Fast & Easy Style Tips for Moms

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Happy Mother's Day! This is my first Mother's Day where I get to hold my baby in my arms and not just feel her punch my tummy. haha. It is an incredible privilege to be Elle's mom, and I hope one day she gets to experience this same blessing. In honor of Mother's day I would like to share five fast and easy style tips with you. I had the chance to do this on television for Arizona Midday in conjunction with HelloSociety this week (clip coming soon).

1. Dress it up - The fastest and easiest way to feel gorgeous is to put on a dress. It's one piece of clothing and you don't have to match anything to it except for a pair of shoes. Right now, lace dresses are very popular, as well as bright printed maxi dresses.

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2. Make a statement - Still trying to shed the little bit of baby weight? Draw attention to your face and away from those extra pounds with a bright statement necklace or a colorful scarf in your hair. Both are easy to put on, very trendy and make people focus on what is important - YOU!

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3. Smell the roses  - Nothing makes a woman feel more special than getting flowers, right? So, why not wear them this Mother's Day?! Floral prints are very popular and can be worn on shorts, blazers and skirts. If that is too adventuresome, try a pair of floral printed shoes. Even in small doses flowers are special.

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4. It's in the bag - Handbags are always a treat because they have nothing to do with body shape and you won't have to worry about guessing the right size because it will always "fit." The Chloe Marcie bag is the "it" bag of the year but if you're looking to spend less, the Michael Kors Hamilton tote or anything from the Kate Spade Grove collection is beautiful.

5. Five minute face - After I became a mom, the "5-minute face" became a necessity for me to feel pretty while juggling a baby and a job. I had a makeup artist (Stephanie Neiheisel) sift through my makeup, get rid of what I didn't need, and show me how to create the best 5-minute face for my skin tone. It changed my life!

Images: My Blomquist, Dean Street Society, Oscar PR Girl, Frolic-Blog.com

Krystal & Chris Styled

Stripes, plaid and love. Three of my favorite things. I'm so happy to share lovely engagement photos by Gina Meola of a beautiful couple that will be getting married this summer - Chris and Krystal.

Chris was willing to wear whatever we asked him to. I LOVE those clients. Mwahahahaaa! He has a bit of country in him, so a colorful plaid shirt and jeans was the perfect choice. But to dress him up a bit we added a gray vest.

Krystal likes classic with a touch of tomboy. Stripes, chambray and a pop of color were the ticket to success.

You can see more images from the engagement shoot on Gina's blog, click here.

Makeup by Stephanie Neiheisel.

Drugstore Beauty

Drugstore products are a lot of fun, they're cheap and easy and you never get too upset when the results are less than stellar. Most of us are willing to splurge on products like foundation or concealer, but for things like colorful eyeshadows or really "trendy" products-i.e. lavender eyeshadow or bright pink lip stain, a trip to the drug store is all you need. Here's a list of some drugstore products I've tried, or have been wanting to try for awhile now. Maybelline Baby Lips, have you ever used this stuff? It's awesome. Super colorful, cute packaging, and only around $3. I have the "Pink Punch" color, which is a super bright pink that shows up really well, but I want all the colors!

Revlon's Lip Butter is another one I like. It has a really creamy texture and costs around $6. There are so many lip butters, stains, and sticks to try, so get to your nearest drug store to get some new colors for spring!

A good eyeliner is hard to find. It's something I wouldn't mind splurging on, but I always revert back to a drugstore eyeliner for colors like violet and emerald. I like Maybelline's Gel Eyeliner for a more dramatic look. Another one I've ended up loving is the liquid liner from Target's e.l.f. line, it was $1! How can you resist?!  I LOVE e.l.f. products, they range from $1-$5, so really, you can't be upset when you don't like the product...I mean it only cost you under $5! I can go on for days about how much I love this line and their price point, pretty much the only thing that fits my budget. I want to buy everything from the e.l.f. line and I probably will since I have no self control when it comes to beauty items. Anyways, their eyeliner is great, as well as the individual fake lashes, which I tried last weekend (and also only cost $1). They also make some pretty good eyeshadow/eyeliner brushes. I really want to try their brow products next.

Another drugstore product I love is Bioré pore strips. I'm not one to experiment with cheap products for my face because I have pretty sensitive skin, but these strips are awesome. A lot of people find them gross, but I think they're fun! Your face even looks kind of like you had a facial afterwards. At least your nose does.

Mascaras are another product I don't often buy from the drugstore, once again because my face/eyes are sensitive. I've been using the popular Benefit They're Real! mascara lately, but I know I'll eventually return to good ol' Maybelline Great Lash. It's a great, basic mascara I don't mind spending $5 on.

What about you? Are there any drugstore products you've tried and loved?

Pinterest Influencer Meet Up in NYC

This is blog post is WAY overdue, but I couldn't write it until now because of how surreal everything I experienced in New York City was.

A bit of back story, my life changed in 2011 when I joined Pinterest. Apparently, my love for the addicting social media platform had some love for me too. My following grew to close to a million, and since then I've been given opportunities to work with people and brands I never imagined I would have the pleasure of working with. Part of the reason why I have had such wonderful partnerships is because I have a firm that represents other pinners like myself.

HelloSociety is a Pinterest marketing and technology firm that matches tastemakers and brands to help promote great products to pinterest users. A couple of weeks ago, they sent me and about twenty other tastemakers to New York City to meet with brands and have a roundtable discussion on best practices of Pinterest, as well as how we can help these brands have their products seen by pinterest users. The brands consisted of West Elm, Glamour, Vogue and Etsy to name a few. It was an incredible opportunity to hear from the social media and marketing strategists of such HUGE and influential companies. And what blew me away even more, was that they were all in one room to hear about how twenty people, who were pretty much nobodies a couple years ago, use this platform successfully.

On top of it all, I stayed in the most beautiful hotel in SoHo, The Trump Soho Hotel, ate at amazing restaurants like Mercer Kitchen and got to play dress up with Rent the Runway and Shoptiques.com. I also met men and women from all over the country and world. No one was alike and no one seemed to use Pinterest in the same way. I expected this meet up to feel like blogging conferences I've attended in the past where I felt like I needed to dress super cool, have amazing business cards and know about the latest blogs. Not here. Graphic designers, photographers, moms, interior designers, architects, bloggers, fashion stylists...Everyone was different, but one thing we all had in common was the ability to spot unique things that we think everyone will enjoy.

My life is forever changed by this experience mostly because it was only four years ago that I really considered a career change, and now here I am truly living out my heart's desires in the most unexpected and wonderful way. I'm so thankful to everyone that has supported me so far and to Hello Society for giving me such a memorable experience.

Below, is a little video of me answering some questions about myself that Shoptiques.com put together. I hope you enjoy!

Photos by Erik Melvin.

Culottes

Culottes are coming back-not really in the 18th century nobleman wearing blousy breeches way, but in the silhouetted shorts kind of way. We saw some serious culottes in resort '13 collections from Céline and Acne, but a more accessible way to wear culottes is in a shorter silhouette. These pleated ones are my favorite from Asos, they have a leather appearance but seem lighter and easier for summer. Another way to wear culottes is paired with a crop top, I love the way Topshop styles these brightly colored ones with a printed top:

I like these printed ones, also from Topshop: