GYPSY SPIRIT

Happy Halloween all you little ghouls.

It's this spooky time of year that tends to draw out a massive amount of creativity in me - more so than any other holiday. I guess it's because I can so blatantly expose that dark side of myself.

When Amanda told me she'd be bringing over some Freixenet champagne bottles that we could decorate and draw on, I knew the exact type of scene I wanted to create for that mysterious, halloween vibe. Forget the pumpkins and fake spider web, I envisioned numerous candles and bottles of all shapes and sizes to enhance that witchy feel.

Oh, and you can shop this gypsy look on my brand's site, here: 16thColony - Rumours Poncho.



As a bonus, here's a cover done on one of my all time favorite songs, Lullaby by The Cure. Appropriate for Halloween - or anytime of the year, really.

VOLUSPA AT NORDSTROM'S BEAUTY TREND SHOW

Last month, I went behind-the-scenes and filmed for Voluspa.

They were featured in Nordstrom's Fall Beauty Trend Show, showing of their amazing new candles. Here's a quick edit of the event's highlights.

BRUNCH WITH CHLOE

Brunch with some fantastic wine and babes? I'm there.

Last week Chloe Wine hosted a small event at Hotel Laguna to let us try out their Prosecco. The brunch was so well put together - I had a feeling it was going to be this cute. But I was surprised to see the hand done illustrations at the place settings of each girl that attended. I think little touches like that make a gorgous event like this stand apart from the rest and leaves every girl in the room feeling special.

Chloe Wine is actually no stranger to me. If you know me well, you know I'm all about a good glass of wine. Recently, my girl Amanda and I have been sampling out their various wines during our own girl time. Everything is perfect from the packaging down to the quality and flavor - so naturally I'm drawn to it.

BLACK SWAN - FW15 LOOKBOOK

Fall is here. Well, technically even though it doesn't feel like it.

I finally can share the Fall/Winter lookbook I shot for Black Swan. We shot it in the Spring in an awesome Downtown LA loft. I love everything about how this vid turned out. The model, the clothes and location - everything was spot on. Scope the collection on their site, here,

ROMA

CIAO!

First of all, if you're not caught up on my trip to Italy, make sure to catch my first post about it and all about how my very last minute adventures began.

Rome was a definitely a must-see. Knowing that we wouldn't sleep much on this trip, we crammed in everything we needed to. First up was the Colosseum and also the ruins that surrounded it. It was such an amazing structure and I didn't know really what to expect. I had no idea how large it would be and I also didn't have a clue what the inside would look like. It's hard to image this incredible building has been there 1,945 years. What are we even talking about?! So crazy.



Booking things without any time to plan for it was actually a really fun part of the trip. Each train ride, we'd whip out the laptop and just book something on the spot. It's fun having no idea what's next and I have to say that everything we found so last minute ended up being perfect. The Hotel Fiume in Rome was everything I dreamed of for a romantic Italian room. The gorgeous balcony that lead to sunsets and city views was magical. The roof top wasn't bad either.



Of course a stop to Vatican City was in order. Having a background in art, I was soaking up all the history of the paintings. It felt inspiring just to be in the same room. Although, I think my favorite part of Rome was stopping into a pizza place, grabbing a folded slice to-go and walking through this quaint little market full of color pottery, rugs, sauces and pastas. That was such a happy moment for me.

Next up, Venice.

ITALY AT LAST

So, I realize the Italy photos are a bit over do. Ever since I've returned it's been a whirlwind of getting my 16thColony spring/summer 2016 collection ready.

Anyway, as you know from my previous post from when I was staying in Bergamo, this trip was literally last minute. In case you were wondering, here's what went down. On a Thursday, my bae got a gig to film in Bergamo, Italy for a few days and was scheduled to leave the very next day. So we both bought tickets and within 23 hours we were headed out to our dream spot. Ever since we've been back from Australia a few months ago, Italy has moved into our #1 spot of travel. We knew we'd make it there someday but not in such a spontaneous way - that's what made it even more special.

Like I said, the trip started in Bergamo where he was filming and during that time I had the opportunity to explore and take photos solo. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the first day I was there and stumbled across an authentic little cafe. I sat outside, drank espresso and read a book. It was the most incredible feeling to sit there and think 'Whoa, I'm in Italy and had no idea I'd be here a couple days ago.' I honestly wanted to cry I was so happy.



After a few days in Bergamo and taking the train in to Milan a couple times to check out the Duomo we headed to Rome. Initially Rome wasn't on the list of stops but since everything was planned so quickly we actually didn't realize that there is a bullet train to get us there in 3 hours. So obviously, we hopped on that, drank some wine and ended up in Rome. The train was such a cool and pivotal part of the experience and traveling throughout Italy - I loved it.

Next up, a ton of photos from Rome.