Kokoon

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There's nothing more simple than a cotton dress. In the summer all I want to wear are dresses, especially breathable, soft ones like this Kokoon Regatta Stripe dress. Throw it over your bathing suit or add a light weight cardigan and wear it to brunch - this is the easiest, stylish way to dress for the heat.

Kokoon is a boutique without borders because you can shop all of their amazing knits online. They specialize in contemporary basics for women and care all about the quality of their fabrics. I would seriously sleep in my cotton dress if I could because it's that soft. So, they aren't kidding when it comes to quality. Something that I also love about this online boutique is that they offer "underpinnings" because they know that sometimes camisoles and leggings are needed for modesty and comfort. All in all, Kokoon understands women. Go check them out!

Photos by Alyssa Hodson

Speaking at Altitude Summit

Three years ago I went to Altitude Summit - a conference connecting bloggers and creatives together to learn and grow from one another. I was so intimidated. I didn't even know where to start with my blog, but I loved meeting so many different people and learning all about social media and content creation. In fact, that conference was where I met Janet Sahm, Fashion Editor of Verily Magazine. Back then the magazine hadn't even started yet. I also roomed with two strangers - Alyssa Yuhas and Liz Field of We Like We Love Magazine - who now are great friends. So many good things came from that experience! What is even crazier was when I went to Alt I had just started using this tool called Pinterest. I had noticed it was growing substantially, but no one at the conference was really using it as a means to collaborate and market. I remember thinking how I wished I could be one of the speakers one day, and well, the day has arrived. I will be a speaker at Altitude Summit this summer, and I will be talking all about Pinterest tactics. CRAZY! What a dream?!

I would LOVE to see you there and hang out with you for a couple days in Salt Lake City. If you're a Martha Stewart fan you are going to want to get your tickets ASAP! Click here to find out more information about Alt Summit Summer.

Beginnings - 30 Thriving Challenge

For the past five days it has been SO painful to walk, to sit, to even have Elle hold onto my leg. Going into this fitness challenge I wasn't surprised I was out of shape, but I definitely had forgotten what it felt like to workout and be sore the next day. Mountainside Fitness trainers took me through an assessment that not only consisted of questions about my current diet and lifestyle, but strength and endurance tests as well. I haven't been graded on something in a very long time. Hearing the words, "poor and needs improvement" took me back to math class. haha. We did squats, lunges, planks, assisted pull-ups, leg presses and walking fast on an incline for 30 minutes.

I have my work cut out for me, but I'm excited to ace my test in three months time. I already feel different about myself just by following through with my commitment to my health. Cheers to new a lifestyle! #30ThrivingChallenge

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The Hammer of Thanksgiving

Seasons of warmth and of cold. Seasons of beauty and of ugliness. Seasons of contentment and discontentment. Life is made up of many seasons, and I'm thankful for each one. We would never know what joy or happiness is without experiencing loss or sadness. I have been reading a great book called, One Thousand Gifts by Ann VosKamp. It has been life changing to read it. One of my big takeaways from this book is the idea of taking time to share what I am thankful for every day. By practicing this discipline, slowly discontentment begins to chip away and disappear. Hammer! Hammer! Hammer! Be thankful, thankful, thankful!

It doesn't always have to be the big things like family, health, a child...It can be small things like the wind on your face, the way clean sheets feel when you nestle into them, red lipstick...

Today I am thankful for...

1. The smell of coffee when you first open the bag. 2. Elle's smiles when I first wake her up 3. The joy of bubbles 4. The excitement of seeing photos or a video from a shoot I did 5. Handwritten letters 6. Singing really loud to the car radio 7. Drive-by lickings from Wendy 8. Light flickering through trees 9. The stillness when everyone is asleep 10. Worn pages of a journal

Watercolor & Bernadette Pascua

Watercolor prints have become a big trend in fashion and home decor. Something about the fluidity of watercolor makes me feel relaxed. I'd love to try my hand at it again soon. I don't think I have painted with watercolors since I was in elementary school. If you are on the watercolor bandwagon, you are going to become obsessed with Bernadette Pascua like I am. She combines her art form of watercolor with the fashion world to create beautiful imagery for textiles and the pages of Harper's Bazaar.

If I could have a piece of clothing turned into a watercolor painting I would be a gingham oxford shirt. It's like my second skin - something I can always put on and feel like myself. It's also timeless and something that I will wear when I'm 80.

What about you? What article of clothing would you turn into a painting and why?

*All illustrations by Bernadette Pascua.*