White Swan

 "I felt it - perfect. It was perfect..."

-Nina, Black Swan

Inspired by the movie "Black Swan" we wanted to do our own interpretation of  White Swan using the winter beach sky.

During the winter months, the sunsets are some of the most intense. As the sun goes down on the horizon there is a small amount of time that the light hits the sand first turning the beach from the dark, gloomy, cold winter into a radiating warmth of light. As you feel the sun hit your body it awakens the spirit as if you are being reborn. 

  

In order to capture the light just right we grabbed Emmett after school as our assistant. When we arrived at the beach we were a gasp at the beauty, even though we sometime take it for granted.

As I started to to shoot Camilla on the soft sand, Emmett kept saying that we needed to go down into the water because the reflection of the sun on the water was perfect. I was hesitant at first because it was so cold and the water even colder. But, he was right and Camilla, as always, loved getting right into the water and wet sand. Emmett and I took turns with the camera and light disc reflector trying to capture the beauty as we both saw it.

Lace mock turtleneck and silver bralette by Free People, 

blush dress from LF boutique, Leggings Anthropologie

Headband from Urban Outfitters.

XX Valerie and Camilla

Life Is Beautiful

Oh yes life is quite beautiful, and it is Friday so it makes it all the more lovely.

Always in need of more inspiration and Art.

We were introduced to this artist by my son and Camilla's brother Emmett.

Her name is Erika Iris Simmons and is based out of Atlanta.

She finds inspiration in random things then makes a portrait of the person associated with the item.

Our Favorite is Bob Marley and the other musicians she has done with cassette tapes.

you can find more about her at IRIS.

We have been having the most amazing winter sunsets at the beach.

We will be sharing with you soon:)

We are also excited to tell you that Camilla is featured on StyleCaster

as the TOP TEN OF 2010! 

It's a photo from the shoot we did with the Beautiful Collection from QUAIL.

Happy, Happy!

XX Valerie and Camilla

OH and WE

Hope you enjoy the weekend!

Little Things

Here's a few pieces our favorite jewelry. 

The top necklace is from Free People given to me from Camilla and a huge favorite right now. We are also loving our rings, all kinds of big chunky ones.

Actually, when it comes to our jewelry we feel the more the merrier.

All Jewelry is from Free People, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and J Crew.

XX Valerie and Camilla

Happy New Year!

"Happiness is not ready made. It comes from your own actions"

Dalai Lama

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."

Walt Disney

"Be the Change you want to see in the world"

Gandhi

 

"Darkness can not drive out darkness;only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate; only love can do that"

Martin Luther King Jr

"If you live to be a hundred,I want to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."

A.A. Milne

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up."

Mark Twain

"You gotta love livin', baby, 'cause dyin' is a pain in the ass"

Frank Sinatra

Our mantra for the new year.

Wishing everyone a New Year full of wonderful possibilities. 

XX Valerie and Camilla

A Winters Tale

With the Holidays upon us everyone is planning, shopping and partying. Going to Holiday parties means you get to dress up in your finest, maybe buy something new and hopefully turn a few heads when you walk into the room.

Inspired by the Sultry, Glamorous looks of old Hollywood's leading ladies from the 1930's like Garbo, Lombard and Dietrich off we went into the woods to shoot.

All eyes are on you as you make your entrance. Your hair in effortless tousled curls, lips red as a rose, skin white as snow, a fur coat loosely draped around your shoulders to keep you warm from the brisk winter-y air. Your dress is a shinning gem - one of a kind and looks as if you hand picked it from Carole Lombard's closet. Strutting up to the first guy you see, you flip your hair, and in a cool, low voice say 

"Hello Handsome." 

Just another night on the town...

"Glamour is what I sell, it's my stock in trade"

Marlene Dietrich

"Don't Kiss and talk about it - men don't."

Carole Lombard

"I am not afraid of nothing except being bored."

Greta Garbo

We styled the shoot with a long lace dress from Free People, underneath we put a gold sequin slip for more glitter. Topped it off with a vintage fake fur cape then added lots of rings and necklaces. We curled Camilla's hair into long waves and of course applied deep red lipstick. For shoes, (although you don't see them) we used Jeffrey Campbell's black tick booties, that brought the look back to a current feel.

The ending of "A Winters Tale" at sunset in the woods felt like an Enchanted Fairytale.

We were featured on Lori's Shoes go check it out! 
They put up a blog post and also have Camilla featured on their web sites banner.  Lori's also has an amazing selection of shoes, bags and accessories and right now a lot of our favorite shoes are already on sale!

XX

Valerie and Camilla