Marie Antionette Photo Shoot

Marie Antoinette::Orpheum::Fashion Edit from Beautiful Day Films on Vimeo.

Manifesto 1

Take all the frosting. Take all the glitter, all the bling and all the frenetic chaos. I CHOOSE to return to a simpler, cleaner, grounded life.

I will believe people the first time they show me who they really are. I will truly value my friends and invest in them. I will appreciate their time, energy and friendship and if they don't value mine, then they are not worth the expended energy. Onward and upward, life is too short to be mad, but it also too short to wallow in anything that inhibits or causes one from progressing forward -- we should all respect ourselves enough to not be treated any less than how we would treat others. The best predictor of the future is the past. I am only responsible for me, not how everyone else acts, behaves or feels.

Quality over quantity. Claim the life you want!

Solid foundations
Solid friendships
Solid relationships

Clean and simple lines. I was always drawn to minimalism in art and design. I choose more cake and less frosting....

She was worth the move home

I get asked all the time if I miss living in New York City and if it was worth it to move back home. New York City was magical and amazing. And I miss working with the caliber of people I had encountered at Parsons and in the fashion industry. But life isn't about being stationery, and my time there was coming to a close. If Blake Emery had not made her debut on June 29, 2009 I may have stuck it out for a few more years, but my heart belongs in the desert of Arizona. And now that I am home I am completely and utterly happy with my decision. To miss one moment of this little tyke growing up would be heart breaking. I adore my niece, my sister and the friends I have here. Both my parents are gone, so it is important for me to be near the people who are left in my life.

There will be moments of wishing I could run to a certain vendor in the fabric district, eat at a certain cafe or visit with certain NYC friends. But overall it isn't enough to be miles away from the life that I had built here before I headed off to Parsons.

So to New York City, you are incredible, you gave me the confidence to realize I can accomplish anything I have set my heart on -- because I checked off several huge goals just by living there, graduating from Parsons and getting into Henri Bendel. And to Blake Emery I would do just about anything for you. You are loved, adored and I am honored to be able to watch this incredible process of watching a little baby grow up into what she will grow up into....

PS. That is Mia Jordan in the picture. Erika's precious baby and one of Blake's BEST friends :-)

The Mirror

I downloaded "Pomp & Circumstance" a few months ago when I heard that they used it in Alexander McQueen's Fall 2010 Fashion Show. I always loved that song as a child, and I thought that was so fitting and emotional that they would use it to show the first collection, that were half his designs, after his death this spring. And the music has since inspired and stirred me. But back to this in a moment.

I spent the morning at MCC in the sewing lab, and being on MCC's campus took me back to a few years ago when I decided to pursue fashion, design, Parsons and New York City.

Then I met Bob for lunch to go over remodeling plans and discuss cabinetry. After that it was off to ASU to do some research at Hayden Library. Being on ASU's campus was a "total trip". Hayden Library and the Business School felt haunted with memories of a time long gone, and a life that was so utterly different!

As cliche' as this sounds, when I stood in the bathroom -- one of which I had used on a regular basis ten years ago -- and looked in the mirror, I thought about how the girl looking back at me is so different. Of course that would be very scary if ten years had gone by and I was that same girl! But still it was an odd feeling being in that same bathroom, looking in that same mirror and comparing the life I had then, and the life I have now.

Prototypes, home remodels, some of the same dear friends, and several wonderful add-ons...there was a lot bouncing around my head. And I used to stand in that bathroom and compare finance and management notes with Kristin Horton, and then head to the "tables" to chat with the UKAZU crew and convince Brian Lutz that we should plan a trip to Thailand.

And than what was even more of a trip was the fact that as I dug around for fashion articles and statistics at the library for my latest endeavour, the more I came across articles written by people I have interned with, worked for and know because of my time in New York City, Parsons and the fashion industry.

Talk about closing out the circle...no wait, that would be when Pomp and Circumstance came on my CD player and I contemplated the day, the past ten years, my life and where I am going next...