LA 2013-Labor Day Vacation

Readers!

I have been so bad about keeping updates but the amazing news is I finally received my new camera! It didn’t come in time for my LA Labor Day Vacation but I am just glad it finally arrived. I took my husband to LA for the first time to visit my family and one of my best friends Cassandra. I miss her a lot living so far away but she is pursing her dream of acting so I am nothing but proud.

I took a lot more photos with my iPhone but did manage to pull a few camera photos from our time in Santa Monica. I will post more later but wanted to just upload a few photos to enjoy. I have a lot more fashionable events coming up for the adverting world here in Kansas City so stay tuned!

THINGS I LEARNED IN CALIFORNIA

• There are such things as sand fleas and boy did they bite me. I was supposed to be all “sexy sexy” and my arms looked like I was a bad drug addict. (Spray on bug spray on beach)
• Not nearly enough people take full advantage of the ocean. They live RIGHT BY IT!
• LAX is a lot further away from Van Nuys than I remember.
• ALWAYS plan ahead b/c traffic sucks. Like if possible leave 3 hours early. We were stuck in traffic driving to San Diego for 2 extra hours :(
• ALWAYS pack snacks in the car if a wife becomes cranky and wants to yell at strangers stuck in traffic. (OR HUSBAND….)
• The Hollywood Bowl has to be one of the coolest things I have ever been able to see; we watched The Philharmonic play along with famous Oscar songs/movies.
• Don’t ever underestimate the love of family or friends. Truly so blessed and I’m reminded every time I get to visit them.
• Husbands make sexy taxi drivers/chauffeurs when running around Los Angeles.

XOXO
JADATO

LA Vaca

Hello my lovelies!

I just got back from vacation in LA and hit work hard today. I will be posting a pretty spread of pictures from my trip tomorrow. Stay tuned. My cat Hawkeye helped me pack of course.

XOXO

Jadato

Pool Parties

Readers!

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post. I did my first guest writing gig and summer has flown by way too fast! The guest writing gig was fun but it made me a lot more nervous than my normal blog posts. Branching out to new things is good within blogging and I hope to do a few more guest spots soon. My husband and I are pulling the trigger tonight and buying my dream camera. Fujifilm X-E1 I want to start arranging with a couple of my friends to do some fashion shoots and will have ALL my own original content so soon. 

These are a couple of photos I took at my friend's birthday party. They just scored this rad apartment behind this lady in KC's amazing house and they have access to her pool/bbq. A lot of my friend's that I hadn't seen in a long time were there and it was so fun to hang out to bbq. I hope to squeeze in a few more of these days before it gets too cold in Kansas City because God knows my pale skin needs a tan. I hope to start showing you in future posts some more fashion photography of my guy friend's wardrobes. I've been getting accused of my blog being too girly but I mean I'M A GIRL :P

Kat Hat

Typical Brett Photobomb 

Kids make everything better

Dang Chelsea you are adorable

Cutest Couple

Serious Discussions

Everyone needs a straw hat

Old Friends

XOXO

JADATO

Work Clothing Chic

Hi readers!

You would be proud of me because I finally cleaned out my closet. In recent posts I mentioned this task at least 3 x's so if you haven't figured out yet I am a bit of a procrastinator. Again, I will start working on that personality quirk at a later time ;^) I was doing research for this blog post and read a blog about only keeping 40 hangers in your closet for easier organization. Alas, I was not able to whittle down my clothing to only 40 pieces but I did have about 50 hangers left empty after cleaning. It felt really good to  have my closet organized and actually see all my shoes organized neatly. Hell, I even Swiffered in there so you know I was in serious cleansing mode. I was amazed at how many times I would wear clothing over and over again because I couldn't find something in my closet to make a new outfit. GIRLS/GUYS if you haven't go ahead and clear out your closet. I think you will be shocked about how many outfits you have and how much easier it is to get ready in the morning.

After having this immaculately clean closet I was needing inspiration for my future work fashion. I will post some pictures soon of my work outfit ideas because my husband and I are investing in a nice camera. I am into the idea of starting to dress in a more modern/Parisian style lately and want to minimize the rest of my closet soon to reflect that. I hope this post helps inspire you to find your fashion style and helps you take the plunge to get rid of crap in your closet.

Work Outfit Ideas:

TIPS TO ORGANIZE YOUR CLOSET: (livingwellspendingless)

Purge ruthlessly.  Keep only those pieces that you absolutely love and that you currently wear on a regular basis. If something doesn’t fit, has holes or stains, is out of season, or you just really don’t like it anymore, it needs to come out. Determine each item’s fate.  Just because it comes out right now doesn’t mean you have to throw it out or send it to Goodwill. If you’re anything like me, you probably have clothes in a variety of sizes, some of which you may still really like and hope to fit into again.  Store a bin of “skinny clothes” to pull out if and when you lose the weight. Likewise, torn or stained items might just need a little TLC to get them good as new, and other items, such as jeans or t-shirts, are great pieces to add to your craft supply closet. Invest in great hangers.  It is such a simple thing, but I found that buying a limited quantity of really nice hangers was the best motivation to finally weed out everything I didn’t love. It really wasn’t a huge investment but psychologically it made all the difference. And frankly, even inexpensive clothes seem luxurious when hanging on nice hangers.  I bought my set at Target, but a similar set of 50 hangers is less than $30 (with free shipping) at Amazon.com. 

Minimize your losses.  Just because you are getting rid of a lot doesn’t mean you have to take a total loss.  Clothes & accessories that are in good shape can be brought to a consignment shop (be sure to wash, iron, & hang any items you plan to consign) or sold via Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, or garage sale.  For more tips on how to sell your stuff, check out this very detailed post. 

Make it easy to keep things in order.  Set up a no-fail system that is simple to maintain.  I keep ALL my clothes in my closet (rather than dresser drawers) because to me it is easier to see what I have.  I have clearly labeled baskets for the things that are hard to fold–bras, panties, swimwear, socks, pajamas, & accessories.  I love keeping the laundry hamper in my closet as well–it makes sorting laundry so much simpler!  I’ve used this heavy duty sorter for about 2 years and it is great. 

Practice careful procurement.  Once you’ve managed to pare your closet down to the bare minimum and have kept the pieces you truly love, keep it that way!  When buying something new, choose quality over quantity.  Resist the urge to buy something simply because it is on sale.  You are always better off buying ONE piece that you love than TEN items that are just okay.  I’ve personally found that sticking to small specialty boutiques, such as my friend Alysha’s shop BlissOnState.com, rather than the mass-market stores helps me avoid the old habit of buying just to buy. 

Re-evaluate regularly.  It is a good idea to re-assess, re-sort, and re-evaluate your closet every few months.  Once a season double check to make sure that your items are still in good shape, that they still fit, and that they are free of stains & holes.  If necessary, pull seasonal items out of storage to add to the rotation, and store any items that are no longer seasonally appropriate.

XOXO

JADATO