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8 years with Professor

by Kaylah Stroup July 10, 2018

Friday, July 6th, marked eight whole years with Professor! Hard to believe it’s been so long since this baby wandered into my life. At the same time, it feels like he’s always been a part of it.

If you haven’t been around since he first showed up (which wow! hi! crazy if you have!) here’s a little bit of a recap for you – My parents live in the middle of nowhere, and one evening my mom spotted the tiniest little Siamese kitty walking in the driveway. Knowing that was my dream cat, she scooped him up and brought him over to my house so I could say hi and take some pictures before taking him to her boss at the time who had a cat rescue. Basically, everyone in my family knows that if you see a cute animal, you better tell Kaylah because she’ll want to take pictures of it.

A day or two after I met Professor. He was SO sick!

I was falling in love from the second I saw him but had no intention of bringing another cat into my life. After hanging out with him for a day it was time to take him up to where my mom worked to give him to her boss. After getting there, I texted my mom to see where she was. She responded she had the day off and to just go find her boss. I think this might have been the only time in my life when being shy actually worked in my favor. I decided to take him home with me because there was noooo way I was going to talk to her boss all alone. On the way home I stopped off at my parents to chat with my mom and it was there I made the decision to keep him. Clearly, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

There’s not really much to say about this wild little kitten that I haven’t already said before. He’s an absolute angel. I firmly believe he could turn even the biggest cat hater into a fan if given the chance.

I clearly spoiled him as a kitten because this little dude is a fool for cuddling. There’s no place he’d rather be than on mine or Jeff’s chest. He loves to rub his super sharp fangs on our chins. Honestly, he’s a pretty aggressive cuddler. Sometimes it’s a tiiiiny bit annoying but it really is the sweetest. It’s clear he loves his humans. Whenever I hear people talk about cats being independent, I just want to chime in ‘heh, guess you’ve never met my cat!’

He’s the most talkative cat I’ve ever met and has a huge range of sounds. It’s a pretty regular occurrence for Jeff and I to be shocked at a strange noise that comes out of this tiny fuzzball. Over the weekend he made a noise that sounded like it came from a bird! Neither of us can mimic it but we can’t stop talking about it.

He loves to chase light. Rainbows, light from the disco ball, and even shadows from the fridge are all fair game. Really, running, in general, is a big hobby of his. Professor’s evening ritual includes zooming back and forth across the house at full speed, squeaking up a storm.

He’s a ham for photos. Easily the most fun photography subject I’ve ever come across. Somehow I’m always able to catch the funny faces he makes. Choosing only a few for this post was hard.

Professor almost always comes when you call him. The list of names he answers to is huge but some popular ones include ‘Beans’, ‘Beanie Baby’, ‘Beepers’, ‘Butter Beans’, and ‘Lil Cat’. Basically, if you say something in a baby voice, he’ll come running.

Here’s to many more years with you, Professor. I don’t know how I got so lucky but I’m sure glad you’re mine.
xoxo

If you’d like to see more photo of this wild little kitten, you should follow his Instagram – @fessermakesfaces.

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Friday Favorites #472

by Kaylah Stroup July 6, 2018
This post contains affiliate links. For more information on what that means, read here.

This blanket is so bright and fun looking!

(via Kristina Micotti)

Isn’t this bunny planter too cute?! I actually bought it earlier this week. I’m super excited to find the perfect tiny plant to go inside.

(via Amazon)

At the beginning of the week I also took advantage of Warby Parker’s at home try box! 5 pairs of glasses to try on at home for free. These are the ones I chose. I am very very excited to pick out a new pair.

(via Warby Parker)

Ca-yoot overalls!!!

(via Modcloth)

Digging this shelf / photo display.

(via Umbra)

Loving these shoes BIG TIME! Not sure which pair I like best but if polka dots aren’t your thing, they have some solid colored ones as well.

(via Dolce Vita)

I’m just cackling over this card. Such a silly pup!

(via sophiecillos)

How cute are these earrings!?

(via Rebecca Minkoff)

The print on this skirt! Love it!

(via Modcloth)

You guys. I don’t even know what to say about these ridiculous cat hats, except for the fact you need to go check out the other ones. The radish kills me. (Oh gosh, and these candy ones! Too much cute!)

(via Amazon)

You know I love when things have eyes! This matching backpack is pretty great too.

(via Sam Edelman)

Link love…

  • Really really love this rainbow kitty raglan shirt!
  • Very into this dress. The color and cut are perfect.
  • A sloth-shaped mug!!!
  • Feel like this dress might show a little bit too much cleavage for me but gosh, it’s so cute! Looks so comfortable.
  • I’ve seen it about one thousand times but I still think this bicycle pizza cutter is the bee’s knees.
  • I have a plant crush! I neeeeed one of these!
  • Pants covered in giraffes. YES!

Happy Friday!
xoxo

PS. I have a list of more rad finds here + they’re organized by color! I updated the color blue today + cleaned out the other colors so it’s looking extra pretty. On top of that, I started a second list ‘things I own + love!”

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our custom enamel pins!

by Kaylah Stroup July 5, 2018

custom enamel pins for wedding!

I am so excited to finally share one of my favorite details from our wedding! I’ve been itching to spill the beans since the moment I realized it was a reality. We got custom enamel pins made!!

If you’ve been following me for a while or have even seen a few of my what I wore posts, you probably know that I’m way into pins. I love that there is a basically a pin for any interest you may have, no matter how obscure. I’m usually wearing at least one pin every single day, even more if I’m wearing a jacket. So heck yes, getting custom ones made for the most momentous day of my life was a priority!

Our pins were made by a local company, Valley Cruise Press. Previous to getting these made, I actually already owned a ton of their pins so they had my complete trust in creating something that was absolutely adorable. We gave them a few key details to go off, and a rough sketch that Jeff drew up then they perfected it! Our initials, a saguaro since we love the desert, and two arrows to represent Twin Arrows; one of our favorite spots in the desert which is just one exit away from where we got married.

We handed the pins out to our guests as we met up with them in Arizona. It was so fun to see everyone wearing one in their own way each day. Just a little something to tie us all together.

Funny story actually: Jeff and I both wore the pins every day too. Before picking up my flowers the day before the wedding we grabbed coffee and some delicious pastries at Single Speed Coffee. Later that my sister-in-law ended up going to the same coffee shop where the barista said ‘I really like your pin! I feel like I saw someone wearing the same one earlier…’

The remainder of the pins were set out at our reception for guests to grab. Once again, it was super satisfying to see them being worn. I can’t think of a more perfect item to hand out. It’s small, easy to save, and has so much more character than your typical wedding favor.

Valley Cruise Press are the sweetest folks out there. I highly recommend checking them out if you’re interested in custom pins for any occasion at all. They even have a site specifically for that has tons of info and a contact form to make it make super easy to get in touch.
xoxo

On a related note, in case you missed them before, our wedding photos are the dreamiest.

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Cadillac Ranch

by Kaylah Stroup July 3, 2018

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo Texas, Roadside Attraction

It’s been nearly a month since our last big roadtrip. Ya know, the one where we got married. I thought things would slow down after the wedding but honestly, it’s been crazier than ever. I feel like since then I’ve had one huge wedding hangover. I’m just now getting around to sorting and editing all the photos I took on that trip!

The original plan for this trip was that we’d fly into Las Vegas since it’s not too far of a drive to Flagstaff and normally has really cheap flights from Cleveland. When we first started planning our wedding/the trip flights were just under $100 round trip. We made the stupid mistake of not jumping on that deal. The longer we waited, the more the price went up until we eventually just came to the conclusion it’d be dumb to pay that much to fly to Las Vegas. We did some shopping around and ended up finding some decently priced tickets from Cleveland to Dallas. About a month before the wedding, we finally pulled the trigger. We’d fly into Dallas, Texas and then drive to Flagstaff which is the closest city to the ghost town we chose for the ceremony.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Holy smokes, Kaylah, that’s a long drive!” Yep! 14.5 hours without including time for stops! Buuut that was actually what sold us on the idea of flying there. Neither Jeff or I had ever been to Texas and it only seemed right to add an actual element of road tripping to our adventure! We love exploring new places any chance we get but one of the things that really sold us on choosing this route was that we’d finally get to visit Cadillac Ranch.

If you’re not familiar, Cadillac Ranch is one of the most popular roadside attractions out there! 10 Cadillacs are half-buried nose-first in the ground. Each completely covered in spray paint. It’s been really really reeeally high up on Jeff’s list of things to see for quite some time now and obviously, I love stupid roadside attractions so visiting on our wedding trip was an excellent plan!

We arrived in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon, made a few small stops along the way and arrived at Cadillac Ranch just in time for magic hour. Much to my surprise, there weren’t many people there. (Something I had been stressing about!) It was perfect. The sky was beautiful and Cadillac Ranch was just as great as we had built it up to be.

Obviously going into this I knew that people painted the cars (and that I should come prepared with the goods to leave my mark) but I didn’t realize just how popular it was. The cars are covered in a couple inches of paint! Literally multiple inches of paint! There were a few spots where we saw people left their mark by actually carving their name into the thick build-up of paint. My brother, who drove from Ohio instead of flying, visited a few days before we arrived. He posted photos of each of his daughters painting their name and even wrote the name of our shared wedding album on a car. It was completely covered by the time we arrived!

I’m excited that Jeff and I finally got to visit and even more excited that my parents were there too. I loved hearing my dad talk about when he had visited nearly 40 years earlier. It’s literally just cars buried in the ground. Nothing too special but it was the perfect start to our family roadtrip.
xoxo

If you like cars half-buried in the ground, you should also check out International Car Forest of the Last Church!

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5 things I tried in June

by Kaylah Stroup June 29, 2018

▴ Karl Lagerfeld Highlighter. I received this in glossybox’s Karl Lagerfeld + Model Co limited edition box. To tell you how I feel about it in the shortest way possible, I wasn’t a highlighter person but now I am! This stuff is GORGEOUS. It adds the perfect amount of shine and looks fabulous all day long. It immediately became one of my daily use products!

▴ Polaroid One Step 2 + I-Type film. I am SO excited to add this camera to my collection. Polaroid Originals recently released the OneStep 2, inspired by Polaroid’s original OneStep. The big difference here is that instead of the battery being contained in the film pack, the camera itself has the battery (and it’s rechargeable!) Since the battery pack isn’t in the film they’re able to offer it at a cheaper price than the other 600 films on the market. Depending on how often you shoot, upgrading from whatever old Polaroid 600 camera you already had may not seem worth it but I absolutely think it is.

As you may recall, I shot a ton of Polaroid Original film on our wedding trip. (Check them out here!) Then over the weekend, I shot through four packs of the i-Type film. (See those ones here.) I feel like the ones taken with the i-Type film and the new camera are so much better. The colors are more vibrant and the tones are prettier. Obviously, the price of film makes it a more attractive camera to shoot with than my old Polaroid but honestly, I think the photos come out nicer too!

I’m definitely looking forward to shooting more instant film now that I have this bad boy and film is cheaper.

▴ Show Riche Grooming Balm. Another glossybox score. June’s box was actually full of great finds. Other than the eyelash curler, I loved everything in the box. This ‘grooming balm’ took the cake though. It smells wonderful, is easy to apply and doesn’t leave my hair feeling weighed down or greasy. I really enjoy how smooth and shiny it helps the ends of my hair look. Plus, seriously, anything that smells this good is a-okay in my book.

▴ Come Over All The Time!! A Creative Guest Book. This is easily the cutest guest book you will ever find. One hundred pages, twenty different designs that are repeated five times. The prompts are really adorable and definitely inspire creativity. We will actually be using this for our wedding reception this coming weekend. My mom kept bugging me to get a guest book but obviously, I didn’t want something boring. This guest book is the perfect choice for us. I like the idea of our guests having interesting prompts that aren’t necessarily wedding related. I can’t wait to see what everyone writes and draws!

▴ Paula’s Choice Resist Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum. Absolutely in love with this stuff! The serum is said to visibly improve the appearance of wrinkles, uneven skin tone, dryness, and vibrancy. It ‘fights multiple signs of aging’. I can’t speak to that but I will say my skin looks AMAZING. I am seriously glowing (and it’s not just my new highlighter!) If you have greasy skin, you might want to skip this serum but if you’re like me and neeeeed that extra moisture you’ll love it! This is another product that I’m now using daily. I truly enjoy putting it on every morning.

Did you try/buy anything awesome this last month?
xoxo

Check out previous month’s product roundups here – March + April + May!

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Lake Erie Shores & Islands – Unplugged

by Kaylah Stroup June 28, 2018

Special thanks to Lake Erie Shores & Islands for sponsoring this post! Lake Erie Shores & Islands Travel Guide

Massie Cliffside fishing dock

If you follow me on instagram, you probably caught wind of the awesome little trip I just got back from (or at least I hope you did!) I promised a massive blog post recap, and that’s what I’m here to give ya today!

I was recently contacted by Lake Erie Shores & Islands about a little campaign they were doing that focused on two things I love very much – Lake Erie & unplugging. Obviously, I was quick to say ‘yes!!’ Armed with a Polaroid camera and a hefty list of places to visit over a three day weekend, we set off to have one incredible trip. Each day we made a conscious effort to pick up our phones as little as possible.

We packed a lot into three days. It’s honestly pretty amazing how many new places and things there were to experience just an hour away from home. A lot of people don’t realize how big Lake Erie is. It can easily be mistaken for an ocean.  Travel just over an hour west of Cleveland and you would think you were on the Atlantic coast. There are several islands and coastal towns along the shore, each with plenty of restaurants and attractions. I think the best way to go over everything and share some of our new found favorite places is just to start from the top…

Put-in-Bay

left to right, top row; watching the waves at Put-in-Bay beach, Lake Erie Island Historical Society Resale Shop. Bottom row; Massie Cliffside Preserve, Exploring Put-in-Bay (even the kind of flooded spots) via golf cart.

Friday

Our little adventure started out with a trip to Put-in-Bay. Put-in-Bay is a small (2.5 by 5 mile) island in Lake Erie. I had never been there, nor did I know much about it but I ended up having a blast.

We took Miller Ferry (my first boat ride!) to the island and immediately picked up a golf cart from E’s Golf Carts. Although you can bring your car over on the ferry, it seems like most people opt to explore the island via golf cart. Holy cow, what a blast that was. Wade brought along his portable speakers and we spent most of the day bopping around and waving at other people in golf carts. We ate the most delicious brie, chicken and arugula pizza from Frosty’s, browsed the resale shop, checked out the island’s two cemeteries, and enjoyed mochas from the Chocolate Cafe & Museum.

Highlight of our visit to Put-in-Bay for me though? Dinner at The Boardwalk. Jeff has literally been talking about their lobster bisque since we met. It was incredible! (Also, my first time having lobster!) I ordered the crab and shrimp eggrolls which were so tasty. I would legitimately go back to the island just to eat there again.

We took the last ferry back to the mainland so we could head to our hotel, Country Inn and Suites in Port Clinton, for a good night’s sleep before the next day’s adventure. I was honestly sad to leave. The island isn’t that big but there’s a lot to do and explore! Everyone we encountered was super friendly, including the parents of a pup named Captain Jack in a pirate costume. (Clearly, that was a highlight of our visit too.) Just good island vibes all around!

put-in-bay, the watering hole safari park, lake erie, lake erie love

left to right, top row; Macey the giraffe at The Watering Hole, bumper boats at The Watering Hole. Bottom row; Massie Cliffside fishing dock, sunset at Huron Harbor Lighthouse.

Saturday

We started the morning at Tin Goose Diner which is an authentic 1950’s diner that was trucked in from Pennsylvania. It’s now part of the Liberty Aviation Museum. Typical diner food (aka my favorite!) and judging by how busy the place was I’d say a lot of other folks think it’s pretty tasty too!

After fueling up, we headed to The Watering Hole Safari and Water Park at Monsoon Lagoon. I’ve actually driven past here a few times but had no idea all the fun that was to be had there. Putt putt, go-karts, a water park, bumper boats, and a petting zoo. We were most excited about the zoo because… well, animals. Duh! It was nothing short of amazing. I’m honestly shocked I didn’t cry happy tears. I bottle fed baby goats, held an armadillo, touched hands with a lemur, fed a giraffe, and CUDDLED A BABY SLOTH!!! It was clear that all the employees really loved the animals, and that the animals felt a connection as well.

After that, we checked out the water park section of the park. Happy to report that it was really fun, even for an adult! We stayed just long enough to cool off and test out each of the water slides. (Five of them – all super fun! One that was even a little fast for me.)

We made it out of the park just before the sky started to fall, and had lunch at The Original Margaritaville. I had their shrimp tacos which were out of this world. I highly recommend getting yourself some of those. It continued to rain on and off for a while, and we were all feeling a little drowsy after swimming (swimming always takes it outta ya, eh?) so we stopped for coffee at Gathering Grounds Coffee. Get yourself a sparkling lavender lemonade. Holy cow!

The city of Huron has a super cute little waterfront area. It’s a great area to walk around. Live music right on the water, a bunch of food options, and a super cheery vibe. Our hotel, Comfort Inn River’s Edge, was so close to all the action you could even hear the music from our room!

Dinner on Saturday was at Bar North Bistro. This was the one time we had reservations, and coincidentally we were still full from all the food earlier in the day. I figured we’d just get appetizers until we looked at the menu. We each got a huge meal… and devoured it. Everyone really enjoyed their food but I think we can all agree ‘devils on horseback’ is where it’s at. (That’s dates stuffed with brie and wrapped in bacon. SO GOOD!)

The evening ended with sunset on the Huron pier. We hiked out to the lighthouse and watched as the sky treated us to beautiful colors. It was busy on the pier. Not crowded in a bad way though, the kind of crowd where you can just tell everyone out there is just enjoying life. It was lovely.

left to right, top row; walking out to Huron Harbor Lighthouse. Bottom row; Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium, building cairns Sherod Park Beach.

Sunday

Sunday morning we woke up and headed 20 minutes east to Vermilion. Vermilion is somewhere Jeff and I have been before a couple of times just to geocache. Every single time we visit one of us ends up mentioning how nice it’d be to move there. It’s just such a sweet little town. Plus it’s home to Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium! A cozy breakfast joint and ice cream parlor housed in what used to be a funeral home. A short walk away Lake Erie awaits! We wandered around Main Street Beach and checked out the beautiful lighthouse before hopping into the car to head to Sherod Park Beach.

From the parking lot, Sherod Park Beach doesn’t look like much but once we got down to the beach I quickly realized this could easily become one of my favorite beaches along Lake Erie. Tons of gorgeous rocks cover the shoreline. I’m not a huge rock hound but I do appreciate pretty rocks and usually, end up finding a few to bring home anytime I visit the beach. I was already carrying a few rocks when I happened to glance down and a marble caught my eye! There wasn’t much beach glass there so I definitely wasn’t expecting to find something as awesome as a glass marble, especially sitting right on the top of the rocks like that. All my time spent on the beach and this was my very first marble! I’m definitely interested in heading back for some more beachcombing… like right now.

A short twenty-minute drive away from Sherod Park was our next adventure, Common Ground Canopy Tours & Zipline. The four of us had never ziplined before but we were all over the moon at a chance to give it a shot. I presumed it would just be like one platform to another and then you’re done but it was SO much more. Seven ziplines, thirteen tree platforms, three ariel bridges, two spiral staircases, and a floating staircase! The course takes about 2.5hrs to complete. We had a blast! Our guides were so nice and felt like old friends by the end of our visit. They even take photos throughout the course so you never have to touch your phone but still have photos. I cannot recommend Common Ground Canopy Tours highly enough!

We had all worked up an appetite by the end of our ziplining excursion. Everyone at Common Ground recommended the same restaurant, The Feve in Oberlin. It was AMAZING. Honestly, the whole weekend was packed with delicious food so it’s hard to pick a favorite meal buuuut my breakfast burger was easily the best breakfast burger I’ve ever had.

Lake Erie Love, Vermilion, Ohio lighthouse

Vermilion Lighthouse

Clearly a jam-packed weekend. We ate a ton, saw a ton, and spent tons of quality time together because no one had their phone out. It’s amazing what magic awaits just an hour away from Cleveland and how much of it you’ll experience if you just stop checking your phone every fifteen minutes.

I love our beaches here but visiting all the ones we did over the weekend truly felt like a vacation. I kept thinking “okay, and what time do we need to get to the airport again?” because it felt like we were a lot further away from home than we were. Lake Erie is pretty incredible!
xoxo

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that time I got married in a ghost town…

by Kaylah Stroup June 25, 2018

Two Guns Wedding, ghost town wedding

I don’t even know how to start this post. There’s so much to say about our wedding and honestly, so much I just want to keep private. I’m straddling this weird line between sharing something I’m proud of and excited about and keeping it all to myself because it really is so special. Either way, this is going to be a long, photo heavy post and I’m sure as soon as I hit “publish” I’ll think of a thousand other things I wanted to mention but here we go…

Jeff and I live to travel. It’s such a huge part of our relationship. Neither of us care for traditional weddings so it was a no-brainer we’d have a destination wedding. Based on our travel history and the fact we’ve made it an annual tradition to go there, the desert was also a no-brainer. We’ve spent the most time in Arizona, California and New Mexico but aside from Cisco, UT where he proposed there was only one other spot that we loved as fiercely – Two Guns, Arizona. I had always half-jokingly suggested we should get married there but never really thought it could actually happen or put too much thought into what the logistics of that would look like.

Shortly after proposing Jeff mentioned “So, I was thinking Two Guns?” I was too emotional to talk about it but I couldn’t believe he was actually suggesting it. I finally stopped crying for long enough to have a conversation where we decided that yes, Two Guns would be the perfect spot to get married but before we officially made the call we wanted to make sure our families were down to travel. I was worried that it would be asking too much. Much to my surprise, everyone was totally on board. Not a moment of hesitation from either side.

Seven months later a grand total of thirty people, including Jeff, myself and our photographer, made our way out to Arizona. Each group took their own route, came in on different days, and did a variety of different things leading up to the wedding but all eventually met up at one of our favorite places in the world, Two Guns!

Two Guns is a ghost town outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. It has a long, kind of wild history but currently just sits baking in the desert sun. The property contains many ruins, including old cottages, a campground, a service station and even a zoo! Can’t forget to mention the cave either. (Heck yes we got photos in the cave!) Truly a playground for Rt. 66 travelers!

It’s actually for sale! If anyone would like to give it to us as a wedding gift, that’d be rad.

Like a lot of the abandonment in the desert, it’s not really a big deal to visit. There are no fences to hop to access the property, and it’s literally right off a highway exit. We figured we’d just show up, get married and leave after we were done. We had no plans to decorate. It’s seriously perfect as is! Since the ceremony was going to be super short we didn’t even bother with chairs. We did however end up choosing a spot with lots of objects to sit and lean on which worked out very nicely. It was essentially a wedding flash mob.

One of my brothers officiated the ceremony. He got ordained just for us, and spent a good deal of time practicing by marrying my niece’s stuffed animals because he was so nervous (mostly just because he didn’t want to cry!) So sweet.

On June 9th, 2018 at 9 am Jeff and I got married on top of an old crumbling building in the ghost town of Two Guns, Arizona.

It was nothing short of incredible. I spent so much time stressing about everything from the dress to if we should decorate or not but it was legitimately perfect. I can’t think of a single thing I’d change. It was so perfectly ~us~. We’re both just over the moon.

I will not say this is my favorite photo because I could never choose but you guys, I am LIVING for how fierce I look up there. Was I just married or am I ready to go into battle?

All photos in this post are by Madeline Barr. Finding the right photographer was the biggest task in planning this wedding. Jeff and I were both really stressed about it. I cannot express how happy I am that we hired Maddie! She is a blast to be around, made us both feel super comfortable in front of the camera, and gave us the wedding photos of our dreams. I seriously can’t believe these are photos of us! I’m already plotting what excuse we can make to fly out to San Diego and have her photograph us again. She’s amazing, hire her!

more details
dress + topper –BHLDN
pink underskirt – Amazon
shoes – Palladium Boots
flowers – Sutcliffe Floral
pants + vest – Express

Most of these photos were just part of the preview that our wonderful photographer sent over the night of the wedding (what!?) and somehow she’s already finished up the rest of the photos. I’ve pored over them so many times. I’m completely obsessed!!!

At this time I’m not sure if I’ll be sharing many more photos. The day before the ceremony Jeff and I were sitting at a cute little coffee shop and we started talking about how the whole idea of a wedding was super weird. It’s such a personal thing. Even though we had only invited the closest people to us, it still felt like too much. Looking back on it now, I love what we did and I’m happy everyone who was there was there but I can’t even imagine how we would have been able to deal with a bigger or more traditional wedding.

When we went through all the photos Maddie had sent us, I felt that same way again – just like this is SO personal, how could I ever share these with someone else?! I want to hoard them away for just us. Does that make sense? Did anyone else feel like this? I never thought that I would and maybe I’ll end up feeling more comfortable about it all after it’s not so fresh. For now, I’m happy just sharing these.
xoxo

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Friday Favorites #471

by Kaylah Stroup June 22, 2018
This post contains affiliate links. For more information on what that means, read here.

I think it’s already been well established how much I love inanimate objects with faces. This planter is just too cute.

(via Group Partner)

How cute is this strawberry romper!?

(via Urban Outfitters)

This sticker!

(via Moorea Seal)

These vases are so incredibly pretty.

(via Anthropologie)

Did you know that there’s a new instax camera that shoots square film!? The film is pretty affordable too compared to other instant films currently on the market. The camera even lets you preview the image before you print so you don’t waste film on bad photos. I’m super intrigued!

(via Amazon)

Digging this snake catch-all tray!

(via Urban Outfitters)

I’ve shared a link to this dress before but it’s worth mentioning again because I love it so much! Took it on our wedding road trip and could have easily just worn it all week.

(via Amazon)

These earrings!

(via ColourWork)

These backpacks are so darn cute, and they come in so many colors!

(via Nordstrom)

Your face is like sunshine!

(via Nordstrom)

Way into this duvet cover!

(via Anthropologie)

Link love…

  • Cactus shaped mason jars!
  • Just a simple, comfortable looking striped dress. Perfect for summer!
  • Ooooh! This throw blanket covered in plants!
  • Another day, another striped dress.
  • LOVING this plant stand.
  • This rainbow tote by Dear Drew (Drew Barrymore!) is super cute. It’s not your typical rainbow colors. I really dig it!
  • This dress! That color! Those sleeves!
  • Uh oh, yet another adorable throw blanket. This one has a big eye!!
  • Polka dot romper! Yes, yes, yessss.
  • Just a cute little polka dotted planter.

Happy Friday!
xoxo

PS. I have a list of more rad finds here + they’re organized by color! Each week I update a color. This week – purple! On top of that, I started a second list ‘things I own + love!”

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summer bucket list 2018

by Kaylah Stroup June 21, 2018

Summer Bucket List –

▴ Check out a new beach or two. I live five minutes from Lake Erie but somehow end up only visiting one beach. It’s time to find some new sandy shores to wander along.
▴ Use the 70-200mm lens more often. We have this awesome lens but I so rarely use it. I’ve been wanting to start photographing birds so here’s to that!
▴ Press lots of plants. After an unintentional hiatus, I’ve fallen back in love with pressing plans. Here are some tips on pressing plants, if you’d like to start too!
▴ Look for four-leaf clovers. This is the first year in my entire life that I have ever found a four-leaf clover. Not only that but I’ve found seven of them so far! I’m hooked. Must. find. more.


▴ Shoot more film. All the instant photos I took on our wedding road trip got me inspired to start shooting film all over again. I even picked up a cheap disposable camera so I’d have no excuse not to use film.
▴ Stop letting the heat whoop my butt. Embrace sweating. Go to the coffee shop where there’s gooood air conditioning. Maybe just suck it up and buy a good window unit already?!
▴ Make lots of arrangements from found flowers. I’ve always loved picking flowers and making arrangements but didn’t really get a chance to do it very often after moving to the city. These last few months I’ve been stumbling upon lots of beautiful flowers on my walks around the neighborhood and even in my own front yard. Building tiny arrangements brings me so much joy. These containers make the perfect vase.


▴ Eat all of the corn on the cob. Maybe not all of it but a lot of it, for sure. It’s my favorite summer food.
▴ Hit the road!  We spent so long planning for the wedding, thoughts of all other trips just had to be pushed to the side. Now that that’s over its time to get back to planning and taking weekend road trips. We have so many places we want to hit up this summer.
▴ Geocaching date. Every so often Jeff and I will spend a whole day just driving around and geocaching. It’s a blast. We get to wander around new areas and of course, search for ‘treasure’. I’m so ready for another one of those days. Here are five reasons to start geocaching, in case you need a push!


▴ At least one long bike ride (but hopefully more.) For the past few years my friends and I have been trying to organize a fifty-mile ride but it just never happens for one reason or another. I want to make this the year it finally happens. I’m really just looking forward to a summer full of bike rides.
▴ Make an effort to catch more sunsets. From the beach, from rooftops, from restaurant patios, from random stops on bike rides. I just want to take the time to slow down and appreciate the beautiful colors a bit more. Anywhere and everywhere.
▴ Less time on my phone, and guilt-free phone-free weekends. I’ve been trying to be more conscious of my phone use. It’s so easy to use the excuse that it’s my job but mindlessly scrolling through instagram certainly doesn’t help any business grow. I want to be present. I want to be there for the people I’m around. I want to be more comfortable stepping away from social media on the weekends. There are so many more important things. Sunsets, for example! 

What’s on your summer bucket list?
xoxo

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I'm Kaylah! Renovating a 150-year-old home in Northeast Ohio. Likely found in my garden.

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