regrets …

Dear Beautiful Blog Reader,

I apologize for my absence for a little while. School is really consuming my life and along with upcoming modeling events and piano competitions, there is simply no time for blogging. I have told you in the past that school comes first in my life because I am at a stage where grades really do matter. Social media from me will be scarce as well, especially Twitter and Pinterest. I need to devote my time, as of right now, to my life. March is going to be a crazy, crazy month, but it also will be a great month to remember. I don't know how long I will be gone, but know that I will be back before you know it. Blogging is supposed to be very fun, but I cannot add it as another stress to my list.

Take care. I will see you soon.

xoxo

Kira 

Must Have :: Sleepwear

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 

I think that we can all agree on one thing : winter go away. It has been a long one. For the past few months my wardrobe has consisted of nothing but scarves, vests, sweaters and Bean Boots. I had fun, but now I am ready to bring out my chinos and sundresses. With spring comes a breath of fresh air. This spring I am totally craving one thing : sleepwear. You are currently reading a post by a girl who only sleeps in old T-shirts or sweatshirts, and at this point #pantsareoptional. I cannot wait to start going to bed without layering on tons of lotions and potions all over my body just to retain all possible moisture through out the night. Spring is when I take off my flannel sheets off and open my curtains in the morning to let in the fresh light. After seeing so many bloggers rant about their favorite pajamas, I have done some research and have narrowed it down to four of my absolute favorite pajamas. I am still kind of new to the nice pajamas aspect of life. The nicest pair I have are from Victoria's Secret like two Christmases ago, so in my book I think it is time to invest in some cute jammies. I am kind of a crazy sleeper so we shall see how this quest goes. 

Do you have any cute pajamas you recommend for the spring time? I would love to hear. 

xoxo

Kira

Instagram

My Weekend in Pictures (and lots of words, too)

I absolutely LOVE to take weekend trips. I just find that they are the perfect way to escape from ordinary routines and just take a breather for a few days. This past weekend, I went on a modeling excursion to Charlotte, North Carolina. My mama and daddy came along too. We had so much fun as a family exploring the food options, scenes and most importantly fashion of the city of Charlotte.

Valentine's Day OOTD. My scalloped dress finally came in! 

We drove to Charlotte on Friday night and had a lovely dinner together as a family. However, while checking into the hotel, I saw a waiter carrying a decadent chocolate cake slice on a tray. I slyly told my parents that if they wanted to have a nice dinner for the two of them I would be more than happy to stay behind and watch the Olympics while eating chocolate cake. (ha!) Fortunately, we braved the great elements of the outside and walked a block to the restaurant . Thanks to the polar vortex, it was still very cold outside and there was lots of snow on the ground. We went to Morton's Steakhouse, a very fancy and well known steak house in America. I myself am not really a huge fan of steak, or the large steak house portions. Morton's was pretty good, but the portions were HUGE. My parents both got salads and they were perfect to feed the whole Spanish Armada, maybe even twice. It was crazy. I was perfectly content sipping my lemon water and nibbling (actually more like inhaling) the bread. When the main course actually came around my mom and I split a 6 oz. filet mignon. That along with some of the shoestring potatoes was just a perfect amount to make me full. Thank goodness we had to walk from the restaurant back to our hotel. I took a shower, ate chocolate and watched the Olympics. It was a great Valentine's Day. 

homemade French goodies!

Saturday, we woke up at around nine, put on our brave faces (as well as lots of layers) and trekked around downtown Charlotte looking for a light breakfast. I was still content from the night before.  But we still walked around looking for a local French bakery called Amélie's. 

It was so delicious. I had a cappuccino and a croissant, which was extra flaky and buttery. Oh, it was amazing.

leather gloves + croissant + cappuccino = good day

It was around 11:30 and we still had time before I had my call time to model so we decided to hit the local mall. Now let me tell you, it was heaven: Nordstrom, Vineyard Vines, lululemon, Tory Burch, J. Crew and so much more. I could have spent all day there. Unfortunately, I only had time to browse Nieman Marcus and I came out empty handed. I got to the venue of the event and got my hair and makeup done from 2:00 to around 6:00. The actual fashion show was supposed to start at 7:00 sharp, but typical fashion world it started at the glorious time of 8:30. I walked for two designers in their show. One was a local hat maker from North Carolina and the other was a jewelry designer from Chicago. 

my adorable chapeaux I got to wear. 

I don't normally Snapchat selfies,  but the look
was too crazy not to! 

I had so much fun and I made so many friends with the other models there. After the two shows were done we traveled back to the hotel. On the way, my parents brought me the most wonderful surprise. After modeling events I am FAMISHED (not even exaggerating), they were sweet enough to bring me a strawberry cupcake. It was heavenly. Once again, I showered, ate pretzels and watched the Olympics.

Sunday was spent driving home after a lovely breakfast. I had a mini croissant, lots of fruit, yogurt and tea. When we arrived home I went to spin class to detox myself from all of the crazy food choices I had. It was worth it. :)

Being with my family is what makes me happy. We have travelled far and near and have made so many memories together. Today on my day off, I have appointments to get to, piano to be played as well as a piano lesson to go to, not to mention the test I have to study for. 

xoxo

Kira

ps - I now have to have everything decaf. I forgot to say decaf when I ordered my cappuccino. I was so shaky and jittery all day. Does that happen to you?

 Instagram

loving you :: LOVE

Happy Valentines day to the people who have made my life so amazing. I love each and every one of you as I do my friends. I love blogging, but with out your constant support, love and response to everything that I have created on my little corner of the internet. I can not express how thankful and happy that I am that I have such wonderful readers.

This week I have lead you through a very powerful path of love; the path of true self love. I hope that I have inspired you to be happy, in all possible ways. I have actually been very happy this week. Sharing these ideas with you has been wonderful. What is especially exciting is that I have created a little safe place here for you. When ever you need motivation in any sort or are just having major self confidence fall, always know that you can search "loving you" and pep talk to get you back on your feet.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day! The most important piece of advice that I can offer you is don't forget to love others, but do what makes you happy.

xoxo

Kira

Valentine's Day crafting

I LOVE Valentine's Day. The series that I have been broadcasting this week is primarily directed towards you and how you can become a better person and love yourself. Now that is extremely important, but the best part about Valentine's Day is giving your loved ones a little sliver of how thankful you are for them.

Yesterday, I made Valentines to give to my friends tomorrow at our annual Valentine's Day "party" at lunch. It is always so much fun. I have been friends with these ten girls for almost five years now and we love to throw parties at lunch. Typically there is food, a table cloth and everyone has something special to offer. It is quite fun and a little bit over the top oh well. :)

You will need ::

• cellophane bags
• different colored sharpies or markers
• card stock
• candy 
• scissors 
• ribbon or tulle
• other decorating accessories

Gather your supplies.

Pick out the candy that you want to use. My favorites are the conversation hearts and Valentine's colored M&Ms. :) 

Write cute messages on the card stock and decorate with pretty stickers and colors. 

Fill your bags with candy, not all the way to the top though! 

Tie the ribbon or tulle around your bag. I tied mine pretty close to the candy and cut of the excess bag, this way my Valentines were smaller and more cute. I would highly recommend double or even triple knotting your ribbon. This way none of the candy can come out. 

Tu as fini! 

What are you going to do for your friends this Valentines Day? I would love to hear!

xoxo

Kira

loving you :: a first time for everything

Today is day #2 of ice storm! So that means that I have today off as well! 

I love finding new things that keep me occupied for hours at a time. Yesterday, was the first of my two snow days and I couldn't be more excited. For a while now, as you know, I have been craving macaroons. Over the past few weeks, I have been looking at recipes online and looking at the reviews of the recipes. This project was real. Thanks to the snow day, I actually had time to bake something super yummy.

I woke up yesterday and I thought to myself: today is the day I am finally going to make macaroons. Let me just tell you, it took me almost four hours to make them. The recipe I used was so helpful, it even had a video to explain what to do. I was so excited!

I find that baking is a great way to let loose. It is a great outlet for any reason; escape boredom, eat your feelings (to a certain extent) or if you just want something sweet to share with friends and family.

macaroons are ready to be baked

I was so worried that they would rise when they baked, they did! 

beautiful raspberry butter cream filling. 

plenty to share! 

beautiful details

 Tomorrow on Valentine's Day, I am probably going to bring some to school to hand out to some friends. I cannot wait to show off my beautiful work of art.

I hope you take time today to do something that you love to do. You are very important and need to spend quality time doing things that you love!

xoxo

Kira

ps. Check back later for another post! 

loving you :: finding a way to indulge + recipe

wow this is kind of cool, my school district just proposed an ice day. so today I have the day off from school. yay! now there are more cool posts coming up soon! 

Eating is probably the less talked about subject amongst older girls and younger women. Each of them has self confidence issues and sometimes it leads to deprivation of the most important thing you need to provide yourself with; food. Food is not just one of the most pleasurable luxuries that come in life, but it is also a dangerous weapon that many use against them selves. 

Yes, I do have self confidence issues, everyone does, but I do not take it out on food. I love food, all kinds. And some days more than others, my sweet tooth gets to me. I have come to realize that that is perfectly okay. I typically let myself eat whatever I want because what I eat for the most part is quite simple and healthy; smoothies, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and grains. But what I have really had issues on, especially after Christmas, is the limits on sweets. Sometimes I can't just hold back, I have to eat chocolate on the spot or I might just perish. (Just kidding, or maybe hehe)

Recently, I have promised myself to find another alternative to the evening than a sugar overload dessert. I really love fruit because it provides the same sweetness of ice cream, except the sugar is all natural. I love finding healthy ways to make a chocolate milkshake or twists on the classic ice cream sandwich (I haven't had one of those since I was like five, but still). I love to take a half of a banana and slice it in half and put Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's in between. It is pure yumminess and less than 200 calories, if you think in the terms of calories. In other words, try looking for alternative options to satisfy your sweet tooth, there are many ways to! 

If you are single this Valentine's Day or plan to devour a whole tub of ice cream, put down that spoon. This recipe will blow your mind away. It is very light, healthier that ice cream and has a sweet and a tart taste. 

Berry Lemon Parfait 

Ingredients:

• Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt
• Lemon Curd (I got mine from Whole Foods)
• Cinnamon (or ginger) cookies or grahams
• berries -- I used raspberries and strawberries

Directions::

1. Spoon the yogurt into a small bowl 
2. Stir in two tablespoons of lemon curd into the bowl
3. Divide up the yogurt (if you are sharing) into no more than two equal portions
4. Garnish with and/or place berries in between layers and on the top of the parfait
5. Sprinkle with some cookie or graham crumbs

Let me know if you try this recipe, I would love to hear your response and see how it turned out. 

Have a great day! 

xoxo

Kira

loving you :: loving the little things

Living in a fast paced world we often forget to stop and smell the beautiful roses of life. Part of my New Year's goal was to slow down and enjoy every moment of life. Ever since I have been doing this I have been just happy. Plain and simple: happy. I mean sure I have bad days, every one does, but now they don't bother me. I know that the sun will always set and it will always rise the next day. Life goes on. But the key to living a really happy life is enjoying the small things as they come.

For example, Pinterest is a great place to find little things that just make you happy to look at. Whenever I have a spare moment in my life; like riding in the car to school, eating lunch or just down time, I love to see what little pleasures in life make me really happy to look at. 

this is my picture. the roses were just too beautiful not to take a picture of.

In addition to the challenges I presented you with yesterday, try taking today in stride. Slow down and find some little things in your day that make you smile. I promise once you open your eyes to new and smaller details to life, there is so much to smile about. At the end of the day today, make a list of things that make you happy. Maybe, you can continue on the list every day. 

some little things that make me happy ::

tea

watching my puppy snuggle in her bed

finally getting that one section perfect in a piano piece

getting the perfect hang clean lift 

laughing uncontrollably at something silly a friend did

Chuck Bass (#duh)

taking pictures (even selfies sometimes, no shame)

pinning inspirational quotes

crawling in bed after a long day

deadlifting at training

finishing a really good book and not knowing what to do with my life

the way my "e" looks when I write it

smiling at random people

my favorite pen

that one craving that won't go away (right now it is macaroons)

overcoming a mini obstacle

my mama and daddy

people 

What makes you happy? 

xox

Kira 

loving you :: This Week's To Do

Well this is it, the week my Valentine's mini-series launches. Last week, I empowered you to start loving your self. This week I hope to build upon this idea and bring you many bits and pieces of inspiration to help you feel so happy and content with yourself by Valentine's Day. I have so many exciting things to share with you all! 

The first step to loving yourself is coming to a friendship with your flaws and embracing them; and telling yourself that you are very important and worth being loved all of the time. The next step and most crucial step is loving other, no matter what they have or haven't done in the past. It's time to move on and rebuild relationships: both old and new. 

Today I have a challenge for you for the week. Are you ready? Everyday this week I present to you two tasks to complete each day, one for your personal being and one for another person. This way each day you build your love for not only yourself, but for others; one day at a time.

:: Monday ::

Give every one you see a smile. A smile will make somebody's day brighten because it show them that at least somebody cares.

To make you happy, buy or make yourself a yummy treat. It's Monday and you had to wake up early from your long night time sleep, so you deserve an extra little something to get you through the day. Lately, I've been craving French macaroons. 

:: Tuesday ::

Go outside of your box, talk to new people that you don't normally talk to. This will give you a change to make new friends and create new connections. 

Workout today. Whether it be in the morning or in the afternoon, make an effort to do something physical. Get you heart pumping to help promote more love. (lol)

:: Wednesday ::

Bring your friends something sweet. Doesn't everyone love sweets? Show your girls that you care by baking a sweet or sharing a cute recipe, trust me. My friends LOVE food so I'm sure that they will be very grateful. 

Read for thirty minute before bed tonight, and go to bed at an earlier time so that you get eight hours of sleep. Which, by the way, you should be getting every night. Spend tonight away from technology and instead, snuggle with your puppy and a good book. 

:: Thursday ::

Talk to someone you might have hurt, make amends with them. I always try to be kind to every one, but sometimes my words get the better of me. I never want to have a rough patch with anyone and I always try to forgive, or be forgiven, and move on. 

Spa night! Use deep conditioner, exfoliate, shave your legs and after apply a really good lotion and give yourself a mini facial. Don't forget your outfit! You want to look super cute for Valentine's Day tomorrow! 

:: Friday ::

Give all of your friends a hug and tell them how much they mean to you, presents are also nice too. 

Spend the night by yourself, or even more fun with friends! Do something that you love to do and make many memories with as well. Don't forget to take lots of pictures! 

Do you have any suggestions for the week? 

See you tomorrow!

xo 

Kira 

The Key to True Happiness Intro + Valentine's Day Gift Guide for YOU

Let's be honest. Every Valentine's Day girls who are single normally like to wallow up in sorrow and shovel candy hearts into their mouth by the handful. They are thinking how worthless their life is without a "boyfriend" because they labeled themselves (in terms of modern day society) as "forever alone", "worthless", "repel boys" or even "ugly". As cliché as it sounds: you are not worthless, you are a beautiful, unique, strong individual and somewhere hidden under your cloud of misery there is a really happy girl just dying to show herself to the world. Trust me, I used to be that little rain cloud, but I have found a way for my happy girl to show herself to the world the majority of the time.

If you are like me this Valentine's Day season, single, or if you just want to spend some quality "me time" this Valentine's stay tuned to my blog. I will help shine the light of happiness by showing you my very favorite methods to finding true happiness every single day in your life. Because let's face it; the most important person in your life is YOU, each and every ounce of you. And that little voice in your head is going to be with you all of your entire life, you cannot escape it. So why not make that little voice in your head be positive, instead of a negative Nelly? Coming to terms and accepting yourself is hard, but once you conquer that fear, I promise, you can rule the world. Well, at least your world. 

Why not start this special "you discovering" mission with presents, because who doesn't love presents? 

{links}

I am a true believer that happiness can be found within, but fun splurges contribute to overall happiness as well. Go ahead, talk yourself into buying something nice for you this Valentine's day. YOU are WORTH every penny and YOU DESERVE to be pampered. 

Now, clear your calendars, make your Valentine's day a special dedicated to you. Do things that you enjoy; bake pink food, laugh, hang with your BFF or call your mom. I will have more posts coming up next week to help make your Valentine's Day truly special. 

Most importantly: love your mom, you dad, your brother or sister, your boyfriend, your friends, your roommate and even the entire world, but don't forget to love YOU as well. 

This is just a little taste of what is to come next week! 

Stay Tuned!

xo Kira 

work, work, work

Happy Tuesday! 

Mondays are especially hard and by the time Tuesday rolls around, I am already swamped with homework.  Recently I have been on a kick where I don't want to do anything and eat everything in sight. I think it is from the snow days. But now that I am back in school full time until a little mini three day weekend coming up, I think that it is time to find a way to get my head in that same position as well. Mental battles are always the hardest. 

I LOVE MY BEDDING 

Over the weekend I devised a list to live by in order to get everything done and correctly. I have always had anxiety when it comes to stress and work loads, but eventually I get through them.

Avoid the electronic cloud // It may be just me, but if I spend too much time on Instagram, reading blogs or even research from school; I get a funny fuzzy feeling in my head. I get kind of confused and sometimes even dazed to what I had been doing before prior to the electronic connection. So I have made a promise to myself that I would turn off all of my electronics; phone, computer, iPad at 8:00 sharp and ban them from my room except on Saturday night and Sunday mornings. This way I can truly wind down and spend some quality time with my family, my French verbs or Geometry Theorems or a good book.

Plan // I am pretty good at planning because of my fabulous Lilly planner. But some days that didn't cut it. Recently at an adventure to Target I bought the cutest month planner for the brand Sugar Paper LA. I am going to write everything down for the month so I can see exactly what I am doing and what need to do be done when. 

Bedtime // I don't even know. I need to remember that I am in school, still a minor and still creating the path for my future. Bedtime had always been a strict thing for me. For some reason now, I have found myself losing track of time doing homework, spending too much time getting ready for bed or showering way too late. I am now setting a bedtime for myself at 10:00 on the nose, if I'm not falling asleep at that time, I should be reading.

I am so ready to conquer the month of February and let you guys know how my lovely list is going. Do you have anything that you think I should add to my list in order to get things done? 

See you tomorrow! 

xo Kira 

Liebster Award!

Liebster Awards are just so much fun because you get introduced to many new and adorable blogs. (see my first Liebster Award, here) Cara from Southern and Savvy nominated me for this award, I am so very happy. Her blog is so cute, I most certainly check it every morning. Thank you Cara!

Rules for the Liebster Award ::

 1. List 11 facts about yourself

 2. Answer the questions the blogger who nominated you asked

 3. Create 11 new questions

 4. Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers 

 5. Let them know and no tagging back

Facts about Kira ::

1. I am almost six feet tall (5'11.5'' actually)

2. My favorite food in the entire world is bread; like freshly baked homemade bread

3. I can hook my leg around my neck and keep it there

4. My left hand is bigger than my right

5. I am going to Ecuador this summer with my best friend

6. When I go get froyo I love to taste all of the flavors, but always end up getting chocolate

7. I love "hipster" music; Lorde, One Republic, Awolnation, Fun, The Lumineers etc. 

8. My life long wish is to go to India and China

9. As much as I love dressing up, I would love for it to be socially acceptable to wear yoga pants and a sweatshirt everywhere

10. I have been modeling for about two years, my goal is to model in Paris someday (Karlie Kloss is my idol)

11. I looove bubble baths; especially ones that are like an hour long 

Cara's Questions ::

1. What are your favorite colors?

     pink (all shades!), navy, white, teal, canary yellow, forest green 

2. What is your monogram?

     kTa

3. What is your favorite store?

    oh man I love shopping. J. Crew, C Wonder, Anthropologie, lululemon, Urban Outfitters (sometimes)

4. What is your dream vacation?

   I have pretty much been to all of the countries in Europe, but I would love to spend the summer         there. One month is Paris and the other traveling across the Mediterranean. 

5. What is your favorite social network?

   Instagram. Hands down. or Pinterest 

6. When did you start blogging?

    April 29, 2013 

7. What is your favorite makeup product?

    Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara

8. What is your favorite season?

     I love all of the seasons, but here are my favorites in order from love to like:: summer, spring, winter, fall

9. iPhone or Android?

    #teamiPhone all the way, I love my 5s

10. What is your favorite show?

     Pretty Little Liars, OMG Gossip Girl

11. Have you had a good 2014 so far?

  2014 has been crazy, but good so far :: I need to improve my eating habits, after the holidays they just fell a part lol 

For the Liebster Award I nominate :: 

NC Belle Prep14 @ North Carolina Belle

Hunter @ Prep on a Budget

Ashley @ History in High Heels

Sarah @ Southern Charleston Class

Alex @ Monster Misa

AJ @ The AJ Minute

Elizabeth @ Closer Than Yesterday

Meredith @ Monogram Meredith

Courtney @ Daughter of a Son of a Sailor

Sydney @ A Thousand Tomorrows

The Preppy Sisters @ The Preppy Sisters

My Questions ::

1. Coffee or tea?
2. Have you ever had a macaroon? If so what kind is your favorite? 
3. What do you like to do in your free time?
4. What do you get when you go for frozen yogurt?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Three words to describe your style?
7. Where do you want to be in five years?
8. Favorite way to get physically active?
9. What is your dream pair of shoes?
10. What do you like to do when you are alone?
11. Favorite article of clothing in your closet?    

I would like to give a big thank you to Cara for nominating me for this award.

Thank you to my viewers for being so sweet and so wonderful.

Take care.

xo Kira 

The Perfect Morning

Good morning, dears! 

Yesterday, I saw so many cute "Breakfast in Bed" posts by many of my favorite bloggers. Dorothy had the cutest idea to connect many bloggers together.  I was kind of bummed that I didn't catch the memo sooner, so I could participate with other bloggers.  I totally would have! But, today (since I am a bit late for the whole Saturday morning) I would like to answer the questions for my sweet readers anyway because I know how much the human population likes to look at blogs right when they get up. 

And for some reason, I just love Sunday. It marks the end of an old week and the beginning of a new one. 

What is the first thing you do on a lazy Sunday morning?

My mom typically likes to get things moving in the morning. If it were up to me, I would love to just lay in bed until noon eating a scrumptious (and totally carb packed) breakfast and drink hot tea from my Anthropologie mug. I would just love to do all of this accompanied with my puppy and a good book. 

What would your ideal breakfast be, don't forget the coffee?!

If I was feeling healthy, a green smoothie would be the way to go. But Sunday mornings, I let myself go loose. I just love croissants, fresh berries, oranges, belgian waffles. I also prefer tea, but if I had some coffee I would definitely prefer, Starbucks' "Cafe Verona". It has chocolate -- enough said. 

If you could have woken up this morning and been anywhere, where would it be?

Oh my goodness -- can you just take a guess? Why Paris of course. A spring morning in Paris with the windows open to smell the crisp air, feel the warm sun and see the beautiful Eiffel Tower from soft linen sheets and fluffy European pillows. 

What is your favorite instagram filter?

I don't really care for Instagram filters, but I looove the filters that come on the iPhone camera; especially 'chrome'. 

I hope you all are having a totally relaxing Sunday, I'm off to go eat my ideal breakfast now. :)

What does your perfect morning look like?

xo Kira