Au Revoir America!

With my last night at home slowly slipping away, I'm a jumbled mess of nerves and excitement and a little bit of stress for the journey ahead of me. Tomorrow morning I'm saying 'au revoir' to my family and the united states for sixteen days to live in paris and go to L'Institute St. Dominique with 20 of my closest girlfriends and one unfortunate ex boyfriend (one of the only two boys on the trip. just my luck, right?). Regardless, I couldn't be more excited to immerse myself in a culture unknown to me and improve my french because it needs a lot of work, let me tell you! I'm going to try to blog as best I can but finding internet over there might be difficult, so à bientôt lovely readers, bring on le fromage et le vin!

Xoxo, Katy

Row Row Row Your Boat

With two days under our belts and boats beginning to be rigged, I think it's safe to say that crew season is upon us once again! And nothing says welcome back like... sweaty boys and vomit. I think in the off season I tend to forget about some of the less enjoyable aspects of crew, like my boys pushing themselves on the ergs so hard that they physically make themselves sick, but all that aside, it's really good to be back. This season is also going to be an interesting one trying to navigate around my ex boyfriend who's also on the team, but as the only girl on the team I've got all my "big brothers" to help me out. Our guys are all looking really strong and really fast on the ergs and I just hope that strength shows on the water. Best of luck to all of y'all starting your spring sports season!

Xoxo, Katy

Thought for the Week

You are who you are and you should be so very proud of yourself! Life has a funny way of working itself out so don't worry about the future this week but instead just be happy. Care about things, get excited, and enjoy the ever present game of knowing!

Xoxo, Katy

Weekend Review

I haven't been sick all year and oooooof course I get sick the weekend before I leave for france for two weeks. Well, on the plus side, I got some major packing done! I'm talking my suitcase went from this: 

to this: 

A few things have changed in my packing as I've found out more about the weather and other activities we'll be doing so I've had to add a few things like a light jacket (I'm bringing my J Crew Field Jacket), dresses and a pair of heels for parties, and a black Yves Saint Laurent clutch that I am thinking about marrying (thank you to my mom for passing down that beauty!) for nights out.

As for jewelry and makeup, I'm mainly staying pretty classic. The jewelry coming with me includes some simple stud earrings, a nice watch, my monogram necklace, and a dainty turquoise drop necklace on a gold chain. And for makeup, I like to travel with my Naked 2 pallet and my favorite staples like my Stila liquid eyeliner pen, Nars Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer, and my Fairydrops mascara. I'm also bringing lipsticks and gloss in red, pink, and fuchsia for more fun looks when dressing up.

For me, I've always found it helpful to plan out individual outfits first while packing so you can see what items you can and will wear multiple times  as to not overpack. I have a running list on my computer of all the outfits and other things I need to pack and once it gets put in my duffle I put an X by it on the list. I was able to narrow my list down by not bringing some of the things I was only going to wear once or twice (I'm looking at you, Tory Burch riding boots), but because of that extra space I have room for some extra things like my favorite Vineyard Vines shep shirt and that extra clutch I wasn't originally planning on bringing. Another belle trick, pack your socks inside your shoes to save space!

My carryon items for the plane are going to be my Longchamp tote which will serve as my purse for a majority of the trip and my school backpack because I'm missing a week of school and will still have to keep up with my work, which requires my laptop and some other books. 

On a non France related note, I cannot believe that tomorrow marks the beginning of crew season and spring sports for the year! It literally feels like yesterday that we were packing up our boats to go compete at states. My oh my how the time can fly! I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to get back out on the water!!

I hope you all have had a safe and lovely weekend and STAY HEALTHY!

Xoxo, Katy

It's Beautiful and so are You

There are few things better than driving with the sun roof open and music blasting on a beautiful day. Hope you all had a lovely Tuesday!

Xoxo, Katy

Thought for the Week!

Take time this week to just enjoy being alive! Accomplish something, get your butt in the gym, and relish in the blessing of waking up to a new day. Make the most of the ones you have!

Xoxo, Katy

The Belle Goes Abroad!

I leave for paris in a little less than two weeks and as I start thinking about packing, I thought I would share my travel essentials with y'all!

1. A good hat- The one I'm brining is a wide brimmed navy Tory Burch hat the same color as the coat I plan to wear. Never underestimate the power of a good hat, especially on those days when your hair game isn't as on point as you would like it to be!

2. A versatile bag- I'm a big fan of the longchamp le pliage tote, especially since the large ones are big enough to hold your daily essentials as well as a large camera. The only purse I plan on taking is my longchamp and possibly definitely buying a new one while in paris

3. Sunglasses- Sunglasses are non-negotiable for me. I'm basically blind in the sun so as soon as I walk outside, a pair goes on my face. My two favorites and the ones I plan on taking are the wayfarers and aviators, both by ray band

4. Comfortable pants- when I travel, I pack pants that I can wear with multiple outfits, so jeans in different colors like black, blue, and white are a staple for me!

5. A quality coat- Since I'll be traveling in early March, the weather in paris will be pretty chilly, so a warm coat is a must. I love the J. Crew peacoats because they look so classy but are also extremely warm

6. Clothes for layering- Because it'll be early early spring, we aren't quite sure how the weather is going to be, so layers are a must. If you hit an unusually warm day, you don't want to be sweating it out in your heaviest sweater, and you can also build outfits up if need be

7. Stylish city shoes- I'm one of those people who doesn't want to look like a tourist as I'm walking around the city, and the easiest way to spot a tourist is by their shoes. My go to pair of travel shoes is a pair of suede desert boots from Clark's that are stylish and versatile but are also comfortable enough to wear walking around the city all day

8. Nice shoes- I'm a total shoe addict, if you couldn't tell that already, but I'm also sure to pack a pair or two or three of nicer shoes to wear at night to dinner or out on the town! I'm loving the Tory Burch Aimee flats in black

9. Inclement weather gear- Whether it's a raincoat, umbrella, or full hunter boots, it is so essential to carry gear for bad weather so you can make the most out of all of your days! My foul weather gear includes LL bean mocs and a black north face raincoat

What are y'alls travel essentials?

Xoxo, Katy

Playlist No. 3

Definitely an... eclectic group of songs that I've been listening to, but I've kind of been stuck in a rut and my music taste has been as indecisive as the weather lately. Any song suggestions?

Team USA

Something about the olympics just makes me so happy. I swear it's like the olympic theme song just releases endorphins or something because every time I hear it it just puts the biggest smile on my face! And can we just talk about team USA's sweaters from the opening ceremony?

Yeah I think one of these babies needs to become part of my closet asap. 

I thought the opening ceremony was amazing but to be completely honest it somewhat bored me. The ballet was absolutely beautiful though, and I'm pretty sure I would kill to be a member of the russian ballet. no joke. 

I've been obsessed with watching snowboarding this year (partially because the riders are so cute!!) and the ice dancing part of figure skating is perfection. so beautiful. Have any of y'all been keeping up with the olympics?

Outfit of the Day 2/7/14

Top: Francesca's

Vest: Club Monaco

Pants: Club Monaco

Shoes: Tory Burch

Watch: Kate Spade

Fit but Fashionable

Maybe it's just a health kick or maybe it's my silent revenge on my ex boyfriend to look as great as I can, but I've been working out at the gym a lot in the past couple months, and it didn't take long for me to realize that my typical cotton tshirts and shorts weren't going to suffice. Now I know that they've received some negative press lately but I've always been a fan of Lululemon's leggings and yoga pants and I've recently fallen in love with their tanks and sports bras!

My most recent purchase included the Core Kicker Tank  in the color fresh teal which has medium support and a subtle v neck in the front. Needless to say, I'm in love.

Being that the first month of my crew season is in late February to early March, it's typically bitterly cold out on the water, so we splurged on leggings from lulu a few years ago and honestly I prefer them to my under armour or nike leggings because the fabric twice as warm and soft on your body than that of the typical athletic brands!

The one downside I've found from their clothes is that they do run very small. Like, instead of a normal zero I'm a size four in lululemon, so be weary of buying clothes from them without trying them on first!

Any other lululemon lovers out there?

Xoxo, Katy

Thought for the Week

We went from snow and ice a week ago to a high of 60 degrees tomorrow. Gotta love being a southerner y'all! Have a fabulous week!

Xoxo, Katy

Outfit of the Day 2/3/14

"Women who wear black have more fun"

Outfit of the Day (featuring my soul sister Peyton!)
Pants: forever 21
Top: Joie
Shoes: Tory Burch
Jacket: Morgan De Toi
Jewelry: signet ring, tiffany ring, turquoise necklace from etsy

What She's Reading: January

This month's books were, well, basically dominated by John Green. With the debut of the The Fault in Our Stars movie trailer, there's been a constant spotlight on the hilarious author and I thought it was high time for me to read some of his other books.

An Abundance of Katherines is a lighthearted and quirky story of a boy who was just dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. The book was a quick read littered with footnotes and graphs which add character to the story. 

Looking for Alaska fits in line with The Fault in Our Stars in that it absolutely broke my heart. John Green has found another way to make you have an emotional breakdown over fictional characters, thats for sure. Fantastic book.

Sum it Up by Pat Summitt Pat Summitt recollects her life as a basketball player and head coach at the University of Tennessee until an retirement after being diagnosed with early onset dementia. The book starts out slow and at times is tedious to get through, but when you remind yourself that it was written by someone with altzheimer's, you're absolutely floored by the detail by which she is able to recall players and teams, the people she loved. Here's an excerpt that I hope will help explain:

I don't remember records, final scores, and statistics. Numbers have a strange slipperiness; they suggest nothing. If you ask me how many games we won in 1998, or what happened in the 2008 NCAA national championship game, I struggle to remember which one it was.

But  if you tell me who was on that team, or show me an old team photo, I'll remember: "That's Linda Ray- she didn't play much but she was a great teammate, and smart. Biochemistry major."

Pat Summitt is a remarkable woman and I highly recommend reading her book, regardless of if you're a basketball fan or not! (I'm not and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it thus far!)