KC Fashion Week Recap :: Part II

Thanks for checking back in for the second part of my KC Fashion Week recap! So I attended the first night, missed the second night, but was happy I got a chance to attend the final night of runway shows, especially because I knew Project Runway alum Lauren Kathleen would be there!!! I was such a big fan of hers on the show and was excited to see her designs walk the runway in person!

Prior to the runway shows, I got to attend the Ulta Beauty media event, where I got to sample delicious drinks, deserts, and hors d'oeuvres. They certainly know how to entertain a lady. ;)

I also got in some chat time with these two lovelies, Antonia (who just launched Curvaceous City) and her sister Alexis. They're super sweet, funny, and doing some great things here in KC! We probably could've chatted the entire night, but before we knew it, it was time to get seated for the runway shows!

While walking to my seat, I spotted Laura Kathleen and had a major groupie moment. I had to force myself to go talk to her because if I didn't, I knew I'd be kicking myself later. So I'm happy to report, I did it! She was so sweet and approachable..and just look at her adorable baby bump! :)

If I had to pick a highlight of the evening, this would probably be it.

Now onto the show!


Architexture
The collection by Christina and John, the duo behind Architexture (love that name), combined structure and texture so seamlessly. I loved the sleekness of everything and can definitely see myself wearing practically everything in this collection. They had a couple of jackets that are to die for, but sadly, I didn't get clear pictures of them.

Kate Walz
Definitely one of the most notable collections of the night was this one by another young designer, Kate Walz (she's only 17!). Again, I'm just so incredibly floored by the amount of talent she already has. This is the stuff I expect to see when I think "runway"...more avante garde and daring looks that push boundaries. I loved her blend of structured textiles with more feminine silhouettes. It definitely made for an unconventional look. And just check out her final look!

 

Laura McGrew
These TOMBOY Designs looks by Laura McGrew were classic, yet edgy. I must be going through a black and white phase because I find myself gravitating toward these neutrals, along with greys and off whites, in my every day clothing lately. I love the clean, classic lines, and I also really appreciate the asymmetrical pieces (like the grey short-sleved jacket below, which I failed to get a clear pic of).

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Christian Micheal
I loved that there was another men's wear collection at this season's KCFW! Christian Micheal did not disappoint. Again, when I think runway, I expect to see more daring styles like these. I love the details he incorporates in each one of these looks. I must be a sucker for structure and texture because I really appreciate all the detailed work that went into these pieces! Just look at the quilting and impeccable stitching involved. Aside from the exaggerated collars and cuffs, they're pretty wearable. I actually kind of wish he did a version of this collection for women!

House of Cochon
Anyone who knows me knows I love jewelry. Obviously! ;) And I love a good piece of statement jewelry. So when I found out that House of Cochon was showing their collection, I couldn't wait to see it! I'm definitely digging their natural, tribal, bohemian vibe. The splashes of color are refreshing and make me want to hop on the next plane to the nearest tropical beach. It's always inspiring for me to see the work of other jewelry artists and to know how far they've come. I definitely walked away very inspired...and who knows...maybe eNVe Designs will walk down the KCFW runway too sometime in the future!

Whitney Rorah Designs
As an artist, I'm always viewing others' work through an appreciative lens, particularly imagining how many countless hours it took for this person to achieve the piece of work I see in front of me. That's exactly what was going through my mind when I saw Whitney Rorah's collection. Just look at the amount of meticulous detail that went into all those gowns! 

Laura Kathleen 
I have to be honest, Laura Kathleen's collection was much more casual and ready-to-wear than what I was expecting, given her incredible work on Project Runway, especially her collection for NYFW. So part of me was a little disappointed that there wasn't a real "WOW" moment with this collection. But that said, I still think she is amazing and I do love the flowy, feminine look of this collection. Sometimes it's hard to make black look ultra flowy and feminine, but she managed to do that here. Plus, the sunnies and the head scarf are calling me to take a coastal road trip in a convertible! Who wants to go with me? I'm pretty fun on road trips! ;)

There you have it...my entire first experience with Kansas City Fashion Week! It was so much fun that I know I'll be back for more next season! In the meantime, I think I need to get some red-carpet posing lessons! And some photography lessons! LOL

So which collections caught your eye?? Good or bad?

Kansas City Fashion Week Recap :: Fall/Winter 2015 Collections (Part I)

We have been living in the Kansas City area for almost 6 years now and year after year, I am finding more reasons to fall in love with this wonderful city! It really is a gem of a place and the more I chip away at what it has to offer, the more brilliant the shine becomes. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend KC Fashion Week for the first time and enjoyed every bit of it! In my personal world of being a stay at home mom, fashion is a luxury...along with showers and drinking hot coffee. Needless to say, it was nice having an opportunity to get out of my jeans and t-shirt and actually put on some make-up for a change! I got to hang out with some blogger pals and see some really inspiring designers debut their Fall/Winter 2015 Collections. I was able to make it to two of the three nights and managed to snap some pictures as best as I could. I'm no photographer so most of it was no good for posting. You can find professional photos of all the runway looks on the KC Fashion Week facebook page.

Thursday night kicked off with...

Paolini Garment Company
Can I just put in a petition for all men to dress this sharp all the time? I'm loving all the unexpected details that make these looks so much more interesting than the typical suit. For instance...the tiny floral print and the neutral faux flowers in their lapels.

Dolyn Bags
Handbag designer, Ami Beck, personally designs and constructs each one of these leather bags. These neutral shades are perfect for fall (or for any time of year, really). My favorite...the red bag. That perfect shade of merlot would pair well with everything and the bag itself would hold all my mommy gear perfectly so I'd never have to carry a diaper bag!

Marlee Ju
Leah McDaniel is the designer behind the children's boutique, Marlee Ju. I'm a sucker for teals and greys so this was certainly right up my alley. I have to say, if my kids were this well dressed, I'd definitely have to step up my fashion game because they'd for sure be better dressed than me!

Molly Elizabeth Designs
Molly Elizabeth is an up and coming designer from Nebraska. When I discovered that she was only 15 years old, I was astounded! It really is incredible to see so much talent manifested at such an early age. I hope she keeps rising to the top and continues to inspire young girls and women of all ages. I dig the bohemian flair to her looks. If I was 20 years younger, I could definitely see myself wearing some of these fun styles.

Jessica Lynn
Children's wear designer, Jessica Lynn, is self-taught and created her label after years of making unique clothing for her own children. I love the playful textures and colors she selected, and the jewel tones + earthy brown combo is always a win in my book, especially for fall! I would put my kids in any one of these looks in a heartbeat! Just look at how adorable these kids are!

 

Young Hearted Socks
And to continue with the lightheartedness on the runway, Kyle Green and KC Chief's own Sanders Commings, closed out the night with their "half-suits" and fun, vibrant socks. I was curious to see how socks would be modeled on the runway, but am curious no more. They definitely stood out with the bright colors and fun patterns...definitely true to their "Young Hearted" brand.

My first night at Kansas City Fashion Week was so much fun! Here are some snap shots from my instagram.

I have to say how truly impressed I was with how everything was presented and how the KC Fashion Week team made it all run so seamlessly. And having it at the historic Union Station was picture-perfect! Well done, KCFW!

Stay tuned for my recap of Saturday night!

Mini Makeover :: Stenciled Headboard Feature Wall

Last year, when my husband and I became new homeowners, I had a list of about a hundred different things I needed/wanted for the house and a million different decorating visions playing out in my mind. Slowly but surely, things are piecing together as we're creating a home for our little family of 5. Being budget conscious, we've tried to find ways to make this home our own without breaking the bank. I'm no stranger to garage sales, estates sales, logging time on Craigslist, and reusing/repurposing what we already have. That said, after many unsuccessful searches for the perfect headboard, I decided to lean toward more nontraditional routes. My thought: headboards are luxury items, not a necessity. At this time, I can't justify spending hundreds on a piece of furniture that serves no function and is merely decorative. I know the hubby is happy about that. It is probably the last thing on my list. Yet at the same time, I really dislike the empty wall where the headboard should be. I wanted something different...and big..and a focal point in the room. Problem is, it's not really safe to hang anything there, especially anything substantial, that could potentially be the cause of some head injuries. Thank goodness for pinterest! At some point, I remembered seeing a huge statement wall with framed wall-paper and thought that would be the perfect solution. But after searching for the perfect wall paper (and there's some really fantastic stuff out there...with textured and fabric varieties), I realized it would end up costing just as much as an actual headboard!!! Plus, I hear it's quite the pain to install. So no brainer, the wall paper option was out. I ran through other options...decals? Nope, giant stickers should not cost a small fortune...and I wanted more creative freedom. Painted mural? Nope, I have neither the time nor the talent of a mural artist. Stencils? It does allow for some creative freedom, it's budget-friendly, time-friendly, and can achieve the look of wall paper. No brainer!

Bring on the weekend project!

I found the perfect stencil from Royal Design Studio. I'm a huge fan of herringbone, so when I saw this "herringbone shuffle", my search was over. I'm also a sucker for ombre, so all I needed was two contrasting colors of paint.

 

I just grabbed two sample containers of Valspar in white and the darkest grey they had. Every shade in between, was up to me to mix. This is more than enough paint for the entire project. I think I used maybe 1/5 of the jar. And each jar costs less than $3. I purchased stencil brushes for this, but I know any clean, flat edged brush would've been just fine for the job.

Now that you have your supplies, and your blank wall, let's get started!

Draw a horizontal line where you want the top of your frame to be. Make sure it's level. We used the window frames and the molding on the ceiling and measured from there. Then find the center of the line and draw an intersecting vertical line. Again, make sure it is level and straight and centered.

Start the stencil from the center and go outward. *This is important: The edge of the pattern should be lined up on that center vertical line, not the edge of the stencil sheet.* Either side is fine as long as you're going out from the center. Use painters tape to adhere the stencil to the wall.

I stenciled by section, starting from 1. Working outward from the center made more sense to me. That way, I knew the entire wall would be centered and I didn't have to measure exactly where the outer edges would be. I alternated between right and left sides to allow the freshly painted sections to dry before adding to it. 

I chose to go with an ombre effect so I started the top with just pure grey, gradually mixing in the lighter shades of grey as I went down. And at the very bottom, I went with the pure white. In several places, I put highly contrasting shades next to one another. This was pretty random because that's how I like it, but if you preferred the pattern to be more uniform, that would be easy to do as well. Also, I ended up using the stencil 4x across, spanning just a bit longer than our king sized bed. It's nice it worked out that way, but if you needed a smaller width, you can just stencil in a portion  and leave off the rest. That's why it made more sense to me to go from the center out.

The frame is optional, but I feel it adds the perfect finishing touch. We went with unfinished wooden molding. They come in 8ft segments and were measured and cut at a 45-degree angle on the ends to frame together nicely. We purchased 4 and they were $4.96 each. You don't need to do the math to know that this is far cheaper than buying a custom wooden picture frame, especially one of this massive size. We just cut, sanded, and used a "driftwood grey" wood stain to finish these before adding them to the wall. The adhesive he used was liquid nails.

My handy husband was the one responsible for the trim. He first nailed each piece of trim at the very center--not all the way in, but just enough to temporarily hold the trim in place. This is for two purposes: 1) he could then pivot the trim around that center to make sure it is leveled, and 2) it helps to hold the trim in place while the liquid nails adhesive sets. Once the adhesive is applied and trim is in place, he also temporarily nailed in the ends so that the trim is firmly flush against the wall while it dries.  We waited a day or two before removing those temporary nails.

The wall makes a great photo backdrop!

And guess what, we're done! Blank wall to focal wall for less than $90 total! You can do this anywhere in your house, really. Behind a desk, next to the breakfast nook, kid's room, creative corner, craft area, etc.

 If we should ever rearrange and move the bed to another spot, this wall would still make a great feature wall behind a desk or seating arrangement. And if we get bored of the wall altogether, it would be easy to remove the trim and paint over the whole thing. Fresh canvas!

But for now, I absolutely love it! To complete the mini makeover, don't forget the finishing touches! I really, really love green. For me, it brings an instant breath of fresh air to any space. It also happens to be mine and my husband's favorite color.

 

 

Can you tell I'm ready for spring???

Now half of our bedroom is complete! My goal for the master bedroom is for it to become a relaxing retreat for us. I want to walk into it feeling like I just stepped into a freshly fluffed hotel suite...but even better, more comfortable, and more inviting than a hotel because it's familiar...because it's home. With three small children running around, peace and quiet is pretty scarce around here. I need a relaxing space that is clear of clutter and toys. There are designated spaces for kid stuff, like the bottom shelf where we have a few of their books, and small baskets in each night stand to catch any and all kid clutter. This room is getting there and it makes me so happy. I hope my husband appreciates it too. ;) We'll tackle the other half of the bedroom in another episode of Mini Makeover. 'Til next time, friends!

Which part of the house is your special retreat spot?