All photos by: Jim Trice Photography
Show Me Your Mumu Wesley Top also available: here // Show Me Your Mumu Ashton Shorts also available: here and here // Sam Edelman Yarina Sandal // Taupe Clutch // Gold Hoop Earrings // Daniel Wellington Watch in Rose Gold // Kendra Scott Elton Cuff
I hope everyone is having a fabulous Thursday. Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! Y’all, this week has flown by for me. I seriously can’t believe it’s already over. I think this week may have been the busiest I have ever been between work meetings, writing for the blog, photoshoots for the blog, photo shoots for boutiques, etc. It is nice being busy though. 🙂
This little two piece set from Show Me Your Mumu is one of my favorite purchases of the year. It is so different than any two piece set that I have ever seen and I love it. It is so comfy too which is the best part. I am in love with the floral embroidery around the edges. I think it makes the outfit so unique. I completely forgot to take a picture of the back of the shirt (idiot over here) but the back is one of my favorite parts! It comes down really low and really makes the whole outfit pop. If you’re not really into two piece sets these pieces can also easily be worn with other things. The top would look so cute with jeans or shorts and the bottoms would look so cute with a blouse tucked in, a bodysuit, or a crop top. You could find a shirt that brought out the colors in the floral design and it wold be such a pretty outfit. Everything fits true to size. I am wearing a size small in both the top and the shorts.
I am going to be very real right now. I have had a tough year this year. My parents are going through a divorce, my dad is in jail, I had a huge falling out with one of my best friends, and I’ve had unnecessary drama throughout. All of those things were things that were completely out of my control but isn’t it funny how we can beat ourselves up about situations that ultimately we have no control over? I have days when I am okay and days when I am not. It is especially hard for me to realize that my father is in jail and it hurts to admit that. A quote I love is “God gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers”. I truly believe this. I have had to cut some people out of my life (including my dad) this year and it was really hard, especially at first. However, I can honestly say that right now I am the happiest I have ever been in life. I am chasing my dreams, work is great and very busy, my husband and I are better than ever, and I have truly realized who my best friends are. It is so easy to look at the glass half empty sometimes and I am not going to lie, there are days when I do. But y’all, LIFE IS GOOD. And life is beautiful. I have an amazing God, husband, family, and friends who love me and want me to succeed. When the days are tough I lean on the Lord to give me strength. He has truly shown me this year that everything happens for a reason and that sometimes I just have to let things go and let Him be in control. I have learned that I don’t need unnecessary drama in my life. If people bring any negativity to my life then they are cut out immediately. I don’t have time for that and neither should you. My dad battling an addiction and going to jail and my parents going through a horrible divorce has really opened my eyes to what is important in life and what isn’t. And stupid petty drama isn’t. Life is too short to be surrounded by jealousy, hate, and constant criticism. Remember to surround yourself around people who truly love you and have your best interest at heart. You will know who those people are. My biggest life motto now is “collaboration over competition”. Life should never be a comparison game. We as women should all work to lift each other up and to help each other be successful. If we don’t, then we are only hurting ourselves in the end. And always remember that there is no better revenge than success.
I love each and every one of you. I appreciate your support more than you know. This blog would not be successful if it weren’t for you. Thanks for letting me share my heart with you. I hope that you all have an amazing weekend!
XOXO
Seriously tears reading this. Thank you for being so open, I'm so sorry all of this is happening, but I know you're coming out of all of this stronger! I'm so proud of you and am so thankful you are my friend. You're doing great things, Katy! I can't wait to see how far you fly! Love you babe.
I love you so much Holly. Thank you for always being here for me and always having my back no matter what. And especially thank you for ALWAYS keeping it real. You helped inspire me to write this post. You're the best!
You have been a trooper this year and I am so happy to see the strength that you are exuding now even compared to just a few months ago. You have certainly had a lot of ups and downs, but many of the downs are behind you, so just go and focus on going up, up, up! You are going to do great things and already are doing them! Just keep your head down focused on you, girl. Don't pay attention to anything besides that!
Thank you friend!!! Thanks for always being here for me. You have helped make me stronger. I love you!
Wow. This is so incredibly real and it just made me love you as a person even more than I already do! You are so strong girl and we all go through battles in life to make us stronger! You are doing amazing things and will continue to do amazing things with your blog and in life! LOVE YOU! Nicole
Thanks Nicole. You are such an amazing person. I appreciate your words of encouragement. You are so amazing!
Thank you for being real. I so relate to you and some of what you've been through. Bless you.
Megan, thank you so much for taking the time to read and I appreciate you commenting. It makes me feel good to know that I am not the only person going through a similar thing. We will get through it! God bless you too.
Thank you Katy for sharing your real like struggles and that no ones life is perfect but no matter what we may go through we should do our best to rise above and know that life isn't perfect and it's ok to have bad days! I love the collaboration over competition I feel like in this blogging world so many people competing with each other and comparing and we should all be supporting each other because we're all in the same boat!! Thanks for being real and being such a nice and positive individual! I love seeing your posts!!Xo, Steph @sassandsun
Gosh I just loved reading your words. They are so beautiful and SO true. I especially love your take on not comparing ourselves to anyone. You are right, we are all in the same boat and should only be supportive of one another and bring each other up. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I love everything you are doing. Keep up the good work babe!
Katy I loved this post! So real and raw. You have an amazing attitude and true talent. You shine girl, and you inspire me ♥️
You are so sweet Katie. Thank you so much for reading. Your words of encouragement mean more than you know!
Loved reading this! I'm so sorry about what your family is going through, I can't even imagine living through that, you are a very strong person. And I love your comment About life shouldn't be a comparison game. I've been struggling with that as a newbie when I look at all the successful bloggers. Thanks for being so inspirational! And I'll say prayers for you and your family. – Kristin, Suits & Sneaks
Kristin, thank you so much for your prayers. They mean so much to me. Try not to compare yourself. I know it is hard, we all do it from time to time. But you are amazing in your own way and God made you differently than everyone else. Take pride in that 🙂 You are beautiful! Keep doing amazing things girl.
This post is amazing Katy and thank you for being so transparent and real. You are in myprayers girl �� I always get worked up about things I can't control as welll… You're doing amazing and I'm so happy for you girl!
Thank you babe. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. You are amazing and your sweet words mean so much to me!
So sorry to hear about the situation with your parents. I know sometimes things seemSo unfair and you don't expect to have to deal with your parents being a reason for your difficulties.. but sometimes it's life's way of telling you that shit happens, but you'll pull through! So don't worry! You're right esp with social media making life look so fake, people get lost in what's real and what really matters. I'm glad you are surrounded by people who love and care for you. Stay awesome! 🙂 :)HugsDebDeesignplay
Girl you are amazing. Thank you for your sweet words! I appreciate you SO much!
Keep your head high…"Life is tough my darling but so are you"xo- Tessa wwww.tessamachen.com
I love that quote Tessa. You're amazing and I look up to you so much because I know that you have had such a hard year as well and yet you are so positive. Love you girl! Thanks for inspiring me everyday.
Thank you so much for you honesty! It was so courageous to do so – I love following along and you are going places girl! xoxo,Laurenwww.belle-lu.com
Girl I just love you so much! You have always been so supportive of me no matter what and I appreciate it more than you know. I love following you on your blogging journey. Keep up the amazing work. Your posts make me smile everyday 🙂
U are so brave to share what's on your heart! And you look gorg in this outfit! I wasn't raised by my biological parents and grew up in foster care. My birth mother has been in and out of jail throughout my life. I've had to form such boundaries with her. It breaks me in some moments and then I realize God can provide the peace and joy to heal and keep me strong. It's never easy to have a parent who can't handle forming their own guard rails and whose bad decisions can impact a handle of people. Keep being strong and shining your light! Xoxoxo, BloomsBitesBeautify
Oh my gosh your story just brought tears to my eyes. I can't even imagine some of the pain that you have endured throughout your life. Your story really just inspired me. Thank you sooo much for sharing. You are right, God can provide the peace and joy to heal us. He will keep us strong even on our weakest days. You are amazing girl, never ever forget that.
😘😘😘 love you! So proud of everything you've done in the few short months I've known you!!
Deeana you have been such a light in my life the past few months. I can't imagine even tackling this blogging world without you. Thank you for always listening to me and always understanding. You have such a good heart. You are the best! I love you!
Katy!!! So much love for opening up sweet girl!!! Praying for you��
Thank you so much! Your support and prayers mean more than you will ever know!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing Katy. You are so right, you never know what is going on in someones life. You are crazy strong and I have so much respect and love for you. It's been so great connecting with you, and you're truly an inspiration. Keep living the life God has planned for you, you are doing great things!Carling xx
Girl you are so sweet and so amazing. I love how our paths have crossed in the blogging world. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and for being so supportive. You are so amazing and truly a light. I appreciate you so much!
I absolutely LOVE how real you are and that you aren't afraid to lay it all out there. My parents went through a divorce this year as well, as my dad is very mentally & verbally abusive. So I finally had to cut him out of my life too, and that's not an easy thing to do. I feel your pain mama, and I know what you mean about letting go and letting God! Much love for ya, mama!
Oh my gosh I can't believe how similar our stories are! I haven't met anyone yet who relates in such a way. It is very hard to cut a parent out and many people will never know that pain and I am glad that they won't. But for those of us who do it is really hard. Thanks for sharing your story with me. If you ever need anything please let me know. I am sure it would be so amazing for us to talk about our situations. Stay strong girl. You are absolutely amazing and God has a plan for both of us!
I commend you for being so open and sharing this with all you followers! You're a true beauty and I will pray for some peace. Family drama is crazy sometimes. It blows my mind how much it can suck you in and almost control your life. Glad to see you're trying to take the high road 💜 much love babe!Cheers,CJ – http://www.everydaychiffon.com
Thank you babe! Gosh I am so appreciative that you took the time to read my post and to even comment on it. It means soooo much to me. Your sweet words have touched my heart. I am thankful for you and your prayers! You are amazing!
I couldn't be more proud of you Katy!! As your mother, I never want you to feel pain, but that isn't reality. I'm so proud of you and how you carry yourself and how you've handled everything that's been thrown your way this year. I know it isn't easy, but WE are STRONG! We will get through this with GOD! I'm going to share something I got today, it is so meant for us, I hope you take the time to read it. I love you baby girl!!Valleys are lined with disappointment and discouragement. Some people seem to thrive on adversity, emerging from their valley with greater strength and deeper faith. Others stumble and fall, giving in to discouragement and dropping out of the race. The difference in outcome is determined by the way we choose to handle discouragementTimes of stress accentuate the presence and power of God.“We can rejoice, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:3-5, NLT).Faith rests in what Christ has already done on the cross and in our lives.Faith hopes for what God will do for us in the future.Faith builds on the victories of yesterday to help us face the valleys of today and the questions about tomorrow (girlfriendsingod)SO PROUD OF YOU! YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT THROUGH WITH GOD AT YOUR CENTER! STRONGER THAN EVER!PRAYING FOR YOU ALWAYS!
Thank you for sharing this with me. If it weren't for you I would't be able to be this strong. I am so happy for you and so PROUD of you. You have so many amazing things in your future and I am so lucky to have you as my mama. Thank you for always being here for me and understanding. God has big plans for both of us. I love you SO MUCH!!!!
You are amazing and I admire your strength!! Thanks for sharing this story and for being so real, I know it's tough to say on the Internet sometimes because we all like to show the great parts of ourselves. You are amazing and I know God will never give you more than you can handle! Xoxo,Jonica
Oh my god this was so moving. Thanks so much for sharing yourself. I'm so sorry for all you've been through this year. But it's clear you have grown stronger from it. I relate to a lot of it. My brother has been battling an addiction and it's been the hardest year yet for my family. He's finally in a good place and it's really shown me to let go and let God take control. Loved this <3
This is such a beautiful post Katy, who would have thought that behind those beautiful smile on every square of your Instagram lies a girl who has been battling so much inside and you rise above it. What an inspiration, I'm excited for more of your success. I truly believe in you. April of @aprilwashereblog
LOVE this blog post babe. You are seriously so strong and so talented. Prayers for you and your family. I have absolutely loved getting to know you and connect with you on Instagram. keep your head up!xo,Kelly Hoover | http://www.theglamorousteacher.com
You truly have to believe the saying that "you never know what someone else is going through". Many of us are good with smiling and pretending all is ok. That's how you get through the day! I know there are people who are worse off but I also know that we only have one life to live. Many people, although fortunate are also not living how they'd like to. Each day, I try to focus on the positive, I lived to see another day, I have a place to lay my head, and I have 2 beautiful children. No matter what we endure, that's what's important to keep us afloat! Life is too short to keep those around who don't support us. We learn from the hard decisions we make but emerge stronger. Stay beautiful, hold on to your anchors, a keep growing from the hard times!
Katy, I just want to start off by saying thank you so much for being real and for sharing your story! It is difficult sometimes to be real on social media, but you always manage to keep it real and touch lives by doing so. I am so sorry for everything you are going through, and even though I can't imagine how you are feeling, I want you to know that you are not alone, and I have had to fight some hard battles too this year. If you ever need a friend, I am here, and I am so thankful that I have gotten to know you through the blogging community. <3Love you lots!Rachel 🙂
Hey there, love! You have a sister and friend here if ever needed. I'm sorry you're dealing with disappointment from those who should never let you down! This is tough job, not many understand. And when life isn't so nice, our job still requires us to move forw ard. But, we're lucky because we get to meet each other and find amazing support and love in the craziest places from people that have honesty and love in their heart – more so than not. I so understand the behind the scenes struggles. And when ainsay, if you ever need anything, I mean it. And I'm just a DM away. Be proud of your success against the odds and battles you face. Godspeed my friend! -Muah!-