Go ahead and get cozy my friends because this one is about to be a long one! Tonight I'm taking a walk down memory lane, sharing both my favorite blog posts AND memories from 2017. Next year I may write two separate posts so they're not quite so long, but here I am on New Year's Eve with only hours until the ball drops and we start ringing in 2018!
I've pulled one or two of my favorite blog posts from each month, and I thought it'd be fun to share with y'all why it's my favorite and/or the story behind it. For the past two years I have also shared my favorite memories from the year on New Year's Eve, and I couldn't allow myself to break that tradition this year! I could go on and on about the ups and downs of 2017, but I'll spare y'all the monologue and outline my monthly highlights!
January
When I look at this post there are two things I think of. 1. I still love this coat, and 2. after shooting these pictures I ran to my car, slammed the door and screamed because I was so cold! My sister hates when I scream like that, but I don't know how else to survive shooting pictures in the bitter cold! Also, this darling coat is still available! I love it for a fun pop of pink in the winter, and it's currently on sale for less than $100!
January 30, 2017
While I don't have any super awesome memories from January, it was the month that I decided I would start to figure out how to dedicate my life to my faith. On January 21st I committed myself to journaling and reading my Bible every single day in one way or another, and I was determined to turn my faith into my top priority. Looking back, that day has by far been the most pivotal moment of my year, as I have slowly yet consistently watched myself grow in patience, positivity and joy because of it.
February
There's no fun story behind this post; it's just simply one of my favorite outfits of all time! This wool skirt was such a fun alternative for the winter, and I also shared a picture from when I used to wear a plaid skirt as part of my school uniform in Louisiana!
February 6, 2017
This outfit is simply, cozy and a look I constantly imitate year-round, but what really drew me to this post when I was looking back was how, besides the makeup, I embraced my natural self. No self tanner, no heat-styling on my hair, just me shivering my way through taking photos and dancing to the funky music the nearby restaurant was playing!
February 22, 2017
At the beginning of February, my sorority had a dynamic duos date party that I brought my best friend Madi to, and it is still my favorite date party of all time! We went as CatDog, and were one of the last ones to leave because we were having so much fun just dancing away!
The following week, I woke up with tonsillitis on my 20th birthday... I spent the day at the doctor getting a shot in my hip, but despite not feeling well my sweet friends treated me to dinner at Olive Garden!
A few days later on my brother's birthday my family came to Manhattan for my sorority's Sibling's Day. We all went ice skating, and afterwards we went to get cookie bakes (aka my siblings' favorite part about Manhattan haha!)
March
This one can count as both a favorite blog post and memory. For spring break my family went to Vail, CO for a quick weekend ski trip. While I quickly learned that skiing is not my thing (s/o to my bad knee and ankle!), it was still fun to enjoy the snow and lots of ice cream!
Weekend in Vail
March 28, 2017
Springtime with JORD
March 28, 2017
I love the pretty pink tree my sister and I found for this post, but this watch did not fit my wrist at all! I am still in love with this entire outfit, but I measured my wrist waaaayy wrong, so finding ways to make the watch look normal was nothing short of a challenge! I also get very skittish when shooting pictures sometimes. I hate when people watch me, and these two men were sitting in their truck (not even in a parking spot!) watching me shoot pictures. It was very creepy if you ask me, and my sister and I sped through taking these photos because I was so spooked!
Springtime with JORD
March 29, 2017
Before going to Vail, another favorite memory from March was Fake Patty's Day in Manhattan. It SNOWED, which was a big change from the super hot day we had the year before, but it was so much fun embracing the chilly day with Nicole!
April
This is another outfit I picked simply because I still think it's so cute! For a top from SheIn I thought it was so well tailored, and the bow detailing on the back is just darling! It's still available for only $13 too if you want to get a head start on your spring shopping! This was also my friend Hannah's first time taking pictures for me, so shoutout to her and all my friends that help me out!
Gingham & Bows
April 26, 2017
April 26, 2017
April is Autism Awareness Month, so this month was filled with a lot of philanthropy events for my sorority. This year we did a new event called Ziti with the Xi's with a fraternity. We had a pasta bar and karaoke, and it was funny to watch a few of the fraternity guys get really into it!
I give my mom a hard time for "uninviting" me to Easter my freshman year, but this year she made up for it by offering me a relaxing weekend at home and brunch at our country club.
Sometimes I am a hot mess, and when I was shooting pictures one day during April I forgot my hair brush somewhere in the streets downtown. It led to a wild goose chase to find it later that night, but thanks to Madi it was successful! Don't ask me why it's a favorite memory, it just is...
Finally, I slaved over painting a cooler for one of my guy friend's formal. This is a bad picture of it, but I'm still obsessed with my cooler!
May
It was hard to narrow down a couple favorite blog posts from May because I l still love all the outfits, and I think I look so genuinely happy in them too! I especially love my Memorial Day look. The ruffles, curls and skirt created such a fun and feminine look together, and I was super proud of myself for successfully putting on red lipstick with only my phone camera as a mirror!
May 26, 2017
I am so thankful to be able to work with Scoobie, a local boutique, when I am home, and this is probably one of my favorite looks I've ever styled for them! It's soft, simple and totally ME! I also love playing with alliteration in the titles of my posts, and I really liked this one! There were also some really official looking body guards surrounding this group of teenagers across the street when I was shooting these pictures, so who knows what was going on with that haha!
Preoccupied with Pink
May 30, 2017
I pulled my first all-nighter in May to finish making my final project, a mini magazine, for one of my classes. I may or may not have cried in library when someone told me double sided color printers don't exist (lies) and that I didn't have enough Cat Cash to print anyways. In the end it all worked out, and I was so proud of the little project!
My little red Saab also made it's last drive from Manhattan ever! If only y'all knew the amount of times the little thing broke down on me on those drives... I don't think I could even count them on my fingers! While I loved the car, I was sure glad to let go of the stress it brought.
After coming home for the summer I also got to start in my mom's ballet as a fat pirate! She put on Pirates of the Caribbean, and it was so good! I wish I could say I was the star of the show, but at the very least, I added some comic relief.
June
Again, this post doesn't have a story to go along with it, I just still love it so much! White dresses are my favorite, and the neckline on this one was so unique and fun. I was also surprised to find that this shift dress, despite being a size too big, still fit my nicely! It's usually hard for me to find a shift dress I like to begin with since my legs are so short.
June 27, 2017
I have this awesome luck where nearly every time I want to shoot blog pictures it either chooses to rain or be the coldest day of the week. In this case it decided to sprinkle and then later downpour while shooting these pictures. I also had the opportunity to work with another local boutique, which was super exciting for me! I love building relationships and collaborating with the local community.
June 6, 2017
The majority of my June was spent attending my sister's swim meets and bringing my siblings to and from practices. I'm glad I soaked up my last free summer with them because from here on out I'll be either interning or working.
I was also given tickets to attend the Just For Her event where I had the chance to see tons of local businesses all under one roof.
July
I kind of fell off the radar for most of July because I was enjoying time with my family, but 4th of July outfits have always been some of my favorite to create. I was enjoying collaborating with yet another local boutique, and I still love how cute this outfit was for the Fourth! I think the clothes may be another reason the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays...
Happy 4th of July!
July 4, 2017
July 4, 2017
The entire first half of July my family and I went on a 2-week road trip along the West Coast. Traveling is my family and I's absolute favorite thing to do together, and this trip was probably the highlight of 2017 for me! So many memories were made in so many places!
Toward the end of this road trip I also got to check another place off my bucket list, Arches National Park in Utah. While I'd love to go back someday and spend time hiking some of the trails, we had the super cool experience of seeing the park while it was raining, turning the rock formations in red waterfalls.
August
In one of the simplest of places, a patch of green in a park, my sister and I had fun taking our time and getting a little more creative with this shoot. This also turned out to be one of my most controversial posts ever because of the color of my top. Nobody could agree on whether it was yellow or orange!
August 29, 2017
Before heading back to Manhattan for the fall, I passed down Lil' Red to my sister. Like I said, I love that little car, but that little car does not love the drives to and from Manhattan!
Once in Manhattan, I enjoyed a fun and busy work week with my sorority sisters! While we were preparing for recruitment we also made time for a trip to Pillsbury Crossing, dressing up as boys and playing around in our pajamas. It was such a fun and uninterrupted week to spend with my best friends!
I said this last year, and I'll say it again. I love recruiting! There's something about meeting the women who are just joining the K-State family and sharing with them how much I love Alpha Xi that I look forward to every year.
I don't know how it's possible, but Bid Night has only gotten more and more fun every year. This year's was my favorite yet, dancing on the lawn and doing the worm on the sidewalk with Nicole!
Also, I can't forget about the solar eclipse. Honestly, it was pretty cool; my friends and I drove up to Tuttle Creek to see it for a little bit. Plus it was a nice excuse to cancel the first day of classes!
September
Going back to my summer road trip, in September I posted my Los Angeles travel diary. The city of Santa Monica actually shared my post on their twitter, and I just thought that was too cool!
September 13, 2017
On the first day of September I went home to watch my sister perform in her first assembly as a varsity cheerleader!
Later in the month my sorority went on a sisterhood retreat to the K-State Challenge Course, which I thought was a lot of fun. It kind of reminded me of my Girl Scout days to be honest!
October
Here's the post that shares all the details about two of the best weeks of my entire year! From Seattle to LA and everything in between, it's crazy how much we saw and how much fun we had! I really love how I was able to share my family's adventures in this blog post. Sometimes I forget it's not normal to set off in a car for half a month.
October 1, 2017
In October I also had the opportunity to work with an amazing haircare brand, Maple Holistics. It was one of my first times reviewing a beauty product here on my blog, and the response was unbelievable! I actually have another post with them coming up in 2018 so stay tuned for that too!
Healthy + Shiny Hair with Tea Tree Oil Shampoo
October 19, 2017
On October 4th I became a GRANDMA! My sorority had our mom/dot reveal, and I was so excited to welcome Ashley to the fam!
October 19, 2017
On October 4th I became a GRANDMA! My sorority had our mom/dot reveal, and I was so excited to welcome Ashley to the fam!
I was also invited to KC Fashion Week in October. It was honestly such a surreal moment for me, and something I never expected to do this year. I got to meet other awesome bloggers from the area, and share with y'all some of talented designers we have in our city.
K-State also had their homecoming during the month, which was super fun and a little stressful, since I was one of the homecoming heads this year.
November
This was my most popular post of 2017 and for good reason! I loved getting a little more personal and sharing with y'all one of the most gracious and impactful people in my life this year. Despite going to the same high school it wasn't until college that we became best friends, and I encourage y'all to give it a read if you haven't already! Who's in favor of more personal posts like this one for 2018?!
November 9, 2017
I recently discovered that at least half the things I say come from Spongebob, and y'all probably got a glimpse of that from the title of this post. I also just really love the photos in this post. They outfit may not seem like anything special, but I think everything came together very nicely, making it one of my favorites!
The Best Time to Wear a Striped Sweater...
November 6, 2017
At the beginning of November Nicole was baptized. It was such a sweet and special moment, and I felt so grateful that I have been able to see her grow in her faith since being at K-State together.
Madi and I also went to a FREEZING COLD K-State football game together. It was raining and cold, but we somehow stayed until the end! I also found out that cold rain does miracles for my hair haha!
I ended November by co-hosting Gordmans' Giving Tuesday event in Kansas City!
December
So someone was being arrested behind me while my sister and I shot these photos... I'm not kidding! I was turning around in a parking lot, and I saw this guy that looked a little sketchy. I said to my sister, "He's kind of creeping me out, let's go down the street a little bit to take pictures," and then while we were taking these pictures two police cars turned into the parking lot we had just left and started arresting the man I just saw! Although, despite the chaos that was going on less than a block behind me, I loved everything about this post, and it's still currently one of my favorite winter outfits.
December 8, 2017
I had never worn a beanie before this post, so while shooting pictures I was constantly asking my sister if I looked weird or not. In all honesty I felt like I had a mushroom on my head until I uploaded the photos and saw that I looked perfectly normal. While we were taking pictures this older woman across the street was also telling me where all the pretty trees were in the neighborhood haha! S/o to her for being a friendly neighbor!
December 3, 2017
For Vlogmas my siblings and I also filmed a sibling challenge video! We had so much fun filming this together, and it makes me laugh every time I watch it! My siblings and I are each other's best friends, and despite how much time we spend together this was actually kind of hard. If you're going to watch it (which you should), be sure to keep a look out for my brother's many faces. He's quite the character!
December 22, 2017
The first weekend of December my sorority had our annual Tacky Christmas party. I went for comfort this year and rocked this super cozy reindeer onesie!
Finally, for the holidays my family decided to get out of town and travel to the charming city of Charleston. We spent the week of Christmas there exploring the beautiful city and plantations. It was a truly magical place during this time of year!
Wow, good for you if you made it this far! I told y'all it'd be long! 2017 was a very good year to me, full of adventures, blogging accomplishments and quality time with those closest to me. It's been fun to reminisce as it comes to an end, and I'm excited to see what 2018 brings! What was your favorite part of 2017? I'd love to read about it in the comments!
Happy New Year's Eve!
awsome,, really great looks
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