BLACK RAINY NIGHT

BLACK RAINY NIGHT


     We sometimes must attend church in the evenings on Saturday or Sunday nights due to our schedules. I’m not crazy about doing it all the time, because it feels like cheating by not actually going on Sunday mornings, but every so often it’s nice and we plan to go to dinner afterwards.  

It was raining on this night, so wearing suede shoes was probably not the best choice but I figure these days they dip the shoe fabrics in everything imaginable to make it durable.

Actually, the lashes here appear to be a bit much, but I’d already had them on, so I just rolled with it and my husband though they were cute!

 

-March 8, 2013

SDS

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BLACK LEATHER HOUSTON RODEO

Black Fox fur, Black Leather Jacket, Houston Fashion Blogger, Houston Rodeo, fashion, stylist, Nordstrom, Luxor Living and Style, digital magazine, Houston blog,

 

     For those of you in Russia or Australia…once a year in Texas we have the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo which is held for a few weeks every year at the beginning of March.

     There is always great musical acts, food, a carnival, petting zoo and late night country western dancing and various shops. It’s basically a huge celebration of our Texas heritage!

     It’s always a blast, and people watching is part of the fun especially since there’s no shortage of executive types from the cube farm dressed in their cowboy attire mixed in with the real deal.

 

     Most people seem to try to go at least one night per year, but I know of many people who go every single night.

My husband had not been to the Rodeo in years and we had never once gone together until he decided to get last minute tickets for the Toby Keith concert.

We checked out the animals and ate way too much before settling in at the concert.

I wasn’t necessarily planning on wearing a hat, but the wind was absolutely insane and hats are fabulous for days when you want low maintenance hair!

    I have quite a few western hats which are mainly used to hide vacation hair!

     The small silver bag has some fun bling and as hard as I tried to force myself into wearing small, reserved earrings…it didn’t happen. The silver dangling door knockers with rhinestones just went better.

     When reaching for a necklace, I actually chose three and wore them all for some drama!

     As for the wonderful black leather jacket? It was purchased with a pair of black leather slacks with the waist embellished with bling but the entire outfit would have been way too perfect, matchy-matchy and cartoon-like, so I opted to dress the jacket down with some loose and comfy jeans.

  

Black Fox fur, Black Leather Jacket, Houston Fashion Blogger, Houston Rodeo, fashion, stylist, Nordstrom, Luxor Living and Style, digital magazine, Houston blog,

     My personal Facebook page right now is speckled with photo uploads from friends in their western attire proudly attending Rodeo events, it’s just our culture.

      This was our brief Rodeo excursion and we are hoping to squeeze in one more before it ends!

 

-March 2, 2013

-SDS

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A MOVADO for ME

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Marilyn, Luxor, Houston bloggers

       Something very unwonderful happened at the beginning of this year.  I decided to not let it ruin the remaining 11 months of 2012, and worked  hard, learned a lot and finangled resolutions to the mess.  I believe in not letting bad things waste any more time than necessary. 

     That being said, after making it through adversity with flying colors,  I needed a gift to myself for my birthday, which arrives every year, like clockwork, at the end of the year!

 

     Mi amiga showed me a Movado Rose Gold, Two Tone Unisex watch that she wanted, and I wanted it immediately!  We both ended up purchasing this same watch.

     I love the rose gold color as well as the fact that it has two tone coloring so that I can wear it with silver jewelry as well.

I guess I feel it appropriate to note, that I see blogs all the time, in which they act like money is no object and spending is of no consequence. This is something I really wanted and thought about for a few weeks before purchasing.

 

     The huge, thick animal print coat was a classic purchase from 12 years ago, for a retailer I worked for at the time.  It’s safe to say I’ve gotten my investment out of it after 12 years!  I try to maximize my dollar and balance between quality, functionality, longevity, fashion and price.

Jewelry is a weakness of mine, however, I have sold old, outdated pieces which I have no emotional attachment to and redesigned others.

    I feel Movado has hit the mark with this Unisex rose gold design, and I will wear it for many posts to come!  

     Additionally, bring on 2013, I am ready!

 

 

-January 1, 2013

-SDS

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TOP TWELVE SHOTS OF THE YEAR 2013

 

image_preview (4)

     The year zipped by quickly.  What happened to the good old days that yousee in movies in which people had time to sit around outside on the patio, drink tea and gossip?  I need time like that.

     There were a lot of photos taken for the blog… probably thousands, but these are the ones I am choosing to highlight.  

 

Michael Kors, Movado, Jessica Simpson shoes, David Yurman, Prada Glasses, animal print top, white blonde hair, over 40, Old Town Spring, Luxor Living and Style,fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, Luxor Magazine, Texas Top Bloggers

If you click on each photo, it takes you to the original blog post to see more. I choose photos of people, since that is one of my passions.   If there is a photo of me, my husband took it, which is a miracle/fluke, but it’s included because he does help and when we are not rushing, it’s fun for us.

  

 

 

I try to use other people at times, for the blog.  Although it my site, I try hard not to shove my grill front and center of every photo or post.  

     The blog is about beauty, fashion, relationships, travel, life and basically my vision of the universe and my passions.  It is not about me.

 

I chose to include my shoot with Jennifer, because I am so proud of the make up artistry, styling of the shoot, photography and editing.  Not only that, she’s so nice and we had fun, and will be working together again.

 

Photography helps to release a creative facet of myself, and to be able to style a shoot, and do all the cosmetics artistry and hair, is a plus.

     I love the photo of me and my husband above, because we were having a great night, going to dinner and a concert. I like how you can see us, but you can’t.  It’s more the idea of a couple that is portrayed.

Animal Print hat, Prada, white blonde, Texas, Old Town Spring, Luxor Living and Style, Houston Top Bloggers, stylist, MUA, Photography in The Woodlands

 

I am an animal print lady.  I love my cheap, new hat in this, and I love that we are at a place we like to go together.  This picture is the true me. Throwing on a hat, lipstick, glasses and ear bobbles, and BAM!  

Prada, glasses, Michael Kors, Marilyn Monroe, Luxor

 

This was interesting.  Blogging the same look daily isn’t any fun, so it’s nice to step out a little.  It turned out sort of Marilyn.

 

bald actor, New York men,

 

It was a blast shooting Vinnie in Laguna Beach.   What I learned was that it is entirely different photographing men than it is women.

    They want to look good, but you don’t want to take away from the manliness by over softening with filters.  He’s a very masculine type guy, and I wanted to enhance that. His little pet Sabatino helps to show his sensitive side, however!

 

The Perfectly Prada blog post was one of the first of the year.  This is the point I decided to just be myself, take pictures and create style how I want, and not try to meet typical expectations.

 

     Mr Sjoberg of KS TENNIS USA made a reluctant appearance for the blog, so I could further my photography  portfolio experience with the male species.

Full body shots are hard to shoot, when you’re an average person.  Sitting down usually doesn’t help matters either! However, it was a lovely Saturday night at church, it’s in focus, and did I mention I love animal print things? It’s sort of a reserved jungle kitty look.  Fun.

 

Part of the fun of running your own blog venture, is the opportunity to work with various brands.  

     This shot was part of a STUDIO GEAR COSMETICS post, and there will be more from them to come, but it’s so much more difficult than it looks to photograph makeup artistry, so I was glad they were pleased with the outcome.

     I have deals pending with other types of companies, and can not wait to see what happens and what is going on a year from now! Thanks so much for reader and follower support, and I wish everyone the best possible for 2014!

-SDS

-December 31, 2013

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SIX SHOTS: NOVEMBER 2012

SIX SHOTS

of the month


     Another month has gone by, so these are my top six personal pics of the month that I love!

    The “practice shot” seen above was really just me playing with my new Canon camera I had just gotten!  Being a rebel who hates to read instructions, I was playing with the controls and ended up loving this picture!

This shot is fuzzy and wonderful to me because we had such a fun time working on a quick Levi’s blog!

The Woodlands Waterway, Texas, Luxor Living and Style

This was a quick shot from a walk after our casual lunch a few days ago.  It was nice to take a break in the middle of the day, which we never usually do! I love this view!

     In hopes it’s not too redundant, I love this Christmas tree picture from the Animal Print Christmas Blog so much I wanted to include it as well!  I always put my tree up Thanksgiving night!

     

     This photo epitomizes the cozy feeling of being at home for the holidays.  This is my newest member of my Snow Man collection and I love him!

Hey now, it is the holidays, so in keeping with the season, I included this shot because I love the way the reindeer and sleigh reflect in the glass and it makes me look forward to some cozy December nights to come!

-December 1, 2012

 

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LIVING ROOM ReVamp CONTINUED

    Finally, here we have the rest of the “Living Room Re-Vamp.”  This was a hard room in so many ways!  First of all, it’s small. Second,  I had hell getting my husband to agree to get rid of his white pimp sectional, and third…there is not one “solid” wall.  Each wall has either windows, archways or doorways which causes complications.

     The black accent wall in the living room, continues into the kitchen and wraps around behind the divider archways.  This was intentionally done to join the rooms visually as well as highlight the archways more.

     The bar area opening is used as a shelf with candles and  a silver mirrored photo arrangement. Bar stool would have taken up too much room .

     The mirror over the fireplace adds drama and it’s a family heirloom which I love.  Candles lining the mantle add to my fun “Gothic Latin Romance” theme.  The fireplace actually has candles in it as well.  They provide ambiance when lit and are low maintenance.

     This end table is perfect for the small room.  I can not stand to see TV remote controls lined up or thrown around, so I used this brass dish to store remotes as out of site as possible. 

                                                                                                 These 30 year old brass wall plates are 35 inches each from top to bottom and make a statement against the black accent wall.

Black cross embellished candles

in iron wall sconces add to the drama and theme. 

 I’ve yet to attack the TV situation (that is a delicate issue with men)  so for now, I will move forward to the next room…the home office!

Coming soon…”Home Office Re-Vamp”…this will be a challenge!

-September 23, 2012

SDS

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