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4 things I tried + loved in April

by Kaylah Stroup

① Rose & Pomegranate Face Cream. I feel like I’m always on the hunt for the next best facial moisturizer. My purchase was swayed half by the packaging which I really like, and half by the incredible reviews this stuff has. I’ve been using it every morning before my make up and most evenings (ya know, when I’m not too sleepy to moisturize) It’s not heavy at all but still leaves my face feeling sufficiently moisturized which is a HUGE deal in the winter. It also has a very light rose scent which I really dig. It’s refreshing!

Unlike most the reviews, I don’t feel like it’s a miracle worker but I do really like the way it makes my skin feel. I would definitely recommend it to anyone on the hunt for something to leave their face feeling smooth and moisturized.

②  Wireless LED Puck Lights. So, for some reason I almost feel like the things I name in this series have to be beauty products buuut they don’t and they won’t all be. This month I purchased these LED puck lights for my curiosity cabinet… and I honestly wonder how the heck I went this long without them.

Four brightness settings, and a remote make them super easy to use, and adjust without ever opening up the glass doors. Since they came with adhesive stickers, I had them hanging and light up in no time at all.  They’re nothing fancy, and definitely wouldn’t be my first choice if I were looking to light a room but they put off the perfect amount of light to draw some attention to my collection. I absolutely love turning them on each evening. I’m already scheming where I can put more of these. Bookcase, maybe?

If you’re interested in getting some cool lights for your home, I highly recommend this post – fun lighting must haves! You know you need a toilet light!

③ NYX BB Cream in Nude. Another product I’m always on the hunt for the next best thing of – BB Cream! To be fair, I’ve never tried one I didn’t like but I really do love this one. It’s super light but still gives enough coverage to even out my skin color. It lasts all day and is pretty darn affordable. Really, it’s just an easy product to use. I love experimenting with make-up but for my every day routine I’m pretty simple, all I want is for my skin tone to be even. This stuff gets the job done wonderfully.

④ GlossyBox. I got not one but two GlossyBoxes this month!  The first was their standard monthly box, and the second was their limited edition mother’s day box. Both were incredible but I LOVED the mother’s day box. Every thing in it smelled magical. It was serious eye candy too. I unpacked and repacked the box so many times just because I loved touching and smelling everything. They’ll sell out quick, so if you want one hurry up and grab it!

Loved the regular monthly box too! I have mixed feelings about subscription boxes. I love experimenting but also really like being in control of my purchased so boxes like this are usually hit or miss with me. This was a hit! Out of the five products I received, two of them became part of my daily make-up routine. (The brow pencil + blush, in case you’re curious!)

My first impression of Glossybox is pretty high! Definitely something I wouldn’t mind continuing to try out.

Did you try anything awesome this last month?
xoxo

Check out three things I tried in March!

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statement earring round up!

by Kaylah Stroup

1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10 — 11 — 12 — 13 — 14 — 15

The day has finally come! I got my ears pierced! Ahh!

Thirteen plus years of stretching, a few hours of surgery for reconstruction, and seven months healing time. You can read more about my earlobe reconstruction here plus the four month update here. It’s been a long journey, for sure, but now I’m exactly where I want to be.

Over the weekend Jeff + I celebrated our four year anniversary. His present to me was taking me to get my ears pierced. I was stupid nervous, especially for someone whose body has had so many needles poked in it over the years. It was relatively painless and incredibly quick. I can’t believe how little they’ve been bothering me the last few days. To be honest, if I weren’t so darn excited about them I probably wouldn’t even remember I got them pierced!

The two pairs I’ve purchased so far! Left pair from Target, right pair from Nordstrom Rack.

I’m so excited to start building a collection of earrings now! I’m trying to show a tiny bit of self control until I get a better idea of what I actually like wearing. It’s obvious what I’m into style wise but who know if I’ll actually like wearing them or if I’m gonna just be crabby they get tangled in my hair!
xoxo

If you’re looking for more fun earring picks, I made a little round up back in January as well with some adorable pairs! Check them out here.

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photo diary – first hike of spring 2018

by Kaylah Stroup

Spring is here! Well, it’s trying at least.

I’m definitely one of those people who just barely scrapes by each winter. I just can’t stand being cooped up. I don’t like being cold, and the lack of sunshine is ROUGH for me. So, as soon as Spring starts to show it’s pretty face, I get pumped! Klaus gets to go on more walks, I opt to take my bike downtown instead of my car, and we usually celebrate the changing season by taking a few chilly hikes with my parents.

There’s something really special about those first few hikes of the new season. It’s magical seeing everything coming back to life. New plants working their way up through the leaves and debris from last fall. Birds chirping and my favorite spring noise, peepers! It’s just a good feeling. I cherish those hikes. I always end up taking lots of photos, I think in an effort to soak it all up better.

I LOVE these photos!

Here’s to many more days spent outside. Spring, I am so happy you’re back!
xoxo

Past year’s first hikes of the season – 2014 + 2015

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adventures in avocado propagation – an update

by Kaylah Stroup

Since the beginning of this year I’ve been patiently experimenting with growing avocado pits. It’s an extremely slow going adventure but one I’ve become completely enthralled with. I check on my pits multiple times a day (seriously, I can’t help it) and celebrate even the smallest bit of growth and change. It’s been since mid-March that I’ve given an update on how things are growing so I figured it was time to pop back in with some photos. It may not look like much but I’m super stoked with how things are going!

avocado propagation

March 23, 2018

The second photo above shows growth about to sprout out the top of my oldest pit. To be honest, I’m not feeling so confident with this one. It seems like it was moving along at a fine pace for a while but doesn’t seem to be doing much these days. It could just be that I check it forty thousand times a day so the progress is hard to notice… To be honest, that’s probably the case.

avocado propagation in water avocado propagation - pit growth!

April 6th, 2018

My three pits with roots! The longest root poked out the bottom of the pit in late February. The second largest came out in early March and seems to be growing at a much quicker rate than the first did. Just proving to me every plant is different! I wonder if it’ll end up sprouting out the top first.

April 15th, 2018

Such a huge split! Kinda wild that the tiny amount of growth inside is enough to hold this thing together. It is super fragile though…

April 19th, 2018

Root progress on my oldest four. I’m pretty darn impressed how quickly that second one caught up to the oldest!

April 22nd, 2018

See that blue mark on the container in the last photo? That’s a mark where that root was on the 10th of the month! I’m pretty jazzed on how much it’s grown! I marked the containers of all my pits with roots but accidentally wiped it off on all of them except this one when I changed their water. I might try washi tape next so my marks don’t come off as easy because it is SUPER satisfying to see the progress measured like that.

I think it goes without saying, I’m super excited to see where these guys are in another month! I’ve got my fingers crossed that by my next update we’ll have some growth popping out the top. Watching them grow even this much has been riveting but I think that’s when the fun will really start.
xoxo

Check out my first post on avocado propagation for more photos + a few tips on growing your own!

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found on the beach – 49 lighters

by Kaylah Stroup

found on the beach

I think this just may be my favorite found on the beach arrangement!

When I first started doing these arrangements five or six years ago I always made them in the sand. It was super important to me that I found a clear little section of sand with no other debris. I was really nitpicky about finding the *perfect* spot. A lot of the time I would even use a piece of drift wood as a rake to clear an area and smooth out the surface. After a while those felt kind of boring but it really took until last year for me to realize how much I enjoyed placing them on other natural surfaces. This arrangement on the rocks of the breakwall set the tone for my recent work. I just loved the way my colorful finds looked against the dark rocks, and the juxtaposition of something natural paired with the trash.

Since the weather has started to just barely warm up, they’ve been taking better care of the beach, or at least making it look like they are. They plow all the trash, driftwood, miscellaneous debris, and sand to one end and then scoop that all up into a dumpster. It doesn’t actually clean the beach because I’m willing to be at least a portion of that ends right back up in the lake since it isn’t being recycled.  Even freshly plowed, I still managed to find 49 lighters in one walking pass of the beach. Plus three more on my walk back to the car. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how many there are to find!!

lighters found along the shores of Lake Erie

bee boots by Joules

Let’s end this with a quick shot of what one little section of the lake looks like. Fun to pick through for me but honestly, so sad. Could you imagine being a fish in that? Earth Day was yesterday but this is something we need to be thinking about everyday if we ever want it to get better.

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!

If you like my ‘found on the beach’ collections – prints, phone cases, and more can be found here. Handmade zipper pouches + postcards can be found here.

 

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Friday Favorites #462

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

Would you just look at these incredible beetle earrings!? My goodness! They’re only $15!

(via Modcloth)

This book on keeping happy houseplants looks so pretty.

(via Amazon)

I love these shoes so much. I even hesitated to post them because they’d be perfect wedding shoes for me!

(via The Fix)

Had I not just found *the* dress, I would absolutely be purchasing this one to at least try on. I looked far and wide for something white that had stars on it. Just my luck that it’d show up online a few weeks late! PS. If you’re in the market for an affordable dress – I rounded up 7+ sites to check out for wedding dresses earlier this week!

(via Modcloth)

A pretty decent deal on these medical models if you’re looking to start or add to a collection!

(via Grandpa’s Market)

I stumbled upon these tiny coordinate rings earlier in the week and just can’t get them out of my head. Maybe I’m all gross and lovey dovey since my wedding is so rapidly approaching but they’re just so sweet!

(via Caitlyn Minimalist)

LOVE this summery dress.

(via Urban Outfitters)

How rad is this dental film hanger!? It be pretty cool with photos hung on it!

(via Vintage Archeology)

Love this silly pun covered mug!

(via Modcloth)

This mirror / earring holder is too cute!

(via Urban Outfitters)

This enamel pin!

(via Thistle Be Nice)

Link love…

PS. I have a list of more rad finds here + they’re organized by color!!! I update one color per week to really help the list grow. This week – ORANGE!

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11 years

by Kaylah Stroup

The end of this month marks Squid’s 11th birthday!

Up until about a week ago I thought she was turning ten this year buuut that’s neither here nor there. I apparently don’t understand simple math.

Squid doesn’t get much air time on The Dainty Squid. I mean, this whole thing is named after her so that counts for something, right? Everything I would normally say about her has recently been proven wrong. I wrote all about her big changes in this post about how the animals have been thriving in our new apartment. It’s her birthday though so it seems only right to share a little bit more about the sweetest little black kitten in the world…

below 2007 + 2018

For the first ten years of her life, Squid was a quiet cat. She was reserved, and mostly kept to herself. She had never been particularly mean or agressive toward the other animals but you could tell she’d rather be left alone. In hindsight, she’d have most likely preferred to be an only cat. But how are you supposed to know these things? If you were visiting and didn’t know I had two cats you’d probably never figure out I had a second. She liked me, and only me. Period.

This last year though? She’s a different cat. I’ve even joked that we must have somehow accidentally lost her and picked up a new black cat in the move. I never felt like she was unhappy, just shy. She has definitely come out of her cocoon this last year!

Squid is so talkative these days. She’s never had a normal meow, just some silly little noises she squeaks out but they’ve been louder and more frequent than ever. Just like Professor, if you talk to her, she’ll almost always respond back. She often comes up to me at my desk, gently taps me on the arm, and lets out a few squeaks to let me know she needs pet. It’s heartbreakingly cute.

One of the biggest changes is that she actually plays with Professor now. If you hadn’t noticed from his photos, Professor is an absolute character. He’s constantly darting around the house, meowing up a storm – normally alone. In the last six months or so, Squid has started running around with him. They chase each other around the house daily! Totally normal cat stuff but it’s a huge deal to see Squid doing it. She’s acting like a kitten!

It seems like every other week we have a big development. First, she started cuddling with Professor then I woke up one morning and she was laying with Klaus!!! (That obviously made my whole day!) She wants to cuddle all. the. time. and almost always follows Jeff or I from room to room. It’s so sweet to see this kitty who was so shy, and would rarely sit in my lap become this cuddle crazed meow machine. It makes me so happy to see her obviously living her best life.

Here’s to many more years with you, Squid! Fingers crossed you only get more playful, and more cuddly as time passes.
xoxo

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four years together

by Kaylah Stroup

As of today, Jeff and I have been dating for four years!

I feel like we’ve been together forever though. It felt like my life really started when I moved to Cleveland then somehow I lucked out and met this dude a month later. He’s been a massive part of my life ever since. I am so thankful our paths crossed.

Four whole years of…

▴ spur of the moment road trips
▴ bike rides around the city
▴ scouring Google maps for new spots to photograph
▴ gorging ourselves on sushi (okay, that’s only been like a year and a half but whatever)
▴ being squished out of bed by our bed hog dog
▴ daydreaming of someday marrying you
▴ eating way way way too quick at restaurants (I think we’re getting better at slowing down!)
▴ exploring all the best nooks and crannies wherever we go
▴ being best friends
▴ spaghetti, lemon pasta, pasta salad, Caprese salad and all the other things you cook best
▴ falling in love with new cities and daydreaming about running away together
▴ watching tv shows obsessively for a bit and then completely abandoning them (sometimes even on the very last episode)
▴ annoying the snot out of each other
▴ stealing your clothes because they smell so good (wearing your sweatshirt right now…)

But most of all, fiercely loving the heck out of each other.
xoxo

Jeff, I love you so much! I’m thankful for everything you do for me and I CANNOT WAIT to marry you at our favorite place in the world in just over fifty days. 💖

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7+ websites to find affordable wedding dresses!

by Kaylah Stroup

affordable wedding dresses

top left, right, bottom left, right

My hunt for a wedding dress was not a fun one. It included buying the absolute wrong (non-refundable) dress, choosing another that I knew I’d probably regret, and spending way way way too much time frantically searching the internet from end to end. I’ve finally found *the* one though, and I bought it online!

Something that might have made my journey go a little bit more smoothly is having a list of places to look online. Obviously, with the huge number of wedding dedicated websites that exist, there are lot of lists out there. I found that most were outdated, and the other half? Well, we had a different definition of what ‘affordable’ meant. We’re having a small wedding, and most of my day will be spent in a swim suit so spending $1000 on a dress just isn’t worth it to me.

In case you’re on a similar hunt, or just like looking at pretty dresses, I’ve rounded up seven websites that offer affordable dresses you could wear on your wedding day!

left, right

Modcloth

Modcloth was one of the first places I looked. I remember noticing the wedding section before ever needing a wedding dress and thinking that I’d definitely be back to look if the time ever came. Modcloth has 28 styles at the time of writing this post. They range from $100-$600 with most falling somewhere in the middle. The customer review photos are super helpful to getting a better idea of what the dress actually looks like.

left, right

Lulu’s

Lulu’s has a wide variety of dresses you could potentially wear as a wedding dress. Over the past few months I’ve probably accounted for nearly half their traffic. I checked back constantly. For what I was looking for – long + white – I found it most helpful to use their filters but you could also find some goodies by searching ‘bridal‘.

Other than the fact they have lots of options (60+) and great prices (most under $200), one of the biggest reasons I wanted to talk about them was their return policy! Free + super easy! I actually purchased two dresses from them early on in my search. Neither worked out but it was nice to be able to try them on and return them with no questions asked.

I highly recommend the dress on the left above. Fit beeeeautifully – was just a little too much cleavage for me. Had to ask myself ‘do I wanna hug my brothers with this much boob?’ and that answer was a solid no.

left, right

ASOS

ASOS has a wide array of dresses, and bridal accesories.  Most dresses range from $90-$300. ASOS is known for having a HUGE selection of clothing so it’s definitely worth browsing a little bit further than just ‘bridal‘. I found lots of pretty things (although most not white) searching ‘tulle‘.

left, right

Fame and Partners

Fame and Partners has less of a selection, and is definitely more pricey than most of the other sites in this post but their dresses are still a lot more affordable than most of what I found in my search. Both dresses pictured above are under $600.

They also have customizable bridesmaids dresses, some of which are available in white (and a bit more modestly priced!)

left, right

BHLDN

BHLDN has lots of dresses, and tons of gorgeous photos. I spent so much time swooning over their selection! A great deal of their dresses are over $1000 but there are also lots at more affordable price points. Both dresses pictured above are under $400.

Something I really liked abot BHLDN, and ultimately what swayed my purchase, was the fact their dresses have so many reviews and customer photos. Buying a wedding dress online is scary but being able to see what it actually looks like on someone really helps.

left, right

Morning Lavender

Morning Lavender doesn’t have a huge selection but they are super affordable (That gown above? $79!) One thing that kept drawing me back was all the seperates they offered. Lace tops + tulle skirts!

left, right

Altar’d State

Altar’d State has quite a few white lacey dresses that would be perfect for a courthouse wedding! I do think that their search engine is wacky. Searching ‘white dress’ didn’t give me all of the options (and most weren’t white or dresses) but it’s definitely worth taking a browse if you’re looking for something lowkey. I tried on the dress on the right – it was GORGEOUS!

A few more websites…

▴ Azazie has lots of dresses under $500 you can try on at home for just $25. They also have a variety of colors for each dress.
▴ Unique Vintage has lots of affordable white dresses + gowns. The only down side is most of their more formal styles are final sale so if it doesn’t fit or just doesn’t work for you, you’re stuck with it.
▴ Macy’s has a surprising number of white gowns.
▴ Tulle & Chantilly is actually bridesmaid dresses but I feel like they have a bunch of styles that could work for a lowkey wedding! I really loved this dress.
▴ Blush has lots of pretty dresses at very affordable prices.

Remeber to read reviews + check return policies before taking the leap. Good luck on your hunt!
xoxo

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