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Behind The 'Gram

EXTRAS, RANDOM STUFFKim & ChloeComment
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Hello! I hope you've all had a fantastic long weekend, thanks to the fabulous Martin Luther King Jr. Actually, before I write this actual post, I want to talk a little about Mr. King himself. I had an early release day at school the other day so my friends and I decided to go to the movies. We ended up seeing Selma, and it was absolutely amazing. It was a history lesson, but it made me appreciate and admire Martin Luther King on a whole new level. Being from the south, I had seen racism first hand, but Selma allowed me to further understand the issues behind racism. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that a.) Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero and such a cool guy and b.) go see Selma! Ok now onto the real post.. Behind The 'Gram. I was just stalking my blog (please tell me I'm not the only one who does this...) and I stumbled across my first Behind The 'Gram post and it reminded me how fun it is to see the true story behind a pretty picture, because usually the story isn't as pretty. So I've decided to do a second post. Here we go.

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What it looks like: Just casually entered a winter wonderland where the air is crisp, the people are joyful, and hot chocolate is waiting for me at home.

What actually happened: My family and I went skiing with another family this Christmas and we decided to all go out together one day. We started on a mountain called "Peak 8" and decided to venture over to "Peak 9." However, to get to Peak 9 we had to go across a very flat, very un-skiable stretch of land. Fortunately, I had enough speed to get me through most of the flat stretch, but most of the rest of the group wasn't so lucky. This picture was taken in the absolutely freezing temperatures while waiting for the whole gang to finally catch up. Not only was everyone exhausted by the time they finished skiing/trudging through the path, they were also extremely grumpy. We ended up having to ski to the bottom of Peak 9 so that we could sit in a little cafe and catch our breath and thaw out our hands and feet.

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What it looks like: Sunday morning coffee date. And can we just take a minute to appreciate the RayBan / Coffee art combo? I lead such a fabulous life.

What actually happened: I procrastinated doing my homework all week so I frantically had to get it all done Sunday afternoon. I decided to go to a coffee shop so I wouldn't get distracted by the WiFi and food at my house. However, the coffee shop that I went to was so uber trendy that I didn't really know how to order, and therefore my coffee tasted gross and un-sugary. I then proceeded to make a scene while taking a picture of my coffee because for some reason I just couldn't get the angle or the lighting right. I was probably standing over my table while photographing for a full twenty minutes (that is unfortunately not an exaggeration). It'll be a while until I feel comfortable to show my face at this excessively trendy coffee shop.

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What it looks like: Just a casual cone on a hot summer day.

What actually happened: My mom, brother, and I decided that it would be fun to bike to a cool ice cream shop. Turns out this ice cream shop was 6 miles away and it just happened to be one of the hottest days of the summer. I didn't even want to get my ice cream in a cone because I was trying to eat healthy and the cup was much smaller. I decided that I could splurge and eat a whole cone, 'cause #eatitforthegram. This picture took a long time to capture because I couldn't find the right background and the ice cream kept melting down my hand.. hence the lick marks on the ice cream. Also, my mom was disappointed that my nails weren't painted for this picture. Overall, a very stressful and unsatisfying experience.

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What it looks like: Oh you know me, out for a casual walk during the gorgeous fall weather.

What actually happened: My mom and I walked over to the mall to check out the sales and on the way home I thought the leaves would make a good picture. I had never taken one of these kind of pictures (the cliche outfit from above shot) before so I was really struggling to capture my whole outfit while still including the pretty leaves. Unfortunately, this struggle occurred in front of other people who were very confused by my awkward "butt out, camera above the head, blind shooting" approach to photography. I almost got run over by two bikers and had countless stares from unlucky witnesses.

All in all, a pictures is worth a thousand words. Clearly, these words are much more interesting when describing the behind the scenes look into it. Now you'll never be able to look at our instagram account without wondering what really went on to capture the picture. Let me know if you'd like me to write a part three, but in the mean time you can follow us on Instagram and try to guess what the story is! xox Chloe

Life Update

EXTRAS, RANDOM STUFFKim & ChloeComment
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Well hello beautiful people of the internet, long time no talk, am I right?I guess I have a little catching up to do so here’s an update on what’s happened in the past few months that I’ve been seemingly AWOL. I’ve been accepted into college (and rejected, but that’s a story for a different day), I’ve decided where I want to go (CU Boulder) and what I want to major in (Strategic Communications), and I found a roommate (she's awesome). Everything is going perfectly, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better Senior year. However, now that’s it’s second semester, my Senior-itis has officially hit. It’s not that I don’t care about my school work anymore, ‘cause I do, it’s just that I’m not feeling as motivated to do everything in a timely fashion. In fact, as I type this I should be doing my math homework... but whatever. Here are a few pictures so you can have a visual to go along with this update...

memories

-My years has been filled with coffee dates with myself on weekends trying to frantically catch up with my school work. -My friends and I went on a mini road trip to a huge pumpkin patch this past fall to pick the perfect pumpkins. We then carved them together while watching cheesy Disney halloween movies. -Halloween was super fun this past year too. It was my first time going to a “real” Halloween party and I had an absolute blast. I wasn’t so original with my cat costume, but it was a last minute thing so I wore what I had on hand -For Christmas break my family and another family went on a week long ski trip together. It was an absolute blast and the mountains were just gorgeous. -I received a LifeProof case for my birthday and it has lead to countless swim team underwater photo shoots. -Selfies with friends occur on the daily, and we all know that everything looks better in black in white. -Over Christmas break I had a little photoshoot with my friend and she took some awesome pictures of me (at least I think so haha)

So there you have it, a little update on what has been happening in my life lately. I hope you all enjoyed this post and I’m going to try to keep up with this blog as much as possible! Let me know if you have any post ideas / requests!

xox Chloe

Cleaning Closets

FASHIONKim & Chloe-1 Comments

It's that time of year: the time for New Year's resolutions. I may not have come up with my life-altering, earth-shattering new resolution yet, but I have begun my annual week of cleaning closets. Some people may enjoy a good spring cleaning, but starting out the New Year with clothes I actually wear makes me feel like I'm starting the year off right.

cleaning closets via Harper's Bazaar

Now that I've been through all our closets, I need to make a decision of what to do with all these clothes that are piled up all over the house. Before my husband fusses, and before any of us start digging into the piles of discarded clothes (old habits die hard... I don't really need 3 oversized sweaters when 1 will do!)

Since I'm in a new town, I'm might "test" how well my clothes do in consignment shops by giving each a similar sweater and seeing how long it takes for it to sell, what percentage I receive, and how I'm paid. Perhaps I'll find a favorite consignment shop and most of my newer, less-worn wardrobe will be donated there each season.

how to donate clothes

via Harper's Bazaar

But there are also some alternatives I'm considering:

1. Take any pair of old jeans to Madewell, and receive 20% off a new jeans purchase. Note: some sites say this program expired in 2014, so check with your local store... it seems like they may continue the program!

2. J.Crew also has a denim drive: you bring in old jeans (they don't have to be J.Crew brand) through 1/31, and you'll receive 20% off a new pair.

3. Sell my good condition clothes by the bagful on ThredUp or LikeTwice.

4. Donate clothes to Nordstrom and feel good about the charity that receives the benefit of the sale of clothing on their website.

5. Donate to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or Dress for Success.

6. Host a clothing swap. One woman's old clothes are someone else's treasure!

Lots of ideas to for lots of clothes! Of course, Craigslist and eBay are always options, but with so many easy alternatives, I think I may be getting rid of my old clothes faster than ever.

XO ~kim