Did you have a nice weekend, my loves? I’m still on cloud nine from {finally!} meeting Kelly Wearstler in person on Friday at Legends. Here’s how it happened — the story of when Kelly met Kelly — and the surprising thing Kelly Wearstler said to me that made my life…

Meeting your idols can be a tricky thing. How can they possibly live up to the image of them that you’ve built up in your head? It’s nearly impossible. I’m thrilled to say that Kelly Wearstler was even more amazing in person than the Kelly Wearstler in my mind. Down to earth, genuine, laid back and gracious, Kelly Wearstler was a refreshing reminder that being nice and being extremely successful are not mutually exclusive. And for an artist who presumably must be meticulous to produce such breathtaking results, I was really blown away by how cool and relaxed she was. She isn’t as cool as you think she is. She’s even cooler.

After I introduced myself as Kelly from Kelly Golightly, she said, “Oh, so nice to meet you. I follow you on Instagram and love your work.” SAY WHAT?! Now, I knew Kelly Wearstler follwed me on Instagram (because you better believe I jumped up and down like I’d won the lottery when that notification popped up on my iPhone), but I didn’t know if Kelly Wearstler handled her own Instagram. I mean, from her Instagram stream, you would assume she does, but some people let their assistants or employees handle their social media. So you can imagine my surprise and utter delight when she said that. What a generous thing to say.

She even signed my copy her book Rhapsody: “Love your social media!”

I’m not sure there’s any better compliment or endorsement I could have received. I mean, this woman is my idol.

We chatted about both having lived in South Carolina. I knew she grew up in Myrtle Beach and I told her I had lived in Sumter when my dad was in the Air Force. She told me her mother used to live in Sumter, as her mother’s first husband was in the Air Force too. {Another I-can’t-believe-this moment because no one ever knows Sumter, even people who live in South Carolina. It’s not exactly Bluebell.} And to come from South Carolina to where she is now is not an easy feat.

She asked if the guy behind the camera snapping a zillion pictures was my husband. I laughed and introduced her to Fred Baby {who truly this blog wouldn’t be possible without}, and she laughed and said she likes couples who work together. We had to laugh because Kelly Wearstler and her husband Brad Korzen are our power couple inspiration. {He develops properties and hotels and she makes them look out-of-this-world, among many other things.)

We also talked about Palm Springs — I told her The Viceroy Palm Springs is our favorite little spot in Palm Springs and that we recently bought a house there– and she said she can’t believe the last time she was in Palm Springs was when she was pregnant with her son Elliot. {Come back, Kelly, you can stay with me!}

It was an amazing day and one of the absolute highlights of my career so far — if not the highlight. It’s so important to have people to look up to professionally, to be inspired by, those who trail-blaze a path and inspire you to be your absolute best, and Kelly Wearstler is that for me. She’s so bold and takes chances and has risen to the top in the way that I hope to some day — without losing a sense of self or family and without having to trample others to get there.

Thank you Kelly Wearstler for the endless inspiration and to Legends for making our meeting possible. I’ll be sure to share more highlights from Legends soon!

Here is what I wore:

A+Ellen blouse c/o Shop Norka

Just Fab bag c/o

Finders Keepers skirt c/o beauxx.com

Shoemint shoes

Vintage owl necklace

 [Photos by FredBaby13]