Lori and Dedric, you are seriously awesome. I had an amazing time with you and it was even better because I didn’t get sick Thanks for letting me be bossy and I can’t wait for your wedding in Puerto Rico!

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This first pair were the most expensive. A whopping $8.98. I almost purchased Jessica Simpson shoes that look just like this yesterday for $70!

The following 2 pairs were $7.48 each. They are wedge shoes so they are really comfortable.

Go get yours this weekend! I would love to see what you find…so let me know!

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Lace top and colored skinny Jeans: need I say more?

2. Floppy hat: I have ALWAYS wanted one of these as I have seen women ROCK them, but I have been shy to try it. Perhaps this will be the season!

3. Striped Blazer: I almost bought one of these at Nordstrom Rack last week. Now I see them EVERYWHERE!

4. Pink..uh hum Salmon (if you watched Friends you know what I mean) colored dress- just needs a belt!

5. Scarf: They have a ton of different colors, including a bright yellow one I am eyeing.

6. The Boho Chic look with head wrap: Another one of those looks I love, but have been too afraid to try.

7. Color Blocking: Skirt, belt and Top: LOVE

8. Pink Blazer: I love this trend in blazers stepping away from black and grays. They have this in different colors, but I want the bright pink one!

Okay this has only happened once. And I feel a lot better now. Especially because in order to defeat 30, I planned a trip to the Caribbean so I can at least turn 30 somewhere new and amazing. This is when I plan to compose my thoughts, goals and dreams for the year. As they stand now, I imagine them to be grand, a little out there, and bigger than anything I could ever accomplish myself. This year will be a year of taking risks. After all, I will be 30…why not?!

Some of my goals have begun to take shape already. The first being a bright yellow email I received Monday morning. Kelly Lane Photography is a Bride’s choice award winner for 2012! I initially thought this must have been sent to the wrong person, but once my name appeared in the image, I conceded…and graciouslly prepared a thank you speech. Kidding.

The next exciting announcement is that I now have a promo video! This has been over a year in the making…and I have held onto it a little bit, just because I am shy about it. It took several years for me to allow a picture of myself to be taken. This takes it to a whole new level.

I am indebted to Craig Obrist  for creating this for me and dedicating hours of time to it in an already super tight schedule. Also thank you Jennifer and Ryan Robinson, Jennifer, and Aaron for modeling. Ya’ll make me look good!

The boots, however, are not Express. I bought these boots from Bakers in the Fall of 2009. When I first purchased them I was super nervous about them. Over the knee boots were just starting to become a thing and I knew I really wanted them, but was afraid of the new trend. I bought them and timidly started to wear them. And then I LOVED them. Last year while shopping, Jessica bought a pair and admitted to me when she first saw them on me she thought they looked like hooker boots. I busted out laughing because this confirmed my fears from the previous year. It’s funny how something that makes you feel so exposed gradually feels normal and then even catches on.

Showing off the hooker boots. (Bakers: Barby Style Fall ’09)Scarf, Leggings, belt: Forever 21 -old

Necklace: Summer ’11 Nordstrom Rack>>>>Dress: $25 Fall ’11>>>>Jacket, Fall ’10>>>> both Express

Wrap watch: America’s Mart>>>> Ring: Forever 21 -old

Thank you so much Melissa for the opportunity to photograph your beautiful family!

On to Preston…See what I mean?!

The good news is, if you would like a pair, Jessica found similar boots at Nordstrom, and they recently went on sale for $90. You can get them here.

 A little trick: I have super skinny calfs and usually boots are way to big- I bought a pair of leg warmers that I will use to fill the boot and when it is really cold, help keep me warm. Only thing is…I didn’t do it in the below pictures. So you will notice the boots bunch up a little bit. I’m okay with this…really….I have embraced my chicken legs.

And just in case you are wondering, I have a long black tank under the shirt that extends to cover all necessary areas.

Bracelet: Forever 21 (old)>>>>> Boots: Nordstrom Rack, Fall ’11, $75

Necklace: Nordstrom Rack (old). I think it was like $3 on clearance. 

Top: Fall ’11, $30>>>>leggings: Fall ’11, $10>>>>Boots Fall ’11, $75>>>>Necklace: old>>>>All Nordstrom Rack

Scarf: Fall ’11, $12 Tjmaxx>>>>Bracelet: old, Forever 21

Here are a few pictures from our session. Without a doubt, the last one is my favorite…and it made it on their Christmas card.

I learned early on in my teenage days that money doesn’t get you very far when you pay full price for clothes. Especially when you make minimum wage. I have a whole theory of how to shop and buy items on sale. You can read more about that here. So Fashion Fix is a new blog series. A series about deals I find, outfits put together, trends I love, etc. I will try to list where, when and how much I paid for each item when I know them at the bottom of each post.

This first outfit is a dress I found at Express. 80% of my wardrobe comes from Express or Nordstrom Rack. The trick with shopping at Express is to wait until they put the item on sale (not clearance because you can’t use store coupons) and then combine it with a store coupon. For example, this dress was $70. About 2 weeks after I saw it in the store, Express marked all dresses 30% off and then had a coupon for $15 off $30, making the grand total $34! Take that Forever 21 and H&M! You can get store coupons by checking their website, emails and text messages.

Dress: Express $34 Fall 2011 >>>>Boots: Target $30 Summer 2011>>>>Necklace: Nordstrom Rack $9 Summer 2011 >>>> Belt: another dress