Monthly Archives: April 2013

Apr
30

Swimsuit photo shoot, what?!

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting with one of my faaaavorite photographers, Cameron Powell. He is truly one of the most genuinely nice and talented guys you will ever meet. One might think that shooting swimsuits would be awkward, but Cameron is a consummate professional. I did my own makeup and was also lucky to be wardrobe styled and hair styled by Steven Fields of J.S. Fields and Company and Steven along with my good friend Jessica (last year’s Miss Tennessee USA) were onsite to give all kinds of photo direction! We shot some different swimsuit looks at Cameron’s studio and here is a little preview of some of my favorites:

And here is a look from behind the scenes:

The glamour of hair and makeup… haha

A little selfie action to check out my “natural” makeup in natural lighting with an ever so subtle head tilt

Noted: never make this face again

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Apr
29

Skinny Chai Tea Latte

Before I even begin with my recipe, I want to preface it by saying that this is in no way a gourmet or sophisticated recipe. This is a recipe that happened because I was grasping in desperation for a more low cal way to drink one of my favorite hot beverages. If you want something easy, delicious, healthy, and vegan read on! It has been an abnormally cold spring in Nashville and I have been drinking this skinny chai tea latte all weekend! It really is super easy, the ingredients include the following:

How cute is that little mug? My girlfriends and I went to Greece a couple of years ago and I carried probably 35 pounds of pottery from this particular shop on the plane ride home, because I just haaaad to have it. I used to have two of these mugs before I broke one over my bathroom sink this weekend while rushing to put on my makeup… Sad! Oh well, guess I’ll just have to go back for more!

All you need is a sachet of chai tea, a packet of stevia, and a splash of coconut milk creamer (I like french vanilla or hazelnut) Brew your tea, add your condiments, and you’re set to enjoy this beverage – which I actually think tastes just as good as Starbucks! Depending on how much creamer you add, this beverage has about 20 calories as opposed to the 240 in the Starbucks version. As good as it is, I imagine it could be even more delicious if I had one of these:

Oooooh the capresso milk frother! I could make lots of great tasting low cal things with this… lattes of all kinds, sugar free vegan hot chocolate, etc., etc. *Hint hint to anyone who wants to buy me a present! 🙂

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Apr
25

Product Of The Week

Every girl loves lip gloss, and while there are tons of different kinds that I use and enjoy for different purposes… there is one that stands out above the rest for every day use. Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Polish by Bare Escentuals is my absolute favorite.I don’t know that I would use this for stage or a photo shoot, but for an everyday pretty lip this stuff is where it’s at! It smells amazing, has just a hint of tingle which is plumping, comes in 15 beautiful-subtle-natural-go-with-everything-colors,and has a great slick texture that isn’t sticky at all. This is some of the only lip gloss that I run out of before I lose it or it goes bad. Had I not stumbled across it by accident when it came in Bare Escentuals kit I purchased, I never would have tried it because the stuff costs $19! However, if you are a lip gloss lover like me, you will love this product!

My Political Debut!

I’ve gotta give credit to Matty Ride for taking this perfectly framed photo of me in front of the capitol.

As I mentioned here, one of the things that made this past week so awesome was receiving a resolution from the Tennessee House of Representatives.

With my personal photographer… I mean boyfriend

I had my own personal tour guide (my good friend Melanie, who arranged the whole event) to show me all around and to teach me more about state government.

Addressing important issues in the senate chambers

Interesting fact: Tennessee is one of the only states who’s original capitol building is still being used and FYI ours is gorgeous.

With Melanie who has been my friend, but is now my political public relations agent 😉

I got to meet several representatives including the newly elected Jeremy Durham, who happens to be the older brother of Miss Tennessee USA 2011, Ashley Durham and my district’s representative Gary Odom. (No relation to Lamar (ha ha Kardashian joke))

Receiving my resolution from representative Gary Odom

Another highlight was briefly meeting Beth Harwell who is the speaker of the house. The older I get, the more appreciative and impressed I am by strong powerful women in all fields. She is arguably the most powerful woman in the state of Tennessee (aka my kingdom 😉 ) and handles that role successfully while still maintaining her femininity. I also appreciate a woman who can be successful, powerful, and stylish – check out that cute peplum top!

With speaker of the house for the Tennessee House of Representatives, Beth Harwell!

Transformation Tuesday

Yesterday was my birthday and one of my best friends put together these fantastic photos together in my honor!

Yep, that’s actually me on the left circa 6th grade at a sleepover… nice pjs! haha

I thought it would be nice to do the same for my sister since today is her birthday!A note to all of the awkward tweens out there: THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU!!!!! Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister who was also Miss Wyoming Teen USA 2002 and was the first person to ever teach me about makeup and pageants!