What Would Kiki Wear to Texas

Hey y’all! First trip of 2023 and I’m headed to Dallas/Fort Worth Texas for my sister-in-law’s baby shower! We have some extended family who live in Dallas so we plan to grab lunch with them the day we arrive. Traveling together from Columbus to Dallas is my mom, aunt, and cousin! This is about to be an epic girls weekend!

I’ve only been to TX once, when my brother lived in San Antonio. He and his wife recently moved to the Dallas area to start their own lawncare company. *Shameless Plug here* Lawn Treatment Programs – Greenskeeper Lawns (greenskeeperlawnsllc.com)

Sooo… HELP ME PACK! I feel like everywhere in TX has their own vibe and since i’ve never been to the Dallas area, i’m picturing it being faaaancy; But in Fort Worth, I picture wearing my Texas best aka western wear.

Other plans include the baby shower on Saturday. Can’t decide if I want to wear BLUE for baby boy or ORANGE to match the theme (A Cutie is on the way..). Saturday night we will grab some dinner somewhere. Recs? Sunday is brunch at T.Garcia’s hosted by the mom-and-dad-to-be. This will be in Fort Worth so we will have the rest of the day to explore the Stockyards! YEE HAW!

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Another matching moment

I can’t take credit for this photo shoot! It was a Mommy & Me event hosted by Kindhearted Kids (a woman owned company teaching kids to be kind and encouraging the message through their events). They setup the cutest backdrop and had an on-site photographer, Layland Photography. If you’re local to Columbus, I highly recommend checking out both/either businesses. Layland Photography is owned by Ashlie who is so great to work with – I was certain Olivia wouldn’t smile in pics, but these turned out so adorable! Ashlie also offers tips for taking photos and offers mood boards for outfit Inspo when you book with her!

This matching set might be my favorite mommy & me outfit to date. I love the style of this top – sweetheart neckline and peplum bodice – so flattering! I am wearing an XS & ordered a 2T for Olivia. I thought it was supposed to be a dress but it was pretty short on her so it turned into a shirt. She’s an average height for her age (2) so not sure if this just runs a little large for toddlers. Maybe size up – worst case, it’s a little large now and they grow into it! The color of this outfit is so soft and neutral. Will work across spring & summer. Looking forward to wearing this again for St Patrick’s Day next year!! Lastly, I paired it with these beautiful lavender lace up heels from Vince Camuto. I love the color of these and have been able to pair these with multiple outfits (also worn in my last post, Mom Love Rose in the Park). The suede material is so comfortable and can be worn for several hours with no issues. Ordered my true size.

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Moms Love Rosé in the Park

This is the first Mother’s Day since I’ve been a mama where we had beautiful weather!! We live in Ohio where April showers bring more May showers. It actually rained Saturday and stayed overcast. We got lucky on Sunday!

Last year, we did breakfast in bed and I thought that might be a new tradition. Nearby, we had a new market that opened with a few food vendors, a bar, speak easy, and an event center all in one building! The grand opened was last weekend (we didn’t go because, I’m not gonna lie, prefer being out in public when there aren’t big crowds. We showed up exactly at 11AM when it opened. Ordered some food and waited with mimosas on the outdoor patio. We were back at home in time for Olivia’s nap and that’s when I got our picnic basket ready: Rosé, black truffle guyere cheese, pepperoni wrapped white cheddar, wheat crackers, and dried fruit. I know these aren’t perfect pairings to rose, but it’s all about Mom and what she wants.

Truthfully, I’ve never been on a picnic. So my vision for a picnic experience might be shaped by images I’ve seen going viral, setups on TV, and on advertisements. I pictured romantic, florals, gingham, feminine…. so this dress was perfect for my vision. The right about of girly, ruffles, Peter Pan collars, pastels… everything but the gingham print (didn’t want to clash with the blanket). This dress is more of a splurge, but if you’re lucky enough to find it on a resell website, they are more affordable! I’m in between an XS/S and I’m wearing a small. The length is not too short, even with heels! It is a little looser up top and the tie string doesn’t do much to adjust that. The buttons are functional and there’s also a silver zip closure on the side.

Speaking of heels.. while it did look silly to chase my toddler around the park in heels and a dress…. how good is this combo? These suede lace up heels match the pastel florals perfectly and complete this outfit with a nice pop of color. This is my fourth time wearing these shoes and they’re extremely comfortable! I think they fit TTS.

I was able to link a very similar, if not the same picnic basket on my LTK page. This was a bridal shower gift years ago and I’ve been dying to use it! We’ve packed it on our beach vacations every year, but have only used it to carry wine to and from the beach at sunset and use the plastic cups, lol. It is a whole table setting for two – plates, cups, napkins, cutlery, s&p shakers, plus the washable blanket. Good amount of space inside too. Makes a great bridal shower, wedding, anniversary, birthday, or Mother’s Day gift!

Highly recommend a picnic in the park this Spring! It was really relaxing to sit around drinking rose in the sun. Let me know how in the comments how you celebrated and what your ideas are for Father’s Day, too! xoxo

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Have Your Cake & Eat it TWO

Over a month late, but finally publishing this post all about Olivia’s 2nd Birthday celebration 💗. I had so much fun thinking of a theme! There are so many adorable party ideas with a pun for “two”. If Olivia got to pick, I’m sure she would have chosen a “TWO infinity and beyond party” because Toy Story and Buzz are her favorite things… But when I saw this inspo on Pinterest, I couldn’t unsee this as the theme! We bought her a kitchen set for Christmas so seeing this “baking” theme seemed perfect to incorporate her kitchen set as the main toy for all of the kids to play with. When you ask Olivia about a birthday party, her answer is, “I get cake! And a hat” *touches the top of her head* it’s so funny! I knew I wanted to get party hats for her birthday – except they ended up not being a hit, LOL! I was the only one to wear one. Keeping them all for another time.

The cake & cupcakes were all made by Sugar & Swirl – one of my friends I used to work with at a local meal prepping company started her own baking business on the side. She is AMAZING! She made the cake plus 4 different flavors of cupcakes and everyone complimented each one! The Smore’s were definitely the favorite! I ordered circus animal cookie mini cupcakes for the kids (so nostalgic), cinnamon roll cupcakes (topped with an actual mini cinnamon roll), and I ordered vegan chocolate covered strawberry for anyone with that preference.

The cupcake wrappers, party hats, and cupcake toppers were all purchased from the cutest Etsy shop – Pretty Plain Paper! She has so many different themes/designs to choose from – anything from the invitations to party decor! Birthdays, holidays, etc. I will definitely be shopping from her again. It was convenient to purchase and have the designs emailed to me immediately! Then I sent to my local Staples and cut out, taped/stapled as needed. It didn’t take that long to put everything together! Taped a toothpick to the cupcake toppers, cut out the wrappers and taped those on the day of the party to ensure they fit the cupcakes. For the party hats, I cut out, taped together, and then glued a little pom pom on top. I also purchased elastic string and attached with tape. It all held together pretty well! Just wish Olivia actually wore her hat… she was all excited to see them but always refused to wear a hat, lol!

All links are at the bottom of the post. What have been some of your favorite birthday party themes?! Let me know in the comments!

This sweet dress is from Jamie Kay Clothing. I can’t link on LTK but here’s the website: https://jamiekay.com
Toddler tulle skirt is also Jamie Kay: https://jamiekay.com

Party Decor Linked Below:

Outfit Details:

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I’m Dreaming of a White…Sequins outfit for NYE

Hopping on to share the last post of 2021! This was my Christmas outfit but it also makes the perfect NYE outfit. I’ve worn everything from jeans and sweaters to Dresses to sequins joggers on Christmas. I’ve seen a trend over the last two years where, whenever I leave the house, I get as glam as possible, haha! Plus, I set the bar pretty high when I wore a skirt for Thanksgiving… I can’t be dressier for Thanksgiving than on Christmas, can I? I absolutely think you should wear whatever you’re comfortable in because that’s when you’re most confident! Confidence is always the top priority.

This off the shoulder sweater actually appeared on one of my IG ads. I thought it was a dress so I clicked on it to find it was two pieces (sold separately). I immediately pictured the sweater with a sequins skirt and did a quick search to see what I would find. I never dreamed of finding THIS perfect skirt – the color, the length, the quality, the slit. Everything about it is perfect! It’s even the same label as the sweater, coincidentally. Definitely a splurge, but I don’t have anything in my closet like this and think I’d absolutely be able to re-wear this for NYE or another holiday. I’m also a BIG fan of the graphic tee + sequins skirt + tennis shoe trend. Add a bold lip and you look so chic. That’s an outfit I could wear for a lunch or a dinner and feel more comfortable being in public.

The sweater is so soft and a cropped fit. You can front tuck it or not and either way still has a nice fit. It’s a boatneck neckline and can be worn on or off the shoulder. I love how the model wears it off the shoulder but wish I would have sized up one to achieve that a little easier. I ordered a Small and think it was a little tight to wear it off the shoulder all night. So size up if you like the off the shoulder look. I also ordered a Small in the skirt and it’s the perfect fit. Bonus, it’s fully lined! I was worried about the slit being too high but it’s conservative enough where I didn’t feel like i’d have to wear a slip or shorts underneath. I did see a trick on TikTok to wear a tulle skirt underneath something with a high slit and it looked really pretty! Might only work with a skirt more A-line or full but worth a try if you’re feeling uncomfortable.

Anyway, both the sweater and the skirt are FREE two day shipping! Still time to order and arrive before NYE… just saying 🙂 xoxo Happy New Year!!

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Jackets for Fall

While “Winter” doesn’t officially begin until December 21st… even though the temperature feels like it in Ohio, plus with Christmas decorations and activities in full swing, it’s tough not to skip the last few weeks of “Fall”.

If you follow me on IG, you know that I was once again traveling up to Geneva for a night in Ohio’s “wine country”. We went with another couple and it was their first night away from their one year old! It was already our third time visiting these wineries so we showed them our favorite places. First stop is always Laurentia for lunch + drinks. Not in any particular order, but M Cellars and Harpersfield are next on the list. Anything else along the way is fair game and we did stop at Red Eagle Distillery for the first time! Ordered a pumpkin spice cocktail that was sooo delic. I honestly expected the ‘lake effect’ weather to be so much cooler in Geneva but it was nice and sunny. Would have reconsidered my outfit if I would have known 🙂 But can’t go wrong dressing in all staples!

Start with a neutral sweater and my favorite mom jeans for the base. Add a suede jacket for added warmth and pair a bold snakeskin print bootie. You probably have everything in your closet to recreate this look, any bold bootie will work! These exact pair are from DSW but I purchased a few years ago. I didn’t see these on the website but did link smiliar pairs if you like this print. I’ve mentioned this suede jacket before – I waited until the Nordstrom anniversary sale to purchase. It’s pricey but I wear it so much in the fall. You’ll be so impressed with the quality!!

The next morning, we went into town to grab coffee and pastry before the long drive back to Columbus. The weather was definitely cooler, but as soon as we were in the car, I was shedding layers (TOO WARM). But I can’t say enough good things about this plaid zip up jacket! It is a cropped fit and the inside lining is satin so don’t expect the sherpa material on both sides… however, maybe it was the sweater underneath, but this jacket still kept me plenty warm! I’m wearing a small in the jacket and it’s pretty roomy in the arms so don’t worry about sizing up one. You also can’t beat the price!! It’s only $25 🙂 I forgot to pack a straight leg pair of denim so here I am stuffing my mom jeans inside of my suede knee high boots, hahaha! Made it work!

I can’t believe we’re already in December!! Check out my post on gift guides if you haven’t already! Happy Shopping xoxo

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Spice Girl x Baby Spice

Ahhh still over the moon that I got to connect with Dede Raad from Dress Up Buttercup! If you weren’t familiar, check out my last post! The day Olivia took this photoshoot, I spoke to Dede right after. So I’m getting all the mems thanks to these pics.

Okay, in one my previous post, I mentioned heading to a pumpkin patch… We met my mom, grandma, and cousin & her family (who recently moved to OH for her husbands job! It was the first time we were seeing them in over 3 years!). Needless to say, I didn’t get any styled pics while we were there but you can see all of the pumpkins, gourds, and squash we collected! It was so much fun decorating the porch. Olivia loves to re-arrange my pumpkin placements. The larger pumpkins by the door, she is determined to move. She will squat down and grunt trying to lift them. It’s hysterical!

So no pumpkin patch pics, but these sweatshirts are even better! I’m a 90’s kid and The Spice Girls were the first band I ever remember listening to. They were my first concert in the 4th grade (with my mama) and I used to buy every magazine cover they were on, hang their posters on my wall, and learn every lyric from their cassette centerfold 🙂

I originally ordered from Pink Lily but I ended up being refunded for the Spice Girl sweatshirt because they didn’t have enough inventory. They make these sweatshirts in a pink mauve color, also! Last time I checked, the baby spice sweatshirt and onesie were still in stock in orange, but if you want a matching set, all are in stock in mauve. ETA: RUN! The orange Spice Girl shirt is RESTOCKED at PinkLily. All sizes available.

There are actually several versions of this Spice Girl sweatshirt (Etsy, boutiques, etc). I ordered mine from an online boutique. It’s a little darker than the Pink Lily version but it’s so soft and I love the courdoroy texture! I ordered a small and it’s the perfect fit and length with leggings. I think we’re going to wear our matching sweatshirts to an outdoor harvest festival tonight in our town. I just LOVE matching my girl!

Now that I have all of the supplies to make baby’s Halloween costume, I’m going to work on a DIY post this weekend… or a reel or tiktok or whatever the cool kids are doing with their ‘spare’ time! Stay tuned… xoxo

I ordered Olivia a 2T because I wanted her to be able to wear it for a couple seasons! The sweatshirts can still be worn separately, but I’d love to match for as long as possible 🙂

Somehow I also found matching bike shorts and matching white Nike sneaks haha! I’ve had my Nikes for a couple years and love them. They wash really well! The baby shoes are a little more high top than I thought and the tongue rubbed against Olivia’s ankle and cut into her skin a little. Poor girl, she never complained about it but I saw a little red on her shoe and then noticed her ankle. Could be that she’s wearing the wrong size or could be the shoe, idk…

Clearly we used a tripod and self timer to take these photos and Olivia was too amused with the remote clicker than to smile for the camera. This was so fun though! Right after we took these photos, I changed and had the best phone call with Dede from Dress Up Butter Cup. I cannot wait to share more about that… if you follow her, you know her heart and she was just as authentic and genuine in a 35 min phone call. It was like chatting with one of my girlfriends. Stay tuned to hear more….

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Stumbling upon Larimer Square

At the end of August, we traveled to Denver, CO for one of my best friends wedding. I’ve been to Colorado a few times, but mostly for skiing or to visit my grandparents right outside of Denver. So, long story short, I’ve never spent time in Denver. We stayed at the Westin downtown – walking distance to 16th street mall, Rockies stadium, and Larimer Square. Our room actually overlooked Larimer Square with all of the string lights – it was beautiful!!

We landed in Denver at noon on Friday. I lucked out with direct flights both ways! The train commute from the airport to downtown is about 40 minutes. Then we walked to our hotel and grabbed lunch at Oskar Blues along the way. The welcome party was a rented cabana suite at the Rockies game. Nothing better than beer, stadium food nachos, and friends! Fun fact, I used to work HR for the concessions company at the MN Twins – not a fan of the game, but I do love it as a summer social activity 🙂

With that said, I may have been the most excited to wear these keds baseball shoes! I only get to bust them out if I’m at a game and this was the second time this summer I got to dust these bad boys off! I did size down a half size in the shoe (linked above!). Pet peeve is wearing another teams hat to the game if they’re not actually playing in the game!! Since I didn’t have a Rockies baseball cap, I wore this black Nike dry-fit one. The purple and black flannel was the perfect choice to still show support for the Rockies by wearing their colors! It actually gets chilly in Denver, which I wasn’t expecting so I was happy to have a layering piece once the sun went down. At first I was a little unsure how to tie the flannel around my waist while wearing shorts (can’t see the shorts in the back – am I even wearing pants?!). My tank top is an $8 Target find and comes in a toooon of colors.

Leaving the game, we decided to head back towards our hotel and find a place to grab a night cap. I remembered seeing the string lights from our room so we ventured out on 16th Street Mall and you can’t miss Larimer Square from there! It was so much fun!! There was a champagne bar, wine bar, ice cream shop, a few other bars – some even opened as vendors on the street, a record store… We snagged an ourdoor table at the champagne bar and ordered a glass of bubbly plus oysters – how fancy! Our preference was to sit outside, but actually I wished we would have requested an indoor table because the chandeliers were so glam! But I was definitely feeling underdressed! I made Max return the following night, after the rehearsal dinner so I could at least have one cute outfit pic at the Square 🙂

What a cute area! The 16th Street Mall actually reminded me a lot of Nicolette Mall when I lived in Minneapolis. I was feeling a little nostalgic.. This post wraps up summer travel and summer outfits! I’ll start posting more fall inspo next week. It’s October 1st so I’m thinking we’re even going to a pumpkin patch this weekend – can I get a FALLELUJAH?!

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Wine down Summer

This was too cute to leave out
The shirt is longer than I wanted – this is the length before hemming
The inside space at Coast Wine House is GOALS
Our view on the front porch

This week marked the first day of fall. I love summer but it also doesn’t feel like summer when you’re working from home, wearing sweatpants and only leaving the house when you have plans. Summer is normally extremely busy and filled with a lot of pool days. So I’m not too mad that fall has arrived. I’ve already greeted pumpkin in the form of coffee, creamer, and muffins. I’m planning a Trader Joe’s haul this weekend to clear them out of anything related to pumpkin – Sorry in advance, Easton Towne Center!

I planned a wine night with one of my girlfriends at a fairly new wine bar in Dublin, Ohio. I’m on the east side of Columbus and Dublin is on the West so I never venture to that side of town. But Coast Wine House was the perfect spot to meet. They were hosting an Italian Holiday pop-up, featuring wine and food from Italy. We actually ordered cocktails and bought wine to take home. The shareable food was light and refreshing, even Olivia enjoyed the corn and burrata salad! We sat at a table for two on the front porch and it was the perfect setting. Definitely recommend checking out Coast Wine House for a drink, a bite to eat, or for a small party/gathering.

The mix of “Italian Holiday” plus a coastal vibe had me SET one wearing this matching set from Petal and Pup. I ordered it during their July 4th drop but hadn’t planned on wearing it for any 4th of July activities. I loved the European vibe it’s giving off. Plus you can mix and match the pieces – pair the shorts with another top and the top with jeans and white birks or sneakers for a casual fit.

I will let you in on a secret… the length of the shirt covered the shorts in the back so it was much longer than I wanted. I ordered some hemming tape off of Amazon, rolled up the hem of the shirt to the height of the tape, and ironed it. It worked perfectly and you couldn’t even tell. Some reviews said the tape dissolved in the wash, which I was okay with because this was more of a temporary fix; However, I washed the outfit and everything stayed intact!

I still have a few summer posts to catch up on, so you may not see fall Inspo until mid October! I still need to re-arrange my closet and pull out my fall items anyway :). It’s such a project..

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Willamette Valley Wine

Two words: Pinot Noir. Ever since we went to Napa two years ago searching for Pinot Noir, we kept hearing Willamette Valley. The wine in Napa is amazing and it’s been one of my favorite trips so far. But when we had an opportunity to travel to Oregon for a friends wedding, we extended our trip to spend time in Willamette valley.

We first did a quick google search on the best Pinot Noir in Willamette Valley. One of the top three places was near our final destination on the coast. So we decided that would be the winery we’d visit and assumed we’d need to call and make a reservation. Then we shut the computer lid and never made a winery reservation, Lol!

We left Portland on a Sunday and drove about 30 mins to Willamette. Whichever route we took, had us driving through small suburbs and it was crazy at one point to think our ETA to vineyards was 10 mins and we’re passing a Chik-fil-A right now. Again, basing this off my trip to Napa.

We arrived in McMinnville and parked at Domaine Drouhin which is the winery we chose online. But, of course, on a Sunday during a pandemic, they were completely booked! We knewww we should have called and pre-arranged a tasting, but we didn’t. Oops. They were also booked up the following day, which we would have had an opportunity to pass through again on our way back to Portland for our red eye flight. So, okay, they’re booked, but there’s several wineries nearby so we just drove to a neighboring winery. Butttt they were booked all day Sunday, too!

So, omg, I start to panic (dramatic, I know). We were literally driving around and wineries had their numbers listed at the entrance. Finally, we found one that could get us in for a tasting if we could be there in 5 mins. Well lucky us, we will just drive down your entrance and be there in .5 seconds.

The winery was cute – it’s where the picture in front of wine barrels was taken but in the cluster of everything, I’m not even sure where we stopped! We ordered a charcuterie board with our wine and once we finished up, decided to keep heading to the coast. I called a few more wineries that looked pretty to make an appointment for Monday. We landed at Domaine Serene for Monday. It was suuuuper fancy. The views were a lot prettier on the terrace. The wine was delicious (but the pours were smallll ;)).

This dress is the perfect winery dress. The gingham print says picnic in the park. The rouching and ruffles are extremely flattering and the ties are adjustable. Be careful, the ties are a little difficult to keep even and look perfect. I paired with these white braided heels that are actually very comfortable. I do think the outfit was a little dressy for Oregon – it would be perfect in Napa. Oregon is more neutral tones. But I make an entrance. I’m so happy we were able to experience a very small part of Willamette.

Of course I wore this dress for both Sunday and Monday wine tastings 🙂 I originally saw this dress on Red Dress Boutique but it sold out before I could get my hands on it. I love the slimming rouching and ruffles of the dress. The ties on the shoulder make the dress adjustable, although, it’s harder to tie a pretty bow than you think, ha! I originally saw this dress on Red Dress Boutique but it was sold out before I could get my hands on it (linked on the LTK carousel above). I signed up for restock notifications but I found and purchased the exact dress from Avanti the label (Fourth or Fifth time I’ve mentioned this online boutique).

I’m so happy we had the opportunity to travel to Oregon and explore a small part of Willamette. I’d recommend to do your research and don’t forget to make a reservation to ensure you get into the wineries you want 🙂 xoxo

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