Kari & Charlie Styled

I love my job, and I love my clients. Kari and Charlie are two wonderful people that invited me to style their engagement shoot with Gina Meola. These two went ALL out, and decided these photos were so important to them that they headed all of the way to San Diego, California to make sure they had a beach backdrop.

Of course, if you're going to travel many miles to take some photos you HAVE to look killer. So, after meeting both of them and rummaging around in their closet to see what basics they had, we headed out shopping. I created four outfits for each of them. Three of the outfits they wore in San Diego, and one they are going to wear in an additional shoot here in Phoenix with their puppies.

Kari was so enthusiastic and trusting. Two great qualities in a client. She shared with me the colors and clothes that she felt most comfortable in, but then of course, you have to push the boundary a bit for engagement photos. Kari ended up trying her first pair of leggings and her first pair of skinny jeans. I'm happy to say she loved them. And, she looks great in them, no?

Charlie is a really laid back guy, so he was up for pretty much anything. However, it was important to him that he looked like himself. So, after selecting Kari's wardrobe, we picked out Charlie's and made sure that everything he wore complemented her outfits. He felt most confident in jean, so we just selected the perfect shirts for his skin tone.

But even if a couple is gorgeous and has the right clothes on, the poses and the backdrops that the photographer chooses can make or break the photos. Gina Meola is a genius when it comes to this, and she picked such amazing photo spots to bring out the colors and personality of the couple. To see more photos from this shoot, please visit Gina's blog.

People to Follow on Pinterest

As you know, I'm an avid pinner on Pinterest. It's my favorite place to find inspiration, recipes, spot trends and help clients visualize their style. My following has grown exponentially to over one million followers since joining pinterest back in early 2011. People have asked me how I did it. I'm not really sure other than I just always pin things that are relevant to my personal brand and things that I think my friends and clients will love. But you have to know where to find those interesting, unique clothes or super tasty recipes first.

So where do I look? Well, first, I read a LOT of blogs. I don't even know how many I follow now, but I think my Google Reader is maxed out.

Secondly, I follow many of my favorite bloggers on Pinterest in addition to some other people with great style.

Here are a handful of my favorite people on Pinterest that I think you'll love following too...

Eat Sleep Wear - Kimberly has this amazing blog called Eat.Sleep.Wear. If you have never heard of it, go follow it right now! She is also a graphic designer, which makes her selection of clothes that much better I'm sure. Her pinterest is just as amazing as what she blogs about.

Erin Loechner - Erin is one of the sweetest people I've ever interacted with. I met her at Altitude Summit this past year, and I've loved her blog for a while. She is the founder of Design for Mankind and Design for Minikind. She also works with HGTV a lot, so you know she has to have some serious style.

MIMI + MEG - Megan Biram is a very talented blogger. I'm pretty sure her excellent taste on Pinterest comes from the fact that she's a graphic designer and an amazing fine artist. Check out some of her paintings, click here.

Brooke White - Brooke is an Arizonan, was on American Idol and is a part of Girls with Glasses. She has continued singing as part of Jack + White, and is a mommy to be! Her style is awesome. Everything she pins I look twice at.

Glitter Guide - I'm sure most of you know what the Glittler Guide is, but if you don't it's pretty simple and great. It's just a tumblr of beautiful things. Essentially, pinterest on tumblr. So, obviously, GG's pinterest is fantastic for inspiration.

Following these people above will make it so much easier to find things that you love and feel inspired by. Have fun! Also, let me know if you're on Pinterest, and paste your pinterest link below!

A Desert Beauty

Andria Lindquist is a photographer that I have admired for a long time. I found out about her work through Promise and Lonnie Webb - two people I also adore. About a year ago, we connected online and talked about working together. So, it was a great surprise to me when she finally was headed to Phoenix this past spring.

Of course, we set up a project for both of us to have some fun with. The desert has been an inspiration to us both, so much so that I created a Pinterest board devoted to desert style. Check it out, click here.

We, basically just walked into the desert and started shooting. It was a blast!

I found clothes that embodied everything I think of when it comes to Arizona - unique jewelry, bright colors, Native American prints, etc.

The team was fantastic, and our model, Gabrielle from FORD RBA, was genius! I loved working with everyone!

To see more photos from this shoot, click here and visit Andria's blog.

Hair Stylist: Amber Hasson Makeup Artist: Azure Schaffer
Fashion Styling: Alexandra Evjen, AVE STYLES Model: Gabrielle Helms Photography: Andria Lindquist

Micro Trends I'm Loving

Every season has big trends and small ones. I like the term "micro trends" for the little guys. It just sounds more scientific. I've already identified some big trends that I'm liking such as coral, lace and shoulder cut outs, but what are the micro ones? Here are some I'm loving...

Mint Green -I've always loved this color. It's calming, and it makes you look super tan if you have a medium skin tone. Whether you accessorize with mint bracelets or you dive into it with mint jeans, you can't go wrong with this color right now. It's also a great contrast to the popular citrus colors this season.

Gold Shoes -We already know that gold has made a comeback, and silver has taken a backseat in the jewelry department. But it's now time to show off those tootsies with a metallic gold shoe and not just leave our jewelry to do the talking.

Tying Knots - The late 80's trend of tying your shirt on the side is back. And not only that, but since maxi dresses have dominated this year, tying the bottoms of them are pretty cool too!

Fringe - I don't think I've ever owned one piece of clothing or an accessory with fringe. I guess it's a bit too bohemian for my style, but I will say this season I'm warming up to it. If you happen to be a fringe lover already, then you're in luck. You can even find it on bikinis.

Pinterest Meals Part 3

Want to know something funny? I'm a much better stylist than cook, but my most followed board on pinterest is my "Recipes to Try" board with a total of 1,392,764 followers. I hope that means I at least know how to pick a good recipe. The execution...Well, that's another story. Here are a couple of recipes I have recently tried and loved.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches - These were amazing and suuuuper easy. I'd recommend toasting the buns and spreading a bit of extra dressing on them. I also ate this for leftovers, and just put the chicken on a bed of lettuce with some extra dressing and croutons. YUM!

Broccoli and Ramen Noodle Salad - This cold, refreshing salad was a great pairing with a hot Asian dish. I prepared this salad hours before, and then made some broccoli beef with brown rice at dinner time. To make it even faster for yourself just buy the broccoli slaw in the bag at Target or bagged coleslaw mix.

Red Potato Salad with Yogurt, Basil and Shallots - I was intrigued by this potato salad recipe because it uses one of my favorite ingredients in the world - LEMON. It also is healthier approach to the timeless side-dish with a substitution of Greek or plain yogurt. I definitely recommend this for your next picnic!

Tortellini and Garden Vegetable Bake - This was a HUGE hit with my husband, and I loved it too. It made plenty of left-overs, which is always nice for lunch. When I make it again, I'm going to substitute the snap peas for broccoli, and possibly add in some summer squash to make it more colorful. It's a great dish for when you have a lot of company.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili - This chili is OFF THE HOOK! It's the first chili I've ever made that uses so many wonderful veggies. I actually added some ground turkey to this recipe and it was even BETTER! Of course, then it's no longer vegetarian. =) It's also an easy recipe because you just chop up a bunch of stuff, open up cans, put it in a pot...Then BAM! You have chili.

Spinach Chicken Pasta Casserole - This recipe is perfect when you just want some comfort food. It's incredibly rich and not the healthiest, but you know what that means...It tastes sooooo good! If you ever have to bring a meal to someone that is sick or just out of the hospital this is a great option. They can just reheat it in their oven and it tastes just as good as when it first came out.

Want to see more recipes that I've tried and loved? Click here and here for past posts.