Friday Favorites: Wedding Hair!

I’m out of town this weekend...AGAIN. Seriously, summer is always insanely busy, amiright? I’m actually already out of town - last night was Brian’s niece's grad party and the rest of the weekend will be filled with wedding stuff as his sister is getting married! Oh! And his mom will be meeting my family on sunday, so yea jam packed!

I generally quite enjoy weddings, even when I don’t know a lot of people. It seems like at weddings everyone just wants to have a good time, so I end up making friends for the night. I have the dress and shoes, now I shall just decide on hair! I’ll probably just end up being lazy and wear it down, but here are some super cute summer wedding styles for you to lust over with me! :)

                                                                                Source: kouturekiss.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                           Source: camillestyles.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                           Source: barefootblonde.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                         Source: ohsoprettythediaries.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                      Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                           Source: everythingfab.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: ritzybee.typepad.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                                 Source: refinery29.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                            Source: whippycake.com via Kassie on Pinterest

                                                                Source: myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com via Kassie on Pinterest

Can ya tell I like braids?? So pretty! 

Have a great weekend!

xo,kass

Style Log: Heat Wave & Floral Blouses

 [tank/thrifted, maurice's :: blouse/thrifted, route66 :: necklace/f21 :: slacks/idk, old :: shoes/jcpenny]

Holy heat wave. Ha, heat wave? No, full on crazy drought. If you live in the midwest with me, then you are most definitely feeling it too. Will it never end?! To be completely honest, I don’t really care for the normal heat of summer - but now. GAH. At least there is no humidity, thank you mother nature for sparing us some miserableness. This outfit is not heat friendly - in the least.

Here’s the story. I wore it a week ago, I sweated the entire workday and decided I would not post the pictures. Monday, I wore an adorable outfit - striped t and cute [new] green skirt. It started raining 10 minutes before I left and I wasn’t able to take photos [I wanted outside ones!]. So, I thought, I’ll take them after work. Nope, got a flippin stain on my new skirt. It did come out however, so I will wear the outfit again, just for you guys. :)

I decided to go ahead and post this, because I liked it and because these were taken in the AM, pre pit stains. Also, because I thrifted both shirts - sweet right? And just to be clear, in case I wasn’t already, I was hella hot [temperature, lol] in this outfit. Just ‘cuz shirts are gauzy and see-through does not necessarily mean they will keep you cool.

Lesson learned my friends, lesson learned. 

xo,kass

p.s. like my cool color-organized, pinterest-inspired book case?  these are the first photos of my new living quarters that you are seeing! :)

Blog Swap: Favorite Family Holiday!

Hey Ginger Flair readers :)

I’m teaming up with Kassie today over from Skip to Malou* for my very first blog swap thanks to 20 Something Bloggers and our challenge was to talk about our favourite family vacation.

I come from Barbados, a really teeny tiny island in the Caribbean which is known for its tropical weather and beautiful beaches. But there is a place that’s even more idyllic, so untouched and picture perfect that many people say it’s heaven on earth. St.Vincent and the Grenadines are a small set of islands southeast of Barbados and people from near and far sail and fly to these little gems to get away from it all. I’m lucky enough to have been here a couple of times on holiday and a family vacation spent on a sailboat in the Grenadines remains one of my favourite holidays. I especially miss it now that I'm studying in Amsterdam and the closest I'll get is sailing along the canals!

You wake up at the crack of dawn as the sun peeks through your porthole (Sometimes we snuck upstairs and slept on deck) and immediately jump in the crystal clear water.

Days are spent snorkeling, building sand castles, sailing between the islands and soaking up every minute that you can in the water.

Christmas and Easter are the busy periods because of the cool temperatures and steady winds, so the tiny harbours are usually full of boats from all over the world; Germans, Australians, Barbadians and Canadians are all brought together by a passion for sailing.

Locals zip in between the docked boats selling ice and fresh fruit from the islands or offering to do laundry. They’ll also sell vital supplies like Oreo cookies & canned sausages.

If you’re lucky you can still find a bottled coke in one of the local restaurants {Have you ever had glass bottle coke? If not, you’re missing out} and drink that with your lobster or conch pizza.

This all sounds pretty basic but as a kid there’s nothing better than spending a day on a boat, fishing off of the back and hoping you don’t catch something that’s just been dumped from another boat nearby {ewww} You can also spot whales {at certain times of the year}, dolphins, sea turtles and a bazillion kind of fish.

We ate fresh fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner thanks to my Dad & brother’s mad fishing skills; marlin, dolphin, barracuda, lobster…I never thought I could get sick of lobster but it’s possible! This is a more recent shot of them zipping around on the dinghy:

By the end of the day you’re feeling sun kissed and exhausted, with the smell of sunblock on everything you own. And even though you’re sick of sharing a cabin with your snoring siblings and miss having a warm shower, you wouldn’t trade that taste of salt on your skin for anything…

For more on an island girl living in Amsterdam, follow me on Skip to Malou* | Facebook | Twitter

No Doubt it's Music Monday!

It always seems like people have really STRONG feelings about No Doubt ...why is that? I don’t know, I mean I haven’t been thrilled with the events and music put out since Return of Saturn, but I still love the band. They were a staple in my formative teenage years AND I got to see them in concert a few years ago when they got back together. It was a great concert, amazing really - plus I feel a bit nostalgic when I hear them.

Anyway, ever since they got back together (like what - 3 years ago maybe?) they’ve been saying they are going to put out a new album, well that time has finally come! In September anyway. :P They do have a new single out though...

Thoughts? Personally, I like it, but I'm still hoping for more of their original sound. I do think I can feel a bit of that old school beat they use to have though.  Either way I’m still excited for the new album. If you are like me and think the greatest stuff came from Tragic Kingdom & Return to Saturn, then you’ll enjoy these. :)

LOVE that song. Back in the “old days” (haha) she just really rocked on lyrics. Anyway, this next one would make the list of my Top 5 All Time Favorite Songs. :)

xo,kassie

Friday Favorites: Camping!

Oh it's that time of year again folks, yes it is.  Time for what you ask? Time for Camp Trip 2012!!

You see, I live far from home.  Not as far as some of you, I assume, but its about a 4.5 hour drive back, so I don't do it often.  Luckily, I have awesome friends and we all do our best to keep in touch.  And one of those things we do is a yearly camping trip!

Don't be too impressed, we aren't very rustic.  We found this awesome state park that has "camper cabins" that are air conditioned, have a microwave, table and chairs, a futon and bunk beds.  Sure, we spend most of our time outside [read: eating and drinking], but it's nice to have somewhere cool to sleep. 

I've been a camper all my life...tent and big ol' winne's :P  I practically grew up on the Mississippi River...well okay, I did because I lived a mile from it most of my life.  HOWEVER, when I was a young child we camped nearly every weekend in the summer.  So basically, I got this camping thing down.

Here are some of my favorites [and necessities] for a successful camp trip! Of course these are just in addition to those other things that are obvious: pillow/blankets, personal items, clothing [ha], and extra shoes, socks and undies!

*please forgive me for being a lazy bum and just using pinterest for images.*

Sunblock, Bug spray and big sun hat!

S'mores fixins'!

Definitely need firewood, since we cook all our meals over the fire [kabobs this year!].  Check out the park rules first though, often you can't bring wood over state lines!

Apples to Apples...and any other fun games you like!

Beach necessities!  This includes: Swim suit, big ass beach towel, crappy sandals, beach cover up and something to read!  And maybe a big beach umbrella! :P

And of course, several coolers of beer. :)

Enjoy your weekend!!

Taboo Topics?

So, last week I was on that 20 Something Bloggers site. I haven’t been super active on it, but I am being a bit more so. Anyway, I was just skimming the forums and I found one thread about wanting to blog about certain things, but not being able to for various reasons. I found many of the responses very interesting and I have felt that way about certain topics (as I’m sure most other bloggers have as well).

Honestly, I think when you write a lifestyle blog...as opposed to a fashion or craft blog, you can “get away” with writing and talking about a lot more stuff, especially in the personal realm. But really, it all just depends on the person. Many of the people who responded to the thread didn’t write about certain topics because of who reads their blog - and this makes total sense to me. If you have family and friends reading your blog, then you definitely wouldn’t want to write a rant after having an argument with one of them or something. {and besides most people probably don't want to read that...unless it's awkwardly humorous somehow, lol} And..it also may make you not want to share too personal of topics. When it comes to sharing personal stuff, well...a) my family that reads this probably already know about it and b)the rest of my readers I have never met and thus don’t feel very shy about sharing (if that makes any sense). I feel like my Things I’m Afraid to Tell You post really comes into play with all this. Anyway, I guess it’s all about comfort level.

For example, I try really hard not to write about work too much [and by write I mean gripe]. I’d never know if a co-worker stumbled upon this blog and if I had a vent sesh about my job, well that could be bad news. I suppose also sharing personal information could end up badly/awkward if someone from my professional world read, but I’m not going to censor myself completely, so come what may! I also think that sometimes, I, and many other bloggers may put the kabosh on blogging about personal opinions about the state of our world, among other things.  I don't know why I censor myself there, because I feel pretty passionate about somethings - so I'm going to let my opinions out, in a kind and respectful manner (I hope!), because regardless I don't want to or intend to offend anyone.

Frankly, I like when bloggers share personal opinions or details about their life - even when they aren’t so happy details or opinions. When you read most blogs you get a very happy, very perfect looking snap shot of their life. While I don’t want to read 10 paragraphs of depression shit every day - I enjoy when bloggers are honest and “real” about their feelings and what’s going down in their lives. Because the truth is, our lives aren’t perfect and we all have bad days or crazy shit happening at one point or another, so I think it’s fine to share that. Plus, when I do read more intimate posts like that I feel like I actually know the writer a bit and I make more of a personal connection.

And why else do you blog if not to connect with people?

So what do you think - any topics that are too taboo for a blogger to tackle?

Me, Myself and I Link Up

I meant to get this up this morning, but alas it did not happen (i've been sickly).  I saw this link up on Kristen's blog and I got excited because it sounded like one I'd enjoy. So here ya go!!

{photo from fam vacay, have I shared this one yet?}

1. What is your biggest phobia? 

Oh man, probably spiders. Yea, most definitely spiders. Gross. 

2. If you could relive any day of your life, what would it be and why?

Are you kidding? This is a hard question. I can think of many days that would be worth reliving. First...no second date with Brian, the saturday a few weeks ago when we went to Des Moines with our friends, Camp trip for the past 3 years, the Grace Potter concert night and so many more. I have a nice life. :) 

3. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

Honestly, probably about where I’m at, maybe a couple years younger. But, in a few years I think that will change. It’s just at this age [mid-upper 20s] I feel like there are still so many possibilities. I feel like I can still get away with being childish and making stupid mistakes occasionally. But at the same time...I feel like there is a lot of pressure at this age to start getting your shit together and carve out a life. So Idk, it’s intense, exciting...and well will have to end at some point, eh? 

4. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for? 

None, ha! Although, on a couple rare occasions people told me I looked like Jullianne Moore. Idk though....I think it’s just cause we both have red hair and people are crazy. haha. 

 

Hmm...or maybe it's the cheek bones and big chin?? LOL

5. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life? 

OMG, another toughy! Okay, well I don't know if this answer the question exactly, but here are some songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately...

Fool for a Lonesome Train by Ben Harper
Low Road by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
Stay Together by Al Green
Hearts Collide by Little Boots
The Dirty Glass by Dropkick Murphy’s
I’m Ready, I Am by The Format
Tyler by Toadies
Birds by Kate Nash

**Also, let me tell you - I tried to make a playlist for you on several sites and I couldn't!  There were always at least a couple songs they didn't have (and they were my favs!) so pfffft.  Anyway, here is a video of the first one, cuz I love me some Ben Harper.

Friday Favorites: Crafty Rooms

**I swear this was scheduled to post yesterday...oops!**

Brian is going out of town for a wedding this weekend, so I’ll have the house to myself for a bit. Which is, you know, bittersweet. He’s a teacher, so no work in the summer, which means he has time to himself all day all week long. I love him lots and like being around him, but I’m used to having A LOT of Kassie time. So, basically what I’m saying is I’m going to take Saturday to get some stuff done I’ve been putting off...like finishing unpacking! Yes you read that right, we’re into month two of cohabitation and I still have a huge pile of boxes in the basement. I desperately want to get my sewing/craft area set up - hopefully I’ll actually do it! Mine won’t look anything like this, because it just going to be set up in a damp, dark basement, but a girl can dream...

Happy Friday Y'all!!

xo, kass