a lovely living

(In the shot above you’ll find the following wonderful, stylish ladies that I highly recommend you check out: Maria: The Style Letters, Georgette: Grown And Curvy Woman, Catie: Fleur d’Elise, Kimberly: Penny Pincher Fashion,  Caroline: House of Harper, Karla: Karlareed (Instagram), Victoria: It’s Versayce,  Kendi: Kendi Everyday, Brittany: The Brilliance of B)

Wow, what a whirlwind yesterday was! Thank you all for your kind words and in joining us as we celebrated the release of Redbook’s September issue. You had a chance to see the final product yesterday (and hopefully you’ll get an even better look when you grab a copy!), but today I’m going to give you a look behind the scenes. You can also view additional footage when you check out Redbook’s video here.

Above is a group shot of all 10 winners toasting to one long, hot (mid 90’s, hot and humid), fantastic day, but this venture began the afternoon prior as we all made our way into the Redbook offices for our fittings. The Redbook team did an amazing job pulling racks upon racks of clothing for each of us based on our own unique styles. From there we all had a chance to piece together two outfits that we felt depicted our style. If only I had those walls of shoes to turn to everyday, what a dream!

Once our outfits were set, their oh-so-talented tailor got right down to work making sure the clothing fit us to a T, while we were invited to a cocktail party thrown by Redbook and JCPenney. I’m so thankful my sister was able to tag along on this trip mainly because I am a terrible NYC driver…oh and because I love her ;) We had a great time getting a chance to meet the other winners and to enjoy the views from the top of Hearst Tower.

The following day we were on our way to the studio bright and early. This day literally brought tears to my eyes multiple times. When you are used to doing your hair and make-up with a 2yo ripping apart your bathroom on a daily basis, having an entire team waiting to beautify you while you relax and enjoy a cup of coffee just seemed surreal. But honestly it was the overall experience that had me so emotional. It made me realize that I was here all because of this blog. All because I took the leap last year and ventured into a world I knew nearly nothing about. It’s amazing where one step can take you. If there’s something you’re contemplating, do it. Just do it! You never know where your path may lead. My path lead me straight into these Dolce Vita booties, and how fab are they?! There’s a shot of Kendi and I following our outdoor shoot as well as one with the make-up artist that worked wonders on me. It was fun getting to pick the brain of a pro on various products/brands.

Our final morning was spent at Manhattan’s JCPenney store. They were so kind to host all of us for breakfast, chat about the upcoming season and pamper us each with $500 gift cards. I was totally impressed with many of the lines they now carry and for those that follow along, you’ve likely seen me wearing more of their clothing. Now you know what spurred that on ;) Then it was back to the car and back to my family!

This has been an experience I’ll never forget and I want to say one final thank you to everyone at Redbook and JCPenney as well as everyone else that treated us like queens that week. Your work didn’t go unnoticed and was truly appreciated!! Also a thank you to my mother. Thank you for letting me take the lead on my sense of fashion from the age of two and showing me by example what it means to be a lady, XO! And finally to you, my readers. None of this would have happened without you. Thank you for following along daily during this past year on whatever path I may have led you down. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for A Lovely Living next!

Don’t forget you have until next Tuesday to enter the JCPenney Tote Giveaway!