Who say melon whaaaaaat?

Darling Adam finally sent me the behind the scenes pics from the shoot - HAHAHA so good. So. Good. It really was a completely ridiculous experience and I almost had a complete emotional breakdown halfway through but thankfully everything worked out in the end. In fact, it was such a crazy day that Nicolas is putting together a short mini-reality-episode for YouTube to document just how crazy it was :) I'll definitely post it when it goes up and I'd love to hear what you think!

Alex and I got to set about 45 minutes early just to make sure everything was ready to go. I was showing her some of the locations Adam and I had scouted for the editorials and believe it or not we found MELONS. Really. What in the world melons were doing growing out in the desert I have no idea...

Hair and makeup...

Model/VP Alex working on model Ruby's fantastic mane of hair...I'm kind of glad Ruby didn't have a mirror for this process...

Monkeying around on set from left to right: Ali (makeup artist), Laura (model), Me (psychotic ball of stress), Nicolas (videographer)

This has got to be one of my favorite shots of all time. I believe this pose completed her mid-shoot transition from makeup artist to mountain climber/flash bulb holder. xoxo Ali!

Thank you SO much to my amazing team! We did it!

Guilt-Free Retail Therapy

LCS Designs stuff aside, life's been a whirlwind of absolute insanity just with classes and work and oh yeah, that thing called a LIFE that tends to get really messy really fast? I honestly couldn't survive without getting away for a bit so Alex and I decided to take the other night off (after meeting with Nicolas about some photoshoot footage of course). We spent a few precious hours under a "no work-speak" ban, indulging in vegan lettuce wraps at PF Cheng's in the Irvine Spectrum and guilt-free retail therapy at various shops culminating in a Forever21 binge. The result of my just-grab-everything-it's-only-$5 night was un-surprisingly monochromatic and quite satisfying.


Black blazer bought two sizes to big for that casual, oversized look I ADORE (I ripped this off a mannequin and I'm pretty sure it was the last one), white shirt ($4), white tank ($5), belt, men's t-shirt (I wear my ex-bf's Armani Exchange t-shirt practically once a week so it was about time I got a shirt of my own), black cami ($4), fish necklace, and men's sweater vest (currently one of my favorite items in my closet. Comfy, warm and SO cute!).

Obsessed. I've realized I have a thing for water animal pendents. I have a turtle, a seahorse and now a fish.

I can't seem to decide if this belt was a really good idea or a really bad idea. I guess we'll find out when I find something to wear it with.

Peanut Butter Cookies

So I keep waiting to post until my photographer sends me pics from the shoot but life is crazy and things don't happen and I haven't posted in WAY too long. Anyway, after bringing some cookies to set and getting rave reviews, I decided to post the recipe. Baker's note: these are amazing when you microwave them for 15 to 25 seconds :)

Saletta Family's Peanut Butter Cookies:

1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter (if natural peanut butter, add oil)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Ungreased cookie sheet, 375F for 12 minutes



TIP: This recipe makes a lot of cookies. You can cut it in half, of course, or you can do what my family does and freeze the leftover cookies to eat later. Call us crazy, but freezing is AMAZING. It helps the cookies keep their freshness over a long period of time instead of getting stale like they do if you just leave them on the counter or in a box in the cupboard. Just stick them in a ziplock, toss them in the freezer and whenever you get hungry pull one out and pop it in the microwave for a taste like it just got out of the oven. It works for other things too. Banana bread, casserole...I am the freezing master! Haha

FNO part two

Today is photoshoot day and I'm pretty intimidated! We're shooting outside in the desert in mid/late afternoon so basically the first thing on my mind is WATER. And blotting papers...and sunscreen. Still SO much to do before people start showing up around 4:30pm. I really need to focus on pulling everything together for the shoot, but my Twitter feed is open and the second-by-second updates on New York Fashion Week are begging me to just sit and absorb myself in shows for the next five hours! I haven't even looked at a single collection from yesterday yet! That will be my reward tonight maybe. That or the bottle of wine that's been sitting around my apartment waiting for an occasion. To be shared of course. :)

Meanwhile, here are some pics from the Melrose side of Fashion's Night Out LA. More to come from the Beverly Center side of things, but my darling friend hasn't uploaded he pics yet. The below are courtesy of Laura Via.

Fred Segel

Tarina Tarantino

Laura and fire hat dude

Ruby, Laura and fire hat dude. SO ridiculous. :)

Fashion's Night Out (before good pictures)

Last night, my girls and I (and Andrei, who's testosterone somehow endured the night) headed up to LA for Fashion's Night Out. We started in the Beverly Center and had a fantastic time wandering through the shops, meeting hot DJs, striking up convos with models, downing fantastic mojitos in Desigual, soaking up the great vibe in Bebe, and devouring the fashion show at 7:30. There was one model that really caught my eye - she would look FANTASTIC in LCS and I'm dying to get her in my show for Fall.

About two hours or so into the night, however, the girls started running out of steam, so we had dinner at Grande Lux Cafe (omg fettuccine alfredo!) and then headed home. My camera died, so all I got were a few fuzzy pics from my phone (see below), but I'll try to post a few off my friends' cameras soon. My beautiful models were out on Melrose and said it was hopping over there while another friends said Rodeo was pretty dead by 10:30. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get so see some of the other locations, but overall it was a really, really good night.

(Fuzzy pics from the show in the Beverly Center. Will try to get better ones up soon!)

Under the hot sun the sandy earth breeds inspiration...I hope

Had an AMAZING test shoot with Adam last weekend out in the middle of nowhere. Coolest thing is, we didn't even have to climb fences or even go more than 500 feet from the car to find this fantastic set! I can't wait to shoot there on Sunday. This is going to be mind-blowing.

We had fittings and a make-up run-through last weekend too and all the girls are beyond excited about the shoot. It's nice to have all the enthusiasm around :)

Here are some test shots Adam took with me. The set is amazing. My modeling...not so much...

Very cool cement thing. No idea what it is...

Such a cool, vegetated moonscape kind of feeling.

I am obsessed with the colors of these rocks! SO beautiful!

Yeah...what you don't see here is the next shot where I almost went tumbling head-first off of the cliff. The rocks were really dusty and slippery and it was difficult to keep your balance. Once again though, the dusty color is perfect; exactly what I was looking for.

Adam and I loved the layering in this frame. There are so many levels, your eye just has to keep looking and looking.

This shot was taken about when I started to realize that I would look better on camera if I wasn't trying...

Way cool dried up riverbed. It looks perfect for the shoot now, but I'd love to see it with actual water in it. I'll have to make a trip out here during spring after it rains...

This last shot is one of my favorites. It's silly and fun and the location looks really good. Adam is so talented. Can't wait for Sunday's shoot, but before then, tomorrow night is Fashion's Night Out! How many fabulous activities can YOU squeeze into one weekend?

A breath of savory fresh air

Life can get totally crazy and so I like to keep plenty of green in my room. Growing things are so encouraging - plus they eat up carbon dioxide and provide me with tasty cooking ingredients. A few days ago I was down in San Diego and my mom helped me put together a hanging basket of my favorite herbs:

(Rosemary)

(Oregano)

(Savory)

(Mint. It's crawling tendrils like to cascade over the edges of the pot. I dunno, I think it's pretty cool...)

(Chives)

(This blank space is where I planted a few nasturtiums. When they grow and they'll be vines covered in round leaves and bright orange, edible flowers)

I've had a potted pothos in my room for a year now. I named him Porthos after one of the Three Musketeers.

(I collected the colored pebbles off of the beach in Brighton, England.)

Looky looky lookbook

Here are a few bits of inspiration we're using to pull together the initial Spring collection lookbook. I've been playing a lot with neutral tones and natural textures as a backdrop to bring out the girly life and adventure of the clothes.


My photographer, Adam, and I are heading out to do some test shots later today. I'll definitely post some of them - this should be fun!