Where A Year Can Take You

Today is August 7th, 2016 and I woke up with a huge realization that I really just needed to share. Today marks one year since I wrapped up my summer internship in Chicago and flew back to Michigan to enjoy my last few summer weeks before school began again. But for me, school beginning in the fall of 2015 meant study abroad in Italy and I was so terrified that I really just didn’t think about how close it was getting.

I had just had the most amazing summer experience. I lived in a dorm complex with an awesome roommate, I had more girlfriends just down the hall, my internship was like a dream. My boss made us feel like family and me and my fellow intern fell easily into the routine of our daily tasks.

A Day in My Internship Last Year

So when the day came to leave Chicago and head back to Michigan, and in essence, say goodbye to my home and family to travel to Italy, I was more then a little un-easy. I missed my family and friends so much, but leaving Chicago meant I was one step closer to being a continent away from them.

That summer I had learned to be independent. I learned that money can be blown really really quick in a big city lol. I learned that people are put in your life, as well as taken out for a reason. And I learned that if I put my mind to it I could accomplish really anything I wanted to.

The few weeks I had home in Northern Michigan were amazing and free and so peaceful. The way my heart feels when I’m home in Harbor Springs is indescribable. It’s almost like its so full to the top it couldn’t take anymore happiness. I worked with my parents on one of their ever un-going projects, my mom always has something up her sleeve lol. I also got to be with one of my friends Kayla who spent her last couple weeks of summer there too. I spent everyday with family, went out on our boat, jumped in the lake and constantly worked on my fitness.

Before I knew it though, there were only 10 days left until I left for Italy and with all my college friends and roommates returning to Adrian for Welcome Week I knew that was exactly where I wanted to be. So I said goodbye to my family for the time being and headed to Adrian College. I spent the week cleaning my room up for when I got home from abroad, packing my bags (by the way, packing for four months is very difficult for a fashionista) and hanging out with my friends every night making memories I’ll never forget.

But, I couldn’t stop time and the day came that I had to meet my parents in Detroit for last minute shopping and preparation to leave. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, why was Kathryn so upset about going to Italy?!? Truth is, I have a hard case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and I really believed that whatever was going on at Adrian College was ten times better then what was going to be going on in my classes and travels abroad, obviously I was wrong (I usually am lol).

The morning of my flight my parents and my puppies, of course, brought me to the airport and waited with me until the last possible moment they could. Saying goodbye to them was rough but I knew that they were always a quick phone call away and if I really really needed them, a flight. I boarded my first plane which was from Detroit to Paris and just turned off all my bad thoughts because at this point there was no turning back.

When I landed in Italy I knew I had made the right decision. Suddenly, there were about 20 students around me who were in the same position as me and I knew I wasn’t alone on this awesome journey. The whole shuttle ride from the airport to my apartment I was just in awe of the Italian streets, small cars and incredible architecture. During my entire four months there, my surroundings never ceased to amaze me.

Firenze, My Home in Italy

My semester away from Adrian College continued to grow me every day. How could I not grow when I traveled ten countries? It was everything I needed at the age of 21 and more. I made the best of friends, I was constantly active, I traveled, I saw, I learned, I was immersed in so many different cultures. My semester turned out to be everything everyone said it would be but I didn’t believe it could be.

Cliffs of Moher

The Best Travel Buddies a Girl Could Ask For

Returning back to the U.S. was a very surreal feeling, because going into the semester, I didn’t think I would ever reach the end, but once I had and I was on my plane home I didn’t know if I was really ready for it to be over. I’m so thankful for that semester away from everything I knew, because it allowed me to open up to new adventures in a way I had never been able to before.

I returned to the U.S. and shortly after began my last semester of college. The semester flew by and before I knew it we were in full preparation for our graduation ceremony. As I watched my college career come to a close I couldn’t help but think about everything I had experienced there and where it would take me in the future.

Adrian College Alumni

College Nights

 

I had always told myself and others that after I graduated college I would move to Chicago and pursue a career in fashion. And there I was, about to graduate, had my lease signed in Chicago, had an internship lined up and an interview for a job set and I couldn’t really believe it was all happening.

Graduation Day

Now, I sit here on the morning of August 7th, 2016 and I can’t even believe I’ve already lived in this amazing city for two months. Don’t get me wrong, it gets lonely and I miss my family, boyfriend and best friends more and more everyday. But, I made it happen, I took a leap and with the support of my parents I’m trying to make my dreams come true and that feels unbelievable. This morning I’m proud of myself for everything I’ve accomplished in this last year and I’m thankful for everyone who has been along for the ride with me.

Me and My City

Lollapalooza 2016!

Hey everyone 🙂 How’s everyones summers going? I cannot believe it is already August! I feel like just yesterday I put my things into the trailer and headed to the city. As of a couple days ago I have officially been a city chic for two months! Woah. I can’t lie, city life has definitely had its lonely times when I wish my girlfriends, or Chris, or my family were here with me. But it also comes with so many amazing perks that I am forever grateful for. Huge perk? Lollapalooza being hosted annually in Grant Park.

This year was my second time going and it was even more intense then last year! Which was probably true because this year was Lolla’s 25th anniversary. The crowds seemed to have grown by triple, I swear! Being the 25th anniversary the festival was held for four days, Thursday through Sunday but I only went for Friday to Sunday.

On Friday our friends rented a cabana at my apartment building to hang out before our favorite artists sets. It was awesome just being with my friends and letting the excitement build for the weekend we were about to have. And the weekend did not disappoint!

We were able to see Bro Safari, Duke Dumont, Future, and Major Lazer on Friday. How crazy is that we saw four huge sets in one day? And that was only day 1 (for me at least, Thursday was festival opening)! The only let down was that Major Lazer had speaker problems throughout their set so we ended up leaving early, but it made it easy to beat the crowds (of hundreds of thousands!!!) on our way home. We ended up walking home and it was so beautiful seeing the city lit up after our fun filled day.

Saturday we had a late start to our day and didn’t get to the festival until later in the afternoon. We learned a tough lesson and our group felt the pain to our wallets that not everyone selling tickets is going to be an honest person 😦 We made the mistake of buying fake tickets and lost some money, so the general mood going into the show was a little down. But we turned our frowns upside down in order to mosh it out at Oliver Heldens, Big Gigantic and Hardwell! With the late start to the day and our ticket fiasco we missed a couple of our favorite DJ’s, Marshmello and Jauz, so we tried to catch their show at a club that night and although we weren’t able to get into the club we did get to see Marshmello on his way into the club and stand about 2 ft from him, so I think it was well worth it to us! Oh! And we saw Snails outside the club too!

Sunday was my favorite day of the entire weekend. The crazy part was that I wasn’t even planning to go that day but I had a little FOMO (fear of missing out) so I purchased a cheap last minute ticket and I’m so glad I did! Immediately when we went in we ran (actually just I did lol) to one of my fav artists Halsey. Fun fact about her, last year she played at the smallest stage at Lolla and this year she was at one of the main stages with a crowd I could not see the end of. She stole the show and had the most unreal stage presence. I think I cried out of happiness for about 75.7% of her set lol. After Halsey, we caught a little bit of Seven Lions and then headed to one of my fav rap/r&b artists Bryson Tiller, who was really great live but he didn’t play a lot of music I knew so we left a tad before he ended his set. From there we sprinted through the festival to catch Flume, who HAD THE BEST SET ON THE WHOLE PLANET (according to Chris) lol. It was really good, I do agree. From Flume we caught Adventure Club (killed it) and finished the night with Zhu’s set.

Woah, weekend summary complete. If you made it through me blabbing about that dream weekend and not hating me I give you props 😉 lol. Thanks for catching up with me everyone! I hope you enjoyed the read!

Here’s a few of my favorite pics from the week before Lolla too! Chris and I had a date night at Navy Pier 🙂

Family, Broadway and a Music Festival

Hey everyone! I had another amazing weekend with my family and I can’t help but want to rave about it. I’m lucky enough to have family members that our also best friends of mine. I’m thankful that they constantly put so much time and effort into traveling to Chicago to make me feel loved.

They arrived Friday and we immediately went to one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Jellyfish. It’s an amazing sushi restaurant on Rush St. and if you’re ever in the city I highly recommend it! They also have great cocktails, which honestly, is probably what keeps us coming back so often lol! My Mom goes for the Bee’s Knee’s drink, I go for the Mandarin Mule, now you really have to go! After lunch we did a little shopping and then headed home to get ready for our night on the town!

That evening we went to a Broadway show. I love Broadway! The grand theaters, the lights, the beautiful singing and acting, everything about it excites me! We saw The Book of Mormon. It was HILARIOUS! My Mom had seen it a few years prior and had been raving about how great it was and how badly she wanted to take us, so finally after a few years wait, it came back to Chicago and we bought tickets right away! After the show we ate a late and delicious dinner at Chicago Cut Steakhouse, another one of our favorite Chicago restaurants.

(Excuse the poor quality photo’s, I didn’t have a chance to get my Nikon out this weekend)

Chris and I outside the Privatebank Theater

After The Book of Mormon at Chicago Cut

My family is super active, Chris (my boyfriend) made a joke that he’s always burning calories with the Van Wormer’s lol! So, Saturday morning we went for a 7 MI run/walk. We walked through the Lincoln Park Zoo and first time all summer I saw every animal! The Lincoln Park Zoo is really awesome and it’s free which makes it even better. About 3/4 of the way through our walk we stopped for a yummy brunch, we ate a restaurant that our puppies were allowed to sit with us which is always fun 🙂

At brunch outside the Lincoln Park Zoo

After our walk finished up we were all so tired so we snoozed for a bit before we got ready for the night. I love my naps, let me tell you, if I had an hour a day to devote strictly to a nap I totally would haha. That evening we went to Pitchfork Music Festival, which is an indie/folk festival held every year in Chicago. Our friend Colin’s brother was the headliner that night, so being there with Colin was really incredible. It was also super cool for me to experience going to a music festival with my family. Not many 20 somethings can say that! They really make every new experience so much fun and I love them so much for that. After the show we had some great soul food, PIZZA! We went to Giordano’s, which I personally think is the best pizza in Chicago.

Pitchfork Music Festival

Every time a weekend with my family ends I can’t help but be a little disappointed. When they’re around I feel like I’m living in a dream, they bring me so much happiness. I’m so so blessed and I will never forget that!

Thanks so much for catching up with me! I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Happy Birthday America!

City girl life is busy! So being able to take a few relaxing days off and head north to my hometown of Harbor Springs, Michigan to celebrate America’s birthday was just what I needed after my first official month of living on my own in Chicago came to a close.

Every 4th of July my mom hosts a party at our house for the viewing of the parade, which passes on the street we live on. This year she recruited our friend Colin to help with the planning and the party was just amazing! Everyone had a blast watching the parade and afterward we had some delicious food to fill our bellies, along with some great drinks too, of course!

Details are the key to every party!

Family and friends enjoying the parade

Kinda hard to see, but the glasses say our last name (Van Wormer)!

My favorite part of the parade every year, this hippy Jesus lol

Everyone enjoying lunch after the parade

After the party ended we headed out to our family lake house to set off our own fireworks and have a bon fire with s’mores! Our “mini” personal show ended up lasting 30 min!!! The whole time everyone was ooohhing and ahhhing. It was magical being surrounded by family and friends and having our own little show to enjoy.

Walloon Lake

Our personal fireworks show

I’m so lucky to have been able to go home, go out on the lake, be around family and friends, and just breathe in the fresh northern air. Being up north puts me completely at peace and it definitely recharged me to come back to the city and get back to work! I hope everyone had an fabulous 4th of July! Thanks for catching up with me!

Summer Days

Hey ya’ll! Hope everyone had an amazing Father’s Day!

This weekend was amazing…because my fam came to visit! Nothing beats having my family in my new city. Especially when there’s a holiday celebrating my dadio!

Best dad ever!

We spent Saturday doing what we do best…SHOPPING! Obviously, from my job title (Personal Shopping Assistant), you know I like this past time lol. Then on Saturday night we went to see The Producers on an off broadway stage! It was so much fun and the musical was hilarious! Honestly though, I just love going to the theater, doesn’t matter what show is playing.

Dad and I before the show

Sunday we woke up and went for the LONGEST walk ever. I’m big into my Garmin and tracking my steps, so if you are too, you can relate to this, but by the end of the day I had over 26,000 steps! My feet hated me but when we stopped and ate everything in sight, I was happy I had gotten my workout in!

Sunday night was my favorite part of the weekend. We went grocery shopping as a family, while hungry, BAD MOVE. We ended up getting enough groceries for two weeks instead of one meal! Not that I’m complaining though, because I got to keep the left overs hehe! Then we came back to my apartment building, grilled out and sat by the pool. It was the best way to celebrate my dad because there was relaxation and lots of laughs!

Check out some of my favorite pics from our pool party!

It was a perfect weekend of family fun and made me wish they lived down the street instead of 6 hours away. However, it also made me really appreciate the time we did have together.

Thanks for catching up with me!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week 🙂 Keep smiling!

First Week Has Me Feelin’ Like a City Princess.

What’s up everyone?! This first week has been quite the time! My first couple days living in my new apartment were just a tad lonely, but I kept my head up because I knew things would turn around fast and man did they!

So as I said in my last blog I had a couple interviews early last week, both I felt went pretty well but the tricky part was waiting for the call back afterwards! Moving into the city without knowing exactly where I would be working was a little frightening but it paid off! Not only did I get my dream internship with Akira but I found out yesterday that I landed the job that I had really been pining for! So, you’re lookin’ (or rather reading the blog of) TopShop’s newest personal shopping assistant! For anyone who’s wondering what exactly I’ll be doing…basically, I get to help pick out clients wardrobes for a living! Yup, I’m quite happy about this lol. I’ve also had my first two days at my internship, which has been awesome. My time there is spent writing fashion blogs and trying on clothes and photographing it, doesn’t get much better than that in my world. Find my blog posts for Akira at ShopAKIRA’s Blog (link here).

Check out the item’s Alex (fellow intern) and I chose to feature!

Find these pieces at ShopAkira.com!

In other news, I spent this past weekend dancing and singing with my friends and boyfriend at Spring Awakening (which is an EDM festival in Chicago). We had a blast between hanging at the pool, cookin out before the festival, to Ubering there and always takin’ over the aux cord, to last minute enjoying the VIP section for the Borgeous Show, to finally finishing off the weekend (on Monday lol) by going out on a boat and soakin up the sun and views of Lake Michigan.

I’d have to say this first week has me lovin my new home!

Have a great week ya’ll!

 

I made it to Chicago!

Hey all, hope all has been well! My last semester of college was a whirlwind, hence my absense from the blogging world.

Little (but huge to me) insight into whats happening in my world, I moved to Chicago! Dreams are becoming reality and I could not be more excited to finally see what I can make happen for myself.

I live in the cutest, little apartment with a water and city view and I wake up everyday thinking about how incredibly lucky I am. As I just moved in Tuesday there are still some finishing touches to be completed but I feel right at home. I have my little doggy Walter here with me and he is the best company to have around!

Here’s a couple pics of my apartment!

As far as what I’m going to be doing here professionally I am keeping my mind open to all possibilities. I have received an amazing opportunity to intern for Akira which I am incredibly excited about! I will be interning for the marketing head and will be responsible for helping with their blog as well as social media. And an added bonus, on Fridays we do photoshoots with the new merchandise, every girls dream and I’m getting to pursue this!! I’m also waiting to hear back from a job that I’m crossing my fingers that I get 🙂

All in all, I’m ready to see what I can accomplish with my degree and personal knowledge. I’m excited to make Chicago my home and explore myself and this beautiful city more and more!

Have a great week everyone 🙂

Back in the USA!

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn’t post Monday but I thought I would save it until today, because yesterday I returned to the US! I cannot even fathom that my semester abroad has already came and gone, but I’m incredibly thankful and excited to be home for the holidays. I’ve been pretty busy the last week and a half of my trip. Due to finals the past few days I spent a lot of time studying. However, I didn’t let that stop me from having some last minute fun with my friends and doing some Christmas shopping! One of the best things I did was go to see Mockingjay Part 2 with my friend, Carl. The theater was really incredible and you could tell it was an old music or drama theater converted to be used as a movie theater. It was honestly just great to finally sit in a theater and watch a movie on a big screen. My exams started Monday and I had my last exam yesterday and although they all went smoothly I am happy to have them behind me!

Odean Theater

Looking back at the last four months is like a dream. I was able to spend a semester in Italy with my only real responsibility being school. Although, I was hesitant and scared to go before I left, I’m so happy I followed through with it, because there is no other time in my life I will be able to live like I did these past few months.

Piazza della Repubblica

Ponte Vechio

One of my favorite things about my semester abroad was the opportunity I had to meet such incredible friends from all over the US and even the world. I know that a lot of the people I met will be lifelong friends and they each made my experience special in their own way. Although, it’s sad I wont be seeing them everyday anymore its reassuring and amazing to know I have a friend or two in every region of the country, this will come in handy down the line I’m sure ;).

Some of my abroad favorites<3 Kurt, Carlie, Dave, Carl and Neeka

It’s definitely going to be a shock for me to not be traveling every weekend this next semester. The weekend adventures were some of the best memories we all shared together. Just in this semester I have been to France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Croatia, England, Scotland, Ireland and of course, all over Italy. It was so thrilling to think this weekend I will be going to France and next weekend I will be in Spain. I have caught the travel bug and I don’t think its going anywhere lol (sorry Mom and Dad) :).

Flying into Spain

The very best things that I have learned in Europe, however, have been about myself. This semester has taught me to trust myself and also to be my own best friend. I’ve always been very dependent emotionally on others in my life and that has changed in the past four months. It wasn’t always easy being away from everything I love and know but when it became too hard I really focused on helping myself. As cliche as it sounds, being away from those things has opened my eyes to the person I want to be and also the steps I need to take to be that woman.

My semester abroad has also shown me how truly thankful I am for where I have came from, the rock solid group of friends I have from home, and also for my amazing family. I am REALLY thankful for the paved streets in the US (versus Italy’s cobblestone), I am thankful for driers (versus hang drying everything), and I am thankful for people who walk fast (Italians walk at their own kinda pace lol). On a serious note though, this abroad experience showed me how much I truly do appreciate all the little things I might not have noticed on a day to day basis before this semester.

With that being said, I want to thank you all for following along on my amazing adventures abroad the past four months! Knowing my family, friends, and whoever else around the world have been receiving even a little happiness out of reading my blog makes me incredibly happy. I have to go cuddle my puppy now though! Happy holidays everyone and again thank you!!!:)

Week 14: Can’t Believe It!

Hey everyone! I cannot believe this week marks 14 weeks I’ve been living in Florence and roaming Europe. This past week has been smooth sailing over here. I had a lesson in food styling for my visual merchandising class that was really fun and I also had my last two lectures in my marketing classes. I’m quite excited to see my classes coming to an end, but it’s also hard for me to grip I’m almost half way done with my senior year of college.

Anyways, on Friday a few of my friends and I headed to the San Lorenzo indoor market to grab some dinner together. I had some delicious fresh pasta topped with bolognese sauce and, of course, a cider to drink. Then after dinner we went to the Firenze Winter Park. The park is located a little out of the city center so we were able to have our first experience in Florence on the city bus. The Firenze Winter Park opens every winter season and has two ice rinks, a tubing hill and a restaurant. My friends and I ice skated which was super fun and reminded me a lot of home, which is exactly what I needed. After we skated we also went down the tubing hill one time which I screamed on, because I’m a baby lol.

Check out this dinner! yum!

Firenze Winter Park

Saturday I had a really relaxing day and even accomplished quite a bit of homework. In the evening I went to the Christmas Market, which has opened up in Florence, to buy a couple presents for my family. It was nice to walk the city for a little on my own sense I don’t have a lot of time left here. I was able to just soak up my surroundings and think to myself. The market was so crowded as tourist season has started back up over here for the holidays. When I finally returned home my friend Carl came over and we watched Elf! I had forgotten how funny that movie was and it made me so excited for Christmas!

Every first Sunday of the month Florence museums are free to the public, so my friends and I took the opportunity to be tourists of the city we have now lived in over 3 months. We had to be at the Uffizi at 8:15AM to beat the line and I’m so happy that we did because by the time we left, the line to get in was over an hour. The Uffizi is one of the worlds most prestigious museums of art. One of the most famous pieces in the Uffizi is The Birth of Venus, which was painted by Sandro Botticelli and completed in 1480. The painting is thought to have been commissioned by a member of the Medici family, who were the ruling family of the Florentine Republic at the time. Later in the afternoon we went to the Accademia Gallery which is the home to Michelangelo’s David! I was so surprised by the size of the statue and its incredible detail. It was great to finally have a chance to see a couple museums that most people come to Florence to see. It was also great to have a weekend in Florence with the amazing friends I have made here because I only have 10 days left! Thanks for catching up with me! I hope everyone has a great week, I know I’ll be doing nothing but studying! lol 🙂

The Birth of Venus

David

 

Week 13: Austria, Christmas Markets and The Sound of Music

Hey everyone! I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was filled with family and lots of food 🙂 I definitely missed being at home with my family and really missed my moms stuffing but I made up for it by eating lots of spaetzle in Austria. Last week I had two presentations for classes, one in my retail class and one in my visual merchandising class, both of which went well. I was pretty excited to get two presentations out of the way and the rest of my school week went smoothly!

Thursday night, five of my friends and I, joined Euroadventures for a weekend in Vienna and Salzburg. We loaded the bus and left at 7:30PM from Florence and didn’t make it to Vienna until 6:30AM. Being overnight on a bus is not an ideal situation so by the time we made it to Vienna we were all quite tired. After we settled in our hostel and ate breakfast, we left for a quick tour around the city center and ended at one of the 11 Christmas markets in the city. My friends and I were a little shocked by the cold, so to take a break from the wind we grabbed lunch at a local bar. I had my first traditional style spaetzle and I was nothing short of amazed! Spaetzle which is a soft egg like noodle is typically topped it with egg, cheese and fried onion. After lunch we walked through one of the Christmas markets before heading back for a much needed afternoon nap. At 5:30PM we joined the rest of the group to head back through the city to see the lights and the Christmas market at night. It was so gorgeous and I instantly was so excited for Christmas! 25 days! I found a couple of souvenirs but I cannot mention them because they are presents and who they are for may be reading this 😛 After a couple hours walking through the market, we headed back to the hostel to get some rest for Saturday.

Vienna City Center

Christmas Market

Saturday morning we were able to sleep in and it was fabulous! Once we woke up we stuffed ourselves with breakfast at the hostel and headed out to the Schonbrunn Palace. The palace was so beautiful and its gardens reminded me of Versailles. We started our afternoon by going to the Vienna Zoo, which is the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752 and is on the Schonbrunn Palace grounds. My favorite part of the zoo was getting to watch the African elephants eat their dinner. My friend Carl and I sat and watched them for over an hour and one of the workers told us some cool facts about elephants, such like the fact that newborn elephants have to be able to walk on with the group within 24 hours of being born! After the zoo we walked through the Christmas market in the palace’s courtyard and ate dinner, which was, of course, spaetzle. That night we went out in a portion of Vienna called the Bermuda Triangle, which is home to many bars and pubs in the city center. We had a lot of fun and even met a couple Austrian locals 🙂

Vienna Zoo, African Elephants

Schonbrunn Palace and the market in front of it

Sunday morning we left for Salzburg at 8AM. The drive from Vienna to Salzburg was 4 hours and I spent the whole time sleeping! Once we arrived in Salzburg we immediately loaded on another bus for The Sound of Music Tour. The tour followed places that were used in the making of the film and also places where the real Von Trapp family lived their life before heading to America. My favorite part of the tour was seeing Leopoldskron Castle and Lake Leopoldskron, which is used for several scenes including when Maria and the Children fall out of the boat before meeting the Baroness. Our tour guide was so much fun and when driving too and from places she played the soundtrack to the movie and everyone sang along 🙂 It was amazing getting to see both the city of Salzburg and the lake regions surrounding the city. Sense the tour was 4 hours, after we finished it was time to head back to Florence. Unfortunately, just thirty minutes outside of Salzburg we were stuck at the German border for 4 hours due to car searches and did not get home to Florence until 4AM! But I had to keep in mind its all a part of the journey and I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’m getting in Europe for anything. I hope everyone has a great first week of December! Christmas is near!

Lake Leopoldskron and Leopoldskron Castle (White Castle)

The path Maria skips down singing “I Have Confidence”

Church in Mondsee used for the wedding scene