Kat & Omid

It's a new year and that means new love. I had the opportunity to style Kat and Omid, one of the most beautiful couples I've ever met, for their engagement session with Gina Meola Photography.

Kat and Omid have great style and taste, so I was able to pull wonderful clothes from their closets. Kat loves a touch of sparkle in every outfit, so we did exactly that. She also made sure her hair and makeup were perfect for the shoot. Ashley Nicole did a FABULOUS job!!!

Omid is a structural engineer at a local architecture firm, so he likes very simple clean lines. So, I chose classic, timeless pieces for his outfits.

Of course, we made sure that the colors and textures were very complementary to the location of their shoot - Tempe Center for the Arts.

I can't wait to meet more 2012 love birds! To see more photos from their engagement shoot, click here.

Nautical Engagement Featured On Wedding Chicks

I'm so happy to share that the nautical engagement shoot I styled last year with my wonderful friends (Gina Meola Photography; Sarah and Jessica from Pin Up; Hannah and Steve (models)) has been featured on a popular wedding site, WeddingChicks.com. I love how they even added additional inspiration as to how you can recreate this for yourself. Hey, even if you're already married with kids you can do something nautical inspired for family portraits!

Click here to check out the full post! Want to know how this shoot came about, click here!

Style Resolutions

Happy New Year!!! I love new beginnings! I'm sure you may have made some new year's resolutions already, but I doubt any of them are about fashion.

So, being the goal junky that I am, I have made a list of some style resolutions for you. Trust me, they're on my list too! =)

I know that budgets are usually a lot tighter post-holiday extravaganza, but these goals are simple,easy, and work with things you already own. Heck, they may even save you money in the long run!

1. BLACKEST BLACK - As I write this post I'm wearing a black sweater that is faded. It's one of my favorite sweaters. I've worn it into the ground, and I really don't want to part with it anytime soon. What I really need to do is have it re-dyed. Did you know that you can do that? Yep! You can go to most local tailors and have your clothes dyed OR you can do it yourself with RIT. You can buy it at your local Walmart. So, why ever wear faded black!? I mean, you would have bought the top in gray if you wanted to wear faded black, right?

2. NO PILLS - I'm not talking the kind you take with water. I'm talking about those little tiny bumps that show up on your cashmere sweaters and cotton blend tops. I've gone through way too many closets and found infestations of these little guys. Your clothes could look BRAND new if you just bought a little sweater shaver. You can get one on Amazon.com for $2.99.

3. PERFECT FIT - Do you know that it only costs $20 or under to have your pants taken in or hemmed by a local tailor? Same with your skirts! I know that I'm guilty of wearing ill-fitting clothes because I was too lazy to get my butt to the tailor. Create more outfit options with some tailoring, and maybe it'll cure your itch to buy more new clothes in the coming months!

4. ONE YEAR DITCH - This is a resolution that applies to everyone. I KNOW for a fact there are clothes sitting in your closet that haven't been worn in a year. I'm not talking about the bridesmaid dress that you'll never wear again. I'm talking about that blouse that is missing a button or that sweater that has a stain on the arm. If you're not going to get it fixed or if the piece of clothing hasn't fit you for a year, you need to give it up. Take it to a consignment shop and get some money for it OR donate it. It's not going to do any good to just keep it on a hanger.

5. BE POLISHED - I wear shoes into the ground because it's rare for me to find shoes that always fit me perfectly. That being said, my shoes would probably have a longer life span than a year if I just took the time to polish them. I'm sure there are many similar cases out there. So, let's vow to save some shoes and money by doing some polishing!

I don't know how many of these style resolutions you're going to try to do, but I'm going for all of them.

So, raise your mouse/ipad/index finger and promise along with me to make 2012 the most stylish year yet!

2011 I Love You

Wow! Wow! Wow! I'm just overflowing with gratefulness, excitement and happiness when I reflect on 2011. This past year has been an INCREDIBLE adventure full of surprises, hard work and stressful moments resulting in personal growth and professional growth.

This blog has really helped me keep track of all of the wonderful things. (Cue Napoleon Dynamite... "I love technology. Always and Forever...")

A couple of highlights...

1. I left my PR job completely

2. Bought a house

3. Had my first art show

4. Had my writing and style opinions featured in 8 publications

5. Styled professional models

6. Had my styling work featured in 6 publications

7. Styled my first advertisement (blog post about that coming soon)

8. Grew my personal shopping clientele

9. Saw wine country and San Francisco for the first time

There are so many more wonderful things that have happened this year that I can't even list, but building relationships with many new faces and growing existing friendships has been the creme de la creme of them all!

Thank you to all of you who read this blog. I truly am thankful for each one of you!

Cheers to the best of 2011 and best wishes for an adventurous 2012!

Pinterest Meals Part 2

Pinterest has revolutionized my life in many ways, and one of those is cooking. I have never really loved cooking, and I just now started to enjoy it because of two reasons...1. I LOVE, LOVE my kitchen. 2. I'm finding the best recipes on Pinterest. I shared some of my discoveries back in October, and I'm happy to say that I have found some new favorites.

BUT first, I'd like to show off a bit of my new found passion for cooking with a couple pictures from my Christmas dinner.

I made a lemon-garlic roast chicken with a white wine reduction, Greek stuffing and a Greek salad. (Can you tell my family is Greek?)

It was a wonderful first Christmas in our new home!

Okay, and now for some of my new recipe favorites...

1. Spicy Dr.Pepper Shredded Pork - I saw this recipe, and thought, "As bizarre as it sounds, I really want to try that!" Um...It's flippin' awesome. It's the best pulled pork I've ever eaten. Tip: I only used one can of adobo chipotle peppers. That was PLENTY!

2. Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Bake - This recipe is one of the EASIEST ones out there. You can't mess it up, which is something that quickly wins me over. Besides, everything tastes good with rosemary on it. Tip: I added some carrots to this as well.

3. Lasagna Soup - Man, I have made this recipe about four times already. That's how much we love it. It's perfect for the winter too. Tip: Use ground turkey instead of ground beef. It's less fat and tastes awesome. Also leave out the sugar. It's added unnecessary calories.

4. Slow Cooker French Dip - The meat is SO tasty, and you don't need to stand next to the stove and cook it. This is the perfect recipe if you want a lot of leftovers too. Tip: Butter the rolls before placing the meat on top, and nix the cheese.

That's it for now, but I'm hopeful that I'll have many more to share soon!

Have you found any tasty recipes on pinterest? If so, share them with me!!!