I Took Some Time Off, Here's Where I've Been.
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Oh hey everyone! It's been a minute...
It has been about two years since I last wrote a blog post, and as with most "breaks" I take, this one was absolutely not planned, but also very needed. Since the spring of 2024, so much has happened in my life and it has led me back to SBKxo and creating content for all of you. So let's dive into it!
Last we spoke it was June of 2024, Bridgerton season 3 had taken over all of my content and it was almost time for another year of Summer Camp fun at the theater. Things were looking up in my life as I was starting to get the hang of how to cope with the leg infections that had become a regular part of my life since the summer of 2023. Unfortunately, my body was not done fighting me.
In May I had pneumonia which I thought I had fought off, but it turns out it had not truly gone away and in June I ended up back in urgent care with a "second" case. I started to feel a lot better and then on the fourth of July, I was in a ton of pain and ended up back in urgent care where they found a pleural effusion around my left lung and I ended up hospitalized the final weekend leading up to the start of Summer Camp. Through this process (that ended up taking almost a year of specialists and testing), I got two diagnosis - an ibuprofen allergy (potentially brought on by the amount I had to take for pain management through the pneumonia and leg issues) and a tentative lupus diagnosis. I'm collecting allergies and autoimmune diseases like Pokemon these days. Luckily, other than that one incident, I haven't had any flare that they are relating back to the lupus, but it is something that we are monitoring. The leg infections still come back every few months (last one was in January 2026), but we have a much better treatment procedure in place and I've avoided hospitalization more often than not!
That Fall I reunited with my book club girlies in my corner of the country at Books, Gowns and Crowns Chapter 3 in Renton! We also expanded our little book club to include another PNW girly! The convention was a blast that year and it was so great to have everyone here instead of spread so far away. In September of 2025 we took another non-BGC trip to coastal Maine, and it was the ultimate relaxing beach book trip. Getting to explore new places and new books with this group of women from all around the country is always a blast, and I can't wait for the next time we all get together!
The start of 2025 had a lot of amazing work opportunities, including taking my students to a theater festival and then attending two theater festivals with a show with some of my "grown up" theater friends. It was so amazing to get to bring our Tacoma theater to Sacramento, Spokane and Boise and get to meet so many amazing thespians from all around. I got to direct a dream show in the Summer of 2025, Cinderella, and my students absolutely smashed it! I work with the most amazing and talented young people, and am so looking forward to what comes next with work.
However, through all the positives of work, there also was some incredibly sad times. At the end of 2025, we lost the artistic director of the company, someone I have called friend and mentor for the last decade. It has been a difficult few months as we adjust to our new normal without him, but I am endlessly grateful for the healing power of art and community. In his passing, he left me and a friend the daunting task of directing a major production, Dear Evan Hansen, a show he had been looking forward to directing so much with us as his assistants. The cast and team of this show rallied around each other in a huge way and the art that came out of our grief was truly remarkable. I am beyond proud of that show and so fortunate that I get to say I was part of making it happen. A career highlight certainly coming out of personal hardship and grief.
And for all the personal lows, there were also many highs! There have been 3 weddings since we last spoke - my college best friend Elise, my younger sister Kelsey, and my work besties Thomas and Sarah. The last of these also brought me back to Hawaii, where I haven't been in 20 years since we "lived" there for a summer when I was in elementary school. It was not only a beautiful wedding, but a much needed vacation with some of my favorite people. My travel bug is truly back... now if only my wallet and schedule would catch up!
Speaking of the reason my wallet needs to catch up... I MOVED! The house I have been teasing about on social media for nearly two years, finally was ready for Ceili and I to move in last Fall. I moved in in mid-November and it has been so great to be out in Tacoma, in a space that is more my own and with my best friend. Now, things are probably changing pretty soon (yay old house problems...) but it has been a good start to this next adventure.
Now to the content! In September of 2024, after the summer of crazy, I committed myself to daily vlogging on TikTok and Instagram (and eventually YouTube Shorts) and I am very proud to say that I have done that! I have not missed a single day since I started (even through hospitalizations and tech weeks and grief). It is so fun to create these little glimpses of my life and keep SBK going, even when I haven't been able to blog, podcast or create longer form video content.
You also may have noticed a new branch of StyledByKaylaXO content in the past few months - Cute Girls Like Hockey! I have always enjoyed watching a good hockey game, but last spring my love of the sport exploded quite a bit. I bought in to my mom and sister's Kraken season tickets and now attend at LEAST two games a month. I obviously have vlogged about going to games and right before the start of the season some dude bro commented on one of my vlogs saying "I'll forgive you for liking hockey because your cute." And because you all know me, you know I couldn't let that comment just slide and so I made it my whole personality, launching the "i'm cute bc I like hockey" fantasy hockey league (which turned into two leagues and a discord server), so that women who enjoy hockey could connect and celebrate this sport we love so much. From there it only felt right to create more content and community so the IG and TikTok pages for Cute Girls Like Hockey were born. I'm loving this new community I've found of women who love my favorite sport just as much as I do.
The newest thing going on in my life is that I am finally in a place autoimmune/infection health wise that I am able to be back in the gym and focused on my weight loss again. I am working with an INCREDIBLE personal trainer and getting myself back on track, so stay tuned for HealthByKaylaXO content to resume very very soon.
I'm sure I have missed so much, but there is plenty of time to get you all back up to speed. I am so grateful to those of you who have stuck around in different formats while I've been gone, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
xo,
Kayla
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