It might still feel like summer, but when September rolls around, out come the ankle boots, scarves and vests. This sleeveless trench (similar style worn here and here) is such a perfect piece for me because it brings in the fall vibes without making me schvitz like cray.
For example, when Christian snapped these photos this weekend we were having a heat wave and it was a breezy… 98 degrees. No big deal. I’ve worn a similar look before with strappy sandals during summer, but pairing this look with this sleek Isola ankle boots definitely takes this look to a transitional fall ensemble, and it makes me want to light a pumpkin scented candle and watch Ole Miss football.
I can’t believe I just said that. Clearly I’m getting carried away, there’s no way I really meant that.
boots c/o Isola | vest c/o | dress – sold out, extremely similar here | bag, sold out, nearly identical here | watch c/o | chainlink bracelet c/o | gold cuff 1, 2 c/o | sunnies – sold out, identical here for under $10! | earrings | ring c/o
Are you guys also addicted to the sleeveless trench and ankle boots? I have a vintage Burberry trench but I find myself wearing this one 10x more, go figure. Thanks so much for reading! XO –
I can’t believe Labor Day is this weekend, whaaaaat!? As much as I’d like to say I’m going to be spending it at the pool, I actually will be spending it trying to pack my entire closet into a suitcase for New York Fashion Week. So today I put together a fun wish list for those of you that are planning to spend some time in the sun!
There are some seriously great sales going on for swimwear for any of you looking to snag a great swimsuit for next summer – so I would definitely get on that. I also recently spotted this bag and couldn’t believe how cute it was for the affordable price – summer steal!
Tell me what your weekend plans are – I’d love to hear! Maybe it will make me ditch my packing to catch some rays. Thanks so much for reading! XO –
One of my favorite things about our trip to Cabo was oodling over all of the interesting homes and even better – the adorable doors in the neighborhood! I mean… it made me realize how uncreative I am when it comes to front doors. There were all kinds of arches, knobs, colors, textures, sizes… some were so tiny I only wished Christian had been there to limbo his 6’3″ body through it. This would have brought me great joy.
I borrowed this adorbs romper from my girlfriend Krystal and I should have snatched it behind her back to take back home to California because it’s the cutest! I think it’s just as cute with an open, loose linen shirt and flip flops by the pool.
If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat (CBLied) or saw this past Friday’s Five, you saw that I recently traveled to Cabo San Lucas with some of my blogger friends to stay at Shop BellaC’s private home, “Casa Verde,” which is located at the top of Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas.
I have been to Mexico several times but never to Cabo, so this was such a fun opportunity to see a new part of the country. The home (which I felt was a castle it was so enormous!) was absolutely stunning and I was on a floor by myself conveniently located 12 steps from the home gym so I took that as a sign to exercise which I managed to do twice (a miracle), so cheers! These outfit photos are are linked at carriebradshawlied.socialroot.co if you want to shop anything in the photos! All you have to do is move your cursor over the image and the links should appear to click on.
Some of my favorite parts of the trip and recommendations for anyone traveling to Cabo:
Lunch (and dinner) at Bar Esquina, the restaurant within the Bahia Hotel
A private tour and dinner at Flora Farms – so beautiful, a full post coming soon! Adam Levine actually was married here and they came back to visit last summer for their first year anniversary.
An incredibly beautiful sunset boat ride to The Arch, something I wish Christian had been able to enjoy with us because it was so breathtaking.
Appetizers and drinks at Lorenzillo’s on the water before the boat ride.
A lazy afternoon drinking margaritas at a swing bar, Baja Cantina. Yes – a bar surrounded by swings – no wonder we spend so much time there! And then did a little shopping at the markets under the influence, no regrets.
A private dinner at Templo Cabo – such a fun drink and dinner pairing while listening to live music. A perfect way to spend our last night.
Dessert at Señor Sweets – they were closed by the time we made it there, but it was highly recommended!
Dinner at Edith’s – also closed for the off-season when we were there, but highly recommended.
The Office – again, closed for the off-season but looked so fun!
Stay tuned for more outfit posts from the trip coming soon! Thank you guys for all of your kind words and suggestions on Instagram – we used several of your recommendations!
– the most beautiful water that I loved being able to get in (the Pacific Ocean is so cold!) –
Oh my goodness I don’t even know where to start! I recently stayed in a beautiful private home in Pedregal owned by the fabulous team behind ShopbellaC with my blogger girlfriends Haute off the Rack, A Pinch of Lovely, My Style Diaries and Taylor Cole. We at the best time playing in town and lounging at the pool, and there will be a full trip recap on the blog on Monday!
I wanted to share some snippets from the week that were some of my favorite parts of the trip. If you were following along on Snapchat (CBLied), you saw that the views were breathtaking. Can you imagine cooking dinner every night with a full view of the ocean in Cabo? I mean… a dream.
I am happy to be back in California with Christian and our three and four-legged children, but I think know that I will be dreaming of these views for quite a while.
Have any of you been to Cabo recently? I’d love to hear what you thought! It was my first time visiting that particular area of Mexico and I loved all of the markets and restaurants. We sat at a bar that was surrounded by swings for hours – a swing bar! I mean… GENIUS. Thanks so much for reading you guys! XO –
School is back in sesh!! I can’t believe summer has breezed by so quickly, but let’s be honest – who isn’t ready for some fall styles? I always feel ready for the boots, scarves and sweaters… even when it’s not quite ready, know what I’m sayin’? SO, similar to this post when I shared my back to school picks, this is definitely my kind of back to school outfit.
When you’re heading back to school you want to look put together but effortless – like you didn’t spend the time laying out all of your accessories on the floor and making sure your nail polish matches your handbag.
What? I never did that…
I recently discovered Monsoon and they have so many great staples. With a great pair of high-waisted black skinny jeans, classic peep toe booties and an everyday chambray, you can put together so many outfits and I styled them three different ways – simple + chambray around the waist + a simple scarf.
denim, chambray, booties (on sale under $27!) c/o Monsoon – all fit true to size | tee ($7 and the kind you need in multiple colors) | bag, no longer available but a great option here | scarf c/o | sunnies, sold out, steal here and splurge here | lipstick in Bittersweet | watch c/o | cable bracelet 1, 2, 3 | stacked rings c/o | x ring c/o
Thanks so much for reading and any of you students – you know you have to tell me what you decided to wear on your first day back! XO –
Transitional fall pieces are really important to me now more than ever living in California… because it’s never really fall. You want to look the part but let’s be honest, who wants to sweat? SO, transitional fall pieces are the key to looking seasonally appropriate while still feeling comfortable with the heat of early fall.
This camisole comes in 12 colors and I have 4 AND the white crop top version. So classic and simple, it goes with everything. Cute booties and a denim jacket are another way to quickly change a sundress to a fall look.
These are just my picks for my favorite essential transitional fall pieces – what are yours? I take all the tips I can get, because dressing for one season all year can be challenging!
Also – you guys should know that BaubleBar is having a sale on ear jackets today through 8/28. When you buy two you get 20% off and when you buy 3+ you get 30%. Not bad!
I am all about dressing for yourself. Always have been. When I was younger, my artist mom always told us, “dare to be different,” and sometimes I took that a little too literal. I’ve always loved fashion and have been playing dress up my entire life – SO when you dare to be different, sometimes you miss the mark, but I never regret it!
All of this being said, my sister has a three year-old daughter who is my mini-me. If you follow on Snapchat (CBLied), you probably saw that cute curly haired little girl when they were visiting a few weekends ago! I dressed myself in this outfit and asked Harper if I looked cute. From one fashionista to another, she eyed me up and down and said, “no.”
What does that kid know? She’s three.
top c/o | shorts – super old Levi’s, most similar pair I could find here, also love these | mules – sold out, nearly identical here (so identical I have a pair of them too and LOVE them!) | sunnies, sold out but these come in a ton of colors and are only $15! | bag c/o – under $40! | earrings c/o | lip in Temper
Never let anyone tell you that you don’t look awesome when you feel great, right? #WWCD (What Would Carrie Do?). Sidenote: this also reminds me of when Christian and I had been dating a few years and he finally said, “I don’t like it when you wear hats.” Of course my jaw dropped and I answered with, “but my mom says I look great in hats.” HAHA – I actually still use that line almost any time someone jokingly critiques me – the “but my mom says I look great in _____.” That’s what mom’s are for, to be your #1 fan.
I recently traveled to the Dominican Republic with Healing Waters International to bring awareness to their initiative to empower women and children – The Her Initiative. As I’ve shared before in this post, when I was approached to go on this trip I wasn’t quite sure if it was for me. I talked about it for weeks with Christian and prayed that the Lord would guide me to make the right decision. Clearly the decision was to dive right in and I am so incredibly glad I did. This trip truly opened my eyes to what some of our sisters are going through, and my heartstrings were pulled the entire five days I was there.
Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General said, “To educate girls is to reduce poverty.” In summary, The Her Initiative works to provide clean drinking water to women and children and educate them on health and hygiene. The program is focused in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Rwanda and Uganda. With clean water programs in place, these children will be healthy and won’t miss school, giving them a greater change at success.
Many women in these countries spend up to eight hours a day carrying water back to their families. And this isn’t even clean water. We actually made this walk ourselves, carrying water in buckets on our heads, and I was truly left speechless. Tears were rolling down my cheeks afterward, as the female pastor of the village told us how blessed her community is and how she prays for our health and happiness. Can you imagine being in her shoes and still having a heart full of gratitude and appreciation?
I could write a novel about the moments from this trip that made me clutch my heart – how these children had never even brushed their teeth, how most of these women have their own child to care for by 16, how I saw toddlers carrying their infant siblings – but I know you guys have heard these stories. I want to share how you can help, and how I plan to help. We all have the resources, time and money that can make the difference for these women. For $25 a month, you can make a difference for her. Think of what you spend $25 a month on. A manicure, a Netflix subscription, movie tickets, a good bottle of wine… to think that sacrificing a movie date could give a child clean drinking water blows your mind, right?
Thank you guys for being so open and accepting to hearing more about this cause and why it’s important to me. We are all so incredibly blessed and we have the talents we possess because of our Father. He calls us to use our gifts for His purpose, and I feel called to use this blog as a platform to raise awareness for our sisters who need our help.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.” 1 Peter 4:10-11
Thank you so much for reading this blog and for being a part of this experience with me. I need to go wipe these tears from my cheeks now, #crybabyKat. Love you guys, XO –
PS – you can win one of these Her tank tops by following @the_her_initiative and tagging two friends in the most recent photo!
– snagging this bag that is a designer look alike but only $22 –
– packing for Cabo to join some of my girlfriends in a week of R&R –
Happy Friday! This Friday started a little extra early this AM when I woke up at 4AM to toss my bags in the car and head to Cabo! I absolutely love visiting Mexico and it’s been three years since I’ve visited, so I am all about this getaway. Even better is that I’m traveling with My Style Diaries, Taylor Cole Photography, A Pinch of Lovely and Haute off the Rack in tow, so be sure to follow the adventures on Instagram and Snapchat (CBLied)! I packed last night until the wee hours of the morning because I was at a local event until 10PM… so my packing choices should be interesting. Nonetheless, I can’t think of a better way to wrap up summer than with some of my closest friends.
A few weeks ago I traveled to the Dominican Republic with The Her Initiative (a branch of Healing Waters International) and shared a quick snippet on the day I returned here. You guys were SO incredibly open and supportive, and it means the world to me. I promised you guys more info on the experience and wanted to share that it will be coming to you on Monday! I’ve been waiting to post about the trip until we had all the photos back as well as time it with the launch of The Her Initiative’s website (which should be up and running next week). SO – more on that Monday!
Are you guys taking any last minute summer trips? I’d love to hear where you’re heading! Thank you so much for reading – XO –
PS – To any of you on Snapchat, did you see my romantic In ’n Out experience at 11PM Tuesday night? The best. And also that I’ve been showing up places with my clothes inside out? Totally normal.
I love how playful this top is, and after trying to pair it with multiple skirts and pants, a sleek pencil skirt was the perfect balance to its fullness. These photos were snapped in Downtown Santa Ana (like this post and this post), and I felt like this was another Carrie Bradshaw-inspired outfit. Can’t you see her in this the season she had long straight hair?
This top is definitely a conversation piece, and the feathers reminded me of birds which reminded me of one of my favorite Portlandia skits, Put a Bird on It. I mean… so good. Other favorites would be Is the Chicken Local and Get the Gear. If you have a favorite Portlandia skit, please share in the comments!
I can’t believe it’s already back to school time because honestly it still feels like June just began, BUT here we are! When I was in high school and college, my mom would take my sister and me to Birmingham to go shopping every year before school began. It should be no surprise that I took my first day of school outfit very seriously. I would lay everything out the night before, making sure my nail color and accessories went perfectly with my outfit selection.
I mean… I wish I had the time to take my outfits that seriously. #goals
SO, my picks for those of you heading back to school are definitely the classics. The perfect pair of distressed jeans, a classic chambray (because you can wear them so many different ways), stripes, a fresh pair of Chucks, and the v-neck tee you need in all three colors (and you can snag two for $48!). I also included some more of my favorites in the scrolling thumbnails if you look through!
Also – y’all should know that Amazon is offering 20% off all denim right now and with free shipping and free returns, that’s a pretty sweet deal. AND, Shopbop is offering 20% off of classic handbags with code INTHEBAG through tomorrow! Shop the selection on sale here.
Were any of you this into your first day of school outfit? I can’t be the only one… right? Thanks so much for reading! XO –
