kaileemade: Printed Shorts!

I finally decided to give a name to all my designs I make. kaileemade. As I started making these shorts, I started to think of them as "kaileemade" and the name just sort of worked. I made a tab so people can check out all of my kaileemade stuff :)

And now..I'd like to introduce you to my printed shorts! I made these with no pattern (but used another pair of shorts that fit me well as reference) and they took about 10-ish hours to make. This cotton fabric was actually found at a home fabrics store for like $2 a yard (all the fabrics there were really cheap, it was amazing!!) and when I saw it, I fell in love and a vision of these shorts came into my mind.

I love these shorts...they are simple, uber-comfortable, modest, and definitely unique. My favorite part is the pockets. They're just on the outside of the shorts lined up with the material which makes them very subtle.

I tried to pair them with a black shirt, but it was a lot of black, so they ended up going with this white blouse, one of my favorite tops I bought from the bookstore where I work. These shorts are great because there's a clean front so it's easy to tuck a shirt in, but at the same time, you could definitely wear them with the shirt untucked as well.

These are probably the most well-made garment I've done. They literally fit me perfectly! I've never sewn any fitted bottoms before, so I am extremely pleased with the way these turned out.

I am really trying to focus on honing my design and sewing skills this year, so I hope I'll be sewing a lot! Of course, if school gets busy it gets a little harder but I will be trying my best. I love these shorts. They are a great start to my new (and last) school year!

4th of July 2012

Spending the 4th of July this year in Boston was one of the best Independence Days I ever could have had! The East Coast is especially patriotic with all the history that happened here during the Revolutionary War. I brought over the tradition of spray-painting shirts, so we taped them up the night before and then we spray painted the next morning (we realized we had no red paint). The morning of the 4th was spent at a parade in the town of Sudbury. It was perfect because it was a little later (we slept in) and it was short so we didn't have to spend a long time in the heat.

After we went to that we headed off into Boston where we parked and rode the train to the Esplanade. It's right by the Charles River with the most gorgeous view of the Boston skyline. Some friends from our ward saved spots all day so we got to sit with them. We played cards and ate food while waiting and just hung out. I love the atmosphere on the 4th of July because it's so happy and exciting! Everyone is spirited wearing their red, white, and blue so it's just a lot of fun.

The fireworks actually got delayed for about a half-hour to forty-five minutes because they thought a thunderstorm was coming. There was a huge mess of people coming and telling us to move so we'd stay dry, but we didn't want to leave, because we knew our spot would be gone if we left. We ended up staying because no storm came and then it actually poured during the fireworks. It was kind of surreal, watching the fireworks in the rain. I mean, how often does that happen?

Let me just tell you something about the Boston fireworks. You know how there is usually a grand finale in fireworks shows? Well this show is like a grand finale the whole way through, it's amazing! The fireworks are so sweet and there are sooo many. Best fireworks show, I have ever seen for sure! I was pretty happy with my picture taking skills to have gotten this shot.

We were all soaked to the bone from the rain (that only lasted about 15 minutes) but packed up our stuff after the fireworks to go. It took a little while to get through the crowds and we were able to catch one of the last trains to get to our car.

In short, it was a wonderful 4th of July. Just what it should have been. I am so grateful for this country and for the freedom we have. I'm grateful that we can vote for our leaders and I admire the way we unite as a nation when good and bad things happen, such as simple things like celebrating Independence Day every year, or really awful stuff like 9/11. For me, there is no better place to live. I'm happy that this summer I've been able to get to know another part of this nation. I can only love it more. :) Happy Independence Day!

An Outfit!!

Top: Thrifted, Skirt: Target, Watch: F21, Shoes: Grasshoppers

Sorry for the crappy quality of these photos, I just took them really quick. But you're welcome for an outfit post! I know it's been a while since one of these. I've noticed that a lot of people who start out with outfit/fashion blogs don't end up keeping them up. It is a little tiring to have to take pictures of an outfit every day. I mean, as people, we only have so many clothes and so many ideas in our heads and the pressure starts getting to you, and you worry that people will stop being impressed. Or, sometimes you get worried that people only care about the outfits and not the person in them, including yourself. But really, does it even matter...what people think? Not at all. So I will just blog for me and the rest of you can read it if you'd like. :)

Basically these pictures were taken on a whim, so I have no makeup on and now I'm just sitting in my bedroom pretty much doing nothing. It's all very exciting, I know ;) If I'm bored I always have something to do though. I'm rereading The Host on my ipod touch e-reader. It's a book by Stephenie Meyer, that in my opinion is way better than the Twilight series and written completely different. It's one of my favorite books so I would highly recommend it. Also, I'm going through my itunes library and making sure I still like all the songs on my ipod. So I'm listening alphabetically and if I don't like a song I can delete it or uncheck and I can actually see all the songs I have in here! Other stuff...I'm going to the Demi Lovato concert with Brianna on July 5th (SO stoked!), I painted my nails pinterest style (pictures soon), and I have been way better about writing in my journal almost every night--it really helps me get my thoughts out. Oh and I made this interesting face when I took this photo but I kinda like it so here it is. Good bye.

Bright, Bold, Blue

Friends, I am pleased to tell you that today I wore a yellow cardigan instead of that blue one! I don't think I would have worn it anyways, considering the fact that it would have been a lot of blue, but still it feels nice to do something different for a change. I would have taken pictures for proof but totally forgot to bring my cardi with me when I went to take pictures. But it's okay, the challenge continues for the week!

Now for a different topic, what do you feel when you see the color blue? I know it's often portrayed as a sad and mellow color, but wearing this bright blue today in my skirt made me feel empowered and noticeable. Blue is such a gorgeous and wearable color (take the navy blue cardigan for example) and I think sometimes we take it for granted that we don't notice it as much. It's in our jeans, jackets, school colors (for BYU anyways), and even in the sky for heaven's sake, that it tends to be a color that's just there, one that blends in with the rest of the crowd. I think something I would like to try doing more is making blue more noticeable, more of a statement color than just a "there" color. Can I do it? Can you/will you do it? Haha I sound like I'm speaking for charity or something, but really! This skirt has inspired me. You can never have too much blue :)

Cardigan Queen

I realized that I wear my blue cardigan a lot...maybe too much? The nice thing about fashion is that there truly are no rules and it's all about your style (but by wearing that cardigan every other day I might not be keeping the fashion police away haha..). Anyways, it's just hard not to wear my navy blue cardigan! Let's face it, navy blue is definitely a staple color, especially in my wardrobe, and I feel like that cardigan seriously goes with everything I wear. Also, I wear cardigans a lot because I always get cold at work and sometimes it's too warm outside to wear a coat but too cold to just wear short sleeves. Enter cardigan.

Obviously I love cardigans probably more than anything else in the world, and I have quite a few, so my goal for the rest of this week is to not wear my blue cardi. Think I can do it?? Just watch me!!! :)

Runways and Birthdays

Just sitting on my couch watching Project Runway right now (while brain-storming for my Sewvivor project!). Do you guys watch it? Who do you want to win/think will win? Personally, my favorite is Mondo. I have loved him ever since he was in Project Runway the first time. And as crazy as Austin is, I really would like him to make it to the top 3. I think he's a talented designer. It'll definitely be a tough decision tonight deciding who makes it to the final three because the four designers there are all pretty good. If I had to choose three though..it'd be Mondo, Austin, and Kenley. I didn't love Kenley a ton at first but she's really grown on me and she keeps coming through each week. Also she's a girl and it wouldn't be nearly as fun have three guys in the finale (although some of them act more feminine than actual girls do hahaha). Guess we'll see! I cannot WAIT for the finale! This season feels like it's gone by incredibly fast so it seems crazy it's already here.

Guess what?! Tomorrow is Barbie's birthday (like the doll)!! In case you don't know me, I collect Barbies and love them so much. I get the Barbie Collector magazine as well, so it's pretty great. And Saturday is Carrie Underwood's birthday! The only thing better than her birthday...is my birthday. Seriously. I told you I love barbies, but I LOVE Carrie Underwood. Let me stop before I you see how crazy I get about CU. So expect a barbie inspired fashion post tomorrow and a Carrie Underwood one on Saturday! After all, it's only customary. :)

It's Beginning to Look Like Autumn

it started to rain :)

Well, its definitely starting to feel like fall around here! Its been raining quite a bit the past few days and it's been getting cooler too. The leaves on the ground are getting crunchy and turning into lovely shades of yellow and orange. Midterms are in full swing, Homecoming is here, football games are at their peak, and Halloween decorations are covering store shelves like no other holiday has ever existed. Pumpkin flavored things are in almost every restaurant and every girl is pulling out her rainboots and cardigans for the cooler weather. I like it a lot. :) I feel like it's supposed to be fall and it's a time that I really enjoy. For one, my birthday. And then it means that lots of holidays are coming up: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. And holidays mean family, breaks from school, fun, and happiness (and fun shopping too!).

Probably the one thing that makes me sad about fall though is the fact that winter is just around the corner. After Christmas, it's winter semester, snow everywhere, no breaks or holidays, cold, not a lot of fun events like sports or stuff, and more sickness. :( Winter in Utah is what makes me want to live in California. But at least for now, fall is one of the reasons that reminds me why I love Utah too. I just hope it stays for a long long time...we could postpone snow until Christmas and I wouldn't mind it one bit!!

And random movie talk now...I watched Titanic today (don't worry, I skipped that one part, if ya know what I mean--it's a lot easier to do when watching it on the computer) because I haven't seen it in a while and I was kind of wanting to. Now I'm just thinking, "Why did I want to watch it again?" Titanic is one of those movies that I think I really love and is a good movie to watch every once in a while, but then for a few days after watching it, I can't stop thinking about all the sad and scary parts. Man, it was so intense and sad to watch. Another bad reason for not having seen it in a while is that I can remember what happens but not enough to convince myself that it will still happen. Like I still get anxious when I'm waiting to see if Jack will survive not drowning in the little basement room and I still get nervous because I'm wanting Rose to just blow the whistle so she survives. Of course, the movie always follows it's plot the way it has before but it still makes me anxious every time. Titanic really is such a good movie. It's very gripping and very sad and it's definitely a nail-biter. It's also a wonderful love story. I can't help but watch it and think how grateful I am that I was not born in that time and that I was not on that ship. I also can't help but just feel for every person on that ship, because I know what's going to happen the whole time, but they don't know. I like it because it focuses on the story of Rose and Jack, but not the entire time. It also shows the other stuff going on the ship, with the captain, the band, all the people on the lifeboats, the people jumping in the water, the crew, etc. Ahh I think I've convinced myself of the amazing-ness of this movie again! haha.

I think the lesson I learn from the movie and story of it (and I don't mean this in an insulting way at all, it's just my observation) was just that the Titanic was a very worldly thing. It was a huge fancy ship and said by many to have been "unsinkable." When they received the warning for the icebergs at night, they didn't stop like other boats, they just kept on going. They were too prideful to have enough lifeboats for all the passengers because it would have cluttered the deck. There were so many rich people on deck that were actually annoyed when told to put on their life jackets and no one wanted to believe that their magnificent ship was sinking. I guess it kind of makes me think about the Second Coming (okay, I'm getting a little churchy here..) and how like the people on Titanic, we need to be prepared, or else we're not going to make it. There were so many people by the end just jumping off the huge boat or clambering into life boats trying to save themselves. Some people didn't even try because they knew they wouldn't succeed. It's so sad. But it teaches me that I need to be ready for that now so that when it does happen, I don't freak out over it because I'll be ready and know it's coming. Sorry was that too LDS missionary sharing/churchy for you? I don't really talk about that stuff on here very often but maybe it's good to, because it is a part of I am and what I think about. And just to clarify, I'm in no way saying the people on the Titanic were bad or that they deserved to die. Not at all! But I do think they could have been more prepared for the outcome of it or could have done so many things to prevent it, as I'm sure many people know. It was just an analogy in my head. Wow, but really, it's a good movie. If you've never seen it (its PG-13 fyi), I'd recommend watching it because I think it's one of those movies that every person should see.

Anyways, why do I write SO much? So much that probably no one reads. Oh well, sorry for all the words taking up space on your browser. I hope it didn't drive you crazy! Have a great Thursday, it's almost the weekend!!!

Hibernating

Sorry I disappeared for a few days! Since Sunday I've been making a dress which kind of put blogging on the side. But it's a cute dress! I made it from scratch with no pattern, so it's my own design and I'm quite proud of it. :) You should see pictures in a post within the next few days.

So....my contest. Please enter? I haven't gotten too many entries yet, which makes me sad because you can't have a contest with no entries!! I've extended the deadline to Monday, June 20, in hopes that you guys will have more time. And your chances of winning are pretty good, because I don't have that many entries. And you could win a Forever 21 gift card! As well as be featured on my blog. And just have fun. So enter..yes? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Today's post is gonna be a short one and I'm gonna say adios. Expect a cute dress and regular posting now that my sewing machine doesn't have my complete attention anymore. Hehe. Have a wonderful day! :)
An Outfit A Day...Cardigan? F21Top? F21Jeans? RossBag? TJ MaxxShoes? Keds
...Keeps the Fashion Police AwayComfort? 8Original? 5Did I like it? 8.5Overall? 7

Life is Grand

Sometimes life isn't always happy, or doesn't go the way we planned.
Sometimes our hearts get broken or we get hurt, and there's nothing we can do about it, because its their love to give and take how they please.
Sometimes we mess up and don't know what to do.
Sometimes we fall in love with the wrong person, or trust the wrong "friend."
Sometimes even if life is going super well and everything is right, nothing is right, and we aren't happy.
Sometimes we wake up and want to go right back to bed.
Sometimes we look in the mirror and hate what we see.
Sometimes, we feel like no one loves us and like no one in the world cares or knows what we're going through.

But it's times like these when we're our strongest...when we can still put on a smile and get out of bed and put on a cute dress and get ready. When we can take our camera out and take a gazillion pictures, because life is too short to forget the memories. These are the times when we need to find someone else who needs the love more, because when we give it, we find it. This is when we can let ourselves cry our eyes out for five minutes and then stop. Because who likes feeling sad anyways? Without times like these, we wouldn't be able to find the deep strength in ourselves to go on....the strength that brings us happiness in others, in life, and in ourselves. :)



An Outfit A Day...
Dress? Thrifted and refashioned (sorry, I forgot to take a before pic!)
Cardi? (I realized that I wore this the other day, sorry again ha) Thrifted
Necklace? F21
Slip? Cut from a Rue 21 skirt
Shoes? Walmart
Bag? Target

Keeps the Fashion Police Away
Comfort? 9
Original? 9
Did I like it? 9.5
Overall? 9

P.S. I have the BEST followers ever! Thanks to each and every person who reads this blog. My heart leaps every time I get a new follower and it makes me so happy to get comments. I appreciate every single one of you and I hope you know that. Thank you soooooo much! I'm so lucky :) I love this bloggy blog. :)