New Years Eve 2013 Recap

I wanted to come into the new year with an open mind and an open heart. A fresh start of positivity, laughter, risk taking, and blossoming relationships! 

Every year I used to stress myself about what to wear for New Years Eve. That was not the case this year, I chose to go with clothes I already had and either hadn’t worn yet or had not worn in a while.

I got my dress for like $20 at a no name boutique, I made my vintage lace jacket and then had altered to fit my body. 

My style is pretty simple, just jazzed up with a lot of the right accessories! I looooove accessories … jewelry, shoes, bags, I love it all lol! I went with my nude sandals with the sparkle heel from Zara (pictured center) …

and my gold sparkle clutch with the rhinestone clasp. I think I got it from Forever 21 a long time ago. 

I added the finishing touches with my blue and gold statement necklace from Topshop. 

and here’s the finished look :)

Me and my girlfriends brought in the new year in style and partied the night away with Mr. “Gold all in my watch,” Trinidad James. Here are some more photos taken throughout the night via Instagram (@McKenzie_Renae) ! Enjoy :)

Happy 2013!!

Thank You For 2012!

The hours are winding down until the new year and reflecting back on it, God has really blessed me. 2012 has been one of my most challenging years and I’ve gone through my share of failures that tried to set me back from pressing on. At the same time, I’ve achieved some amazing things that turned into the highlights of my year. One of the biggest, being selected for Allure Magazines Beauty Blogger of the Year contest! What a dream…and my dream is continuing to unfold! 

I want to thank all of my family, supporting friends, and most of all my readers and supporters of my blog McKenzie Renae … because (as cliche as this sounds), I couldn’t keep going without you. For my loves who have been with me since the beginning, to my newbies who stumbled up on le blog this week, I love you all and I appreciate you! 

Let’s continue to challenge ourselves in 2013 and push ourselves to make it happen! Just make it happen and go for it! Why not? The last thing any of us want is to look back and regret that we never even tried. Set some realistic goals for yourself this year and actually follow through with them! I posted my main resolution on Instagram (@McKenzie_Renae), because sometimes you have to grow some kahunas and just put yourself out there!

2013 should be a bigger, better, and improved you! Be an inspiration to someone! Everyone stay safe tonight, party hard, and have designated drivers for all my 21+ girlies! 

Say it to yourself … 2013 is my year! Don’t worry about everyone else, what is for you is FOR YOU!

xoxo

McKenzie Renae

Threads of the Night: Sporty Chic

Let me apologize in advance for the photo quality. My camera was not working last night so I had to resort to cell phone pics and Instagram to give me a hand. 

The weather was really nice yesterday and not too chilly last night, so I decided to step out for a minute. I went with a sporty-chic look, rocking some fitted cargos, a varsity jacket, and open toe sandals. What winter rules? As long as the weather is nice, my toes will stay out! lol I blame it on the Texas in me. 

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What I’m wearing:

H&M cargo pants (gifted by a friend)
American Apparel racer back leotard
Zara strappy sandals
Forever 21 varsity jacket (loved the touch of the leather sleeves!)
Vintage belt
Vintage black triangle earrings
Forever 21 rosary necklace
Essie in “Fiji” on my fingers and toes 

As for the makeup … a bright lip is becoming one of my signature looks. Can’t stay away from it! Last nights choice was a Dolce & Gabbana lipstick in “Delicious” with a Pure Color gloss by Estee Lauder in “Electric Coral” on top. Both are just as nice when worn alone as well.

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“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.” ~ Coco Chanel 


If you aren’t following my Instagram page, come say what’s up! —> @McKenzie_Renae


I Hope You Dress For Yourself …

First I would like to say, thank you @TenaciousLadyT for bringing this to attention :) 

Here is the picture she is referring to …

And here is her question…

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I’ll keep this brief. I dress for myself and I think you ladies should too. To answer her question, yes I did wear the thigh highs out from under the dress and I love taking risks like this because it all works together when you do it in a classy way. My dress was long sleeved and pretty covered and it hit me right above the tights so in my opinion it didn’t come across as trashy … more edgy than anything. 

As far as what’s “acceptable” … rules were made to be broken. It has always confused me as to why people have the mentality of dressing for others who could care less anyway honestly. I always say dress in what makes you feel the most confident!

…and just have enough sense to know what’s appropriate for certain occasions and what isn’t. 

“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress, is the woman who is wearing it.” ~ Yves Saint Laurent


Let Me Share Something Personal With You…

I havn’t blogged in a little over a week and I apologize for this. Everyone comes to a point in their life where they become consumed in everything other than their passion. I’ve encountered writer’s block more than I care to mention, and when that happens I would rather say nothing at all than to give you a weak post for that day.

Now to the meat of this post …. I have nothing but faith in God as to where he decides to lead me in life. I’ve had my “dream job” and I’ve had to work in fields where I didn’t understand why I was there. It’s been an uphill battle, and I’m sure a lot of you can relate. 

After church this morning, I started to look through my notes taken at previous services. (Note taking was my favorite thing to do in school because I just love to write… so naturally I think I take pretty good notes lol.)

Each of the points I want to share with you today have given me hope, inspiration, major motivation, and have made my faith and relationship with God even stronger. 

1. You can’t have a “testimony” before you have a “test.”

2. Mediocrity is just the best of the worst and the worst of the best. To launch out into the deep, you must be willing to leave the safety of where you are.

3. Live for something greater than yourself and make an impact on others.

4. The reason what you have is all you have, is because that’s all you see yourself having! You have to believe and change your vision past/beyond where you are. Move beyond just having a vision, and walk by faith.

5. When you are aligned with God, he will bless you with things to see your way through the dark, while others stumble through.

6. Plan —> Pray —> Execute. (if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.)

7. When you’re building something, you just need a few people who have your back. Not the whole in-crowd.

8. When God is working through and on you, don’t tell everyone your business. People will try to talk you out of God’s vision for you.

9. Stop accepting partial accomplishments! While you have the passion and the drive, finish it! The enemy doesn’t want you to finish, he will distract you!

10. You have to move from “seeing it” to “seizing it”. Opportunities are only seized by those who are prepared! 

So, my message to you is that whatever you want to do in life … go for it! Remember these things that I shared with you today. Don’t allow anyone to discourage you out of following your dreams. Sometimes the path to your dreams make sense and other times it can appear completely random. But I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason.

A good friend of mine shared this with me recently:

“Throughout your journey in life, instead of always being focused on the end result of your career and dreams, you need to learn how to fall in love with the process. Once you’ve fallen in love with the process and given everything you’ve got, your journey will be easier and more enjoyable. You will end up where you are supposed to end up.” 

This is a positive way of looking at things! To end this post on something light, here’s a message I shared on my Instagram that helps me get through :)

Where you’re going is better than where you’ve been! Can I get an AMEN!? ;)

**UPDATE: I am overwhelmed at all of the texts, emails, tweets, and blog comments I have gotten after writing this post. It came from a very sincere and genuine place and I am grateful that God’s used me to inspire, motivate, and encourage others to follow their dreams and not give up!  Keep going loves!