April 2020 Favorites + Happenings

Man oh man, have I just had the best month ever. Truthfully, I never in a million years would have expected those words to come out of my mouth in the midst of a global pandemic but here we are. I’ll admit, not every aspect of this month was the “best ever” but as far as Styled by McKenz goes, I could not have dreamed of a better month if I tried!

Thanks to all this extra time on my hands, I’ve been able to grow my brand in ways I hadn’t known possible until now. After almost four and a half years of going after my dreams, there’s something so incredibly special about watching everything fall into place all at once.

Although everything in me misses the normalcy of my life two months ago—school, my friends, the baseball field, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying this forced time to slow down. Yes, there are days where I go absolutely stir crazy but something in me has also really appreciated the downtime. After pushing myself to the absolute limits throughout the school year, it’s been much needed. Oh, and today is my last day of freshman year; can you believe how fast time flies?!

FASHION 

Y’all, getting dressed has been my favorite part of the day recently. I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun I have had this month when it comes to styling looks! Yes, I too have worn my fair share of loungewear but I’m taking full advantage of this quarantine to wear all of my new goodies that came while I was away at school. At school, I don’t get to wear all of the mail I get sent due to practicality reasons (for example wedges and a purse aren’t exactly going to class attire) and getting to play around with so many unique pieces this month has been a blast. As you can tell, I had so many favorite looks that I had a hard time narrowing it down to just these six!

I stopped wearing skinny jeans this month. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are! I gave my jeans collection a wardrobe refresh in March after picking up five new pairs of Express cropped flare ankle-length jeans and boy have they just dominated my wardrobe. Not only are they a super-flattering style on me, but they look good with just about any outfit you could come up with. I’ve also been really into anything straw— whether it be one of my straw purses, these espadrille wedges from Chinese Laundry, or a pair of earrings. I love how summery these pieces feel and have had so much fun incorporating them into my outfits.

In addition to all the fun #ootds, I’ve narrowed down my favorite photoshoot looks to just six. I shot so many looks this month with the help of my sister, Madison. One of the best parts about being home is having her here to help; so ready for us to both be done with school so we have extra time to get creative together. This month I played around with basics quite a bit and experimented with accessories and shoes to elevate each look.

Que the loungewear; I’ve styled tons of it this month due to quarantine and y’all seem to be loving it. Boohoo has some of the best! Other favorites this month include this cow print purse, these white lace-up heels from SheIn, and pops of yellow to help brighten the mood. Transitioning into those spring/summer temperatures has brought about a  whole new wave of style inspiration; hoping it sticks around!

ACCESSORIES 

Accessories, accessories oh how we have become besties this month! I’ve realized more than ever these last few weeks how they can transform your look instantly. My number one favorite accessory this month was my cowgirl hat. Obviously I don’t wear it around the house on a day-to-day basis but I love popping it on with some of my looks come time to take my outfit photos. I’ve been loving belts for a few months now but I added a few new ones to my collection this month and I’ve been wearing them on repeat! Western belts are my absolute favorite—I think I own every single one Shein offers, haha!

I sported my gold hoops 80% of the month, fell in love with the look of layered gold chain necklaces, and reached for a purse every chance I could get. My black circle crossbody, clear purse, and belt bag were some of my most reached for this month in addition to the straw bags I talked about earlier. I obviously don’t wear them around the house but popping one on for my outfit photo certainly adds some fun.

BEAUTY 

In all honesty, I haven’t been doing anything different this month when it comes to the beauty realm. I’ve been keeping my makeup pretty simple but for hair, I have been loving pigtails. I know that’s a super random “favorite” to have but I think they are a cute way to wear my dirty, day three hair.

My only other favorite that falls under the beauty category would be a new self-tanner I recently tried. The Perfect Glow self-tanner by Melissa Weinberg was sent to me for an Instagram review and man is it good! While I do love my Tanologist and Jergens products, the Perfect Glow tanner is so worth the splurge if you’re needing an even, dark tan for a special event. It leaves more of a spray tan finish rather than a self-tan. I cannot say enough good things about this product; you do need a tanning mitt to apply it though!

ENTERTAINMENT

I’ve been watching a lot of tv this month as I’m sure most of you are. I like popping something on when scrolling through Instagram late at night to give me some background noise. This month I watched Ozark and Outer Banks on Netflix. Honestly, I hated Ozark but watched all three seasons because I don’t like leaving a show unfinished. Ozark was so hard for me to get into and just overall felt really unrealistic. Outer Banks was awesome; I loved the characters and although the plot was a little cheesy I would still recommend giving it a watch if you haven’t already.

Right now I’m rewatching Friday Night Lights on Amazon Prime and it’s making me miss the glory days of cheering on our boys to another state title. I’ve listened to more music this month than ever before: I have sooo many favorites I can’t even name them all. Linking my Country Jams playlist on Spotify here in case you want to check them all out.

LOOKING BACK ON APRIL

I could cry reading my March goals from my last favorites post. I was hoping to hit 7K on Instagram and 2K on YouTube. Today, May 1, 2020, I am sitting just over 8K on Instagram and am 200 subscribers away from 8K on YouTube. I had 30K blog views this month and more than doubled my number of unique page viewers. I hosted a very successful giveaway, got my page views on Pinterest up to 300K, and spent time engaging in my WordPress Reader almost every day.

I am absolutely blown away by the growth I have experienced this month. It is an incredible feeling to watch your hard work pay off and to see it happen all at once. I cannot even begin to tell you how many kind messages I have received this month saying my videos have inspired you to be more productive, or that my blog posts are making you so excited for college, or that my Instagram has inspired you to start developing your own personal style. Your sweet words and support mean absolutely everything to me.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY

I take my last final in just a couple of hours which means tomorrow is my first day of summer. I’m so excited because if I had that awesome of an April while taking 18 credits, I have faith that I can grow even more throughout May when I’m able to give my full, undivided attention to Styled by McKenz. My number one goal this month is to hit 10K on YouTube! After gaining 6,000 subscribers in the month of April, I know this goal is attainable.

April really showed me that you can’t cut corners and expect to get good results. Linking clothes, giving the blog a bit of a facelift, pinning each blog post, engaging on other’s blog posts, uploading consistently to YouTube, and talking more on my Instagram stories were all things I’ve always said I would do “when I have time”. Finally making time for these things has proved to me that it’s the little things that end up making a big difference. In May I plan on keeping up with these positive habits, hosting two giveaways on Instagram, and creating a posting schedule for my YouTube channel.

MY MONTH AT A GLANCE 

Last month I was in a bit of a funk, adjusting to life back at home. I’ve been pushing through this last month of school—transitioning to online school wasn’t too bad for me in the end, since I was already taking a couple of online classes. Thank god it’s (almost) summer! While yes, school was giving me something to do with my free time, I’m excited for the weight of school responsibilities to finally be lifted.

Thankfully I have Styled by McKenz to keep me busy as I’ve spent tons of time keeping up with my various platforms in my free time. Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I stare at my phone for 10 hours straight (I’m not proud, but it happens!) but don’t we all?! Earlier this month Madison and I dressed up in a different theme for dinner each night just to keep things interesting. We’ve also been practicing our fair share of Tik Tok dances. I painted a pair of jeans and am obsessed with how they turned out. I’m waiting for another pair to come in the mail and am excited to have a creative project to keep me busy. I’m also looking forward to having some time to read and enjoy the sunshine from my Tommy Bahama chair.

I cannot thank you enough for the abundant love and support you all have shown me this month. This community I have built is so special to me and I couldn’t be more grateful. This is everything I hoped for and more. Here’s to an incredible April; now let’s see if May can top it!

With love, McKenz

THIS MONTH ON STYLEDBYMCKENZ

• Spring Sneakers To Sport
• Prom 2020 Season With Terani Couture
• Weekly Wrap Up #14 2020
• 3 Ways To Wear Smocked Dresses
• My First Time Trying Fabletics
• Spring Chicwish Finds
• Weekly Wrap Up #15 2020
• Spring Fashion With My Twin Sister
• White Mountain Shoes To Wear This Spring
• Styling Dresses For The Spring
• 10 Things I Learned Freshman Year Of College
• Weekly Wrap Up #16 2020
• How To Wear Lace Up Heels This Spring
• 30 Swimsuits Under $15
• 6 Ways To Wear Loungewear
• Weekly Wrap Up #17 2020
• Express Looks I’m Wearing During Quarantine
• What To Wear To A Festival