Banwood Balance Bike / My Tuckernuck Ruffled Dress (Runs large. Size down. I’m wearing an XS here. Also love this one, this one and this one!) / My Jack Rogers (Think cork is next on my list!) / Emma’s Shorts, Polo and Jack Rogers (Also on Nordstrom!)
Cute story for you today. (One that I feel like I may have told you before, but whatever. Telling you again. 💁)
Click or scroll down to view the video!
Pottery Barn Kids Crib, Dresser, Bookshelf and Play Kitchen / Pink Rug (Also love this one!) / Giraffe, Chicago Skyline, Seal and “Twinkle Twinkle” Prints c/o Minted / Pottery Barn Kids Crib Skirt, Changing Pad Cover, Quilt, Lowercase Letters / HomeGoods Laundry Basket
Mitch here!
Is it strange that I make feature-length videos of my kid on her birthday? Probs. But I really like doing it. So here we are!
If I learned anything from editing this video–aside from how destructive 100 gigabytes of 4k video can be to a laptop–it’s just how much can change in a year. In the below video, you’ll see Emma taking her first steps and learning to talk. You’ll also notice that she’s a complete goofball from an early age, and you’ll probably see how our house goes from “spick and span” to “complete disaster” within 12 short months. And if you watch closely, you’ll likely realize just how lucky this guy is.
Guys, I have a really fun feature for you today! Do you happen to remember this post about a Charleston beach day that Mitch and I had this past spring?
Well. Last week, I was tagged in this Instagram photo, and my jaw dropped. Like, what?!
Let me introduce you to my new friend Sydney Paulsen. Based out of Seattle, she runs the IG account @5hensandacockatiel, and she’s basically all my childhood dreams personified. 😉 Of course, after I saw the photo, I immediately messaged her to get her story because I was absolutely in awe of her work! (She’s also recreated photos of my friend Carly, which I’ve included at the bottom of this post. Ah-mah-zing.)
Club Monaco Dress (Last year’s version. I would go a size or two up. I’m wearing a 2 in the older version, but wish I’d gone with a 4! How sweet is this newer dress?!) / Kate Spade Pumps (Last year’s version.) / Similar Bags here, here, here and here — This one looks very much like the Chanel, and did you know that Shopbop carries gently loved Chanel bags?! Mine is pre-owned, too! This one’s my fave.
As I mentioned in last week’s Friday post, I’m slowly trying to overhaul Kelly in the City. I don’t want to change everything; I still want to feature fashion and whatnot. (Hence why this series still exists!) I just want to enjoy blogging again, and I want my site to reflect who I really am. I’m already happier in my little corner of the internet, and we’re only going into week 2 of “lifestyle blogging,” for lack of a better term! Excited to get some different posts–stuff I’ve been meaning to publish forever–up on the blog next week, too. :)
For now, though, let’s get to today’s musings, the week’s 10 most popular products, what I’m up to this weekend, and recent blog posts I hope you’ll check out.
Photo from this original post.
After Kate Spade’s tragic passing earlier this summer, I wrote this post. An abridged version actually appeared first in this Instagram, but because a good number of my readers don’t use IG, I put it up on the blog, too. In the piece, I said that I’d had a blog post about my battle with depression in my “drafts” folder for years. I also promised that I’d publish it in the near future in an effort to build awareness and understanding, to remind those who are suffering privately and in solitude that they aren’t alone, and to encourage them to seek help. So here we are.
Boden Retro Gingham Santorini Bathing Suit (On sale! Also love the Lands’ End Gingham Swimsuit, which is also on sale!) / Similar Sunglasses Here and Here
Did you see yesterday’s post? It went up late last night, but I’m sharing reader-recommended Ikea products and hacks!
What type of bathing suit are you most comfortable in? I’m a one-piece girl, and always have been–even in high school and college, when it was nearly impossible to find cute ones. For a long time, I attempted to embrace bikinis, especially during the height of their popularity. But every time I tried one, I ended up feeling like I was wearing my underwear in public. 🙈 I felt weird about my super-white stomach that was five shades lighter than the rest of my body, and I was constantly worried about sunburns.
Last week, while I was sick on the couch, I spent a good amount of time looking through magazines and catalogs–something I rarely do even though I love it. ;) It’s just so relaxing! Much like reading a book or watching a movie, it allows me to decompress and momentarily transport myself somewhere else. I actually have a stack of magazines and catalogs I’m been meaning to go through just sitting on my end table, and I recently realized that some are from 2016. I need to allow myself to sit down every once and a while and flip through ’em. 😂
Moving on. While I was sitting on the couch, the new Ikea catalog arrived. (Thanks, Rafael. Best mailman.) It’d been years since I’d received one, but I remember freaking OUT when I’d find it in my mailbox in New York. Over my years there, I lived in one impossibly small space after the next, the worst being a studio converted into a two-bedroom apartment. Yes. You read that correctly. :( If I stood in the middle of my room, I could touch both sides of it at the same time. It so small that I couldn’t fit a twin-sized bed, and therefore had to sleep on a futon mattress in a three-foot-high glorified cubby above the room. Can’t tell you how many times I smashed my head in the morning when my alarm went off, haha. Oh! And this was fun: the kitchen was in the four-foot hallway that lead to the bathroom, and the place was basically situated under the Queensboro Bridge, right down the street from a gentlemen’s club. Those were the days.
Tuckernuck Top (It also comes in white, navy and black. I’m wearing a size small here, and it’s perfect.) / Vineyard Vines Shorts c/o (Have you seen the new arrivals?!) / Everlane Sandals c/o / Emma’s Vineyard Vines Dress (Old, see newer Vineyard Vines dresses for girls here.) / Emma’s Jack Rogers (Only $35 right now!) / Sammy’s Cork Jack Rogers
We’re going with a bullet point-style point post today because I’m still recovering from our dear friends’ wedding that Mitch and I attended on Saturday and my brain is broken. 😉
^ Emma in the early hours of the morning, watching her favorite movie–clad in a Fourth of July dress, of course–with her sidekick.
Right now, the Larkins are “Little Mermaid”-obsessed. Actually, I should rephrase that: Emma is “Little Mermaid”-obsessed, and Mom and Dad are along for the ride. It feels like we’ve watched the movie hundreds of times at this point, and mermaids are worked into nearly every aspect of life. We talk about them on our walks, over dinner, we talk about them while we play. I really can’t guess how many times we’ve belted out the (wrong) lyrics to “Part of Your World,” and don’t even get me started on how confusing it is that all our dolls and stuffed animals have been renamed “Ariel.”
I NEED ARIEL!
Come on, Emma. Narrow it down just a little bit.
Lilly Pulitzer Bailor Dress (It was just pulled from the site, so it’ll likely be included in the upcoming After Party Sale. Everything you need about that here, along with a chance to win a $100 gift card. J.Crew also makes a VERY similar dress which is awesome and wrinkle-resistant. I also own the company’s sweater dress version because I apparently #cantstopwontstop with this style.) / Jack Rogers Sandals / Canon 5D Mark III (This is a GREAT alternative; nearly the same camera but lighter and far less expensive.) / 35mm f/1.4 vII Lens <– Best lens I’ve ever owned.
We’re back with another “Recent Finds,” along with musings, the week’s 10 most popular products, what I’m up to this weekend, and recent interesting blog posts.
