ALT SUMMIT PART 1 - Highlights

I'm back from Altitude Summit (a.k.a. Alt Summit), and I have much to share with you. Alt Summit is an annual blogging and design conference held in Salt Lake City, and I attended it along with some wonderful friends of mine (Promise Tangeman, Liz Schultz, Alyssa Yuhas and Liz Fields). Networking was the main takeaway from the five day conference, but before I divulge everything, let's start with some highlights. SWAG There was plenty of  wonderful swag at this conference. It was like Christmas. We were greeted with a box full of useful and creative keepsakes such as journals, stationary, jewelry, pencils, toothbrushes, candy, coupons and even soap. Christmas stockings have nothing on Alt Summit.

Alt was filled with parties every single night. Not only did that give me an excuse to play dress up, but it also meant more gifts including an awesome knitted monkey hat, a ceramic coffee mug and a hardcover copy of Deborah Needleman's new book, The Perfectly Imperfect Home. I read the whole book on the plane home, and really enjoyed it.

MEETING THE FAMOUS There were a couple of people at this conference that made my heart beat just a bit faster than normal. Namely the lovely Anya Ayoung Chee of Project Runway, Emily Henderson of HGTV's Secrets from a Stylist, Ben Silbermann creator of Pinterest and Kevin Sorbo....Okay, Kevin Sorbo wasn't really on my radar at all, but I happened to see him while hanging around at the Sundance Film Festival. Hercules! Hercules!

GIRL TIME Alt was basically like one giant sorority devoted to design and blogging. Almost every person I met was kind and wanted to connect. I've never seen people at a business event look so stylish and act that friendly. During the parties, meal times and everything in between, I got to build upon my current friendships and make new ones. It was worth every penny!

TIPS & TRICKS Two full days of classes definitely left me with a lot to ponder. Some of the nuggets of blogging and business that really stuck with me are:

- Act on your idea right away. Don't wait until the product or service is perfected. Just get it out there, and then improve upon it as you go.

- Original content is king. Great photography is queen. (I need to find a solid digital camera. My cell phone is NOT doing the trick).

- Your third sentence is usually your best. Start with that instead.

- Set boundaries with collaborations before you start.

- Only build partnerships that match your overall brand

- Giveaways are lazy blogging, and you legally need sweepstakes policies to coincide with them now. Eek!

- You usually will feel insecure and competitive when you're not producing your best work.

Check in tomorrow with a list of some new blogs and magazines I learned about at Alt.

Featured on Grey Likes Weddings

I'm so happy to share that the lovely Nautical Wedding shoot I collaborated on with Gina Meola, and so many other talented individuals, has been recently published on the lovely wedding blog, Grey Likes Weddings. To see the full post and the inspiration blog, click here. If you would like to learn more about the collaboration process and see photos of the shoot, check out this past post.

Polished

A couple posts back I wrote out some 2012 style resolutions (check it out here). One of those was to take better care of my shoes and polish them. TRUTH: I've never polished anything other than silver before in my life.

Yesterday, I finally sat down to learn how to polish shoes, and make my trusty brown boots look brand spankin' new. It only took five minutes after watching the video below.

I made sure I had my cream polish that matched the color of my boots, a brush and an old t-shirt (you can use an old rag). I followed the instruction of the video...and...Voila!

They are nice and pretty!

TIP: Do this outside. The smell is PRETTY strong!

Southern Charm: A Styled Shoot With Best Friends

There's nothing that makes me more happy than being able to use my talents for my family and friends. This past November, Michelle, one my BEST friends in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, came to visit me along with her super adorable husband, Rob. Michelle and I met our sophomore year of high school back in Texas, and since then we have shared so many memories.

When I found out that she and Rob were coming to visit, I knew I wanted to do a photo shoot with them because Rob has an AMAZING wardrobe full of three piece suits, vintage denim, Billy Reid clothing...He's probably the most stylish man I personally know. In fact, Rob used to write menswear posts for this blog about a year ago.

Men around here just don't have the same type of wardrobe. So after talking with my talented photographer pal Gina Meola, we decided to do a southern styled mock engagement shoot in Arizona. Yep, Arizona. So, how did we make that happen?

It all started with the clothes, of course. I made a inspiration board for them using my favorite online tool, Pinterest. I knew Rob had an amazing suit he had been wanting to use, which was an excellent way to portray the formality of style in the South. For Michelle, I made sure there was a touch of prep, femininity and country in each outfit.

From there we Skyped and passed cell phone pics back and forth to make sure Rob and Michelle had everything they needed before arriving in Phoenix.

Once they arrived, we make sure the outfits worked. With a couple of tweaks and some accessorizing the outfits were perfected! We also made sure Michelle's hair was everything she wanted it to be with some help from my good friend Kim Cornwell. I also got to play makeup artist. Teehee!

For locations I found the perfect little craftsman style home in downtown Phoenix. You'll see those types of homes everywhere in Texas. Plus, Rob and Michelle had just purchased their first home that has a similar look. We also shot at the Phoenix Public Market, which is a place that offered all sorts of interesting details and these REALLY awesome bikes thanks to Keith - an employee of the market. That place is genuinely awesome.

And from there Gina Meola waved her magic camera, and captured the most beautiful photos of two people I love so much and their love for each other. It was such a joy!

I hope you love the photos!!!

 

To see more photos from this shoot, check out Gina's blog!

Floral Pants

Who doesn't like getting flowers? They're pretty, colorful and smell wonderful. They even make great prints. But have you ever worn a floral printed pants!? Sure, skirts and dresses, but pants? Well, this spring and summer it may just be your first time, as well as mine, because these floral patterns are springing up all over the place in stores like Anthropologie....

And Urban Outfitters...

So, what do you think? Are you bold enough to sport this print from the waist down?

Top image from B. Jones Style