My Dress Size

Taken at Sweetie Boutique on March 29, 2012

Lately I've been thinking about the relationship weight I've put on since falling in love with my beau... mostly thoughts around how the heck did two dress sizes come about without me noticing. For starters, (uh oh I’m talking like a five course meal is on its way, bad sign), we celebrate everything – it’s sunny, let’s go to happy hour; it’s Friday, let’s go get drinks; it’s summer, let’s bbq and you get the idea. We also drink a lot of wine and champagne as enthusiasts of life. Lately I’ve been trying to cut back on such celebratory events limiting those to truly exciting moments. Unfortunately, I have not been successful at all. I am celebrating something almost daily. 

This coming December and January we will be celebrating our 2^nd year anniversary in Australia and this is something I definitely want to get in shape for; however, I’ve come to the realization that a good time for a ‘diet’ may never come with my overly enthusiastic self. Life is just too wonderful to pass on good wine or skip out on a toast to being happy so instead I’m going to work out just a little harder, dance a little longer and enjoy all of life’s great moments to come...

Cheers!

San Francisco

We were walking back from the Coit Tower when I turned to my beau with my epiphany, 'the crowded homes surrounded by the blue gray-ish water reminds me of Greece!' By the look on his face I can tell he wasn't on the same page. 'And how many times you've been to Greece again?' Ohhh... can you hear that sarcasm in his voice? Ok, so I've never been to Greece but I've seen many photos from my dear friend, Google thank you very much!
As I am sitting here looking through my pictures a month later much of San Francisco feels like home to me because of how similar it was to Seattle... and yes, I now realize my epiphany may not be... much of an epiphany at all but I still love San Fransisco and hope we can return to explore some more someday soon.

Bellevue Fashion Week

This week is Bellevue Fashion Week! Grab your girlfriends and head over to Bellevue to see these fabulous shows...

Independent Designer Runway Show
Wednesday, September 26
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
6:30 pm – Check In, 7 pm – Show Begins
The Bellevue Collection in partnership with Fashion Group International and Femfessionals in Seattle will host for the first time, an independent fashion designer runway show featuring ten local artists in Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection 2012. Headlining designers include Lisa Vian Hunter and Lizzie Parker from NBC’s Season One Fashion Star!

After careful review, a panel of local fashion leaders selected Anne Sylvain by Patricia Raskin, Ampersand As Apostrophe by Jessica Park, Bd Homme by Banchong Douangphrachanh, Built For Man by Francisco Hernandez, Carole McClellan by Carole McClellan, Kreati-ka by Kathy Sabin-Mensah, Masha Osoianu Design by Masha Osoianu, and Olga Szwed by Olga Szwed to participate in the first ever Independent Designer Runway Show.
VIP tickets (front row) are $75 and General Admission tickets are $50. VIP TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!
Click here to purchase Independent Designer Runway Show tickets.
After Party at KORAL Bar & Kitchen
Join the exclusive after party at KORAL with your ticket purchase to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and happy hour drink specials.

Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show
To benefit the Detlef Schrempf Foundation
Thursday, September 27
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
7 pm – Cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception
8 pm – Runway show spotlighting the best of contemporary and emerging designers
For tickets or more information, call the Detlef Schrempf Foundation at 206-464 -0826 or visit http://detlef.com/index.php/events/fashion-show.

Posh Party Beauty & Trend Show
Friday, September 28
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
6:30 pm – Check In, 7 pm – Show Begins
A stylish evening of tasty bites, a trend runway show and Macy’s showcases Urban Decay pro artist Eric Jimenez and Benefit Cosmetics’, Jill Gould and Natalie Forrelli demonstrating fresh looks for the season. Recreate the hottest looks of the season with Urban Decay and Benefit Cosmetics will teach you how to be Flawless in Seconds with their one-of-a-kind “fake-its” and “Fix-its”.
Start things off early with a trip to the complimentary "Posh Party Lounge" for quick beauty touch ups and learn tips from your favorite beauty brands from Macy’s and other Bellevue Square cosmetic stores.
100% of the ticket price benefits Bellevue LifeSpring. The event is for all ages.
Tickets are $50.
Click here to purchse Posh Party Beauty & Trend Show tickets.

Front Row Fashion Show presented by Vogue
Saturday, September 29
Hyatt Regency Bellevue6:15 pm – All Access Check In, 6:45 pm – GA Check In, 8 pm – Show Begins
Vogue presents the fall trends straight from the pages of the magazine to the runway, offering insight on fall trends and how to wear fashions available at The Bellevue Collection. ALL ACCESS TICKET HOLDERS ONLY are invited to join the runway show team for an exclusive post-show cocktail reception at Suite Restaurant/Lounge. Must be 21 or over.
100% of the ticket price benefits The Moyer Foundation, moyerfoundation.org.
All Access - $175
Includes complimentary valet parking, early registration and invitation to our champagne toast, appetizers, reserved seating, exclusive swag bag, a $50 Bellevue Collection gift certificate and admittance to join the runway show team for an exclusive post-show cocktail reception at Suite Restaurant/Lounge.

General Admission - $100
Includes a $25 Bellevue Collection gift certificate, swag bag, appetizers and reserved seating.
Click here to purchase tickets to Front Row Fashion Show.

MUSE by SEVEN Creative
Sunday, September 30
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
7 pm – Check In, 8 pm – Show Begins
SEVEN Salon will define style during the highly anticipated evening of high fashion and raw energy.  Discover inspired looks from some of the West Coasts most talented hairstylists. The runway will ignite with everything from the avant garde to contemporary cuts and colors.

For tickets and information, please call 425.289.1777 or email Concierge@7salon.com. Tickets are available at SEVEN Salon locations and BrownPaperTickets.com, search “Muse by SEVEN”. Front Row VIP Tickets are $105 and General Admission Tickets are $85. 
After Party at Lucky Strike Gain exclusive access with your MUSE ticket purchase.

For more information visit The Bellevue Collection.

 

These photos were taken by me at last year's Posh Party as part of Team Photogenic. I will be at Bellevue Fashion Week photographing shows from Thursday through Saturday. Please come say hi and if you can't make it, follow me on instagram or twitter for updates! 

Hairritable

hair·ri·ta·ble /he(ə)iritəbəl/

Adjective: Being annoyed or made upset by one's own hair. 

Yes, this word is completely made up by yours truly! Back in spring I had this grand idea to chop off five inches of hair thinking I'd wake up every morning looking like Carrie Bradshaw circa season four. I've yet to experience such a day! Short hair is so hard to maintain and it's given me the worse bedhead of my life. I have to wake up an extra 15 minutes to put some curls in it or blow it out flat. For someone who is not a morning person, 15 minutes is a lot of time (reference Inception dream time). 

I'm sure every girl gets hairritable at some point or time right?

What makes you hairritable?

Fall Beauty Looks To Try

One of the many great things about having sisters is the ability to play dress up! I remember growing up my sisters and I would sit around the house and spend hours playing with make-up and dressing up just for the fun of it. Let’s just say we all had big imaginations!

A few weeks ago when I purchased my Pentax K1000 I was really excited to test it out. I text my baby sister Mailee asking her to put together a few fall beauty looks for a quick photoshoot that day and when I showed up to her house she literally took 5 minutes to pull each look together. What a pro right? Those days of playing dress up totally paid off! ;)

Here are Mailee's three beauty looks she will be wearing this fall…  

One. Light smoky eyes and nude lip.

  

  Two. The bright red lip. 

Three. Big hair.

All the above images were shot with my Pentax on Fuji film. I love the grain on film. The last two photos really set the mood for the dark fall look we were going for. Here are two digital photos to compare the two formats.

Isn't Mailee so gorgeous...?

Currently Reading: How Will You Measure Your Life?

There are a determined few who never lose sight of aspiring to do something that's truly meaningful to them. But for many of us, as the years go by, we allow our dreams to be peeled away. We pick our jobs for the wrong reasons and then we settle for them. We begin to accept the idea that it's not realistic to expect to do for a living something we truly love.

- Clayton M. Christensen

Pentax K1000: First Roll

I've been doing some research on film and stumbled upon many articles debating over film vs digital photography and although I’m not going to speak to that, I do want to tell you why I have a sudden interest in film photography after shooting digital for some years now…

When I first met my beau (trust me this is relevant to this post), I was smitten by him. I loved spending time with him, getting to know him, being around him and eventually I couldn't get enough of him! I wanted to be with him at all times. I wanted to know everything there was to know about him (in a non-creepy way of course)… I was in love! And just like that love I had for him, it’s the same way I feel about photography. Lately I've fallen even more so in love with photography. As heavy as my Canon is, I haul it in my bag along with all sorts of other junk for any photo opportunity and just like when I fell in love with my beau and wanted to immerse myself with all things him, the same goes to photography. I've been wanting to learn more about photography - the different photography formats, cameras, etc. and that’s how my interest for film sparked.

Fast forward to today, I landed on a Pentax K1000 as my first manual 35mm slr. At first I was fearful that my first roll of film would not turn out at all but I believe shooting manual mode on my digital SLR really helped make the transition smooth.  Inspired by the floral jeans I wore that day, I captured all the beautiful flowers within walking distance of my neighborhood... 

 

After my first roll of film, I'm hooked! Initially it was frustrating to lose the instant gratification of seeing your photo immediately after pressing the shutter button but as I worked my way through the roll, anticipation filled me as I couldn't wait to see how they would turn out. It also enabled me to take the time to frame my subject because I knew I couldn't waste four exposures on it. You'll definitely be seeing more of this camera...