Happy New Years!

~KBR~

Finally, a Recap of my Week in Tennessee...

Okay, so I know I said a few days ago that I would fill you in on the week I spent in Sevierville, Tennessee...and although I did a brief post of photos from my iPhone here, it was such an exciting trip that I wanted to share a few more details! **Warning: TONS of pictures ahead!**

The absolute BEST part of the week was being surprised by my Aunt Michelle, 4-year-old cousin Peyton, 20-year-old cousin Corey, and his girlfriend Hannah. When we arrived at the cabin I originally thought only my parents, sisters and I would be staying there...so, imagine my surprise when I opened the door only to be greeted by my aunt in cousins who I haven't seen in over a YEAR. Also, Corey has spent the past few months in basic training for the army, and is being sent to his station in March. I was SO happy to see him before he went!

Then--as if one surprise wasn't enough--I learned that that VERY night, my cousin planned to propose to his girlfriend. One happy surprise after another! It was about 1pm when they arrived, so we first spent the day walking around Gatlinburg, shopping and grabbing a bite (or two...or three..) to eat.

(Anna also wore this crazy hat the whole time...it fits her personality so well!)

THEN once the sun went down, we rode the lift up to the top of the hill--overlooking Gatlinburg lit up with street lights and Christmas lights, so cute--and he proposed! Needless to say, all the females present were a complete happy, crying mess.



We spent the next week participating in activities including (but not limited to):

Riding rides at Dollywood.

Visiting an aquarium.

Riding horses.

Taking random drives through the middle of nowhere....

....where we found MORE horses.

Look at how absolutely STUNNING my sister Brooke is!

And how equally as gorgeous my sister Anna is...can you believe she's only 15?!

And, last but not least, our ferocious cuddly German Shepard, Fiona.

~KBR~

Guess I Must've Been Pretty Nice This Year....

Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas yesterday! It was so great spending some down time with my family...now that that stress of holiday shopping, gift wrapping, etc. was over, we just the got the chance to relax and enjoy each other's company! I also got some great gifts from "Santa." It always amazes me what unique and cute things my parents can find for me and my sisters! Here are some of my favorite gifts from yesterday:

Number one on my list: Tory Burch Metallic Logo Clutch in Gold! Well, that wasn't exactly what my parents gave me...they knew I wanted a Tory Burch purse (I hadn't told them a specific one, I just gave them a few ideas) but also know that I'm picky about my accessories, so they gave me a BIG ole amount of money in Tory Burch gift cards for me to buy my own purse. This is the one I picked out, and I just ordered it yesterday! Can't wait for it to get here :)

I also got some nice clothes and accessories. Here are a few of my favorites...a cozy Ann Taylor sweater, some pretty necklaces, sparkly earrings, and a cute "K" ring. LOVE!

This cute purse hanger was in my stocking. I've been wanting one of these!!

Another stocking stuffer...a girl can never have too many notecards!



My parents also got me these fun reindeer socks...I maaay have a slight obsession with fuzzy, cozy socks!

Last but not least...a $50 Target giftcard! I've been seeing SO many cute things at Target lately, so I can't wait to spend this money there!

What were some of your favorite gifts that you gave or recieved this Christmas?

~KBR~

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, y'all! Last night my family and I had our annual Christmas Eve dinner. All of our main relatives live far away (Florida and Georgia mainly) so we usually celebrate Christmas just the five of us. Last night we had a wonderful dinner at Capital Grille in uptown Charlotte. I got the seared ahi tuna--sooo yummy! If any of you are ever in Charlotte (and happen to be looking for a REALLY nice place to go) I would definitely recommend this restaurant! Here are some pictures from last night:

I wore a black and white print dress that I borrowed from my sister Brooke, a black belt, my red Nine West coat, black sheer tights, Tory Burch black Reva flats, pearl bauble necklace from Francesca's, and my go-to jewerlry (pearl studs, pearl ring from my mom, and gold bangle).

I also let Brooke curl my hair--which I NEVER do. I've honestly probably only curled my hair about four times in my life...I don't even own a curling iron! My hair is just so gosh darn straight, its such a hassle to bother with curling it. I actually liked how it turned out though! I also wore red lipstain to add to the festivity.

Being silly in front of the tree...and yes, that is my youngest sister in the middle, towering above us! Hard to believe that she's almost five years younger than me, and yet almost four inches taller!

Hope you all got the chance to spend time with your loved ones this Christmas, and made some wonderful memories! Santa was also very nice to me this year...more on that tomorrow ;)

~KBR~

Whew! Finally a Break...

So, I've been on Christmas break "officially" since the 16th, but I've still been overwhelmingly busy this past week---luckily, it was all fun stuff! First of all though, I want to apologize for not posting since Monday. I'm a terrible blogger for not posting once since then, but I promise I won't make it a habit!

To make up for it, I'm going to share with you exactly how I've spent this past week. Like I said, my break began on Friday the 16th...well, on Saturday the 17th I drove home and hopped right back in the car to head to Tennessee with my family! We rented a nice little wood cabin in Sevierville, which is right outside Gatlinburg. I haven't had time to upload the bajillion pictures from my camera yet (yes, I'm pretty sure bajillion is a real quantity)...that said, this post shares with you "Tennessee: According to my iPhone." Let me tell you, it sure was a week of fun and surprises!

The view driving in was breathtaking. You can easily see why they're called both The Blue Ridge Mountains and the Smoky Mountains!

Fudge from Kilwins in Gatlinburg...a must-have.



First big surprise of the week: My aunt and two cousins from Georgia showed up to surprise my sisters and I! My parents had planned the whole thing. Sadly we haven't gotten the chance to see them in over a year, so I was SO shocked and happy when I opened the door to the cabin to find them standing there! My younger cousin, Peyton, is four years old and is SO sweet. My older cousin, Corey, is 20 and just completed basic training for the army. He's shipping out to his station in March (location is still undetermined) so it was great to see him before he went. He also brought his girlfriend of 3 years, Hannah...more on that later...

Downtown Gatlinburg at night in December...so magical!

Homemade breakfast...YUM!





Preppy, monogrammed heaven at The Villages in Gatlinburg. My sister got a monogrammed scarf there!

Second big surprise: My cousin Corey proposed to his girlfriend at the top of the chairlift, overlooking Gatlinburg at night! I'm SO happy for them; they're just perfect together! Such a sweet moment!

More to come about my trip later! Hope everyone has had a happy holiday so far, and I'm wishing everyone safe travels and fun times with friends and family during this season!

~KBR~

Monday Morning Motivation

Source

~KBR~

Exam Time

It's exam time...easily one of the (if not THE ULTIMATE) most stressful times of the year. That said, you can see why it's important to make sure you look and feel your best throughout this time.....





.........oh, wait. That's not the direction this post is actually going at all. Oops.




What I really wanted to say is sorry for being a little bit MIA this week. SO overwhelmed with final exams, projects, and papers. Not much time for posting! However, here's a little sneak peek at my thoughts on "dressing for success" and "eating healthy to feel good" during exam time:

This is about as "dressed up" as I get during exam time. Comfy clothes? Check. Hat to hide my bedhead? Check.



Andddd this....shall we call this a "low point"? Yes, that is my boyfriend's oversize T-shirt. Yes, I actually wore this in public. Yes, I'm totally okay with admitting it....well, kind of.

And as far as eating has gone this past week? Well, at least I had SmartWater....

So, there you have it! This post is to let all my readers know that if you're like me, running around wearing clothes made for comfort (not style) and munching on chocolate bars, you're not alone! :)

Good luck with exams everyone! Back to reglar posting soon!

~KBR~

Weekend Recap: A Very Christmas Spirited Weekend

Well, exams are this week...however, luckily most of mine are later in the week so instead of spending all weekend studying (as I know many of my friends and readers have been doing) I took advantage of my free time and spent some time with the family at home! I'm so glad I did, because I had such a nice weekend...and a very festive weekend! Here's a quick look at how I spent my time:

Friday night, my family (plus one of my sisters friends) drove to a little town called McAdenville near Charlotte...aka "Christmastown, USA".

TIME called it one of the top "Christmassy" towns in the US

McAdenville is a cute little town situated around a lake, known for decorating very extravagantly for Christmas each year. The houses are adorable little Cape Cod style cottages, and driving through the town and seeing all the lights, you can't help but get into the Christmas spirit! Here are some pictures I snapped on my phone:

We had such a great time! My sisters and I also got to open an early Christmas present from our grandparents (labled specifically "open before Christmas") which turned out to be new ornaments for us to hang on the tree! My gold, glittery angel looked perfect on our tree:

My family and I also headed to South Park Mall, to do a little Christmas shopping and pick up a few more gifts. While we were there, I saw this GIANT chocolate Santa Clause...yes, it is actually the size of a small child:

Finally, we made Christmas cookies! Well, I made the actual cookies and baked them...I left the decorating to my family because I had to come back and study for exams--blahh. We bought some pretty Christmas tins and are going to use them to hand out our homemade cookies to the neighbors!

How did you spend your weekend? Preparing for exams, or getting into the Christmas spirit?

~KBR~