It's Here! Milly x Banana Republic!

I definitely had a dream about shopping this collaboration last night (totally normal). In my dream, everything was neon yellow and orange (ew) and things like neon yellow boyfriend denim shorts and skintight stretchy dresses were available. Not that there's anything wrong with these items necessarily, but they're not my style and I was SO upset in my dream.

Thankfully, the real collaboration is SO much better! I've already given you a teensy sneak peek, but there's so much more good stuff. There's even things for guys, so you and your boyfriend/man friend could have coordinating outfits!

Check out a few favorites of mine...and see the whole collection here!

Feathers Printed Skirt: This could so easily be dressed up (heels, silk blouse, great jewelry) or down (flat sandals, a fitted tee, a ponytail). Love the pattern!

Market Tote: Uh, this silver is perfection. Simple and sleek but not boring, thanks to the neon handles. It also comes in cognac, which would be great for everyday.

Pleated Patio Dress: I've already featured this dress in the sneak peek, but I love it so much it's worth another mention. It also comes in petite and tall sizes!

Eden Rock Printed Dress: Absolutely perfect for a wedding or bridal shower or any other event this summer! The print is bold, unusual and not overpowering.

Fit and Flare Dress: A perfect blank canvas to dress up with girly accessories, colorful accessories, gold accessories, leather accessories...really the options are endless with this one!

Printed Halter Top: Made for white jeans or shorts and summer nights!

Piped Shirt: A navy buttondown piped with pink? What's not to love? Such a year-round piece!

Elephant Print Short: I love a good novelty short, and this is just so cute. Since the pattern is black and white, it's definitely more versatile than a color.

Soft-wash V Tee: From the men's collection, but I'm sucked in by the "soft wash" name. Who doesn't want an extra soft tee to sleep or lounge around in? I'd personally buy the XS and pair it with the elephant shorts above for an effortlessly slouchy look.

Happy shopping! Looks like I'll be popping into my nearest BR on the way home from work tonight to try things on in person!

Almost Friday...But Not Quite

flamingo feathers

HOW is it almost June already???? 2013 is flyingggg by us! I was thinking about September/October the other day, and it seems so far off, but it's really not. YIKES. I'm already dreading winter haha.

Anyway. I've been really overwhelmed this week with life (parents are out of town so I'm having to do all the "adult" things like remember what day is trash day, go grocery shopping, etc; working and adjusting to working; my computer's not working quite right (RIP touchpad/charging light), lotsss of short deadlines for random things) so I don't really have anything to say. I just wanted to pop in and say HI! Have a happy Thursday!! It's almost Friday and almost the weekend again!

Anthro Addiction

Did I tell y'all I got a job? I'm working part-time in an adorable little activewear store in a ritzy, fancy shopping center/part of downtown Houston. Anyway, there's a J. Crew, an Anthropologie, a Sprinkles and a PaperSource all within walking distance of my work. Basically it's D-A-N-G-E-R for my wallet and paychecks.

I needed sunglasses for my drive home after my shift yesterday, so I popped into Anthro because they have inexpensive, cute ones. Obviously I had to look around a bit, and there is some seriously adorable stuff available right now. I could have bought everything.

Embroidered Gaillardia Cover-Up: so cute and would be perfect for the blazing hot Houston summers!

Primary Cardigan: such pretty, intricate embroidery! Navy + coral is such a perfect combination

Embroidered Sathya Top: such a saturated shade of blue. Stunningly gorgeous and so affordable!

Stitched Ionia Tunic: obviously embroidery and I are having a major moment. The picture doesn't do this embroidery justice at all, it's so beautiful in person and the purple is so rich and saturated. Love.

Windward Dress: I may have actually gasped when I saw this dress because it is SO cute (which is embarrassing). I'm definitely not one for overly themey outfits, but I am so drawn to this dress. It's adorable and made of such thick, textured fabric.

AG + Liberty Emma Romper: in pictures, you can't tell, but there's a very light floral pattern on this romper. It's extremely subtle, which I like, but keeps the romper from being a plain chambray/denim romper. And it's so soft!

Synchronized Swim iPhone case: So summery!

I'm not even going to post all of the little accessories or home goods I loved, because this post would end up being overly long! If you're interested, I got these sunglasses, but these were a close second! I wish these came in sunglass form though, because they're perfect!

Keeping It Real

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I know the whole blog world has a rep for only showing the picture-perfect parts of day-to-day life, which is fine, but I prefer to be more realistic. My life is not all sunshine and macarons, I don't wake up with fabulous hair or dress in designer clothing every day, I rarely Instagram my meals (unless it's a dessert)...I'm a normal person who has problems, bad hair days, lazy outfit days, everything that you have. I don't want to focus on the "bad things" in life, but sometimes it's good to get a reality check from a blogger and remind yourself that they're just like you.

How I'm keeping it real:
-I sunburned my legs last weekend (or a few weeks ago, I really don't know), and now not only are they extremely dry but they're also peeling. So sexy.
-I ate graham crackers for lunch yesterday. Just graham crackers.
-I've been letting my hair air dry for a few months now, but I blow dried and straightened it the other day and I barely recognized myself. Add in the makeup I was wearing and it's like I was looking at a whole new face. Such a strange feeling.
-I stayed up until 4 am the other night watching this BBC miniseries called North & South because I couldn't go to sleep until I knew how it ended.
-I still cannot figure out how to do a sock bun. I've watched so many tutorials and looked at so many pictures and I just can't understand.

How are you keeping it real?

Friday Favorites!

 who knew oranges could be so dramatically beautiful?

Just a few random favorite things from around the web for your Friday afternoon pleasure...have a lovely long holiday weekend!!

-Loving this dress for every summer event (seersucker! bows! on sale!)

-These shorts have gotten me thinking about cute gameday outfits...because it's never too early and you should always have a ton of outfits ready to go (this is normal, right?)

-The Ferragamo L'Icona shoots for the Vara shoes are so stunningly gorgeous...who could have thought such a simple flat could be worn in so many different outfits? Plus the customizable Varas and Varinas are just so fun!

-This little kitty makes my life so much brighter every day. I'm kind of obsessed...it's taken real restraint to not post a billion Nala pictures...

-This dress is my Memorial Day weekend dream outfit...I wish I could just magic it into my closet!

Kendall Conrad

 Artemisa Cuff Ring I

Thin Bangle

As you probably know, I'm not much of a jewelry person. I like my jewelry to be simple, delicate and understated. I prefer clean lines, sleek shapes, interesting textures, and expensive-looking metals.

Thin Rounded Stacking Ring I

Tapered Bangle II

Which is exactly why I love Kendall Conrad's jewelry. Her pieces are perfectly imperfect and manage to be both delicate and hefty. Nothing is in-your-face ostentatious, but rather more understated while still making an impression. No logos either (logo jewelry is so tacky, in my opinion).

Chaquetilla de Matador Charm

Hair Hook

Thin Rounded Hoops

These are definitely not inexpensive pieces, but rather pieces you'll have forever instead of only a season or two. Plus, did I mention she also makes the most amazing, beautiful purses as well?

 

Filomena Tote

Marisol Tote

These are definitely aspirational totes! I love how simple they are, with no overdone hardware or logos or obnoxious flaps or pockets. Simple but not boring and made of thick, luxurious leather and suede. Swooning. I'm such a KC fan. Check out everything KC here!

Milly x Banana Republic: Sneak Peek!!!

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BIG news, y'all!!! The Milly x Banana Republic collaboration (and y'all know how much I love a good collab) officially launches on May 30, butttttttt you can buy 4 pieces right now on Refinery 29! Considering even finding a full lookbook for the collaboration has been super difficult, this is exciting. Milly is one of my favorite brands ever, so I've been excited for this partnership ever since it was first announced last year.

Roll-Sleeve Top: would be so cute with white jeans or shorts for casual occasions, or tucked into an aqua skirt for a dressier occasion.

Long Pleated Dress: do we even need to talk about how much I love this? Turquoise, navy, white, stripes, maxi-length...done, done, done. I need.

I know where I'll be on May 30!

Saturday Summer

KS Saturday posted a bunch of new arrivals the other day and a lot of it is totally adorable and very summery. I just had to highlight some of my newest favorites...

 1//2//3//4//5

All of these dresses could easily be dressed up or down, and they all look so casually-chic. Perfect for summer! I think that little striped dress is just darling and is just screaming for a bow belt...and to be added to my closet.

Mane Message

 The Amore Package

I know elastic hair-ties are the thing right now, and everyone is fiercely brand-loyal to their own favorite, but mine is definitely Mane Message. I've had both Emi-Jays and Twistbands, and the Mane Message ties are far superior.

The Boho Package

Mane Message was started by Olivia Hayward a few years ago while she was still in college. Her business has exploded and she just moved Mane Message out of her house into its own workspace and studio. She hand-tiedyes all of her own hair ties and let me just tell you, they are gorgeous.

 The Beach Lover Package

Olivia pulls together the prettiest packages and has such creative color combinations. The colors are vibrant and bright, but best of all (in my opinion): the hair ties don't stretch out as easily or as quickly as any of the other ties. They also grip hair better but don't leave a dent. Add in the fact that you're supporting a girl our age, doing what she loves, and it's a win-win situation.

I ordered the Sampler Package a few weeks ago and it's just great. I love all of the colors Olivia picked and the balance of the tie-dye and solids. I've been wearing the hair ties non-stop. My hair is very fine and silky and I often have problems with hair-ties falling out of my hair or loosening over time...I haven't had that problem at all with these ties. My one issue is that the headbands are a touch too big for my head and keep slipping off, but that's a problem I've had for years and is because my head is tiny.

this would be where pictures that I took of my own hair ties would go...if I was a good blogger.

I'm definitely going to be a repeat customer...I love supporting small businesses, young entrepreneurs and having great, stylish hair products :) Olivia also has a great blog that you can read here and follow her on Instagram for behind the scenes peeks!

Life...

So. I had a whole post written, scheduled and ready to go for today because I had planned on leaving for Auburn/Charleston this morning...until I got in a car accident last night on my way home from work. I'm fine, but my car isn't, so I've canceled my trip which meant scrapping the cute little road trip post I had all done.

Lately things have been all over the place and insane. Short summary: planned this apartment-hunting trip to Charleston last weekend, had three interviews last week, ended up getting one part-time job last week and started today, got in the accident, canceled my trip, and am still waiting to hear back about the results of the other two interviews I had.

So that's what's going on with me! Lots of possibilities, nothing totally definite and concrete. I'm getting to the point where I'm just tired of waiting around for things to happen and I might just need to be totally bold and take huge risks to get where I want to be...which is so scary for a planner/calculater/not-risk-taker like me!

1//2//3

C. Wonder-ful Home

 pillow//jewelry box//tray//plate

C. Wonder has been knocking it out of the park lately! I just cannot get enough of their adorable, punchy home decor accessories right now. All of it is so bright, summery and cheerful. All of the above items would look just darling in my dream apartment...so crisp with all of the white mixed with brights!

I'm also coveting these wedges...

Tech Talk: Graphic Designer Needed!

Sometimes technology hates me. Like right now, for instance. Last night I was doing a check of my blog, to make sure everything looked good and was running smoothly, when I saw that my header, instead of having a clean white background had a dingy gray background. No idea where that came from, since I've double-checked that yes, the background on the image itself is white.

I've since spent multiple hours redoing the header, reuploading the header, trying different ways of saving the file and uploading it...and I still have an ugly gray background. Maybe I'm going slightly crazy and it really is white, but doesn't look it?

Ahhhh!!! I think this is just the little push I needed to get an actual designer to makeover this little blog. Anyone know of a good, inexpensive graphic designer or web designer???

On the other hand, I just figured out I can use gifs in posts...so technology is kind of cool.

Friday's Fancies: Stripes!

The theme for this week's Friday's Fancies was stripes and if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, then you know I LOVE stripes, so obviously I was totally in!!! My biggest problem was narrowing all of the striped goodness out there down to a single outfit...

top//jeans//flats//tote

sunnies//bracelet//earrings

A simple, easy outfit to throw on for anything: brunch, shopping, a casual dinner, running errands. All classic silhouettes with a few trendy touches. I love crisp white and navy together, and naturally coral-pink is a perfect summery accent.

Happy Friday, lovelies!

What Kate Likes: Cutout Shoulders

I've never been one for halters. I don't like having the majority of my back exposed and I've usually had some sort of bikini strap tanline that would ruin the effect of wearing a halter anyway, so I've never worn a true, ties-at-the-neck halter top.

However, I'm loving faux halter tops or almost-halters right now! The cutout shoulders are so flattering and still sexy but without showing so much skin. In my opinion, they're more sophisticated than a backless halter and definitely more wearable.

A few favorites...

Maylene Maxi Dress

Inna Dress

Diamond-print Halter

Trina Turk top

Joan Dress

Tinley Road tank (so comfortable and easy!)

J. Crew top

I recently added the Joan dress to my closet and it's so cute in person. I think the Tinley Road tank is a total steal and a must-have as well! I love the super-saturated blue of the Lilly dress and the J. Crew top too...so hard to decide!

Minted Art Prints

 "Awning Stripes"--Kristie Kern

Minted is famous for their stationery and business cards, so I was clicking around their site the other day looking for business card design ideas, and I discovered that they have an entire section of art prints and it. is. fabulous!

 "In A Row"--Annie Clark

Every design is by an independent artist, and there are soooo many different styles of artwork to choose from. It's pretty much print heaven--there's typography prints, abstract prints, illustration prints, prints of paintings, photography...anything you want, you can find it on Minted. There's also an entire Custom Prints section that I didn't even explore!

 "Buttercream"--chocomocacino

I'm totally obsessed. I'm pretty sure that all of the artwork for my future apartment is going to come from here just because of the wide, but carefully edited, range of designs. You could easily put together a cohesive gallery wall, a cohesive diptych/triptych for a room, find artwork to coordinate with a color scheme, or find a perfect gift...all in one place!

"Out To Sea"--Carolyn MacLaren

"Peinture Brillante"--Design Lotus

"California Succulent"--LeeAnn Dougherty

My biggest problem will easily be narrowing all of the amazing designs to a few for my apartment! There's just so many I love!