Summer Adventures~Exploring Wichita

Summer-the season for friends, ice cream, and late nights. It's also the days of wandering aimlessly and exploring new places. This summer I decided to find the hidden and even the not-so-hidden treasures of Wichita. Here are stories of my recent adventures:

This summer I have been watching 2 girls who have joined me on some of my adventures. We walked through Botanica and played in the Children's Garden. This was a fun place to stretch our legs and take in God's beauty. The Children's Garden has a lot of fun interactive stations for young and restless kids to run free and be able to touch and explore everything in their sight! 

When I am not with the 2 girls I have been spending my time catching up with friends. I visited Reverie for the first time and ordered a latte which was really delicious and artfully decorated. Some other coffee shops that are unique to Wichita are Meads, Doughnut Whole, Verita, and Hurts Donuts. These have all been great places to relax, drink coffee and have a discussion with a friend.

One of my favorite places that I have been to this summer is the Keeper of the Plains. I love the feeling of crossing the bridge and looking out across the water to see the beautiful skyline of the city that I have grown up in. Sitting down by the rocks, listening to the two rivers join together and flow down to the next stop is one of my favorite pastimes while I am there. It always fills me with pride to visit this statue that was made specifically for Wichita. (Also don't forget to look for the troll) 

These are just a few of the places that Wichita has to offer. I feel like I have barely scraped the surface of all that Wichita is hiding and I can't wait to unveil the rest. The memories that I have made at each of these places I will cherish forever and always remember the pride that I have for living in this beautiful city. 

with love,
Caroline 

Summer Parties~What to Wear

Do you ever have those times when you feel like you have absolutely nothing to wear? That happens to me whenever I have an event that I need to go to. Summer parties can sometimes be difficult to dress for because of the hot weather. Here are a few outfits that you can wear if you have a summer party to go to.

I ordered this dress from Francescas online a couple months ago. It is a casual dress you can wear anywhere. If you needed to you could dress it up with a statement necklace and heels. Or you could just wear some Keds or Converse with it to make it more of  a casual day-to-day outfit. 

I am in love with this outfit. It’s super comfortable and it looks really nice and classy. I got the shirt at Versona and the shorts at Ann Taylor.

This outfit is super casual but also super cute. You can definitely wear this if you wanted to stay cool and comfortable. I got this shirt on sale at LOFT for $8 & the khaki shorts from LOFT on sale also.

Tips on How to Start a Journal

Why Should You Start a Journal?
We all have a multitude of thoughts and feelings that we need to express. Writing them down helps me to process my thoughts. What about when you have children and they want to know about your childhood or how you met your spouse? I would love to read about my parents' childhood, just to see how much I am like them. You might want to have all your memories stored up so you can remember them someday. When you look back at your journals you may laugh or even cry. Your life may seem pretty boring to you but in the future they will bring you laughter. 
What is a Journal?
The definition of a journal is "a personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis" The word journal comes from the French word "jour" and from the Latin word "diurnalis" which means daily. 
How Do I Start a Journal?
Find or purchase a notebook. You can decorate it anyway you want. One example might be drawing your favorite things all over the cover, like a collage. If your journal is already decorated that is great! Keep it on your desk or a table near your bed so you know where it is at all times. Pick a time of the day to write in it. I write in mine at nighttime so then I can recall the events of the day. I like to use the same pen every time I write in my journal. When starting a new entry, put the date and then the day of the week at the top of the page. I also put the time because it's just another detail that I like to remember. Then start writing about your day, you can write about who you saw that day, where you went, and what you did. The hardest part about keeping a journal is writing consistently. Make it a goal to write in your journal everyday. You could also be like Anne Frank and pretend you are writing to someone specific. She wrote "Dear Kitty," every entry on the top of the page, like she was writing a letter. Your journal is personal and limitless so make it reflect who you are. I hope you enjoy starting a journal as much as I did! 
                          Anna Banana 

Thank You Thank You Thank You

Wow! Yesterday Katie, Anna and I decided to take a leap of faith and make social media accounts for our blog. We didn’t think that we would get a lot of attention from it but you all have surprised us tremendously! We girls could not have felt more loved from the feedback that we have gotten. We could not begin to tell you how excited we became after one new person liked something of ours! This blog has become a huge part of us and we can say with a grateful heart that you all have helped us reach a new level. Katie, Anna and I are excited to see what’s in store for this blog and how you all will be a part of this journey! For now we can tell you that you can look forward to seeing a back to school week-long series, how to start a journal, and more devotions that we hope will encourage you in your faith! Thank you again for all the love you have shown us this weekend and we hope you enjoy reading! 

-The Girls

Rain, Rain, Go Away

"Raining" in with about 3 inches of rain so far, Wichita, KS, is almost under water. The forecast predicted rain a majority of this week. Although playing in the rain can be such fun, doing it for three days can get a bit boring. Here are some things you can do on a rainy day.

Meet a friend for lunch Take some time out of your day to catch up with some friends at lunch or coffee. Sitting at Starbucks for a couple hours talking with your best friend can be very therapeutic. 

Arcades, Mini Golf, & Laser tag 

Although sometimes it can be expensive, going to play laser tag with a few friends is a blast. There is a new place called Glow Golf which is indoor mini golf. I went with one of my best friends. We stayed dry and had so much fun!

Read a Book Finding time to read a book can sometimes be difficult, but what better time than a rainy day? If you don't want to get out of the house, reading a good book is something that will make the day fly by. 

Watch Netflix There is nothing like binge watching your favorite T.V. show in bed all day long.  Watching your favorite movie can sure make the time fly. One of our favorites is Anne of Green Gables; I couldn't tell you how many times we have watched that. 

xoxo,

Katie

Such a Time as This

This month the girls of my youth group decided to start a Bible study about Esther. When we all came to an agreement to study the book of Esther I was so excited. Esther is one of my favorite role models out of the Bible and I was ready to start digging deeper with some of my closest friends. One reason I love the story of Esther is the story of God’s perfect timing. When Esther and all the other virgins in the kingdom were ordered to the king their chances of being chosen were very slim. Actually there were only a few aristocratic families that were usually chosen from. The fact that the king noticed Esther and wanted to make her queen right away was already amazing, but I love that God made all this happen because he knew that there would need to be someone with power to save his people, the Jews. My favorite verse out of Esther is 4:13-14 “he sent back this answer: Do you think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.” It always reminds me that God has a purpose for everything he does in your life and even if you feel like you are stuck in a rut or feel insignificant remember, God never leaves you! If you have never read the entire story of Esther I encourage you to open up the Old Testament and take some time to dive in and really focus on the story and maybe share your findings with other people. I would love to hear about your findings and how your group discussions go as well. Also if you have any questions about Esther or how to start a bible study I can certainly try my hardest to answer them! Happy Reading!

With Love,
Caroline 

Stepping Into Summer~Outfit Inspiration

Along with some lovely assistants, many outfit changes, and some technical difficulties, here are a few outfits to inspire you this summer. Some casual, some dressy, they will leave you feeling fabulous (and maybe with the need to go shopping). These outfits were purchased from a number of places. Most of them are in a reasonable price range because I shop way to much to be spending a great amount of money. Hope you like it!

A special thanks to my model, Lexi. A huge thanks to her niece, Brooklyn, my assistant photographer. 
Xoxo, Katie

A New Project

After a long week of hard work and exhausting days we finally had our first garage sale. Anna and I wanted to take on a new task. Our neighborhood garage sales were this week and we put it together all by ourselves. Although we didn't have much to sell, we were both proud that we were able to put it all together. This week has consisted of deep cleaning, waking up early, and being weirdos in our break time. 

 The garage sales lasted 3 days but we only were open for two. Anna and I both were upset when the karaoke machine was sold. We were going to sing all day long but it was purchased within an hour of opening up. We then have a TV to watch movies on while we sold but then that was purchased also. It was Anna who bought it so we could've brought it back outside but we were way too lazy for that. We both had a lot of fun setting it up and running it.

I'm always singing and dancing no matter how stupid I look. This was taken on day 2 at seven o'clock in the morning

"I wonder how many hats I can stack on my head at once."

Making weird faces, Anna puts the ant glasses on. There were many different toys and junk at the garage sale, but Anna's favorite were the glasses. 

xoxo
Katie  

2 Blondes Easter

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter with family and loved ones celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ! While we 3 girls didn't spend Easter together we still had a fun day with family and friends! Anna and I went to our church’s annual Easter Sunday brunch with our family except for our dad; he is away on a business trip in Poland. After the Easter brunch and the sermon we have an Easter egg hunt outside for the kids. It is always fun to watch kids running around frantically picking up eggs and the pure joy on their faces when they open up the eggs to find candy! After church we headed over to my grandparents’ house where we had a late Easter lunch and a grand kids Easter eggs hunt! (One that I actually got to participate in lol) After all the exciting Easter celebrations were over some of us played Settlers of Catan (Anna won!) and the rest of us relaxed and conversed with one another! All in all it was a good day for the 2 blondes! 

with love,
Caroline

How to Paint a Sunset on a Canvas

A couple of weeks ago I found a deal at Michael’s for large canvases. I had no idea what to paint on the,so like I looked on Pinterest, I saw this beautiful sunset painting with birds. Light Bulb! I had so much fun painting this picture, here are the steps I took to create this painting. 

1. Purchase a canvas at any art store, and if you don’t have any brushes or paints get those too. (For my pallet I just use old ice cream container lids.)

2. Set out all of your paints, brushes, pallets, cup of water, and make sure you have a surface underneath your canvas that can get messy. 

3. Squirt yellow paint on your pallet and find a medium sized paintbrush. 

4. Just for yellow, paint on your canvas a semicircle and fill it in. Don’t forget the sides!

5. Next use orange paint on the arc of the yellow semicircle, blend the colors together. ( Add water to spread out the paint, it really helps!) See picture below.

6. Repeat step 5 with red, blue, and purple paint

7. I went back and made my colors more vivid by going over the paint again and blending more and more. Example: I lost my yellow color in my painting because the orange and red took over, so I painted over it again and used a little water.

 I hope you had as much fun as I did painting! You can add more to your sunset if you would like, Grass, Birds, Trees or anything that you think would look awesome! Happy Easter! 

Stepping into Spring- March favorites

In with the spring out with the winter. Spring is my favorite season. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. It’s just perfect. This spring I have tried out some amazing new products and also have repurchased some old ones. Here are my March favorites…

Beauty Favorites
OGX Thick and full shampoo- I have purchased two bottles of this. It leaves my hair feeling clean and voluminous. Not to mention it smells amazing!
Cool Coconut Surf Body Spray- I have been loving this fragrance this spring just because it isn't too strong. It smells like coconuts and it is amazing. 
Bathandbodyworks.com

Skin Favorites
St. Ives Exfoliating face wash- This has been a life saver. Winter just ended and my skin has been unbelievably dry. I have no words for how awesome this is.
Island Margarita Hand Sanitizer- This is one of my favorites all year round. I always have this hand sanitizer on me. It smells so good!Make-up Favorites
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara- I have used this so much. It really lengthens my lashes and makes them look so full. Even though it's more on the expensive side, it's definitely worth it.
The nudes eyeshadow palette-I don't usually use a lot of eyeshadow and this provides me with just a few simple colors at a great price.Random Favorites
Song- My favorite song this month has been "Four Five Seconds" by Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney.
Food- Apples. I don't know why but I feel like I have been eating an apple every single day, haha.


Would you like to see favorites every month? Comment what I should post next!

xoxo
Katie

Heart to Heart: Trust Issues

Do you ever have trouble trusting someone? I know that I do, and do you want to know a secret? Sometimes I even have trouble trusting God, the creator who has my best intentions at heart. I was scrolling through Pinterest the other day and I saw this picture of several verses that told me why I should always trust God. 

This picture really helped me put into perspective how many times God says in the bible why we should trust him. Let’s face it, He knows us better than we know ourselves! I would encourage you to look up every one of these verses and then copy this picture down on a piece of paper and hang it up somewhere that you pass often. The bathroom, right by your bed or even on the refrigerator, I bet you are not the only one who could use this reminder! Just like anything, trusting someone especially someone who you can’t see or even comprehend is hard, but can you remember a time when you did trust God and everything turned out even greater than you thought it could? Even though you might not be in a situation that you had in mind, God knows what he is doing and as Paul says in Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to this purpose. Isn’t that an amazing promise that we can hold onto! 

with love,
Caroline 

Heart to Heart: Philippians 4:8

One of my favorite verses that I try to keep close is Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. This is one of my favorites because it is encouraging but convicting at the same time. In this verse Paul is encouraging us to think about God’s word and praiseworthy thoughts, but at the same time he is saying that we might not always have lovely thoughts and we should try to get back on track. I personally know this has happened to me several times, and I try to come back to this verse when it happens. Before you say something you may think is questionable ask yourself, “is this thought true, is this thought noble, is it right,” and so on. If you say no to any of the questions, try to steer away from the thought by saying a prayer or reading and reciting some scripture. Keeping on this path can be challenging at times, just remember that we are not perfect and we all fall sometimes. It’s ok if you feel frustrated at times; it’s all part of our walk with God! 
with love,
Caroline

Outfit of the Day

Here is my outfit of the day!! Please excuse my terrible selfie taking and the shadows, haha! I wore this one day this week and I thought you might like to use it for outfit inspiration.
Shirt- Versona $16.99
Chambray- Versona $29.99
Jeans- Target $29.99
Shoes- Sperri $45.99
Necklace- Versona $19.99
What else would you like to see on the blog? Let me know in the comments! Thanks!
xoxo Katie

Have Courage and Be Kind

This spring break I had the privilege of seeing the new Disney Cinderella. I loved this movie so much that I had to go and watch it twice in one week. The theme throughout the entire movie was “have courage and be kind”. This saying has stuck with me ever since and it is amazing how much you can do for yourself and also for other people. Basically it is saying that you need to believe in yourself and also treat others well. When we are little girls, our dream is to be a Disney Princess. This movie made me, a 17 year old, want to have the selfless and beautiful attitude that Cinderella had towards everyone. Also the movie had all the normal elements that a Cinderella movie should have. The Ball, the ball gowns, the handsome prince, the fairy godmother, and the hilarious but evil Stepmother and Stepsisters. I encourage you to check this movie out and escape into the wonderful world of Disney!  
with love,
Caroline