(this post contains affiliate links which may be monetized)

hey all!

do you guys know about the rose parade? well i have been volunteering with the organization which puts on the parade so i am sharing my favorite cold weather clothing because i’ve been outside, and will be putting in a lot of hours in some cold weather!

once again, a note to all my readers – this post does not mean i own any of the above, or that i will buy any of the above. it just means that i like it visually and (unless noted) i do not own it; all that i will write about is stuff i hear from friends and other users of the product as well as the visual aspects of the product which i will mention in the comment below!

here we go!

#1: patagonia packable down jacket

this waterproof jacket is warm and perfect for different activities1 its perfect because it has easy pockets and the whole thing can be packed away and stored for any travel needs!

#2: patagonia ‘better sweater’ zip pullover 

this pullover combines a sweater-knit outer face with a moisture-wicking fleece interior for unbeatable lightweight warmth.

#3: rag and bone classic wool scarf

i love rag & bone (even though its much above my pricepoint!) i just think its perfectly classic! i love this color, the camel works so well with all black (because i seriously pretty much wear all black anyway!).

#4: adidas beanie

just a basic beanie, and i am not usually one for logos, but i actually think this looks so cute!

#5: adidas climaheat leggings

i know in cold weather  most people would rather go with a thicker pant like jeans, BUT these adidas climaheat leggings have insulation ‘inspired by natural fur’ to trap heat in and keep you warm! AND right now they are 50% off!

#6: hunter boots

i love my hunter boots which i picked up at the nordstrom anniversary sale last year! black hunter boots with thick socks make my feet so warm, and as opposed to other snow boots these are actually cute boots!

#7: sam edelman boots

i also have these little guys and i love them! they are super cheap – less than $60! and they go on sale all the time, so that you can get them for less than $50 pretty frequently! also they are just light enough for no rain and just hefty enough for a pretty hefty rain.

#8: echo tech gloves

these gloves are under $20 (on sale rn!) but they look pretty good! they look warm enough for your fingers and keep you texting while you have your gloves on.

enjoy & happy shopping!

xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

(this post contains affiliate links which may be monetized)

hey all!

i had an amazing christmas, and because most of the craziness (from the holiday) is all gone i finally feel able to get to share my presents with y’all! here are just a few of my favorite things that i got for christmas!

here we go!

#1: TILI box :

QVC makes a product called the ‘try it love it’ box, and (much like birchbox without the subscription) they offer 3 full sized products and the rest trial products of different of their favorite items. in my box i got a ‘julep konjac sponge‘, a ‘skinfix hand repair cream‘, a ‘becca jaclyn hill shimmering skin perfector‘, a ‘mini first aid beauty bouncy mask‘, ‘mini philosophy amazing grace shower gel‘, a ‘vita liberata body blur‘ and a mini ‘it cosmetics confidence in a cream‘.

after trying all the products (likely after the new year) i am planning on doing a ’tili box review’ for y’all, giving a lowdown on certain products in that month’s box and how well i enjoyed the concept of the tili box!

#2: bose soundlink speaker 

i am not really a music person, so i have been skeptical for awhile of buying myself a nice speaker, but as soon as i got this i fell in love. its a PERFECT size, and i have found myself just listening to netflix on it and just enjoying my music alot more with it!

#3: shinola sketchbook

i actually knew about this baby because i went down with my dad to the arts district in LA to pick it up. i love shinola because they heat imboss their stuff in store with your monogram. its super cute because its exactly what i wanted and is perfect for me.

#4: ‘i love you’ ‘i know’ pins

my sister picked up this little guy up at disneyland and i’m in love with it. its limited edition and WAYY more expensive online than it is in person!

#5: disco ball cup

my sister came across this at work and knew i just HAD to have it for macarons and must haves!

enjoy y’all!

xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

hey all!

i know its late but i just wanted to wish you a….

merry christmas!

i am so thankful for all of you guys, and no matter the belief i want to wish you happy holidays during this season!

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

hey all!

its december 23rd and we are in the swing of things! presents wrapped, cookies baked, halls decked – what more could you do! i know that i am done with my cookies – but are you? because i figured maybe people would be a little behind schedule for christmas (like me almost every year) so i wanted to share my favorite christmas cookies!

just a note: this is NOT my recipe, this recipe belongs to martha stewart and just  happens to be my favorite christmas cookie recipe. i do not claim to own it, and i just wanted to share it with you all!

here we go!

enjoy guys! i really hope you enjoy these!

xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

hey guys!

on sunday i finished my first 101 in 1001 days – and since i was 20 short, i felt like i needed the opportunity to try again to complete all 101 things in 1001 days. i am so excited because now i actually feel like i picked some attainable goals, and definitely things that i wanted to do, so i am excited to start!

here we go…

start: december 19th, 2017

end: september 15th, 2020

school (9/13/101)

1. get into college (12/20/2017)
2. pass my ap exams (july 2018)
3. go to senior prom (4/14/2018)
4. finish my coding class (3/1/2018)
5. graduate high school (6/3/2018)
6. start college (8/27/2018)
7. move into college & decorate my dorm room (8/22/2018)
8. take classes that challenge me (math & politics 1/15-5/3/2019)
9. start a club at school
10. try any club/program that even slightly interests me
11. go out of my comfort zone to meet new people (sorority recruitment! scary but fun!, 1/20-1/27)
12. catch up with my high school friends after freshman year
13. learn how to transition out of a uniform

health & fitness (1/20/101)

1. give up sugar for a month
2. start yoga (1/15-5/3/2019!) taking at class at GW
3. get a massage
4. run a 5k ~competitively~
5. get a facial
6. no junk food for a week
7. workout 5/week for at least a month (literally since i started at GWU)
8. take a hot yoga class
9. run an obstacle race
10. try a juice cleanse
11. meditate for 20 minutes, once a day for 2 weeks.
12. try a barre class
13. do 10,000 steps a day for a whole month (literally since i started at GWU)
14. try a triathlon
15. teach myself how to correctly roll out
16. try a vegan diet for two weeks
17. figure the best routine for my skincare (3/1/2018)
18. try out soulcycle
19. have a spa day
20. drink 64oz of water every day for at least one week

travel (2/11/101)

1. get & use a passport (coming soon – summer 2019!)
2. go abroad/visit another continent (coming soon – summer 2019!)
3. go to europe
4. visit a country i never thought i would go to (coming soon – summer 2019!)
5. visit a national park (4/22/2018)
6. take an out of state sister trip (coming soon – summer 2019! even further than state)
7. visit NY at christmas
8. visit the white house (4/21/2018)
9. ride a segway
10. do a road trip with friends
11. visit 5 new museums ( smithsonian natural history, smithsonian air & space museum, national portrait gallery, smithsonian american history museum,

career/blog (16/101)

1. go to a blog conference
2. get to intern in a field i’m passionate about
3. make more blog videos on youtube
4. partner with a big brand
5. switch to wordpress.org (christmas 2019)
6. reach 1,000 followers on instagram
7. learn how to animate and edit videos well
8. create a new media kit
9. start a blog newsletter
10. get a tripod
11. take a trip and document all of it for the blog
12. be featured on a blog/website i admire
13. organize all of my pinterest boards (4/1/2018)
14. organize all of my computer files
15. continuously keep up my blog
16. update my resume (1/5/2018)

shopping (8/101)

1. buy a louis vuitton purse (5/10/2018)
2. upgrade to a new iphone – in a few years
3. invest in a new bag
4. buy a pair of beautiful shoes
5. purchase a silk pillowcase
6. get a perfect carry-on bag (anniversary sale 2018)
7. buy a corkboard to organize important pictures
8. upgrade my camera to something a little bigger

misc. (5/33/101)

1.  vote! (6/5/2018)
2. inspire someone to start a blog
3. buy coffee for the person in line behind me
4. host a brunch
5. read 15 new books (#1: frankenstein, #2: beloved, #3: hamlet, #4: feminist fight club, #5: the animators, #6: the mothers, #7: modern lovers #8: crazy rich asians #9: landline, #10: female of the species, #11: the nerdy and the dirty #12: my not so perfect life, #13: the girls, #14: here i am
6. organize my closet by color and season
7. make a font with my handwriting
8. listen to 6 books on audio in 6 months ( #1: feminist fight club, #2: the animators, #3: the mothers, #4: modern lovers #5: crazy rich asians #6: female of the species + more!)
9. learn how to do eyeliner
10. get a gel manicure
11. do a declutter challenge
12.  help a stranger in need.
13. eat at a michelin star restaurant
14. learn how to tie a bowtie
15. perfect my curls ( 4/12/2018) *post coming soon!*
16. turn 18 (5/2/2018)
17. volunteer more regularly
18. continue practicing my spanish
19. contribute to an emergency fund/in case of a rainy day
20. get into journaling
21. try 5 new restaurants (#1: the ivy santa monica {dec. 30, 2017}, #2: terroni DTLA {jan. 21, 2018}, #3: sqirl {feb. 10, 2018}, #4: the butcher’s daughter {mar. 16, 2018}, #5: joan’s on third {mar. 30, 2018}, #6: the butcher baker and capuccino maker {may 12th, 2018}, #7: yoga-urt {june 18, 2018}, )
22. build up my closet with clothes i love
23. send birthday cards to my friends
24. begin writing a story
25. reduce the waste i use in day to day life
26. try 5 new foods (#1: cauliflower crust pizza, #2
27. watch a tv show without binging it
28. update the contacts on my phone
29. continue bullet journaling to organize my life
30. make as many blog posts as i can about things on this list
31. ice skate and/or play in the snow (winter 2018-2019!!)
32. finish 101 in 1001/donate $1 for every uncompleted task
33. come up with a 3rd 101 in 1001 list!

enjoy!

xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

hello friends!

you guys know that i am not one to get political on my blog, because i prefer to keep my blog a happy exciting place where we think about clothes, food, travel and lifestyle but i kinda felt like i needed to talk about this one thing.

on thursday, december 14th 2017, the FCC voted in a 3-2 vote repealing net neutrality laws. a quick definition of net neutrality is the power to NOT have our internet providers charge more for access to certain websites, apps and programs – thus making every website ‘neutral’.

as a ‘content creator’  (yes i used that term) i am extremely disappointed. i am sad because i feel like this repeal of these rules will make it so much harder to consume content online. whether its netflix, hbo, youtube or even anyone’s personal fashion blogs the internet providers will be able to block and force their users to PAY MORE to access the content which was once free to them! i mean imagine paying more to access the stuff you already pay for – by this i mean like netflix/hbo/hulu/amazon and other websites like that.  as i mentioned, i am extremely disappointed both as a content creator and a content consumer, i just believe that the internet should be free in terms of being able to access what you want which is free now.

but as long as i can, i have written when there is no one reading, and even when there is no one else left reading i will be writing, not because of the money but because its seriously something that i have learned that i LOVE to do, and more than anything, i do macarons and must haves for myself, and post it online as a gift to you guys. even though i complain occasionally to myself for how much work on my blog it is absolutely my pride and joy and i would be SO upset if you guys couldn’t access it also!!

if you feel so inclined you may be able to:

• visit https://www.battleforthenet.com/ and sign up to write congress to stop this landmark decision
• text ‘battle’ to 384-387
• call (202)-759-7766 to talk to your representatives in congress

thank you for listening to me, and i hope that you will never have to pay more to access my content, because i will never charge you all more.

xoxo

(aka kate wins!)

Continue Reading

(this post contains affiliate links which may be monetized)

hey all!

i decided i would change it up and post a gift guide today! so i’ve done a girls and guys gift guide and alluded to parent gifts, so i decided to share a post today! mostly these are things that i think my parents would like, or stuff they already love!

as always, a note to all my readers – ‘gift guide’ does not mean i own any of the above, or that i will buy any of the above. it just means that i like it visually and (unless noted) i do not own it; all that i will write about is stuff i hear from friends and other users of the product as well as the visual aspects of the product which i will mention in the comment below!

here we go!

#1: matching his and hers fitbit altas : ‘HIS’ (black) / ‘HERS’ (pink and rose gold)

i live for my fitbit, and so will the parent who is a tech geek, a fitness fenom or someone looking to get into health – this will start them off perfectly – and will help them drop a few of those pesky holiday pounds.

#2: smeg toaster 

these smeg appliances are SO CUTE! i love this classic vintage-y looking toaster, perfect for all of the avocado toast you’d ever need! my family needs a toaster BAD, so what better than to get them the perfect breakfast appliance.

#3: hydroflask 

another thing that i live and die by is my hydroflask, i have had it now for 2+ years and its dented and so well loved – but still in fabulous condition and i wouldn’t trade it for anything! my parents are also in love with their hydroflasks – and would love more!

#4: the nest thermostat

the nest thermostat is such a cool appliance! it’s proven to help you save 10 to 12 percent on heating bills and 15 percent on cooling bills and will light up the display with time and temperature data, and to keep you safe to shut off the furnace when it detects carbon monoxide.

#5: le cruset cast iron dutch oven

my father and i love making beouf bourgoin and french onion soup and the dutch oven is perfect for that!  get it for your parents who love to cook – or for the parents who would seriously benefit well from a dutch oven and a JULIA CHILD COOKBOOK to go with their new present!

#6: dog breed ornament

personally, i would opt for the poodle, because my mom is in love with my poodle. this ornament would be an awesome gift for those parents who probably love their dogs more than their kids!

#7: waterford picture frame

what do your parents love more than you? maybe a sibling? a dog? whatever it is pick them out a super cool frame like this one and fill it with a photo of your choice – or more importantly, of their choice! since they love the picture so much they will also love your gift!

#8:  ‘mama and papa elf’ mugs

kitchy and cute! what more could you want!

#9: bar set

Continue Reading