Carrie Bradshaw Lied

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for shopping!! I have purchased some of my favorite pieces this year from Nordstrom (like this kimono dress available here and this fabulous vest) and can’t wait to stock up on some more this week.

The GREAT news is that this sale is available until 8/3 – so you have plenty of time to shop for the best steals and deals. Some of my favorite pieces are above, particularly these heels, these bralettes and this bracelet. What do you have your eye on? A big splurge or something fun? DVF and Rag & Bone pieces would totally be my splurge of choice (insert emoticon with big eyes here).

Happy shopping and please share your steals with me! I’m ready – card in hand. Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Friday’s Five

– the most fun birthday surprise from Christian – my own Tiffany’s blue beach cruiser complete with a cup holder! –

– holding on to several adorable birthday cards I can’t toss (desk reveal with Design Darling and Eva Rose soon!) –

– seeing Jersey Boys for the second time and listening to the soundtrack all week –

– new YSL treats-

– adding some leopard into our den –

Christian and I plan to spend a quiet weekend at home after a fun birthday weekend away, and I need to get back in home-organization mode. We are getting there, but still needing a coffee table, fig leaf tree for the den and our guest bedroom is full of the extra knick-knacks and boxes we haven’t utilized = clutter central. I’m hoping I can buckle down and take care of these last bits so we can be fully settled.

Some of my favorite birthday surprises were a lemon tree, lime tree, beach cruiser (total surprise!), new desk and ghost chair. Thank you so much for all of your birthday wishes on instagram – y’all truly made the day feel so special! I must admit I also asked for a rumba due to Bailey’s enormous amounts of shedding, but somehow Dr. Barnes missed that one…so it looks like I’ll be giving it to myself – a must if Queen Bailey continues to rule the house.

Lastly and most importantly, I can’t thank all of you enough for your comments, emails and texts about my sweet Lula LaShonda last week. Some of you shared your own stories of your own precious pets that you loved and lost over the years and y’all have truly comforted me. I must share our pets aren’t “allowed” to sleep in our bedroom at night but since her diagnosis, this little kitty has found herself stretched out between Christian and me every night. My girlfriend Amy shared this story of a tripawd labrador’s last day on earth (a double whammy since I have a labrador AND a tripawd cat) and I sat at my desk with tears rolling down my cheeks as I read the touching story. I am grateful for the time I’ve had with Lula and feel blessed she chose me to spend her last years with.

Have an amazing weekend! XO –

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Santa Barbara Birthday Weekend

Christian and I had such a fun weekend celebrating my 27th birthday in Santa Barbara! We stopped in Malibu on the way up to watch the sunset on the beach and have dinner at one of our favorite spots, Kristy’s. We then drove to Santa Barbara and spent Saturday brunching, hopping from tasting room to tasting room and walking along the pier. On Sunday we did a little shopping and stopped in LA on the way home to see my brother and sister-in-law who surprised me with a beautiful Magnolia Bakery birthday cake (and trick candles of course)!

Christian and I have visited vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley when we came to Santa Barbara for our anniversary (vineyard photos here), but playing downtown and walking around State Street was a totally different experience. We really had a great time together and Christian always has a way to make me feel so special.

More to come on some of my favorite birthday gifts – one of them having graced instagram already – my own lemon and lime trees!! Below are some snaps from our trip –

– a surprise farmer’s market off of Mulholland Drive! $5 for these avocados –

We had the best time and I’m already ready to go back. Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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Friday’s Five

– Saturday morning walk to the farmer’s market –

– pool days with Bailey –

– getting some wicker patio furniture to enjoy outdoor dining on these cool California nights –

– an early birthday surprise from my Mom – my new desk chair! –

– the prettiest embellished dress from L.Mae Boutique –

Christian has pampered me all week with early birthday surprises here and there as I turn 27 tomorrow (!!!). He has been so wonderful, especially considering this week has been particularly heavy on my heart.

After speaking with Lula’s veterinary oncologist on Tuesday, we have learned her cancer cannot be cured. I don’t want her to spend her last months in and out of the specialty vet getting shots and x-rays, poked and prodded only to prolong the inevitable. She used to sit in my lap at the vet, as relaxed and calm as ever. She now fights to run straight for the door as soon as we step foot in the vet lobby.

I have cried in the shower, cried in the bed at night, cried in the kitchen chopping vegetables, cried in the car on the way to work. It breaks my heart that this full-grown rescue cat walked into my life three years ago and has been the most amazing blessing to me, and I will now lose her so quickly to cancer. Many of you have reached out to share your own experiences, heartache and sympathy and I can’t thank you enough. Your support and love really does help me get through it, knowing I’m not the only one to experience losing a young pet.

For now we will celebrate her life and be grateful for the time we have left. Lots of snuggle time, laying out in the grass in the sunshine, shredded chicken (rescued from the Mexican restaurant parking lot – this of course is her favorite) and naps on the bed. Christian and I are heading to Santa Barbara this weekend to celebrate my birthday and drink lots of wine. Crossing my fingers I don’t drink three glasses and starting crying in the tasting room about my three-legged cat with cancer.

It’s possible. There is no denying I am crazy about her.

Thank you for all of your support. I love y’all and we are so appreciative. XO – Kat and Lula LaShonda

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Parrots & Pinapples

Some of you may remember me mentioning this top here, but when the duo came in I knew the shorts were going back but the top was here to stay. So fun and flirty, the open back and ruffles are perfect for this breezy California summer. Plus – the parrots are extra fun considering we have a flock of parrots that flies over our townhouse every day.

They might be pretty but they’re squawk is piercing (example here).

The milkmaid braids comes from my post-pool day hair. A girl has to do what a girl has to do to get ready quickly for happy hour on the Circle.

What do you think of this look? Too many ruffles? Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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Friday’s Five

– settling into our new little townhouse –

– toasting to my bestie’s new business endeavors, Calls for Champagne – a bachelorette party service in Nashville…um FUN –

– cheerful blooms and afternoon sunlight in the breakfast room –

– a fabulous print c/o Design Darling – this was our first dance at our wedding! –

– a four-day weekend –

We are feeling at home in our new place and I have to say, I’m absolutely loving it. It’s everything we were looking for and I just can’t believe we actually found it. I am grateful to have an extra long holiday weekend having both Thursday and today off and this time there’s no heavy lifting or painting involved – so cheers to that!

In other news, Christian has officially started his second year of residency and is now taking home call…which means I have the pleasure of hearing the beeper go off in the middle of the night. Tis love!

Some of you may have seen on instagram that we were told by our veterinary oncologist on Monday that Miss Lula does indeed still have cancer. Of course I was devastated, but we both knew that this was a possibility. We are weighing our options for our girl and will make the decision that is in her best interest. I am so beyond grateful for Christian and his ability to communicate effectively with these doctors and relay the information to me. He is so supportive and he loves this three-legged rescue cat too, so his heart hurts as does mine.

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement on our townhouse sneak peek! More to come and y’all are going to have to help me pick a coffee table. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend lots of love to all of you – XO –

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Our Little Townhouse: Sneak Peek

Thanks to my wonderful husband, we are all moved in and our new little townhouse has been transformed into our breezy and quiet digs – we are obsessed.

My fabulous parents were helping my brother’s family move from San Francisco to Los Angeles during the same week that we were moving, so my parents were able to come to Orange County for the weekend and were over-the-top generous and helpful. We even took them to Ikea and they were mesmerized by the sample show rooms that share living spaces in small square footage – too funny! My sweet Dad painted our bathroom, Mom painted the downstairs bathroom and the four of us painted the guest bedroom (still empty…trying to decide how to utilize it but still have plenty of space for an air mattress for our of town guests) and hung most all of our art. I loved having them here and next time we will definitely spend more time relaxing with less manual labor (and Mom and I getting less paint in our hair).

I wanted to share some snippets of our new home with y’all – we still need a few pieces here and there – but all in all, we feel pretty settled!

Let me know what you think! Keep in mind we just moved in a week ago..but we are almost totally settled. We are in the market for a new coffee table, patio furniture and a fig leaf plant – I would love any of your suggestions! Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the TAudrey plate necklace giveaway – XO –

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Floral Mini Dress

Those of you who follow my instagram may have seen that I spent the last week moving into our new little townhouse. If a move isn’t already stressful enough, the icing on the cake was that I caught some kind of virus and spent half of the week trying to peel myself out of the bed because I felt so groggy. The good news is that our new place is painted and organized and we absolutely love it – so cheers to that!

I have some more good news to share – today I am teaming up with the beauties behind A Pinch of Lovely and Life with Emily to give three readers their own personalized TAudrey plate necklace! Featured below is the date plate necklace with our wedding anniversary engraved – too sweet, I just love it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for reading and entering! XO –

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Moving Day

Today is the day we load up and move to our (thankfully) bigger townhouse in Orange County! The papers are signed and the keys are ours…and I’m starting the oh-so-fun process of painting the walls. I haven’t painted since I was 12 and thought my bedroom would be extra awesome if painted coral, so this should be interesting.

More fun posts later this week! Thanks so much for reading and for your warm wishes! XO –

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Friday’s Five

– this darling TAudrey date plate necklace with our wedding anniversary –

– a scoop of coconut milk & pistachio almond from our neighborhood ice cream shop –

– the best blowout of my life at Drybar – hello Southern hair! –

– a sweet surprise from Willow Boutique – I had so much fun taking over their instagram! –

– Noticing the majority of Queen Lula’s hair has finally grown in since her surgery (it seemed to take forever), thank you to those of you who have asked for an update! We go back in two weeks for more x-rays to monitor the cancer to make sure nothing is spreading. –

Well here we are, days away from moving into our new space. I am surrounded by boxes, tape guns, sharpies, bubble wrap and dust. I am getting by…with wine and old school music playlists blaring. We are so ready to say goodbye to our little apartment and embrace a bigger home with more space for Bailey the beast, galloping through the house!

I was fortunate to spend a few days in Beverly Hills this week for some work festivities – a nice break from the daily unglamorous packing grind. A blowout and champagne so quickly takes you from feeling drab to fabulous, right!? But the countdown is on and you know my type A personality is ready to roll!

Tell me what your plans are this weekend. Let me live vicariously through you while I tape up boxes and listen to songs like this (singing like I own the place of course). Thanks so much for reading! XO –

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Bohemian Summer

I confessed my love on kimonos earlier this week here, but this is another drapey look that I’ve been wearing on repeat lately. It feels so retro and relaxed for summer and what can I say? California brings out a bohemian side that I didn’t even know I had.

This is our last week at our apartment before our move into the townhouse and I have to admit that I’m going to miss the palms and landscaping of these little apartments. I will not miss, however, the neighbors upstairs that I’m convinced wear wooden clogs. It will be interesting seeing where we might snap photos in our new town…with our new camera! I used to not embrace change so well but these days, I feel like we make big changes regularly so it’s taught me to roll with the punches easier than before.

Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the $500 Nordstrom givewaway! XO –

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Chambray Shirt Dress

A chambray jumper is not a dress that I would think I could pull off, but after seeing a friend look so adorable in a similar number, I thought I would give this affordable version a try. Turns out…I love it! It’s comfortable and the cinched waist manages to give it a little shape. Another plus – any variation of heels + accessories look good with basic chambray.