Category: Fashion

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Fashion Travel

Weekend Recap: Hoopla at Devil’s Backbone Brewery!

The tagline of my blog is mainly all about dreaming of high fashion, but on a realistic budget. Soooo yeah…Dreamy Realist! Another angle to my tagline is how through blogging I am able to live in a bit of a dream and reality. Growing up and still to this day I have my head in the clouds and being able to have a mix of posts that go outside of my fashion comfort zones and gives me that “dreamy” feeling and also a mix of affordable looks that are more “realistic” for the office or running errands. Yes, I would love to sport this sequin gown to my full time job, buttttttt I think I will have to save that for after 5.

The “dreamy” category of my blog came into full effect this past weekend. I was invited by Dani of Blonde in the District to head to the Devil’s Backbone Hoopla Brew and Music Fest! It was the perfect mix of all my favorite things:

  1. The mountains
  2. Great brew and food
  3. Live music
  4. Dancing
  5. Lots of laughs with amazing friends (Juju and Dani!)

If you are looking for a weekend getaway I definitely recommend this festival the brewery throws each year right on their grounds. This brewery is nestled right in the Appalachian mountains with plenty of space for camping. My favorite part was the full line up of artists that played from morning till night on the grand stage.

From the selection of beers there is a variety that anyone can enjoy from light to hoppy IPA’s. While you are getting hydrated there is also an adventure section to the festival as well which includes a variety of activities from flower crown making to guided hikes on the Appalachian Trail. I have been to quite a few beer festivals and I love that there is a mix of activities that you can do to make it more of an experience around the beer not just about drinking.

Ok, so on another note since I am rocking this amazing sequin gown by Badgley Mischka from Rent the Runway. I find it pretty hilarious because the last time I wore a floor length gown was to prom in high school. I am sure if high school Catherine got a glimpse of this moment she would be giving me some major side eye then we would hug it out and give me a jumping high five. Well, if you seriously have a formal engagement to attend here are some of my favorite dresses from RTR!

Thank you Dani and Devil’s Backbone again for a super amazing weekend and can’t wait to be back again next year!

XO

Catherine

    

Categories
Fashion Lifestyle Travel

Weekend Recap- Hollywood Casino in Harpers Ferry, WV!

If you had a chance to see one of my recent Instagram posts I chatted with you guys about how casinos as of lately hold a bit of a sentimental place in my heart. A casino was actually the last place my family, which included my Dad, had an outing to for my birthday over a year ago when they were visiting me. Around a month later my Dad passed away. Thinking about him playing all of the penny slots with me and just overall enjoying ourselves gives me a little moment of joy when strolling through casino doors.

With that being said I was super pumped when Hollywood Casino at Charlestown Raceway asked Dani, of Blonde in the District, and I to come to the O.A.R concert two weekends ago in Harpers Ferry, WV! Full disclosure I can easily lose $20 in about 20 seconds on penny slots and I am awful at card games. You better believe though that I love being a cheerleader for my friends who are hitting it big at the Blackjack table or being moral support when they are losing too. Speaking of, I was pleasantly pleased with the variety of game tables, slots, and also the horse track attached!

To recap our visit it was super convenient to get to the casino from our hotel, which if you remember was the River Riders Family Adventure Resort. There is a free shuttle that you can schedule to take you there and pick you up, which is especially convenient if you do not want to worry about driving if you have enjoyed a drink or two with dinner.

There is an awesome variety of food options from getting fancy schmancy at their steakhouse, Final Cut, or if you want to be where the action is there is also the Skybox Sports Bar that overlooks the casino floor. We chose the Skybox and seriously had the best seat in the house. I absolutely recommend their fried pickles…delish! Speaking of food and sidenote, I found out that the casino is hosting the West Virginia BBQ Fest September 1!

Well, I guess it’s not always all about food, well most of the time it is…but also a super exciting addition to the casino is the Sportsbook that is opening September 1 too. Whew what a weekend it will be!

Then of course the main event was the O.A.R concert. What I loved about the venue was its size. It was almost like no matter where you sat in the concert space you still had an amazing view and it did not feel overcrowded. The light show was on point and of course O.A.R was totally a hit…it seriously brought so many memories back of my college days belting out “It was a crazy game of poooookerrrr…” how ironic huh? To check out the full list of amazing events they have happening follow this link, but Sinbad is coming 9/1 and Jay Leno is on 9/15!

Ohhhh and speaking of that, did I mention that I am doing a giveaway that includes 2 tickets to see Sinbad or Jay Leno!? To enter, go to my latest post on my Instagram page (@dreamyrealist_) and I will be announcing the winner Friday 8/24 on my Instagram stories!

So if you are looking for a quick weekend gettaway and you want a mix of the great outdoors and with some night life mixed in Hollywood Casino Charlestown Raceway is only about 2 hours from DC…jackpot!

Shop My Look: I bought the sunglasses at a boutique a long time ago and can’t remember where! So I posted similar cute ones!

  'My Girl' 50mm Cat Eye Sunglasses, Main, color, Black/ Smoke Lens

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Fashion Lifestyle

My Totally TUBE-ular Time with River Riders Family Adventure Resort!

Ever have those weekends where you really want to get out of 9-5 grind and have a lil jam sesh with Mother Nature? Of course, at first you think ok camping sounds amazing! Then you realize wait, I don’t have a tent. Then the thought of after a long week sleeping on the solid ground may not feel as appealing. Oh and not owning a camping grill or gear for the outdoors. This camping idea has really escalated quickly…forget it I will just Netflix all weekend, take 24 naps, and eat a sleeve of Oreos.

Does this cycle of having the idea of an amazing weekend happen to you, but the frustration of not knowing where to start sets in, and thennnnnn you just creep on back to your comfort zone sound familiar?! Well, my friends I have done the dirty work for you and have the BEST quick weekend getaway that has everything you need all in one place. Great accommodations, amazing food, and awesome adventures at River Riders Family Adventure Resort!

So my girl Dani, of Blonde in the District, and I hit the ol dusty trail and made our way to Harpers Ferry, WV! (Insert my awful singing rendition of Country Roads by John Denver…West Virginnnnnnia, mountain mamaaaaa, take me homeeeee, country roaaaaads) which is only a little over two hours outside of DC! We checked into the River Riders Family Adventure Resort, which like I mentioned literally has everything you need all in one place. First of all, the accommodations on site have rooms that are completely affordable and the staff is so attentive with their amazing customer service. Forget about driving around trying to find some grub since they have a pub right on the resort. We definitely got our groove on with some appetizers, which I totally suggest the chicken quesadillas or the Bavarian pretzels with delicious beer cheese. Oh and if you do not know what an Orange Crush is that should be the #1 thing you order from the drink menu, super refreshing!

Then after we had our stomachs full we were ready to hit the water for a bit of river tubing! No joke, we literally just walked down a path and BAM there is the facility to get geared up for the rafts. The staff there were super efficient and made you feel totally at ease with a very informative safety presentation, which you know I am all about safety first! Then we loaded up in these bright neon buses and made our way down to the water. Best of all we did not need to lug our tubes around it was really easy to get right into the water. Then it was time to start the maximum chilling as we floated along the river listening to all songs that were anything water related…Proud Mary, Born on the Bayou…ok that is the only songs I can think of that involve water…oh wait…Waterfalls by TLC!

The flat river tubing was super smooth and surpriseingly I didn’t fall in the water or lose anything valuable in the river, which is usually my routine on these kind of excursions. Also, it was super easy to find our endpoint of where to get off at with River Riders staff that loaded up our rafts and promptly got us back to the resort.

There is also such a variety of other activities you can do through the River Riders Family Adventure Resort too such as ziplining, white water rafting, aerial adventure park, and there is also free shuttles to the Hollywood Casino Charles Town! So if this all sounds snazzy, River Riders Family Adventure Resort is giving 5% off your purchase if you use code “TUBEULAR” via their website that can be used towards any activity in their adventure park. Now go get your tubing on my friends!

XO

Catherine

Shop similar look:

Plus Size Sequin Flamingo One-Piece Swimsuit main image 

Categories
Fashion Lifestyle

The ” I Love your dress! Where did you get it from?” Dress…

Since moving to DC from Indiana I noticed quite a shift in how people interact with one another here. I first noticed this when I was on the Mt. Vernon running trail and as I was passing by some groups of people it is in my natural instinct to give a slight head nod or a quiet hello especially if it is not a whole lot of people you are passing. Well, in my very “Hello! I am from the Midwest, let’s be best friends forever” fashion of a polite head nod I was completely ignored by every person I passed. After 6 years here I have become used to this, but then when I go back home to Indiana and everyone and there Mother is saying hello and strangers are chatting it up with you it is like I have become that person from DC on the Mt. Vernon trail! Now I am not saying that everyone is like this, but I have a more uplifting part to this story in my recent past couple weeks in DC and it all starts with this dress from Dress Barn.

So I have worn this floral beauty to a couple of work events, happy hours, and weekend fun and I no joke have had more random conversations with people I have passed by than ever! It all started at an event I went to for my friend Dani, from Blonde in the District. I was standing outside waiting for my Uber after the event and it was my first time wearing this little beauty out and about in the middle of Dupont Circle.

As I was waiting these two women who were passing by said how cute my dress was and where did I get it and all that jazz and then after them I had two more women ask me the same thing followed by a woman by herself. So 5 total women in a period of me waiting 5 minutes for my Uber! This act of a random kindness has truly inspired me to get back to remembering how a small compliment can make someone feel so good and it does not even need to be someone that you know! Also, it does help when you have this amazing dress on too.

So this week I am going to challenge myself to give a compliment to a complete stranger once a day. I feel like it will be a bit tough, but let’s see if I can hold myself accountable to it. In the mean time I picked out for you guys my favorite floral dresses that you will for sure get compliments on too from Dress Barn on my Instagram stories! Also, follow this link to shop this dress too that is perfect for work or play!

XO

Catherine

Photo Credit: Tenneal McNair