Free as a bird
Along this journey call life....I've learned to embrace all the moments I'm given and always say YES when planning anything with Jessica Rieke ;) I had the amazing opportunity to work with my wonderful friend Jessica of J.Lee Photos. Our trip led us to Vegas where I got to experience the wonderful mania of being a photographer. We were joined by Alicia from Mink Photography, who is by far one of the coolest peeps I've had the pleasure of meeting. She captured some amazing behind the scenes images from a few of the photoshoots and I'm so excited to share this with you. Our trip ended in LA, where I was inspired, connected and got to revel in all things fashion, whilst Jessica worked her camera magic. Our goal was to get 3 to 4 amazing photoshoots and we out did ourselves with 10!! WHAT?!! I know...I'll be sharing this fantastic journey with you all in the coming weeks.
As I navigate this life, I appreciate more and more the importance of building a strong foundation of friends. Every person that comes into my world brings something of value and helps to build the person I am. My friends push me to try harder, demand that I grow and love me flaws and all. It makes the hard times, manageable and the good times, sweeter. Jessica introduced me to her creative community that fuels each other by supporting and building a network. It was motivating to see "community over competition" in action.
free as a bird.....captured by Mink Photography
The Mojave dessert and the Joshua trees does something to my soul. It envelopes a sense of calm and freedom for me. One of the best parts of working with Jessica was the manner in which she allowed the elements of our surrounding to just be. She captured moments that were organic and beautiful.
I wanted to wear an outfit that softly complimented this raw environment. It felt light, easy and flowed. This beautiful top was given to me by stepdaughters mom, Britney. We have a great relationship, built by effort, trust and the big picture of love and family. She found a box of styles by designer Valerie Porr while cleaning out her Grandmas garage. The designer made beautiful creations and helped to pave the groundwork for the Soho fashion scene. She created custom styles for celebrities including Jimi Hendrix. Pretty COOL! She's since left the fashion world and has made some amazing strides in the treatment and research of BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. In 1994, she founded TARA APD a Treatment and Research Advancements National Association for Personality Disorder. I found her story to be fascinating and moving. You can read more here. The pieces are beautiful, airy and has a whimsical quality to them. To tame that sweetness I paired this top with these distressed black denim shorts from Forever 21. The fit, loved; the wash, edgy and the price crazy good.
This foldover clutch by GAIA is my new favorite love; shoes, Joie
As a fashion stylist and blogger, I believe in creating a platform where fashion is accessible, intimidation free and serves a greater good. I find myself being drawn to brands that believe in the bigger picture of fashion for good. This beautiful fold-over clutch is from GAIA. Every GAIA product is handmade by resettled refugee women in Dallas, Texas. The result are beautiful styles and a relentless commitment to employ, encourage and guide these amazing women so that they can prosper and flourish. It's invaluable the moment you realize how powerful a purchase can be.
The coolest part about all of this learning and doing is the sharing. Thank you for allowing me to do that. Keep your seat belt buckled because the goodness gets revved up from here #DOMORE #BETTERHUMAN