lifestyle

On My Radar

Today is going to be a bit of a ramble here. Apparently, I have a lot on my mind!

I’m really missing my fam this week. That’s the worst part visiting… I always feel the homesickness a little more intensely when I’m back for a week or so. While I was in Tampa, I ended up working on a campaign for Mother’s Day with Elizabeth Arden. My mom is such a good sport (and loves the extra attention if you can’t tell from the vlog ha) and my dad helped take some of the photos– and we all lived to tell the tale 😂 Anyway, I wanted to bring up a couple of things about blog sponsorships.

1) I would not be where I am today without your readership. I want you to know how much I appreciate your loyalty. I’d love to meet every one of you guys at some point, but for now, I relish your comments and emails. They mean SO much to me. I read everything and try my best to respond. I always always always respond to emails. (Sometimes things slip through the cracks, so if I haven’t responded to your email I’ve probably accidentally archived it from my phone– resend it!) Working with these incredible brands literally would not happen if it weren’t for you and I take that responsibility seriously.

2) I’m very picky when it comes to partnering with brands. I always look at the partnership to see what you, the reader, is going to get from it. Often it’s a brand I already know and love, and sometimes it’s new-to-me and an exciting opportunity to try something new. I’m most particular with beauty and alcohol partnerships. I never work with alcohol brands because I feel like it’s super weird to be paid to promote alcohol and I rarely drink. For beauty brands, more often than not I have to say no because the brand’s proposal doesn’t give me enough time to test the product before signing an agreement. I don’t want to use a face wash once, for example, and love it for a day and then realize that it dries my skin out a month later. I think it’s in the best interest of the brand to let us test the product, so we have legitimate things to say, but alas, the PR companies are usually under deadlines, and I get that, so I pass.

A huge product category within beauty is fragrances. If I took on every fragrance campaign that came in through my inbox, I could probably retire by 35. There is a lot of money in the fragrance industry.

This Elizabeth Arden campaign that I did was one I said yes to… because I’ve been using the perfume on my own since January! I went to the launch of the White Tea fragrance back in January. (I also went home craving warm cups of tea haha) A lot of perfumes give me migraines so when I love a scent, and it doesn’t give me a headache, it feels like winning the lottery. My mom is also super sensitive to smell, so I thought the Mother’s Day campaign was especially apropos.

That ended up being way longer than I expected it to, but I wanted to explain some of the behind the scenes of my decision making for campaigns!

Mother's Day

Speaking of which… I’m heading to the Preakness Stakes this weekend with BMW. They dropped off the car the other day, and I’ve had so much fun zipping around town in it. It’s definitely the coolest car I’ve ever driven. My Subaru must be feeling jealous though, and I think it knows I am cheating on it because this week I had a dead battery and a flat tire! It actually wasn’t that bad and happened in parking lots, so I was completely safe. (And yay for warranties that cover everything!) Made me feel like an official car owner because it’s the first time has happened to me when it’s my car!

Okay… still with me?! Onto the fun stuff on my radar this week:

ONE // Tuckernuck’s Jewelry Line

Tuckernuck has just raised the bar by releasing a line of jewelry! The earrings are to die for. I’m realizing now that I haven’t shared it on my blog, but I love wearing a plain t-shirt, ripped jeans, flats, and statement earrings! Such a fun really simple look, but the earrings make it look like you put in a lot more effort. Loving this navy drop and these turquoise fireworks!

TWO // Claire Crosby sings “You’ll Be In My Heart”

When Tarzan (the animated Disney version) came out in 1999, it’s safe to say that it was my favorite movie. My sister and I were obsessed– to the point where we would dress up like Jane Goodall and play in our backyard as if it was a jungle. Anyway, we also loved the soundtrack and the song “You’ll Be In My Heart” used to (aka still does) make me cry. Little Claire Crosby singing it on Ellen MELTS MY HEART.

THREE // A Girls’ Soccer Team Joins the Boys’ League… And WON!

What an inspiring story about a girls’ soccer team in Spain. They joined the boys’ league and just won the regional tournament! It didn’t happen overnight, but I’m sure there was plenty of work and effort from the girls and the coaches. I love it.

FOUR // Belle Force’s Instagram

I found this line of activewear inspired by ballet while aimlessly scrolling through Instagram one night. I think the line is super adorable (I’d feel like a ballerina for sure in yoga class) and the Instagram account is quite pleasing on the eyes. Makes me wish that I had never quit dance back in the day!

FIVE // Goat Rehab

Ending on a cute note, as always. Does anyone else watch goat videos on Youtube? I think it’s so funny when they hop around– I kind of want to live on a farm so that I can get some goats! This woman rescues goats with disabilities and gives them a new lease on life. You guys, I was legit crying by the end of the video. So sweet.

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23 Comments

Lindsey

I would love to know where the tops are from that your mom is wearing. So cute!!!

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Andrea

I just wanted to pop in real quick to say that your approach to sponsored content is honestly the best, most naturally integrated into your blog, and least distracting of any blogger I read!! I literally never find myself thinking “ugh here goes Carly with another sponsored post” — quite the opposite, in fact! It always feels genuine and well thought out, and you deliver SO much great content every day that I feel you have more than deserved landing some sweet sponsorship deals. Keep on doing what you’re doing, Carly — it’s great stuff!

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Stephanie

I agree as well! I’ve been a reader for a while (since I think 2010, which is even longer than I thought!), and I love how natural and seamless everything feels. You always have fantastic content!

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Katie

I totally agree with this! And any time you recommend something I feel like I can take it seriously because I know you’re not just doing it to get a paycheck, but because you genuinely know and like the brand.

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Tatiana

Agreed! Carly is the most down to earth blogger. So many bloggers recommend a product or tag their outfit pieces and everything is $300+ which is so unreasonable for most readers.

I also love that Carly is so casual on snapchat (humidity hair and all!). The content is so relatable and honest that I’d literally listen to any advice Carly gives (i.e. once I bought the Planter’s S’mores and nuts mix because she said it was good..and it was). Keep doing what you’re doing. <3

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Taylor

Thanks for being transparent about your sponsored posts! I’ve seen some other posts by bloggers touching on the same subject and it’s nice that we get to see understand the ‘behind the scenes’ part of blogging. I’ve seen so many comments by readers who are so quick to judge and don’t realize the amount of work, effort, and time you have to put into working with companies.

Enjoy your weekend at the Preakness!

xo,
Taylor

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Erica

Your transparency is the reason I come back day after day to read! So rare to have such an honest blog in the space. Really love the community you’ve built, it is so special.

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Carly Young

Ah – you will forever be my favorite blogger because of your sweet transparency with us! Thank you!

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Alyssa

Thank you so much for your honesty! I love reading your blog because I know you’re 100% honest all the time. It’s much appreciated in this day and age.

On another note, I absolutely LOVE what you’ve been doing with your Instagram stories lately with the quotes! It’s so exciting for me and the quotes have been resonating with me a lot. It’s a fun little surprise and I hope you keep up with it! Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it 🙂

Have a wonderful Friday!

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Anne

Minor clarification (and only because I am a primatologist) – Jane Godall is a real person and one of the foremost chimpanzee researchers in the world, Jane Porter is the character from the original Tarzan novels and movie!

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Samantha

Clip on earring that don’t look like something my grandma would wear… now don’t get me wrong Grandma can be a fashionable lady but I am DYING for those pineapple clip ons! I have double piercings in my ears but I will be spending a lot more time on the phone for my new job and the ease of removing a clip on is above and beyond perf.

I so relate right now to missing family more after visiting home. I’ve been away at grad school for two years and just moved home for a month before heading to that new job… halfway across the country! Before coming home I felt ready for the move. After just a couple days around everybody regularly again, I can’t believe I’m giving this up!

Happy weekend!

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