LAST MINUTE VALENTINE'S DAY GIFTS

I'm not the best at giving gifts, I must admit. The way I show love the most is through words of encouragement and quality time. When I'm shopping for a gift I want to go to one place to by it all. For gifts for my girl friends, I love all of the little trinkets that Idieh Design has to offer. It's my one stop V-Day place for sure!

Heidi Barlett is the boss lady behind the company, and she is also a fellow Phoenician. She has such great style and taste, and I love that she has created her own line of t-shirts, accessories and prints. Some of my favorite things from her shop and gifts for Valentine's Day are her t-shirts, iPhone cases and prints. 

iPhone cases are always a good gift if you know what size to get. You can easily add a personal touch, and it's a fun accessory everyone enjoys switching out from time to time. This one with lipstick marks all over it is my personal favorite.

Graphic prints are like a better version of a greeting card. It's something that people can hang, and often times the best prints are encouraging and up-lifting. I love thinking that I gift I give can keep on giving for years to come, and that's exactly what a framed print like this one can do.

Lastly, graphic t-shirts are still popular. Maybe your friend doesn't wear them on a daily basis, but these shirts are cute to workout it on even sleep in. I love this "dance it out" one because my family has a dance party in our living room almost every night. The lipstick mark t-shirt is also great too, especially if you're nervous your friend won't resonate with the sentiments on the other t-shirt.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

REAL LOVE

Over a year and half ago I styled a model for a styled shoot for Ale Vidal around Shakespeare's, Romeo & Juliet. We have never shared the photos until now, and I thought these photos would be a great visual to share my thoughts and feelings about love, after all Valentine's Day is only days away.

Reading the words of Romeo, "See how she leans upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek," makes me swoon. What woman doesn't dream of a man falling head over heels like that? I always thought that was what love looked like - a man completely smitten and infatuated with me, a man that would always think I am the most beautiful woman God ever created for all eternity, a man that calls me the "sun," and never wanting to part from me. 

Love was something I only understood as emotion and a feeling. Now that I have been married for almost 9 years this May, I have come to understand that great, true love is choosing to love even when you don't have all of the "feelings" behind it.

It's knowing that Ryan loves me at my ugliest rather than at my prettiest. Sure, he tells me that I am beautiful, special and wonderful from time to time, but when he says, "I love you," after a big fight I know that we have something great and special. 

Sometimes I miss all of the emotions that come when you just begin to date, but even writing this blog post reminds me how much more special it is to experience true love in the day to day hustle and bustle of life when I don't look my prettiest and I'm not always saying the right thing.

Photos by Ale Vidal
Makeup by SN Makeup Artist
Hair by Jessica Gallegos
Styling by Alex Evjen, AVE Styles
Dress from Mariee Bridal
Flowers by Posies Floral
Veil from Mignonne Handmade
Model Agency AZ

CURLY HAIR STYLING TRICKS

All of my life I wore my hair up or straight because I didn't know how to style my natural curls in a way that didn't make me look like Ms. Frizzle (you know, that lady from the Magic School bus with the crazy red curly hair...). Curls are hard to style, and with so many different hair textures and curl types (ringlets, waves, corkscrews) it's hard to know which products are the best for my hair.

I have thin, fine hair and my curls are kinky with some straightness at the root with the curl showing up at the bottom. It's hard for me to get volume at the root when I using curl creams and anti-frizz serums, but they are a necessary evil to avoid the frizz. I have always had to settle for one and create volume with back combing and hair spray.

I have finally found a system that works really well, and it's the Bumble & Bumble BbCurl line. I use their Curl Primer, Curl Cream and Curl Mousse.

Here's my step by step process of how I create beachy, touchable, no-frizz curls...

1. After you have shampooed your hair, apply conditioner but avoid your roots. Take a wide-tooth comb and comb through your hair while still in the shower. Flip your head over and rinse out the conditioner by scrunching your curls over and over again.

2. Turn your shower off, step out and dry off your body, but AVOID towel drying your hair. Leave it sopping wet by simply wringing out the moisture with those curl scrunches upside down.

3. Layer your product: curl primer, curl mousse and curl cream. Apply to the hair in the continued scrunching motion with your head upside down.

4. Get your blow dryer, set it to the low setting and start drying your hair upside down. Cup the curls gently so that they don't blow everywhere, which can create frizz. It's going to take awhile, but blow drying your hair upside down with cupping the curls and occasionally scrunching them is going to bring out even more curl than you have ever seen before. 

5. Once your hair is all of the way dry, flip your head upside down and shake your curls out. You might even want to bring your fingers to the root of your hair and do a little rub there to separate them a bit.

That's it! Tell me how it works for you and embrace those waves and curls!

Photos by Rennai Hoefer. 

HOW TO MONETIZE PINTEREST

As a blogger and Pinterest influencer, people often ask me with a surprised look on their face, "Do you get pid to pin?" I reply, "Yes, and it's the best job in the world!" But as Pinterest has evolved over the years, you can no longer be given money from a company to pin their products from their site. You also can't use affiliate links to make commission on sales. In fact, if you go about making money on your Pinterest account that way you're violating Pinterest's Terms of Service Policy. Yikes! 

Here are three ways I monetize my account that are well within Pinterest's terms:

1. CREATE & SHARE ORIGINAL CONTENT - Recently, I partnered with Coca-Cola to create original imagery that featured their products. This imagery was shared in a series of blog posts on AVESTYLES.com featuring recipes and style inspiration, and it was also shared on my Pinterest account linking back to Coca-Cola's website. This is acceptable to Pinterest because the content was completely generated by me and has my signature touch to it. It's an organic, non-invasive way of promoting a brand because you're most likely staying true to the aesthetic that is represented on your Pinterest account. 

2. SPONSORED BOARD - It is acceptable to Pinterest for a brand to pay me a sum of money to create a *new* board on my account that states the brand's name in the title and declares it is sponsored in the description of the board. The board can also host a sum of sponsored pins from the company's website. I am currently working with Shane Co. on a sponsored board that features item's I'm crushing on, which also includes 10 products from their site. This is within the terms because you are declaring the campaign to your followers, which they can easily opt out of. Note: It's important that these boards be brand new ones and not repurposed boards. You cannot take your board with the biggest following and change the name and subject of that board to accommodate your sponsor. That is viewed as misleading to your followers that initially followed the board for "x" and is now receiving "y."

3. CURATING FOR A BRAND - I also curate boards and accounts for brands on Pinterest. This would be similar to someone doing an Instagram takeover or guest posting on a blog. Sometimes a company will share an existing board with me and I will curate content for that board for a month. I also have been paid to take over an entire Pinterest account and curate on behalf of a brand as long as I stay within their brand guidelines and style. Not too long ago I did this very thing for Glamour and Woolite where I curated a board on their account all about washable style. 

If you're interested in learning more of the in's and out's of how to monetize your Pinterest account, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. That's where you'll be the first to hear about my Pinterest classes, as well as exclusive Pinterest tips. 

MAJOR CRUSH

If you know me or have followed along for some time you'll know that I don't wear a lot of jewelry. But, when I do wear jewelry I only like to wear very special, quality pieces. I like when jewelry has a story, a powerful message or a special someone behind it. I've partnered with Shane Co. to share with you my Valentine's Day must-have jewelry because they are a company that offers those treasured gems.

Sometimes we see dollar signs when we think of shopping at a jewelry store, but I had no idea that you can find real gold and real silver items at Shane Co. for reasonable price points of under $200. Plus, with every purchase you make at Shane Co. you receive a certificate of authenticity. Many of us have probably spent similar amounts of money on jewelry that isn't even the best quality or guaranteed to give you timeless satisfaction.

I love this infinity collection by Shane Co. because the best way I can describe my love for my husband and kids is "infinite." This diamond bracelet and matching ring are modern and simple, but eye-catching. They are definitely high on my Valentine's want list.

Yellow gold, rose gold and silver are all on trend right now. You can mix and match them without wondering if they "go" together. I liked stacking these gold and rose gold diamond rings for understated, daily sparkle. 

In the past I haven't gravitated toward heart shaped jewelry, but when I saw this simple heart necklace I really loved it. It's one of those necklaces you would expect to see every woman wearing because it's sweet, delicate and can be layered with other jewelry.

This gold tassel bracelet, on the other hand, is that kind of unique piece that I'm always looking for. To put the bracelet on, you simply slide the gold ball down and slip it on your wrist. It's a design you would think you would see other places, but I never have! This bracelet is at the top of my want list!

If you're in the market to buy someone special a gift but you don't know what to get them, you can take this quiz to see what they might like. To see more things I'm crushing on you can check out my MAJOR CRUSH Pinterest board. Plus, you can enter to win $1,000 to Shane Co. by designing a Valentine's card, click here to enter.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer