My microblading experience

I've been going to my esthetician for over 4 years now for my lash extensions and if there is anyone I trust with my face, it is her! I've followed Katie to 3 different places now! She recently opened her own business called The Art of Beauty. It is located in Columbia, IL which is a suburb on the east side of the St. Louis metro area. Over the last couple of years, she's been tempting me with microblading. Every time I see her work on Instagram, it kept convincing me I needed this in my life. At one of my lash fill appointments in June, I told her I was finally ready to take the plunge! The thing about Katie is that she is amazing and her schedule is booked! I legit have my lash appointments booked out for a whole year just to ensure I get them scheduled at the times I need. One whole year out! So even though I told her in June I was ready for my brows, I knew it would be a few months before it actually happened. Plenty of time to mentally prepare! My appointment was booked for October 11th.

Before and after

Combo microbladed/machine shaded brows

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My big life change

We interrupt the Europe recap posts to talk about my big life change. I'm sorry the vacation recap is taking me so long to get through! I ended up with so much content, and then in the middle of all of that, something big has been happening over the last 3 weeks that has left me a bit distracted. After 13 years, I decided it was time to leave my job for reasons I won't go into on the blog. But I will say that I made this decision in January, right after the new year. The ideal plan was that I would find a new job, put in my notice, go to Europe, then come home to a new life. Somehow I'm only about 4 weeks off that schedule and it happened really fast after Europe. It really is ironic when wishes come true the second you decide to let things go.

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What to wear to a concert

I have legit had this post drafted since November!!! 2018 seemed to be the year that all of my favorites chose to tour, so I ended up seeing 3 concerts at the end of last year, plus one more last week. Many people post ideas on what to wear to concerts, but I'm going one step further to show you four actual outfits (plus one bonus) that worked for me. It's not just rhetorical, it's for real! Oh, but before we start, I will forewarn you that many of the pieces I wore are old and no longer available, but I figured this post would still help give you visual inspiration in hopes that you have similar pieces to work with already in your closet. OK, let's get started. 

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Styling a varsity stripe top + voice update

I styled this top for CS Gems because they were having a lightening deal sale on it while I was gone last week in Mexico. Unfortunately, it's not on their site anymore, so I'm sorry you all are missing out on it! However, I wanted to share it anyway because I feel it styles very similarly to a varsity stripe top, and varsity stripes seem to be a trend that is coming back along with other 90s inspired styles. I also wanted to use this opportunity to give you an update on my voice/ laryngitis situation!

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Wearing lately + laryngitis

I've been wanting to write this post for awhile now, since the saga with my voice, or lack thereof, has been dragging on for an eternity now. For those of you not interested in that story, I'm posting recent outfit photos for your entertainment. This is going to be a long post, so let's just jump right in!

Sweater: Anthropologie | Necklace: Kendra Scott | Tank: Grace and Lace | Leggings: Athleta (similar, similar) | Booties: Freebird "Harlo"

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Endings and beginnings

To say that 2018 has been a challenging year would be a gross understatement. The amount of people I have had to say goodbye to, the stresses, the emotional roller coaster, so much change with even more uncertainty. And if that's not enough, on Friday, we had to say goodbye to our sweet beagle, Annie.

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Life lately

Cap: from the Nascar race in Miami | Sweater: CS Gems (use CARYLEE15 for 15% off) | Leggings: Lululemon | Sneakers: New Balance

A lot happened during the 3 months that I took a blogging hiatus. Many of it has not been the best, which is a big part of the reason why I took the time off. But, there were definitely some good things along the way - I should still be thankful. Regardless, this post is my attempt to catch you up on some recent life events. For the sake of not having a post that takes you an hour to read, I have other posts drafted that cover specific buckets of my life like travel, work, and Pilates. This post is a catch-all for the more general topics. Let's get started.

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What's up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. I won't answer all the questions for the sake of time, but just the ones that I think are the most interesting for July! Let's get started!

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It's not goodbye!

First "Hello Monday" outfit

Jenna and I started this linkup on July 27, 2015 - almost 3 years ago! You can look back at that original post here. But before Hello Monday came along, there was Manic Monday that I co-hosted with Gina! It was a spin-off of a Holiday Style linkup we hosted at the end of 2013! You can see the last post in that series where we officially announced Manic Monday here. 

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April life updates

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. Let's start with the "What I am wearing" category to make this easy!

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What's up Wednesday?

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. I haven't done one of these in what feels like forever, so it was fun for me to round some random life updates into this post for you. Let's get started!

What we're eating this week:

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Joe.

Last week, Matt was traveling for work. It was Tuesday about 3:45pm and I was in my boss' office doing my performance review. I saw that the department got a meeting invite for an urgent call at 4pm. We have had so many changes at the office that I figured it was some sort of re-org. Meanwhile, Matt tried calling me while I was with my boss, but I hit "ignore." When he called me right back for the FOURTH time, I looked at my boss and told her I should take the call.

He said he had to talk to me about the urgent call and told me to get up and go into an office by myself and close the door. He told me he had to tell me the news himself knowing that I am usually in my car at 4pm on Tuesdays headed to teach Pilates and he didn't want me to find out while I was driving. I could tell he was crying, which is not like him. He was traveling with his boss, and I immediately thought that maybe they decided to lay off his entire department. Why else would he be so upset? 

Joe, our very good friend and co-worker, died from a heart attack at 37 years old.

St. Patrick’s Day at Helen Fitzgerald’s, March 2017

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2017 Highlights

If I had to sum up 2017 in 3 words it would be Pilates, Work, and Bourbon. Maybe not necessarily in that order! But those three things were definitely prominent this year, even more so than they have ever been in the past! You guys have been so patient with me and my mediocre outfits and haphazard content. I'm excited to start fresh in 2018, but before I do, I wanted to recap some of the life highlights that made 2017 what it was! Let's get started!

Original post here

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What's up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. As you know, my blogging was super light over the last few weeks while I took time for myself mentally and physically preparing for the end of my Pilates certification program. Hopefully this post will help bring everyone up to speed on things I may not have shared in the few blog posts I did publish this month! Let's get started.

My immediate fam + sister in law + nephews

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Life lately

Random Wednesday night post, but I always feel bad leaving you guys hanging without any posts or explanations on what's going on in my life!! If you follow me on Snapchat, you probably have a pretty good idea, but I'm going to assume the vast majority of you do not follow me there, so let me fill you in!!

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What's up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. This is always a good opportunity for me to share some selfies lately in addition to my life randoms, so let's get started!

(outfit details listed below)

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My birthday week recap

Holy crap, you guys!!! I can honestly say that this has been the best birthday week in the history of all my birthdays! I have never felt so loved and celebrated before. I naturally had to recap all of the excitement for you. This will be a super photo-heavy post, but it's always nice to relive these details later and I want to recap everything while it is all still fresh! So let's get started!

(outfit details listed below)

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What's up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. I know I say this EVERY month, but I can't believe it's the last Wednesday of the month *again.* This last month I have been to the west coast 3 times. Travel really accelerates time which already is moving at such a fast rate! Anyway, let's just go ahead and get started!!

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What's up Wednesday

It's the last Wednesday of the month which means it is time once again to link up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday! This is a great way to recap the month of outfits as well as share some of my latest life randoms. Let's get started!

At the Jim Beam Distillery

Outfit details: Hat from Woodford Reserve Distillery | Top: CS Gems | Necklace: Kendra Scott "Milla" | Leggings: Zella | Sneakers: Adidas "Superstar"

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Grace and Lace "Calla" top

Happy hump day! We are halfway to our long weekend, and I'm not even mad about it! It's been a busy week between work and Pilates and getting the new car! The weekend could not get here soon enough. But, I hate to wish time away, so let's talk about this beautiful top to keep our minds occupied, shall we?

Outfit details--- Sunnies: Ray Ban (option) | Earrings: Kendra Scott "Danielle" (Color Bar rose gold filigree) | Bralette: Express (exact here but sold out) (option, option, option, more coverage option here) | Necklace: Kendra Scott "Lizzie" | Bag: Nordstrom | Top: Grace and Lace "Calla" (c/o) | Shorts: American Eagle (option) | Sandals: Sam Edelman "Willow" ---

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