kansas city fashion week (spring '14)

(Designers from from top to bottom: L.O.D. Designs*, Sara Kahrs, Zoherh Zarraabi, Andrea Marie Long Designs*,L.B. Glam, Oblivion Clothing*, Elle Inspired) *designers repeated throughout

    I had never attended Kansas City Fashion Week before, until this year when I was invited to.. which I can say I wish I had gone in during the past years. The two-day event was held at Union Station, which I post about occasionally here, and that location was a perfect choice. The lighting during the afternoon shows was amazing, but I could tell I was finding myself getting too drawn to the designs to focus on photographing the pieces. If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen a few runway pictures and snapshots of my outfit from Kansas City Fashion week, which my phone was honestly my choice of camera besides when I was seated. 

    Besides the runway shows themselves, I was allowed backstage to see the make-up artists prepping the models and all the other before-the-show features. Ulta Beauty was one of the main sponsors for Kansas City Fashion Week this year, and they gave out the most wonderful gift bags backstage. I adored admiring the pieces on their own, before they were worn on the runway. We were also served some of the most delicious whiskey cocktails from the Kansas Clean Distilled Whiskey. I am so glad that I attended KCFW this season, and that we have such a wonderful and inspiring event in my hometown. Huge props for the event coordinators and designers, I was most defiantly inspired to start making a few pieces of my own again and met many inspirational people throughout the weekend. 

you will always bring me flowers

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also. 

-Harriet Ann Jacobs

    The season of spring is upon us, the afternoons are becoming full of warmth of again and the evenings are still full of a slight chill. Although I have said many times how winter is my favorite season of the year, I am actually more than ready for the flowers to bloom again. I have been trying to gather seasonal inspiration lately to prepare myself for the change of the weather, which is how I decided on how to style this shoot I conducted here. This vintage flower print dress, paired with a diy yarn pom pom headband, was the perfect attire for the "still-wintery" outside scenery. 

    We explored around Cave Spring, a historical nature site/trail, which was by far one of the neatest places I've wandered through in the last couple of months. There is a small cave, which was far too tiny to slip past anything besides the small entrance. If you are a local, I'd highly recommend heading there. It was also my first time experimenting with smoke bombs while photographing, which will probably not be the last time. You can find more of my previous shoots on my photography website. 

marys of the sea

    I have a huge love and appreciation for Catholic cathedrals and churches. All of the stained glass, the giant organs, the gothic structure of the pillars, the light reflections, the sculptures... I could go on and on. There is well-known Catholic church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, a walk away from my apartment that I had never ventured to. After grabbing daytime bloody mary's at a local bar, and instead of going antiquing, my boyfriend and I decided to travel up to the church. The inside was even more beautiful than the outer views, with the light perfectly reflecting from the stained glass onto the white walls and a choir practicing that could be heard. I am not a religious person by any means, but     I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty of the atmosphere I was in.
The weather is getting warmer in Kansas City, which I have mixed feelings about (I love the winter time, and dread the summer heat), but I have yet to create my first iced latte of the season. I have been drinking and purchasing a lot of tea these past couple of weeks, possibly even more than I have been drinking coffee. I have also been finding myself getting extremely bored with my current hair style (in the process of growing it out, still) and thought about bleaching it until it becomes almost white... then decided not to, and to simply change up my bangs. I tried to cut them into a V shape, which sort of failed, but bangs tend to grow pretty quickly right?! Until next time. 

made at home: lavender lemon mini-doughnuts

Lavender Lemon Mini-Doughnuts

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon of lavender 
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla abstract  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg

Lemon Glaze

• Juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

   Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix together the buttermilk, vanilla, oil, and egg into another medium bowl. Add the lemon zest and the lavender into the dry mixture, then combine the wet into the dry mixture as well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place batter into a greased mini-doughnut pan, and cook for 6-9 minutes. If using a mini-doughnut maker, use as instructed.  Juice the lemon into a medium-sized bowl and pour milk in, then mix with the powdered sugar to create the doughnut glaze. Let the cooked doughnuts cool, then dip gently into the glaze and let dry.

    How can you go wrong with lavender? I mean, if someone baked me something with lavender, chances are I would fall in love with it. Usually, I use lavender for simple syrups to use in lattes or lemonade, but I decided to bake a few treats with some of the bag I bought earlier in the week. Lemon is also a perfect pair for lavender, which makes these doughnuts have such a wonderful taste... and bring a little spring time to these winter days. 

never blow out the eastern candle

“Lover," she whispers, and closes her eyes.

It falls upon her.

Love is like dying.” 

-Stephan King

    Exploring the City Workhouse Castle (also known as the Vine Castle, and various other nicknames), is something I do every couple of years. I had ever been in the snow, or winter for that fact even, and when I gathered the idea to do a small photo-shoot there I decided to venture back. This is probably one of the most commonly known places to go urban exploring in Kansas City, but still an interesting and eerie place that is one of the "safer" places to wander around. I had some free time a couple afternoons ago and decided to shoot a few photographs here, and thankfully my imagination didn't get the best of me. 

    The castle was built in 1897, and originally was used a prison for a period of time. It became abandoned in the 1970's, and still to this day. There is another abandoned workhouse right across the street, but the castle is still the most interesting of all. If you are a local and haven't explored here, or simply someone who likes castles, I would suggest a trip here (during the daytime of course!). This collection was inspired completely by the eerie surroundings, a movie about exorcisms I watched the evening before, and a few winter wardrobe pieces. Find more of my photo-shoots on my photography website, here. (A few of these prints will be for sale soon in my print shop, as well.)