21. Things You Like About Summer | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

As summer comes to an end it's nice to reminisce on the things I love about a good summer! I am absolutely a fall/winter girl but I can definitely appreciate these 10 things about summer: 

1. The sun

2. Going to the beach

3. How many shades of green there are 

4. Summer dresses

5. Sun showers and rainbows

6. Cloud gazing

7. Butterflies and dragon flies

8. Fresh tomatoes 

9. Golden hour sunsets

10. NO SCHOOL

What is your favourite thing about summer? Please do let me know in a comment! 

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

18. The Weather | 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge

This time of the year holds my favourite type of weather- windy, warm days with cool, brisk evenings. Beginning of fall is such a beautiful time all around, but my favourite part is definitely the weather (okay, the fashion). I love that when the days get cooler I can start layering my clothes more and start wearing my cozy leggings with big, knit sweaters, cute heeled boots, and amazing scarves! This really is my favourite time of the year for so many reasons, but I do believe that it's mainly the weather- it puts me in such a pleasant and calm mood.

With this time of the year also comes more rain; I love the rain. I love putting on my rubber boots, grabbing my umbrella and going out in the rain for a walk. Or, sitting inside with a cup of hot chocolate and just watching the rain come down. 

I find so much peace and contentment within the rain which is slightly odd as a lot of people associate the rain with a more depressed state. 

This time of the year also means that the snow is soon to fall- we usually get our first snow fall around here by the end up September/beginning of October. I absolutely love the snow and the cold that comes along with fall/winter. 

This weeks gratitude topic could not have come at a better time. As the summer draws to an end and the cooler months approach, I am really taking in the weather. I'm lucky enough to live in a country where summer doesn't last too long (although I do enjoy summer) so we get a lot more cool months than we do warm.

What is your favourite weather? Are you excited for fall/winter? Do let me know!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Burnt to Bronze in 7 days! + My Breakup with SPF | Lesson Learned

My whole life it has been absolutely pounded into my head to not leave the house without my sunscreen on- summer or winter, rain or shine. I always considered it to be a blessing that wearing sunscreen became something I never had to think about since I am of Irish descent- my father was from Ireland before he moved to Canada- and I burn very easy; I usually have at least one burn every summer. Wearing SPF seems like a no brainer, right? It protects you from harmful UV rays, prevents skin cancer, and prevents awful sunburns. Or not...

My friends and I decided we would have a nice lounge day by the pool so I got out my bikini, my cover up, and of course my SPF. I doused my entire body in waterproof SPF 60 sunscreen before going to my friends house and re-applied about an hour into our lounge. I didn't notice myself getting pink- or turning colour at all so I didn't really think that I needed to cover myself up anymore than I was. I was wearing a light cotton shirt undone over my bikini (so it really only covered my upper arms and shoulders), my sunglasses and a cute little hat for extra protection over my face (as I only had SPF 15 on under my makeup).

Day 1

 As you can see the SPF 60 didn't help me what-so-ever. The entire front side of my body was covered in a bright red, very painful sunburn. My sunburn care was very intensive as I wanted to avoid blistering and peeling. I will share this "sunburn routine" if you will, with all of you as I miraculously didn't peel at all! I went from a lobster to a sun-kissed darling in just 7 days!

 I immediately took a bath using the Aveeno bath treatment (I can't remember the exact name of it as I threw out the packages, but it was in a blue and cream box). After my bath I applied a generous amount of aloe vera, let it dry, then applied the Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion mixed with a bit of generic vitamin E cream.

Day 3

As you can see, by day 3 my skin was already looking significantly better. I continued to take a bath every night using the Aveeno bath treatment and followed up with my aloe, then moisturizer combo. On day 3 I decided I had to bite the bullet before I began to peel, and exfoliate- it was very painful. I used the Aveeno daily moisturizing body gel on a loofah and gently exfoliated my whole body. After the shower I applied aloe and my moisturizer mixture.

Day 3

These were the types of outfits I lived in for the first 3 days of my sunburn. Light cotton, nothing abrasive- definitely no jeans! It was kind of torturous as I'm a huge lover of denim, but it was worth it as the rubbing of the clothes on my skin was not comfortable at all. The only time I wasn't wearing outfits like this was when I went to work- yes, I even left my house looking like this.

Day 5

By the 5th day of my burn it no longer hurt at all, hadn't peeled, and was already turning brown! The only uncomfortable part at this stage was I was slightly itchy. I stopped my daily bath and aloe application by this point but continued to lightly exfoliate to avoid peeling and moisturized twice a day with the Aveeno lotion/vitamin E cream mixture.

Day 7

After just a week of my rigorous skin care plan I was no longer burnt, but completely brown! Okay, maybe I'm still a bit pink, but for only a week this is absolutely amazing! I had no peeling what so ever which is the best and most amazing part of it all!

If I'm being honest I felt really betrayed when I realized how burnt I had gotten. Betrayed by the sun, betrayed by my sunscreen, and betrayed by everyone in my life who convinced me that I needed to wear sunscreen to be safe. Clearly that wasn't the case as I continued to burn every summer without fail. I decided to do some research about sunscreen and found some really interesting reads on the subject.

3 Reasons You Shouldn't Wear Sunscreen

Should You Use Sunscreen?

Why I Don't Wear Sunscreen

It was really interesting for me to research this as I never actually had before, and even more interesting for me to read that sunscreen can be just as harmful as the sun itself. Based on my research I have now decided that I will never wear sunscreen again. I plan to protect my skin in other ways including a diet rich in healthy fats, and covering up my skin when I'm going to be out and about in the sun. I read another article that I can't seem to find for the life of me that said spending 20 minutes a day out in the sun with no protection is very beneficial for vitamin D absorption without putting your skin at risk.

I am positive that based on this experience and the others from summers past, I will no longer be suckered into the hype of sunscreen- I am breaking up with SPF. Let me know what you think about the whole SPF topic and if you use or don't use it!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn