style // 02

glasses - warby parker // blazer - target // dress - banana republic (easter dress from 2012)

 bag, watch - francesca's  // bracelet - charlotte russe // heels - h&m

Fall has... fallen (?) here in sweet old Norfolk, Virginia. The past two mornings have been overcast, the afternoons are crisp, & right on cue, my throat is getting a little sore. I hear that pumpkin chai lattes fix sore throats, though, so I'm not concerned ;)

My rings are all sorts of wonky in that last photo because that's not my engagement ring, ha. We had a surprise opportunity to go paddleboarding with some of Jared's co-workers yesterday (which was SUPER fun but also omg my arms) & if you know me, you know that my engagement ring does not go to the beach. It usually doesn't work events with me, & it definitely doesn't hang out when I'm painting or staining. It's funny, because I know a lot of girls that don't take their engagement ring off for NUTHIN'... & some that won't sleep with it on or wear it in the shower. To each lady their own, right? I have a couple of "substitute" rings that help get the yes-I'm-definitely-married-kbye point across, one of which is a turquoise ring (half pictured above) from Jared's abuela. It doesn't really fit, but it sure is pretty. I'm really terrible at remembering to swap my rings back until I've gone out the next day & get annoyed by my faux ring not fitting.

I'm off to try to finish this Monday off with a serious bout of productivity. My sister-in-law spent her Monday morning giving birth to 9 whole lbs. of an adorable baby boy (CONGRATS, HEATHER & LEVI!), so no matter what I do, I cannot top that. We have so many kiddos in our family now! It's a fun thing to watch our siblings' grow their little families, & with each new little niece or nephew, we get more pumped to join them in the family growing someday. But for now! We have a lone succulent that we usually forget to water & a super high maintenance flokati rug, so that's basically a baby. Or something.

Here's to the first week of fall, wonderful fall!

always thursday

Ya'll. It's been a weird week. One of those weeks that I've just gotten too heady which makes me restless which makes me cranky which makes me sad which makes me A REAL PLEASURE TO BE AROUND. One of those weeks that I should definitely have steered clear of Target because the minute forlorn Kelsey walks through the door, the solution appears in the form of aaaall the nailpolishes. This is not an actual solution, for those of you who are taking notes. This is, in fact, a mirage. A fleeting moment of consolation, but a very pretty shade of wine red that I can't wait to try out...

It just seems like it's always Thursday, but I'm mentally still back on Monday wondering where the week went. Like I said, I've gotten too heady this week & instead of a chirpy post about the rest of last weekend's fun with friends, I'm sitting down to publicly declare that I need to notice the blessings. Find the happy. Help someone else. Stop worrying about tomorrow (including the next 5 years of tomorrows) & be present in the joy that surrounds me - Whether that is taking 24 minutes in the beer aisle with Jared weighing the pros & cons of every fall beer sampler ever, perfecting the Tangled duet any time we're in the car together, nerding out over iOS 7 updates or measuring happiness in new nail colors.

... Or by simply letting Jared snore his little heart out next to me instead of waking him up because omgsnoringgggg. This wonderful (snoring) man woke up at 5:30 a.m. & worked so hard for us all day. For our home. For me. & that's a blessing. (Yes, you're right, I could move to another room. But I consider him sleeping & me blogging to still somehow be "us" time, which is a unicorn at this phase in our lives.) (& yes, life-unicorns are a real thing. They are rare creatures of rainbowy sunshine, like getting a good burrito maker at Chipotle that piles on the corn-salsa before you even have to ask.)

So, this is just real life talk, here at the sitting tree. It's not always sunshine, but we are definitely always finding glory in the thunder.

I feel like last weekend's puppies & babies are going to end this on a higher note than snoring & life-unicorns, & that's exactly what I'm going to leave you with.

^^My cute human niece named Cat & my cute puppy niece named Maisie.^^

the color run! - year two

Amelia & I enjoyed ourselves SO MUCH at last year's Color Run that the boys were signed up to join us this year. Again, lots of skipping, high-fiving & "Oh man, let's walk for a bit" took place, but this year we knew to keep our mouths closed while going through color stations & to save a splash at the water station for spritzing on ourselves to maximize colorization. IT WORKED, as I learned while doing laundry today when the color didn't wash out 100% like it did last year. Hmm. & after three showers, I still have trace amounts of purple & teal running through my hair, but I don't mind that one bit. In fact, it's giving me ideas.

If none of this makes any sense to you, I'd highly recommend checking out The Color Run's website & signing up for the run nearest you. I'm not even being paid to say that (sadly). It just really is the happiest 5k on the planet.

& now, I leave you with, what I believe to be, the funniest instavid on the planet. Thanks for this gorgeous piece of cinematography, Amelia!

DIY - gold bootie zippers

 

 

While I love shoes... & I mean, I LOVE SHOES... My tendency to overthink purchases (a trait that my parents & now husband seem to enjoy about me) usually keeps me from actually indulging in purchasing whatever wonderful pair of chaussures is in front of me. Thankfully, I had done just this as I oggled pair after pair of the leather & suede booties that have been on parade since last fall.

My IG friend Bridget sent me into a tizzy when she set off the bootie-knock-off alert last week, & I promptly marched myself over to TJ Maxx & bought a pair of these puppies for 30% of the designer price. The tan suede version that Bridget bought is darn near identical to the original Sam Edelmans. My local TJ Maxx was out of tan in my size, but I found a black pair that made me just as happy.

I probably would have left these zippers be if the heel was wooden, like the originals, but alas! I decided to update them from silver to gold, a move that would have shocked & dismayed 2009 Kelsey who was sure that gold had been dead & buried in the early 90's.

As I was taking these pictures, I realized how silly this "DIY" is, mostly because it's not like the originals feature a gold zipper. BUT OH WELL! I think it's a nice finishing touch, & I can't wait until I'm emotionally ready to embrace fall in all of its bootie-licious glory so I can take these things around town.

I started a juice cleanse today, & I'm going to try my hardest not to talk about it nonstop. I'm using this blog post (burrito) to try to keep my (cheese) mind off of all the things that (iced coffee) I would typically not think twice about (pasta) except that I can't eat them, so (avocado) that's all I can think about, of course. Send good vibes, because dandelion greens are a primary ingredient to my next meal. MMMMMMMMMMMMM...

minus & plus

-

Just when I had gotten into the groove of my office-less way of life, I got called back in to freelance at my old job for a few months.

+

This was, honestly, perfect timing as my new ventures will definitely take a bit of time before they take off & I'm able to contribute to our finances again.

-

However... My time has been hijacked. So much so that I feel like two weeks have passed in the last four days.

+

But it's SATURDAY! YAAAAY!!!!

-

But I'm alone, on the couch, watching Juno.

+

Jared is off tomorrow, & I only work half a day, so I have a feeling our day will involve some of this early fall sunshine.

-

SPEAKING OF EARLY FALL... Am I the only person that hasn't sold their soul to all things pumpkin just yet? It just feels too early. Not that I'm clinging to summer, because good lawd above knows I'm an autumn baby through & through. But good grief, NO, I do not want pumpkin in my coffee, butter or beer just yet.

+

I did, however, muster up the courage to put my skinny jeans back on today & it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I imagined it would be.

-

Also not as promising of a sight as I remember... Which is sad, because the mosquitoes are still biting & my legs are ready to be hidden away for a few months.

+

Especially since I've invested in some fabulous boots for this fall.

-

Inspired by my sweet friend Chelsea, who is turning me absolutely green with envy over on her blog as she spends the week at NYFW. I NEED NYC IN MY LIFE!

+

But it brings back sweet memories of our fall trip to NYC a couple years ago. I can't believe it was that long ago! I would live that weekend over & over, Groundhog's Day-style, if I could.

-

Completely unrelated, I want to put it out there that I just ate chocolate for dinner.

+

That's good for my heart, right?

-

Or is it my brain...

+

Maybe just my well-being. Yep. *nods*

-

Or maybe this is why I just wadded up my good-fer-nothing skinny jeans like they could feel pain & shoved them in the back of my drawer.

+

You guys. It's September, Ellen Page is hilarious, & I'm pretty sure a bike ride is on tomorrow's agenda. Ain't no skinny jeans going to get me down.

This is a pretty weird post.

Minus & Plus posts were born in my attempts to find the silver lining to weird little negative things that follow me around. (Read more here!) Please feel free to jump on board the silver lining/rays of sunshine train with your own plus & minus posts, then share your link in the comments!