Green Pastel Jeweled Collar: Forever 21 (similar here)

DIY Alexander Wang Mesh-Insert Sweater: DIY (tutorial here)

Hot Pink Cardigan: Forever 21 (similar here)

Bracelets: DIY friendship bracelet with rhinestone chain, DIY Double-Spike Bangle, DIY silver bugle bead stretchy bracelet

Watch: Baby G-Shock in white

DIY Painted Colorblock Handbag: DIY of a Nine West handbag (tutorial here)

Ikea Fabric Awning Stripe Wrap Skirt: DIY (tutorial coming soon!)

Amrit Boot in Black: Nine West

Notice anything different?

Yes, yes, yes!  I am working with a new photographer!!

Poor, put-upon Hub just hates taking my outfit photos.  He can hold the camera and snap away, but doesn’t pay much attention to what’s in the viewfinder, asks me multiple times “Are we done yet?” and is usually in such a bad mood even being asked to take my photos that I try to find any way to NOT ask him.  Although he has helped me out with taking photos for my blog for years now, he is honestly much happier being with his Stargate re-runs than standing outside in the cold on the deck while I twirl and pose.  But I need to take photos for this blog with me in them…and being that I cannot be both in front of the camera and behind at the same time, I’ve been looking for someone who (ideally) enjoys photography, has a great eye, and doesn’t mind taking photos.

Enter Brooke Morse.  She is just amazing (and is an incredibly talented makeup artist too) – and we had the best time snapping photos yesterday!  She has a fantastic eye, sees all the amazing details, and is totally up for shooting in various places around this lovely city of Portland!  (Ironically, even though I live in the Portland metro area and am downtown almost every single day, ALL my photos are of me standing on my back deck.  How boring!  I really wanted to mix it up and try shooting in places around this amazing city.)

First up: SE Clinton Street in front of Broder (which, incidentally has a delicious Swedish menu including baked egg scrambles, Swedish hash, and lefse and a long line outside for breakfast!).  I was taken with the eyecatching hot pink-and-green bus stop…so I decided to coordinate my outfit accordingly.

Plus I wanted to show off my new DIY awning-stripe wrap skirt, made with fabric from Ikea.  Bold stripes are so in for Spring ’13…but I cannot get on-board with the mod-60’s style of thick black-and-white that Marc Jacobs threw down the runway.  (At least not yet, anyway.)  So I compromised and threw this skirt together out of some leftover fabric I had from Ikea that I had made some wall art with for my bedroom.

Even though it’s a little cold yet for bare shoulders, layering still works!  My DIY Mesh-Insert Sweater.

Of course something that I usually don’t contend with on my back deck is passers-by and a little bit more attention than I’m used to.

What do you guys think?  A little more lively than the usual photos I post on here, no?

xo
Carly

Special thanks to Brooke Morse for the amazing photos!  Check out her site here.

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