Carrie Bradshaw Lied

My Favorite Striped Shirt

If you follow CBL on Insta-Story you probably recognize this shirt. I actually immediately linked it to my right sidebar section titled “seen on snapchat and insta-stories” because I got so many questions about it, and it’s totally worthy because it’s my favorite striped shirt right now!

It’s got a loose, boyfriend fit without being too baggy, and it’s incredibly soft and thin. I love the blue stripes and that the pocket stripes go horizontally rather than vertically. So cute!

I paired it with the distressed boyfriend shorts I have in two colors, and I’ve also worn it with flare jeans for a date night look. Comfortable and effortless – and it will easily take you into fall.

photos by Vincent Elejorde

Are you a striped shirt lover? I love a good black or navy striped tee but I think this is such a fun twist on the striped trend. A littler dressier but easily dressed down with a pair of shorts or boyfriend jeans.

I linked some more of my favorite button front striped tops above! Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Friday’s Five

– Bailey’s favorite cupcakes for her 10th birthday –

My first daughter turned 10 (or 75 in dog years according to this calculator) on Wednesday! Technically our vet thinks Lula is older but because she was an adult rescue, we’re not exactly sure of her age. However I found Lula about a week before Thanksgiving so that’s when we celebrate!

Every birthday Bailey has feels a little extra special because I helped Christian pick her out when we had only been dating a few weeks. Which means her age is essentially the exact amount of time we’ve been together. Cheesy… but fun!

I make this recipe for her every year and she loves it. You can make it in a loaf pan but I make it in little cupcakes and give her one each day of her birthday week.

– new shades that are perfect for summer, and they’re on sale! –

– the prettiest travel bag that I plan to use this weekend –

– the most gorgeous golden highlighter palette that I’ve also been using as eyeshadow – obsessed! –

– picking some of my favorite hats for a week at the beach –

I’m packing for my first time at 30A in like… four or five years and I’m so excited! We went on a big family trip when there were 10 of us and now there are 13 so it’s time for a do-over. We didn’t know my grandmother would pass away two weeks prior to the trip, so we actually all saw each other recently (minus Christian).

Per usual, Christian can’t make it (again), but I plan to soak up some family time… and count down until C actually has ownership of life again! Med school/residency/fellowship… will you EVER be over? 10 years too long!

I plan to do a travel guide after the trip because we have some really fun things planned, so stay tuned for that!

And of course I couldn’t end the week without tell you what your comments in yesterday’s post meant to me. Honestly I was completely floored and touched with all of your stories and personal experiences with your own grandparents. How LUCKY we are to learn from such an inspiring generation and may we do that for our children and grandchildren. Very, very special. Hope you guys have a beautiful weekend! XO –

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What I Learned from my Grandmother

My grandmother, Sarah Patrick Abide (or to me known as Grammy), recently passed away three months shy of her 90th birthday. We shared the same birthday, and I’ve referred to her as my role model for as long as I can remember.

All of the incredible things she accomplished in her life are documented here, but with Mother’s Day around the corner, I want to share some of the things I learned from her. Both the woman she was to others and to her family.

Life is better when God is at the center. She lost both of her parents and younger brother when she was in jr. high and she lost her only son to a brain tumor when he was only 27. She never steered from her faith, and there was never time for a pity party. She was always smiling, always warm and her goodness was infectious!
Put others before yourself and you’ll never regret it.
Travel often. As a flight attendant in the 50’s, Grammy loved to travel and explore. Some of her best days were when she was hopping city to city.
Toasted pound cake with butter is the most delicious breakfast option, best served guilt-free!
Women drink scotch.
Master a few recipes and grape leaves can go with every meal.
Canisters are really just different sized cookie jars.
When in doubt, wear pink.
Food is a language that everyone speaks.
Live and lead by example. A silent leader, she was never trying to teach us lessons, but taught us so much by the way she chose to live her life.
The best things in life are not possessions. She ran a women’s clothing store for the majority of her life but she cared more about creating a community than a perfect house or wardrobe.

photos by Will Jacks

My father’s mother passed away of breast cancer when he was only 10, so Grammy is the only grandmother I’ve ever known. As you can see in this post, we were incredibly close… although I think everyone who knew her would say that because she was just that kind of lady!

Without telling me, Christian wrote my mom a letter sharing his memories of my grandmother. He told my mom that he thought some of my best qualities came from Grammy. He said that as he reflected on how much I’ve admired her all of these years, he realized that her journey from growing up in a small town to traveling all over the world and being based out of several metropolitan cities with American Airlines showed me as a young girl that I could set high ambitions and achieve them.

He also said he was happy to be along for the world tour that Grammy started and that I continue. Queue the waterworks!

I was so fortunate to have her in my life for so long and we are beyond grateful that her life was long and her pain was short. She’s now reunited with her husband, parents, brother, son and great granddaughter. She’s the first person in our family to greet my niece Edie in heaven, and that makes all of us very, very happy.

If you have some life lessons you’ve learned from a special grandparent or family member – I would love love LOVE to hear! Thank you so much for reading – XO –

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:2-4

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Mother’s Day Gift Guide

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Thank you so much for the feedback in last week’s summer staples splurge vs. save post! I definitely heard your thoughts loud and clear so we’re going to keep it up.

Mother’s Day is approaching on May 14th, so the time to start perusing for mom and grandma is now. I think some of the above options would be great for that special lady in your life. I have a portable record player and it’s just the best. I recently went through my grandmother’s vinyls and picked at least 20 to add to our collection, and it’s going to be so special knowing they were hers.

I love this little mother/daughter sets like these necklaces or these champagne glasses – how fun! This would be a great gift for the mama #girlboss, and I’ve had these roses since January 1st and they still look brand new. Unbelievable!

My mom asks for the same thing every year – a letter or story. When I have something good to share I always write one, but sometimes I just have zero ideas. This year I have one though, so I’ll be typing up a letter pretty soon! Another gift that I always love receiving is fresh flowers in a pretty vase (love this one). The vase can be reused and who doesn’t love roses?!

If you have something in mind for mom, I’d love to hear! Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Pom Pom Maxi Dress

I love the lines of this maxi dress because it changes it up with the two side slits and is perfect with flats or better yet, barefoot. I had intended to only share it on Instagram (hence why I’m facing away for basically every photo), but the photos made me so happy that I thought I would share them on the blog!

The front is so cute with two long slits that make this maxi dress (under $50!) perfect for a tropical vacation. I am admittedly fully onboard with the pom pom and tassel trend, but I don’t like dropping too much on a piece that I want to be able to wear on the sand without worries of staining or ruining.

I’ve found the spot to get all your pom pom goodness for less and am sharing some of my favorite dress picks below!

photos by Michelle Preau at Playa de la Paz

dress (runs TTS), also love this one and this one – under $30!| sunglasses | hat | earrings, also love these | gold cuff

Thanks so much for reading! You can check out other posts from Mexico here, here, here and here and stay tuned… because I might be heading back this month! XO –

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Shopping for a Great Cause

I never met a midi dress I didn’t like, and this one is no exception. I love the flirty hem at the bottom and the tasteful peekaboo of skin that makes this dress perfect for a spring or summer wedding. It comes with straps, but I think you could even tuck them in and make this number strapless!

But today I’m going to dive a little deeper than fashion. I’m honored to have the opportunity to combine this blog, my love of fashion and a cause that is so near to my heart. If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you’ve heard me talk about my niece Edie who passed away last summer at only four years old due to a rare genetic disease. When she was born we knew her life would be short, but our hearts were still broken to see her in pain.

Mila is a 6-year-old girl in Boulder, Colorado, suffering from Batten disease—a rare, neurodegenerative condition causing seizures, vision loss, cognitive impairment, and early death. There is no cure… yet. Her parents are forced to make excruciatingly painful decisions as the disease takes its course.

Eventually, families with children suffering from Batten disease are left to face life without their child. But Mila’s mother has decided to make a difference and raise $4M to fund research and start a gene therapy trial to halt degeneration in children facing Mila’s type of Batten. The foundation aims to help find a cure to Batten disease and to fund scientific advances, which can be used to combat additional genetic diseases affecting hundreds of millions of people all over the world.

SO how can you help!? This weekend, 4/28 – 4/30, 10% of all sales on Tuckernuck.com go to Batten research. By doing what some of us do best (myself included), you can help support this cause to help children like Mila.

photos by Vincent Elejorde

dress c/o Tuckernuck, also love this one (on sale!) and this one | earrings c/o Tuckernuck, love the navy ones too | heels, similar look for less herehere | similar clutch here and love this one and this one | albion ring | “3” necklace, “c” bracelet and x ring

Thanks so much for reading and for supporting such an incredible cause. It’s amazing what we can do when we band together.

Read more about Mila’s story here. Thank you so so so much for reading and have a beautiful weekend! XO –

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Styling a Neckerchief

My fab photog Vincent and I were laughing going through these photos that I looked like an American Airlines flight attendant – if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the Insta-story!

A flowy dress with a cinched dress is one of my favorite silhouettes (it’s why I always go bananas for wrap dresses), so when I saw this dress from Express came in so many colors and patterns I knew I’d hit the jackpot.

I saw the adorable selection of neck scarves, aka “neckerchief,” and I maybe have gotten one in every color. I always love seeing the different ways other fashionistas style neck scarves (love the gif tutorials here), and I thought this one would be so cute with anything – a white tee and boyfriend jeans or chambray dress.

photos by Vincent Elejorde

dress (30% off) and neck scarf – Express, also love this dress (30% off!) and this one | heels, also love these | clutch, also love this one | lip in Bad Blood |cable bracelet 1, 2, 3, 4

Are you into the neckerchief trend? I think they can be dressed up or down and I love that they work for almost any dress code. It’s a really fun touch to a spring or summer look – I linked some of my favorite ones from Express above!

Thanks so much for reading – XO

Brought to you by Express

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Summer Staples: Splurge vs. Save

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Usually I create “Wednesday Wish Lists” each week based on pieces I’ve been coveting or perusing online, but this week I thought I would try something different to see how you guys liked it! I actually used to use this format years ago but stopped for some reason or another… maybe because I got caught up in all the cute things I was eyeing online. Same story, different day.

I actually snagged this top and neckerchief recently and looooove them both. I also bought this cute clutch a year or two ago and always get compliments on it! I also added these to my Amazon cart – love that they are such an amazing look for less.

Let me know if you guys like this layout and I’ll keep it up! It definitely takes more time but hey – you guys are worth it. Love you long time! Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Tropical Midi Dress Under $60

I think I speak for most girls when I say that as soon as I can start rockin’ palm print anything and everything – I’m onboard. Nordstrom has so many cute palm print pieces, and I love that this sweet little wrap dress is under $60!

I think this dress is super cute dressed up with heels but would look equally fab with wrap-up sandals for a more casual look. That’s one of the many things I love about midi dresses – their ability to look good either way. For a deep dive into midi dress heaven, check out the spring selections at Nordstrom here!

We are heading to San Diego this weekend for a little staycation and I can already picture myself in this dress having rooftop happy hour with Christian. Counting down the days!

photos by Vincent Elejorde

Some of my favorite palm print items at Nordstrom below –

Thanks so much for reading! XO –

Brought to you by Nordstrom

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Yellow Maxi Wrap Dress

I’ve shared this dress twice on Instagram already because…. I love it. The yellow maxi of my dreams! This silhouette comes in several different colors and patterns, and I’m 5’7″ and can say it works perfectly with heels and runs true to size.

This dress springs spring and summer and I think it would be perfect with a pashmina for a wedding (it has a snap so you can make it more conservative, I promise!) or a date night with someone special. Christian knows that when I put on a maxi dress I step into my best self – I’m so lucky he likes them because otherwise he would be disappointed time after time.

Michelle the great (I adore this gal) snapped these photos in La Paz, Mexico – if you want to see my full post on Playa de la Paz you can check that out here!

photos by Michelle Preau at Playa de la Paz

Are you maxi dress obsessed or not really and you’re sick of my talking about them every week? I mean, this is a safe space, you can tell me straight!

Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Olive Green Bikini

It’s that time of year when I pull out my swimsuits and go through them to see what I can retire and what I might need to invest in for the summer months ahead. I dove deep into the one-piece trend last summer (which I still love), but this year I realized I needed something more appropriate for a day in the sun without unusual tan lines. I snagged this suit in March and there was already such an amazing selection at Nordstrom, it took me so long to narrow down just one!

I’ve seen these Vix swimsuits in magazines for years, so when I saw an olive green version, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. It’s extremely lightweight and comfortable, and I love how clean and simple it is. I also can’t get enough of green everything right now. I think it’s such a great neutral that looks great on everyone. It’s like… the new navy!

I’ve been loving these block heeled lace up sandals so much that I recently bought the flat version. They are so comfortable and add so much to a simple outfit – I can’t recommend them enough!

photos by Michelle Preau at Playa de la Paz

Thanks so much for reading – XO –

Brought to you by Nordstrom

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Red Wrap Maxi Dress

I think everyone has the one emoji they use most often and for me, it’s always been the salsa girl in the red dress. So this dress felt like a natural fit to better help my journey to get on her level!

But seriously, I love wearing red, a maxi dress or a wrap dress. Combining all three felt like the ultimate trifecta, and I was saving this pretty dress for Mexico because it felt so appropriate! I paired this dress with some earrings that my sister bought for me from a South African jewelry designer when we were in Paris. Statement earrings that are lightweight!? The best.