A New Header for a New Year

So it is time for another header change!! So soon you say? Well, we did some seriously sweet pictures last time Shan was down, so we decided it was time for a header change.  I wanted to involve you all since you are the first ones to see it when you come to my blog! So here are four different choices and I will put the winner up on New Years Day. Leave me a comment to let me know which one you guys like best!!

(All Photos and Header Design by Shan Renee)

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Merry Christmas Card

The Hubs and I haven't sent out Christmas cards for the last couple of years, and I honestly do not have a good reason on why we haven't partaken in this lovely tradition. But this year would be different! Since my lovely cousin would be in town for our Christmas party, she wanted to shoot some photos for us so we could send out some REALLY sweet looking Christmas cards this year! Of course, like always, she exceeded my expectations and took some amazing shots for us! If you are new to my blog, I have to explain that my truly spectacular cousin who happens to be a photographer is also a light wizard.  She does so many crazy things with light, it would seriously blow your mind! Half the time, I am not sure what she is even talking about, but back to the subject at hand! Here are some of the shots that we got for our cards, and you have to remember she does NOT photoshop our images in, she uses her camera to do all of this light work! Let's give her a hand please!!
Oh yes, and I can't forget to mention that I am wearing the dress that you all helped me pick out for my husband's company Christmas party! (Click HERE for that post) You know, the one from Modcloth? It turned out to be even better in person that online, so I was very pleased. Thanks guys!
(All Photography by Shan Renee)

This is the photo that we picked for our Christmas card!

This photo rocks my socks!!!!!

Do you guys send out Christmas cards? It will be hard to top this one next year, but I know my cousin is always up for bigger and better!
Thanks Shan!!!

Hair on Wednesday: Copper Dreams

Finally! You guys get to see a picture of my lovely, talented cousin, Shanna. (Who owns Captured Photography)  She is the mastermind behind almost all of the photography on my website. Not only is she a mad talented photographer, she is a beautiful lady with the most stunning crystal blue eyes you will ever see.  That is the main focus of our hair creation for her latest look.  Shan is definitely willing to go for more dramatic, expressive looks, but I have to say this latest one takes the cake!
She told me that she wanted a fiery copper red with a few blonde streaks throughout on the top portion of her head, then a rich deep auburn red on the bottom portion.  Sounds simple enough right? WRONG! It would be except that Shan had brown hair with blonde highlights! I won't go into hairstylist specifics on what it took for us to get to the final look, but let's just say it took a total of about 6-7 hours, lots of labor hours for me, lots of sitting in the chair for her, and tons of color, and brain power (i.e. formulating color) for me to come to our final look! I couldn't be happier! We also decided on more layers and a super blunt bang to finish her off.

Here is Shan before with her golden brown base and blonde highlights.

Here she is after as a copper blonde with deep auburn beneath and a layered cut and blunt bang.  She also decided to spice up her makeup with a simple cat eye and poppy red lips. (She also has amazing makeup skills!)  Isn't she stunning?

So, what do you guys think?? What a change right!?? Thanks Shan for everything and letting me and my creative hands get onto that head of yours!!

Outfit Post: Too School for Cool

Whenever we were walking around trying to figure out where to take some outfit pictures, we came across this sweet, chartreuse green wall.  Now, I have this as an accent color in our home, so I was really wanting to just take this wall home with me! But Shan assured me this was not possible! So we might have to put one of these pictures up in the house to make due.

We also found this neat little record store that had a sweet lime green wall too! Now on to more important things, like outfit details!

I found this lovely bone colored mini blazer in the sale section at Urban Outfitters where I always seem to find a few gems hiding somewhere beneath all the jumbled layers of clothing.  It was on sale for $19, score! I also picked up the blouse that I am wearing underneath, but I am wearing it backwards  because when you wear it the "correct" way, the blouse comes up way too high for my taste!  I paired my UO pieces with my favorite Uniqlo skinnies (best fitting jeans I have ever owned) that I picked up in London back in September! You might remember me wearing them HERE. (that was when I just discovered Uniqlo)  I topped the outfit off with a pair of neutral, patent, round-toed heels from Aldo that I have had for a few years now.  They never go out of style!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

(All Photos by Shan Renee)

Urban Outfitters Blazer and Blouse, Uniqlo Skinnies, Aldo shoes, Lipstick Couture Necklace

Captured Photography Styled by ELL

Shan (my photographer cousin) and I have been doing quite a bit of work together lately and it hasn't been ALL on my blog!  I have started styling some of the photo shoots for her photography business and I must say we make quite a team. We love shooting and styling together, in fact, sometimes we do it for hours on end and I know we have tired out our clients on many occasions!  My gorgeous friend, Becca, decided to do a fashion photo shoot and I had the pleasure of doing her hair color and cut beforehand as well as pick out her outfits and style her the entire shoot.  I must say, we all had SO MUCH FUN! We ended the night with Becca in the pool (it was cold, she was a good sport) and a nice glass of wine.

So, I wanted to share with you some of the shots we got of this beautiful lady!

(All Photos shot by Shan Renee)

Houston's Fashion Night Out

I was so excited when I found out that Houston was participating in the Fashion Night Out along with the other heavily populated big cities like NYC and LA.  Fortunately, this weekend is my birthday weekend so my bestie cousin Shan (also my photographer) came into town to help me ring in my 30th! We put on our best party clothes and hit up Neiman Marcus and the Fendi store who were both serving fabulous champagne!  We swooned over the fashion shows and gawked over all the Fendi bags we so desperately need.  I would say all in all, it was a complete success and I am so incredibly proud that Houston has decided to play in the fashion game! I cannot wait to attend Houston Fashion Week next month; I just know it is going to be fabulous. Cheers to Houston!

I decided to rock my new leather skirt that I picked up at one of our vintage stores downtown, Leopard Lounge!
American Rag sweater, vintage leather skirt, Aldo shoes, vintage ring, Betsey Johnson necklace and earrings, Love Moschino Bag

We decided to head over to the MAC store and get some lashes for the rest of our night!

I decided to rock the unique "Carrie at Stamford's wedding hair" in the Sex and The City 2 movie.  I crimped the underneath layers and used a curling iron on the top layers.

We took this with our IPhone!

A Touch of Lace

I am absolutely smitten with this lace dress that I happened to buy while on a trip with one of my lovely fellow hairstylists to the 3-story Forever 21 in downtown Houston. It is absolutely sensational and versatile and it can take you from Summer to Fall!  I first paired it with black tights and black mary janes topping it off with a fedora, then for Fall I threw on my trench in case of a breezy night.

Dress and Tights Forever 21, Belt Ann Taylor, Shoes Aldo, Tarnish Fedora Hat Nordstrom, Pearl Necklace Lipstick Couture All Photography Captured Photography by Shan Renee

To go from day to night, throw your fedora on the sofa, grab your classic trench and head out for some nighttime playground action.

Trench Coat Gap

Farmer's Market and a Floral Dress

So for the past few months I have been freakishly obsessing over farmer's markets like crazy. I dragged my supportive husband down to one we have here in Houston at the Discovery Green one early Sunday morning, and I have to say I was pretty disappointed. So, when I went to go see my Dallas bestie (Shan), I wanted to go to the Dallas farmer's market to see if it was better, and it was marvelous! We picked up a whole basket full of luscious, succulent oranges to put in our Blue Moon that night. (Yes we both adore Blue Moon and we are girls!) I had to go to the farmer's market in my floral dress of course. I absolutely adore this dress and I purchased it a couple of years ago from Newport News. When I first bought it online, I have to admit I was worried about what would actually come to my doorstep, but it has been a fascinating piece in my wardrobe and I cherish it so!

Newport News Dress, Target Belt, Aldo shoes, Lipstick Couture necklace, Metropark bracelet