hocus outta focus

Her Life Magazine August Trendsetter | Clique Boutique

It's finally August and I can share another Her Life Magazine Trendsetter shoot with everyone. I swear the wait from shoot to publication time nearly kills me. 

The August issue features Clique Boutique, a lovely little gem in the The Village. Clique is relatively new so I stopped in a couple of weeks before the shoot to check it out.

I hadn't even make it in the door before my jaw hit the floor. Clique is filled with racks of stunning dresses and shelves of amazing handbags, but the jewelry...oh the gigantic, glorious jewelry, was what really pulled me in. (This is where we insert our first Rachel Zoe I DIE moment.) I'm such a jewelry hound and for me the bigger and bolder, the better.

This first piece from Jet Lag Jewels was insane! 

Loved the earrings from 74 Harley Street and the Jet Lag Jewels bracelet.

And this 74 Harley Street Necklace was amazing. Rachel Zoe would definitely die. TWICE. 

Clique also carries Me&Ro, which I love. 

And then there's the Jet Lag Jewels turquoise necklace. Can you ever have too much turquoise? Don't answer that. 

This leather cut-out dress was amazing! I wish I would have taken a close-up. The detail is unbelievable.

And this gray dress with the pink Jet Lag Jewels necklace...the perfect combo!

Be sure to check out Clique Boutique, located at 6951 Tomahawk Rd, Prairie Village, KS 66208.

Thanks to Tracy and Ann at Clique and the rest of the team that made this shoot happen. 

Model : Emily Ostertag from Exposure, Inc.

Hair : Chandra Kelso of Fringe

Makeup : Melissa Evans

And an extra big thanks to my favorite sidekicks, Genna Wissing and Tracy Routh, who assisted on this crazy fun shoot!

Be sure to pick up a copy of the August issue of HERLIFE Magazine. It can be found in lots of Kansas City area boutiques, salons and doctor's offices or you can order a subscription on the HERLIFE website.

Until next time, 

H

Dance It Out, Player

For years my gangster shirt has been a favorite - a real conversation starter.  Especially when I forget I have it on and show up to help out at my daughter's school.  Nice, huh?  Where's my mom of the year award?  I also have a DAMN, IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A GANGSTER sticker on my laptop.  It gets quite a few giggles and smiles and an occasional thumbs up from across the coffee shop when I'm out and people stop to read it.  

A while back The Smash Site changed their name to Raygun and they have a couple of news shirts that might just be my new faves.

Dance It Out, Bitch. 

I'm Not A Player, I Just Blog A Lot.

I think I'll be ordering these soon!

Who Doesn't Love to Shop? | Keeping It Local

My 2010 seniors had style like no others.  Every year I continue to be both amazed and inspired by these girls and their sense of style, each one unique and fabulous in her own way.  We always have conversations about where certain pieces of their wardrobe are from and often times the answer is Standard Style Boutique, a local boutique where I also love to shop.

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to shoot Emily Baldwin of Standard Style for Her Life Magazine.  I loved shooting Emily for many reasons.  Of course, there's her outward beauty that immediately catches your eye and then there's her undeniable sense of style, but this woman really is a creative force to be reckoned with.  

 

Emily and her husband Matt have brought high fashion to our city through their two boutiques, their line of baldwin denim, and they're raising awareness on the importance of giving back to those in our community by shopping local.  They're the ones behind Build Kansas City, an inspiring movement encouraging folks to shop local, eat local and spend local - a concept I truly believe in.

Build Kansas City from Standard Social on Vimeo.

If you're one of those fabulous 2010 seniors I mentioned above, be sure to stop by Standard Style Boutique for their Rush Week promotion.  For every $100 you spend Standard will give you a $25 credit to put toward accessories or more clothing. 

And if you're a 2011 senior and haven't shot yet, you definitely want to hit Standard Style when you're planning your wardrobe. 

Until next time - keep on keeping it local,

H

Salt & Prep | A Fashion Blog for Teens

These days I'm head over heels for the teen fashion blog Salt & Prep.  It's the genius creation of Seattle's Michelle Moore, who happens to be one of my absolute favorite photographers.  Salt & Prep highlights current trends, provides inspiration for your own senior portraits and shows off real senior sessions from photographers all around the world.

I'm honored to have a couple of my images featured in a recent style post on Salt & Prep.  When Katie pulled out her oxfords before our session I literally squealed with excitement. No lie!  Right, Katie?

According to Salt & Prep oxfords are "like the grown up version of the Converse/Vans trend" and that just makes me smile. 

I'll be sharing more images from Katie's session soon, but in the meantime check a few of my favorite posts at Salt & Prep.

Suspender Chic

Ballerina, Soft and Edgy

Rebel in Florals

The Only Etsy Stores You'll Ever Need  

Happy Sunday!

H

Brain Purge

So much on my mind tonight, but it's all just kind of running together so here goes...

Last week Chris and I celebrated our eighth anniversary.  We had lunch at Classic Cup where I really would have fought him for the last bite of Goat and Garlic (but being the great husband he is, he let me have it).  It's a roasting of goat cheese and garlic, served with a spicy tomato sauce and olive oil bruschetta.  It's one of our favorite appetizers in all of Kansas City.

After lunch we stopped by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

We both loved David Bates : The Katrina Paintings.  Admission is free and it's a great, little afternoon getaway to help you beat the heat.  

And speaking of beating the heat...we also visited Glacé Artisan Ice Cream, the newest venture of famed Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow.  I could have sampled every flavor and I think they actually would have let me, but I settled on Fleur de Sel Caramel and Salted Pretzel.  Chris had the Venezuelan Dark Chocolate and the surprisingly sophisticated Peanut Butter and Jelly.  I wasn't expecting to like that one, but it was incredible! 

To celebrate Father's Day we spent a few days camping at Crawford State Park.  Stop trying to wipe the smudges from your screens, people.  This is not a typo.  I camp.  In a tent.  Outside.  For real.  And I'll swear on the last bite of Goat and Garlic.  It was crazy hot, but we had a good time.  It's always nice to get away and just spend time together.

My birthday is coming up and I like to start celebrating early.  What better way to celebrate than to buy myself an early birthday gift, right?  I ordered this gorgeous necklace from CuteAbility.  You can't tell in this image, but it's on a 24 inch chain and she's going to add two more chains to bulk it up a bit.  I've already started planning an outfit around the necklace.  Everyone knows the foundation of every great outfit is either shoes or jewelry!  Can't wait for it to arrive.  Will post a pic of the final piece when it comes. 

And tonight, I had my first Mexican Coke, which may explain why I'm so wound up.  How have I, Heather Morrow who speaks to NO ONE until she's had a Coke in the morning, never had a MEXICAN Coke?  Have you tried it?  It's like Heaven in a bottle.

Oh, and P.S. - I hate raccoons.  Before my fast, little fingers could click the publish button I heard a noise coming from my back yard.  I swear I heard my patio furniture moving around and then I heard glass break.  HELLO, FULL ON FREAK OUT!!!  The husband is on duty and the kids are at grandma's so I called 911.  The three officers that responded found two raccoons had moved a wrought iron table on the back porch to get to the glass jar where we keep our cat food.  They knocked the jar down the stairs and were enjoying a lovely, late night meal while I was inside having a heart attack.  EFFING RACCOONS! 

I'll be sharing a couple of recent sessions this week so stay tuned.

I Heart Sparkly Stuff

Most of what I've been blogging lately is stuff I shot last fall, but never got around to posting during the madness of the holidays.  These were shot for Her Life Magazine. 

The jewels from Tivol, Especially Jewelry and The Polished Edge were TO DIE FOR!  And I got to shoot The Fabulous Wannette, from Exposure, Inc.  I'd been wanting to shoot her forever and we had a blast.  Can't wait to shoot her again.  (Call me next time you're in town, lady!)




I told you they were gorgeous!  Now wipe the drool from your chin and get back to what you were doing. 

Until next time,
H

That Pesky Little Obsession

That pesky little obsession I have with denim is all for a good cause now.  Well, at least now through Thanksgiving. 

My friends at Standard Style have an amazing promotion going on so be sure to shop it out, uh, I mean check it out!

Happy Shopping!
H

Christmas in November?

Yep, I'm that girl who buys a Christmas present and gives it in November.  I have no patience.  I hate waiting for things and I can't stand keeping anything a surprise so you can imagine how hard it was not to share these images.  I would have to say that this issue of Her Life is my favorite ever.  First the fashion shoot and now the cover shoot.  I loved 'em both! 

I was so excited when I found out I'd be shooting Emily Baldwin of Standard Style.  Clearly, she's got the style thing down.  In addition to being ridiculously beautiful she's an incredible business woman and we instantly bonded over talk of our children.  With two little boys at home and a rapidly growing business that relies heavily on technology we have a lot in common.  You can read Emily's story (written by my dear friend, Kristen Doyle) in the October issue of Her Life, which is now one year old...can you believe it?

And here are some of my favorite images from our shoot at Mosaic Lounge in the Kansas City Power & Light District.  As soon as I heard we were shooting Emily I knew I wanted to shoot at Mosaic.  It's a gorgeous space filled with vibrant color...a photographer's dream!





Isn't she stunning?

Oh, how I loved this purple wall!

Emily, thanks for giving up an afternoon to shoot with us.  It was such a pleasure to meet you! 

Until next time,
H  

It's Killing Me

By the time you read this post it will be October, but I'm writing this in September.  I'm so flipping excited to share these images.  This was one of my all-time favorite fashion shoots. 

Kelly Littmann of Farmstead Lifestyle graced the cover of Her Life Magazine in December 2007.  This month her clothes are featured as the magazine's Trendsetter.  We shot on Kelly's gorgeous farm and had an incredible time.  Kelly exudes such a fabulous energy (and if you've ever met her you know EXACTLY what I mean).  It's just not possible to be around her and not be energized and inspired.  She'll be at the Junior League Holiday Mart this year.  Her booth is one you WON'T want to miss!

We were lucky enough to have Kelli Hansen of Exposure, Inc. model for us and she is PHENOMENAL.  One of my favorite models ever.  I hope to work with her again, soon. 

One would never guess from these images that Kelli is deathly afraid of horses.  Did she ROCK IT?  Or did she ROCK IT?




Ummmmmm...I'd say SHE ROCKED IT!

And this next series was probably my favorite of the day.  It was one of those shoots where everything just comes together perfectly.

Our hair and makeup team for this shoot was Robert McCain of blo salon in Westport and Rebecca and Sara of In The Makeup.  They did a fantastic job.  And I owe a big, huge thank you to Kelly Littmann's handsome cowboy husband, Ron for hauling this beautiful (and incredibly heavy) sofa out into the middle of a field for us.  It made for one of my favorite shots.   I've got a lot of favorites here, huh?  I just can't help it.

Stay tuned for more Her Life shoots coming soon.

Until next time,
H

It's August and I Haven't Blogged Yet!

I'll just start by saying that summer is KICKING MY ASS!  And I'm afraid if I don't blog something soon a few of you might track me down and do the same thing (Monica).  Oh!  Ummmm, did I just blog that outloud? 

The August issue of Her Life Magazine is here.  I saw this issue in print for the first time at our pediatrician's office the other day.  That was kind of a trip!

Our GORGEOUS cover girl Jennifer Vannatta-Fisher is someone I'm lucky enough to call a client and a friend.  I've shot her family twice before and just adore them all.  Not only is Jennifer beautiful (and rockin' that teeny tiny little baby bump of hers), but she's an incredibly inspiration gal.  She and two of her brothers own VANBROS and Associates.  They run the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants in five states.  Jen is a former Miss Kansas herself and has made a career out of inspiring and motivating young women do to great things.  We had such a blast shooting this whole series.  Click to see it bigger.  I still haven't figured out what the heck is up with Typepad...


Seriously!  Who looks this good when they're preggers?  Three words for ya.  SO.  NOT.  FAIR.  Love ya, Jen!

Also shot for the August issue are clothes from the fabulous Girl Boutique, in Hawthorne Plaza.   I had the pleasure of meeting owner Megan Albers at a Her Life party this week.  She's such a doll and has an amazing sense of style.

 

Some of these images were shot at Shine Spa, which is so beautifully decorated I could almost move in!  (Or just open a studio there.)  I think I may have posted a few of these before so forgive me for any repeats. Not only were the clothes and the location gorgeous, but so was our model, Cassie of Exposure, Inc.  Cassie is probably one of my all time favorite models.  She's just so naturally beautiful.   Thanks for an amazing shoot, Cassie.  I hope to work with you again soon!

Stay tuned...a few portrait sessions are coming up next.  (SIGH - I'm so behind on blogging!) 

Have a great weekend, everyone!
H