What I Got for Christmas 2013

I still cannot believe that Christmas has come and gone. Because of the warm weather here in the south and late Thanksgiving day, I never truly felt like I was in the Christmas spirit. I did all of my shopping for others in a blur. My favorite thing about every Christmas is buying gifts for others because I love wrapping something special and seeing the delighted reactions. 

I love seeing what others have gotten for Christmas. In this post I am in NO way shape or form trying to show off what I have gotten. I wasn't going to do a post until I saw my friend did it. I am going to show you my favorite things I got for Christmas. And, besides what I am showing you, it is tradition for my family to buy a few new games to play on Christmas day in our pajamas. 

VITAMIX (I have wanted one for SO long) / SMART WOOL SOCKS / ALICE AND OLIVIA CUP  / WATCH / VEST / ICE CREAM BALL /  ZOOM LENS / BOOK / MUG 

What are some of you favorite gifts you relieved for Christmas?

This is my last post of 2013! Happy New Year loves! 

xoxo, Kira 

 

 

Post Christmas Talk

Wow. I cannot believe how much time has passed since I have blogged. When winter break started I decided I needed to divide up my time: I couldn't spend the entire break working and I most certainly could not spend the break relaxing the whole time.

Last week was my week of pure and complete relaxation. I spent some well needed time with my family. I ate what ever I pleased and did what ever I wanted to do that day. I even stayed up way later than normal. No limits on anything. Let me just tell you, it was worth it. On Christmas Eve eve my grandmother and I baked an apple pie and my we did some very last minute Christmas shopping. On Christmas Eve, I went to a very intense spin class. Afterwards, I helped my mom prepare for our lovely dinner that evening. Later, we went to mass at the Cathedral in downtown Charlestion for Christmas Eve mass and later in the evening, my family and I went to a holiday party. On Christmas Day, we opened presents from loved ones, (do you sense a post?) and spent the day relaxing. On Thursday, I had an event to go in the afternoon. After that some serious clothes shopping was done in downtown Charleston along with my mom and dad's early anniversary dinner. On Friday, we took a trip down to Kiawah for the day after another spin class. My Mama, Grandfather and Grandma all had a lovely spa treatment while my dad and I went shopping. 

This week is all about slowly getting back into a new routine. Experimenting with new year lifestyle changes and early bedtimes are just to start. Lots of work will be done in preparation for the upcoming midterms at school. I will playing my piano for at least an hour every day for this week on forward. I am going to update you on what my new year is going to look like in terms of health and fitness. There are some major changes ahead! 

I hope you an your family had a wonderful holiday season. I cannot wait to start the new year off with a fresh start. Do you have any ideas for blog posts relating to the new year? Email me at apairofchicpearls@gmail.com . 

xoxo, Kira 

John Mayer Perfection

Over the past few months, one of my really good friends has got me hooked on John Mayer. I could not stop listening to his amazing music. All of this was leading up to seeing him LIVE in concert last Thursday in Charleston. This night was hands down the best night of my life. His music is just so eccentric and so very different. I love listening to the different amazing ways that he can play his guitar. Before he began his concert, Phillip Phillips played some of his most amazing song including, "Home". 

The house was completely booked.

The set was amazing and so hipster. Wayyy out of my element,
 but it was amazing. 

My favorite song from John Mayer is "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room". I just love the different acoustic and melodic touches he puts un his music. That is what makes him stand out. 

Who is your favorite singer/songwriter?

xoxo, Kira 

The Life Changing Line

** This post may be a bit graphic if you have a weak stomach for stitches and blood and bruises. This kind of thing might freak out some people, as for me I aspire to be a doctor. Read on to see the progress

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was wearing stitches and steri-strips on my face in one of the pictures for an outfit. Now is the time that I would love to share my journey.

Ever since I was little I always had a small beauty mark (I hate the word "mole", ew) on my chin. It was not that prominent, except I just preferred that it was not there. It was always a big insecurity for me because other than that, I really liked the way that my face was created. I really became worried about it when I was ten because that was the time that I started to shoot up in height. This caused my face to become more mature looking and the mole ever so slightly bigger. I begged my mom to take me to the doctor to take it off because I just had something against it. So there I waited until December 2012.

Last December, I had a treatment done where the demonologist just scraped off the top layer of the skin at an attempt to make the mole less visible. My thought at this point was "anything to get it closer to invisible". I had a simple Bandaid on my face for about a month. I thought the healing process was looking very good, only one problem: the scab never turned back to a mole or skin color. It was always this red and bloody and inflamed dot on my face that was bigger than my original mole. I was very good at covering it up. Mastering the concealer was key and so was the retouch in iPhoto to make the mols/scab less obvious. Throughout the day; however, one wrong way I put my hand on my chin or one wrong slip of a sweater wiped the concealer off and revealed to all my unhealed mole. (cute I know) Most of the time, I was caught concealerless. 

I hated the outcome. I just wanted to be able to not wear makeup and still feel super confident and not worry about grossing anyone out at the pool during the summer, or even worse wear makeup to workout in. 

I got a minor plastic surgery that changed my entire life during November. My plastic surgeon took every single bit of the mole out. She had to cut a deep ellipse and suture my face shut. At first it was purple and blue from the bruising. But now, I am EXTREMELY happy with the result. I can go out and show my scar proudly because it was a work-of-art surgery. I would not take back my red dot for the line on my face ever.

I am going to share some pictures now. They may be a bit disturbing to some, but I really love seeing the progress.

Pre-Op

Day 1 (one day post-op)

Day 2 

Day 7

Day 15

Day 20

Day 25

Day 30

Friday (please excuse this selfie) 

Over the course of this journey, I have had some doubts. But in the end, I am trusting myself and my decisions. My word to any of you who want to change something about your appearance is: RESEARCH. This is so important in getting the outcome that you truly desire. 

This has been the best choice that I have ever made and I am so excited to see what happens in the future.

Do you have any questions? 

Have a happy Monday! 

xx, Kira

Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Happy Monday Loves! 

With just a few short weeks until Christmas, now is the best time to get in some (almost) last-minute Christmas shopping. (yay!) Last week, I shared with you ten reasons why I love Christmas. One of the reasons I mentioned was wrapping presents. As much fun as it is to receive little gifts from dear loved ones, there is nothing I love more than to see the way my friends and family members' faces light up when I give them a present.  I don't like to go too crazy when it comes to giving gifts because it is truly the though that counts and not the worldly goods. Sometimes, I even like to just give a handmade card or a hug to show someone how much I care for them.

These are just a few simple ideas of little things to get your dears friends and family members. If you have any more ideas or feedback leave me a comment down below.

xoxo, Kira 

A True Friend

We all have those friends that come and go. We have loyal ones that stay with us through out our life. We also have those best friends who are always happy to see us no matter what. 

Having great friends is an important aspect of my my life. I love chatting with my girlfriends about what ever nonsense is the highlight of the day. I truly look forward to going to school because I know that I won't be that teenager sitting in the bathroom alone at school during lunch. I can tell them anything, and I know that they will always be there with me. For that I will always be truly thankful.

However, a have one truly amazing friend. Someone who is always there for me, to give me kisses snuggle with at the end of the day. This friend has four legs and weighs approximately four pounds and is smaller than the average textbook. Lucy is my little bundle of joy and the best furry sister I could ever ask for. Lucy Belle is a Yorkshire Terrier who loves to go for long walks, sleep by the fire and sit on my lap while I do my homework. The other night I was studying for a big physical science test and Lucy was sitting on my lap. She inspired me to do this post because I am so thankful to come home to her wagging tail every day from school.

She is the first thing I think about when I get home from school. I am a freshman in high school, and I have had Lucy since the fifth grade. I have loved getting to know her over these past four years and I hope for many more nights of cuddling and snuggling and years more. She is a living creature that I am so happy to call her my sister. I am an only child, so growing up has always been a bit lonely. Nothing fills up the space like a companion to take for walks, practice my French to or just have lay by my side when I work. She is truly what keeps me going. I love her to death and I could not imagine my life without this little fur ball. 

She has so many quirks that I love about her. When she first wakes in the morning, she sprints out of her crate and runs to see my mama and daddy. Her ears are super expressive. They stick up when I say words like "dinner" and "chicken" and "treats". She does this thing where she drops her back legs and bounces on her front paws when she is excited. This is known as the happy dance. Also, when she is super cute she puts her ears back and rolls on her back to allow tummy rubs. 

 I have been through a lot with her. She even has cause my family a little bit of stress. Since a puppy she has always had dental problems. Over the past four years she has had the majority of her teeth removed. So when she is happy, she pulls back her lips to reveal a beautiful toothless smile. But I love her and am so thankful that after many rounds of anesthesia she is still the same little puppy that I love.

We took some adorable selfies on my MacBook during a
study session break. (Excuse the fabulous quality of the webcam.)

Do you have a furry best friend? 

xoxo, Kira

 PINTEREST // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM 

Motivation Monday + My Thanksgiving Break

Hi Loves!

I hope that you have had the most wonderful time this past week with your families, friends and the people who are nearest and dearest to your heart. The past two ( 1 / 2 ) Mondays I have shared with you what I have done over the weekend, I will continue this pattern because I absolutely have been loving the responses that I have been getting. 

Repeat this to yourself every single day.
This week, I am going to challenge myself to go
24 hours without complaining. There I will take
myself to see how much my life has changed.  

This is going to be my mantra for the
next three weeks leading into Christmas Break. 

~ 

I left the south on Wednesday and travelled up to the great northeast with my family to visit my aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. I was greeted there with with temperatures of 32 and beautiful snow on the ground. This was completely a whirlwind experience because I rarely see snow.

My puppy, Lucy, came along for turkey. :) 

My uncle works in New York City. On his way home he stopped at famous Carlo's Bakery and welcomed us weary travelers with these super delectable cookies. 

After getting settled, we went out for a little pre-Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping. Actually, I had a pair of Bean Boots on hold at the local LL Bean store. I went there, tried them on and fell completely in love with them. I cannot wait to wear them in the winter time. 

The new beauties. They are 6in. Bean Boots. 

I also splurged a bit and bought a super cute Boat and Tote in Navy. 

So this is what happened the rest of the evening, we ate dinner at a lovely tapas restaurant and returned home to finally taste the Carlos cookies that my uncle has so lovingly purchased. I took one bit of my one and only cookie and immediately felt weird. My throat felt like it had something in it. So I took a shower thinking it was not that big of a deal. Then it all went down from there. I felt very tired and I noticed that my lip was swelling immensely. My throat hurt and was feeling fiery. I went to sleep for about thirty minutes in the midst of an enormous stomach ache. I got up and went to the restroom. At this point I was very shaky and sweaty and was very extremely scared. TMI maybe but next I threw up everything from the evening. This whole event was scary and shocking. My momma called Carlos and asked what was in the cookie that I ate. The culprit of my horrible evening : CASHEWS. I had a horrible allergic reaction to cashews. ughh, Right before Thanksgiving. But at this point I felt fine again.

Thanksgiving Day was spent inside watching the parade and lounging about and eating. I was stille a bit shaky from the night before but for the most part I was okay. I was so thankful for my health at this point.

I took Lucy for a brisk walk outside. 

Bean Boot swooning. 

 On Friday, I took a day trip to see where my dad grew up. We attended to some family business also. But the most exciting part of Friday? A very vintage pizza parlor waited for me at the end of a long and chilly day.

PIZZA :)

After the short drive back to my aunt and uncle's house, we stopped at a local candy shop. Here they make their own candy from scratch. I purchased many gifts here for many people. I even had to get the chocolate shipped!

I sampled this most amazing peppermint batch. #WelcomeChristmas 

Saturday we took a plane home and went to sleep right away after eating our Carrabba's dinner in the car. Yum! On Sunday, my momma and daddy and I spent the entire day putting up decorations around the house and unpacking.

This is my fireplace mantle. I just LOVE the owls. 

Have the most amazing week! 

xx, Kira 

PS - Prepare for Christmas related posts and more information on my decorations!

Thankful ...

Today I am thankful for many things. To name a few: my health, my family, my friends, my talents and most importantly, I am thankful that God has blessed me with such an amazing life. I am so excited to go out and live my life every single day because I know that even with struggles, each day is a new gift; that's why it's called the present. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I truly appreciate each and every, comment, email and view that I receive because of this blog. When I type every single one of my posts, I really feel as if I am talking to my girl friends at school. I know as if though through some cyber connection, that we would all be really great friends. Because of the emails you send me and the comments you leave me and the views you give me, I know that at least somebody is truly appreciating my hard work that I pour into my blog. I want to give my viewers nothing but the best posts and pictures in return. I know that I have just started my journey in the blogging world. 

Now ... what would you like to see more of? Don't be shy. Tell me. I love love love to interact with my viewers. Or should I say friends. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

xoxo, Kira 

Travel Tips and Tricks

Thanksgiving Break!! 

Traveling is my forte. I have had so much experience these last ten years of my life, that when it comes to traveling I am so very prepared. I have gone out of the country more than six times and have visited over thirty countries al over the globe. It is what my family and I love to do when we have time off, also traveling to all of these places really helps me with my school work. But traveling isn't as easy as just jumping on the plane and arriving to your destination. Going through security is a major hassle, airports come with their many downfalls and let us not even forget the actual plane ride.

Today I am leaving at 11:50 from the Charlotte, NC airport (no I don't live there) and taking a lovely plane up to the northeast. I am so excited. There will be snow on the ground!! I haven't seen snow in almost seven years! This domestic flight will be a walk in the ball park with these few tips that I have acquired over my years of traveling.  

Style // Plane style is super annoying. It is very hard to look cute and travel. I know. So my choice for traveling would be something comfortable, yet very warm and snuggly. I love wearing leggings they are so amazing yet they look cute. For a more put together look I opt for jeggins or very soft jeans. As for shirt, one simple rule to follow : NO BUTTON DOWNS. Button downs are unconfortable and are very prone to wrinkles. I love sweatshirts (like this one) to travel in. Ones from J. Crew are oh so adorable and oh so comfortable. As for shoes, I reccomend ones that are easy to slip on and off. 

I carry all of my onboard essentials in a large Le Pilage bag -- so cute and so spacious. 

Read // I know it is hard to read on planes. I often read in airports with music in my headphones. Right now I am reading The Lovely Bones. Have you read it? What do you think?

Nourish //  Plane rule number one for nourishing your body in the dry and cold climate : ALWAYS HAVE WATER. Water is very essential for keeping your skin from drying out in the climate. Also, I always have hand sanitizer, lotion and Chapstick on hand  to keep my skin plump and moist. Try wearing little to no face makeup when traveling, it helps the retain moisture as well. Water also helps to prevent you from excess snacking. I always stay away from the fat and grease filled options there are in most airports. If I do eat: in the airports I will go for a tall skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks, or I will chow down on a cookie dough Zone perfect bar. This bar tastes like cookie dough. Not even going to lie. I eat less in airports because I know there will be amazing food at my destination. 

Entertain // Books. Music. Movies. iPad. Instagram. Blog. iPhone. Need I say more? 

If you are traveling for Thanksgiving have very safe travels! 

Have any more suggestions, questions or comments for traveling? Put the in the comments below! 

Suggestions for future blog posts? Email me at apairofchicpearls@gmail.com . 

xx, Kira 

Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas

I made it! Today is the last day before Thanksgiving break! 

Last week I received an email from a very sweet viewer. She said that she would love to see some Thanksgiving outfit ideas. I was so excited to hear this because I was already planning to do so! Over the weekend I was going to choose some of my outfits and take pictures, but unfortunately time ran out when it started to rain and I had yet another piano concert to play in.

Enough with the excuses, I finally caved. I made the following outfit ideas on Polyvore, and let's just say this : I AM OBSESSED. I will most certainly be using Polyvore very often. 

Outfit I: Casual

Outfit II: Upscale Casual

Outfit III: Dressy 

Which outfit would you most likely to be wearing? I bet that I will be wearing an outfit similar to the first one. My family is super casual at Thanksgiving so I might even end up wearing yoga pants and a sweat shirt. I hope you enjoyed my first use of Polyvore. Let me know if you have a one in the comments below!

Please email me at apairofchicpearls@gmail.com for future recommendations, comments, collaboration ideas or if you just want to talk. I love hearing from you! 

xoxo Kira 

Motivation Monday + My Weekend in Pictures

Welcome to Monday! 

Wow, I can't believe that last Monday I was preparing for a week of many quizzes and tests. Last week was a crazy week filled with jam packed days of notes, sick days (I did not skip any school), and many long nights of studying (long for me is until 10, I'm a baby I know). This week; however, is only two days and most of my teachers understand that these last two days are where our brains start to become inactive. 

This week I would like to stress the importance of loving yourself. I know, I know - It's very hard to love yourself after devouring almost a whole box of cookies and turning to view your profile in the mirror, or feeling the lack of productiveness after spending more than two hours on Instagram. But never fear, it's completely normal and human to make these kinds of mistakes. Last week, I was sick for the greater part of the week, this caused me to feel very under the weather and I could not work out. I couldn't work out the week before because I had a minor surgery. Presumably, my very strict eating guidelines began to loosen, as I ate ice cream (actually frozen yogurt) every night and I didn't control my portion sizes like normally. But I can rise from this tragic mind and state of fitness fall. I feel a whole lot better. Saturday I went to training and kicked butt and Sunday I went to a spin class with my mom. Working out really helps me to get on track. And now that my workouts for the week are set, I am working to get my eating habits back to tip-top shape. Frankly, I feel much better and much happier. 

Here are a few words that helped me through this phase of my life ... 

~

This weekend was a great one. I got some things together last minute and I finally had some time to relax and put up some Christmas decorations around my room! 

On Friday, I found the most perfect quote from Jackie Kennedy. 

This was my workout from Saturday, and not to mention the workout that I did for the first time in a week. It was a tough one, but I survived and I am here telling the tale. 

This is my science project that I worked on all of Saturday morning. I was so happy with the result. My teacher is planning on putting these tiles in her ceiling to make a periodic table. I am so excited to see what it looks like! Please excuse the totally fabulous outfit I have on, I still had not changed from my workout.

These are just half of the lemons that my mama and I picked from out garden. I cant wait to make a pie or some nice detox water. 

Sunday morning consisted of downing a liter and a half of water during a tough spin class. I felt so clean and refreshed afterwards. 

After another  piano concert on Sunday, my family and I went out to dinner. It was so lovely to spend time with my mom and my dad after a long week of hustle and bustle. After dinner, my daddy and I took a trip to Starbucks. 

Have a happy Monday! 

xoxo, Kira 

Whimsical Weekend ~ Autumn Bucket List End

When autumn first started I thought to myself something along the lines of: Wow! Freshman year is so easy! I am going to have so much free time it's going to be absolutely great and I am going to get to see my friends a lot. This fall I can do so much with my free time. The weather is beautiful, so let's have lots and lots of fun. ha. 

Well, with many weekends of homework and studying, and weekdays of either rainy or super hot, I would love to go back and tell that little newbie freshman what was going to happen in the next few months. Grades, schoolwork, tests, quizzes and more schoolwork is where my life has been for the last few months. And not to mention the constant commitment of working out every day after school. 

So this is my as promised final synopsis of the end of my bucket list: 

If you can't already tell, I am a very analytical thinker. I love to check things off, cross them out, and circle. The ones that are crossed out mean that they are not currently going to be out of season for winter. The circled ones are ones that I want to complete in the winter bucket list. Finally, I have checked some off. Yay! 

I originally really wanted to complete this entire bucket list. I am sad I didn't, but I know there will be a time and a place fore everything. I am still figuring out freshman year. Yes, my butt is being totally kicked right now. There is one word I would like to leave you to ponder this weekend:

T I M E 

xoxo, Kira 

Sick Day Essentials

Well I knew it. I am a frequent hand washer, water drinker, and expert sanitizer. However, nothing protects me from the evils of high school and over half of the population sniffling with the cold. I have the cold not. I feel so helpless and small. Its just a cold one might say. Yeah, I know, I never get sick like ever. #thestruggleisreal

When I go to sleep at night, I wear a giant night guard AND a retainer. Sometimes having these two giant contraptions in my mouth causes me to sleep with my mouth open. I felt a sore throat on Tuesday and thought nothing of it. However yesterday, I woke up at 3 am and almost suffocated because I could not breathe through my nose. So Wednesday was horrible, absolutely horrible. It was cold and cloudy and I was sick. I put together the laziest outfit of jeans, a big comfy shirt, and a big scarf. oh, not to mention the black and super warm peacoat. I drank about three bottles of water an downed about a whole bag of cough drops. To say the least, I survived. 

This is how I survived. 

And the Mountains Echoed // This is the book I am currently reading, I haven't really gotten that far into it but what from I have read, it is so amazing and very well written. I got home from school and immediately dove in. 

Smart Wool Socks // Amazing. My feet are always cold and I have just bought these socks recently. I sat by the fire and snuggled with these warmies and my book. 

Tea and Honey // What am amazing combination this is, especially on a super sore throat. And but of course, it's organic. #whatelse

HALLS BREEZERS // I LITERALLY SURVIVED ON THESE ALL DAY. THANK YOU HALLS COMPANY. Okay. Wow. But before school today I was dying because my throat was so freaking sore so I stopped at my local CVS. I hate the honey lemon kind so I was on the look out for another kind, I stumbled upon these and my throat has been happy with me ever since. Now if only these were candy, not cough drops. 

Pandora // I have mentioned before that Pandora is my favorite escape ever. I have found some new stations that I am totally crazy for. Yesterday, I listened to a lot of Lindsey Stirling Radio and French Cafe Radio. Both of these stations are easy listening and really made me relaxed and calm.

Sick at home attire? leggings. mens pullover. bun. socks. glasses. blankets. tea.

Hope you are doing very well. Thanksgiving is in a week!! Any special blog posts ideas? 

xoxo, Kira 

What I Wore ~ French Film

Yesterday, I talked about what I did over the weekend. But did I mention what I wore? It has been so hot here in the Southeast, like last week it was in the low 50s but Sunday was super hot like in the low 70s. That is way too warm for fall!! Recently I bought a romper that I was going to wear during the spring and summer, but I decided that there would be no other perfect time than to wear it to the French movie I saw.

By the way, I look all of these pictures with my iPhone 5s. The camera is amazing!! 

ROMPER // SCARF (vintage)

OXFORDS // SOCKS (vintage)

This outfit is really different from others that I have worn. I like it because it is still classy, but very vintage looking. I almost feel like I should be walking along the streets of New York in the 1930s. A little bowl hat would totally complete the look. 

xoxo, Kira

PS - Yes, I have stitches and a Steri-strip on my face. I shall explain later. Actually before school today I am getting all of that removed.