Long Sleeve OTS Top

Hi friends! Once again I went a little MIA. Man when you don't feel good you just can't get anything done! I have good days and bad days and they are so unpredictable. I had more bad days than good this week, which meant a lot of resting. By the way, I want to say thank you to everyone, once again, for all the kind messages, letters and texts, etc. after my latest health post. I've read every single message sent my way, sometimes it's hard to respond to everything, and for that I apologize, but from the bottom of my heart I am extremely grateful for all the love and support as I go through this. 

Holy cow is off the shoulder trending or what? I absolutely love it. Off the shoulder has always been one of my favorite trends. I'm so glad you can find the trend anywhere from tops to rompers. Such a fun look for spring. I can't wait to wear this top (and all the other OTS items I've caved and purchased) with shorts and skirts when it starts to get a little warmer. It was a pretty chilly and windy day when we shot these photos (hence the real messy hair), so pairing these fun rust booties for a pop of color made this outfit feel a little more exciting and weather appropriate, especially when the temp was less than desirable.

The top I'm wearing is from Vici Dolls and is unfortunately sold out, but I've linked some identical ones below. Also, my absolute FAVORITE tee that I live in (and have in 4 colors) is part of the Shopbop Sale going on. I highly recommend snagging one (or two) for yourself at this price while you can. It's slightly oversized, super soft, and has held up in the wash nicely. You can see me wearing them here and here for reference. 

Finally, I'm thinking of doing a Q&A post soon. What do you guys think? If you have any questions, send them my way! Nothing is off limits. If I get enough questions then I'll definitely do a post, otherwise I'll just respond to you directly. Feel free to ask in the comments here, on my Instagram, or via email (mallory@sweetandsauer.com).

Have a great weekend my friends!  

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SHOP THE LOOK

Similar top here, here, here / Jeans (another option here) / Similar bag here, here / Shoes / Sunnies / Necklace

Lavender Bomber + Metallic Loafers

Thank you for all the kind words and support on my last post. I really appreciate all the love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

So it's really no secret that I LOVE easy throw-on outfits (hence my recent post). This outfit is no exception. I tend to live in leggings and t-shirts lately (THIS t-shirt is my new obsession, I have in three colors - it's a MUST have), but that can get so boring after a while. I love that cute bomber jackets and fun shoes/accessories can make a simple outfit a little more interesting. As we transition into warmer weather, light jackets like this are a perfect item to have in your wardrobe. Lightweight bomber jackets like this come in tons of cute colors and styles lately. Bonus, they're such an easy piece to throw on over a basic tee.

Now for these shoes - if you don't have a pair of metallic loafers (or any loafers for that matter), you're missing out. I am LOVING wearing comfy slide on shoes (like THESE super cute ones) with jeans or leggings - they're just easy and cute! Shout out to Gucci for starting this fun trend. I especially love the metallic ones, though, because they just take things up a notch. I have both a silver and gold pair of metallic loafers and its so fun to pair simple jeans and a tee and let the shoes stand out. What do you guys think of the trend? Are you on board?

Lastly, I've been wanting to try some Charlotte Tilbury makeup because I've heard such great things. I caved and bought the magic foundation, setting powder, and magic cream. The gal at the counter tested all of this on my face and when I saw some friends after they raved about how great my makeup looked. So I'm fairly convinced the purchases were worth it. I am nervous about the magic cream though. I just hope it delivers and makes a difference in my skin with the price tag. Has anyone tried it? I'd love to know what you think!

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SHOP THE LOOK

Jacket (c/o) / Tee (must have!) / Leggings (amazing) / Shoes (similar 1, 2, 3) / Purse (dupe here) / Sunnies

When Life Gives You Lemons: Measured in Months

Hi friends. I've been pretty absent lately and this post is actually to explain why. Typically with health update posts, I have an idea of what I'm going to say and it's pretty easy to write it all out, but with this one I'm kind of stumped.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I honestly don't even know where to begin. I don't want to get into a great deal of detail, but long story short, I had a really scary situation happen due to a mixup with one of my medicines. It was terrifying, warranted a panicked trip to the ER, and ended with a week long stay at the hospital. While in the hospital, the medicine situation got sorted out and I had both a CT scan and MRI on my brain done.

Good news, the tumors that are in my brain have not grown and no new tumors have developed. Bad news part 1, the melanoma in my lungs has come back and spread, meaning my body has started resisting the treatments I'm currently on. We're trying a new dosing approach to see if we can get my body to start responding again - fingers crossed that works. Unfortunately, the options for treating metastatic melanoma are extremely limited, and I'm already on the major treatments to fight this type of cancer. So, we flew out to UCLA and met with their melanoma specialist (he's world renowned and has access to studies and trials, etc. that my doctor here doesn't have full access to) and got a second opinion. There's one study that might be an option, but we won't know for sure yet for a little while longer. Also, this is just a study so there's no guarantee it would even work if I am eligible to participate. Bad news part 2, if I can't do the UCLA trial and my body continues to resist the treatment I'm currently on, my lifespan becomes measured in months and there's a chance I won't make it to the end of the year. I wish I could say that's just me being dramatic, but unfortunately those are words straight from two different doctor's mouths. 

Obviously this is extremely hard news to swallow, and honestly I think I'm still in shock and denial.  It's a weird thing to be told you only have months to live. I mean I'm still in shock and denial that I even have cancer in the first place so adding that I might only have months left to live just makes my head spin. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and my odds will change and I'll live to be 121. Here's hoping, right?

I get asked how I'm doing all the time and it honestly depends on the day. Some days are emotionally hard, others are physically hard. I'm definitely having a hard time physically - I guess that's bad news part 3. I've lost so much weight and can't gain any back to save my life. As a result, I feel weak and have little energy. The dumbest things are hard... like bending over to pick something up, or walk a block with a heavy purse. I'm just in a lot of pain all the time and never have energy. It sucks. I've been getting a lot of comments on Instagram from people saying I'm "too skinny" and shouldn't promote being so thin. To that I say, don't judge a book by its cover and be thankful for your good health :)

This whole experience - from diagnosis day to the news I just received, has been so eye opening. Life is short and it's fragile and it's definitely not guaranteed. People will show their true colors, in good ways and bad. The biggest and most important thing that I've felt is love and support. I can't even put into words how wonderful and amazing people have been. I could write an entire post gushing about how appreciative I am for all the love and support I've received and how amazing people are, but instead I'll keep it simple and say thank you. I've never felt so loved and supported in my entire life - and not just by friends and family members, but by complete strangers even. It's an incredible feeling. 

I wish this post were more positive and filled with better news, but cancer is a jerk and just doesn't work that way. Life is precious - don't ever take it for granted.