Hey y'all! Boy, do I have some crazy fun stuff to share today! So, you all know that I have been writing and styling the fashion features in DeltaStyle Magazine and this past weekend, I hit the mother load. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably got sick of my incessant posting, but if not, here's what went down. Not only did I get to do my own shoot with the fabulous Gary Guinigundo but I spent the entire day on Saturday styling a shoot for Jep and Jessica Robertson with photography by Brad Arender. Not only was I surrounded by amazing creative talent all weekend, but I got to hang with Jessica who is one of the sweetest most down to earth and honest people I've ever met.
I blew into town on Saturday morning and went to every boutique in Monroe to pull clothes for both shoots. Monroe is such a great town, if you ever have the opportunity to go there, by all means, it's worth the stop. The boutiques are all amazing and unique and have so much to offer. I mean where do you get a leopard hair clutch, a tiger sweatshirt, and a pair of hooker heels all in the same place? I was super impressed by the longevity that these boutiques have had. One of them has been in the same location for 25 years with the original owners. It's a testament to staying current and relevant in a small market, but still appealing to the masses. Make sure you visit K-Sera, Cara's, Herringstone's, The Toggery, and Bayou Gypsy if you are ever rollin' through town.
Monroe is also a destination for antiques and gift shops, along with some pretty stinkin' fantastic restaurants. We had a beautiful dinner at Cotton, which is run by Chef Cory Bahr who won the show Chopped on Food Network. Now, I've been a very lucky girl and have been able to eat of some really amazing places across the country and I would rank this food in the top three. Chef was so sweet and arranged for us a sampling of their most popular appetizers (the pimento cheese stuffed beignets with green tomatoes made me want to eat until I puked), and then we shared stuffed catfish and shrimp and grits for the main course. Besides the food, the space itself is beautiful (think Restoration Hardware with a little southern charm mixed in). Freakin' amazeballs, seriously.
So Jessica and Jep's photo shoot was at the private plane hangar and runway, which turned out to be a fantastic setting. We had to make do with the space we had, which was basically a small conference room. The theme was jet-setters mixed in with a little holiday. The planes and runway in the background added to the scene and Jessica is so stinkin' beautiful that it could have been in a landfill and still turned out perfectly. Jep was very funny and laid back, as expected and it felt very much like hanging with my friends in North Carolina that I've known for years.
After that, we went to a jewelery store where Miss Kay was waiting with the grandchildren to do another promo shoot for that store. It was just a really great experience and I felt like Rachel Zoe all day long, plus I got to work with Brad Arender, who's work is phenomenal. You've gotta check out his stuff. Beautiful! You've gotta be super talented in order to make such a busy setting work and he did it flawlessly. I can't wait to see the final cut and work with him again.
Monday, I shot some fun stuff with Gary Guinigundo who is our super duper talented staff photographer with Delta Style. Sweet baby Jesus, what would we do without Gary? I don't even want to know. We have some upcoming features that we are working on (ways to wear the little black dress, gift ideas) and I was able to actually have someone else take my photos rather than standing out in front of my house while all my neighbors watch the weirdo next door taking pictures of herself. It was a little weird for a few minutes, but then I remembered that I look at my own photos all.the.time and know how to pose in order to make my body look good. Gary kind of let me be my bossy self and I just ran with it (sorry, Gary!!)
I also styled some items for future articles that turned out really pretty. It was awesome, though and you can see a couple of the photos he took by visiting his site here. We had a ton of fun with it and I'm excited for those edits to come across as well.
After that, we did some quick shopping while returning all the borrowed items to the boutiques and then hauled balls home to Dallas. Southern hospitality at it's finest. Get on out to Monroe, LA if you have the opportunity!
xoxo,
sarah
