May Vibes

Buckle up, here comes "Maycember".

WE MEET AGAIN MAY. (Effffff)

Many of my fellow school aged moms will empathize. The feeling is called “Maycember” because for so many of us school aged parents, May rivals the busyness of December. However, I would say that May is actually much busier than December.

For example, my husband and I have been actively collecting all of the May dates coming from school emails, Team Snap (IYKYK), and our own schedules for months. I counted over 50 commitments. Since May is 31 days long, that’s approximately 1.6 obligations every single day of May. SOS.

Maybe this is why all the items on my wishlist this month are expensive? Because I’m completely overstimulated, over committed, and burnt out on the school routine? Probably. In fact, most likely.

Here’s what I’m vibing on for May:

You can shop the board here.

I have a solo work trip to Northern Michigan planned for the first week of June, so there is a finish line to the month of May. And almost all of my inspiration for this month reflects my upcoming trips to NoMi and NYC.

The Michigan trip includes a dressy dinner event with my girlfriends so I’m on the hunt for dresses for each of us (a perk for my friends is free styling when they want it). I talk about event dressing in my outfit guide, and I think it’s one of the most valuable parts of the entire guide. Following my own advice, I’m very likely pulling from something I already own for the dinner but if I was looking for something new, I’d be investing in a piece from Supernaturae. It’s artisanal fashion at its best, with a sustainable brand ethos. I’m absolutely loving their soft silhouettes and natural dyed palette. A big investment, but kaftans never go out of style.

My current wishlist:

You can shop the board here.

Like I said, my wishlist is pretty steep at the moment. My early June birthday usually has me reaching for the stars when it comes to my May wishlist. I’ve still got this Rohe silk blouse at the top of my list. And I’m dying over this all silk matching set from Alemais. Last year I wore this set for my 40th birthday party and it’s still one of the best outfits I’ve ever bought. I just re-wore it for a family dinner out and it looked even better with my shorter hair.

With the impending summer on its way, I’m refocusing a lot of my energy on finding amazing accesories instead of clothes. When it’s so hot out, I like a formula: denim cutoff shorts + a loose button up dressed up significantly by sunglasses, sandals, scarves, earrings, and layered necklaces.

Turquoise is a such an easy way to make your summer accessories feel more seasonal while also getting a nice pop of color. These are the turquoise accessories I’m currently loving: these sandals, these earrings, and these earrings. These Juju Vera chandelier earrings are on the wishlist for now but given how much I wear my turquoise collar necklace from last year, they’d be well worth the cost per wear.

These are really worth it. Use code KATELOWMAN10 for 10% off your first Freda Salvador order.

I’ve been really loving my Vivrelle subscription the past several months but with my kids about to be home every day with me, I am going to use my subscription for a bag I’ve always wanted for travel: a gorgeous yellow Goyard Saint Louis GM tote for my flights. For day to day use in summer, I need to be in a canvas bag that can get messy without me stressing out that it’s not mine.

After years of contemplating, I finally bought the Call It by Your Name bandana bucket bag. I’m kicking myself for not buying this in Paris last summer (which I literally had in my hands at Le Bon Marche). But I was already making big purchases in Paris and decided to wait. Since I’ve been still thinking about it a full year later, I made it mine during their annual birthday sale. However, in full disclosure, my order from them is taking over a month to get to me with no ETA yet, so I should have bought the one Bloomingdales is selling (and what I linked to!).

My current favorite outfit:

Oversized Button-down + linen pants + white accessories

Speaking of simple outfits, this is my current hyper fixation outfit that I’m wearing about 2x a week right now. It’s so loose, so fluid, and so cool. The ultimate Art Mom formula at its best.

And below is the exact summer casual outfit formula I was referring to earlier that I plan to repeat. I break down this entire look in my outfit guide.

Speaking of the guide, I have another big announcement coming Thursday so stay tuned!

This announcement is a fun one!!

And in true Maycember fashion, the days are already flying and Mother’s Day weekend is just a few short days away. Here’s what we have planned for this weekend.

My Mother’s Day Plans:

For Mother’s Day this year, I’m keeping it very simple.

All I want is to see The Devil Wears Prada 2. Over the past year I’ve re-discovered my love of going to the movies, something my family did most weekends when I was kid. The local theater in my hometown hasn’t changed since it opened when I was in college and is rarely full. The less crowded theater experience has made me feel much more comfortable taking the boys and now we go more than we ever used to. They love it!

This past week, my mom and I played hooky and went to see Michael at 11am on a Wednesday. It was absolutely fantastic. A very empty movie theater, an incredible film, and popcorn and a Diet Coke at 11:30am. These are the days of free time that I used to think we’re never coming back but I promise, they do.

So for this Mother’s Day, my husband said he’d love to join me for The Devil Wears Prada 2. The Devil Wears Prada holds a special place in my Millennial heart since I also had a fashion job that fit the description “a million girls would kill for this job” and I’m just a year or two younger than Andi Sachs. I even referenced the movie and an important concept in my most popular Substack article ever. My husband is aware of all this and a very good sport for suggesting we go together. I’ve also just decided that I’m going to wear a fabulous outfit to see it. And of course I’ve been rewatching the original in anticipation!

It makes me so happy that TDWP2 Opening Weekend smashed all records!

We are also going out for a family dinner on Sunday as our favorite restaurant (that is normally closed on Sundays) opens up just for Mother’s Day. This is a tradition of ours that started when I became a mom, something simple I truly look forward to each year.

I’m pretty generous with screen time with my kids but my one rule, that I never waver on, is there are absolutely no screens allowed when we are out to eat. My husband and I both had to eat out with our bosses a lot in our jobs (as we traveled all the time for work) and this is a life skill that is not be overlooked.

I have been on a big reading kick again since my books are actually delivering great stories (I was in a lackluster book rut for about a year). I’m finishing Buckeye this weekend and Into the Blue and YesterYear are en route to me now. I plan on spending a little time on Sunday enjoying fresh donuts from our favorite local donut shop and reading by the fire. Followed by family dinner and achieving a decent photo with the boys. That’s it. That’s the whole ball game.

I don’t want this book to be over.

If you’re still in need of last minute Mother’s Day gift ideas, you can check out my gift guide here! And shop this entire post here.

This is my mantra for the weeks ahead:

Hope you are having a wonderful start to the month!

Talk soon xx

Kate