Sail Your Way Out of the Winter Blues! How to Wear Nautical Inspired Looks in Winter!

Hey Ladies!

If you've been following me for a while, you know I love anything and everything nautical. Navy blue is my signature color, and I love the beach and water, (Aries here!), so it makes perfect sense. When I think of nautical style, I think of spring, summer, and the beach. I think of boats, docks, and water. I certainly do not think about the dreary days in the dead of winter. Today I was going on a lunch date with my husband, and I wanted to perk up my mood a little by wearing a favorite style of mine, and remind myself of the sunshiny days of summer.

However, it can be tricky to pull off a nautical inspired look in the fall and winter months. Aside from donning a beautiful pea coat, or a Vineyard Vines "Shep" shirt (which are my favorite casual wear sweatshirts in the cooler months) most nautical looks are very spring and summer-ish. Bright whites and blues, boat shoes, anchor details, and so on.

Today we're going to talk about ways to make nautical inspired styles work for your winter wardrobe. The easiest solution is to layer your outfit. One of my favorite things about fall and winter clothing looks are layers. I love texture and definition in an outfit. Something that is a little trickier to pull off in the warmer months, especially for someone like me, who always runs hot!

You might not think layering a button up shirt under a long sleeve t-shirt can work, but I assure you, it can! I am in love with this striped shirt from J Crew. I am a Breton striped shirt hoarder. I love stripes (yes, even though I'm curvy) and could pretty much wear them every day. I have so many striped shirts; they're a favorite of mine, but this one brings something completely different to the table!

The details and what sets this shirt apart from all the other stripes in my closet, are in the sleeves and hem. I love the pop of red and the anchor buttons! I chose to wear them unbuttoned for this look, because I wanted to show off the anchor detail on the oxford shirt I wore underneath. 

I wore my cherished vintage anchor statement necklace. My husband bought me this necklace for my birthday at a thrift store in New York City a few years ago. Whenever I wear it, I am reminded of that trip and the adventure we had. The navy in the stripes accentuates the navy anchors on my oxford shirt. 

Keeping with theme, I wore these little anchor stud earrings I grabbed for an incredible bargain at Forever 21 many years ago. 

It was a wickedly windy and blustery day here in my neck of the woods, and I chose to add a J Crew Factory puffer vest, in navy, on top for an additional layer of warmth. 

I wore my beloved Sebago "Bala" boat shoes to keep the nautical theme going. Typically, boat shoes are reserved for the warmer months as well, but they've become such a raging trend in recent years that they are pretty much a year round footwear choice now. If you don't like the look of boat shoes in the cooler months, you could wear something that suits you better. "Whatever floats your boat" (see what I did there). You don't want to wear boat shoes during inclement weather. These shoes by Sebago are suede and in fact, very warm. 

So if there is a warm weather trend you love, don't let the dreary days of winter sway you from making it work!

That's all for today!
Love,
Kate

Shop!

J Crew Grosgrain Ribbon Stripped T-Shirt with Nautical Buttons

Available in limited sizes, but check J Crew out for other nautical inspired shirts! 

Click here to shop J Crew Factory Puffer Vests 

Sebago "Bala" Boat Shoes

A Whole Lot of Love in a Gorgeous Pink Box! Curvy Gurl Box and a Journey to Love and Acceptance

Hey Ladies!

"New year, new me", right? I had an epiphany this New Year, I thought, what if I just focus on loving myself more, accepting myself more, and just let all of my other goals fall into place with that mindset and new idea leading them?

We are so hard on ourselves in just about every aspect of life. What if we just took a deep breath, looked at life for the journey that it really is: curves, bumps in the road, highs, lows (on the scale and otherwise), and everything in between. It's a journey, we don't want to miss out on the journey because we're so focused on the end game. Let's look at ourselves through loving and kind eyes. One of my new years resolutions this year is to tell myself one good thing about myself every single day. It's so easy to become consumed with our shortcomings and flaws, always thinking about where we are lacking. For me, that ends this year!

If you think this sounds like an amazing idea, but maybe need a little help on your journey to self love, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Curvy Gurl Box. I was so blessed to discover their Instagram account which you can find here or by searching CurvyGurlBox on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. Prepare to be overwhelmed with messages of self love, confidence building quotes and messages, and just LOVE all around. So. Much. Love. It's become my daily dose of happy.

A little about the mission of Curvy Gurl Box:

"Curvy Gurl Box is a subscription box dedicated to empowering, encouraging and inspiring curvy, plus size and larger women.

Each month you will receive products that are selected just for you. Each monthly box will have a fun theme and be filled with items that encourage you to LOVE YOURSELF."

Just how did Curvy Gurl Box come to fruition? It's a beautiful story and inspired me so much! "One night I had a long talk with myself and came to the realization that I had spent all of my adult life hating my body.  I had what Oprah might describe as an "Aha" Moment.  I decided right then and there that I would stop hating my body and stop letting that hate determine how I live my life. This decision felt life changing. I wanted to share it with others; along came Curvy Gurl Box.
Curvy Gurl Box came to me almost in a dream.  The idea felt almost too perfect, too amazing, too "Nirvana."  A box that encourages plus size women to love their bodies at every size. Curvy Gurl Box floats on cloud 9; in a dream world where we are allowed to be curvy, fat, plus size, thick, big and embrace it."

So inspirational, right? Doesn't that make you want to follow her lead? Don't you just feel like it's time to rise up, stand UP against what society tells us we should be, what we should look like? That we NEED to be a certain size to look and feel normal. That you're just not enough if you aren't this or that? How liberating would it be to just LOVE who you are, right this moment. Right now. You can love yourself right this moment and still have goals. For years I've been telling myself, if I just lose (insert pounds here) I"ll be happy. If I just get down to (insert size here) I'll be done; I'll feel good. If I just tone up (insert body part here) I'll look so much better. Well that ends now. I'm going to love myself right now, curves and all. I'm going to love the journey, wherever it takes me. Happiness and completion no longer lie at the summit for me, it's in the climb.

I just received my first Curvy Gurl Box in the mail. I told my husband, "It's like a pretty pink box full of happiness!" And it truly is.

It's the January box, and the theme of this box is New Years Resolution Remix! The box itself, as mentioned above, is so beautiful. It really feels like you're getting a present in the mail! Because you absolutely are. What better present can you give yourself on this journey to self love? 

So on to the box! First of all, everything is packaged so beautifully. 

I literally said out loud, "No, thank YOU!"

This lovely high quality rose gold envelope, which could be re-purposed for any number of things, held a description and walk through of the gifts I was receiving in this months box and several amazing coupons to stores and websites that are new to me!  

Sparkles!

There is a lovely card inside that explains the theme of the box and a breakdown of every gift inside. 

"Be Inspired with FabUPlus magazine". Already this box is bringing new and good things into my life! Where has this magazine been all my life? I wish I would have had this when I was younger, but I'm so grateful to have it now. What a beautiful magazine with gorgeous photos and inspiring stories. And zero ads drowning me in self doubt and making me feel less than. 

"Enjoy More 'Me Time'". Okay I am a self proclaimed bath product addict. So I was elated to see that I received two amazing bath bombs that smell like heaven!

 

And this rosemary and lavender eye pillow. As a busy mom of two, it can be really hard to carve out some time in my day for just myself. These two products will remind me to do just that. You have to take care of yourself if you want to take care of others. Side note: When I opened this months box I was overwhelmed with the lovely scents that just billowed out at me. Pamper shesh here I come! 

"Life's Short: Eat the Cake" Florida is my happy place, so this Dockside Cake "A Taste of the Florida Keys" was an extra special treat for me! So often we deprive ourselves, thinking that will get us closer to whatever goal it is we hope to achieve. In the past, for me personally, complete deprivation always leads to a failed attempt at whatever impossible thing I was trying to obtain. This is a little reminder that life is short, and again, it's about the journey, not the end game. So have a piece of cake! 

"Sparkle All Day". I love sparkle! One of my favorite quotes is, "Never let anyone dull your sparkle". I did once, let someone dull my sparkle that is. I overcame that and swore never again. These two gifts are a reminder to me, of where I came from and where I'm never going again! 

Seriously, mermaids are pretty much my favorite thing of all the things! Rose gold is so on trend and I can't wait to wear these sparkly gems! The photo really does not do them justice, they are so beautiful!

As I said, the packaging is so lovely, it really is like opening a gift someone put together for you with the utmost love and care in mind. 

This is officially my new favorite mug! I always have a cup of coffee in my hand because I am one tired mama. I know this mug will make me smile every time I use it. 

"Read a Good Book". I've already started reading this book. I am obsessed and I can't put it down. The author, Jes Baker, has written it so wonderfully. It's as if you are talking to a friend. I love books like that. Especially for me, I'm a stay at home mom and I don't always get to have long conversations with friends. Well this is just that. It's real talk. It's hilarious and it's heartwarming. This is a gift that will keep on giving. I'm so thankful to Curvy Gurl Box for this book. It's not a book I would have found on my own and I couldn't be more happy it's come into my life through my pink box of happiness! 

A description of the book! Click the photo to enlarge. 

Do you want the gift of Curvy Gurl Box in your life? The theme of next months box is "Heart of Gold: Love Yourself". I CANNOT wait to see that gorgeous pink box in the mail next month! But for now, I'm off to pamper myself with my gifts from this month! 

Click here to order your very own Curvy Gurl Box! They have very generously provided a coupon code to all of my fabulous readers. Just use code Classically20 at checkout to receive 20% off your order! 

That's all for today ladies! 

Love, 

Kate

All thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog post are genuine and 100% my own.