I've been spotting Joanna Pybus all over fashion blogs with her big eyed furry creations. Her pieces have a bold yet simple aesthetic. I must say, those clutches are to die for...definitely on my want list. Check out her site and shop.
Original photos are from joannapybus.com & bengtfashion.com

I did something a lil different this holiday season...all my gifts I purchased were from local artists or from a company who's goal is to empower it's artisans.

The concrete planter is by Klink Creatively, based locally in Ohio. I always see these 2 sisters at events I sell my designs at. I love their work. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with next!

The necklace is by 31 Bits. Their mission is to use fashion and design to empower people to rise above poverty. You can read more about their business model and values on their site. Their jewelry is also eco friendly, the artisans make the beads from recycled paper. What a great company!

The last design shown, by Van Vintage Design, is a up-cycled Ball jar turned into a pump. I couldn't turn down this simple product, besides Jacqui was fabulous to chat with. Check out some of the pendant lights she makes as well!

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's a little look of how I styled my gifts. It's a little bit non-traditional I suppose, I used yarn & twine pom poms and tassels. It was a fun experiment. I have these all over my house and it was fun to decorate gifts with these stylish and fun pieces as well.

Oh Deborah Lippmann, your nail polish...I just can't get enough! It's like a little bit of luxury in a bottle.  In my opinion, some of the higher end nail polishes are worth a "splurge"...it's a much better product as far as quality and often they are they are some of the top colors I can find. Deborah Lippmann is known to pack her glitter polishes with max sparkle. Also the color combos make a designer giddy. This color is "Glitter and Be Gay" it's candescent canary yellow. You can get it from Sephora.

This oversized trend is nothing new...but survival mode takes over when it's freezing out. Anything that looks or feels like a blanket, I've been wearing it. Heck, I'll straight up wear blankets. Just a warning, you'll be seeing a lot of outfit posts this winter with me wearing get up like this. Be best buds with blankets, you won't regret it.

Original Photos:  1  ///  2  ///  3  ///  4

J A R V A E C H E R R Y- "PASTIME CLASSICS" from NEXT on Vimeo.

Check out this cool local dude who loves fashion. So inspiring. So much style. I've never seen a guy with this much fashion sense in Akron. I love it. He'll have his collection, Pastime Classics, at Next in Beachwood on Thursday. Sounds like a killer event.

A Christmas favorite has always been these cookies, Chocolate Crinkles. My mom usually makes them every year along with various other delicious goodies. It's now become my tradition to make as well.
Chocolate Crinkles (via Betty Crocker):

1/2

cup vegetable oil

4

oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled

2

cups granulated sugar

2

teaspoons vanilla

4

eggs

2

cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

cup powdered sugar

• 1In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.
• 2Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.
• 3Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• 4Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Hi Guys! Join me at the POM*TASTIC workshop with Pop Up Shaker. I'll show you how the simple yarn pom pom can brighten up your holiday season AND make a fashion statement. Get tips how to use simple yarn pom poms for holiday decorating and gift wrapping. Also pom poms are a trendy & fun fashion accessory. We will create a festive pom garland and a keychain / pendant. 
Come get crafty in Cleveland! Sign up for this event here!

There's no doubt, I like to play dress up. I'd define my style as bold eclectic...you never know what I'm going to wear next. It can range from vintage, grunge, to glam. I love the challenge of exploration and attempting to "pull off" a look.
More on the outfit, I adore the tulle skirt trend. You can dress it up...or dress it down like I did here. The sweater is so inspiring, a mix of shapes and textures. I can't wait to incorporate this style into some of my designs.

Sweater, Headband & Sunglasses: Nastygal  ///  Skirt: Jcrew Crewcuts  ///  Necklaces: My jewelry line, AC Design  ///  Jeffrey Campbell Lita Boots: Revolve Clothing

Mix up an outfit by wearing different patterns! I kept with a monochrome black & white look... with patterns that vary in scale. I have a larger busier print on top and a smaller repetitive print for the bottoms. Be bold, don't be afraid to have fun and experiment. These polkadot pants from Zara are my favorite right now...they are my go-to piece to add some variety to an outfit.
Hat: Nastygal  ///  Sunglasses: ZeroUV  ///  Earrings: AC Design  ///  Sweater: Nordstorm Rack  ///  Polkadot Pants: Zara  ///  Boots: Target

Glitter Acorns are a simple way add a touch of sparkle to your fall holiday season.
You'll need: Acorns, Glitter, Jewel It Glue & Modge Podge
Simply brush on the Jewel It glue to the lower part of the acorn and then dip into the glitter. Roll the acorn around a bit to make sure it's covered. Let that sit to dry. The final step is sealing the glitter so it doesn't fall off and make a mess. Just cover the glittered part of the acorn with a thin layer of Modge Podge. Add these to any display and they will be sure to add a bit of Fall glam.

Have any old sweaters that are just taking up drawer space? This cardigan was a little too plain for me, the style isn't anything special so I decided it was time for it to go...NO wait!...it was time for me to get creative and turn it into a trending look. Glam it up!
I've been waiting to do a patterned piece with sequins for a while. So glad I chose this. It's such an easy DIY with fabulous results!

You'll need:
Sequin Ribbon (as seen above)
Felt circles (you can buy them precut or cut your own circles)
Fabric Glue

Simply glue the sequin strand down while winding it around the felt circle. I starting from the center, made sure the sequins slightly overlapped so it covered the entire felt.
Once you have as many sequin dots as you'd like, you can start figuring placement on your sweater. I played a bit with this, trying to get the dots a good spacing from one another. Then either glue them down with the fabric glue or sew them on. I decided to glue mine.
I love the results! So glam!

 Fall wardrobe is in progress. It always takes me some time to transition from season to season... including figuring out what key pieces I need to dress comfortably for the weather. For this outfit, I paired a casual oversized plaid button-up with a cropped denim vest. To contrast the casual top I wore glam & sparkly fitted black trousers. Of course, I can't forget to mention the Jeffrey Campbell's, which are a statement all their own.

Sunglasses: ASOS  ///  Top & Vest: Forever 21  ///  Trousers: Zara  ///  Boots: Jeffrey Campbell Lita  /// Bag: Nastygal

Hey 30, you aren't so bad! Celebrating my 30th birthday in this fun Vintage Dress from Revival in Akron. The beautiful gold detail is perfect with the colorful leaves in my yard...and oh how I love these leaves.

I've become quite fond of my journey through life and growing older. I seek and value growth. A lot of times when people get older they tend to 'settle down' in a sense of steady routine based on comfort. I'm one who likes to challenge that. Stepping outside of one's comfort zone, even in baby steps, is a good continual way to learn about life and different perspectives.

Say hello to this winter's hottest accessory, the veil beanie. It's such a fun twist to the classic stocking hat. It's a great way to either glam or punk up an outfit. Getting your hands on one from a store is quite difficult right now because of the high demand but luckily, it's such an easy DIY.

Photos from here: 1  ///  2  ///  3  ///  4

A friend and I run a small girls studio in South Akron on Wednesday nights. For one of the classes we made salt and sugar scrubs. It was a hit! The girls loved experimenting with different ingredients and were excited about how soft their hand were after using it.
Well...I think I'm obsessed with making my own now. It's natural and so easy to make. The ingredients I used for this scrub are: Organic Sunflower Oil, Himalayan Pink Salt, Lemon Zest and Rosemary. And so you know, I'm one of those people that don't follow recipes / directions so I added the different elements to my own taste. If you accidentally add too much oil, just add more salt...no big deal.
Let me know what you think of this scrub! I'll be posting a sugar one soon as well.

What an inspiration! Nathalie Lete is an artist from Paris, she mixes and plays with all sorts of mediums, from illustration and ceramics to textile and paintings. Her work might be very familiar to you...She has designed lines for Anthropologie, including the 2 pillows pictured. I think my favorite part of her work are the textiles. I love the experimentation with texture and extreme use of color. Check out her work on her site, www.nathalie-lete.com

Hey new red hair! Time to fully transition to fall and what better way then to switch up the hair color? I'm having so much fun pairing it's brightness with different colors of clothing. The pattern of this dress from ASOS is fabulous, not a big fan of the swing fit but hey, I gave it a fair shot. My glasses are of course from Bonlook, the La Marquise. All 4 pairs of my glasses are from Bonlook. Great prices and high style. The metallic pink pumps are from NastyGal. They have their new, very own shoe line, Shoe Cult. I grabbed them during a flash sale for only $25! Last but not least, the necklace is from my line (AC Design)...get it on Etsy or on my site!

WANTED ASAP! The 90's slipdress is so simple, so perfect. This minimalist style is back hardcore...and I'm trying very hard to get into it. I always like to go with very bold, highly unique pieces with lots of detail so 90's minimalism will be quite a challenge for me. Yet at the same time, I'm realizing simplicity is very bold and unique as well. Check out these lovely dresses here:  1  ///  2  ///  3  ///  4  ///  5