what i wore

xoxo

I’ve been trying to stay away from posting outfit photos in this dress since I felt like I’ve shared a lot of outfit posts with a black and white dress, and even a couple paired with my jean jacket. Seriously, this is basically the same outfit only three years ago! I consider this my ultimate outfit. Sure, I’ve styled outfits I really liked possibly more than this (like this!) but a black and white striped dress with a jean jacket is kind of my signature look. I feel most confident in this ensemble.

Anyway, I realized it had been a while since we saw my quintessential Kaylah outfit here on the blog so it seems like it’s finally time to show off  my new favorite black and white striped dress. It’s like the ultimate one. (Over half my dress collection is B+W striped, okay?) It’s long enough to not worry about showing anyone anything they shouldn’t be seeing. It’s lightweight which is perfect for summer. It has two large pockets so you could totally go purse-less if you wanted! It’s basically perfect. One of those things I want to buy multiples of, for sure!

Speaking of confidence, I’m realizing it’s something you need a lot of when you have green hair. I’ve been around the color wheel multiple times. I’ve even had a shade of green extremely similar to this one in the past but this time around, man, it’s been rough! I’ve written lots of posts about dyeing your hair fun colors, and maintaining it but something I’ve been thinking about touching on for a while now is dealing with other people’s reactions to your hair. It seems obvious that with a super vibrant colored hair that people will stare and make comments but I guess outside of your significant other’s opinion and that of your boss, it’s not something that people really consider when taking the leap.

With this green it’s rare that I leave the house and don’t have at least one person say something. Sometimes it’s nice, which I appreciate but the majority of the time it’s someone shouting from the passenger seat about how St. Patrick’s Day is over. “Aw, baaaabyyyy, I love the color green” is something I’ve been hearing a lot lately too. These things wear you down after a while. Being shouted at in public isn’t so great, even if it is a compliment. It can be really embarrassing. It makes me want to hide, to wear a hat, to dress as normally as possible. With friends it’s easier to deal with but alone it makes me feel very anxious.

I hesitate to even share these thoughts because inevitably someone will say something like “what did you expect?” or “if you don’t want the attention than why did you do it?” No matter what you say you’ll never talk sense into those kind of people. I guess I’m typing this because I just want to share my frustrations. To tell you how even after all these years I’m still not fully equipped to handle it. I have so much I want to say on the subject but sometimes it’s just easier not to talk about and to pretend it’s not an issue.

Anyway, lets end this post on a positive note. This hair color is the bomb dot com. No amount of dumb St Patrick’s Days are going to dull my shine. I looove the way children look at it/me. I feel like a cartoon character, in the best possible way. I could always go back to my natural color (lol, what’s that?) but I feel like myself in colorful hair, like this is the hair I should I have been born with. This whole look is me in full effect, it might generate a few stares and annoying comments, but dang it, I am adorable!
xoxo

This is just one of those outfits that makes you feel like a million bucks… even if the wind is working against you. Blowing your hair every which way (bangs + wind = the worst) and giving you silly outtakes like the one seen below. Awkwardly grabbing my own boob in public, or in the process of pulling my sweater back in place? That’s for you to decide.

Sorry, I had to include that. I wasn’t expecting it so when I was scrolling through my photos I nearly had water come out my nose. I always think to myself that I’d like to share outtakes from time to time, but they get buried, and I eventually forget about them. Sometimes I feel like such a dork sharing all these posed photos of myself. I try to be “natural” but of course, in front of the camera, I try to stand a little straighter, make sure my hair is in place, and my clothes are sitting perfectly. I’m a little bit more disheveled than that. We all are. So in the future? More outtakes! I’ll save them up and even put them in a post of their own.

Hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday!
xoxo

Every year, at the end of the year, I make a little list of my favorite outfits that I shared on the blog. It’s a fun way to look back and see all the outfits I put together, and the different hairstyles, and colors I had. (Did I really only have three different colors this year? I’m slackin!) No real revelations here, my style seems just as random and obnoxious as ever. I’ve always kind of wished I had a really distinct style but perhaps my style is less random than I think and it’s just that it’s hard to see because I see it everyday?

I don’t normally choose a number one from my list of favorites but I really can’t get over the outfit in the photo above. It is easily one of my all time favorite outfits. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as fierce as I did in that. That needs to be something I wear more often. Also, if my hair could just permanently look like it does in that photo that’d be great! Hah!

This past year I shared the smallest number of outfit posts since I started sharing them back in 2011. I’m hoping to get back to sharing outfits more frequently in 2016.
xoxo


See past years favorite outfits : 2011, 2012, 2013 + 2014.
And of course, you can find more outfits under the “what I wore” tag.

This coat is what all my coat dreams are made of. I got it at the beginning of last month but I had chosen the wrong size. I spent SO long standing in the mirror posing, and making sure it really was too big just because I didn’t want to take it off and send it back. I was trying to justify that winter coats should always be a little bit big so that you can layer but there really was no denying it, I was swimming in it. I finally got the size I needed back in the mail a week or so ago aaaand I don’t remember the last time I liked a coat so darn much.

I actually own quite a few coats but no real winter coats that provide warmth. I guess I skated by without a warm coat for years because I never really spent all that much time outside in the winter. It was just quick trips outside or else I was super layered up. Now that I’m spending so much time at the flower shop having something to keep me warm on the walk became a necessity. This baby is the perfect length. Don’t kid yourself, coats that don’t cover the booty are never warm enough! The inside is super soft. It has this puffy collar that keeps the wind out of your hood. My favorite part? The sleeves! They’re sufficiently long enough which is something I’d been having trouble finding, and the ends have a form fitting warm part so that your wrists don’t freeze. Also, the pockets are super deep which is always a plus! I’m in love. Picking things out online is hard sometimes, and when you absolutely nail it it feels so good.

Not to rush the snow, because I know that as soon as it comes I’ll be sick of it, but I’m really excited for it to start falling. I have a Christmas tree up for the first time in a few years but it feels kind of out of place. It doesn’t seem like it’s creeping up so quickly. I mean, I haven’t even started shopping for gifts yet. Snow always makes the holidays feel real and I’m excited to really test out my new coat.

Hope you’re having a lovely week (+that you’ve found your perfect winter coat because that cold weather is coming quick!!)
xoxo 

Way before I ever adopted Klaus I wanted to get a dog of my own so I could dress him or her up in a skeleton costume. I don’t know why but something about dogs in skeleton costumes just melted my heart. I kind of forgot about that until I saw this one at Target. I told Jeff about it later and explained how badly I wanted it but didn’t know when Klaus would actually wear it. He was like “Get it! He can wear it all the time!” That’s a good man, justifying my stupid purchases. So next trip to the store Klaus got a skeleton costume and all my stupid little dreams came true. I didn’t think it was possible for this puppy to get any cuter but I was proven wrong. He will totally be wearing this thing all year long. I own skeleton footie pjs so I guess Klaus and I will be able to match in the evenings in the winter too!

Unrelated to this outfit post but in the spirit of Halloween I crossed off one of my big fall goals – visiting a haunted house! I’ve had two experiences with haunted houses in the past. The first was with my mom, and brother when I was eleven or twelve. I spent the whole time with my face buried in my brother’s back. I didn’t look at single thing. The second time was in Niagara Falls the next year. I wanted to redeem myself after the first haunted house so my aunt and I bought tickets, walked maybe ten steps in and then I ran out. Since then I’ve just presumed haunted houses weren’t my thing and wrote them off. Even as a huge chicken, I loved the idea of haunted houses. I desperately wanted to be able to go so this year I made it one of my goals.

Last weekend myself and five of my friends visited Spooky Ranch. There is a fun house, haunted hay ride, 3-D clown house, and “extreme nightmares” haunted house. You guys, I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun. IT WAS A BLAST. Seriously, I can’t think about it without getting this massive cheesy grin on my face. We actually all had so much fun that while waiting in line for the last attraction we started looking up other nearby haunted houses so that we wouldn’t have to call it a night. Sadly it was too late and we wouldn’t be able to make it to another before they closed for the night.

I’m bummed I missed out on haunted houses all these years but I guess I’ve got the rest of my life to enjoy them. I cannot wait to go to another!
xoxo