SNEAK PEEK: STONE_COLD_FOX

Recently, I met up with Cydney and Dallas of Stone_Cold_Fox at their humble abode in Venice.

I decided to leak a few photos of the shoot early, just so everyone can get as amped up as I am about the upcoming vid.

Olive

We had so much fun filming - after going through the footage I realized we laughed almost the whole time. But don't worry, we were also able to get down to business for part of the shoot and get a look inside both of their closets.

Anyway, get excited...

RED VELVET BOUTIQUE - A BEAUTIFUL MESS

So, recently I headed back out to the Midwest for a little vacay in the Ozarks.

While I was out there I made sure to check out Red Velvet Boutique which is owned by Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess blog. It was located on a really cool street in Springfield, MO that almost looked like it was set back in time and the shop was way bigger than I expected. It was full of vintage dresses and accessories, antique furnishings, and the Red Velvet dress collection.

Elsie obviously does a really great job with her site, A Beautiful Mess, but I was really interested in learning a little more about her own dress collection.

She originally started Red Velvet as just a small arts and accessories shop, even though later she realized she wanted to design a dress line. At the time, the focus was really set on growing the boutique and Elsie began buying vintage pieces. As the shop progressed and after months of ideas and sketches piling up, she pulled the trigger and put everything in motion for her collection. It's a real example of having an idea in mind, putting it out there and having it come to life. Anyway, you can read her full story here.



In addition to everything else, there was a Sweet Shoppe - like I said this place was pretty huge. Cupcakes, old fashioned sodas and candy. Yum. I seriously love the way this was set up, the color combos are really visually inspiring.

Anyway, I had a good time and really enjoyed spending time looking at every little detail. Definitely make the stop in there if you're ever in that neighborhood. Also, shout out to Elsie and Emma for allowing me to stop in and snap a few photos.

CHALKBOARDS AND MIMOSAS

A few weekends ago I hopped on a plane and made a quick trip back home to Scottsdale.

My best friend Kendall is getting married later this year and of course I had to throw her a glorious bridal shower. The whole theme was based around using chalk. I collected tons of champagne and wine bottles and painted them with chalkboard spray paint - yeah, that exists.



These little painted bottles with each girls name written in chalk was a pretty big hit since it was not only a 'name card' ,but doubled as a vase to take home.







There were even random little pieces like serving trays and boards that I found in thrift shops, etc that were spray painted as well.







I was pretty excited to bust out the toilet paper wedding dress game. Each team had to design a wedding dress for Kendall using only toilet paper and pink tulle. Don't worry, I didn't participate - since I have a degree in Fashion Design I thought that would be a bit unfair.

Wedding Dress Models

I'm not exactly sure how I found the time to put on the shower (actually I am, my mom helped make sure it all fell into place perfectly) but it was a super fun creative outlet. And most importantly Ken was super happy. Look how stylish she looks in her lace dress - the perfect pick for her shower.

PARC BOUTIQUE

Last weekend I was in Minneapolis and stopped in at Parc Boutique off Hennepin Ave.

I'm really glad I made it in because not only were the clothes super cute and well merchandised, but the set up was really well done - we all know how much I love that.



I met Thao, the owner, and chatted with her for a bit. Just in the brief convo we had, I could tell how passionate she was about it all. The store has been around for about four years and they're pretty involved in the fashion community over there in Minneapolis. I was impressed to hear about how they support and sell local jewelery designers collections. Also, they have this summer event held weekly called 'Sip and Shop'. I wish I had popped in on Friday because it's totally up my alley - wine and shopping :)



The whole store set up was pretty awesome. So many cute little pieces that really added to the vibe. I loved seeing these floating light blub vases - been wanting to make some of these for my studio space for a while now.



Anyway, I had a blast exploring Minneapolis, checking out the fashion scene and grabbing a quick bite at Aster Cafe by the river.

Check out more about Parc Boutique here.

CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (AND INSPIRATION)

When I was up north in San Fran I made it over to the California Academy of Sciences.

This place is pretty rad. There are a ton of things to check out. I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't even see half of it - I later found out that there's an earthquake exhibit, which would have been awesome considering I have an odd obsession with quakes. But anyway, I did manage to see the Rainforest and Aquarium exhibits along with the infamous living roof.



There were so many colors, textures and patterns that caused my mind to start racing with various ideas for designs. I especially love the colors of these jellyfish and the coral reef. The whole place was filled with random inspiration.



Recently, I've been really inspired by fossils and their shapes, so naturally I was drawn to some of these skulls and dino bones.



As for the living roof, it was pretty awesome and such a creative idea to have the majority of the rooftop covered in plants and wildflowers. Would be a cool place for a photoshoot.