Carrie Bradshaw Lied

Cabo Girls Trip

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
Lunch and a beach day at Hacienda
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!

kimono from ShopBellaC

photo by Taylor Cole Photo

dress from ShopBellaC, currently sold out

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!

Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Friday’s Five

– coffee by the pool –

– my Cabo souvenir because obviously I can never say no to a cute tote –

– the view from my bedroom for a week –

– cocktail tasting at the Bahia Hotel –

– 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 –

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Back to School Style

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.

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 –

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Wednesday Wish List

1 | 2 | 3 (comes in 4 colors!) | 4 | 5 | 6 (comes in 12 colors!) | 7 | 8 (on sale!) | 9 | 10 (comes in 3 colors!)

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!

Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Gingham Off the Shoulder Top

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.

Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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For Her

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?

all photos by Jenna Kutcher

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!

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Friday’s Five

– surprise Valentino sunnies, yes please! –

– a Nespresso pod to perfection –

– becoming addicted to this mascara –

– 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.

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Feathered Crop Top

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!

photos by Jason Huang

Where would you wear a feathered top? I mean… you’ve got to say party because when you put on something with feathers, it’s game time.

Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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Wednesday Wish List: Back to School

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

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 –

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Best Kindle Reads

sweater c/o | similar denim here and here | mug | kindle c/o

I’ll admit, I love a paper book. I love to leave my previous airline tickets as bookmarks and highlight or underline my favorite parts. I love stacking them on the bookshelf and glancing at them, remembering the intense plot lines or funny parts of biographies.

But the problem is that I never read them twice, and ultimately they crowd up my house sitting in stacks because I can’t part with them. The reality is that my bookshelf is currently full and I’m not looking to add to the collection, and therefore have been dragging my feet when there are so many books I want to read. SO, when the opportunity came to team up with Amazon to try the Kindle, I was all about it. It’s something I’ve been thinking about trying for almost a year but couldn’t take the final step to take the plunge.

After reading books on it for over a month, I’ve got to say I’m into it. I’m finally making a laundry list of the books I’ve wanted to read for months so I thought I’d share my top picks with you!

Sidenote – for those of you traveling, you can also download travel guide e-books to your kindle. I would never think to do that, but it’s genius!

1. Amy Poehler’s Yes Please

2. Peter Nichols’s The Rocks

3. Jessica Knoll’s Luckiest Girl Alive

4. Mary Kubica’s The Good Girl

5. Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places

6. Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? I’m actually reading this now and it’s hysterical –

What have you read this summer that you would recommend? I’m making it a priority to read more (I’ve always loved having my nose in books but not like… intellectual ones, more like Harlan Coben mysteries, #guilty) and would love to hear your picks! This year my favorite picks have been DVF’s The Woman I Wanted To Be (absolutely amazing), Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train and Andy Cohen’s The Andy Cohen Diaries. LOVED all of them – although I confess The Girl on the Train was my least favorite… I think there was so much hype around it I expected something different.

Thanks so much for reading and sharing! XO –

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Southern Style

I recently discovered this little area in downtown Santa Ana that feels so incredibly Southern to me (and it was even incredibly hot and humid the day we snapped these photos, so you know that’s definitely a quick trip home), and paired with this dress it was honestly like I was suddenly transported back to the South. I even followed up this photo sesh with fried chicken and biscuits at 4th Street Market (if you live in OC you guys have to visit this place it’s amaze!) – like… what could be more appropriate!?

In addition to gushing over this sweet dress, I also wanted to share with you guys this Dittos Endless Eyewear program. You pay a flat fee of $19 per month and you can constantly rotate between different designer shades. You can keep a pair for months at a time or switch them out as often as you like, AND should you choose to want to keep the pair forever, you can use your credit to snag ’em. If you’re interested in being a part of the program you can get your first month FREE with code CBLied!

photos by Jason Huang

Thank you so much for reading! XO –

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Friday’s Five

– these loafers that take loafers to the NEXT LEV –

– breakfast al fresco –

– Mary Kay lipsticks that seriously feel like luxe chapstick, love! –

– farmer’s market figs –

– a belated birthday delivery –

Hey weekend – so glad to see you! Christian and I haven’t had a relaxing weekend at home together in over a month, so I’m excited to have some downtime, even if he’s working most of the weekend. So it’s safe to say I’m looking forward to the weekend more than he is, but I plan to make him some fresh and healthy dinners followed by not-so-healthy brownies (his fave) – so hopefully that will put a smile on his face!

We’ve had some cooler weather this week, so our dinners have picked back up on the patio (if you follow on Snapchat: CBLied, you’ve seen the photos!). It’s amazing what sitting outside in the fresh air for dinner does to my attitude in the evenings. After a long day at work followed by sitting in traffic, eating dinner with Christian and the pets on the patio feels so refreshing and definitely changes my mindset. I think I undervalue the positive affects of fresh air – are you guys like that?

So I went on a Forever21 shopping spree for the first time in what felt like years, but I snagged some seriously great basics like this crossbody bag, this t-shirt dress and some simple tees. Hoping everything fits!

What are you guys planning for the weekend? I’d like to say I plan to go to the pool but I’ll probably opt to get ahead on my blog and use self-tanner instead. #Confessions. Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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Explore The Blog

Shop Around

Cabo Girls Trip

Friday’s Five

Back to School Style

Wednesday Wish List

Gingham Off the Shoulder Top

For Her

Friday’s Five

Feathered Crop Top

Wednesday Wish List: Back to School

Best Kindle Reads

Southern Style

Friday’s Five