Take me far, far away...

Do you ever have one of those days where you wish you could just blow away to a different place, country, planet, or even realm? Sometimes you just need to stop and think about all the good things that take place in your life and appreciate what you got! Surrounding yourself with positive energy is a good start. It will pay off! :)

Vintage Umbrella & Dress

Sundress

Here's my new favorite weekend sundress I purchased recently at Forever 21!

I dressed it up with a maroon/brown bandeau top that peeks out from under the eyelet holes, and my nude slingback wedges from Aldo.

This is Shayda!

 

♥

Stylist's Kit

For last week's photo shoot, I put together a styling kit that I believe is necessary for every stylist to have on hand! It was especially fun to put together, and I definitely recommend these items for any aspiring fashion stylist. :)
Enjoy!

Although these don't really fit inside my kit, I love going through styling guides before putting my outfits together. They get my thought process going and my brain knows exactly what to do when I see all the cluttered clothes and accessories on my floor. These guides by Lucky are my favorite. :)

This little bag is perfect for holding all my things! Go for a dark color because your kit will most likely end up either on the floor or thrown into the back of your car.

Your model may not always bring a wide variety of bras, so reusable breast petals will come in handy!

Double-Sided Fashion Tape
Clear Bra Straps
Skin Tone Breast Petals

Things WILL get dirty, especially during outside shoots. A Tide-To-Go pen is seriously a lifesaver when it comes to stains. Masking tape will also keep the bottom of shoes from getting dirty!

Shout Wipe & Go
 Tide-To-Go Pen
Baby Wipes
Masking Tape

Your model may show up with bright blue nail polish on so you have to be ready!

Nail Polish Remover & Cotton Rounds

Rubber Bands

Mini Sewing Kit
Pins
Scissors
Straight Pins

We must not forget that models are skinny. XS is not always a sizing option with certain brands and designers so a quick fix is to use either a sweater clip, clothespins, or even binder clips to cinch her shirt in the back!

 Sweater Clips
Downy Wrinkle Releaser
Lint Roller
Clothespins
Sharpie
Binder Clips

 When borrowing clothes from stores, they always appreciate the tags being returned as well. Sometimes tags are in places where it is just impossible to hide, so just remember to stay organized when cutting them off and keep them in labeled zip lock baggies!

Zip Lock Bags

 Wrinkle Releaser may not always take out those tough wrinkles, so opt for a hand-held steamer that you can keep in your car for emergencies! A tagging gun is also nice to have for clothes that you must return with tags attached.

Hand-held Fabric Steamer

Tagging Gun

Styling Days

This is a sneak peek of what I've been up to the past few days! ^ 

This week has been absolutely crazy! I went down to San Diego on Wednesday morning to pull clothes for our back-to-school shoot for the August issue. I spent all night sorting out the clothes and putting looks together, which was loads of fun. :) The shoot was the next morning and it went by so smoothly! It was such a pleasure working with our gorgeous model, Kiersten Brada, and it was so exciting for me to finally get to style a shoot on my own! Can't wait to share the pictures! ;) And don't forget to look out for the new upcoming July issue!

Here are some amazing shots of our talented model taken by Creative Smiles! We were so lucky to have Kiersten, she was such a sweetheart and so easy to work with. ♥

Photo by: Creative Smiles Photography

I fell in love with these crochet TOMS from Sun Diego!

 

Free People Dress

Aldo Handbag
Steve Madden Platforms

Guess Where We Went...

Summertime means many many trips to the beach with Ty. A beach trip is not complete without a pit stop at Sprinkles Cupcakes! This place is my absolute favorite dessert place, though most of the time Ty and I will substitute dinner with cupcakes instead. :)
I was honestly never a cupcake fan until Sprinkles! If you have yet to try them, you are missing out on one of the world's most delectable treats. My pick is always red velvet and Ty likes the cinnamon sugar cupcakes. They only bake certain flavors on certain days, but there are so many yummy choices to pick from! There's even gluten-free and vegan red velvet cupcakes for the health conscious and the animal-lover (like my bff Kirra). What's your Sprinkles flavor?

Ty's 20th

It was Tyler's 20th birthday this past weekend so I decided to throw him a Tron-inspired surprise party! :D  He's been quite obsessed with that movie for some time now. We even had the movie playing in the back yard so we could watch and hear the awesome Daft Punk soundtrack while in the spa and pool!

The cake was my favorite! He was one happy boy.

I was wearing:
H&M Pink Ruffle Dress
Kensie Sweater

The Ultimate Dorm Room

It's that time of the year where every senior is enjoying their last hometown summer before heading off to college! Around this time last year, I was a madman looking around everywhere for the perfect college dorm accessories. So I decided I would show you some quick ideas to turn your dorm room from drab to chiq! :)

1. The first and foremost thing you'll need is a comforter set that will create your room's overall theme. I chose a black and white damask pattern that has a very victorian feel and is also reversible! For my sheets, I chose a contrasting diamond pattern. (Remember, most college dorm beds are XL Twin-sized beds, so double-check and make sure your sheets are XL Twin too because normal Twin sheets won't fit!) I think a black and white comforter can open up so many different color options for your room so you don't necessarily need to stick to one color palette.

Here is a super cute reversible victorian bedding set from Delia's that you can find here:

 With that, of course some contrasting sheets and pillow cases:

And lastly, to cover that horrible dorm bed frame, a ruffled bed skirt to match:

2. Another bed accessory that I'm sure all my suitemates can tell you is a MUST have is a bed rest pillow. It will let you read a book or watch TV comfortably on your bed, and is also the perfect back rest when thrown onto the floor:

3. Dorm space is always limited so investing in some cute storage boxes to store bulky winter items is recommended! I stacked up two of these cute flower clothes boxes with lids from Ikea underneath my bed:

4. A collapsible laundry basket with handles is ideal for traveling laundry! I chose this one from Ikea for my dorm room because the mesh fabric transports moisture away and it even has velcro on the bottom that latches on to your carpet so the basket won't move:

5. Getting a 3-drawer cart and putting it by my bedside was my best move. Not only is it a storage device on wheels, but it also serves as my nightstand where I keep my alarm clock, phone, glass of water, etc. This etched flower cart from The Container Store is fabulous:

6. In order to maximize closet space, get an adjustable closet rod expander, like this one from The Container Store. It instantly adds another rod to hang more clothes in your tiny closet:

7. Another way to maximize space in your closet is to buy collapsible hangers. The best kind are velvet so that clothes don't slide off and they have a hook in the center to add another hanger:

8. Get yourself a shaggy round rug, like this one from Crate & Barrel, that will make your feet happy when you walk across its softness every morning:

9. Mirrors make rooms look bigger! Go ahead and add a basic mirror to one of your blank walls. Mine was perfect for applying make-up and doing my hair! This one is only 10 bucks from Ikea:

10. Of course, you'll still need a full length mirror to check out your outfits in the morning, so opt for an over-the-door mirror that will save you valuable space:

 Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea, and The Container Store ARE your friends! These once-boring stores will have all your dorm room necessities, trust me.

Check out my dorm room tour here! Fast forward to 1:15 :)

Just a Few of My Favorite Things

Just a few of my loves!

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YUM! Take me back to NYC please!!