Lush

One of my favorite things to do is be completely surrounded by the outdoors. Beautiful landscapes are what brings the mind to ease and sometimes it's hard to take a step back from the busy lives we all lead. I cannot wait for the warm weather to bring on spontaneous roads trips. This collection of pictures from the summer reminded me of what I have been missing lately. Enjoy.

Have an amazing week everyone! Spring is so close, I spy with my little eye daffodils! 

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Inspired.

Apologies for not having posted in a few weeks. I have been extremely busy in between school work during the week and college visits taking over my weekends. I recently have been inspired by color blocking which seems to be taking over street style by the minute. Here are some of my favorite patterns and color combos from Milan fashion week:

Hopefully spring will kick in sooner than later! Love all these inspiring looks.

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A Mere Layering Act

Everyone has basics in their closet so what's better than vamping them up to a whole new level? I say: "challenge accepted". A mere layering act is what I shall call it. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! The weekends almost here. Got any Valentines day plans anyone?

XX

Sunday Afternoon

Today I read the most interesting article. It focused on how many celebrities and bloggers always have the latest designer labels and runway looks, and because of that they are sending a false message to those who look up to them. They are proving that they can afford name brands and influencing their followers to do the same. However in reality it is unrealistic to do so because most of the population is not able to afford such clothing. The article touched up on the fact that celebrities and famous bloggers are almost always sent clothing and freebees from designers rather than actually spending thousands of dollars. So the question is, is this a source of false advertisement? Is it morally right to send those messages? I guess it's just something to think twice about next time you envy blogger x,y, and z. Fashion isn't solely about having the "it" label. There's more to it. Anyone can dress in head to toe Chanel, but is that really the creativity behind clothing and expression?

On a lighter note here's a quick post on what I wore the other day. I really loved the lighting outside in my backyard so I couldn't miss the opportunity to take some pictures:

I cannot wait for spring have a great Sunday everyone! Here's a link to the GL post I did:

http://www.girlslife.com/post/2012/01/27/Guest-post-Bundle-up-in-style-with-DIY-gloves.aspx

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what I'm wearing: Zara T-shirt, shorts from nordstrom rack, Timberland boots, Cat Eye glasses from my childhood

Winter Gloves DIY

This past week I was working on a DIY for Girls Life Magazine. I worked on making three different pairs of DIY winter gloves and I would like to share one of them with you guys! I'll make sure to post the link later for you guys to check out more ideas for making your winter gloves more chic. Here's my favorite:

What you need:

- plain knit gloves

- different shaped brads (buy at any craft or office supply store)

- small link chains

- needle & thread

Step 1: push brads through knit gloves around the base

Step 2: cut chains to desired lengths and sew on the front of the gloves below the brads

Here's the finished product:

It's that simple! Everything costs under $5 dollars for supplies and it's recycled fashion! Have a good Tuesday everyone!

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This Weeks Inspiration

I have been so inspired lately even though I have been flooded with other things that are keeping me preoccupied. I have millions of art projects that I am dying to get started and I have even had the amazing opportunity to be writing for Girls Life (GL) Magazine. I am in collaboration with them for writing online Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects and I'll make sure to keep everyone posted when the first one comes out. I am more than excited about it! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Here's some inspiration/project ideas to share that has been taking over my desktop recently:

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metamorphosis

I have been beyond intrigued by Jonathan Demme's film, Silence of the Lambs, and have watched it twice now this past month. I have gotten to the point where I have thoroughly physco-analyzed the film and for a few days I managed to convince myself that I was a detective(this ended shortly after the only "crime" in my household seemed to be the one of the missing kit kat bar).

All in all, in my analyzation of the characters in the film and the huge reoccurring theme of change (metamorphosis), I put together a collection of photos. I edited them with different color filters for the cold, tense mood I was going for and gathered inspiration from not only Silence of the Lambs, but the film The Help (which inspired the 1950's attire), and a collection of Vogue spreads.

I hope everyone had a great New Years! Cheers to a fresh start.

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DIY Crop Pants

The Holiday season is approaching us and what's better than wearing some cute new outfits? I was going through my closet clearing out some old clothes and I came across a pair of pastel blue flair pants that were awkwardly short on me. I decided that I would put them to use and do a quick little fix with them. Crop pants anyone? They are super adorable and easy to make! Here's the DIY below:

Step 1: find a pair of pants that you want to use. Make sure that they are wrinkle free (just run them over with an iron really fast)

Step 2: Flip the pants inside out and pin them along the sides. In my case I just took in the flair of the pants. If you want you can use a pair of skinny jeans that fit you well and line them up with the pants you are altering to make sure they will fit they way you want.

Step 3: Sew with a machine along the sides that you pinned and flip right side out again. Ta Da! Homemade crop pants for no cost!

I hope everyone has a great week ahead of them! I have a lot of holiday shopping to do!

XX

Air Bound

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy the break

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"Darling, I seem to be awful lost. Can you help?"

What exactly defines beauty? Is it that perfect nose, spread apart eyes, and defined jaw line? Is it that stellar personality and enchanting smile? Or is it the girl wearing Prada's latest runway looks with her confidence levels increasing by the mili second?

Has our world suddenly lost touch with reality? Have we all become the hopelessly desperate seeker for the lacking attention we get like Fitzgerald's character Daisy in his novel The Great Gatsby? For those of you who have failed to read the famous novel portraying life in the "roaring 20's", I believe it is time to delve into the pages of this eye opening idea of the loss of the American dream and distortion of what's real and what is not. The novel's message has had me thinking for days now about how our world has not in the slightest way changed from over fifty year ago. Beauty and wealth is this altered image that had been photoshopped time and time again, and manages to trick people with its alter ego. The media has created this concept of perfection that is frankly unachievable, and it has manipulated our minds to thinking that it is in fact possible. However, all it so happens to be is a marketing scheme. So my question is, what is real beauty? When the definition was first created, what was the person thinking about?

Humanity currently is lost. Or has it always been? It's trying to find its way home but it can't seem to figure out where it is going nor where home is located. Humanity is wandering, and this is exactly what the pictures from my photo shoot a few months ago are depicting. Although it is a part 2 to "Ella's Journey", there's a new spin on it. I guess that's just what time does, it changes views and brings out new discoveries:

Wearing: vintage electric blue blouse & wool dress from Urban Outfitters

The West is in the East

I couldn't be happier. Fall is finally starting to show it's signs. The leaves are just starting to change colors and a freshness can be felt in the air. The only downside is that once fall is over winter comes, but as for now I have many trips planned to take advantage of this gorgeous weather.

I Hope everyone has a great rest of Sunday afternoon! How much does it stink that the weekend flies by so fast?

XX

PS. got any halloween costume ideas? feel free to share