// Nautilus

Nautilus
Ever since the sun started to come out in full force I've noticed that my hair is getting a lot lighter. Not that that's magic or anything, but it's making my nearly-black roots that much more noticeable. Every morning when I look in the mirror I have to ask myself "When is it going to just look way too lazy?" Prior to keeping my hair dyed bright, bright red (for 2.5 years), I hadn't dyed my hair in about 6 years, so it was 100% natural in color. I really like the whole "less upkeep" thing (red was exhausting honestly) but I'm not huge on the ombre trend... I just can't bring myself to dye over my roots/natural color. It's probably super silly to even worry that much about it, right? Even worse to dedicate a whole paragraph to it? 
Nautilus
This dress is a trusty ol' Nine West number. You know how much I love them! I picked it up at Marshall's a few weeks back because I loved the white eyelet detail at the top. Plus I love a good navy polka dot dress (I own too many!) It's always a good day to wear MIA Jukebox wedges, too. Mike snapped a little picture (above) of my new Lisa Leonard necklace that I totally adore. It's dainty and simple, but definitely means a lot. (You can get your last minute entries in to win an LL piece of your own HERE!) You can't really tell on my clutch but there's some suede detail on the front flap that totally reminds me of a watermelon. All of the red does my sunburn no favors but I'm happy to report that it's finally turning!
Nautilus
Nautilus
Sometimes I really appreciate this blog (I mean, I always appreciate it, but you know). I feel like it's helped me sort of "work through" a few issues over the years. For example: I'm no stranger to going without a cardigan in public, and I've even posted on LCH without one on many occasions. Even still, each and every time I decide to skip the sweater on the internet, I get nervous. It's a natural reaction to any sort of body hangup we have about ourselves, but I've found that by just putting it out there, it helps make me more likely to do it again in the future. My arms are far from my favorite feature and it's so great to see so much body positivity and confidence in the blog world. Now I'm just rambling, but I guess I just want to say thanks for help making LCH a place for personal growth. Hopefully you've found something over the years that has helped you along the way, too!

Now I'm going to go enjoy a little bit of sunshine before the storms roll in! We didn't even leave the house yesterday because it rained and rained and rained! 24 hours gave me total cabin fever! Happy Saturday! xo

Nine West dress via Marshall's
Hand-stamped necklace c/o Lisa Leonard (win your own here!)

39 comments:

  1. Love this dress on you! It's absolutely adorable. And the Lisa Leonard necklace is so pretty and delicate! I totally see the little watermelon-looking detail on the clutch. :) Actually, I think your hair looks really pretty and summery, and it looks natural or like an intentional effect!

    xox Sammi
    www.thesoubrettebrunette.blogspot.com

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  2. Gorgeous dress, the shoes are soooo beautiful! Love a good wedge. ;-) x

    Lemon-freckles.blogspot.co.uk

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  3. Our arms are really similar shape AND I have a Kurt Halsey sleeve that I adore. (I actually found your blog by googling kurt halsey tattoos, and Ihappen to live in Nashville, and have passed you and the fam leaving Las Maracas on gallatin. I think I sound creepy now. moving on!) Your outfit posts have definitely made me feel okay with baring my arms. I love my tattoos, and I love sleeveless dresses in the summer. I don't love the snarky remarks from random people like "oh her tattoos would look better if her arms were smaller" but it doesn't matter. I am slowly moving towards confidence in my least favorite body part. So, thank you! :)

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    1. I love everything about this comment. Why aren't we friends already?! ;)

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  4. that dress is so cute! love the collar detail <3

    XO Sahra
    EffortlessCool

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  5. adorable dress! love the collar detail <3

    XO Sahra
    EffortlessCool

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  6. This outfit is so amazing! All I can think of is Legally Blonde where Paulette says "You look like the fourth of July!" :) Super, super cute!

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  7. It's waaayy too hot for cartigans right now! You have pretty arms! I didn't even think anything of them until I read your paragraph on it.

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  8. I was actually thinking about how great your hair looks while I was looking at your first picture before I read anything. Also, I know everyone has their personal hang-ups that others might not understand, but I'm surprised you aren't more excited to show off all the great artwork on your arms.

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  9. I always love seeing your arms because its a glimpse of your awesome tattoos on them! You are probably the only person who could put the idea of a half sleeve into my heade despite having no tattoos :)
    As for the hair- have you considered a semi permanent dye over the lighter sections to take it to the same colour as your roots? It would keep the new hair dye free as it all grows out :) A long process I know... I think I have nearly trimmed all my lighter dyed sections 4 years later!
    xxx

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  10. That dress is PERFECT! You look gorgeous, Kaelah. I love how honest you are about body love (and sometimes the lack thereof). I feel the same way sometimes, but usually get "hushed" when I mention it. I know it's uncomfortable to talk about, so thanks for your courage, lady.

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  11. I love seeing all your tats in their glory- they're amazing! (I speak as someone who really wants a sleeve but can't because of work- boo!). Anyway, I know what you mean about displaying areas of your body you feel uncomfortable about. I rock jeans and chinos all the time, but I feel so uncomfortable when it comes to putting pictures up on my blog. I just feel like everyone's going to be staring at my thighs and laughing. Definitely something I still need to work on, so thanks for the good reminder- it's definitely all in our minds!

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  12. Love this outfit, especially those shoes! And I seriously love your attitude. You rule! Ohh and I'll be sending off a little pen pal pkg soon! : )

    Love from the NJ Shore,
    Xo

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  13. Ah, you look beautiful without cardigans! Show off those tattoos, lady! For the hair... Maybe dye the non roots a really dark brown, and then let it grow!

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  14. I know what you mean about cardigans. I definitely use mine as a crutch. It's amazing to see your gorgeous tattoos though!

    Becky
    xx

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  15. lovely dress and i have to say, your hair looks GORGEOUS! i love the inbetween shades it is. :)
    kw ladies in navy

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  16. last week, i posted for the first time sans tights. i was so bloody nervous, but got SUCH a nice response! makes it all ok :)

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  17. I really just cannot pull of the nautical look but i think it's great on you! and i'm glad you like your arms— they seem like good arms. they raise a beautiful child, create so many amazing designs, they are good for high fiving, drinking margaritas, and driving you around the country in your mobile boutique THAT YOU INVENTED WITH YR BRAIN. they also have kickass artwork on them— what's not to love?

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  18. I think your hair looks fine, it looks like you did it on purpose, but if you don't like the ombre trend maybe you should dye it all dark if you want a less upkeep look?
    teapotsandbelles.blogspot.com

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  19. wow you look STUNNING in these photos! I love how you connect with the camera. :] and I hear that on the blog world - as nasty as it can get, I feel that there will always be a strong group of positive and loving people. :]

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  20. Beautiful outfit, as always! I totally feel ya on the arms thing. Probably my least favorite feature on myself, but I commend you for showing them off. I'm so used to cardigans, I see them somewhat as a security blanket, ya know? But I'm slowly mustering up the confidence to go sleeveless :)

    Have you considered dying your hair your natural color (matching your roots?) I was in the same boat as you. My hair was bright red for 5 years, and decided I was over it about a year ago. I didn't want my hair to be dyed at all anymore - I missed the softness and the virtual non-existant upkeep that came with having dye-free hair, so I dyed my whole head the same color as my roots (which is a deep, borderline-black dark brown.) The great thing? The colors match perfectly. Now my hair can grow and grow, and it all just looks like my natural hair color. No more noticeable roots!

    xo, samantha
    www.sammyblackwood.com

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  21. you are definitelty one of my style and confidence inspirations <3.

    xx Stu

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  22. I just discovered your blog and I am obsessed!! I love your effortless style and quirky sense of humor!! How Cute!!
    iamthegreatgwen.blogspot.com/

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  23. I didn't even notice that you weren't wearing a cardigan! Just goes to show that it doesn't look unnatural for you! I have the same hang up about cardigans. I have gotten to the point that I can go without one in public (I live in the south too, it's just WAY too hot!) but I can't seem to do an outfit post without covering my arms. Work in progress!

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  24. I love a nautical look for the on-coming Summertime :) But what I really want to comment on is this "arm" thing. I recently wore a tube top on my blog and also made a comment about how I debated on it because of my arms, but you know what? You are beautiful, even if you had NO arms! So to the body-conscious issues, I say "fuck it"! Onward with the smiles, and down with cardigans.

    xo Ashley
    thetiniestfirecracker.com

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  25. I just love this dress!! Gorgeous:)

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  26. I think your hair is really pretty the way it is now and honestly, I didn't notice your black roots!
    Love the dress, so fun and yet effortless!

    Have a good day,
    -Kati

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  27. I love it! I love nautical and military theme with a femme twist. I also love red, white and blue together. Some people think I'm trying to be patriotic, but red, navy and white just go together perfectly.

    http://plumppinup.wordpress.com/

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  28. Three things:

    1. I think your arms look wonderful! You really pull off anything well, but especially dresses!
    2. I love dresses with pockets, but I especially love polkadot dresses with pockets!
    3. I actually really love your dark roots! It's not harsh enough of a difference to look "bad" persay, I think you could grow it almost the whole way out if you wanted to!

    Sending you sunshine,
    RACHAEL

    http://thegrowingtreeblog.blogspot.com

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  29. you're so pretty and I adore that dress.

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  30. I love seeing you without a caridigan! It's nice to get a chance to see your lovely tattoos. <3

    That necklace is gorgeous + so precious! It's so awesome + inspiring to see how you + Toby have taken to each other (for lack of a better word!). You're a great mom and he's an adorable little boy. <3

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  31. I love that dress! Great outfit :)

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  32. I personally think you should skip the cardigans more to show off those beautiful tattoos! (P.s. why can I never find cute shiz like that at Marshalls?!)

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  33. That dress is awesome. And you know what, when I first saw this post, I thought that it was cool to see you without a cardigan and then I finished reading and thought it even more. I think you know how I feel about body-positivity so it always warms my heart when fashion bloggers are able to take new strides in loving their bodies - especially since so much of what they blog about (not to pigeon-hole you AT ALL) showcases their bodies and how clothes look on them.

    So basically, you are a new level of awesome to me now. <3

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  34. I'm a major cardigan fiend because I have the same feelings about my arms. But looking at this post and seeing how your confidence has grown really gives me the strength to try going sleeveless for once. Let's be serious, sometimes it's just too darn hot to wear sleeves!

    Also I'm just going to throw this out there... I adore that dress! Not because of the pattern, or colour (although those are great). No, the reason why I love that dress is because it has POCKETS! Maybe I'm crazy but I think every dress should have pockets. It's just so practical!

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  35. I would build a charm bracelet. I have been wanting one for ages!

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  36. I feel like I have way too many things in navy polka dots too. They're just so cute though I can't help it! So I love this dress! The eyelet detailing at the top is such a great touch. I'm loving the red shoes with this too!

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HEY! Thanks for dropping by. xo KB