So they say when you fall off your bike, you need to get back up and try again. Well, I have so to speak 'fallen off' the blog-bike as of late and so my plan is to jump back on….slowly. I don't intend to apologize for my long radio silence, it's just that I have not had the energy to write. Worry not, I'm still daily inspired by fashionistas, design blogs, estate sales and the like but life has caught me in a bit of a whirlwind for the past few months and that is that. So the plan is to post a bit more often but not beat myself up about it if I don't have a ton to say.

Moving on…I went to NYC this week for work and found all kinds of stores that I loved, but for the record I came back with only a few gifts for other people. Hooray for me (I'm saving all my moneys for furniture for my new house!). I wanted to post a few beauties from my new 'favorite' store.

Well that's all for now, see you soon!

Bari

Hello lovelies,

It's the time of year when I think (perhaps too often) of where I will go for vacation in March or April. The irony in this is that I never end up GOING on a vacation in March/April. BUT THIS YEAR will be different! Well, I'm hoping so anyway. 

One of the most important items for a sunny beach vacation is, yes, the swim suit. Having been a swimmer my whole life, I have more swim suits than I can count, but THESE are not what I'm talking about. I think my next one is going to be one of the retro one-piece suits that the pinups wore. More coverage, but still super-sexy.

Popina Swimwear is a swim shop in Portland that has a killer assortment of suits and is owned by a really great Portland couple. They have amazing customer service and realize that sometimes shopping for a suit is about as much fun as going to the dentist. I promise, they will make it WAY better than going to the dentist. They have just opened a new location in the Pearl (their other location is south of NE 42nd and Killingsworth in my neighborhood) and it is all stocked up and ready to go.

So go take a look and get yourself a new suit!

I have been known to be a crafty-lady, mostly in the sewing department. For some reason lately, i haven't been all that inspired. However, maybe it's the Holiday season or something but I've gotten my mojo back! Here is my latest little creation…I needed something to get my earrings and necklaces organized. The frame is from a local antique store, and I just stapled screen to the back. What do you think??

Ok, so you know those people that are almost TOO perfect? The people that you are constantly wondering…'are you for real!?' Well, Gwyneth Paltrow is one of those people. A classic beauty, she has a style that is always classic and impeccable. She can act, she can cook, she can write, she appears to be a pretty down to earth mom, plus she LOVES Spain. Need I go on?…she's married to the lead singer of COLDPLAY, she is BFF's with Madonna, and now we find out she can sing and dance!? (Loved the Glee episode). Good stuff GP, way to keep us guessing, what will you do next?? So that's my little tribute to Gwyneth. Who's YOUR Hollywood girl crush???

I remember when I was in grade school, and every year in August my mom would break out the Lands' End catalog and get us our new gear for the school year. I think back then I thought it was super-nerdy…I mean really, did I NEED to have "Brianna" embroidered onto my backpack? Couldn't we just write it discreetly on a tag inside the bag?!? The funny thing is that I actually think my mom is cool now for getting us quality stuff rather than junk but at the time…well, it was not so cool.

I recently got a catalog in the mail from Lands' End for their "Canvas" line. Uh, hello! Mom, I'd like to put my order in now…  The catalog knocked my socks off, great styling, beautiful photos and the clothes look amazing. Here are some of my favorites…

Here's to being cool at school!!

Much love,

I get asked by a lot of people how to "do belts". Here are some examples of what I would consider clever and chic "belting".

How have YOU done belts?

Much love, Brianna

Hello all,

Well it's been a while since I last blogged but I'm back and inspired. I've had all kinds of fun lately and now it's time to get back in the routine and write about all of the things that have been inspiring me lately.

First and foremost, we had an amazing time getting to do a photoshoot and 'make-over' at Shop Adorn. Mandy Zelinka, Jasmine Photography, and I teamed up to 'make-over' our contest winners. Since all of our contestants were beautiful to begin with it was a breeze, but it is always fun to throw on some amazing clothes and go big for the day! Here are some before after photos of the sassy ladies.

Don't they all look great!!! Shop Adorn is such a fun place, and they have more fun events like this coming up. Check out their website for what's going on in November!
Much Love,

Brianna

Isn't this print beautiful?! I love the little swimmers. She has lots of cute stuff, you should check out her etsy shop.
 

The second winner of the Reina Style Contest was beautiful Jala. Jala is a graphic designer extroidinaire! She has got spunk and brains and we had a great time with her. We worked with the wonderful Nicole at Shop Adorn, which had so many fun looks for us to choose from! I love that we have fun shops right in our neighborhood (it's up on Fremont and 47th). We had Melissa from Soulmates Photo doing the photos and Bellamar artists did the hair and makeup. All in all, I think it turned out beautifully…Take a look!

P.S. I know this post was a bit link heavy, but I gotta give props to my peeps!!! (:

The Papervore from Pigeontail Design on Vimeo.