valentine's day shoot.

remember that shoot that i was styling for carina of love me do photography? well, here it is! i was inspired by traditional valentine's day colors, like pink and white and red - but on a more sophisticated, muted scale. the lace, book pages, and touches of bronze glitter reminded me of valentine's day love notes, but didn't scream "omg i luv u!!1". i figured i'd let the models show that. i've also always been a sucker for old homes and antique glass, and i really wanted to incorporate that into the shoot; the table and crates gave that natural and demure vibe. i couldn't be happier with how carina and nadine photographed everything. the first time i looked at the pictures i literally gasped; how gorgeous are the photos with the hearts in the air?

all of the wardrobe was mine (except for the guy's clothing - i just provided the bow tie), and was almost all vintage. i was also responsible for the hair and makeup; the little flowers were made by my friend bernadette. the bottles were leftover from our wedding, and the paper heart chain, masks, and crates were mine. there's so many things that i made that weren't photographed (we ran out of daylight), and hopefully i'll be able to post those soon.

you can also check out more pictures on ruffled. my valentine's day outfit post is coming later today!

rust.

i took these photos while we were in mill creek park in ohio. it reminded me of the state and national parks i visited frequently with my family when i was a kid; daniel boone, iron forge, french creek. i would run around, flipping over rocks and logs, looking for salamanders. my dad would search for mushrooms, collecting them to bring home for omelets. he could even tell if it was poisonous or not by tasting it (i would most certainly not recommend doing this on your own); if it had a distinct bitter taste, he'd just spit it out. bryan and i have been talking about taking a trip to do some hiking soon. daniel boone is by far my favorite, but i'm also interested in visiting ralph stover state park. makes me wish that there were leaves still on the trees!

over the bridge.

driving over the ben franklin bridge into philadelphia.

i'm thinking about having a giveaway once i reach 100 followers - maybe either a gift certificate to my shop, or some gorgeous 1950's rhinestone jewelry from my personal collection. what would you prefer? any other ideas?

edit: f-ing photobucket. pictures should be fixed by tonight.

fields below.

hat: anthropologie
blouse: forever21
shorts: marc jacobs
camisole: forever21
clogs: nicole

i was lusting over these marc jacobs shorts for the longest time but couldn't reason with spending so much money on a pair of shorts. i checked all over for knock-offs (forever21, shop ruche, and modcloth) but didn't find anything similar. i decided to buy them, but only if i could somehow style them year-round (maybe with tights and boots in the fall?). i'm so glad i did! they're amazingly comfortable and relatively flattering, and will most likely be one of my summer staples. as for these pictures - we were driving up 95N to get to new jersey, and saw the most gorgeous little field on the side of the road. the light was amazing; the sun was just about to set and was almost disappearing behind the horizon. i love strong the sunbeams photographed, and the field reminds me a lot of where i grew up.

unfortunately, wedding dress shopping wasn't as successful. the bridal garden is really unique; they receive all their dresses for free from designers (or other brides) and donate all of the proceeds to programs for new york city children. after sifting through racks of satin and taffeta, i found a gorgeous sheer chiffon gown. it was the only dress i liked and cost...$4,000 (on sale!). can you believe that? the good thing is that i actually already have have a dress. i really do love it, but the bust is way too tight (i thought i could lose a couple of pounds. unfortunately, this doesn't happen when your diet consists of cheese and belgian beer). after nothing worked out at the bridal garden, i called my original shop and they said that exchanging the size was fine. if y'all are interested, maybe i could post a little sneak peek?