Santa Barbara Trip Recap

Happy Friday lovies! I'm so excited to share pics from our Santa Barbara trip today because it was seriously such a blast. I'm just going to jump right in! I already talked about our flight disaster on Thursday but thank goodness we got there right on schedule. We rented a car and drove it from LAX down to Santa Barbara and took such a scenic route! Once we got to our gorgeous Airbnb, we immediately headed down to the beach nearby. We were having a blast taking pictures and frolicking around in the water but a lady walking her dog stopped to tell us that the water was totally not sanitary and we shouldn't be putting our feet in. There are these big oil rigs that were further out but directly in front of where we were in the ocean and when we got out, we realized our feet were COVERED in oil and were basically completely black on the bottom. Oops! That night when the rest of our friends got in (they had later flights so they drove a separate rental car), we went out to eat at a place near the house--nothing special!

Friday we grabbed brunch at Dawn Patrol on State Street and it was SO stinkin' good! I got French Toast (because let's be real--that's all I ever get when I go out for brunch/breakfast) and a spicy Chai Tea and it was delicious. Highly recommend it if you guys ever visit SB! After that, we shopped around and got some really gorgeous gemstone rings at a local jewelry store (can't remember the name). State Street has a bunch of local stores but also has an Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, etc. After shopping, we headed down to Stearn's Wharf to get some awesome scenic pictures and take in the great views. We also stopped for drinks at the Harbor Restaurant. Super fun and also has some great views from their terrace! That night we went out on the town for drinks and dancing and had an absolute blast.

Saturday was the day of the wedding so we got brunch that morning again on State Street. I actually can't remember the name of the restaurant mainly because I had to send my dish back (which I never do). I ordered french toast (yes--2 days in a row) but it was COVERED in coconut shavings which I absolutely hate. I ended up just getting a danish and chai tea at the Coffee Bean down the road. We shopped around a little bit more then went home to get ready for the wedding. The wedding itself was SO incredibly gorgeous. Michelle (the bride) wore a custom-made jumpsuit and she looked so elegant! Their love is seriously so contagious and you could tell that everyone there just adores them. The ceremony and reception was stunning and so much fun!

Overall, the trip was so much fun and spending time with friends was the best part. I definitely would love to go back and visit Santa Barbara again with Steven though! Sorry this post was so long but I hope y'all enjoyed reading it. Have an awesome weekends lovebugs!

Wedding Attire [Santa Barbara Trip Part 2]

Dress: BCBG, Heels: BCBG

Hope you all are having an awesome Wednesday so far! I'm still getting back into the swing of things. Even though I wasn't gone for that long, it really feels like I missed out on a lot at work and just in general! Steven is actually going out of town for a friend's wedding this weekend so I'm just trying to soak up as much time with him as I can since we were apart when I was in California as well.

As most of you know, I went to Santa Barbara with my best friends for our other best friend's wedding. We sort of made a trip out of it arriving Thursday morning and left Sunday afternoon. I'll get more into what we actually did while we were there on Friday with a ton of photos from the trip. But, I just had to share our flight chaos from Thursday. You guys may have seen that Southwest had a computer outage which resulted in a bunch of flights being grounded and ours being cancelled. We weren't notified until 4am on Thursday and our flight was scheduled for 7:50am. We were scrambling running all over the airport and THANK GOODNESS we were able to get on our friend's Alaskan Airlines flight which was scheduled for the same time as ours. We ended up having to pay over $200 more for that flight though and I've been trying to call Southwest since Thursday with zero luck getting through. Such a disaster but so glad that we were able to get there on schedule. The drive from LAX to Santa Barbara was seriously SO GORGEOUS. I can't get over the mountains and the ocean and the palm trees.

This is the dress I wore to the wedding and I seriously love it! I think wrap dresses are just so flattering and this one hit my body in all the right places. I also just LOVE the pattern and colors! It's also on sale right now if you're looking for a good dress to wear to an upcoming wedding!

[Linking up: Summer Style and Mix & Match Fashion]

Toes in the Pacific [Santa Barbara Pt. 1]

Romper: Windsor (old, similar here), Kimono: BCBG (old, similar here), Hat: Nordstrom

Happy Monday lovies! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston and Style Elixir for today's post! This is going to be a shorter post because I am still totally exhausted from traveling. We didn't get much sleep at all this weekend (in the best way) and I didn't get home from the airport until about 12:45 so I am just exhausted. Thank goodness I took today off!

 I will definitely be talking WAY more about the trip on Wednesday and Friday but for now let me just say, Santa Barbara was absolutely gorgeous and the wedding was beyond beautiful. We had so much fun exploring State Street and Stearn's Wharf. The scenery in general was just stunning and our airbnb was perfection. Can't wait to share more on Wednesday and Friday!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Purchases & Picks!

Tote, Earrings, Booties, Satchel, Blouse, Flats, Hat, Moto Jacket

Happy Wednesday darlings! Tomorrow is the day we leave for California! We fly out at 7:50am and are supposed to arrive at LAX around 10:15am (PST). We're still deciding whether we want to spend a few hours in LA before heading to Santa Barbara or we may just go straight there. I have been mapping things out and everything I would want to see in LA/Beverly Hills is about an hour from the airport so that's sort of a pain! We already have a little bit of a drive ahead of us to Santa Barbara. I'll definitely be taking a ton of pictures and posting on Snapchat (username: kellykalink)! I think I probably will end up skipping Friday's post because I have no idea what will be on the itinerary once we're there.

I wanted to get another outfit post up for y'all but the second shoot we did this weekend just came out horrible! My shirt looked insanely wrinkly in all the photos and being the perfectionist that I am, I just couldn't post it. I promise I'll have a ton of fun photos and outfits for you guys when I get back from my trip! Just wanted to share some of my purchases and other picks from the Nordstrom sale. My 2 big purchases were this BlankNYC suede moto jacket and also these Vince Camuto booties. I also got this adorable Lush tunic in taupe--I already have it in black and white and LOVE it! I was so impressed with the sale items/prices this year so if you guys haven't checked the it out yet, you definitely should because items are selling out so quickly.

If I'm not on here Friday, I hope y'all have a great rest of your week and weekend!!

Fun Midi Skirt

Tank: Topshop, Skirt: Madewell, Shoes: Vince Camuto, Sunnies: Ray-Ban, Necklace: Kendra Scott

Happy Monday loves! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. Linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston and Style Elixir for today's post! I'm so ready to have a weekend where we're not unpacking but I think we still have a few more of those ahead of us. Saturday we spent most of the day cleaning the apartment and packing more of our stuff to bring to the house. I can't believe we STILL have more stuff left that we need to go back and get. I don't know how we could have accumulated so much in a small apartment! Saturday night, we spent with my family at my aunt and uncle's. They just got a karaoke machine so we were having a blast with that! Sunday, I started a little bit of packing for California, got a manicure, and just got a lot done around the house. I can't believe it's only a few more days until my trip! (Thank you for all the flight tips--I'm still super anxious about it but hearing from you guys seriously helped!)

I saw this skirt at the Madewell store near my house and I just gushed over it! I LOVE the pattern and the length. I pretty much had this exact outfit visualized when I purchased it. I recently paired it with a long-sleeved tan tee and wore it to work where I got a ton of compliments. Madewell is by far one of my favorite stores recently! They have this skirt in blush with buttons down the front and it is seriously tempting me!

Also--sorry if you tried to visit the blog this weekend and received a "Server Down" notice. All the emails about renewing my domain went to the wrong email address so I totally missed it! After an insane moment of panic, I was able to renew it and get it back up and running!

Flight Essentials-Cali Trip

Sunnies, Headphones, Cosmetic Case, iPad case, Hat, Headphone Splitter, Tote, Sneakers

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you had a great week and have some awesome weekend plans ahead. I'm going to keep this pretty brief because I have a really long day at work ahead of me! I just wanted to share a few of my travel essentials because a bunch of my friends and I leave for California next week. These are all particularly for the flight! I am a pretty anxious flier so having a good show to watch and being super comfortable is really important in helping my anxiety! 

If you guys have any other tips for flying (especially if you get nervous like me), I would love to hear in the comments.

Have an awesome weekend!

My New Favorite Dress

Dress: J. Crew, Necklace: Kendra Scott, Wedges: Michael Kors (last season, similar here), Sunnies: Karen Walker

Happy Wednesday darlings! Hope your week is going well so far. Things still haven't calmed down around here yet. We have still been doing stuff around the house (mainly putting furniture together, still unpacking, etc.) and we're also prepping to clean out the apartment and get the last of our things out this weekend. I have also been researching new gyms because I ended my membership at the one near our old place. I'm hoping to join a new one before the week ends so I can start getting back into the work-out grind again! I also leave for California next Thursday bright and early so just prepping for that trip too. We're so excited!

This dress is my new FAVORITE! I LOVE the length, love the silhouette and just adore the eyelet detail. It's so easy to throw on for date night or lunch with the girls. It also works super well for work when you throw a sweater over it (depending on your office's dress code)! The dress also comes in black and I'm seriously tempted to buy that one too. It's just such an easy, cute piece for summer!

Plaid Tank & New Background!

Tank: Madewell, Jeans: Articles of Society, Bag: Tory Burch (old style, similar here), Sandals: Jack Rogers, Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Happy Monday lovelies! Hope you had a great and relaxing weekend. Linking up with Biana from
B Loved Boston  & Trend Spin for today's post! On Saturday, we got so much done around the house and then went out to eat at Bartaco which is the cutest tapas place near us. We got margaritas then went and registered for wedding gifts at Pottery Barn! I don't recommend registering after you've had a few margaritas....I feel like our list got pretty outrageous. Sunday, I went and picked up my wedding dress! It's even more gorgeous than I remember it and it honestly fits almost perfectly. I just need to have the sleeves adjusted and if I lose weight, it may need to be taken in a bit but all of that won't happen until February. My mom, MOH, and best friend that just came home from spending a year in Istanbul were there to see the dress and it was so much fun!

This top is so adorable and I have been wearing it on repeat lately. It's on sale at Madewell currently so if you like it, make sure to scoop it up now while it's discounted! Madewell has been one of my favorite stores to shop at recently (especially because there is one almost walking distance from our house). I love that they're a more boho version of J. Crew because they have the same quality as J. Crew but it's a better fit for my personal style!

Also--isn't this new background super cute?! There's nothing like finding a good blog background when you move!

Weekly Favorites

via

Happy Friday loves! I'm not sure how, but this 3 day work week felt incredibly long. Lately, I've been waking up on Thursday thinking it's Friday and let me just say, it really bums me out haha! As far as weekend plans go, tomorrow we will just be doing stuff around the house and doing a little more decorating. We also have SO many awesome restaurant options near our new house so we definitely want to go out to dinner and check some out! Sunday, I am going with my mom, MOH, and one of my best friends who just returned from Istanbul to see my wedding dress. So so excited! I had so much fun doing a "Weekly Favorites" post a few weeks ago so I definitely wanted to do one again. Linking up with Amanda from Meet at the Barre! Here goes...

Favorite Article--I am so excited that we finally have our own separate room for a home office so when I saw this article I just loved reading the tips for designing and decorating!

Favorite Blog Post--I love Chronicles of Frivolity and I especially love reading her bridal/wedding posts. This one gave some awesome beauty/skincare tips! Plus--how gorgeous was her wedding dress?!

Favorite Beauty Product--I have two things I'm LOVING at the moment. This primer is fabulous if you have dry skin and just love that dewy glow! It just looks gorgeous on the skin. Second product is this lipstick in the shade "Barbara." If you're like me and you like a neutral lip but nothing too nude, this has just the right amount of brown/rose undertones so it doesn't wash you out. It's not too brown though for everyday wear. 

Favorite Home Design--I stumbled upon Miss Mustard Seed's blog via Pinterest and how stinkin' adorable and shabby chic is this living/dining area? I'm obsessed.

Favorite Recipe--I have been back into the whole "macro counting" aka flexible dieting so I'm trying to eat meals that are higher in protein because I tend to carb it up! This meal is so yummy, healthy, and full of protein. It also seriously keeps you full!

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! Would love to hear your weekend plans in the comments below!

Stripes & Geodes

Tee: BP., Jeans: Articles of Society, Sandals: Jack Rogers, Hat: Sold Out (similar here), Necklace: Baublebar

Happy Wednesday loves! Hope you had a wonderful and relaxing 4th of July weekend. Linking up with the Blended Blog for today's post. It's definitely a struggle being back at work today but that's what coffee is for! We had SO much fun at my cousin's wedding and it was such a blast being part of her big day. The whole thing was absolutely gorgeous and they had INCREDIBLE weather! We came back Monday night but yesterday I spent the whole day doing stuff around the house and continuing the furniture search. I also got a call yesterday that my wedding dress came in! I get to see it on Sunday and I am so beyond excited. I definitely need to get this booty in gear as far as diet and exercise though. With the move and the wedding and work it has been so hard to squeeze in gym time but I need to get back to it!

I am weirdly obsessed with geodes so I thought these druzy pendants from Baublebar were so neat! I think it makes an outfit really boho and earthy. This is one of the few outfit shots I was able to get in during our move last weekend before we headed up to NY! I'm definitely going to be doing a bunch of outfit shoots this upcoming weekend so I'll be back on my normal posting schedule again soon.

How was your 4th of July weekend?!

July 4th Outfit Round-Up!

Happy Friday and soon to be 4th of July weekend! I am off today, getting my hair done at noon, then driving halfway to upstate NY for the wedding so this post is going to be pretty short. We decided to stop overnight in Pennsylvania and finish the drive tomorrow because it is SUCH a long drive and we're both just so exhausted from the move! Plus wedding festivities (rehearsal/rehearsal dinner) start tomorrow so we want to make sure we have plenty of time to get to those. 

As I mentioned before, I'll be skipping Monday's post to enjoy time with the family and enjoy the 4th before we head back to VA. I hope you guys enjoyed some of these 4th of July inspired outfits and have a wonderful, safe holiday weekend!