Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Happy New Year!

I was planning on this blog being mostly home decor and fashion, but it turns out that it's going to be a litte mix of everything... aka a "lifestyle" blog.

I had New Year's Day off of work this year, so I decided it was the perfect time to start a new book! One of my best friends has been suggesting that I read Divergent, by Veronica Roth, for months. She compared it to The Hunger Games, which I loved, but the thought of another apocolyptic type book was a little overwhelming to me. Anyway, after months of nudging me to read it, I finally caved. Boy am I glad I did! This book is AMAZING! I couldn't put it down. I finished it in about 36 hours, and we can contribute probably 25 of those hours to work and sleep.

Here is the offical book description:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

This book has just the right amount of action, adventure, romance, and drama. I would probably rate it PG13 based on the amount of violence, but there's no hot and heavy romance scenes. The best part: It's being made into a movie as we speak! The release date is March 21, 2014, starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet. I'm so excited!

There are three books total in the series: Divergent, Inurgent, and Allegiant. I've read the first two, and am about halfway through the third. So far I think it's safe to say that the first one is my favorite!

 

Has anyone else read these books yet?

What did you think?



A Little Party Never Killed Nobody... NYE 2014

New Years Eve is just around the corner... this year, it's all about short and sassy!

Forever 21 has an amazing assortment of dresses that would be perfect for NYE, and most of them are under $30!

Whether you want glitz and glam, or classic and sophisticated, the most important thing is that you feel beautiful and confident.

NYE is all about ringing in the new year looking your best and having fun!

2013 was one of the best years of my life, I can only imagine what great things 2014 has to offer! What are some of your new years resolutions?

Cheers!

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Tis the season to get UGLY!

Last weekend I hosted my first ugly sweater party! 

I was a little nervous because my house isn't very big (about 600 sq ft downstairs!), but it ended up turning out great. The ugliest sweater of the night got a $5 Starbucks gift card.

I set up a photo booth in the kitchen complete with props and a wrapping paper background. 

I found the the stick props at Target for $5. The gold frame I found at Goodwill.

I absolutely love these paper snowflakes! There are some great templates for unique paper snowflakes on Pinterest.  I hung them in the window between my kitchen and dining room using silver ribbon.

Technically, the party was BYOB, but I did have a couple bottles of Champagne. We floated frozen cranberries in the glasses to keep it cold. I forgot to take pictures, but this is what they looked like. Once again, another idea I got from Pinterest :)

I didn't put up a Christmas tree this year, so I tried to make up for it by putting lots of other decorations around the house. These are some of the ones in my living room and dining room.

My roommate made this banner out a piece of rope, clothes pins, and construction paper. I love it!

This is a shelf in my downstairs bathroom. The print in the frame is the lyrics from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I really wanted to find a santa hat to put on the owl but I couldn't find one small enough. Next year for sure!

Overall, we had a great time! The one thing I'm going to do differently next year: make everyone take off their shoes! I'm still trying to get mud stains out of my carpet :/ 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Allow me to introduce myself...

Welcome!

My name is Kayte and I'm so excited to share my adventures with you!

First, a little about me:

Originally from Michigan, I migrated down to Charlotte in March of 2011. As much as I love Michigan, I think I'm a southerner for life now (I even started throwing "Ya'll" into my daily vocabulary)! Charlotte is such an amazing city and I'm so happy to be here.

Selling auto and home insurance pays my bills, but my passion is for helping women break the chains of slavery in the form of Human Trafficking. Charlotte is a major hub for traffickers, and I'm making it my mission to put an end to it. I volunteer with a local ministry called Compassion To Act. To learn more, visit www.compassiontoact.org

This summer, I purchased my first home! It's a townhouse and I'm so proud of it. My roommate is an interior designer and we have had so much fun designing and decorating together. I plan on posting lots of fun decorating tips I learn from her, as well as projects and crafts that we're working on.

In the past two years I've joined the workforce, purchased my first car, purchased my first home, and took on the responsibility of a leadership role with a local ministry. I can't wait to see what else God has planned for this next season of my life and I hope you'll stick around to enjoy it with me!

Here's to 2014 and all it has to offer!