties: Old Navy (similar here) Silk Scarf: Vintage Purse: BCBG Max Azria Glasses: Kenneth Cole

I’m sure if you have been on social media at all today you have probably seen tons of sappy posts full of the colors pink and red. When I was planning this shoot I realized I don’t really have a lot of pink or red, and to be honest, it’s not really my style. So instead, I came up with this casual, toned down look that takes a little inspiration from today’s romantic holiday.

Okay but this scarf! I was antiquing with my family in Arkansas one day, and I fell in love with it. It’s made in Italy and has a beautiful, romantic Victorian scene on it with a blush pink outline. I knew that even if I didn’t find the courage to wear it, it would be worth it just to own and admire.

But I decided I couldn’t leave it at that. It felt like a great disservice to this beautifully made scarf to sit in my closet and not show it off. So I decided to style it. This required a lot of research on Pinterest about what to wear it with and how to tie it. I ended up tying the scarf in a very French inspired way and went with a simple outfit, because I wanted the scarf to be the statement piece.

Here’s how I tied this scarf, in case you were wondering.

Start with a square scarf
Fold the square in half to form a triangle
Roll the bottom of the triangle in 1-1 1/2 inch folds until about half way up the scarf
Take the long folded ends, and with the remaining triangle in the front of your neck, wrap the ends around the back of your neck
Pull the ends in front of your neck, and tie them in a knot over the triangle
Adjust and tighten as needed

Sorry if that is confusing to you. I tried to explain it as best as possible. Just think of it like a fancy bandanna!

I paired this scarf with this cream sweater from H&M. I thought about wearing it with a striped sweater, but decided this solid one looked better with the colors in the scarf. To keep the colors in the outfit light and pastel, I wore my light blue denim jeans with distressing at the ankle. This little detail, along with these snakeskin booties, really pulled the look together. I just love the subtlety of the muted colors and little details. For me, its a simple outfit that really packs a stylistic and unexpected punch.

Although I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day, or bright pink and red outfits, I feel like this look accomplishes the task of being a slightly festive Valentine’s outfit, while also being something you could wear any other day of the year and no one would find it outrageous. Like me, this outfit celebrates Valentine’s Day in the most neutral way possible. Maybe that’s why I love it so much…

I wish you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day, whether you are as single as a Pringle, or happily in a relationship. Hold the ones you love a little tighter than normal today, and carry that love on passed today. Because the ones we love deserve more than just one day a year, am I right?

I’ll see y’all next week!

Love, Kendall

Lessons

Published on December 18, 2014 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

I’m not going to lie to you. Right now, as I am typing this, I am also watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. There, I said it. The truth is out.

Hey. After the month that I’ve had, I deserve a time to detox and relax. I am finished with my first semester of college. Finals have come and gone and I have survived (though barely). Now I get to have a month free of any stress or worry. Related to school, that is.

So, here I am going to share my many lessons that I have learned during my first semester of college.

Leave your dorm. I can not stress this enough. During your first week at college you are going to feel like staying in your room and watching movies while eating microwave macaroni. This is called hiding and it is one of the worst things you can do.

At the same time, it’s perfectly acceptable to stay in on the weekends instead of going out. The first week I was at OSU my roommate and I binge watched 3 seasons of How I Met Your Mother. Eventually we did venture out and make friends but from time to time we still stay in and have movie night or Netflix marathons.

Talk to everyone. You will never have the opportunity in your life to talk to and meet so many different people from so man different backgrounds. Within my first week, I probably met over 200 different people. Now did I develop close friendships with all of them? Of course not. I didn’t even talk to a majority of those people after the first week but some of them did become very good friends. You never know who you are going to run into so go ahead and start a conversation! Anything can happen!

Which brings me to my next lesson. Anything can happen if you take every opportunity that is presented to you. Your friends what to go play a pick up game of Ultimate Frisbee? Go. Even if you don’t play (which you should) at least go and cheer them on or watch. There’s a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween night? Go. No matter how crazy or boring or just plain out weird it sounds, at least consider going. One time there was a Coke machine in the Union that gave you a free Coke if you hugged it, and I missed out on it. Still regret it.

Here’s a big one. Don’t get stuck in high school. Did I say don’t have friends that are still in high school? No. Did I say don’t go to some of your old high school events (ex. Homecoming)? No. But there is a big difference between occasionally showing up at your old high school and saying hi to some teachers or friends, and remaining glued to the high school drama and gossip and overall lifestyle. Let it go and move on.

Homework is important. But so is your health. Sleep often and don’t push yourself beyond what you can handle. I say this from personal experience, it is not okay to cross the line between healthy stress and unhealthy stress. It is not okay to not sleep. It is not okay to not eat. Your mental and physical health is so much more important than that homework assignment.

Make memories. But don’t forget to keep those memories. One of my favorite things to do is to take lots of pictures of moments that make me happy. I print them off and hang the up all around my dorm room. It makes life feel less lonely and homesick. And those moments that cant be caught by a camera, I write them down put them in a jar. This is my Happy Little Thought Jar and on New Year’s I will open it up and read about all the memories I had forgotten about. No matter what your method is, just make memories and hold onto them.

Keep organized. I swear if I had a dollar for every assignment that I forgot about until after it was already due…well I would have two dollars. But if I had a dollar for every assignment I lost track of until something or someone reminded me of its due date, I would have a lot more money. The point is, write everything down. Get a planner. plan every day down by the hour if you have to. Get a calendar for your wall. Put it someone you will see it every day. Keep track of everything, due dates, meetings, class schedules. Everything. Whatever works for you, find it and do it. You will thank yourself later.

I think that covers the big, general, and basic ones. Off course I have a couple of my own that I have set up specifically for myself. Like don’t piss off the roommate. Text my parents everyday and call at least once a week. Don’t overdue it on the Netflix. Save money whenever possible. If something has to be cut from my schedule it will always be leisure time aka Netflix. Do my best not to procrastinate, we all know that one is difficult. Take lots of naps, but not so long that I can’t sleep at night. Don’t wear workout clothes in public unless I am actually going to work out. Dress up as often as possible and always try to put effort into my outfit. Make good impressions on my professors. Don’t go home so often that I miss out on my college experience. And finally, be happy. Easy to say but less simple to do.

And finally. I would like to that the opportunity right now to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this stressful transition. Thank you to my parents for always being there for me. Thank you to my friends for listening to my problems big and small. Thank you to my roommate for putting up with me and making m feel less homesick. Thank you to my Chi Alpha family for taking me in and making OSU feel more like home. Thank you to my home church for reminding me that no matter where I go I can always find a home with you guys. Thank you to everyone who is reading this blog, everyone who has thought of me and prayed for me, everyone who has sent me well wishes, and everyone who has taken the time to read the ramblings of a college freshman. Whether you know me personally or not, thank you.

Adventures of a College Student

Published on October 22, 2014 by kendallshea22Leave a comment

Well, I’m finally getting back to the keyboard. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. What with midterms and wanting to pull my hair out. It’s a daily struggle: making myself wake up early in the morning to go to class and finding the motivation to do my homework or study for that test. I find myself thinking of the many clichés I have heard as an upcoming freshman.

“College is an adventure.”

“These are some of the best years of your life.”

“You will meet your lifelong friends here.”

And the most frightening one…

“Don’t spend all of your time hiding in your room and watching Netflix. Go out and have fun.”

Well let me clear some things up. Here is the definition of adventure according to dictionary.com.

Adventure: noun

1. an exciting or very unusual experience.

2. participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.

Does this sound like college? Let’s see.

I went to my first college football game in the pouring rain. We had to buy cheap rain jackets at Walmart the night before. It was interesting. It was also weird at first because I didn’t know what was going on, but my friend Emma (the one taking the selfie above) quickly explained everything to us. I now know all the chants, hand motions, and alma mater. I still know nothing about football.

Also, after another late night Walmart run, we came back to our dorm and made pancakes. At 11 o’clock at night. And yes they had to have orange chocolate chips. That was fun…and delicious.

I wish I could type out all of my adventures word by word, but sadly no one would want to read all of that. So I will summarize.

I have walked to Chili’s with my friends late one night after a football game. We were all delirious off of the energy of the game and our lack of sleep.

I have run for my life, quite literally, as my new found friend Justin chased me down and stuck me with a sticker, killing me in our dorm wide game of “Assassins.”

My friends have slept on the floor of my dorm room in our attempt at a sleepover.

We have had many a movie night and I am sure we will have many more. My friend Rachel had never seen Star Wars! We quickly fixed that.

We have been politely reminded to be quiet in the room because people were trying to sleep more times than I can count. Mostly because we had gotten to that point in the night where everything is funny and we could not stop laughing.

I have met so many people and made so many friends. I have ventured out of my comfort zone and discovered it is way more fun there. Sure it’s scary at first; doing anything new and different is scary. You feel awkward. You feel like everyone is staring at you and judging your every move. But they’re not. And if they are, who cares? College is risky. Living on your own, away from your parents, is risky. Life is risky. But if you don’t take those risks you aren’t really living. You won’t really learn anything about yourself. And you definitely won’t have fun.

Now I will admit, I’ve had my fair share of Netflix marathons in my pajamas all holed up in my room. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I’ve also had my fair share of adventures. And I can’t wait to have more!