Category: Lifestyle

Categories
Lifestyle

Why I Wore Red!

Let’s pretend that we have flashed back to yesterday…Friday…more specifically morning time and you are reading this post since it was technically Wear Red Day or amongst the other hashtags you may have seen #GoRedForWomen #NationalWearRedDay and so on. If you haven’t heard these lil gems then head over to the American Heart Association website and learn more! Basically it is a campaign for the month of February to raise awareness for women specifically on how to lower your risk for cardiovascular disease and to save lives!

Now heart health is something that I do hold near and dear to my own heart since I have had someone I love very dearly deal with their own personal journey with heart health. If you would like to hear about it, please reach out to me I would be happy to share one on one. Well, that is not what this post is all about today, but more about the stories that we may not know or see through the lense of a perfectly filtered life on Instagram. Lately I really have appreciated how very real and honest the women I have been following are with their own feelings just in everyday life, personal struggles or successes, and more.

Well, since the Wear Red Day campaign is all about women I wanted to be more intentional about being a better support to my fellow woman. So I wanted to throw this out into the universe to you all. If you have an upcoming project that you are excited about, a new collaboration, or you are throwing an event, let me know! Each day this month I am going to highlight a blogger or just inspirational friends that you need to be following. On the flip side if you are just having a hard couple of months with whatever personal struggles you may have and just need those positive prayers and vibes let me know that too! You don’t have to share them with me if you are not comfortable with it, but just a “Hey Cath, ugh I’m just not feeling like myself lately” just that and I can make an intentional moment to send you the positive thoughts you may oh so need. Now I know that is not much, but I will tell you when I went through a rough year just a simple hug from a friend really could turn my day around. Share with me what you do to support friends and fellow woman! Would love more ideas on how I can be a better cheerleader for you all since you all have done so much for me!


XO


Catherine

Categories
Lifestyle

Let’s Make a Difference!

What a weekend it was! It was filled with a lot of excitement with a girl’s night out, seeing Cinderella at the Kennedy Center and dinner out at a new restaurant in Georgetown that I have never been to. There were also more important things that took place too. I had a chance to once again go to the Women’s March and walk alongside thousands of strong and powerful women through the streets of DC. What a year it has been and I felt like the march helped me press the reset button on my priorities and my desire to take action. When I got home I immediately started researching how I can become more involved in my community. It is so easy to get swept away in the everyday routine, so I want to keep this energy moving forward.

I am so fortunate to live in an area that is so rich in history and I feel like I have not even tapped into it all even though I have lived here for about 7 years. These next couple months I want to make it a mission to get more involved in my community, but also go to places that I have never been before that play major roles in our nations history like the Library of Congress, Ford’s Theatre, the African American History Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and more. So this is where you come in…I need your help. Share with me what organizations you are volunteering for and giving your time too. Also, what historic spots in DC do you recommend?

XO

Catherine

Categories
Fashion Lifestyle

A Coat of Many Memories

Ok so I admit it…yes I have been binge watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Netflix. I mean when you are in the haze that is Christmas to New Years instead of trying to muddle your way through a routine wondering what day it is why not cozy up to watch a new series. I mean honestly I guess you can also call the series a bit of inspiration too. The era of the 50’s with the high waisted trousers, gorgeous hats, and the cutest coats I got a bit inspired. No spoiler alerts here so I won’t tell you the part of the show that inspired me, but the main character was strutting down the street in a beautiful blue jacket and it just got me to thinking. What are the classic pieces when I am long gone that I would want to be in that special box to hand down to whether it be future kids, family, friends, etc.

Jacket- Guess
Sweater & Earrings- Rent the Runway
Jeans- NY & Co.
Purse- Current Boutique
Shoes- DSW
Sunglasses- Forever 21

Just daydreaming away and this green pea coat came to mind. It is so funny because I feel like I graduated college the other day, but alas it was over 10 years ago. I vividly remember the day when I got this jacket. I believe I was entering into my freshman year of college and my mom was set about us going out and getting my first “grown up coat” as I would like to call it. Honestly, at the time it was not all roses and daisies because the plus selection back then was truly awful in the department stores. Then alas, this green beauty caught my eye. Bless my mom who was dealing with a teenager who definitely had a very different eye for style. I mean very opposite, but in the best way. It kind of felt like the first time we agreed on a piece of clothing that we both liked…it was almost like a right of passage in our relationship. Ok…this is getting pretty deep, but you know what I mean.

I know…I know…I always preach to you guys on minimizing your closet and how to keep things simple, this includes not leaving mountains of things for the next generation to have to sort through. I will say though there was a special feeling of playing dress up with my Grandma’s Avon jewelry when I was 8 years old.

So I think this classic jacket will be added to my own little archive of Catherine. The way to create balance is by incorporating those classics in your daily life, don’t let them collect dust in a box. So my decades old coat and I are hitting the town! What would yours be?!

XO

Catherine

Categories
Fashion Lifestyle

Holiday Gift Giveaway!

It was the day after Thanksgiving and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a…whoops looks like I have mixed up my holidays here a bit! Well, I guess this opening line was partially true for a great lead into what I got into the day after Thanksgiving. As my family took naps I decided to bundle up and stroll around King St. in Old Town, VA. I have lived here for seven years and it has been ages since I have actually just walked around to enjoy the sights and sounds of the bustling streets, historic buildings, and the warm holiday feeling that is in the air with the twinkling lights strung amongst the trees. I feel like I am getting super poetic here, but I am serious…it is such a quaint part of the DMV!

I remember when I first came to visit here I was with my Dad and we parked on Rt. 1 and got out to stroll around and see the area. Being from Indiana in an area where there was not communities as large as this with such history and a variety of boutiques, restaurants, and such I immediately fell in love. It is like one of those places you go that you feel like you can never get tired of. Also, my first job when I moved here was at Current Boutique and that is where I continued to express my love for fashion and supporting a local business.

So in celebration of the holiday season and the emotional connection I have to this town that started my journey in my career, the ups and downs of love and loss, new friends and discovering too appreciate the ones I miss at home so much more, starting my blog, and the list goes on…I am doing a 5 Day Gift Giveaway with items that are from local boutiques in Old Town! So, starting today check out my Instagram and I will be posting a new item each day for the next 5 days. There will be super easy instructions on how to enter!

Most important of all I wanted to do this giveaway as a huge thank you to you all for your support throughout the years of this blogging journey. I am so blessed to be connected with a community of creatives and the kind words you all share with me on each and every post! Ok enough of the gushy stuff and lets get to the good stuff, head to my Instagram @dreamyrealist_ and enter for the first giveaway!

XO

Catherine