Kayli

Kayli’s 20 Wishes

November 7, 2012 15 Comments

Happy Wednesday Loves!

Here’s my installment of our 1 Year 20 Wishes Project. In case you missed the news on that, you can learn more about it here. And you can read Kassi’s list here.

I really tried to choose wishes I was going to be excited about- I’m all about taking advantage of this time in my life. (I hear it goes fast!) So hopefully these things will keep me on my toes and loving life through to next December! These are things I WANT to do. Not things I have to do or should do- I have plenty of those lists. (; What better way to spend a year than by doing things you really want to do, right?! If you’re interested in getting in on the fun – you can grab a button now, and then link up your own list here on the blog tomorrow. Nov. 8

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So here’s my list!

1. Grow a garden. (Like really grow one. Keeping the weeds out and tending it to it and all!)

2. Start playing the guitar.

3. Make and send valentines.

4. Buy my first pair of converse.

5. Make meditation a habit. (Not necessarily the kind of meditation you’re thinking, just learning to be.)

6. Finish an embroidery project. (Like pillowcases, or a dresser scarf or something.)

7. Learn the alphabet in American Sign Language.

8. Reread the entire Harry Potter series.

9. Paint again! (And maybe try something super abstract)

10. Sleep under the stars.

11. Read at least one C.S. Lewis book.

12. Buy 1 FULL outfit that I really love and maybe wouldn’t buy otherwise.

13. Get a professional best friend photo shoot done with Sara.

14. Go fishing in the evening off of the dock.

15. Do the Color Run!

16. Spend an entire day riding horses PURELY for fun- wherever I feel like going.

17. Spend a day perusing an antique shop.

18. Go to the Catwalk.

19. Learn to bake homemade bread!

20. Donate, even if it’s just a little, to a cause that I really believe in. (I’ll be doing lots of research for this one! (; )

These are subject to change of course, and hopefully I’ll be able to update as I go!
Don’t forget to make your own lists and share them with us tomorrow!

xoxo,

Kayli’s 25 before 25

August 7, 2012 15 Comments

So once upon a time my dear sister wrote a wonderful post you can find here on 30 things she wants to do before she turns 30. She challenged me to do a 25 before 25 post, so here I am. And let me tell you- this was NOT easy. When I first sat down I was like “this will be cake…” which was soon replaced with a moment of identity crisis. “What DO I want to do?!” Cause that’s what college sophomores do I guess. And THEN I got this whole flood of (mainly stupid) ideas and had too many. I think I finally have a list I’m happy about now though, so here it is! (:

1. Graduate from college.

2. Start teaching high school.

3. Cook a duck for my brother in law.

(To prove that I can.)

4. Learn to play the piano.

5. Spend some time in Salt Lake City.

(Preferably for General Conference or when the Christmas lights are up.)

6. Become a part time photographer.

7. Read the Bible and Book of Mormon in their entirety.

8.Relearn Spanish.

(Because I didn’t keep it up well enough and a lot of it -most of it- has left me.)

9. Build an online handmade business with Kassi.

10. Go to the Catwalk.

(a fun, nature, tourist destination near our hometown that I’ve never actually been to myself.)

11. RUN a 5k.

(Cause I’ve already walked one.)

12. Grow my hair out long.

13. Buy a new car.

14. Make a quilt.

(A legit, full sized, quilted, quilt.)

15. Go to a blog conference.

16. Send out Valentines.

17. Visit Texas when the bluebonnets bloom.

18. Go on a blind date.

(or several)

19. Stay out of debt and start saving.

20. Learn to fish like a pro.

21. Graduate from LDS Institute.

22. Beat my Mom at Ms. Pacman.

(She’s a pro. It’s intense.)

23. Learn how to play poker.

24. Finish renovating my house in my hometown.

25. Go bear hunting again.

And there it is my dear friends. Let’s see how successful I am. (:

What’s your list? I’d love to see it.

Filed Under: Kayli Tagged With: 25 before 25, Kayli

The Story of a Girl and a House

July 24, 2012 8 Comments

Hello dears. It’s Kayli. (: This was supposed to go up much earlier…but sometimes I stink.

So there are a million things I could write about. I still have about a month left of summer but in the summer that I’ve had so far I’ve learned so much and so many things have happened. The biggest thing though is probably that I’m working on cleaning and restoring a house to its original adorableness. These pictures are pretty representative of what I’ve been up to. Lots of cleaning and redoing and yard tending and flower growing. Tons of loving. And it’s been awesome. It’s this adorable little two story house with a sidewalk that runs right up to it and a yard full of trees. It’s been a lot of work, and there’s still a lot to do, but I’m super proud of my work so far. Just a little work in the front yard has made tons of difference.

Cute little daisy patch that popped up.

I planted flowers in the yard, in a flower bed on the east side of the house, and in pots on the porch. I also removed this awkward flower bed that looked like a grave and let grass grow in it to fill out the yard. Little kids would legitimately ask me who died there. It had to go. (: I also put up a humming bird feeder.

Then I made a cute little sign with a K on it since everyone else in town has a cute little sign. (: I used horseshoe nails and barbed wire to put it on he front gate. I finished it off with a denim bow and called it golden. I would write some type of tutorial on this, but I have faith that you’ll be able to figure it out. (: It really did make the yard look happier.

And I’ve had company in it all. A cat that showed up one day and decided we were best friends. She sits on the porch every day and waits for me to show up. I have a decided dislike for cats. But isn’t it hard to refuse to love someone that loves you? Even if you only love them back a little, you just can’t help it She’s the exception to my disdain.

It’s funny how it started out looking sort of sad and just a few little things have changed its whole personality. So that’s been my main project lately. To tend to this sweet old house that’s really tended to me. It’s been a good experience- learning so much about my family history and about taking care of things and about life. I go and sit on the porch and read, and write long letters, and think about things while it rains or while I water the yard. It’s all really picturesque. (; So that’s where I’ve been all this time. Where have you been this summer? What have you been up to lately? Any fun yard projects or remodeling? Share them with me!

I hope your July has been as lovely as mine.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Kayli

Places I Love: Ten Weeks of Thanks Wk #7

March 28, 2012 1 Comment

I would say I’m sorry I missed last week, but if I’m being honest, when I left for spring break I happily left my computer behind.

Not that it was super easy. I missed the full version of Pinterest and YouTube is slower on my phone. Real world problems, you know. (: BUT I learned a couple songs on piano, and I made a cake, and I slept, it was awesome. And I feel like this would be the perfect place to start the talk about places that I’m grateful for. Just three. Not that I’m only thankful for these three places, I have more than I could count. And I could talk for days about each. But these are the ones I feel like are the most important. So, three valleys. No names, no pictures. Just what I want to share. Cause that’s how this works. (:

Valley #1: The valley closest to my heart. It’s home.

Where I spent most of my break. I spent my whole life, up until college, living in one house, in that one valley. It’s quiet and beautiful. It’s deathly cold in the winter and warm and rainy in the summer. It smells like fresh cut grass and wild sunflowers. I love everything about it, which is why I don’t have tons to write about it. Because it’s too special. It’s a pretty legit place to be.

Valley #2: The valley I wanted to run off to every weekend once I could drive. (:

It was “town” and even though it’s probably the rest of the world’s idea of a small town, it was huge compared to home. We’d go and eat Chinese and go to the park. And then a lot of our youth group activities for church were there, and I made all of these amazing friends and did all of this crazy fun stuff like Dance Festivals and going to the golf course and the occasional carnival, hanging out in the parking lot and cruising around. I have nothing but happy memories there. And every time I go back to that place it just makes me smile and makes me think about strawberry blizzards and starry nights and Izze and pickups. It’s as magical as it sounds. (:

And then Valley #3: I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved it.

And now Kassi lives there. And I get to go all of the time. (: I think I really fell in love with the place when we went to the temple there. The town sits in the desert but it’s somehow still green. It’s bigger but it feels small and it’s comfortable. Probably because Kassi’s there, more than anything. I spent the end of my break there. (: I went and spent the weekend and we took the kiddos (not HER kiddos, by the way, but a niece and nephew) to the carnival. Which pretty much made my whole life because I LOVE carnivals. I love that valley. I love that it’s like a bajillion degrees but the mountains have snow on them, and that summer is the longest season there. I love who it keeps, and I love that it’s welcomed me, too.

So there’s that. I’m so blessed y’all. It’s crazy.

Next week’s topic is inventions. Think technology. What are you grateful for? Why?

I hope you’re having a beautiful Wednesday! By the way, there’s a linky below if you’d like to share the places YOU’RE thankful for.

Filed Under: Ten Weeks of Thanks Tagged With: Kayli, Thankful

Sponsor Spotlight – March Group Feature Part 2

March 24, 2012 3 Comments

Happy Saturday pretty friends!!!

Have we got some lovelies for you to check out today! Remember it’s Kayli’s Birthday month and our sponsors have put together a little something from their site/blog/shop that they thought she might like?

Well first up, we have a TREAT for you!
Ami of AliLilly put together an ENTIRE post of recipes she thought Kayli might like…
She knows her so well, Kayli LOVES to bake! Her ideas include these scrumptious looking Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

Click on over to see the rest of the recipes… They all sound AMAZING!

ALSO Ami is offering a SPECIAL DISCOUNT code in her shop, AliLilly just for Kayli’s Birthday!!!

Take 30% OFF anything in Ami’s shop with code KAYLILOVLEY!!!

You could use the discount code to get this pretty bracelet...

AND… a special surprise for Miss Kayli herself… Ami has offered Kayli the choice of ANYTHING she’d like from the AliLilly Etsy Shop as her birthday present!!!!! Now, do we have some ROCKING sponsors or what!?!

*********

Speaking of our ROCKING Sponsors… Check out what Aleks of Aleks Handmade SENT KAYLI for her birthday!!!

Here’s a few words from Miss Kayli on her birthday surprise from Aleks!!!

“I’m so blessed, I’ve had tons of birthday wishes and love sent my way and I couldn’t thank everyone enough!! You’re all beautiful and awesome and such amazing examples to me. But today I want to give a HUGE shout out and HUGE thank you to Aleks from Aleks Handmade. Kassi told me to be watching for something in the mail, but wouldn’t tell me who it was from. So I checked the mail EVERY day and when I opened up the box and saw the cute little polka dot package, I knew it was my surprise! I opened it and found tons of goodies! A bow, a cute cowboy journal, a cuff, tons of fun stuff! And a sweet card from Aleks. It made my whole month!! I’m so grateful for sweet people like Aleks who give and think about others when they don’t have to. Wouldn’t the world be awesome if we were all more like Aleks? It made me feel special, and who doesn’t love that?! So thank you Aleks! You’re amazing and I’m SO grateful!! I can’t wait to use and wear all of my new goodies!”

Kassi here again… I just want to say a SPECIAL thank you to ALL of our AMAZING sponsors.
When I approached them about doing something special for Kayli’s birthday month, they all jumped at the chance!!
We are truly blessed to have the BEST sponsors here at Truly Lovely. Each of these ladies is more than that to us… Each of them is our friend. Thanks again lovelies!!!

You can see the other March Spotlights featuring Kayli’s Birthday here; Amanda, Bethani, Group 1, Jaimie.
We would love if you would pop over and check them out. Sharing a hello would be even more awesome!

Have a lovely weekend sweet friends!

Filed Under: Sponsor Spotlight Tagged With: Kayli

Bloggie Bestie Blog Swap with Jen of The Arizona Russums

March 1, 2012 5 Comments

Good morning lovelies!!

Today we’d like to introduce you to a fellow Arizonian…

Jen of The Arizona Russums!

I’m over at her place sharing a new post as well!

Hope you’ll pop over to say hello after leaving her some love here!

Take it away Jen….

Hi y’all! I am so honored to be the blog bestie on Truly Lovely this week! Since Kayli is about to become a teacher, these sweet sisters asked me to share a bit about my own personal teacher style.

I have been a teacher for seven years now. My first two years were spent at a Title I public school in Texas. I was a coach and I was literally allowed to wear warm-ups to class if I wanted to! Next, I taught at a private school in Seattle, where the dress code was more stringent and all the females {staff and students} had to wear a dress/skirt every Thursday for chapel, which was not very fun when it was particularly cold and rainy outside. Now I teach writing classes at Arizona State in the middle of the hot, hot desert. It’s usually over 100 degrees for the first two months of every school year and I trek across the campus of the nation’s largest university trying to stay cool anyway I can. Basically, when it comes to teacher style, I’ve encountered every climate and dress code possible!

My number one tip is this. Dress professionally. Follow the dress requirements at your work place and dress as well as you can for your job. I think this applies to everyone, not just teachers. I don’t think fashion is the most important thing in the world, but I do think we show respect to our profession by dressing well each day. Also, for teachers and others who work with children or teens on a daily basis, remember that the way you dress influences the young people you work with. I like to show my students, especially the girls in my classroom, that it is possible to dress modestly and still look cute.

So now for the fun part. My practical tips for dressing as a stylish but modest teacher…

Cardigans are your best friend… Get yourself a fun collection of cardigan sweaters. I recommend having a few print cardigans to wear over solids and a few solids to wear over prints. Make sure some of them are longer {it’s nice to be able to cover your bum sometimes, but cropped ones are perfect for other outfits. I like to have cardigans of varying sleeve lengths as well. Long sleeved cardigans were perfect in cold Washington and sometimes are still perfect for AZ classrooms with arctic air conditioning. Sometimes though, it’s nice to wear a short sleeved cardi here, because I like to cover up with an extra layer without feeling like I am going to burn up while walking in the sun.

Choose your layers wisely… One of my worst fears as a teacher is accidentally flashing an adolescent boy. Make sure your skirts or dresses are long enough. They should probably touch your knee cap to be safe. Tights are helpful for avoiding an unwanted flashing in the classroom {and are also a cute way to spice up an outfit}. Also, wear modest underwear to school if you are wearing a dress. I hope to never fall in front of my students or do the ol’ tuck the skirt into the underwear after going to the restroom, but if I do, the teenage boys in my class will see full granny panties in action. And that’s the way it should be. When it comes to shirts, wear a tank or camisole under anything that could possibly reveal cleavage. Sometimes shirts seem fine when you put them on in the morning, but when you move or bend over, little gaps are created that show off the ladies beneath. Not good. Figure out which shirts need an added layer beneath. A cute scarf is another fashionable way to keep things modest up top.

Find cute pants that fit you well… Although I like to wear skirts and dresses when it’s exceptionally hot in Arizona {built in air conditioning system!}, dress pants are a staple of my wardrobe. A pet peeve of mine is when teachers have only one or two pairs of dress pants and wear them until they are all shabby and raggedy looking. Remember, the goal is to teach students to dress well. Looking all frumpy in faded dress pants is not dressing well. Try to get enough pairs of dress pants to create a nice rotation so you never have to wear a pair more than once a week. I recommend a black pair, a dark brown pair, a light brown/khaki/tan pair, and a gray pair. Also consider buying a pair with a print on it, such as pinstripes or plaid. I love having a variety of pants in my closet because it makes getting dressed a little more exciting and encourages me to mix and match lots of different tops and accessories with my variety of work pants. Also {and I can’t stress this enough} please make sure your pants fit correctly. Don’t wear excessively tight pants to school – that ruins the whole modesty factor and/or looks completely unflattering. Also, don’t wear pants that are too big. The worst is when I see a female teacher wearing pants that gap along the waistline with no belt, and suddenly get a view of way too much thong in action. Nobody wants to see your thong {except for maybe some immature teenage boys}. Buy pants that fit and wear a belt if needed.

Thanks for hanging out with me today! If you want to see more of my teacher style posts go here, here or here! You can also visit me at the following places – I’d love to meet you!

Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Bloglovin

xoxo,

Jen

THANKS so much to Jen for sharing her insight on dressing like a teacher (and modesty in general!!) Great tips!!!

Kayli, our teacher in the making, has taken notes for sure!!!

Hope you lovelies will pop over and visit me at Jen’s place and check out her other awesome posts!