Skull Candy

You'll have to excuse the radio silence on this little blog the past few days. Seems like that little sickness Mike had turned out to be a little bit more than serious and he graciously passed it on to me. It hit me like a ton of bricks on my way home from a little coffee date with Maya and not 10 minutes after I was home I was crashed out on the couch in my pjs. I've been here since then, too. Only getting up long enough to take a sad excuse for a shower and to move to the bed. Friday was pretty much the worst day of my life. I haven't been this sick in a long time so it was all I could do to force myself to sleep as much as possible. Needless to say I missed another full weekend of work and that makes me a little less than stoked. Mike has been taking good care of me though, so he's a saint. Popsicles and seasons galore of Weeds and Sons of Anarchy have been keeping me good company. I had a sponsored giveaway that should have gone up yesterday so be on the lookout for that soon. I'm still far from 100% but these photos from a few weeks ago will have to do for now! I'm ready to be back and in action, even if that means taking it easy again today in hopes of making it off the couch by Monday haha

This outfit is a bit of a silly one. This cardigan is one of those cheapo one-size China imports via Ebay. I got it and it smelled of straight chemical factory. A few good washes and it's not so bad, though I realize it's not the most flattering. The dress is the same one I wore for Easter last year, and I can't help but pair it with harder solids like black and metal. The shoes are a new pair of Jeffrey Campbells that I got for Christmas and absolutely love (+ they're currently on sale). They have a very "Ska" style to them but the western style buckles made me swoon. They're so comfortable, too! 

Not much to say around these parts except I can't wait to take a good long shower, put some makeup on and get dressed like normal. In reality that probably means getting dolled up to sit at my computer and churn out some design work. Three days of pjs and sweatshirts really does a number on a girl! Oh -- and I got some incredible new shoes via the mail + our Chicago trip so I can't wait to dress those up, too! Happy Sunday xo

Forever 21 dress

Ebay cardigan

Forever 21 belt

Tights c/o Foot Traffic

Jeffrey Campbell Warning shoes

PS; I'm now (read: always) accepting sponsors for February and beyond. Book + pay for your spot by the end of the day on the 20th and you get a lil' discount. Feel free to email me about package deals for 3, 4 or 6+ month partnerships. You can check out my traffic + stats (updated 2 weeks ago, so note certain changes) HERE. xo

Sky + Sea

We're finally home! Back in our home sweet home of Nashville. Yesterday's drive was entirely too long. Lengthened by the fact we stopped at Ikea for an hour and then Indianapolis for 2 or so. Not to mention Mike is a sickly one. He's fighting off a really sore throat, fever, and all over just sickness that he started to feel when we were in Milwaukee on Sunday. I feel it creeping into my throat, too, so I'm trying to keep us all alive! This outfit, much like the last few and following ones, is from about 2 weeks ago. The sun was still out in full force and you could get away with not wearing a heavy coat. I'm not 100% sold on this tweed blazer jacket simply because it's not the right size, but I can't help loving the color combo. It matches really well with my Jeffrey Campbell Wanted shoes in blue velvet! (I also snagged these in black + wine on 80% clearance, but the wine was taken off of my order! Wahh!) I'm excited to pair the black with some easy outfits, too. 

I've been wearing a lot more colorful tights the past week or two, but you'd never know it by these pictures. If I'm not mistaken, this night I headed to Target and just loaded up my car with new tights (Much needed!). I'm loving the green + rust ones, so I'll have to shoot more outfits when we get a chance. Right now I need to get this house cleaned + Mike taken care of. If you're awaiting an email response from me from the past week or so, it's coming! My inbox is overflowing and I have a lot of design work, blog work, and all around correspondence to attend to. Hopefully I can start working on that tonight if I can get Mike feeling a bit better. Have a lovely Tuesday! xo

BeBop dress

Thrifted blazer

Forever 21 belt

Target tights

Jeffrey Campbell Wanted shoes

Blues Boy

This is an outfit from about two weeks ago, so it's a bit dated. I snagged this dress at UO for a whopping $10 not too long ago. I also got a black/red version (with dots maybe?). The top is a bit strange but it's a really comfortable dress. Comfort is totally what I was going for anyway! The second picture(s) were taken when a guy who works in this building came up and just watched us for a while. Probably thought we were trying to trespass or something. There are so many characters out there!

Chicago has been a lot of fun so far. Thrifting, Woodfield, too much Jack Daniels, and the Village Inn. The weather has been the exact same as in Nashville, so we're not getting to experience the Chicago winter like we had hoped. Guess that's a good excuse for another visit! It's nice to not feel chilled to the bone though, I won't lie. Here's to hoping the remainder of our trip is just as fun! xo

Urban Outfitters dress

Forever 21 cardigan

Target tights

Target flats

H&M coat 

How are you spending your weekend?!

Rust + Lumber

Here's to that awkward moment when what you're wearing just happens to be probably the least flattering thing for your body type... and you're showcasing it to the world! Oops! Not going to lie, I love this dress. I love this dress (+ have the same one in lavender) and I wear the bejeezus out of it even if it makes me look dowdy and strange. I have huge hips (and they don't lie. Boom.) but this dress just sits in all the wrong places. Yet time and time again I pull it from my wardrobe and prance around in it like it ain't no thang... yea, you heard me. I'm coming to terms with the fact that not everything has to be super flattering... that's not crazy talk right? The dress makes me feel good, even if I know I'm looking extra voluptuous wearing it. I'll just give three snaps in a Z formation and say "Work it gurl!" Plus I think the color combo of this outfit might be my new favorite! I'm doing this silly thing on Instagram where I document my shoes every day... I tag the photo with the hashtag #dailyshoe (in case you want to join in!) because I have a ridiculous collection and this will help me wear all of them (I hope.) It's sad that it's come down to me using a ploy to wear my wardrobe right?! Yikes. Honestly, as much as I love the look of oxfords, I've always been kind of intimidated by them. I'm short and stocky anyway, and they just make my legs look like nubs. Again, wearing them anyway! The rust tights are the perfect shade and are a recent score from Target (I wear two pairs in the winter so they're opaque + warm!) and so is the cardigan. The coat is a score from H&M back sometime last year that I recently rediscovered stored away in my Nana's basement. Anyway, enough of that!

Mike + I are headed down to my parents' house today for a bit and doing errands like renewing my car's tags for our trip tomorrow. Totally living the dream! ;) I know it'll be a stretch but I'm really hoping to avoid all email + "work" related things on our little vay-cay! If you write to me, I promise to respond by the end of next week! Until then, I can't really make any promises. Not that blogging + email are really ever urgent matters anyway! Hope you're having a fantastic start to your Wednesday. xo

H&M dress

Target cardigan

Thrifted belt

Target tights

Thrifted brooch

Forever 21 oxfords

H&M coat

PS; I know my roots are embarrassing. They're so hard to cover! I'm seriously considering going back to my natural/dark brunette soon anyway... we'll see!

Gawf-Chic

It's turned incredibly cold (finally!) here in Nashville, and I've been wearing a whole lot of black. I'm not sure if the two are related in any way, but this is a fairly dark outfit for me regardless. I knew I wanted to wear something dark with my new Jeffrey Campbell Busted Boots that I got for Christmas and I figured a little floral number with a tulle underlay would be the perfect offset for the industrial patent shine + buckles. They're really easy to walk in, but they go pretty high up on my ankles. They zip up on the inside of each leg and help keep everything nice and sturdy. They're a pretty fun little shoe! -- Anywhoo, yesterday Mike + I spent the day making exchanges and running errands in Franklin. Ran into two rad blog readers, too! Kelsey at the mall and Nikki at Genghis Grill! Hi ladies! Last night I sat on YouTube for far too long trying to figure out how ~branch out with my makeup. I sort of feel like a lost cause, no lie! I wish my best friend Jessica lived here since she's a makeup pro! Practice makes perfect, I suppose. Mike cooked a delicious dinner and we watched too much Breaking Bad... you know, a typical day!

We are gearing up to head north on Thursday. We're driving up to Chicago to spend a handful of days with Susannah + Chris! I love our random trips to Illinois and I'm really excited about this one. Friends and fun times, then Sunday we're heading to Milwaukee! Mainly because I've never been to Wisconsin and "Visit a new state" is on my 23 before 24 list! If y'all have any suggestions of things to see/do while we're in Milwaukee, please let me know! (In fact, anything to see/do while in the Chicago suburbs, too!) Spending quality time with our best friends is pretty much the icing on the cake for 2012! Perfect way to start it off! xo

Charlotte Russe dress

Target cardigan

HUE tights

Jeffrey Campbell Busted boots

PS; The JCs are on sale HERE + you can get an extra 20% off with the code KAELAH (that applies to everything on the site, too!) Believe me when I say, they're a lot more comfortable than they look!

PPS; The song at the very top is one of my all-time favorites. The kind of song you can listen to on repeat and never tire of it. Totally unrelated to the outfit, but the perfect way to start your day! xo

Banana Boat

These shoes almost take it a step too far. They're almost too ugly (Yeah right, I gravitate toward them... I'm sure they were too ugly for a lot of y'all a long time ago!) Mike + I happened to pop into Urban Outfitters a handful of days ago and on the clearance table was a Jeffrey Campbell box (yeah, that's the only reason I even went). Inside the pretty little box was these Banana Boat shoes. Mike said they looked like McDonald's Play Place shoes, and I can also agree. Anyway, they were marked half off, and they were my size, and they were the only JCs in the store. It sort of felt like fate... even if they were atrocious. I was determined to make them work, so I bought them. (Along with 2 dresses for $10!) I thought I could try a simple white dress, a coordinating cardigan and a pop color for the belt... you know... my uniform.  I'm still not sure if it was a success for not, but I think they might be growing on me some.

Last night Mike + I went on our little daily coffee date, then I met up with Bryan and Elle at the Sportsplex here in Nashville for some ice skating. (Mike joined us after a little while.) Okay, so I've never ice skated before. Ever. I wasn't expecting to like it so much or even be able to stand up, but it wasn't that bad. I only fell once (alright... twice. Once after an hour and a half of skating + I also ran smack into Mike after he fell once. I wasn't paying attention! Doh!) Anywhoo, it was a lot of fun and I definitely hope we go back. I never knew how many people made it out on the rink during the week! Afterwards we all headed over to Las Palmas down the street from our house for some late night Mexican food and drinks. Mike + I snuck in a couple episodes of Breaking Bad before hitting the hay. It was a fun night. 

Now I'm writing down my reflections of 2011 and goals for 2012. I'll be sharing those tomorrow! (Along with the iPad 2 winner!) Hope y'all have a lovely Friday! I have to go see what silly Enid is up to... she's climbing through my shoe shelves and knocking things over! xo

What are your plans for New Years weekend? (I'm working. Womp womp womp!)

Dress via Ross

Forever 21 belt

Target cardigan

Target tights

Jeffrey Campbell Colorblock Litas

2011 Outfit Recap

This year has been a crazy one for my wardrobe. That probably sounds really silly, but it's true. In early 2011 I was just a simple, black bow flat lovin' gal and I was insistent that I'd never "love shoes"... Are we all rolling our eyes yet? Um yeah. I found three cute pairs of wedges/heels at Target one fateful day in February and my closet has exploded with platforms, ugly shoes and wedges ever since. Heaven help us all. Now I'm a little too obsessed and my "collection" is kind of embarrassing. At least we're making progress here! I really love showcasing my ~*personal style on LCH simply so I can see the mega mistakes I've made (yowza!) and fun ways to switch it up. It's kind of awesome to be able to look back and actually see personal growth and evolution. My outfits almost solely consist of cardigans, dresses and tights (still), but there's an occasional doozy every once in a while. These are my favorites of 2011...

January

Spring Fling in the Snow // Blackberry Winter

February

Strawberry Seeds + Lemon Flowers // Cloudy Magnolia Berries

March

Future Safari Space Hunter // Cranberry Lace Cowgirl

April

Modcloth Blogger of the Moment // 70's Lady

May

Graduate // Date with the Night

June

Country Cabin Bumpkin // Berries + Wheat

July

'Murrica // Honeybrick

August

Sunbaked Clay // Ruffled Sage

September

See You in September // So Long Sweet Summer

October

Two if by Sea // The Hot Dog Dress

November

She's Gone Country // Black Swan

December

Strawberry Rain // Heavy Metal Princess

If you're interested in 2010's Top 12 Outfits, you can see those here! (They're grainy and so dated, but still! Evolution!) I kind of can't wait to see what 2012 brings. Hopefully the faintest idea how to do hair/makeup so I can look less like a 12 year old hot mess! Oh, and I hope to get better at ~accessorizing (though I'm not a fan of jewelry... hmm!)

Do you have any favorite outfits of 2011? Yours? Mine? Another blogger's? Share them below! Inspiration should be celebrated!