With a Strawberry on Top

When I was living in Gainesville, I realized I had developed a habit when stress became too overwhelming. I baked.  My roommate was always able to tell when I was stressed out because there would be a delicious double layer red velvet  or pineapple upside down cake sitting on our kitchen counter. After a long hectic week, I found my coworker’s birthday as the perfect opportunity to relieve some stress and do something nice. Voila! The strawberry cupcake, really simple and looks adorable. Guranteed to put anyone in a great mood.

Lacey Sunday Nail Art

This weekend was surprisingly eventful and relaxing. Saturday I attended an 80s themed birthday party where I rocked the white socks and black loafers Jackson style. Sunday was a nice relaxing day by the pool and of course, nail art! This lace pattern is one of my favorite designs to use. It may sound silly but beautifully designed nails gives my Mondays a little bit of excitement that gets me through the day.

Colorful Tip Nail Art

The past few Sundays have been unintentionally dedicated to trying different nail art. Last Sunday I tried the above design and it seemed to be a crowd favorite. I was so excited to find out Fashionista.com posted my photo to their nail art section, so check it out! I just love the pastel tips against the neutral nail, very feminine and Spring appropriate! One of my favorite designs right now are polka dot nails. Tomorrow, I’m excited to try something different. I’m always up for suggestions 🙂 Have a great weekend and stay tuned tomorrow for some more adorable nail art.

 

Pinterest

Ever since my friends got me addicted to Pinterest last year, that’s all I have been hearing about. I’m excited to hear that brands, designers and small businesses are starting to embrace this unique site. Recently I’ve been pinning inspirations for home design.  Now that I’ve graduated, I’m looking forward to buying my own humble abode. There’s still some time until I can settle into my own place but I’m a big planner so I thought it would be wise to start brain storming now. I’m starting completely from scratch, from the furniture to the silverware, so I’ve got a lot of work to do. Pinterest will be an important tool in organizing my ideas. I’ve already created a board for bedding and wall decor, but many many more will follow. I think this is going to be so much fun! Pinterest is helping me build my first home.
I encourage you to follow me on Pinterest and like my posts to help me decide what products, colors and patterns to choose for my new place. I will gladly follow back.

Nail Art

Here’s a little dose of fancy to start off the week. After eight long days of work, I finally had some time to pamper myself. Nail art is one of my favorite things to do when I want to wind down. I’ve seen dozens of tutorials and always thought it was too complicated to create neat designs. However, after one trip to the cosmetic store, I found out that with the right tools, anything is possible. In fact, I think that goes for all things in life =)

Have a wonderful week!

{ Revlon Peachy }

Valentine’s Day Gifts

Usually I’m really excited for Valentine’s day, especially since my birthday is the day before. There is something about the abundance of chocolate and red hearts that gets my all giddy. These past few years however, I haven’t been excited for V day at all. It just seems to be another thing I have to think about. But this year I’m doing something different, I’m not going all out on a Valentine’s day gift but instead getting my Valentine something simple. There’s so much stress over ‘the gift’ that people forget what it’s really about, love.

While brainstorming my simple yet sweet gift idea, I came up with a list of things that I think would make anyone happy.

{For her: A new notebook with a little something written by you inside telling her how much you love her. }

{ For him & her: A personalized coupon book that you can make yourself to say anything you want. Be creative ; ) with it. }

{ For him & her: Scandal Body Massage Oil & Candle. Who would turn down a back rub, seriously? }

{ For him: a personalized photo frame for his nightstand or desk. }

{ For her & him: a photo collage is always a unique & fun gift that’s very personal. Plus its always so fun looking back at all the good times. }

{ For him & her: I don’t care how cliche it is, chocolate for any occasion is great, and you can’t go wrong with Lindor Truffles! }

{For him & her: My personal favorite, homemade chocolate covered strawberries, while spending quality time together }

Red Blazer Shoot

I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot in an abandoned aquatic research center last week. My friend Danny and I walked through some pretty sketch forest area to get to the burned down, graffiti covered research site. The model, Diana, brought some wardrobe selections, but I fell in love with this red blazer. I just loved the way it popped against the background. Let me know what you think!
For more photos, Like us on Facebook, DnA Photography.

 

 

 

Photo Studio Open For Business

Recently I decided to venture into the photography world and start my own studio with a good friend of mine. The name is not yet settled but I’m really excited to say the least. I’ve been wanting to do photography for a very long time, but never had the time because of school. Not a problem anymore since I graduate in two days! Oh yea, couldn’t be more excited!

So we decided that we want to concentrate on family portraits for now, that way we can payback the equipment we bought but eventually we will move on to modeling. We’re currently looking for girls who want to model and build their portfolio. I’ve done some shoots in the past but now I’m looking forward to diving into it for reals! Take a look at our Facebook page and browse through some really cool shots.

I was hoping to get a job at a modeling agency right after graduation but haven’t heard anything yet. So photography is at the forefront of my mind again, which means you’ll be seeing a lot more of it here on my blog. I will be using Mauve and Moody as a bulletin board for photos and ideas. Feel free to comment and give me any advice or critique.

Here are a few shots I’ve done in the past.  You can see the progression, from a manual black & white to a DSLR.

Farmer’s Market

Every Wednesday in Gainesville the Farmer’s Market takes over downtown. Being in a small town of many farmers, you find a great array of deliciously fresh fruit and veggies, vegan pastries and ice cream, plants, and home made jewelry. Being from Miami, I’m not really used to living in a small town but when I go to the Farmer’s Market and watch everyone interacting with each other, walking around with their eco friendly tote bags, and supporting local farmers and their families, it really gives me a great feeling.

Here are some shots of my visit.

{ Vegan Cookies n' Cream Ice Cream yum! }

Surprising uses for everyday products

Stumbled on a great ELLE article with a list of 25 unexpected uses for regular household and beauty products. Too cool not to share. Here are some neat ones…

1. Old Buttons

Repurpose spare buttons by using them to keep pairs of earrings together: Most buttons have at least two holes in them, so simply place an earring in each opening to neatly store when not wearing

 

2. Dryer Sheets

No time for a shampoo? Rub a dryer sheet on your hair to tame flyaways and make your hair smell shower fresh.

3. Eggs

Strengthen hair by creating an egg yolk-and-olive oil hair mask. The protein in the egg yolk will toughen up tresses, while the olive oil will act as a conditioning agent.

4. Honey

If your skin is sensitive and blotchy, apply a couple tablespoons of honey to your face and leave on for five to 10 minutes. The honey will moisturize, soothe, and help kill blemish-causing bacteria.

5. Nail Polish

Secure buttons by applying a thin layer of polish to the center to keep thread from coming loose. Coating the bottom of your shaving-cream can with lacquer can also prevent rust stains from forming on your squeaky-clean bathtub.

6. Flat Iron

A hair straightener works great for ironing between buttons on your shirt, where a regular iron doesn’t fit. You can also use it for minor wrinkles on your blouse when you’re in a hurry.

7. Lotion

To tame unwanted flyaways, rub a dime-size amount of hand or body lotion in your palms and brush lightly on problem spots.

8. Shimmer Eye Shadow

Between visits to your colorist touch up dark roots by spraying a light hairspray onto them and—depending on what hue your highlights are—brushing a shimmering gold or brown eye shadow over the top.

9. Pam

Rather than spray quick-dry oil on your nails, reach for a cooking spray instead. Just be sure it’s the original, unflavored version or you might get grossed out by garlic-scented cuticles.

10. Vaseline

Help avoid blisters from those stylish-yet-painful stilettos by coating problem spots with petroleum jelly before slipping shoes on. Also: Neaten a nail job by dabbing on skin around your cuticles pre-polish. This way, if you make a mistake, the polish is easily wiped away.