Hi, friends. Welcome to the Life with Loverly podcast. I’m Brittany, a wife, mom, and lifestyle entrepreneur here to help you discover your best daily style and encourage you to try new things when getting dressed each day. I took a tiny following on social media and turned it into a community of over one million amazing women, and I am so glad you’re here. I’ll be sharing my heart with you beyond the 15 seconds on Instagram, so we’ll be diving into things like personal growth, friendships, motherhood, marriage, and of course, the business of blogging. Really, this space is here to serve as your go-to resource to building a life you adore while sprinkling some kindness to others along the way. Grab an iced coffee and let’s do life together. I’m Brittany, and this is the Life With Loverly podcast. Hi, friends. Welcome back to the Life with Loverly Podcast. Today’s episode is one of those conversations that will leave you feeling inspired, grounded, and maybe even a little more stylish. I’m sitting down with Karina, fashion blogger, content creator, and the heart behind Karina’s style diaries. You might know her for her effortless outfits and beautiful reels, but what you might not know is the incredible story that shaped the woman behind the feed. Karina is originally from Brazil. She moved to the States for love and built a fashion platform while juggling motherhood, a part-time job, and get this, getting fired from her stylist role at Saks because her blog was growing too fast. She’s walked through cancer, grief, and a daughter’s recovery from addiction. And through it all, she’s stayed grounded in faith and full of grace. In this episode, we talk about how she started sharing just for fun, what it’s really like to keep creating through hard seasons, her current favorite wardrobe staples, and the content strategy she swears by. It’s real, it’s rich, and it’s such a great reminder that there’s always more happening behind the highlight reel. From sax styling to starting over, to content creation and motherhood, Karina’s story is layered with beauty, grit, and grace. Here’s my conversation with Karina. Hi, friends. Welcome back to today’s episode of the Life with Loverly podcast. I am so honored to have a special guest in the studio today. Not very often do my guests come to the studio to interview, so I’m very excited to introduce you guys to Karina from Karina Style Diaries. How are you?

I’m good. I am the one who’s so honored to be here. Thank you for having me.

Yes. I feel like this conversation is going to be so great. I know our listeners are going to love to get to know you on a deeper level. I’ve got to tell our listeners really fast how excited my mom is to know that we know each other in real life. She’s always like, “Did you see what Karina posted? Did you see this real?” I love how she wore this. So she’s truly your number one fan.

No, we were talking behind the scenes. I’m like, “Am I going to get to meet your mom?”

No, she is so sad. She’s out of town this week.

Oh, bummer.

But we’re just going to have to make it work another time, which I know she will.

Yes, I’ll have to come back.

Exactly. You have to come back. Okay, so you recently took a trip to Italy. Yeah. How was that?

That was incredible, truly. Yes. One of the best. I honestly, Italy was not on my top at five because I just hear so much. I feel like I’ve been there totally so much. So I’m like, oh, I don’t know if I need to go. Oh my gosh, totally need to go. My travel agent was like, there’s a reason why there’s so much hype. It’s because it’s so good. I know. Even my husband was like, at the end, he texted me. We were in the airport doing different things, and he’s like, thank you so much for bringing this up and making me come.

Making this happen.

Yes, it was incredible. Have you been?

We went for our one-year anniversary. We did a few different spots. We did Lake Como, Florence, Rome, and on the coast a little bit. I mean, Chris and I talk about wanting to go back at least twice a year. We’re like, “Gosh, we really should go back to Italy.”

You do.

We just haven’t made it a priority yet.

It’s hard, especially with littles and all of that.

Yeah. What was your favorite date while y’all were there?

People are asking me this and we both laugh because the places are so different from one another. They’re so unique. I mean, I loved. Rome is just very like Roman empire. So just to think that this was alive 3000 years ago. It’s just insane. But we love Florence was very unique, beautiful, the heart and everything. But the coast was Amalfi and Sorrento is just breathtaking. Everywhere you look, it’s Instagramable.

Yes, it truly is.

It’s just literally when I walk around with your phone, I’m going to have to hold myself like, “Hey.”

Well, let me experience this too.

Exactly. Yes.

I know. Well, I feel like that’s kind of a hard part of our job is we are so used to taking photos of everything and it’s like we want to share everything that we see. And sometimes I’m like, “Okay, but what do you see? What do you want to remember from your memories of this?”

We need to live in the moment a little. Yes. Which is hard. It is. We have made kind of a thing to go out for our anniversary, and I try to get all the things that I can during the day and then just experience just snap photos and not worry about editing or posting. And then at night when Brian’s asleep, that’s when I’m posting, which is crazy because he wakes up refreshed and ready for the day. And then I’m like, “Oh my God.” I’ve been working until 1:00 AM. Yeah.

I know. And the time difference too. I remember I would set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night over there to post at times that were good for me to post here.

Oh, it’s crazy. Yes. 9:00 PM is 3:00 AM that time. I’m like, “I can’t.”

Some of the stuff, I look back on the early days where I was just getting into influencing and I felt like I really had to show up for my community in a certain way. And I look back and I’m like, “Wow, I cannot believe I was waking up at 3:00 AM to make sure that they got their post for the morning at their time this, but it’s all worth it.”

I mean, it is. And we learn and I still feel like I do some things that I’m like, “Why? Why am I doing this?”

I know. It’s so true.

It’s just time and maturing, I guess.

Very true. I loved the series you did with the 14 days of outfits for traveling. I felt like that was so helpful for people who can always refer back to that when you’re traveling. It was just so smart.

To be honest, this was helpful for me to pack because I literally packed every single one of the outfits. So it was almost like I was curating my suitcase. It’s so true. And it worked out. I wanted to have a few that were a surprise effect that I haven’t worn yet. But it’s nice. People like to see us repeating outfits. They like to see us wearing it on our real life. So that was awesome.

Well, and being able to see how you realistically get all of that in a suitcase or here’s how we’re going to repurpose these pants. I wore them twice with this shirt and this shirt or whatever. So I feel like just that visual was super cool to watch. And then I was like, wait, I can’t wait to see where she’s wearing that on her trip.

Yes. That’s the point. I’m glad that you got it. I’m like, get people excited. So what’s next?

Yeah. So true. Yay. Okay. So you’re originally from Brazil. Yes. Talk to us about your upbringing there.

Completely different than here. It was definitely a cultural shock, but we do have a lot of American influence as far as movies and music. So I grew up listening to music from here, even Europe too, and shows and everything too. But it was just a normal childhood. I loved going out, playing out on the streets, going out on summer break. I would literally go out of the house and not come back until 9:00 PM. Did you guys do that here too?

Yes.

These things are so cool.

It would be like my parents would just be like, “Dinner.”

Yeah, exactly. By the way, out of the window.

Neighborhood, somewhere

We would come. And all the kids were like, “Come out at once.” Yes. Oh my gosh, I love that that’s similar to. I just feel so nostalgic and a little sad that our kids don’t really experience a lot of that. I know. We now live in a lake, and so my kids were able to experience the water a lot, which that made me happy. But outside of that, it was not. That’s what I remember the most about growing up, just being free, not scared of going places, just enjoying life. Yes.

Yeah, that’s great. When did you move to the US and what brought you here?

So I was a flight attendant in Brazil.

Cool.

Yeah. And then I wanted to get my English really good, so I was able to do some flights, international flights. So I had the opportunity of coming here as an au pair. You know what that is?

Yes. Yes.

So I was an au pair for this family. And then I met my husband a month before I was supposed to go back to Brazil. He is 16 years older than me. I don’t know if a lot of people know this.

I think I remember you telling me that when we were talking at dinner once.

Yes. So I never thought that anything was going to happen. I’m like, “This is way too far of a gap.” But he thought the same thing. He’s like, “Let’s just have some fun. I got some dinners and this and that.” But really, we just connected so well. And he’s like, “Why don’t you just stay here for a little longer before you go back to Brazil and just enjoy some time off?” And at that time, the Brazilian aviation, they were all having a crisis, and so I wouldn’t have my job back. I’m like, “Yeah, I’ll just hang out here for a little bit.” And I applied for an extension of visa. And while I waited for that process, I couldn’t leave the country, which it took them six months to respond. And so I remember getting a response on New Year’s Eve saying, “It’s fine the time that you stay here, but you were not granted an extension. You need to leave.” And so they gave me 45 days to leave. And I told Brian, “Okay, so you’re either going to marry me or I’m leaving because I’m not going to stay here.” And so that was when we decided.

Oh my gosh.

I mean, we had lived together for six months. We’re like, “I think this will be forever.”

Oh my goodness. And how long have y’all been married now?

21 years. Wow. That’s what we just celebrated in June.

That’s so amazing.

It is.

I feel like a lot of people come from Brazil as au pairs.

Really? Here? Yeah, I think so.

I feel like that’s a popular –

It’s a really big thing for European countries, for girls, because a lot of my group had a lot of European girls, but one Brazilian. But I guess there is. I don’t know. Yeah.

Yeah. I’ve known a few Brazilians here who have been au pairs or that’s how they came. And then maybe they became a teacher, did something else afterwards. But I always think that’s such a fascinating process too.

It is. And it’s good because it was after high school, so you still have a chance to come and get some college credits and experience the culture, which that’s the biggest thing. Totally. Just to live with one American family and experience that’s a cultural exchange program for people that are not in their 18 or 17 high school age. So that was a great opportunity to have. Yes.

No kidding. Okay. I want to switch to Karina Style Diaries and talk a little bit about the formation of your blog and your Instagram presence. So before you started, you were a stylist at Saks, and then you just started sharing fines just for fun, but it really resonated with people. What was that initial growth like?

So I actually had a blog before Karina Style Diaries that was called Moda Indie, because I’m from Indianapolis. And I started that with a friend of mine, Brazilian also, just to kind of talk about the Indianapolis fashion scene. And then after a year, there’s no Indianapolis fashion scene. At least there wasn’t one. I’m like, “What are we going to be talking?” So I just found myself giving styling tips. And my friend was on the back because she’s more of an editor, journalist. And I’m like, “Well, we got nothing to talk about. There’s no events, there’s nothing happening.” And so about that same time, 2012 was when my husband moved to Vail, moved us all to Vail to build a house there. He built a few houses in Colorado. And so I left. So at that point I was working at Saks already, so I was documenting my outfits on the Moda Indie. And then we moved to Vail, Colorado. And I’m like, “Well, let’s just part ways and I’m going to start something on my own.” And that was when Karina Sayadari started because I was just in the mountains doing absolutely nothing. I’m just going to be wearing. So I got a job and a boutique and I started sharing the outfits there, started a YouTube channel to share beauty tips that I was learning on the go to, just like, let’s just be here learning together. And then when we went back to Indie, I went back to work for Saks. And then since I already had my blog, but my blog was before Instagram really. It was just my way. Did you two or no?

I started in 2015.

Okay. So you were like-

A little later. But I do remember it was more like you were finding people on Pinterest and then finding their blogs. Instagram wasn’t used that way.

No, no.

Yeah.

It’s funny because I used to use Instagram for. I was private and I used to post my photos in there and use those awful filters, remember? Yes. And then save the photo just to post on my blog. I didn’t even post it.

That was the editing tool. Yes. Can you believe that? The names of some of those filters. Valencia was mine. The black and white ones. Oh my gosh. I mean, there’s so many. I feel like some of them are still on. You can still see them on Instagram.

I think it’s kind of like having a comeback with a Tezza ads. Sometimes I like some vibey things too, but I’m like, just to think that we were showing our outfits, how can people even see that with the heavy filters like that?

Truly. Or the shadows were so thick on your face. It’s like, this isn’t really. Beautiful. People can’t really tell what they’re looking at here. Self-flattering. No. Yes. Yes. Oh my goodness. What caused you to leave Saks and go full-time with this?

So it came to a point that Saks was. Now I had transitioned into makeup at that point, and I was working for Chanel, so it was my dream counter. It was a multimillion dollar counter, but I was so unhappy. I would come into work and people were already in a bad mood. So I’m just like, “This is really contagious and I need to be around people that are happy and positive.” So it was almost like I would go in there and be like, “Oh, dreading.” And then I started posting things that I had that I could afford at that point, which was a lot of Forever 21, Target. And Saks was like, “Well, this is becoming a conflict of interest.” And I’m like, “But I’m not posting Saks and I can post you guys if you let me try.” And sometimes I would do, I would go in a fitting room and try some things on, but they were like, “Yeah, you have to pick either stay here or go.” And I’m so glad that I left because I did not know. I made no money, but I’m like, “You know what? I just have to give this a try.” And so at that point, I found a job as an assistant teacher in my kids’ school, and the hours were so much better. On weekends, I was going to school with them and picking them up, bringing them home. It was just the best scenario. The pay was outrageous. It was like $11 an hour. But I had great benefits. So Brian was like, “That’s fine with me. I want you to be home more. Just get the benefits,” because he’s also a business owner, so it’s hard for private insurance and all of that. So then I decided to give this a try and I would work during the day at the school and then would come home and shoot content and post a work in the weekends too. But I was working for me. And I started making a little bit of commission on LTK, still dabbling my feet here and there, trying to figure out what sold were the brands that were good to promote. I got a ton of gifting from people that I had no idea what to do. So I would be styling things for free. I know. Weren’t even things that I wanted. I was just like, “I’m trying to make this a thing.” So I kept on doing that for a while. And I remember starting meeting people at that point. I would get a sick day and then go to a brunch with some of the girls in Indy. At that point we had Holly and Sarah lived in Indie, Jordan, and Kathleen and Beth were my first. Well, Kathleen was really my first friend in the industry there, and she was also trying to make it at that point. We’re all trying to figure out the business. And then later on we met Beth, and then some more of influencer events were starting to happen in town. So I would go to those. And it came a point that my husband, after hearing all the girls, he said, “If you don’t give this a try,” because I really desperately wanted to quit the job, but I didn’t want to work for insurance. I’m like, “I’m going to work and then make all this money that I’m making is going to be directly for insurance.” And he’s like, “Well, if you don’t try, you’re never going to know.” True. And that’s when I decided to quit the school job and then give this a try. But then that’s where it gets funny or interesting. I decided to leave the school in 2018. So at the end of the school year, so around May, and we were going to start summer. I had all these plans in mind. I’m going to do all kinds of things and be full on. And then I found a lump on my breast. And then I’m like, “Well, just go check it out.” I never thought anything of it. So I told the principal I have this appointment, this and that. So came back positive for breast cancer. And I had just put in my notice that I was leaving. So she was really awesome because she could have just let me go and then I would have no insurance for this process. But she’s like, “Let’s just wait until school comes back and then I’ll put in your notice.” And I said, “Okay.”

So nice.

Things just went. Yeah. From then on, it was May, then I had my double mastectomy in July of that same, two months later. And then during the whole. So I just remember being a blur of things. This is my first few months of doing this full-time, and now I just had surgery. I saw all my friends going to Nordstrom sale. I had things coming out of my body. I just remember my mom came to stay with us so I could work a little bit. And I felt good. I felt fine. It was just a matter of I’ve had little cables coming out of me. So I did some graphics and things like this. That was my first official Nordstrom collages. This coat is amazing. Made a few hundred bucks, which I thought it was amazing because I didn’t even go to the store, didn’t buy anything. I’m like, “This is a thing.” Great. “I made a whole $10 an hour here from home.” I mean, it’s so cool to think how far we can come.

It really is crazy.

It is crazy. So that year kind of went as a blur. I just was trying to recover, just deal with all of this and results back of am I going to have to do chemo? And that was my biggest prayer that I wouldn’t look sick for my kids, that I just wanted to be healthy and looking healthy and positive because I feel like they feed off of our attitude. So if we are down, they’re going to be down. Totally. So I’m like, “This is going to be fine. Mom’s just going to be sick for a while, but it’s going to be okay.” And we kind of ran with that, and that was great. So when it came around Thanksgiving, I remember having my final surgery. I mean, the timings were just North Brazil, Black Friday. So I had my final surgery, my final reconstructive surgery. And then I hired somebody, a virtual assistant to help me with the Black Friday things. And that was on that time, we were able to go up a thousand percent from the previous year on sales. And I was like, “This is incredible.” And I did go on some brand trips, just got to know my. I met Liz Adams and Kathy Williamson on a McKenzie Childs trip, and they were talking about a state five, which is our agency. And I was just like, “Oh, this sounds amazing. I hate doing invoicing.” And I was doing all of my own. I hate doing invoicing. I hate looking at contracts. I’m signing my life away and have no idea that I’m doing this. It’s just like you don’t know.

Hopefully they’re not –

I don’t know what I’m signing, but-

Hopefully everybody’s going to be like –

Hopefully I’m going to become this massive influencer. They’re going to use my image to sell their deodorant. So I did some things like that. And so it all sounded so good. So I used all of that information of going up my sales and everything to pitch myself to Estate Five. At that point, I knew I wanted to have an agent and I interviewed a few people and they seemed to be the right fit. And we’ve been together since then. 2019 is when I sign up, signed in with them in January, and we’re still together.

They’re so amazing.

They are. Total game changer.

I feel like y’all’s kind of indie group of influencers, so many of those girls are with Estate Five too.

I was a pioneer and I’m like, “You guys, you have to get into with that agency.” And everybody was like –

I know.

It was kind of like a little line.

Trickle down.

Yes, everybody. So it was great.

I know. I think y’all have such a great community.

We do.

It’s not too many people, but it’s like everybody’s got their niche, but some crossover. Y’all all compliment each other really well. It just seems like such a great, just a group of influencers and creators.

A lot of people say this when we go out and twist and things like this, like, “You guys are so lucky.” And it’s so true. There’s no competition. It just feels like, honestly, I feel like without them, I would’ve not been where I am. And I’m not giving them all the credit, but I’m just saying I just learned so much from them. We had no idea what we were doing back in the beginning. And so they inspired me to no end. Beth Chappell, she started doing this. She quit her corporate job. She was six figures to do this as a single mom. And to me, and I would tell Brian this, that she was in pharmaceuticals. She was making sales. She was making banging and she’s actually quit to do this. So that kind of started opening his mind to the possibility too. Yes, we’re very blessed to have such a great community there.

It’s funny, going back to, you mentioned how in another podcast, my Chris was like, “You’re leaving this job.” And I oftentimes think about how, because I didn’t really know where this would go, I didn’t really inform him as much on like, “Oh, hey, I just made $500 this week from this commission.” And so then to me, I knew it was possible, but he wasn’t super aware of the potential and what I’d already been bringing in. And so it seemed like such a crazy idea to him when I was like, “I really think I can make this something.” And he’s like, “From what? There’s literally…” Because I had this whole separate bank account that I would just put-

Put it in there.

Money in and then use that to fund the business. And so then I feel like I was like, “Oh, well, I guess maybe I should be informing you on this.”

Yes. No, I heard you saying this in the podcast and I feel the same way. And to this day, Brian says, “I wish you would’ve showed me the things that you were selling.” But I also didn’t know. And I’m like, I was just so. I don’t know.

I don’t know. Is it going to be something?

Exactly. And it’s just something that I can rely on every week or every month. I feel like you’re way more business savvy than I was. I was just kind of like, I love fashion, have always done. I went to school for fashion design and I’m like, “I just want to live my dream. And if I can make a little money here, great.” But now it’s completely different. And he does say, “I wish that you were more, you told me about it more.” But we would go out, and still to this day when we go out with other husbands too, he’s always asking about the business aspect. And a lot of the guys are involved. Chris, Brian is more of my, I won’t say my accountant. He does work closely with my accountant, but he’s more of like, I mean, he’s in the payroll, but he’s not my, you know what I mean? He’s one of my employees, but really he has his own thing.

I know. Oh my goodness. It’s crazy. And there’s so many things like would’ve, shoulda, coulda. I mean, there’s always going to be that like, “Oh, I should have done it this way.” But I think what is so great about this is there’s so much opportunity for growth and to try something. And if it didn’t work that way, then let’s try it another way next time.

Exactly. I mean, so fast-paced that things are like, well, the mistake we made last week is not even relevant. It’s completely forgotten by Apple. But that’s the thing too. It’s an ever-changing industry and it just keeps us on our toes. Don’t you feel like that? Truly. When I finally feel like I mastered something, I’m like, okay, I feel really good about this. I got my pictures looking the way I want. Oh, no pictures anymore. We’re all transitioning to video. Oh my gosh. And same thing. I got a series that I love. Okay. So there’s always something new. I know. Which I think it’s good for our brains, but it can be exhausting.

Right. Well, and you have to really be willing to be agile.

And experiment with things, right?

Yeah. Because some people who I feel like maybe don’t like that, people who don’t like change or change doesn’t work well for them, you do have to be a little bit more open-minded on like, “Okay, let’s adjust.” But it is wild. I mean, especially just we’ve rely so heavily on Instagram and some of these social platforms.

It’s almost crippling too, isn’t it? I feel like that sometimes. Remember when they were having those outages that would be like, “Instagram, it’s not working.” I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I have ads to post. Our livelihoods depend on an app.”

Right. That’s kind of a – It is kind of wild.

Yeah, it is.

And then I would always try to be like, “Well, this isn’t like brain surgery. No one’s dying because I can’t get on the internet Ttoday.”

Exactly.

But then it feels like all this hard work that we’ve built, it’s okay to be like, “Ah, what is happening?” A little frustrated there.

Yes. But I also think too that now we have so many more options on apps and things like that. Just going back to that, that I feel like the business is changing again, don’t you? Yes. Maybe longer form. Are you on Substack at all?

I haven’t gotten on Substack yet.

We’re starting to dabble in there because that’s just a new thing. I mean, I know there’s something new.

No, it’s always something. I feel like I didn’t even really get on TikTok. We do post videos on TikTok, but I don’t even have – You don’t even know like the – It’s not even on my phone. I love that, that you’re taking one.

It’s hard. And I’m so hard on delegating things too. To get things done the way that I want is so hard that I end up doing it myself and just burning out. So it’s being kind of freeing. I’ve been better at it, but still, sometimes one of my girls will post something that I’m like, “Are you kidding me? Don’t you see how I post? Are you watching even my stuff? I don’t post like this.” And so frustrating things like this, which at the end of the day is on me because I’m not communicating the way that I’m. And I feel like that a lot. I expect people to basically read my mind.

How many times Meg is in the background literally like, “Oh my gosh, this is It’s a confrontation.

Really?

They have behind the scenes probably all the time.

Can’t you just read her mind? No, but I’m like, I just feel like we are in the flow of things and I need to just realize that no, they can’t. And I need to be very specific on how I want.

I know. I even feel that way sometimes with Chris. I’m like, why can’t you just know this is what I was expecting? So when we got married, there wasn’t a mind reading part of this that we signed up for.

But I’ve been doing this for so long, don’t you know? No, I don’t.

I know. I have a few girls who have been with me for a while that I’m like, they can pretty much read my mind. That’s awesome. They’re closest to probably being like, she’s going to go with this.

Yes.

But it is really hard to delegate, especially because this is not like we’re owning a boutique where it’s like, here’s the processes and procedures. This is what works for us. I will tell you about them and you can make it happen. It is our life. And so –

And your brand. Yeah. We made from nothing.

Right.

Just the thought of it is wild. I built this from scratch. I had no idea what I was doing. I have no business degree. Came from Brazil and hey, here we are.

I know. And I feel like I always have to remember to give myself grace, give the people who are supporting me grace, and set them up with teachable moments that are like, okay. I always say nothing you could post is going to be a fireable offense. I mean, hopefully. But I mean, if I see something that I’m like, hey, I try to use it as a teaching moment. This is fine for now, but next time I probably would’ve gone with this font or I would’ve said it this way and here is the why and teach them.

I love that you’re saying this because I feel the same way. It’s something as the font. That’s not the way that I do. But I agree with the posting too. Sometimes I’m like, I’m not on my phone. And you know you can post things. I don’t need to approve every single thing or else I could have done myself. So just do it. Just take and run with it please.

I know. I know. It’s like this fine line between like, oh yay, I have help. Okay, you run with these responsibilities, but then also wanting to be like, let me just make sure. I’m like, okay, I trust this person for a reason.

I think we all run into this as the creatives of this thing.

Well, the things that I think you don’t even know that’s going to be something you’re going to deal with when you- when I started this, I was like, this is just a hobby for fun. Never in my mind did I think I would be managing multiple people.

Yes.

And it’s just been so wild.

Yeah, we have so many little things that are happening during the day that people, I heard you talking about it on this podcast too, that people ask, “What do you even do?” And when I had a full-time assistant that would come to the house and they were like, “What do you even do there?” They don’t realize that there’s so much to do and it’s never ending. Oh my goodness. I know. You don’t finish the thing. It’s always filing up. And it’s hard to tell people and explain all the little things and decisions.

So much. There’s so much decision fatigue that happens.

Oh, so much.

And I feel like even-

Even shopping, don’t you think? You’re shopping for things that you don’t want to feature the same thing over and over. But then again, you want to feature things that will resonate with your audience and that would sell too. And so there’s just so many things that go into account what you’re making. And yeah, decision fatigue is such a thing.

And then I feel like I’ll be with Chris or he’ll be like, “So what do you want for dinner?” And I’m like, “Just please pick something. I don’t even care.”

Yes, I don’t want to decide.

I don’t even know what the. And we would have to be like, “Okay, so instead of asking what you want for dinner, give me two options and be like, it’s either this or this.” And then that’s an easier decision to make.

Yes. Okay. On this, Brian used to come when I had my office in the house. 5:00, 6:00 PM, he would open the doors like, “So what’s for dinner?” And I got so angry one time. I’m like, “Why don’t you tell me what’s for dinner? Because I’ve been here working my off and can you make that decision? Can you actually…” And the thing of it is, it’s not that he was expecting me. He was just starting a conversation. So I told him, “Instead of saying this, just come in and say, Hey, how about we have this and this for dinner? And I’m like, I would be so much more excited to see you.

Totally. Right? It’s not getting attacked from the start.

Exactly. So what’s for dinner?

Yeah. It’s so true. Let’s talk about something I’ve really fallen in love with in my daily routine. JS Health Vitamins. Y’all know I’m always looking for ways to take better care of myself, and their Advanced Magnesium Plus has become such a staple for me at night. I take it about 30 minutes before bed and it’s like my little signal to my body. Okay, it’s time to wind down. I feel so much more relaxed and honestly, I’ve noticed a huge difference in how I sleep. I wake up feeling actually rested and ready for the day. It supports things like your nervous system, muscle recovery, bone health, and energy, which let’s be honest, we could all use more of. And I love that it has three highly bioavailable forms of magnesium, which basically means your body is actually absorbing and using it the way that it should. JS Health is an Australian brand founded by clinical nutritionist Jessica Sepple, who you might remember from when she came on the podcast recently. I’m also a big fan of their detox and deep bloat and their incredible cleanse and revived shampoo. It makes my hair feel so healthy and fresh. To try these products, head to us.jshealthvitamins.com and use code Loverly20 for 20% off. Okay, switching gears just a little bit, I want to talk a little bit about, if you’re comfortable, I’d love to open up the conversation about your daughter’s story in hopes that it brings help to other families. Can you share a little bit about your family and what your daughter walked through?

Sure. That was actually the hardest years of my life. We were so blessed to have had only three, about three years that we walked through drug addiction. So it was drug addiction that brought into a mental illness aspect of things. I had been doing the blog for a few years by that time, so 2020 came around. We all experienced all the craziness and she started to be a little more distant. And I just remember thinking, kind of brushing it off as like, “Hey, who is not weird? It’s 2020. Everybody’s a little like, what is going on?” But then she was just unreachable. We tried to invite her, “Let’s watch a movie together. Let’s do things together.” And she was not about to do this. A little bit before that, I had the cancer and then my husband lost his dad on the same year. So he went through a phase of just being really. He just took very, very hard. And it was just hard for him to not comprehend, but kind of navigate that season of my wife has breast cancer. She might die. I just lost my best friend in life, my dad. So for him, he was still supporting the whole family, so it was just a lot on him. And he’s very close to Sophia. They were like two peas in a pod, just doing all things together all the time. And he just kind of got distant himself. And I think later on, as we talked so much about what happened, we all kind of came into the conclusion that she just felt like she lost her dad too, because she would talk to him and he would not respond because he was just so in the zone. And so she started numbing herself with weed. And at that point, I had no idea. I have three, and she’s my daughter that if you had told me years ago, one of your kids would have a drug problem, I would bet a million dollars that would not be her because she was just so type A, just very respectful, never got in trouble, never got spankings, nothing. She was just the little angel child. So to me, the concept of her using drugs is just so foreign. I’m like, “No.” So it never crossed my mind that it could have been drugs. I’m like, “Maybe she’s just depressed. Maybe she’s just going through something tough.” And so a few months go by, we’re trying to figure out, we put a lot on my oldest daughter to figure things out, which looking back, it was kind of a mistake to make her –

Kind of that like go between sort of a –

Exactly. Yes. But we had never dealt with this, so we had no idea what we were doing. And so it all kind of came out when she woke me up at 6:00 AM on a spring break morning 2021, soaking wet. She had spent the night in the cornfields. We lived in a lake with cornfields. So she was trying to run away and something stopped her. So she just spent the night out there, came in and told me, “Mom, I need help. I’m having suicidal thoughts.” And it was just my whole world came crashing down, but at the same time, I was so relieved to like, “She’s reaching out for help. She’s talking.” So I just remember hugging her and say, “Just lay here with me for a minute until we figure things out.” So it was me and my husband in bed. And so she laid down and I just started crying. I’m like, “God, what do I do? Where do I go from now?” So I had an idea to call my former sister-in-law who lives in California, and she’s a psychiatrist, just to ask for some help. Yeah, guidance. I’m like, “She said that she’s thinking about doing this or she has intrusive thoughts.” And my sister-in-law was like, “You need to take her to the crisis center in the hospital. Do you know what that is?”

No.

Awful. So it’s where you put kids that are suicidal or just freaking out or they’re just doing all the things. And little did I know at that point that that was our first trip of many back to the crisis center. So we checked her in, had to go spend the night at the ER, and it was a whole day until they interview her and okay, this is an imminent danger. She needs to be put in there. And so she stayed there for about 12 days, I want to say. And I didn’t know that, but that was the first time that she was kind of detoxing from weed at that point. And I had no idea. But I remember her telling Bella, Bella told me later, “I’m kind of clean right now, so that’s great. We’re not.” I don’t know. She was still not in a good mindset, but she was given a bunch of meds. That’s when it started the medicine. She was given some meds that we had no idea. So she had to continue in order for her to get out. She needed to go to therapy. That year, that’s when Bella said, “Mom, you need to put Sophia away. She is using drugs. She hasn’t stopped. She has never stopped.” And she went through all of my cancer meds that I had in my cabinets. That’s another thing too. Don’t leave Madison around. And I was so oblivious because I don’t do well with painkillers. And I had a bunch of stuff in the house that I couldn’t take. She went through all of it. So yes. And so Bella saw, she’s literally going to die if I didn’t say anything. So then we put her in a rehab for. She stayed there for 45 days and there was out of state in Illinois. Really, really hard too, but we felt like this is the right thing to do. She needs to get away for a little bit. So it was supposed to be 30 days. She stayed 45 days. Got back home, and a week later I was in a. I don’t know if you were with a State Five at that point, a Malibu trip.

I remember the trip. I signed right after that.

Okay. So I was there and it was the last day. So it was just a quick trip, like two nights or three nights, something like this. It was the last night, so I was leaving that very morning and Brian called me and said, “Sophia ran away. You need to come home.” Or, “Sophia ran away, what do you want to do? I’m coming home.” So got an Uber, changed my flight, flew straight from that trip to the LA airport. I didn’t even know the flights were going to be leaving until 6:00 AM, so I could have potentially stayed the night and at least got some sleep. But I slept in the airport waiting for my flight in the morning, got back. So at that point, it was 24 hours. I mean, imagine your mind as a mom, I’m like, “She got into a car. I’m never going to see her again. Just this fear.” So those are the things that with the cancer, I never had any fear. I never doubted. But when it’s something with my children or somebody else that I love so much, it’s so different. So to me, it was really just awful. So she finally reached out. The police was pinging her. We got amazing police officers that really took that into this is my daughter as if it was their daughter. And there was one specific guy that was just, I mean, he was coming back after his shift was done. He’s like, “I’m pinging her here,” because she was turning on and off her phone so we wouldn’t ping her. I mean, so smart. They are. So all the things. And she just wanted to go leave with her boyfriend at that point. She had this awful boyfriend and was trying to convince her. And I’m like, “Absolutely not.” So we got her back. That’s another thing for moms and dads that I’ve learned in this journey is to stick to your guns and say no, because they are testing your boundaries so much. Totally. And we are so fearful that they’re going to do something stupid, but they are not going to. They are just testing the. For the most part, they are just saying, “I’m going to be telling my mom that I want to do this and she’s going to be scared, so she’s going to let me.” Don’t let them.

I have a friend who, growing up, he had a drug problem addicted for a really long time and eventually got sober. And one thing he said is he was like, “I just knew my mom would never tell me no.” So I was constantly doing these things that were so insane because all I wanted was for her to stop me. I felt like she thought she was showing her love by saying yes, but I needed her to say no to me. And that’s always stuck with me on how children, that’s really how they’re thinking.

They’re bouncing around and they are trying to test the boundaries. And it’s up to us to put it in there and stay in place. And I feel like it’s especially hard when you have a situation like this of drug addiction because you’re so fearful for their lives. But at the same point, I’m like, “We need to just pray and do the best, and this is what we need to do as a family.” And it took us a long time to figure that out too. A lot of family therapy because it was, if it wasn’t me holding the ground, then Brian would give in. And coming together and being like, “We both need to be on the same page,” it was challenging too. And we finally got that. But long story short, she got back. So we found her, then we put her into this, I think it was DBT therapy. I forgot the exact name. I should have known this, but we found this and it was a group therapy, and so she was placed in there. So there was a little bit of hope for us, gave us hope. But again, just a lot of other kids doing the same things. And then at that point we had put her into a drug testing thing. And we went through a lot, Brittany, of her running away and just doing crazy. Our family was in shambles. And through all of this, being an influencer, I’m like, “Hi guys, this lipstick, this da, da, da.” Which part of me, I mean, it was rough coming from the ER. We spent countless nights in the ER and then having to put on my influencer face. But then again, I think that that was what kept me sane because I couldn’t lose it. I had to be there for not necessarily my audience, but for myself, showing up, putting my makeup on and feeling normal and thinking too that it’s like this is her choices that she’s making. I can’t live her life for her. I can’t stop everything, but we need to be parents and be there for them. Then what happened? I feel like, okay, a few months went by and then she got a new friend at school because I knew her friend’s names. And all of a sudden she’s like, “I want this girl to come over.” And she was actually doing okay at school, getting decent grades. So we were just a little relieved. And then she said, “I have this friend and I’m doing really well. Can she come over?” Because at that point we were like, “No friends over, no nothing.” So I gave in and let the friend come over. And I can’t forget this day, Bella was being asked to prom, my oldest one, and her boyfriend and us were all setting up the prom candles in the garage. She was doing tennis at school, and Sophia was with this girl in her room. And we were thinking nothing, just helping with the prom things. And Bella came home. It was just this whole thing, asking to prom, all fun and games. And then the girl leaves, Sophia’s friend leaves, and Sophia comes downstairs and she’s just like, I could tell something was wrong. And I’m like, “What’s going on? What’s going on?” She’s like, “I’m just really anxious. I’m having a panic attack.” So we had her psychiatrist on speed dial at that point because it was this program that. So the doctor, the therapist was like, “Well, go and do this. Put her feet on cold water. Go upstairs, go to the bathtub because she needs to be grounded.” So when I went upstairs to do that, I saw the CVS bag with a bunch of Benadryl packets open. Benadryl. I’m like, “Oh, this is weird.” So I text the lady, I’m like, “I just found this. Is this just like take her immediately to the ER? She’s overdosing on Benadryl.” And I guess it’s a thing. And it’s crazy to think that kids do this as a challenge on TikTok. Did you know that? No. See how many Benadryl you can take before you pass out. That’s so scary. I don’t even know if we can scary. Yes. But it’s something that, to me, it opened my eyes to look at their social media too. And at that point, she was 15 and I was trusty of her just to an extent. Anyway, long story short, dad started a series of once she got the high from the Benadryl, she could not stop. So it was four days of her. And I’m making excuses too. I’m in the doctor’s office saying, “Maybe she just did this to try.” And it was so awful that she’s like, “Mom, I would never do this again.” So she looked at me, and that’s another thing. Kids will lie to your face because it’s so much stronger than they are. So that night she tried doing it again and her best friend was sleeping over. So third time I took her back and I said, “You’re going to stay at the crisis center again.” And at that point, she had stayed there for a few times. She’s like, “Please do anything that you can, but don’t take me back to that place. It’s awful.” I’m like, “Well, you’re going to-” You’re doing this to yourself. Yeah, you’re doing this to yourself, so you’re going to have to. And at that point, I’m like, “We have to.” I had threatened her to send her to a long-term facility if she was not stopping. And I told Brian, “This is our wake-up call. We need to do something. We cannot keep her safe here.” The crazy thing that got us to make the final decision was that she was in the ER, so she was 24 hours after the overdose, that third, and she woke up and Brian was with her at that point. She said a prayer with Brian, and she knew that we were so desperate for her to come to Jesus. I’m like, “Jesus can heal everything.” And she knew her audience. So she’s like, “I’ll pray for Jesus to heal me.” So she prayed. And then she said, “Can you bring my pillow?” Because he was going back home to shower and come back to stay with her. And he asked me, “What do you think?” I said, “Well, sure. Maybe she’s realizing that this is killing her. That’s fine.” Brings her pillow in. Nobody thought to check the pillow. She had pills in the pillow that she took while she was in the hospital. So that was the final drop when we were like, she needs to go.

She’s not her.

She was not herself. She was not thinking. She was just operating on what’s the next high. Kind of like how drug addicts operate. And so at that point we knew that she needed to go and finding. And I had friends who knew some educational counselors that would talk to your family and see what would be the best place to place them. So she ended up being placed in Utah, which is so far for us. Very hard to get there. The whole trip there was awful. We had to pick her up at 4:00 AM and the hospital go straight. She didn’t go home, go straight to the airport. Our flight ended up being delayed, so I had to spend the night in a hotel with her. So kind of sleeping with one eye open thing.

Wonders what are you getting into here.

Yes. She could run away from the hotel room. Just scary things that are just thinking back, I’m like, “I cannot believe that we survived all of this.” So then she stayed in this facility for six months. Nothing was going. I mean, she was sober. That was a good thing, but she was not improving. She was so dragged up on medicine that was really hard not seeing any improvement. We were spending so much money, which is a blessing that we were able to afford at that point because that’s the thing that a lot of people lose their homes over. It’s just awful. And then after that, I remember I went to visit her because they said she’s approved for visit finally after six months, like a mom visit. So I went there and I kind of came back feeling like this is not working. She’s still not thinking that she – Just you just knew. Yeah, I knew. So I started praying and fasting in that week, just not fasting, but I couldn’t eat. So that wasn’t that hard to fast, but I was just purposely like, “God, something’s got to give here because this is not working.” And she was supposed to be there for 12 months and I’m like, “I can’t take six more months of not seeing her get well and being involved with other. All the girls that are there are struggling too.” So it’s hard to be in that environment. Then throughout the week, she started running away from the facility because it’s an open facility so kids can go get away. And she changed her meds and started doing those things. And because of the time change, I would get an email at night at 3:00 AM saying, “By the way, Sophia ran away.” And then another email at 6:00 AM my time, we found her. And I would see the email when I wake up, thank God that I didn’t see it. What can you do? So God was keeping me from seeing that and feeling that anxiety too. And I was just like, “Oh my gosh, this is scary.” Then the next night, same thing. And then her therapist called and said, “We can’t keep her here anymore. We need to find a plan B because she’s putting everybody’s safety.” And once someone runs away from a facility like that, all the staff has to go after them. And thank God it’s in the middle of Utah, so there’s desert all around. So really there’s not a lot of places to run away from. But in their minds, you just don’t know. There’s so many what ifs that can happen.

Yeah, they’re not even thinking about any of that.

They can get into a car and we’ll never see them again. That was my biggest fear. And so then we had a meeting set up for that Friday to talk about plan B, and then on Thursday night she runs away again. And me and God, I’m like, God, what is happening here? I am blessing. I am praying. I’m doing all the things. What is happening? And he was just so good that he was doing something like this is not working for her. She needs something else. And my sister had struggled with drug addiction too when I left the house. So I was already leaving here and I didn’t really know what my parents went through at that point. But I remember calling her and she’s like, “This is too easy for her. She’s not being put into a challenging place. She’s just waking up and glamorizing drugs and with a bunch of other kids there that are glamorizing drugs. And she needs to feel the bite heats.” And I’m like, maybe. So then the wilderness program was brought up. Have you ever heard of that?

No.

I was so scared of that. So I told myself I’m not going to do this to her, but my sister was like, “Maybe that’s what she needs.” So they are basically shipped into the middle of the wilderness in Colorado or Utah, the desert. And they survive in there with a 50-pound backpack and they’re utensils, like eating utensils. They need to make fire. The Indians from scratch. The staff that’s there do not help them. They hike. So they have a base camp that they go in on Mondays. They do the therapy and they shower in there. The rest of the week, they’re hiking throughout the desert with their things and surviving. They have no tents. They sleep in the cold with their sleeping bags. They have those big fluffy sleeping bags. They need to do therapy and just hide.

This is survival of the fittest.

Yes. And so there’s no time for you to glamorize bugs. You’re trying to live. Your number one, number two, in the wild, you take care of yourself. There’s spiders or just. Yeah, there’s all of the things.

Wow.

Yes, it’s wild.

How long did she do that for?

So she stayed there for 14 weeks.

Wow.

Yes. And she was sent there in October. And that’s another thing too. Our counselor was like, “Don’t go,” because Brian’s like, “I’m going to go and pick her up.” And he’s like, “No, she needs an audience. You need to stay put. We’re going to send the people to pick her up.” So then you send a car that picks her up, and then they travel through the night to the camp, drop her off at camp. She gets a uniform because all of your things, belongings are left behind. She plus everything she had. So they wear the same thing, the gear that keeps them warm. And she’s basically put into this thing. And we did two times that we went there for Family Quest, they called. Those were the roughest nights of my life too. You’re sleeping outside on a 20-degree weather. I remember I had this thing open, my face open from the sleeping bag, and there was icicles on the outside of my thing, my sleeping bag. And she was doing this every night for 12 or 14 weeks.

Wow.

So that really whipped her into shape. She really got back. And she’s always being very outdoorsy like her dad. She loves doing all this fishing and hunting and doing things with him. So she really found herself again. It was so worth it. And I feel bad that these programs have such a bad rap, mainly from the kids because they don’t want to be sent there, obviously, but it works. And it just made her realize a lot of things. And the therapists were like, she could only correspond with us through letters. And the first letters, they would be like, “She’s going to hate you forever. Don’t take that personally because she’s hating you right now.” And then the second one’s going to be a little better. And then the third one, and yeah, by the fourth one, she’s like, “I totally see what I understand what you guys went through. I understand what’s going on.” I mean, she wasn’t healed at that point, but she was beginning to understand. On the path. Yes. So when she got back home, we decided to bring her back to try again because she had been gone for nine months at that point. One thing that I recommend parents to is get yourself a good, strong, solid team because when they come back is where the real work starts again for us. Just put the boundaries to, this is the list of things. And if you fail one of these things, you’re going to be sent back and I mean it. And by that point, she knew I meant it because I’ve sent her again. Yeah. Exactly. So I’m like, like you said with your friend, boundaries, they needed that. And I did. So she tried to get a couple of things out and right back to it. And so that was the beginning of the healing. And then we told her, “You’re not going back to your school.” And that was a big one for her because she’s like, “I don’t want to be…” And meanwhile, we are continuing praying and Our church had a school in there that was a very small starting, kind of like five kids on high school. And I told her, “I want you to go on this.” And at that point I was doing therapy too. And my therapist was like, “Well, give her a choice,” because she wanted to be given a choice. So go and look for something else so you’re not forcing her. So it’s her choice of going. So I found this other school that was terrible too. And when we visited, she hated it. She’s like, “I don’t want to stay here. It’s like four kids that are outcasts or whatever.” And so she said, “Okay, I’ll come to this school.” And I remember we visited and when we left the school, she just cried saying, “I don’t want to be here. I feel like such a weirdo. These kids are so sheltered. They don’t know what I went through in my life,” which I understand. She had gone at that point through so much, and those kids had no idea. Nothing. They were like church kids. So I understand how hard it was for her, but I knew in my heart that that was the right place for her. Fast-forward two or three months, she met her boyfriend that she’s been with since then. She accepted Jesus, got baptized, and by her own choice. She started being like, because they had to read the Bible in there and she’s like, “I’m starting to be a little curious, but don’t get your hearts up.” She’d be like, “I don’t know about this God thing.” But this is the funny thing. She was always a Jesus girl growing up. So the seed was splinted. It just got a little mesked up or a little cloudy with teenager ears and everything. They’re all going to rebel. Not all, but most of them. So that was kind of like her rebellion ears. And then we’re now good. She’s in a good place. She graduated with honors. She was doing so good there. She’s in a path to do great things. It’s just amazing. She’s an artist.

Yes. And I’m sure when you were in the thick of all of that, you were just like, “How are we going to survive this? How do we get to the other side of this?”

And finding parents and groups that were going through the same things too. I mean, I cried every single day. It was so hard. But looking back to it made us stronger. And that’s what I tell my son too, because then you have the other kids companies. They’re like, “We are in such survival mode trying to keep this one from killing herself that we want to make sure that the other two are safe, but you’re really not parenting them. We’re just hoping that they will.”

That they’re going to be okay enough.

Yes. Yes. And so there was a lot of heartbreaks or heartaches from my son of I was basically on my own. And he was 12 when all of this started, which is sad. And now I find that we’re healing too, and he’s accepting. And my main thing is, and I tell him, “Antonio, we are the way that we are today because of all of this.” So it’s not that it’s, “Oh, this was the destruction of our family.” No, we are so much better because we walked through this. So I feel like God will use everything. Totally. Nothing is wasted.

Truly. Well, and there’s no promise that everything’s going to be easy.

No

In fact, it says it is going to be hard.

Yes.

Walking in faith and being a Christian and setting an example for others is the hard alternate route.

But there’s peace and the chaos because that’s the difference with Christians. We walk through the valleys, we walk through the chaos, but the peace that we have, and that’s the thing I had with me, and I prayed. My prayer was, “God, I know that she’s going to be okay. I knew it too, but I know that there’s a lesson that you’re trying to teach us with this.” Or maybe it wasn’t him teaching us, but he allowed this to happen so we could learn the lesson. And my prayer was like, “Help me to learn this lesson quickly because I need my daughter back. What is the lesson?” And there was so many things. We were very dysfunctional. With my work, I had no hours. I was all over the place working. And they needed mom at home at night. They had up until that point. So there was a lot of things that we needed to fix in order to have a healthier family life. And because that happened, we are so much better.

Yeah. Wow. I mean, I’m just so glad you’re on the other side of that now and that she’s well and that you can use this story and hopefully she shares this story throughout the rest of her life as her testimony.

I hope so.

Just as an opportunity to even help other people who are going through this. And I think that’s something that’s so beautiful about people who are recovered alcoholics or overcome some addiction, and they use their stories to get other people through those hard times. I mean, it’s just such a beautiful thing that that’s just an opportunity that she’ll have now. Wow. Well, thank you for sharing that with us. I mean, I know that that story is very close to your heart and there’s just so much, I’m sure, that just comes up, feelings and memories and things anytime you talk about that.

I actually started my podcast because of this, because faith-based podcasts and stories of people overcoming challenges, I held that so tight into my heart when I was going through that, that it gave me so much hope that this is what I wanted to give back. There’s hope and there’s a light.

Yeah. Well, I’m so glad that you shared that with us. Okay, so let’s bring us back to some style, and I want to know some of your favorite things right now. I recently made a purchase from your LTK on these Jeffrey Campbell heels that are the nude open toe great height. I don’t know how I had not discovered those before, but I have been wearing them nonstop. That was such a great find.

They’re the best. I’m so glad you bought them.

Yeah. And now I’m like, “What other colors do I need this comfortable shoe in?”

I have the brown.Did you get the nude?

I got the nude. Yeah.

The brown too. And I’ve been wearing so much. Great price point.

Truly. I feel like I always start with the nude and then I’m like, okay, I like this. What other colors can we build? Yeah. Tell me, what are your top five favorite pieces in your closet right now?

I’m really into baggy jeans, believe it or not. I feel like it brings me back to my high school years, but you can make it more elevated nowadays. Yeah, it’s like chic. Yes, you can. Add a little heel. Yes. Add a little top that’s funky. So I’m really loving those. Mother full pipe is my favorite. Cashmere, I think that’s year round. Totally. I can never go wrong. I got a set from Nordstrom Sale that I’m loving, but also Quince. Do you shop at Quince?

Yes.

You guys, that’s the world’s best secrets.

I don’t know how they do it.

Me neither. It’s like the best cashmere, such an affordable price point.

It is.

I’ve been loving all of their cashmere sweaters and everything, and they look very high-end designer.

Totally. I agree.

Love that. Satin and lace has been really getting into my wardrobe lately, especially going into fall, how they’re making that a little more fall-like. Totally. The camisole look with the satin pants. Loving those looks.

I love that too. I think adding in texture, like a leather or suede blazer over that silky cami, it’s – Such a great date night or girls night.

And it’s the masculine and feminine, which I’ve always been drawn into. Trousers is more of like blazers, structured pieces with a little lace or a little sparkle to add the feminine. It’s my favorites.

I agree. Those are all really great pieces. What color are you loving right now or are really excited for for fall?

I am a neutral girl at heart, so it’s hard for me to branch out. I mean, I do branch out obviously, but I love all the warm ivory creams and camels and cognacs. I’m loving burgundy more so this year. I feel like that wine deep color’s going to be really hot with the browns, obviously. Totally. So those are my go-tos. Obviously I’ll sprinkle some color here and there, but for the main part, those are my go-tos.

And I feel like the burgundy, those I’ve found some really good accessories that can just be the little pop of color on – An ivory suit. Exactly. You know what you’re comfortable in, but then you’re bringing in a little color and a boot or-

Or a scarf too, like a cashmere scarf. Yeah, those are usually pieces that I like experimenting with color because it’s something that is just one piece that if I don’t like it, I don’t have to wear it again or you can take it out of the outfits.

That’s true. And then you’re staying kind of true to yourself. And then if you find yourself really like, okay, wow, I’m pulling for this a lot. Maybe I can take it a step further and see how I feel about a sweater in that color. I think it’s always interesting. For people whose style doesn’t come naturally to them, sometimes you do have to take some chances, but it’s also really important to figure out the colors you do really like and build a wardrobe that is full of that and then slowly add in other pieces that you feel like you kind of feel a confidence wearing.

I love that you’re saying this because to me, I’ve always been there being like that with clothing, but with accessories, I always feel like I need to branch out and get some new things, but almost to a force. I’m almost forcing myself. And I saw, I think it was a TikTok that she was saying, just buy the bags that you love in the same colors that you love. So you have different tones of shades of gray and cream or beige or black or whatever, and you will find yourself wearing it a lot more than if I would get a red bag. Oh, but I don’t have a red bag. I need one. Well, but I’m never going to wear it. So why?

For like the one time that you’re like, red would be the good pop here.

So maybe that’s when Zara comes around. You can invest something like 50 bucks and get something super cute in a pop of color that if you don’t wear it again, you’re not going to feel bad for spending thousands of dollars.

I agree. And I think there’s some great retailers like Zara, like H&M, where you can try some of these trendier pieces or try some of these things that might take you out of your comfort zone. But like you said, if it’s not for you, you haven’t overspent on a piece that now you’re just like, well, I have to wear it because I just spent X amount of money on it.

Exactly. That’s my rule of thumb though. Actually, I do spend money on the classics always. So it’s worth it because you’re going to pick that up back time and time again for years on end. A nice coat, a nice pair of jeans, a nice blazer, timeless pieces, and then just go cheap on the – Those fillers type of pieces and trendy things.

Yeah. No, I think that’s great advice. Has your style changed over the years with each season of life?

Honestly, I hope it has, but at the same point, I have been kind of a creature of habits. There has been things, I mean, there are outfits that I would still wear that I wore 10 years ago. Totally. So it’s kind of like I reach for the same pieces time and time again. If people have been following me for a while, they probably know that. But obviously I hope that I have matured more. And the silhouettes, especially on the way that things fit in my body, I used to pay attention to sizing so much of like, oh, I’m a size two or I’m a size zero and size four. I need to stay within. No, the clothing needs to look good on your body and hang the right way. If the tag says size 10 or size zero, it doesn’t matter. It just matters on the way that it looks. So that’s the one thing that I feel like I grew up.

Or gave yourself permission for that to be okay.

Yes.

No one sees.

I don’t have to fit into this box.

Right. Yes.

But it was more of a mental thing like, oh, I’m a size. I don’t know. Recently I changed jean size and I feel so much better. I’m like, why was I trying to squeeze myself in these other jeans? And yeah, it’s very freeing.

So true. I remember I was with a friend of mine and she’s kind of built the same way I am. And she had this blazer on that just looked so chic the way she had it styled with these straight leg pants. And I was like, “I love this blazer.” And she was like, “This is a size large.” And I was like, “Really?” And she was like, “I just loved the way it fit a little bit more oversized. I found myself wearing it more. I do a little cuff situation,” and it just gave her the look she was going for. And it was almost like I had this little moment of, good for you. And because of where we live, we don’t have a ton of shops, so I don’t go in store to shop as much. So I’m relying for ordering stuff. And so sometimes I don’t try other sizes. I wish that I could do that a little bit more.

Yeah. And not everything oversized looks good. Then you can look really silly with trying this huge thing. But one time I heard this recently, and that really resonated with me. This friend of mine who’s a stylist, she said, “Clothes are supposed to dance on you and not to hug you.” So I was like, “Ooh, I like that.”

Makes you feel a little like, “Okay, I’m going to look at this a little bit different.” Love it.

Am I getting sweaty?

No. You’re really not. You’re actually like, I need to know what kind of finishing powder.

Oh my gosh. No i’m like literally, it’s just my internal sweat.

It is also hot in this room.

I know.

It’s very true. Okay. If somebody wanted to elevate their wardrobe without starting over, where should they begin?

With the classics, always. I would say a great fitting pair of jeans, a great fitting blazer. I would stay away from the trendy silhouettes. Right now, we love the oversized blazer, but a good fitting blazer will always be in style. Totally. Things that, like I said, dance on you and I’ll hug you. A crisp white button up like linen, that goes with a bathing suit cover up or in the fall under a leather jacket. So I’d say to invest on those type of foundational pieces, a great pair of boots, that’s something that you can spend good money on and you will be wearing those boots for the entire season.

And I find myself, if I spend money on a pair of shoes that is a little higher, I’m like, “Oh, I’m wearing these. I am going to wear them this week and another.”

It’s proper mile,

Right? Exactly.

You want to really be there because you spend so much.

Right. Yes. You prove to yourself these were worth it. See how many times I’ve worn them?

Yes.

It’s funny how that works.

I actually just got a coat from Maxmara in Italy. I was in the airport and I put it on and it was one of those that are like –

Yeah, you just can’t leave.

It just looks so good. I’m like, “Do I need another camel coat?” So I went back to the lounge where my husband was, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I went back and I got it. I’m like, “This is very expensive. It is definitely an investment piece.” That’s what I feel like people should go for instead of. Those investment pieces will go with every little thing that you have in your wardrobe. So I’m excited too. You’ll be seeing me wear that much more. I can’t wait to wear a coat for the entire fall.

It’s going to be the one. It’s going to be the one. I can’t wait for it.

Yes.

Well, and one thing that I always say kind of related to this question is if you’re at this part where you don’t want to start over, but you’re wanting to elevate your closet, it is really important to actually spend time inventorying what you have in your closet.

Yes, so important.

Don’t just go buy, buy, buy, but look through and maybe create five to 10 outfits that are just ready to go. You feel good in them. They might be those classic pieces, but those are the outfits that you’re like, “I feel good when I’m wearing this.” And I know as moms and as busy working women, it’s hard to find an hour to inventory your closet when there’s a hundred other things you could be doing. But I just think the benefit of what can come from that time you’re spending on yourself –

You can save so much money. It can be something that you do as a me time-

Self care.

Yes.

Pour a glass of wine, put a book on in your ear.

Oh my gosh, I love it.

And like- You’ll actually find, I’ve done this before and I’ve found myself, I’m like, “I’m going to give myself an hour.” And then I get into this groove and it’s been two hours.

I was going to say that I can do it like this a whole day. Yes. No, but that is such a great idea too. I need to do inventory. I usually do every season I’ll go over and with our jobs, we get so much stuff. So I take it to a consignment lady that does for me. So she just takes all of it. And I don’t even think about it, but there are so many things on my actual closet that I can part ways with and they’re still hanging in there that I need to do that. I know. Maybe I’ll do this when I get back home.

I know. Well, I used to, my best friend and I, she would be like, “Come help me go through my clothes.” And I’m like, “This is kind of a fun girls night. If you got a few of your girlfriends and it was like, okay, you’re going to go through each of their closets and you try stuff on and they tell you, they’re sitting there drinking wine and we’re having a little gossip fun night. And it’s like, ooh, and then you should wear that here.” I just think that would be so fun.

That is so reminiscing of sex in the city area where I was moving, leaving her apartment to go. And they were all like, yes. No, talk. I love that. Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea.

Yeah. Maybe I’m going to force Shay to do that. My best friend lives next door to me. And so I’m always like,

Let’s do something.

What can we do in your closet? Do we need to go through those shoes? Because I think we’ve had these since eighth grade. Let’s change them up. So that’s a good idea. Okay, we are going to wrap up. There has been so many amazing nuggets of wisdom. I’m so thankful for you sharing your story, sharing your faith, talking style with us. I think there’s been so many pointers that I know our listeners will love to implement in their own lives moving into fall. At the end of all my podcasts, I love asking this question about meaningful acts of kindness. So what is a meaningful act of kindness that somebody has extended to you that has had a lasting impact on your life?

Honestly, I couldn’t think of one single one because I’ve been blessed enough to have had so many people bless me in so many incredible ways. The ones that stand out the most for me is my mentor when I was walking through Sophia’s journey. She was there for me and she had walked that too. So being there for someone who’s walking in a situation that you have walked, it to me meant the world. It meant that I wasn’t alone because it can be a lonely journey. It meant that I could call her if she was acting in a certain way. It just felt like such a breath of fresh air. I know that I have this lady that she walked through this and look, she’s thriving. She’s okay. That was the best. And I will give a shout out to my community in India of ladies because it’s nothing but kindness that I find in those women. We love each other and it’s genuine love and it’s genuine support. And I truly am a better person and influencer because of them. We learn so much from each other and I mean, it’s just the best. And you could very well hide things because in this business you just never know. Things are different. Maybe you want gatekeep or whatever. But with my girls, we share so much and that to me is really great. Hold on. And you for me being here, this is such a wonderful opportunity, Brittany. Thank you so much. Really nice.

I am just honored that you made the trip down here. It’s just so fun. I feel like interviews in person are just so much more intimate and fun. And you get real feelings and things like that. And your community in Indy, one thing, you can tell on the other side, and I know all of y’all’s followers can see how true and genuine that friendship is. And I think that’s so special and not something everybody has. So I’m so glad that that’s something that you guys have all found together. Thank you. Well, tell us where we can find you on Instagram. We’re going to leave details in the show notes, but for those who are like, “I need to follow Karina ASAP,” where do they go?

Thank you. I am a Karina Style Diaries on Instagram. Actually, Karina Style Diaries on everything. My website, TikTok. Those are the main channels that we’re trying to explore more. I do have a Substack now. So if you’re interested in Substack, we are starting to populate that. And I also have a Faith podcast, Karina Faith Diaries that you can look that on any podcast or YouTube. Also, we are on a pause and I’m just getting some direction here on what to go next or where to go.

Well, you’ve got some great episodes that are already out there, so it’s definitely some good listening material for those listeners who might want to pop over and hear a little bit more about your story and get to know you more. We’ll leave all of those details in the show notes with links that you can click over to everything so you can find Karina that way. Thank you friends so much for joining us. Until next time. Hi friend. If you’re loving the show, will you go find that follow button on your podcast app? This will ensure that you won’t miss a single episode. I love having you in this community. Until next time. This season of Life with Loverly is produced by Elizabeth Evans Media Productions.