A Very Merry Anniversary Wrap Up

If you watch my youtube channel or follow me on any of my social medias, you'd know that I recently celebrated my 2 year wedding anniversary.

Leading up to our trip, there was quite a bit of stress and planning involved. At first we were trying to make a week in Hawaii work, but finally it fell through, so off to plan B... Vegas. My husband bought us Britney Spears tickets and I was elated! Now I know Britney hasn't been her best since 2007, but there's something about getting to see my high school pop idol live.

The week leading up to the trip, I was filming, editing, cleaning, and working like crazy to make sure our trip would be as smooth and stress free while we were there.

Monday I took the babies (if your new they are my 2 dogs not actual human babies) to my mom's for her to watch while we went away. While I was at my mom's my husband lets me know that they have canceled his returning flight home and they are trying to schedule him on a new flight. I start to panic... what if he doesn't make it back in time?!

A few hours later I get a phone call from my husband, clearly he has not gotten on the plane.
He calls: "Well your not going to believe what happened, I guess we're not going to see Britney."

I PANIC I'm thinking there is no way in HELL I am not going to drive myself to vegas and go see her on my own. Then he says that I have booked a job (acting job).

"That's not possible, I haven't auditioned for anything," was my response.

My husband says: "No it's a direct booking from your last audition." (these things apparently really happen)

I still don't believe him.

Flash forward to a few more hours, me finally believing him. I ended up working on Tuesday and our tickets are for Wednesday so worst case we can still drive in Wednesday morning to go see my pop idol.

Basically everything worked out. I worked early Tuesday morning and was wrapped just before 11am.

I play a Young Teacher

My OOT from my trailer

Gotta take a selfie!

This whole time I thought things were working agains us and our trip, but I got to work on one of my favorite shows, take a week long vacation with my husband, and see Britney Bitch!

At the concert

Look how tiny she is!

Nils from Beautylish sent me this autographed perfume from Britney. I was kind of gushing about how excited I was for the concert on Sunday at the Beautylish Charlotte Tilbury Launch. 

Sometimes things going wrong really are things going right.

XOXO
Serein

P.S.
HUGE Vegas makeup haul will be up soon on my channel. Make sure your subscribed!

My Hoopla Adventures and Thank You!

Below is a recent newsletter I sent out to my customer list. As many of you know I am a stella dot stylist. This past week was the annual conference for all stylist and the preview for our fall collection. Reflecting on my trip, I sent out this thank you and update to all my customers and thought it was a good post to share with my readers as well :-) Just got back from this year's Hoopla at Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and wanted to share with you my trip and the exciting new fall collection.  View this email in your browser

Lessons Learned and Thank You! Doing something I'm afraid of has payoffs Many of you know me personally, some do not, but attending Hoopla goes against my personality. I usually avoid large crowds and groups, especially alone. My tendency is to shy away from motivational speakers and sales conferences. Well, for some reason or another I signed up for hoopla months ago on a whim not knowing if I would have anyone to attend with or what to expect. All I knew was I wanted to be a part of the experience. It didn't even hit me that just attending the huge annual event was such a big deal for me until my husband who drove out to meet me sat with me at lunch one day and said "I'm really proud of you for doing this. For stepping out of your box and coming here." Holding back tears, I realized just getting to that moment, just showing up was an achievement for me. I won't go into too much details about all the great lessons I learned, mostly that I can do anything I set my mind to, a reminder that I desperately needed and forgotten as I've grown up. I want to thank you to all my customers, mostly my friends or friends of friends for supporting my dreams and helping me build my own business. To you this maybe just a great tote, bracelet, earrings, or necklace, to me it's so much more. It's independence, freedom, growth, and most importantly meeting and learning from each of you. Thank you for your support these last 9 months and thank you for your business, because it is so much more than jewelry for me. Love- Serein P.S. Below are photos from my trip and glances of the new fall line :-) http://www.stelladot.com/sledford

First official day of Hoopla when I've picked up my badge and swag bag! How cute is the new metalic "how does she do it" tote?! Doubles as an adorable diaper bag or mommy bag.  These 2 amazing ladies adopted me and took me under their wings. Here we are enjoying some cocktails from the lounge. Tonya earned the amazing Red Tec Tote that she worked so hard for, which makes the bag even more precious. Can't wait to get the black version for myself :-) Here I was all on my own checking out the fall collection! I took these shots of some of the beautiful statement pieces coming out.  I'll be getting all my fall samples and look books this week, Let me know if you'd like me to send a look book or if you have any questions!

Mad Men Makeup Tutorial

I love Mad Men and it premiers this Sunday! So here is my makeup tutorial inspired by the beautiful women of the show. Enjoy!

What Pretty Little Liars Has Taught Me

As I sit here in anticipation for the midnight screening of The Hunger Games, I can’t help thinking about how movies and TV have influenced fashion.  For me, I have always gone to the extreme in inspiration. When I was obsessed with the movie, The Three Amigos, my brother drove down to Tijuana and got me an authentic Three Amigos outfit complete with a matching sombrero. You can bet I wore that thing out and about. When the movie Clueless came out, I went shopping with my sister and she decked me out in mini skirts, knee high socks, and matching tops, of course this was totally inappropriate for elementary school. 

Even today, I notice how I’ve been inspired by the movies and shows I’m watching. My latest inspiration…ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. I know this sounds like a silly teen girl soap, but it’s actually really good. You’d have to start from the beginning to know what’s going on, but there’s a reason this show is such a hit. There was even a blog about it on the Huffington Post about how Pretty Little Liars is a great feminist show that empowers young women. So in honor of my latest obsession, I’m wearing pure lacquer nail apps (instant nail polish with designs printed on them). I even started wearing more Aria type dresses. For those of you who don’t watch the show, Aria is the creative, artsy, funky type, who will mix prints, colors, and styles on any given day depending on her mood. In my fiancé’s words he describes her style as fun, youthful, and sometimes jailbait gothic.

If you follow the show you’d see that each girl has a very distinct style and personality. While I’m probably more of a “Hanna” girl, who obsesses about fashion and can tell you what designer everyone is wearing or where they got their clothes, I wish I were a little more artsy, creative, and bold like Aria. I also find it interesting that like Hanna, I always tried to fit in. I wore designers and clothes that were fashionable and popular, to be popular. While Aria, who marches to the beat of her own drum and isn’t afraid to take risks, always knows who she is and isn’t afraid to show it. I know that I have both girls in me. I started being an Aria, as a kid, with my costumes and dressing how I felt. In my teens, I became a Hanna, somewhere along the way, I turned into a little bit of the over-achieving, preppy Spencer, and now I’m trying to find my way back to Aria.

So, instead of the conservative burgundy or light pink nails I normally get, I opted for lace printed black nails. While I normally admire others with bold choices, I rarely make any myself. Usually I tend to stick to things I know that works on me. So even though I only changed my nails, which are completely temporary, it made me feel a little bolder, a little fearless. It’s funny how such a small thing can change your whole attitude about yourself and how you feel. This small gesture for myself even allowed me to explore my wardrobe a bit more. I had this red knitted tank dress that I never wore because it was completely see through. Well I found a black slip in the back of my closet and wore it under, then I found a cream woven belt and some matching thigh-high socks to go with my knee high biker boots. I made it work and it was completely appropriate and actually really fun to wear.

photo from ABC Family

So if a manicure can do this for me, what can it do for you this week?

Dress yourself to Happiness... Seriously

I’m dedicating this post to 3 things that I think should be applied to your everyday clothing choices. My weeks are filled with ups and downs and recently there have been a lot fewer downs in between the ups. Looking back I can say that therapy, exercise, diet, and creating a consistent schedule for me has to do with it, but I also think applying all the changes I’ve made inside to the out also helps more than anyone ever gives credit to. I look at getting dressed differently. While I’ve always loved fashion, I see it differently now. Here are my three rules for dressing yourself happy.

1.                    Always dress the part. Last week I wrote a whole post about dressing for the activity or event, it is one of my favorite posts thus far because I really do believe that clothes make a first impression, but more importantly it helps you feel like your ready for the activity your about to take on. We want to look our best for a date, so why not life? You want to dress in appropriate clothes for different sports because of function, but this concept can be taken so much farther! Please read Dress the Part for Your New Years Goals if you haven’t already.

2.                    Dress to make yourself feel good. You deserve it. Everyone deserves it. We can do all the work on the inside, but until your ready to look your best, you won’t feel your best. It wasn’t until I got out of my uniform of sweats that I got up and out of the house to really get healthy inside and out. You should dress to show off what’s on the inside. So many times unconsciously we do that already, but just like smiling can suddenly change your whole mood, so can your clothes. Put on something that flatters your unique self and let the world see YOU!

3.                    Trends will come and go, but you won’t. Your essence, your style, and personality are the only things that no one else has and makes you special. Yes, your special because your you. The whole world only has one of you. So be you. Dress like you. If you are drawn to glitter add it to your wardrobe. Be creative and adventurous in your wardrobe. Have fun! You can always change your mind and change your outfit, so go for it! Make a fashion mistake, but make it with your head held high and because you were following your heart and who you are.  Who knows you could be the new trend.

Now I know that my goal was one post a week, but I was inspired to write another one this week from a voice class that I took.  My hope is that this inspires you to take some risks and move towards your fears no matter how small you think they are.  Please if you like what you read, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! I’d greatly appreciate it! Comments are also always welcome!