True that!  Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Memorial weekend.
xoxo

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with Photographer Alyssa Rei and her assistant Bree Peterson on a shoot for my Spring/Summer collection.  We shot the looks in downtown Farmington which had a lot of great old buildings and fun backgrounds to work with.  We wanted to have the shoot closer to sunset so we could get more of a softer feel with the pictures, which I think turned out great.  I had two wonderful models, Sarah Mraz and Jamie Hayes who did an amazing job capturing the look and feel I was going for. For this shoot I thought I would play around with some fun props which I haven't explored in the past.  I am so excited with how the pictures turned out and hope you enjoy them as well.  Here are some behind the scenes photos and a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

Thanks to everyone who helped with this photoshoot and made it a success( Sarah Mraz, Jamie Hayes and Bree Peterson) !  Huge shout out to Alyssa Rei Almond for her fabulous photography skills.  Be sure to check out her fb page at Alyssa Rei. 

On top of the neon trend that has been a huge hit this Spring across women's clothing, accessories and even menswear, we are seeing bright colored blazers everywhere!  They are showing up in all kinds as well; tuxedo, cropped, jersey, leather, and even the boyfriend fit.  You can dress up a plain outfit for the office by throwing on a fun, bright blazer or wear it more casual for the evenings with a pair of white or black shorts.  If you are being extra daring, you can add it with a colorful bottom which gives it a color blocking effect.  I am also starting to see a lot of matching suit jacket and bottoms in bright colors.  I can't wait to incorporate this trend into my Spring Collection.

I am so impressed with sister designers Vanessa and Gabrielle Manning  from Sydney Australia who design under the label Manning Cartell.  Their aestheic is modern and strong with raw feminity. They say their success comes from being able to have a joint balance of business and design, which I think is a huge benefit to any design duo.  Their Spring/Summer 12/13 Collection is absolutely stunning!  I love their mirrored floral prints, fun shapes and mix of bright colors balanced with black and white.  See below for a couple of my favorite pieces from their latest collection.  To see their full collection check out M'oda 'Operandi or their personal website at Manning Cartell.

I recently celebrated another birthday and I have to say, when I was a young kid I would get so excited about birthdays.  A lot of it was because my parents did a great job at making me feel special... like I was the only thing that mattered on that day.  Also, I always felt like I was older than I actually was so turning another year older was always a bonus.  Now as birthday's come, I don't get as excited to turn another year older (after all there are no huge excitements with age after 21) but it does make me look back and reflect on my life.  It makes me appreciate all the special people that I have around me and everything that I have been able to accomplish this far.  Similar to New Year's it is a time to look at the future and consider all of the things I want to accomplish by my next birthday.  Here is a list of a few things that I want to focus on for the coming year, both with my clothing line and personally.

MB:
    - Find a consistent wholesale fabric retailer
    - Source sewing manufacturers
    - Get my clothing line into boutiques across US
    - Hire an intern
    - Learn new fabric dying techniques
    - Show at MNFashion week at a larger scale
    - Be open to future opportunities

Personally:
    - Be a better friend/daughter/sister
    - Spend more time with my pup Scout
    - Be more spontaneous (Sky diving with my brother's on the list!)
    - Smile more
    - Volunteer with Dress for Success
    - Travel as much as I can
    - Enjoy life and the people in it!  

A little cheesy, but I think it's so important to be able to reflect on your life and make sure you are heading in the direction you want to be!  Every year brings something new and it's great to take a moment and just appreciate those things!  Cheers!

If you have been to the mall recently, keeping up with style blogs, pinterest or even noticing on the street  that neon is all the rage for Spring/Summer. I can not help but fall in love with the bright vibrant colors that make anyone stand out and get noticed.  Here are a few of my favorite neon looks that I found cruising pinterest.

What's your favorite neon look?