All the cool kids are doing it.

April 3, 2014April 4, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve always been enamored with tattoos. I admire the people who have a veritable art gallery on their bodies but I’ve never (not even once) come close to getting one myself. Come to think of it, I’ve never actually stepped into a tattoo parlor. Wow. Anyway, I recently came across the coolest thing. A new-ish brand of modern (dare I say chic?) temporary tattoos: Tattly. Tattly is an online retailer/supplier that provides many of the designs hipsters, young professionals or kids could desire in a washable, 2 for $5 format. What could be better? I attended a birthday get together last weekend that claimed to require neck tattoos for entry. It felt like the right time to don my “to live, to learn, to love” ink right across the chest. While I happened to be the only party guest in compliance, I didn’t mind because this amazingness was fleeting. Your thoughts? The vast variety of tats are shoppable on tattly.com and a curated selection is available locally at Shindig Paperie. If you’re STILL not impressed, there is one more thing. Tattly offers the option to customize tats for your business, brand, bash, basically anything…this is big.

NWAFW 2014 Recap

March 21, 2014April 3, 2014Leave a comment

wearing a Mayapple jumper to the Wednesday night party

with the lovely Nancy Martin, designer of the NA Martin Pencil Skirt

Tuesday night @ Lola

LBD night

going hard backstage with my favorite cohost, Bo Counts

front row with my gal Mal

pal-ing around with Ms. Candy

Darcy, Mallory & I pose in sunnies from Mertin’s Eye on Friday night

Backstage Pass Friday night

with the lovely Anna

backstage

Friday’s outfit by MGB Photo

the stunning Mary Semon

the lady of the hour, Jade Terminella

galpals!

with Haylee, who did my hair Friday

with the lovely Leslie & Kasie of 3W

my saturday look by Mallory of MGB Photo

with my guy on Saturday

with Farron & Deja of She Said Yes

my seat!

Dapper Dudes: Donny Hubbard of The Independent & my hubby

Mertin’s flipbook with Mal & Ro

Mertin’s Flipbook with Mal & Darcy

Mertin’s Flipbook with Ro

Ro, Bo & DJ EJ

I’m not going to pretend I didn’t have a fashion-hangover afterwards but all in all it was a ton of fun and quite impressive! I must give a shout out to 3W Magazine/Tres Lifestyle for sending me behind the scenes.

Also, check out Elysian, E. Leigh’s, NA Martin, She Said Yes, SOHO Clothiers, Jodie Franklin, Nicole Shipley in the NWAFW Window Shop! A huge thank you to Mallory Berry, Kory Tyler Simpson, Suzannah Files, Samantha Clark, Darcy Morton Munoz & Celi Birke for their contributions to the Window Shop this year. It was truly a labor of love.

If you STILL need more, here are all the photos I took during NWAFW 2014. And, my buddy Jess Whalen of Truebadours did badass videos for each night.

Holiday Getaway Must-Haves

November 28, 2013November 27, 2013Leave a comment

It’s Thanksgiving! This officially kicks the “holidays” into high gear. For many of us, this equates to travel. Does anyone have as much trouble packing as I do?

In all aspects of life, I tend to give great advice and not take it. For example, I could advise you on what to pack for a long weekend. I know the rules; stretch your staples, work your wrinkle-free, rely on one great boot & so on. But I am someone who likes to dress for dinner even if no one else is (photo op!!). So when we drive south for a 4 night holiday, I tend to fill up the Tahoe with accessories, pumps and a few extra party options.

Sometimes I have to refocus on the essentials. When it comes to must-haves, most of mine are in the beauty/gadget department. A girl is only as good as her tools, amiright?

1. this clip situation is the coolest contraption – I took it off a 90s dress and use it when I need a cinch at the waist, but a belt just won’t do
2. philosophy eye cream – because it’s never too early
3. book light – serves so many purposes (reading at night not withstanding) – I clip this baby to my lapel on the regular
4. static guard & sweater weather are synonymous
5. yummy NEST travel spray in Midnight Fleur via Pigmint
6. spin pin! If you have longish to long hair, it’s an absolute must – this lil pin holds all my hair up in an epic bun
7. MAC beauty balm – not too much / not too little (my buddy Kory Tyler turned me on to this)
8. ELF brow compact – this is a product I swear up & down by – $3 to epic brows everyday y’all
9. cold cream – I used to make fun of my poor mama when she used this but I’ve seen the err of my ways – the ONLY thing that will remove heavy eye makeup without removing lashes in the process
10. Clinique green concealer – green counteracts red so this stuff is a lifesaver for imperfections plus it has a bit of salicylic acid so (the hope is) your face will look better when you take it off!
11. Maybelline 14hour lipstick in wine and forever & handy dandy case (vintage) – this is my go-to dark lip for Fall
12. hot rollers – call me old fashioned but I love being able to roll my hair up, chill/eat/whatever for a while, unroll & voilà!

A few beloved things that go with me on weekends away…

Vintage Leather Moto Jacket – Grey Dog
Jewels, jewels, jewels in travel hanger
Extra Tall Vintage Hat Box (I can fit 6+ in there!)

Stop Shop Fayetteville

October 1, 2013Leave a comment

ahhh isn’t it fun to have talented friends?

with Mallory & Leea at the Stop Shop Fayetteville event

Mallory Berry is an uber talented photog who recently did 16 stop motion videos for locally owned businesses. She is also my buddy and I’m super proud of her. My other buddy, Leea was the other half of the collaboration. My girls at Guillotine Hair Lounge participated and I was honored to be thier “model”. Watch for me in the middle!

with Taylor & Lindsey of Guillotine Hair Lounge

Watch the vid –> http://bit.ly/StopShopFayetteville

a snapshot of the finished look

find Stop Shop Fayetteville & more pics

with Ro at the watch party

What I Wore: Weekend Wedding

February 13, 2013April 10, 2013Leave a comment

what I wore: dress – gracia c/o plato’s closet, heels – bcbg, coat – marvin richards (my mother in law gave me this!)

This past weekend, we went South for the wedding of one of Ro’s childhood friends. It was a lovely wedding complete with so many gorgeous flowers that I was tempted to break in later and steal them all. This Gracia dress (which normally costs $120+) was a gift from Plato’s Closet for my feature on them for NWAFW :). Love.

: behind the bar, floor to ceiling flowers

: an arrangement

: lurrrve

: entry

: bridesmaids’ bouquets

What I Wore: Halloween

October 31, 2012Leave a comment

what I wore: fabulous spandex dress – vintage td4 by eletra from cheap thrills (find it on etsy), thigh high boots – aldo, socks as gloves

For someone who loves clothes and dressing in general, Halloween is a veritable holiday. I always look forward to it and this year I found my costume in the form of this spandex dress early this summer. I knew I had to have the dress but honestly couldn’t foresee any appropriate occasion. Then…a light bulb: Morticia Addams (a la Anjelica Huston of course). I’d been devising and conniving for months but it didn’t really come together until late last week when I found the perfect suit for Ro’s Gomez. Ro will pretty much dress as whatever I suggest but he cannot be counted on to procure his own costume. You may find it hard to believe but I really don’t mind shopping for him. It was as if the stars aligned, I was attempting to find a semi-suitable suit for him without him present which is next to impossible. I happened upon a gray Halston pinstripe ensemble at a local thrift store that was listed at $20. I thought it might be close enough to his size but I wasn’t sure and if it happened to be too small or too short, I would be out $20, which I never enjoy, even with a bargain. I got it home and it literally fit better than some of his tailored suits. I was in thrifted nirvana. We had a fabulous time and I had an excuse to look sullen in photos – which of course, I don’t need.

years past

BON WEEKEND!

February 3, 20121 Comment

Happy weekend! Enjoy every minute of it!

You can find more of my favorite images on pinterest http://pinterest.com/paytonvail/pins/

A Spooky Little Girl like You

October 27, 2011November 27, 20124 Comments

Halloween is one of my all-time favorite occasions. I LOVE to dress up in costume. I’m the kind of girl that wears wigs to a concert and noodles, so you can imagine…Luckily, my new husband shares my affinity for playing dress-up and allows himself to be “convinced” to participate.

At our rehearsal dinner, my mom made an extremely lovely video montage of us and we were dressed up in costume in so many of the pictures.

I began to embrace it as our equity. Here are some costumes from years past.

2008 Marlboro Man & Hula Girl

2009 Cavepeople

2010 Little Red & the Big Bad Wolf

This year we are being Zorro & some version of CZJ from Mask of Zorro. What about you?

Happy (Birthday) Weekend

August 12, 2011Leave a comment

My birthday is Sunday. It’s a considerably more low key milestone this year in light of the HUGE event that’s happening in two weeks. I am in disbelief as I sit here writing “in two weeks”. I’ve been planning this wedding excitedly but also somewhere in the back of my mind thinking it would never come to fruition – sortof like my 16th & 21st birthdays or college graduation. And yet, it swiftly approaches and I’m starting to have freak outs about how many loved ones I get to see & celebrate with.

So, I’m hoping for a chill weekend. My almost-husband is taking me to dinner tonight. We’re going to the pool tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll throw in some thank-you note writing.

Fondly wishing you a very pleasing August weekend.

Images via Pinterest

From the Weekend

July 19, 2011October 30, 20121 Comment

The Window Shopper

PLAY DRESSUP DAILY

Tag: Parties