Before we headed off to Savannah I discovered a trendy online shoe boutique called An Unlikely Pear that I absolutely fell in love with. In desperate need of some new shoes, I was thrilled to add two new pair to my wardrobe. Savannah was an ideal location to break them in, with plenty of charming sidewalk to explore.
I chose a neutral, strappy, block heeled sandal, and a boho boot to add to my collection. London was smitten with this Jessica Simpson Kariba Cage Sandal. She followed me everywhere saying "Shewwwww", and as soon as I took them off she was walking around in them as best she could. Lacing is so on trend right now and the suede texture and tassel detail made the perfect finishing touches.
I love the style of these sandals so much. I'm just as comfortable with them in a maxi dress as I am in cropped boyfriend jeans. They can be dressed up, or add the perfect funky touch to a casual look.
When I received these Not Rated Sansa boots I fully expected to have to break them in a little. I was pleasantly surprised that they were already good to go. The streets of Savannah were no match for my walking boots. We traversed cobble stones, bricks, stairs, and parks on our trip. These boots were just as comfy at the end of the day as when I slipped them on at the start of the day. Also, I originally thought they were so boho I might be limited on what to where them with, but they are surprisingly versatile.
The Western flare these boots have is one of fashion's most sought after details right now. Exposed threading, and laser cut edging make them stand out, while the neutral shade blends with a large color spectrum. These are a great investment for fall and winter, and will transition straight into festival season. As comfy as they are, they are sure to stick around your closet for seasons to come.
Now you have the chance to score a pair for yourself. Shop AnUnlikelyPear.com right now and get 10% off with the code AMYWESTTRAVEL .
This fall our hometown Jacksonville Beach is still picking up the pieces leftover from Hurricane Matthew. Our beaches were battered. Our dunes were obliterated, many of our beach accesses were closed, a good portion of our pier destroyed and there is still much debris where there was once pristine sand. However, in the spirit of rebuilding and celebrating our nearly year 'round beach weather, we teamed up with Sunuva UV Swimwear and Beachwear and brought the girls out for a fashionable post rejoicing in Florida's endless summer.
This luxurious children's line is not just fashionable, it's also functional. Feel confident when your kids are frolicking on the beach, that they are getting complete sun protection even beyond your sunscreen application. Swimsuits have built in 50+ protection from harmful UV rays. That's a worthwhile investment with a completely adorable silver lining if you ask me!
I love Sunuva's selection of adorable prints. They are colorful, bright and playful while still being subtle and chic. They offer designs for boy and girls as well as siblings, so you can have fun matching them up! Sienna loved her trendy Boho dress and both girls enjoyed the extremely soft fabrics. Sunuva also has a great line of accessories including hats, scarfs, bags, and shoes.
London's Blossom Swimsuit is also available in a Bikini here
Celebrity Style at Affordable Prices
Worn by the fashionable offspring of celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Sunuva is high on style but easy on your pocket. Looking for a deal? Sunuva even has an outlet page where you can find styles up to half off!
The seasons are getting cooler but now is the time to think about resortwear for vacations. Or if you live in Florida like I do, it's always time to keep your beach style on point. Make sure the kiddos are protected from the sun while showing off their fashionable personalities with Sunuva Swimwear and Beachwear.
Although Sunuva UV Swimwear and Beachwear was kind enough to gift us with these darling swimsuits and dresses, all the words and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.
I haven't written a good work out post since my 30 Day Challenge, Juice Cleanse, and Fitness Trends series. After covering "How I lost the Baby Weight", I thought it was time to share again what I'm working out to lately. For me, being active has to be fun. I know what my body likes, and I know that I mentally need to work out as an outlet for stress. Over the last year I've had to get creative with my fitness since my little wasn't old enough to go into child care at the gym. Here is the result of my search for best online work outs, and what I'm doing lately.
First of all I just want to point out that I am not a beach body coach and am in no way affiliated with them or compensated for recommending them. After having London I was looking for good at home work outs to do especially when it came to using free weights. I had heard that the 21 Day Fix was awesome and I figured 21 days sounded pretty reasonable. I also liked that I could stream the work outs. This was important because we don't even have a DVD player anymore (Yes we are that Millennial). The package I signed up for came with a coach who involved me in a facebook group challenge which lasted about a month. I liked that there was community and I wasn't just doing home work outs on my own. This especially came in handy with eating clean and making sure I was fueling my body enough (sometimes momma is the last to eat). During my challenge I got to know Beach Body's new On Demand website more and really enjoyed the Challenge Du Jour which is a curated weekly mix of different work outs from Beach Body's long list of work out programs (you know, the ones you see on all the infomercials). I was surprised to discover that a lot of the instructors are really funny (see Tony Horton, and Shaun T), which helped me get through feeling kind of ridiculous at home. All in all this site is very motivating and helpful and you can get your first 30 days free as well as stream it on your phone through their app, which is perfect for travel!
I found Adriene when I was stuck at home for my work outs when London was too little for the child care at my local gym. I love her yoga videos because she is not only extremely friendly and relatable, she is also very knowledgable. Adriene's down to earth delivery, disarming charm, and "do what feels good" methods made yoga my favorite work out. As my body was recovering from a c-section and my core was in need of a lot of therapy, yoga was a gentle way for me to ease back into my fitness routine. I started with her 30 Day Yoga Challenge and loved that she began gently and added more challenges throughout the 30 days. Most of the videos were around 20 to 30 minutes but some were as brief as 12 minutes, yet you still felt like you did your body good that day. I highly recommend Yoga with Adriene for both beginning and advanced yoga practice, she has a great variety to choose from. Doing Yoga with Adriene is kind of like doing yoga with your best girlfriend.
I discovered Caleb Marshall when this video of Meghan Trainor's song "Me Too" went viral featuring Caleb and his crew dancing it out. He just seemed to be having so much fun and I was missing my fav zumba class at the gym, so I gave it a try. So so addictive. I had tried other zumba you tube channels but they just didn't measure up. I love the trendy latest hits music he chooses, and his choreography is easy to follow but challenging enough to still be interesting. I like that he gives great guidance but doesn't repeat the moves over and over in the slow learning process a lot of dance videos do. I just want to dig in and do the song, not practice the same eight steps over and over. Caleb does a great job rotating a diverse group of dancers including all ages, shapes, sizes and genders so literally anyone can relate and feel comfortable dancing it off at home.
I randomly happpened upon Keaira while scrolling through my other youtube favs. I was interested in her dance work outs and instantly fell in love with her passion and enthusiasm. She does a great job mixing up the type of music she uses and does a lot of isolating movements to work the abs and glutes. She's also a mom so I could relate with what she had to say about getting back in shape and this really encouraged me. She has work outs for all levels so you don't have to feel intimidated getting started, but know that as you learn you can also challenge yourself more. Last but not least, Keaira makes working out fun, and for me that is a priority. I want to be smiling when I'm working out, not miserable and grumpy.
BeFit is another great free resource. Featuring a diverse range of work outs with celebrity trainers. You can do 10 minute abs, dance it off with the above mentioned Keaira LaShae, or experiment with partner yoga plus lots more. I found this channel to be similar to Beach Body with the bonus of being 100% free.
6. Spin
Now that London is over a year old I've returned to the gym where she can go in childcare. I have tried spin before in the past but it wasn't my thing previously. Trying to branch out I decided to give it another try, this time being taught by my favorite instructor (see zumba below). What a difference an instructor can make. My girl Kim rocks it out with a great song list and upbeat motions to keep the hour interesting. It's a challenge to get through, but the best way I've found to start a Monday. After class I always feel ready to take on the world. Definitely look for an instructor that's right for you and make sure to get help setting up your bike the first few times so you avoid injury.
7. Zumba
Zumba is probably my all time favorite work out. I am extremely picky about instructors though. I'm not really into classic zumba or anything that borders on jazzercise. I want a song list that makes me feel like I'm out with the girls. I take Zumba mid week and it's the ultimate way to escape the weeks stressors and burn a ton of calories. I love that our class sets the lights low and turns on the disco ball. It feels like we are at the club, not the gym and the details are fuzzy in the dim light making me feel like a rock star, not an awkward white girl. I can't live without it. I've been taking classes under Kim for around two years now and she has a faithful following. We feel more like a dance troupe than a work out class. Definitely my favorite.
It's finally fall and if you haven't already, it's time to start thinking about your family portraits. I'm not uber traditional when it comes to the holidays, but after years of being professional photographers and working with hundreds of families, one thing there was never a question about was doing our own family photo for Christmas Cards. What to wear is always the question, but this year I spotted the "It" dress early and I'm happy to say we already have the Christmas Cards in hand to send out and it's not even October (patting myself on the back)! Here are a few tips for planning your style for this year's portrait.
Where Will You Display?
The first thing you need to think about is where you plan on displaying your images. If it's just for your card then you have a lot more choices for wardrobe. If you plan on putting these up on your walls then you need to think a little more strategically about the colors you are going to use. This year I knew we were going to put these images on canvas and hang on the wall. We don't have any pictures of London on the walls yet and I wanted to incorporate her into our gallery.
Choosing a Color Scheme
We live at the beach and our little cottage has a of neutrals. I wanted soft colors that reflected the coastal lifestyle but would also blend in with our decor. I ultimately decided to go with soft pastels in teal and pink. The exact shades didn't have to match perfectly. As you can see, we are in the same color spectrum without having the exact shame shades. Also, and this is very important, you need to choose colors you know look good on you.
Deciding Where to Shoot
In our neck of the woods it's a little cliche to shoot at the beach. It really never gets old, but we try to mix it up from year to year. This year we came back to the beach because I wanted the location on display in our beach home. I envisioned a dramatic scene to add romance to the images, so we chose a more remote beach location to create an epic scene. When deciding on location consider the time of day and lighting. Assuming you are working with a professional photographer, they will likely know the best local spots to shoot and the best times of day. A common issue is that popular locations may be busy with tourists and locals. It's a good idea to choose a weekday if possible to cut out some of the background traffic. This is another good reason to shoot earlier in the season because it starts getting dark earlier in October and November. By the end of the season and closer to the holidays you have to shoot outdoors around 3pm in order to get anything good.
A Few Tips
Avoid patterns and stick to solid colors. Patterns will draw away from your faces.
Make sure to feed kids (and Dad) before the shoot. This can dramatically effect attitude during the shoot.
Consider kids bed times and try not too shoot so close to nap or bed time if possible.
Nature will be nature. Consider having a rain date in mind in case of weather. Also, for beach locations, you may have to deal with a considerable amount of wind. We had a lot of wind for our shoot, and I hated it. It can ruin everything. So know the risk and plan accordingly. This is a good time to wear your hair up.
Less is more. When choosing your accessories, don't over style. Too many accessories make an image heavy and distracting. It may look good on a fashion post but not hanging on your walls.
Don't be afraid to get moving. We loved shooting families chasing their little ones and having fun together. For this shoot my husband wanted to dip me. How fun are these shots?
Don't be afraid to go on pinterest and pull your favorite poses and pictures. Your photographer will appreciate knowing what you are going for and what you like as far as style, lighting, and formatting.
To save money shop Groupon for canvases, Christmas Cards, and photo books. I have found Canvas on Demand, Shutterfly, and Picaboo on Groupon and they are some of my preferred vendors.
So where did we get our outfits? Well, you might be surprised to learn that my dress and boots were the only new pieces. My husband's shirt was from Brooks Brothers a few years back and my daughters dresses were hand me downs that just happened to be perfect. I really gained inspiration for the entire shoot around my dress. I spied it online at Anthropologie about a month ago and thought it was the perfect family portrait dress. The tulle is soft (and not puffy), and I knew it would move well in the ocean breeze. Really this dress would go with just about any location since it is so neutral and a classic silhouette. I chose the boots from Nordstrom to add a more distinct look.
What are your favorite photo tips? I'd love for you to share in the comments below.
Tara Clemons for helping us with the awesome photos
Rio Hair Studio for my trendy new cut and color Guana Beach for the gorgeous background
Laugh at Yourself
We may make it look easy, but know that family pictures are just as challenging for us as it is for everyone else. Fortunately you really only need 2 to 4 good images which we thankfully scored even though our kids weren't feeling it, the wind was crazy, and it was still a little early to shoot. Here are a few of our outtakes. I know you are laughing with us not at us right?
Those eyes though...
Almost had it. What are you doing Londy?
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For the last few years I've had my eye on a pair of over the knee boots that I finally scored this season. Style them with a sweater dress, or mini skirt and they can turn a ho hum outfit into a showstopper. I love this reasonably priced suede pair I found at Nordstrom. The color is perfect for just about any outfit, so you can strut your stuff all season long. Here's how I transformed my every day style into an edgier date night look.
High Contrast
For this ensemble I took several high contrast staples and shook them up a little. On it's own this turtle neck sweater tunic from Anthropologie isn't all that sultry. A pencil skirt is typically more daytime than nighttime but transformed into a high waisted mini it takes on a new attitude. The over the knee boots on their own have plenty of star power but add in these over the knee tights and the sexiness doubles. The ideal date night combination. The great news is the individual pieces can still be worked into daytime outfits in multiple combinations making sure you get your dollars worth for days to come.
These London skyline tights were a gift from a friend and I adore them. I have a fascination with the city (I actually named my daughter London), so it was a perfect fit so to speak. I couldn't find them available anymore, but I did link to some similar varieties below.
