Sassy Southern Blonde

A Fashion & Lifestyle Blog by Kelsie Bynum

BAKER’S FIRST BIRTHDAY

I have been planning Baker’s first birthday party for months now, so it was really cool to see my vision come to life! I knew pretty quickly that I wanted the theme to be Pete the Cat because Baker is obsessed with the show on Amazon Prime. Unfortunately, Pinterest didn’t have as many cute ideas as I hoped for, so I winged most of it! I’m still SO happy with how everything turned out. The vendors I used were amazing, and I cannot recommend them enough!

Summer’s Sweet Studio handled the invitations! I loved the very first one she sent me, and that’s what I went with! Magnolia Grace Cakes made the birthday cake, cookies, and smash cake. I chose red velvet for the top and normal white cake mix for the bottom! It was seriously some of the BEST cake I’ve ever had, and I like to think of myself as a bit of a cake expert! 🙂 Vine and Toast created the prettiest (and tastiest) charcuterie board! I’m so glad we had leftovers because I’ve been nibbling on it constantly! Haha. The white bounce was from Magnolia Luxe Rentals! It’s such an easy and fun party activity because they handle the set up and take down!

I think I covered everything, but please let me know if you have any other questions about Baker’s party! Thanks for reading y’all!

XO

Kels

5 TIPS ON HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL MORNING

I will be the first to admit that I don’t follow these tips every single morning, but I can see a huge difference in my mindset and productivity when I do! Even though most people have gone back to the office, I know some of you like myself still work from home. And let’s be honest! Working from home is great, but it can also lead to many distractions. That’s why I think starting your day off with a solid routine is the best solution to have a successful day! 🙂

Wake Up Early

Luckily, I can always count on Baker to make sure I’m awake by 7am every morning, but I actually enjoy it! Waking up early makes me feel like I have extra time to accomplish all of my daily tasks. There’s no better feeling than when I’m finished by lunch, and I can start on the next day’s to-do list early if I want to!

Lay Your Clothes Out The Night Before

As silly as this sounds, I’m less likely to change out of my pajamas (especially if I’m doing computer work) if I don’t already have an idea of what I’m going to put on! The nights I plan my outfit beforehand (even just a pullover and leggings) always lead to me staying in my routine better in the morning! This is also great for people back in the office.

Change Out of Your Pajamas and Get Ready For The Day

I think this tip and the one above go hand in hand! Like I said, laying out your clothes the night before really helps you to not waste time in the mornings. And if you work from home like me, you can probably tell the difference between the days you get ready and the days you don’t! I 100% accomplish more because I feel better overall!

Coffee and Devotional

I am so guilty of rushing around and starting my day before I have sat down for just 5 minutes to read my daily devotional! Since I love a good cup of morning coffee, I try to drink mine while having quiet time. I think starting my day off like this impacts my mental health in the most positive way, and I highly encourage you to try it! My favorite devotionals are Jesus Calling or New Morning Mercies that are both available on Amazon! 

Plan Out Your Day Beforehand

There are few things I love more than my daily planner! I truly enjoy writing down and planning my day along with brainstorming new content ideas, partnership opportunities, etc. Most people have probably switched to digital planners, but I never will. I find too much satisfaction in drawing a line through each task as I complete it! Lol. I mainly plan out my week on Sunday afternoons just to get idea of what’s on my schedule and what I need to add!

I hope these small tips lead to big improvements in your own morning routine! I’m excited to continue implementing them in my own life. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

XOXO

Kels

LIFE LATELY: FEBRUARY 2022

I have been on a major brainstorming kick the past week between Reels content and other ideas I want to incorporate into Sassy Southern Blonde! I even thought about starting a monthly newsletter for email subscribers, but the IG poll answered what I already assumed. Most of y’all don’t read newsletters and you probably aren’t going to start. Hahah! That’s okay though because I think I came up with a better solution. I still want to share monthly updates, but it will just be found in a blog post here! 🙂

Basically, it’ll be a newsletter within a blog post! I plan to recap top sellers of the month, recent blog posts, favorite purchases, the month’s partnerships, graphics I created and of course exciting things happening with Bo and Baker! Each month will vary slightly depending on what is happening. I am SO happy about this idea, and I hope it’s a way to find information you’re looking for while learning more about me. Since January was a slow month and has already passed, we’ll start with February! It might get lengthy FYI. Lol!

PERSONAL LIFE

Baker is 8 months old in February, and I’m sending him to a Mother’s Morning Out program starting next week! It’s hard to find a place that’s a great fit with an available spot, but everything finally came together! For safety reasons, I obviously won’t be sharing the actual program, but it’s super close to our house and will be perfect for dropping him at while I get uninterrupted work done!

After these last few months, I have a newfound respect for stay at home moms and especially work from home moms! Some days are more productive than others, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not looking forward to a break. And I’m also not going to pretend I feel guilty about sending him either! The truth is I am SO excited because I think it will be good for both of us. Edit to add that I’ve heard nothing but great things about the program, it’s super small and again VERY close to my house!

MY FAVORITE PURCHASES

MONTHLY TOP SELLERS

FEBRUARY GRAPHICS

CURRENT DISCOUNT CODES

XOXO

Kels

MY GOALS FOR 2022

New Year’s resolutions have such a negative stigma because most of us abandon them within a few weeks into the year! I decided to set some attainable goals for 2022 instead. I guess you could argue that goals and resolutions are basically the same thing, but I enjoy making them nonetheless! Lol.

Make SMART financial decisions + SAVE SAVE SAVE

A house and a baby are pretty big investments, so I’m focusing on saving money in 2022! I also want to pay off my credit card, and a couple of other things. Technically, I could right now, but I’d rather do it over a few months! I think that’s the procrastinator in me. Haha!

Start A New Side Business

The wheels in my head have been turning for a few months on this, but I haven’t nailed down what I’d actually want to do! I think I just like toying with the idea and keeping my options open if a good opportunity presents itself!

Collaborate With My Dream Brands

I’m keeping my specific list of dream brands I want to partner with to myself at the moment, but I promise I will share if any of them come into fruition! I have already been implementing strategies to achieve this, and I hope my hard work pays off soon! 🙂

Hit Goal Income

Again, I’m not going to say what my exact ideal income is for 2022, but it’s an amount that I’ve never made in a year before! I’m looking forward to working towards it, though. I know it’s annoying to be vague, but talking finances isn’t something I do! Lol.

Read ONE Book Per Month

This goal was meant to provide some reading consistency in my life! Lol. Instead of binging books at the end of the year like I did in 2021, I want to start off 2022 reading. I’d love to end up checking off more than one book a month, but I’m trying to be realistic just in case I get busy!

Get Ready 4 of 5 Weekdays

I swear that I’m more productive when I’m semi dressed! Even if that looks like workout clothes and a little makeup, I know I’ll feel better and accomplish more! Here’s to hoping I don’t lose the momentum. Lol!

Read Devotional Daily + Quiet Time

I’m not going to lie, I already skipped a day on my devotional yesterday. But that’s okay because I got right back on track today! I think it’s important to not get discouraged if you don’t hit your goals every single day. As long as you hold yourself accountable, you can still continue as planned!

Attend Church More Regularly

We finally started going back to church in September, and it feels so good to start the week at church! However, we had a lot of travel planned at the end of the year between trips and weekends home to Laurel, so we definitely didn’t make it every Sunday. Now that things are slowing down in January, I really hope we can make it at least two or three times a month!

Be the BEST mom to Baker

It’s very overwhelming and scary to think about raising a child in the world today! There’s so much bad, and I just pray God equips me to instill everything I need to in Baker. I want to shield him as much as I can, but I know that God is in control! I find immense peace in that. I also want Baker to have the most magical childhood we can give him! 🙂

PS: And when I wasn’t looking, Bo added baby #2 to my list of 2022 goals.. *insert skull emoji* Unfortunately, that will not be happening for a few years, but he thinks he’s so funny! Ugh.

XOXO

Kels

REFLECTING ON 2021

As I’m sitting down to type this, I can’t help but feel extremely blessed yet truly undeserving of the past 12 months! Some of the best moments of my life have happened in 2021, so this year will forever and always hold a special place in my heart. I took on several new roles, but my favorite is being a mom to Baker! 🙂 It’s hard to believe that we were getting ready to announce I was pregnant with him during this time last year, and now he is 6 months old! Time is not on a mama’s side and babies just don’t keep. It breaks my heart! Anywho, I’m going to dive into each month of 2021 below and share my favorite moments!

JANUARY

It’s safe to say we started 2021 off with a bang when we announced that we were expecting a baby in June! I was super nervous to share the news, but we received SO much love and support. The worst part about my pregnancy was the thyroid issues I experienced in the beginning which caused excessive swelling, so I literally cringe looking at any photos from the first few months! I will 100% be calling my thyroid doctor before my OB on the next round! (In a few years) Hahah.

FEBRUARY

After I got my thyroid under control, I felt like I could finally enjoy my pregnancy! Bo’s birthday is the day before Valentine’s, so we had a great weekend celebrating before a huge ice storm came through that Sunday. We were stranded at home for 4 days, and I’m just glad we didn’t kill each other! Lol.

BABY BOY SHOWERMARCH

My best friends threw my first baby shower for Baker in March, and it was so perfect! (I did a full blog post recap HERE) It also made me realize that we were only 3 months away from meeting him, and it was time to buckle down! Lol. We had also secretly been in the process of buying a home since January, and I was beyond ready to share the news with y’all! I just didn’t want to jinx anything!

APRIL

April was the best month (besides June obviously) because we became official homeowners! And I just remembered this was actually one of my goals for 2021. We moved to a great neighborhood two months before Baker was born, so we had just enough time to get settled before he arrived! I also took my last baby free blogger trip to 30A with Karli. We couldn’t have timed it worse because it rained the entire weekend, but we still had the best time together and ate too much food! 🙂

Maternity Photo SessionMAY

May is my birthday month, so we planned a quick trip to Orange Beach! Bo doesn’t love the beach like I do, so we probably should have gone somewhere else. Lol. It was still a nice weekend getaway for just the two of us before Baker arrived! We did lots of goofy golfing (Bo’s favorite) and eating, per usual. My family also threw me my last baby shower at the end of the month, and it was so nice to have everyone there to celebrate! It was the cutest bee theme since Baker has triple B initials!

Baker's Birth StoryJUNE

June was the month my entire life changed, and the most precious 6.15 pound little boy stole my heart! There’s really no way to adequately prepare for the feelings and emotions of birthing your child. Others can tell you their perspective, but you don’t fully comprehend until you are there in the moment experiencing it for yourself!

I also knew that I would need extra help staying on top of everything for Sassy Southern Blonde, so I signed with Lola & Ivy management agency and it was the BEST decision! They keep my inbox and collaborations organized, which is amazing because that’s what caused me the most anxiety! Lol.

JULY

I had heard babies come alive around 2 weeks, and that’s exactly what Baker did! And for that reason, July was probably the hardest month. As new parents, we were still trying to figure him out and he was SO fussy! The bouncer was the ONLY thing that would keep him content while he was awake. Luckily, he did sleep pretty well at night, so we weren’t totally unrested!

We also decided we were brave enough to take him to brunch just to get out of the house! I think newborns are probably the easiest at restaurants now that I’ve gone with a 6 month old too. Haha! I had the most precious newborn photos taken in Baker’s nursery. I’ll cherish them forever!

AUGUST

In August, we continued getting adjusted to parenthood and thought it was time to sleep train Baker! Best decision EVER. Bo wasn’t totally convinced, but I just knew it would work and IT DID! I put up my Halloween decorations entirely too early, and I started really feeling like myself again! I was fortunate to have had an easy postpartum recovery, but it still felt good to finally squeeze back into my favorite pair of shorts! 🙂

SEPTEMBER

The highlight of September was my best friend’s bachelorette trip in Scottsdale! SO much fun. It was also the first time I left Baker, but he was in good hands with my mom! Of course I missed him, but it was nice to have a mini break and go somewhere outside my house! Lol. I had been wanting to go to Scottsdale for years, and I’m glad I finally got the chance!

September kicks off the start of Fall, and the blogging world is always hectic (in the best way) at the end of the year! I partnered with brands like Owlet and Ritual, and braced myself for a busy + blessed holiday season!

OCTOBER

In all honesty, I felt like the only 2 trips Bo and I had went on together before Boston weren’t that exciting! However, our last-minute getaway to Boston was amazing, and we truly had the BEST time together. I’m all about experiences, and it makes my heart happy knowing we’ll always have those memories with each other! October is the best month in general, anyways. We took Baker to the fair, the pumpkin patch, and celebrated his first Halloween! Our Chick-fil-A mommy + me costume was my favorite!

October brought a cool partnership opportunity with Walmart that I convinced Bo to participate in with me! He didn’t mind being apart of his first collaboration, but he doesn’t want to be booked regularly! Lol.

NOVEMBER

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, especially when it comes to my family! November is the beginning for all things Christmas unless you’re a blogger and started decorating in October. Lol! The holidays were extra special this year with Baker, but I’m excited for him to actually know what’s going on in the upcoming years! My best friend also got married, and I was the maid of honor. The wedding was such a blast, and I felt it for a couple days afterwards! 😉

My blog had such a successful month collaborating with companies like Walmart and Red Dress Boutique! I love sharing these brands (and many more) because I genuinely love them, so it’s exciting to see my analytics and know y’all feel the same way!

DECEMBER

I swear December flew by! My favorite travel bud (Karli) and I went to New Orleans to shoot some bomb Christmas content! It was a quick trip, but we got so much accomplished. Especially compared to our 30A trip earlier in the year! I think I’m going to suggest we do a weekend NOLA getaway every December!

Baker turned 6 months old, and then it was time to celebrate Christmas. I really didn’t go overboard on presents this year because I knew he wouldn’t remember! He did seem to like his PB chair that everyone recommended, though! Now if we can get him to sit in it without falling over. Usually the end of December makes me sad, but I actually used it to get organized and prepared for 2022! I’m feeling very optimistic about the new year, and everything it has in store! 🙂

XO

Kels