Outfit Chronicles: One Piece - Three Ways

Ever have a how the heck did they even come up with that outfit?! moment?

Alex from AVE Styles and I are working together to bring you a set of series where fashion and style are a lot more accessible. Where you can start thinking about what you already have in your closet rather than the brands you don't own. Kind of like shopping for free. How ridiculous is that?

First challenge: One piece of clothing styled in three ways. Three completely different looks.

I showed up to Alex's place with a duffel bag full of clothes. I would consider myself a relatively stylish girl. BUT. I have NEVER put any of these outfits together that Alex whipped up. After the fastest camera/photography tutorial ever, Alex became the photographer and together we created these fashion profiles. Consider the notes like recipes -- you can mimic or reinterpret it to whatever taste you like.

My one piece: Coral Blazer

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Add some sparkle and now it's a night time outfit. Alex said this outfit reminded her most of me. Not gonna lie, definitely a favorite...

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And last -- this one really surprised me. I would have never thought to pair a cardigan under a blazer.

Cra-zy. Felt like I went shopping. The wonders of working with a stylist. Lucky for us, Alex is raining down some of that styling wisdom on us :) Tomorrow it will be her turn to be in front of the camera... yeeeep!

Make sure to check out her blog for even more details on the thoughts behind the styling. Hope you're looking forward to these series! Requests are welcomed ;)

Upcoming Fashion Series

Meet Alex from AVE Styles...

Our initial collaboration was on my first-ever Menswear shoot. And now we are bringing YOU a series that will hopefully provide some inspiration for your closet. A twist to my typical outfit chronicles.

The first series inspiration came from the ever amazing Jamie -- but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what exactly it is ;) I'm excited to have Alex in front of the camera seeing as how she is always behind-the-scenes working her styling magic. The fun part is that she also was behind the camera taking photos of me ;)

See y'all tomorrow!

Creepers at the Grocery Store

I'm standing in line with two packs of cookie-dough for our married's small group that's meeting that night...

Man behind me: That's a nice dinner you got there
Me: *laughs* Yeah... it's gonna be quite the meal! *politely smiles and waves the cookie packs in the air*

[slight pause]

Man Creeper behind me: ...Makes me wonder what's for dessert *raises eyebrows up and down, up and down*

Cashier: Um, Borders?

As creeper went from funny to you're-too-old-to-say-that-to-me, I'm busy giving the Safeway cashier my Borders rewards card. THEY'RE THE SAME COLOR. Did you not just see this man's eyebrows dance for me?! And YES, I know Borders is out of business. No, I don't know why that card is still in my purse.

Real smooth.

Office Situation: Should I paint the oar?

Remember this inspiration I drew up for my office?

Except, instead of a branch I wanted to get an oar (i.e. paddle). Then I found one for $15 at a thrift store! Enter my...

I found a perfect spot to hang it as I've been decorating my office. I'm thinking the space between my curtains and book shelf.

But here's my question for YOU.

I can't figure out if I want to keep the wood color (and re-stain it)... or go for a modern look and paint it white?

Keep in mind that the white on the oar is magic photoshop. It isn't white yet, but that gives you an idea of what it could look like. My walls are cream so the white would stand out. Thoughts? Wood or white?

An Intimate Maternity: Christina -- Phoenix, Arizona

I can only imagine this little girl, who will soon make her appearance, will be as graceful and beautiful as her mom.

Can you imagine her soft, little feet wearing these pink slippers?! Having a little girl is oh-so-sweet :)

These are actually Christina's lacy slippers that she wore as a baby. Soon her little girl will have them on. You know how we all love wearing mom's shoes anyway ;)

And there's no question Daniel is going to take care of his girls :)

:)

So sweet :)

Obviously parenting looks good on these two! ;)

Christina & Daniel -- thank you for sharing this incredibly intimate, and special moment with me. I can't wait to meet your little girl! She is going to be so loved by you both :)

Jose Vidal

Where do I start with this guy?

He turns on the latest Willow Smith song for us to dance to while we're brushing our teeth, I call him at least 3 times a day to ask "okay, what do you think about this?" Nine times out of ten when he says he has a "surprise" for me -- it's food. The man knows me. Let's not mention the fact that he looks THAT good assisting me at a wedding. But even more than any of that, he has made me so proud of the leadership roles he has taken on these past few months.

We're leading our own small group! It will officially start next week. I've come downstairs quite a few nights to find Jose sprawled on his stomach - propped on his elbows (his favorite "working" position) - staring at and scribbling on his notebook. He is setting goals, he has reached out to people, and I love and admire the fire in his heart for this group.

Ok. So maybe sometimes his interpretation of hip-hop moves scare me a little. But this guy... he makes me pretty happy :)

A Sweet Maternity Sneak Peek -- Phoenix, Arizona

A little girl will soon slip on these beautiful shoes....

I've photographed the baby outside the tummy.... but never inside. And goodness, the beauty of a woman who is expecting is incredible. More to come later... :)

Outfit Chronicles: Preppy and Nerdy Collide

These were taken back when it was cold... in Dallas during the Christmas break. Now I'm back in Phoenix where I pretty much had to hang up the scarves and jackets. We're back to our "lows" this week at 66.

button up: my sister's closet, cardigan: H&M, scarf+belt: Spain, pants: F21, boots: borrowed from mom ;)

These are actually on the sidewalk of my childhood home :) Every now and then my mom would peek through the curtains from inside to watch Jose and I. What's funny is that she lent me the boots I'm wearing. I remember her and my brother picking us up from the airport and classic mom -- she's got these ankle boots with a fur lining on the cuff. I should have had an outfit chronicles with her is what I should have done!

Enjoy the bloopers :) When I need help relaxing my face (read: when my lips feel tense after taking photos), I inhale deeply, blow out my cheeks, and release the air slowly through my lips.

I know... these cheeks were quite the talk when I was a baby.

Look what I found

Isn't it pretty?

There's gold, blue, violets, and hues of green right HERE. For free people. Go get your desktop a pretty make-over ;)

Fashion: Hannah Sutton -- Phoenix, AZ

So Hannah and I did 2 looks. One dark, one light. Light -- well, that's very typical of me. Dark? Depends on how you define it. In my case, I wanted to approach it very edgy, sharp, with a focus on high-fashion (rather than lifestyle).

You'll notice on this first set that it's dusk -- meaning we did this look last. I'm showing it first because it has a softer approach (which you might expect from me). I left the dark set last to show the contrast between the first look and what I was trying to accomplish by doing something edgier.

// LIGHT //

model: Hannah Sutton

// DARK //

One of my favorites... Hannah and I both love backs :)

I'm a fan of experimenting. ♥