// Tragic Kingdom

If I could write a love letter to this dress, I would. I am so head over heels for it, it's unreal. I'm a total sucker for a novelty print, but especially if it's of the citrus variety. I love the bright contrast of the fruit on the black background, and the polka dots are icing on the cake. Does it also make you want to break out into song? I can't help but start singing songs from No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" album when I see it. I mean, it's one of the best albums ever. I knew I had to have this dress as soon as I saw it on the Unique Vintage site. Favorite perk of being part of the Style Society? Snail mail full of gorgeous prints and swoon-worthy dresses! I'm not sure if you can tell really well, but the bust on this dress is fantastic. It's ruched and it feels perfect for gals like me who are, uh, smaller, up there haha! And it has pockets! I know it'll be just as gorgeous when paired with a petticoat, so maybe next time I'll give that a go. After seeing Linden's mint sweater up against it, I really want to pair it with mint accents. And how perfect is my Sakura Bloom "Maize" sling with it?! Like a freakin' match made in heaven, y'all! (Does that happy baby not just kill you?! Ugh, dying every time I look at those photos!)

I've been playing with some new makeup lately, though I'm not sure if you can tell or not. Makeup days are few and far between lately, but it sure does feel nice to get dolled up a bit. Right now I could kiss my NYX Wonder Sticks. They're fabulous in every way. I did another little "out of character" thing in this outfit: Wore jewelry! Normally I steer clear of clunky necklaces (or any necklaces at all, really) since I wear Linden so much and he's oh so handsy. But I couldn't say no to this statement necklace I got in my recent Rocksbox. The House of Harlow bangle is also a Rocksbox piece. My stacking rings and midi ring are from Bling Jewelry, and they're the perfect little dainty touch I think. 

So uh, I guess I've been a little MIA lately, huh? Sorry! My workload lately has been insane! I normally only book 2-4 design clients at one time... and 4 is only if I know they'll be scheduled out with payments and contracts. Right now I'm juggling 10. TEN! It's totally nuts but oh so fulfilling! I feel really motivated by the work I've been doing recently and the folks I've been working with. I kind of put painting signs on the back burner while I waited for the new batch to come in, so this weekend I'll be powering through those. We've also become incredibly social lately, which is so rare and so weird haha! I love going places and doing things with people, don't get me wrong! But it's been so long since we made new friends and new plans. Last weekend we did things like, three nights in a row. Our days have been full of work, socializing and trying to enjoy outside when it's not raining. I'm hoping this weekend includes a winery visit, but we'll see. It's hard to make new friends as an adult, I think. Especially if you work at home and/or have small kids (minus playdate sessions ha). Not only have we been spending time with new friends, but I've also been pursuing new things off of the internet. Weird concept, right? (haha I kid!) I haven't written much about them because 1) I just haven't had time and 2) it's been sort of nice to have them separate? I don't know. I'm at this weird place where I want to share all about what I've been up to, but I know that it'll just garner side eyes and whatever, and ain't nobody got time for that! :P I promise to fill you all in soon though.

Mike finished his clinical rotations yesterday (!!!) and now he's just one month from graduation. He's on spring break next week so I'm eager to finalize a bunch of client work and then just hang out. Toby's baseball season started up last night so it's like we're trading one thing for another. I know things will be even more hectic once Mike takes the NCLEX and then starts working (and starts his next phase of school), but I'm trying to be optimistic and take it one day at a time. It's too crazy to think about it otherwise! haha 

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! I promise it won't be a whole week before you hear from me again :) (Though you can always keep up with what's happening via Instagram. But it's mostly just baby pictures... sorry!)

Bernie Dexter dress c/o Unique Vintage

Pink Martini cardigan via Stitch Fix

Rocksbox necklace

House of Harlow bangle via Rocksbox

Rings c/o Bling Jewelry

MIA wedges

Sakura Bloom ring sling in "Maize"'

PS; Don't forget you can contribute to the Unique Vintage #iamunique campaign by using the hashtag and sharing what sets you apart! It's been such a pleasure to be part of something so fun with a brand I admire so so much. Definitely couldn't do things like this if not for y'all, so thanks for being rad! ;)

PPS: Use the code "kaelahxoxo" to get your first month of Rocksbox for free! (If that doesn't work, use "kaelahbff" - It's been finicky!) It's like Stitch Fix, but for jewelry. Super fun! Only the first 3 people get the free month, I think. So be quick!

// Sailing Away

I'm seriously so tempted to do a full on "Fleet Week" on my blog... nothing but a week's worth of nautical inspired outfits haha! It's one trend that never feels outdated. Maybe that's just me? This is what I wore for a mini "date day" with Mike last Saturday. My mom took the boys for the latter half of the day and we ran errands in Franklin. I ended up being insanely windy that day, and I may or may not have shown a few people more than I meant to... haha! This dress is so comfortable and really well made. I was afraid it would be too long for me, but I really quite like where it hits. The top of the dress makes it! The bow, the collar... it's so perfect. My cardigan was also the exact same navy hue, so it felt like fate. I don't wear my hair up very often (on the blog... in real life it's 24/7) but this is my "mom hair, don't care" look. Since I wear Linden a lot, I have to be able to keep my hair out of his tiny (strong!) little hands. 

I am so so looking forward to this weekend! Mike's parents are taking the boys Saturday and keeping them overnight (!!!) so we can enjoy a Valentine's Day together. Goodness knows we need it! I'm trying to let go of the reins a little but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sort of freaking out. I've never been away from Linden for more than a few hours at a time, so to have him in someone else's care for a full night... ahhhh! I mean, obviously Mike's parents are incredibly capable. I trust them 100%, but I get a little stressed thinking of Linden crying. I'm going to do my best to enjoy our evening together though. We don't have any concrete plans yet, but we're thinking maybe dinner in Florence and then just spending some quality time together. We'll see! 

Don't forget you can take part in the Unique Vintage #IamUnique campaign by using the hashtag on social media! I'm super stoked to be part of their first Style Society and I've had a lot of fun so far. Be sure to pop over to the UV blog to see what the 5 of us have been up to! xo

Bon Voyage dress c/o Unique Vintage

Navy cardigan c/o Unique Vintage

Thrifted red belt

Romwe flats

// Dreaming of Spring

Yesterday it was an incredible 62 degrees here! The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, and the sun was out in full force. I was so excited to shed the layers and run errands while it felt so great outside. Of course I know it was just a tease since it'll be cold again in no time, but boy I'm ready for Spring! I try to not wish the days away but I'd wish winter away completely if I could. Can I move to south Florida?! Anyway, since it was so nice out, I decided to wear my new dress! It was the perfect day for it. Okay so it may have been a wee bit windy, but I just held onto my skirt and hoped for the best haha! This Bernie Dexter dress from Unique Vintage is a dream! The skirt has the perfect amount of volume without needing a petticoat, and it fits so so well. I topped it off with a kelly green cardigan and a long chain necklace from Stitch Fix. I had curled my hair earlier yesterday morning and it looked awesome, but the second I stepped out the door it was so frizzy! I hate when that happens.

Today's outfit post is part of the official launch of Unique Vintage's "I am Unique" campaign and I'm excited to be part of the first UV Style Council. The Style Council is made up of a handful of bloggers of varying shapes and sizes, all aiming to promote body positivity and personal style. You can check out some of the other gals involved, and post your own body positivity photos, using the #iamunique hashtag!

This past weekend Mike and I went "car shopping" since the weather was so nice on Saturday. I could totally get used to 60 degree days in January! We're not looking to buy another car quite yet, but we know it'll be sometime fairly soon (maybe in the next year or year and a half) since we definitely want more kids. Between his truck and my Xterra we only have one family vehicle. 2 car seats and a booster might fit in my Xterra, but it'd probably be a bit tight, so we'll need to upgrade before there's another bun in the oven. We had our hearts set on a larger SUV and ideally not a van. Since it would be our primary family vehicle, we need to plan ahead for quite a ways so we definitely need a third row of seats. I love driving a Nissan so we made sure to check out those options and I think we've got our eyes on a Nissan Armada at some point. It's nice and big but not huge. I don't know how families with 4+ kids get around! Do you have a larger family? If so, what kind of car(s) do y'all have?!

After we did some car shopping we headed over to our friend Maya's new place to check it out. Maya hadn't met Linden yet so it was awesome to spend some time with her and let her see L for the first time. We grabbed a late lunch at Olive Garden on Saturday and I think every single server in that restaurant held/touched Linden in some way. I try not to be overly protective but with the flu the way it is here I just wanted to dip him into a bucket of hand sanitizer haha! I know they were all well meaning and so so sweet, but it can be a little off putting when a stranger just ups and takes your baby out of your arms. We were so glad to get home and crash for the night. Sunday was relatively uneventful and Monday was more of the same, but we needed the rest. Remember how I said my house was sort of clean last week? Well that's totally not the case anymore and now I'm going crazy trying to tidy up with every spare second I have!

I'm thinking about doing another Kaelah's Closet cleanout to gear me up for some Spring Cleaning and my organizing mission. Would that be something y'all would be interested in? I'll probably post them on my @kaelahscloset Instagram again. Anything that doesn't sell will just get donated so I have less to deal with haha

Here's to a short, but hopefully very productive, week ahead! Have anything exciting planned?

Bernie Dexter dress c/o Unique Vintage

Mak cardigan c/o ModCloth

Stitch Fix necklace

Target flats