TART Collections Event

A few weeks ago I held a sample sale in San Francisco with TART Collections and the help of my lovely friends Kristina, Ashley & Adriana. I have been working with TART pulling clothing from their warehouse to outfit my clients and have become a huge fan of the brand. Ask anyone who slips into one of their chic maxi dress's or luxurious leggings, you never want to take them off. A bunch of my lady friends gathered to sip some summer sangria & shop the night away. Each person who attended the party was entered into a raffle to win a two hour styling / personal shopping session with yours truly. Keep reading to see who the lucky winner was :)

The Tan Barbee herself, Allison Andrade was the winner of the raffle. Congratulations! 

Kristina, Ashley & Adriana

Thanks ladies, I couldn't have done it without you! xxo

Elegant Nesting

Creating a space you are proud to open up to your family and friends to entertain and relax in is a very important part in making a house a home. Balancing comfort with your own personal style & practicality is the key to a lovely nesting space. I dream for the combination of the soft textures, bold prints, chunky hardwares and pops of color in all of these images. I have never been so infatuated with interiors as I am with these.

{inspiration via the glamourai & ryan korban}

Friends + Fashion

This Sunday I am taking two of my very best friends, Alex & Ashley to a Vera Wang Bridal Fashion Show at the elegant St. Regis hotel in San Francisco. We will spend our afternoon lusting over gorgeous gowns, nibbling on delicious treats & sipping champagne.

 Vera Wang spent sixteen years at Vogue as a Senior Fashion Editor, then as a Design Director for Ralph Lauren until she ventured out on her own creating collections of luxurious fabrics, classic lines and modern elegance. Known for bringing bridal and fashion together Vera has become one of the most influential bridal gown designers and girls everywhere dream of walking down the aisle in one of her, fit for a princess designs. Vera's talents reach way beyond bridal as she designs her ready-to-wear line, costumes for Olympic level ice skaters, eyewear, footwear, fine jewelry, fragrance and home collection with the same "modern interpretation of classic" aesthetic. 

{images via studdedhears}

Shaka Brah

I have always been intrigued with the lifestyle, culture, and unique jargon of surfers but unfortunately my board skills lack in a major way. The only time I have actually attempted surfing was years ago in Malibu and it was not a successful experience. Last year I tried paddle boarding in Lake Tahoe {after a few too many cocktails} which was even worse resulting in a scar on my upper right thigh. If you thought that was bad, the last time I wake boarded I chipped my front tooth in half AND THEN when I tried the intermediate slopes on my snowboard the lift operator told me I had to learn how to actually dismount the chair without falling before I could come back on. In my defense, I don't completely suck at life, I can snow ski and water ski with the best of them I guess boards just are not my thing. After multiple failed attempts on any sort of board I am still determined to learn how to master the surfboard and I think next summer that will be my # 1 priority. That means multiple trips to visit my cousins in Manhattan Beach and actually taking Rex { a surf instructor Heather and I met in Maui } up on lessons. Until then i'll just enjoy being a spectator and with that I have no complaints! I mean, there aren't many things that make a guy hotter than watching him crushing it in the water. Now, excuse me while I attempt to track down the bonified surfing legend Rob Machado for a few tips.


{images via vogue & the magic bus}

Lady in Red

Getting back into work mode after a 10 day vacation is not a simple task. My last several days consisted of reading on the pier, boating on the lake, poaching the vip tent at the Reno/Tahoe Open golf tournament & celebrating my friends Lauren + Kelsen's wedding {of loveandphoto} on the beach. Basically, relaxation to the max. Although truthfully I can't complain about getting back to work seeing as my most recent task has been to find one of my clients a red dress for a wedding she is attending over Labor Day weekend. I searched some of my favorite online sites and came up with these eight looks. 

Tips for styling a red dress

*Since the dress its self makes a statement keep the accessories, hair and makeup simple. Pair the dress with nude shoes, gold accessories, dewey and bronzed face makeup with a nude lip. Top it off with an undone up-do and someone is sure to say to you,

 "I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight, lady in red."

Nasty Gal, Halston Heritage, Halston Heritage , Nanette Lepore , Marc by Marc Jacobs , L.A.M.B , Haute Hippe , Blu Moon

As Of Late

The weather in SF has been foggy, depressing & just cold, so I decided to take a little extended vaycay up to Tahoe. I have 7 more days to enjoy the perfect weather, friends weddings, annual summer parties & the lake. Life is Good.

A little photo diary compliments of the iphone. 

meetings before I departed the Bay Area.

Concerts at the beach.

Brunch with my bestie.

Hours on end spent at summer camp.

Biking in brights.

Boat rides and PBR.

Glam Obsession

Not only am I completely obsessed with the blog The Glamourai, my obsession rings true with her current collab with twelve by twelve {forever 21's sister line} as well. Her style of 'Mixology' inspired the design team behind twelve by twelve as they asked her to not only help design but star in their summer campaign. Check out some of my favorite looks below that are coming soon to a forever 21 near you!

Sparkle Forever

I never say no to a Cocktail....Ring.
 A few in particular I have had my eye on.

{top to bottom - eduardo garza, robert wander, kate spade, alexis bittar, forever 21, eduardo garza}

Drip, Drip, Ocean

A great article in C Magazine on a beautifully philanthropic friend of mine who is committed to 'making change work'. Inspiring is an understatement when describing Kyleigh and all her accomplishments at such a young age. A fine example of how one person and one penny can make a monumentus impact on the world. 

For Bay Area beauty Kyleigh Kuhn, posing for the camera is about making a difference

BY JENNIFER APPENRODT

Kyleigh Kuhn’s never been one to fall into stereotypes. At 16, her freshly minted driver’s license was not used for transport from the mall to the movies, but for driving to schools to motivate fellow Bay Area high schoolers to collect pennies and spare change to contribute to her Roots of Peace Penny Campaign. She founded the nonprofit in 2003 to build schools, soccer fields and playgrounds for children in war-torn Afghanistan. And today, as a 23-year-old fashion model, she’s booking back-to-back shoots not only for her own benefit, but to keep Afghani children educated and at play.

For Kuhn, it started with a trip to Croatia on her 13th birthday. The San Rafael native traveled with her mother—the founder of Roots of Peace, the number-one nongovernmental organization for agricultural development in Afghanistan—to visit the region’s landmine victims. “I was surrounded by children who had lost everything to war,” says Kuhn. “I knew I needed to create a way for my peers and myself to help.”

Since its inception, the Penny Campaign has raised more than $300,000 and contributed to the development of six schools in Afghanistan. The most recent is a high school for 600 young women in the city of Bamyan, which opens in August and is making monumental strides for gender equality. It pro vides Bamyan’s girls—prohibited to occupy the same facilities as their male peers—with their first opportunity to be educated at a high school level.

Kuhn raises funds and awareness in the U.S. through her burgeoning modeling career, which began two years ago after she was spotted by S.F.’s CITY Models in an H&M store. She donates 50% of her profits toward the campaign and uses her work as a springboard for exposure for the Campaign. “Modeling has opened a lot of doors,” says Kuhn, who also recently signed with Click Models in New York. “I’m getting support from clients while also sharing information about the cause with a wider audience.” Speeding into summer with a spread in Vogue Italia and a profile of the Penny Campaign in an Abercrombie & Fitch fall catalog, both of which have her working with famed photographer Bruce Weber, the future’s looking busy for Kuhn. “She’s being booked as ‘The Nonprofit Model,’” says Mimi Yapor, her agent at CITY Models. “When clients hear about all of the work she’s been doing at such a young age, they are immediately intrigued.”


Kuhn, who graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies last year, will be traveling to Bamyan in June for the school’s inauguration, and to check on other Penny Campaign schools, like the Kyleigh Kuhn School in Mir Bacha Kot, which the children named in her honor. “In Afghanistan, they say, ‘qatra qatra darya,’ which means ‘drip, drip, ocean,’” says Kuhn. “It’s truly inspiring to go over there and see how the combination of so many students’ small contributions has transformed the reality of Afghan students.”

Ready to get involved with the Roots of Peace Organization? Start a penny campaign, volunteer your time, there are plenty of ways to donate to the cause at http://www.rootsofpeace.org/. Kyleigh...get ready, I am coming to visit you in N.Y. soon!