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March 2021 Recap + Favorites

Clothes, College, and Catch Ups

In all honesty, I have no idea where to begin this blog post. I have retyped this intro paragraph approximately 76 times now and yet I still can’t find the right words to capture my thoughts. I suppose not everything has to make perfect sense. Perhaps it’s time for me to just sit down and let my thoughts guide me. For a month that seems to always drag, this March flew.

As I sit down to write these recap/favorites posts each month, I always begin by going back and reading what I was up to this time last year. In some ways March 2020 feels like a different lifetime and in others it feels like yesterday. How crazy is it to think a year ago we were gearing up for a two-week lockdown. I was setting goals of 2,000 YouTube subscribers and 7,000 Instagram followers. I was distraught after an abrupt end to my freshman year.

Here I am a year later: vaccinated, 46,000 more YouTube subscribers, and soaking up the last month of my sophomore year. It’s so humbling getting to look back and read about my growth + these shifts in my personal life. More than ever, I am so grateful for my little online diary. I can only imagine what life will look like this time next year.

Outfit Of The Days

: obsessed with these jeans

: the coolest pants

: the cutest dress

: the best top ever

: layered up

I was preparing for a brutally cold March, but Ohio pulled through and gave us more sunny days than expected. I have to say— I am so grateful for the rising temperatures. I notice such a shift in my mental health + willingness to get up and dressed once it’s warm out. I’m hoping this continues into April!

Don’t get me wrong, I wore plenty of matching sweatsuits from Whitefox Boutique this month but I was also able to start breaking out some of my beloved spring pieces! I just grabbed these high-waisted ripped skinny jeans from Express and they are to die for. They fit me beautifully and I already know they’ll be getting tons of wear throughout the next few months. Speaking of denim, I’ve also been loving patchwork. I’m so glad this 70s trend is making a comeback and am eager to see what else the decade has in store.

As for shoes, I’ve been easing my way back into cute sandals + spring mules. I wore these neutral Chinese Laundry ones all fall long and have already gravitated towards them a ton this season as well. Although, my platform Converse are still taking the cake for most worn shoes of the year. I have them in both the black and white and reach for them 24/7. I’ve also been layering up a storm thanks to baseball season. It may be “nice out” for a quick evening stroll but it’s still considered freezing when you’re sitting on a metal bleacher for four hours, lol. I’ve been rewearing all kinds of hoodies, flannels, and sherpa jackets to keep warm. Linking some of my favorites + most worn items below so you can shop!

Fashion

This month I was able to batch photograph content rather than trekking out every three days. If I could, I would do it this way every month, but unfortunately unpredictable schedules + weather make that easier said than done. Thankfully, both cooperated in March and I was able to snag dozens of photos on the sunniest days.

I shot a handful of winter-to-spring transition looks and really dove into dresses, sharing styles for sorority formal, easter, and even a few prom. While I definitely shot some adorable pieces + shared some awesome brands this month, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit uninspired with the blog these days. I want to be better about serving you, so let me know what kind of occasions you need help dressing for/what pieces you struggle to style down below.

Beauty

I know, I know—I’m about three years late to the “baking” trend but this technique has seriously changed the game for me. I’ve been using the Rimmel Stay Matte Loose Powder and decided to try baking with it one day. I was blown away by the airbrush-like finish and have used this technique every filming + photoshoot day since.

I’ve also been using the Avarelle pimple patches like crazy this month. My skin has been god awful lately so putting a few of these on my blemishes before bed has helped reduce their size + redness a bit.

It’s been years since I last whitened my teeth and they were looking a bit yellow. I took a partnership with Novashine mid-March and have been loving their teeth whitening system. It’s super easy to use; you just put a little gel into the trays and then put them in your mouth. I do it every few days for around 30 minutes and my teeth look significantly whiter + have experienced no sensitivity. Use this link to save 15% off your order if you decide to purchase!

Entertainment

You know me… the only TV I’ve watched is my weekly episodes of All American and Good Trouble on actual TV—crazy, I know! I’ve actually been on a major YouTube kick this month. I tend to gravitate towards Brooke Miccio and Danielle Carolan as my “comfort YouTubers”. I’ve watched their videos for years so they feel like friends. However, I’m wanting to switch things up, so if you have any recommendations please pass them along. I love long, chatty vlogs. Preferably someone in college too so they are a bit more relatable!

As always here are my top Spotify songs of the month!

This Month’s Top 5: I Don’t Dance by Lee Brice // Heart’s Content by Brandi Charlile // For The First Time by Darius Rucker // My Masterpiece by Darius Rucker // Takin It As It Comes by Randall King

March Reflections

March surpassed quite literally every expectation I had for it.

Believe me, it feels just as crazy to type it as it does to read it but a year ago a box of bikinis changed my life. At the time, I was coming down from the world’s highest high: a trip to Fashion Week, a nomination for College Influencer Of The Year, huge brand deals landed for prom. I was burnt out as heck, pushing my body to every limit, exhausted in all areas of life. And yet I reluctantly agreed to a SheIn bikini sponsorship over on my YouTube channel, getting a box of 25 swimsuits to review—bc who could resist free bikinis?! I filmed the haul in my dorm room just days before the world shut down and we were sent home due to COVID. My roommates snagged a few bikinis each to bring on their “extended spring break” travels and we hugged goodbye, telling the vlog we’d see each other soon.

A week later I moved out of my freshman year dorm and clicked publish on that first bikini haul with a mere 1,200 subscribers. If only I’d known what was in store for me…. I know the world changed forever that week but more than anything so did my life.

I’m in tears thinking of that version of myself because in many ways I feel that same sense of burnout right now. I feel tried and tested, tired from late nights blogging and even later nights spent studying. This week I’ve sat surrounded by my friends as we’ve watched a few old videos and we’ve laughed bc everything has changed and yet nothing has. I share the same friends, the same meals, the same boring ole routine. Nothing’s changed, but a little luck and a whole lot of hard work eventually pays off. I still capture those same moments for myself, but instead of 250 people tuning in each Sunday there are thousands. In March 2020 I made the same amount of money in one month as I do in a March 2021 day. I sit crunching numbers, sending emails, pushing myself to a point where I can pursue this as my full-time career and I cry because a year ago today I didn’t know it was possible.

Ironically, one year later, I’m having my highest days of views + subscriber gain EVER thanks to a box of bikinis. I am SO humbled by these seasons of growth. So here’s your reminder to NEVER stop chasing your dreams. All it takes is one day. And what if tomorrow is your day?

In addition to all of the YouTube craziness I had my best moth of Adsense, commission, and blog views. I (somehow) racked up 1 million Pinterest views and hit 18K on Instagram. That spring break trip isn’t going as smoothly as planned but I’m too shocked by the rest of this month’s accomplishments to worry.

April Goals & Manifestations

It looks like 50K is in the cards for April and I couldn’t be more excited to reach this milestone + celebrate with my friends. Half way to 100,000… and to think this time last year I was excited over 2,000! My platforms have exploded in the most beautiful way and I truly could not be more grateful.

In April I hope to make a summer game plan, figuring out how too divvy up my 40 hour work weeks to maximize income while growing my platforms. A huge goal of mine is to break into the travel industry this summer. I would love to start creating travel vlogs, sharing my stay at specific hotels, and start putting all those bikinis to use. There’s a ton of research to be done in order to do so but I’m so ready for it.

Fingers crossed I can grow my Insta a bit more + start sharing more to Tik Tok. Although, I really want to soak up this final month of school and if that means taking a step back from social media for a bit, then so be it. Maybe it was my advising appointment yesterday or the planning of my senior year schedule but I’m realizing more than ever that you don’t get this time back. With only a year left here in Kent, I want to be better at knowing when to unplug from work and just ~be~.

Life Lately

If I’m being completely honest with you, I have spent the entire month of March running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I’ve spent many days going back and forth—feeling accomplished after completing 73 tasks one day and overwhelmed after biting off more than I can chew the next. It’s exhausting and something I really need to be better about in April.

: the best weekend

: breakfast with the sissy

: museum with the girls

: karaoke night with my girls

Don’t worry, March still brought many exciting moments. Many of them from Madison’s weekend visit to Kent. I took her to so many of my favorite restaurants, to meet all of my friends, the baseball field and more. It’s been almost three months since I’ve gone home so a little sissy time was much needed.

: Sundays at schoony

: bestie girls on the move

: my bestie for life

Now that it’s warming up I’ve been trying to get outside as much as possible. I’ve been grabbing my friends for a post-dinner walk each night and have ventured out with the froomies to explore new parts of Kent. We celebrated Emily’s 20th birthday and Griffith’s tomorrow! Baseball is finally letting fans in person (2 guests per player) so I’ve spent almost every weekend cheering on Mike and a few other friends. He’s hit a gazillion homers already and I’m so excited to see where the rest of the year will take him.

I’ve also had several girls touring Kent reach out to meet up and pick my brain. I’ve met some wonderful families this month and have gotten to share my expeiernece at Kent in a new light. I’m so grateful that my time here is impacting someone else’s life and am eager to hear if they all end up committing to Kent. I know it’s not over yet but I find myself missing this season of life already.

With love, McKenz