Day of the Vest.

Well, everyone, I think I like vests now. There, I said it. Waking up this morning to snow everywhere made today the perfect day for a warm down vest, indoors and out! Taking the J. Crew catalog as inspiration, I wore my vest over my usual style of outfit...that being a belted cardigan! To add to the Kentucky Equestrian feel I was going for, I added tall riding boots, and one of my favorite accessories, my official UK Plaid scarf.

My coworkers did not mock me for the vest, as I originally thought they would, though one did tell me that when he was in France a year ago, all the French girls were wearing them. Being obsessed with France, I'll take that as a compliment! It's funny though, thinking about how in America we usually get these trends about a year later!


(Vest: Gap, Black Jeans: J. Crew, Boots: Payless)



(UK Plaid Scarf: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Gray Cardigan: Old Navy, Blue V-Neck (worn underneath): Gap Outlet, Brown Belt: J. Crew, Watch: Fossil, Bracelet: J. Crew)

*And I'm not really that pale...these pictures are from my phone, I apologize for the poor quality, but my camera cord is missing! I should really work on finding that when I'm not buried under a mountain of applications!

Wardrobe aside, today was a very long and difficult day, so that's about it...now time to read Jane Eyre for a book group I'm doing for work!



I'm planning on drinking some English Breakfast tea, staying warm and cozy inside, reading about someone whose life is way worse than mine, and trying not to think about having to venture out into the snow tomorrow morning!

Here Goes Nothing...

Hey Friends!
So lately there has been one fashion trend that I've been dying to try/I'm scared to death of: the puffer vest. It's always brought back memories of a very shiny, very puffy vest I wore in middle school back when this was the trend. Oh, and I am so glad there aren't any pictures of my attempt at fashion. It was horrendous. Add to this a male friend whose obsession with vests only dissuaded me from giving the vest another chance.

However, after seeing a girl who styled the vest in a very Equestrian, very Kentucky Southern kind of way, I decided it was time to face my fears and give this vest thing another try. J. Crew had some perfect vest options that showed the puffer vest styled to perfection...




I absolutely love how they manage to make the vest look effortless and cool, and the layering is fantastic!

I'm also loving the Equestrian look of the vest in these pictures...




I'm definitely a Kentucky girl, and I just love anything associated with the classic Equestrian look.
So that's what has me willing to take a fashion risk, and I'm sure I'll be getting some interesting comments from my co-workers! So, here goes nothing...I'll try to post a picture of how I styled the vest tomorrow, hope all goes well! If not, I'm blaming you, J. Crew.

Equestrian.

Aren't they adorable? I love Kentucky.

Holiday Festivities

I'm pretty sure it's been Kentucky's coldest winter...ever. Not ok. I'm not a huge fan of cold weather, that's why I love the South in the first place. Now I feel like I live in Alaska or something. Ever since December started, there has been snow on the ground. But, hey, at least I get to wear boots every day and people don't harrass me for it. So at least that's successful. Not so successful? My delightful law school personal statement, which is still being written. So I'm taking a break to share some of my favorite holiday goings-on with my lovely readers!

Decorating!
I absolutely adorable my little Christmas tree, which I put by the mantle in my apartment.
This penguin ornament I got at the ornament exchange last year at the annual girls' Christmas party.



And this year's ornament(s) were these cute Santas!



One more of my favorites from the tree, thanks for putting up with my ornament obsession!



Other than decorating the tree, one of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Christmas Party with my best friends. Usually it's a Murder Mystery theme, and our hostess Emily invites the boys, but this year they were banned from the festivities! We had an all-girls evening at Em's adorable new house, all decked out in vintage Christmas decorations!




After a delicious Italian dinner and chatting about engagements, we exchanged ornaments and Christmas presents. Then we embarked on an ill-fated trip to see Christmas lights...who turns off their lights at 11 anyway? Isn't night the time to look at Christmas decorations? Regardless of that, it was a fantastic evening with some of my favorite people!



Christmas in Danville, where I lived for 10 years, was a new addition to the festivities, with Ben, Felicia, Olivia and I driving down to see the gorgeous downtown decorated for the holidays!




Of course, we forgot that everything in Danville closes pretty early, so we just had time to eat at Bluegrass Pizza and snap a few pictures before grabbing some coffee at the Hub! (which closes at 9, by the way! so early!) And the best part of the evening was getting to visit Burke's Bakery, a childhood favorite, which stayed open a little late just for us! Marvelous!




and, of course, I made comical faces throughout the evening. Lovely.

Well, that was excessively long! It was just such a wonderful Christmas I had to share! I've heard so many of my friends say that their New Year's Resolution is to blog more, which of course made me think of my own poor, neglected blog. I'm considering blogging my daily outfits for fun, now I just have to find a photographer...

Expert Procrastinator

I consider myself to be an expert procrastinator. Basically, any time that I really really really need to accomplish a task in a set amount of time, I manage to take forever completing it. It's really a marvelous skill to have. Usually around the deadline, I manage to get everything all nice and organized. Law school applications are going to be no exception, I see. After spending a few days working almost exclusively on my personal statement, I have typed astonishingly little. And I am hating everything I write. I'm blaming this on being out of school for over 6 months, which means I've gotten used to not having to write papers.

Instead, I write for my job. Sometimes. But it's significantly harder to write about yourself, and why law schools should love you and let learn marvelous legal things. If nay law schools happen to be reading this blog, please let me come to your school. Even though I procrastinate, I've never missed a deadline! Ever. So don't let this make you think I wouldn't be a good law student.

While I've been writing my personal statement, I've been reading fashion blogs. I love them. Which always makes me think guiltily about my own little blog. Poor, abandoned Kentucky Southern. I'm just too much of a perfectionist to ever publish anything. But I want to start writing for my little blog again, and share some pictures from earlier this year!

This summer, Lexington hosted the World Equestrian Games. They were a BIG DEAL and the entire city went crazy. Local artists decorated horse statues and they were located all over downtown. So of course, a couple of my friends and I decided to take pictures with them. Because that's what we do...take lots and lots of pictures! Enjoy these fantastic photos, taken by my friend Ben.











Annd, the photographer, Ben!



These are the best photos that will ever be on this blog, since my friends have all the photography talent. I'd love to learn, but who has the time between writing personal statements and procrastinating writing them!

Who Am I?

Who am I?
I am a Kentuckian and a Southerner.
I am a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, with a BA in English.
I am a first year associate staff member at a college campus ministry.



I love literature.
I love vintage.
I love France
I love UK Basketball and Football.
I love dresses and cowboy boots.




I want to write a novel one day.
I want to own an historical house in the country one day.
I want to make a difference in the lives of people.


This blog is a combination of all of these aspects of my life...these things I love, these things I am, and these things I want to be.

Welcome.

The South. Definition: [the area that] constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States, which has developed its own customs, literature, musical styles, and varied cuisines that have profoundly shaped traditional American culture.

Kentucky. Definition: As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state. Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that native bluegrass is present in many of the pastures throughout the state; Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, tobacco, and college basketball.

There’s a place in the world where rolling green pastures border a winding country road on either side, where horses gallop alongside their foals to the fences that border the farms. There’s a place where dry-stacked stone fences edge a pathway shadowed by the hanging branches of the tall oak trees overhead, where the sunlight glints in the space left free by branches and leaves, forming a patchwork on the mossy ground beneath. There’s a place where the wild beauty of nature meets manicured and well-tamed farms, where the cool clear water of a creek winds its way by an apple orchard, where green apples cling to gnarled branches, waiting expectantly for fall. I love this place...no matter where life takes me, I know that Kentucky will always be a part of me.

Some say Kentucky isn’t part of the South. I wholeheartedly disagree. Girls are ladies here; guys are gentlemen here. We love SEC sports and sweet tea; bowties and vintage dresses; high heels and cowboy boots. Some of us speak with a drawl, some don’t have an accent at all. There’s something unique, yet fully Southern, about these people, about this place.

It’s horse racing. It’s cowboy boots. It’s sweet tea. It’s flowered dresses. It’s Wildcat Basketball.

Welcome to my home. Welcome to Kentucky Southern.

(top photo courtesy of my friend Evi at http://20dc.tumblr.com)