Embracing Other Styles

Reversible tote bag (Larger version, medium version) / Necklace / Sunglasses / First military jacket / Second military jacket (Which do you like better?! I couldn’t decide, so I kept them both, haha!) / Peplum top / Leopard heels (Similar here and here. And love the lace-up version! And swoon: I need this clutch!)

Oh my goodness. I had a very upsetting thing happen to me last night.

Before I start, though: I’m finally upholding my New Year’s Resolutions and experimenting with my personal style! (I wanted to do it sooner, but the baby bump was a little limiting in that department.) While you’ll likely still see a lot of preppy and classic looks on Kelly in the City (old habits die hard), my hope is to start featuring and intertwining other styles that I’ve been drawn to as of late. Are we friends on Pinterest? If so, you’ve probably noticed the crazy number of “Fall Fashion” pins that go up every day–and that they’re far from “preppy.” ;) I’m loving olive greens; black (gasp–not navy!); chunky, oversized sweaters; and all things easy, cozy and casual.

Before Emma, complicated outfits were doable. But now, I’m all about the simple.

Because of this shift in style (particularly in the handbag and accessories departments), I’ve been relying on Nordstrom. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s my #1 retailer, as the company offers free shipping and returns, stellar customer service, a ton of inventory, and the best handbags and accessories. And because I spend so much time on the couch feeding Emma these days, one of my favorite things to do is surf the new arrivals. It’s how I fell in love with the super affordable “Street Level” line of reversible tote bags as well as B.P. and Carlson. Definitely give those brands a look: they’re my three faves this season!

Anyway, back to the upsetting thing: My iPhone seemingly deleted all my photos and videos last night.

Now, I don’t have the best record with technology. When I was in college, I lost my entire music collection when my computer died, and then spent a solid year rebuilding it. The year after that? I up and lost it again. Back when I wanted to be a novelist, I lost over 150 pages of a story I’d been working on when my hard drive bit it. (Double-spaced, but still.) And I can’t even count how many cell phones I’ve killed. They’ve slid into toilets, they’ve committed suicide, and they’ve literally gone up in flames. (I thought it would be a good idea to “dry out” a wet cell phone by putting it in the toaster oven for a few minutes. It was working, too, until a piece of cheese dripped onto it and caught fire. RIP, Flip Phone.)

Taking all of this into consideration, I really should have listened to my husband and backed up my phone when I had my daughter. (There. I said it, Mitch. You were right!) But I didn’t, because I’m Kelly Larkin, and I never back up anything. And yes, my refusal to back up my iPhone is the reason I ended up sobbing on the couch last night. All the photos of Emma. All the videos of Emma. Lost. Gone. Finito. I couldn’t stop crying.

Complete and utter devastation.

Long story short, Mitch somehow got the photos and videos back because he’s Superman, and we’re currently backing up my library (all 18,000+ photos/videos) two different ways. Hallelujah! And hallelujah for you guys, too. Because if we hadn’t been able to recover them, I would have cried to you every day on this blog for… a long time. ;)

Okay! So if you’re like I am and refuse to back up your stuff, stop being stubborn and just do it. iCloud and Google Photos are both excellent options, and they’re really cheap!

Over and out…