Columbia Style Week 2012: Kick Off & Beautiful People Party!

The first night of Columbia Style Week was a kick off and "Beautiful People Party"! The night's events included a panel of industry experts which was one of the highlights of the entire week for me!

Left to right: Katie Kern, Sonya Barnes, Anthony Simmons, Sonia Hendrix, and Alicia Zeigler (who organized the entire week!)

Some of the panel highlights included:

Alicia: "I like to make other people feel fabulous..."

Sonya: "An educated consumer is best.", "Net-work equals net worth!", "Great brands are built on trust, [it becomes] whether you build a great brand yourself or [risk an] image by default..."

Katie: "INTERN! Make sure you secure internships.", "Be professional at all times.", "YOU SHOULD GET PAID!"

What I enjoyed most about the panel was that most of the experts had to say was very business oriented. It wasn't all about fashion or all about the fashion industry but more about their business and entrepreneurial what-I-wish-I-knew kind of advice. I learned SO much at this panel and was excited to be able to network with these individuals and hear what they had to say! 

The venue was Tapp's Art Center which I had never been to and was excited to see!

There was a pre-panel meet-and-greet where everyone could socialize and schmooze. It was enjoyable--I got time to see the different rooms of Tapp's and what artists they were featuring. After social hour, we all headed into the room for the panel and announcement of the 25 Most Stylish People of Columbia awards!

I wore this one shoulder dress and crazy shoes to the first night! I was comfortable and definitely among the preppier attendees at the event--gotta show my preppy pride!

I wanted to thank all of the panel members for their advice and time to chat, I hope they enjoyed the night as much as I did!

Tomorrow's post is all about "Wedding 101" which was one of the Saturday events!

xxKatie

Thursday Thoughts

I loved this the minute I saw it and HAD TO pass in on to y'all!!

xxKatie

Gild the Lily

This was one of the beautiful gifts that arrived for me in the mail from one of the sweetest friends I have. 

I wasn't entirely sure of the meaning of this idiom, so I gave it a little Google search. I read the meaning and almost started crying. My favorite of the meanings was, 

"To make superfluous additions to what is already complete".

Thank you thank you Sarah and Kate Spade for the wonderful beginning to my birthday weekend!!

xxKatie

Super Woman Sunday

I need to keep this in mind as the week approaches! I only need to get through 2 days. 2 DAYS and then I can go home! Take that wonderful drive to Charlotte, fly home and I'll be back to a few days to recharge and see the fam and try to finish the semester strong.

Anyone else need to channel your inner Super Woman?

xxKatie

Pearls of Wisdom...or Witherspoon

Get More: Movie News, Reese Witherspoon Accepts the Generation Award, 2011 MTV Movie Awards

 "I just want to say to all the girls out there, I know it's cool to be bad, I get it. It's also possible to make it...without a reality show. It's possible to be a good girl. I'm gonna try to make it cool..." --Reese Witherspoon

Cool girl Reese Witherspoon has really got it right. Besides playing some of my favorite roles in some of my favorite movies, I am a huge Reese fan. After reading her quote from the  MTV Movie Awards of 2011, I like her even more!

You rule Miss Witherspoon! Thanks for reppin' the nice girls!

xxKatie

Let's All Tumble

Tumblr.

It's the new blogging. It's like combining Twitter + Blogger. I love it. It's taken me awhile to get the hang of it (and remember I have one) but it's all the rage. I've been tumbling for awhile on and off but I'm really going to try to make a better effort to tumble more over the summer. (I have a HUGE summer to do list, look for a post coming up soon.) It's like a stream of consciousness of things you see and can immediately post. Here are some of my tumbled faves:

(this is my current BBerry background...#SINS if this is a picture of you...)

You can post a lot more than pictures on Tumblr, but it's harder to transpose the quotes, YouTube videos, and song lyrics on here! Check out Tumblr and let me know if you have one so I can see all your tumbles in my dashboard!!

xxKatie

Old School T & Co.

I spotted this on tumblr a few days ago and wanted to pass it on to blogworld. These are definitely a few thoughts to keep in mind both during the holiday and normally, and I really liked it. My computer background is 15 or so thoughts to keep in mind during the day to keep me on track and I really like this newspaper version:

There are times:

To hold open a door.

To surrender your seat.

To thank someone in writing.

To let bygones be gone.

To listen with care.

To surprise with a gift.

To mind your table manners.

To honor tradition.

To give voice to your heart.

I'm a big fan of these little thoughts and I know I'm hitting a point in my semester where I need to keep a clear mind. It's the beginning of a very stressful time for most people (holidays, finals, etc.) and we all could use a little reminder! Thinking of you all!

xxKatie

Have a Favorite Quote?

I've done a bunch of favorite things on my blog, even a blog post about favorite things! Anyway, what are your favorite quotes? I have SO many to choose from, but my junior year we had to pick a favorite one for our creative writing class. It was supposed to do with writing but that rule was a bit relaxed. We picked a favorite photo (that didn't include ourselves) of something like a serene sunset or clean white snow or something cute and funny. It was supposed to be inspiring for writing. The picture of the two girls was my portfolio cover. It was such a fun thing to pull out of my backpack when I needed some inspiration or just a silly giggle. My favorite quote (sort of. It was the one I used on my portfolio cover along with the photo.) happens to be from one of my favorite books, The Alchemist: "We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand." It was a good quote that summarized a nice idea as well as being about writing.

I have quite the list of other favorite quotes. I usually add them in a "Note" on my phone to remember them or their page numbers in the book I'm reading. Here are the ones that have made my list (there are a lot) and what they're from is listed too!

"Its like finding out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich." -Jane, 27 Dresses

"To love another person is to see the face of God" -Les Mis

"Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are." -The Alchemist

"Because that's what people do. They leap, and hope to God they can fly, because otherwise you just drop like a rock, wondering the whole way down, why in the hell did I jump? But here I am, falling, and the only one that makes me feel like I can fly... is you."-Hitch

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is"-Forrest Gump

"The friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect. The ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time where nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home"-The Wonder Years

"Sometimes i wish that i had never met you, so i could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there." -Good Will Hunting

"Sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party." -Forrest Gump

"..and I met you. You said you needed somebody. Well, I needed somebody too. I thanked God for you, because you seemed to be gentle-- a cleft in the rock of the world that I could hide in." -A Streetcar Named Desire

"Why do you want to marry me?"
"So I can kiss you whenever I want." -Sweet Home Alabama

"If you love someone, just say it, just say it right there out loud, otherwise the moment, just, passes you by." -My Best Friend's Wedding

What are some of your favorite quotes? Or what books do you find especially quotable? Just a fun thought!

xxKatie