11/19/18
I'm so in love with my new Teddy coat from Zaful! I've been obsessed with the color and has been looking for one for a while! A lot of fashion Instagrammers have something similar in their closet and a lot of them use I.AM.GIA's pixie coat but to be honest I can't tell the difference between that $100 coat and my $20 version. I'm always looking for cheaper options, so I was so excited when I found this! These are my go-to websites to find cheap versions of anything that's trending:
H&M,
Forever21,
Shein,
Zaful,
Romwe, etc.
Forever21,
Shein,
Zaful,
Romwe, etc.
I think it's a cute piece to have in your fall and winter wardrobe essentials, but I would suggest pairing it with more warmer clothes for the winter because it's not very thick and winter can be very cruel!
Some of my favorite things to pair this with so far is high waisted denim or a black silk dress that gave me a cute date night look. I gathered some OOTD options for this coat so you can see how others style it.
Here are the outfit details:
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9/8/18
27 and feeling it.
Two years ago I started a birthday series. For my 25th birthday (twenty-5) I did a photoshoot that was inspired by "flowers in my hair" I could remember wanting to do so many other things... like buying big balloons that said 25 and wearing a crown that had a happy birthday, but I didn't feel like that was me. So I created a series based on the symbolism of flowers. When it was time for me to create twenty-6 I was beyond inspired! I used materials that symbolized something special for me and created pieces that spoke to how I felt in my life during that time. I used many mediums like photoshop, paint, metal, paper, balloons, and flowers.
As I get older it's becoming less about parties, gifts, and cakes and more about reflecting on past years and looking forward to my future! I am so grateful that I was able to accomplish so many dreams and goals with God's help and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for me!
Two years ago I started a birthday series. For my 25th birthday (twenty-5) I did a photoshoot that was inspired by "flowers in my hair" I could remember wanting to do so many other things... like buying big balloons that said 25 and wearing a crown that had a happy birthday, but I didn't feel like that was me. So I created a series based on the symbolism of flowers. When it was time for me to create twenty-6 I was beyond inspired! I used materials that symbolized something special for me and created pieces that spoke to how I felt in my life during that time. I used many mediums like photoshop, paint, metal, paper, balloons, and flowers.
As I get older it's becoming less about parties, gifts, and cakes and more about reflecting on past years and looking forward to my future! I am so grateful that I was able to accomplish so many dreams and goals with God's help and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for me!
For twenty-7 I wanted to experiment with the idea of raw unedited photos, hence the use of a polaroid camera. My idea was to show real imperfections and to explore the reality that sometimes we only get 1 chance to capture the great moments in our lives. I think there is added meaning when you can shoot an image and get the physical results right away. Raw, unfiltered, and untouched. The goal was to show exactly what we saw, with no filters or alterations in any way.
My husband and I, took the pictures in Washington DC a week before my birthday, to make use of the long Labor day weekend.
My husband and I, took the pictures in Washington DC a week before my birthday, to make use of the long Labor day weekend.
7/26/18
Forgetmenot is special to me in so many different ways. It was one of the first brands I had the opportunity to do graphic design work for in February 2014! As the years passed Forgetmenot's brand continued to grow and blossom. In the beginning, their sole focus was on clothing and accessories, then they introduced two new brands "Pearls and Panties" and "Body Bliss"! Once again I was allowed to re-brand Forgetmenot into Forgetmenot.co; updating their original logo into a more modern clean brand as I had grown as a designer as well. Now you should understand why I was so excited to try out some of their "Body Bliss" products.
The "Pure Seduction" line reminds me of summer. See when I was younger my father owned a boat that we would use to go fishing and beaching out at sea every weekend. Skin burnt, salt in my hair, sand over my body is what I remember as the "sweet" summer days. One of my favorite sensations was coming home and taking a shower after a long day in the sun. After my bath, I could remember putting on tons of lotion and body sprays. That's why this scent brings me back to this particular memory. Pure Seduction has so many layers of scents that helps it keep a strong scent the entire day as I learned on my many adventures in Eleuthera. There were no long boat rides but it still felt like that summer evening coming from the beach and going to take a shower.
The combination of all three products is a bliss! From bathing with the shower gel, moisturizing with the body butter, and finishing off with the most seductive body mist! I adore these products and use them every day since I've gotten them. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out, but I will definitely restock when I go back home. So whether I'm coming from a walk with Max, or exercising at the gym, I know that the Body Bliss's Pure Seduction line will have me smelling fresh!
I want to honor the brand by merging @iamchristinaxo with their beautiful "Body Bliss' line to capture some creative photography. I hope you enjoy it and if you haven't tried anything from Forgetmenot.co I would highly recommend trying them out. You will instantly fall in love!
7/2/18
Time is slipping away from me and my to-do list is continuously growing. I'm not complaining, because as a freelancer if you don't work, you don't eat. It's always good to be busy but I can't help but think if I will ever get everything done. Every day I refer to my sketchbook, looking at un-finished ideas, new ideas, and lists of works for clients. The biggest tasks are often pushed to the next month because of insufficient time and laziness; yes I am lazy at times. I can't believe how quickly time is moving like it was just January a month ago! But on a serious note, even though we're 6 months into the year I am hoping to complete my list of 2018 goals.
Within the last 6 months, I've had the opportunity to take on new and exciting projects that have allowed me to learn and grow in ways I've never imagined. I think I'm becoming better at figuring out my niches because I don't consider myself a part of one niche. I'm a visual artist, graphic designer, photographer, social media manager, and Instagrammer. I decided to change how I looked at myself because I realized that I wear so many hats that strengthens every part of my business. Last year I only made money from graphic design doing things like logos, flyers, business cards, etc. but now I've added content creation, Instagram feeds and photography to the list! Looking back to January and February, I felt a lot of pressure to learn as much as I can in a short time. I was encountering new projects I NEVER did before. I'm always so thankful to God because my life seems unreal to me sometimes. I know it's hard to find a job that you love so much that you can do it all day, to the point that you forget to eat sometimes. Over the past months, I've been struggling to find time to do "Christina things". I noticed that I wasn't posting on @christinadarvillestudios as much as I wanted to, @iamchristinaxo was losing creativity, and the blog posts became scarce and "mediocre". I think it is important to allow yourself to have meaning when working on any project. So I'm trying to find more meaning in my work as I move forward.
I haven't found the perfect medium between work and personal life yet, but I'm always pushing myself to work harder while giving myself rewards and incentives to keep pushing. So when I'm not working around the clock or pulling all-nighters; I'm spending quality time with my husband and our little Maxi. I can't ask for more than that!
But here are some things to think about (you and me both)
Are you on track with your 2018 plans?
What are you putting off to next week or month?
Are you maximizing your day?
Are you maximizing your resources?
Are you being consistent?
What are you lacking in?
What do you want to improve?
How to become better at your niche?
What have you learned in the past 6 months?
Are you being creative?
How can we find "more time"?
4/16/18
Happy Monday my Loves! I wanted to stop in and share some outfit details with you because I felt like I haven't done this in a while! Today's outfit its entirely thrifted minus the shoes and bag! How awesome is that? I don't mind digging through bins to find pieces that fit into my wardrobe. I love the idea of picking out pieces from a thrift store, it allows you to find stunning unique pieces that have special characteristics you might not be able to find in a store. I also try to purge my closet every month or two giving away clothes I no longer wear. As of now, I have three big garbage bags filled with clothes to drop off at Goodwill. I feel like it's so important to give back in any way you can!
When I got my hands on this sweater ripped top (yes I'm calling it ripped and yes it came that way) I couldn't wait to style it! Its see through with this beautiful pull tie at the back which makes the back so dramatic!
I wanted to wear this with my denim shorts but it just wasn't working the way I had it in my head so I swapped out the shorts from my light denims. I thought they paired well together so I added my white purse just completed the look. Let me know your thoughts about this look and if you think I nailed it or not.
4/2/18
So I've been trying to eat healthy for a month now using some of Tone it up's recipes on Pinterest to lose some weight. So far with just dieting alone I've lost 6 pounds! I'm now going to the gym regularly doing cardio and weight training to try double my weight loss. I'm always looking for new recipes that are fun and exciting yet healthy so I wanted to share this recipe with you. I recently found this gluten-free pancake and waffle mix at Aldi on Saturday and thought I would give it a try. I know gluten-free doesn't necessarily mean lesser calories but I thought it would be a better option than Aunt Jemima's pancake mix. Its super easy to follow the directions on the box which was to mix:
1 1/3 cups of GF Pancake mix
1 egg
1 cup of Milk (I used Unsweetened Almond Milk)
3 tablespoons of Vegetable oil
I also added in:
1tsp almond extract
1tsp cinnamon
1tbs of unsweetened cocoa powder
After everything was mixed, I turned on my waffle maker at 400° and cooked the waffles until they were crispy on the edges. As for the topping I sautéed 1 banana (sliced into four pieces) with maple syrup and there you have it! Gluten-Free Waffles with caramelized banana and maple syrup!
I will check in with you guys at the end of April to let you know how my weight loss journey is going! My goal is to be bikini ready when I go on vacation next mo
3/29/18
Let's get to the good stuff. For this week's outfit I decided to wear a polka dot yellow chiffon top from forever21, paired with black skinny jeans (also from forever21) and some black velvet booties (rainbowshops). The yellow in my top is more of a mustard color which I actually prefer because it worked well with my skin tone. I know I managed to add some black in there but I thought it would be best for contrast. I originally had planned to wear white trousers but I felt like the white wasn't allowing the color in the top to pop! So I switched the white trousers for my black denim. If you'd like to see the BTS of this shoot you can go over to my Youtube channel 💖
3/16/18
Lately I've been drowning myself in books, quotes, and poems. Reading about everything from love, to being a better entrepreneur. I can honestly read quotes all day, so I created a board on Pinterest where I save my favorite ones. It's something about finding things you can relate to 100% . My favorite quotes/short poems are from Follow my blog with Bloglovin Rupi Kaur. I honestly think she's a genius because she has such a play with words that makes you feel empowered. I often think about creating my own personal quotes with the idea that one day I will be well-known and have quotes of my own. My dream is to be well-known in my field to help inspire others in the field to chase their dreams through not only my work but also my quotes.
I recently found a book store here in Pittsburgh that sells discounted books and magazines. I felt so alive as if a spark was ignited within me. Don't you prefer to feel the pages as you read? To highlight in a book, and fold the edges of the paper when you're ready to stop reading for a while? If so then you know exactly how I feel. I love the paper over the glass. I prefer to write and sketch on paper and I believe in writing down my thoughts, because of the power of the pen to paper. Something about it makes me feel like I'm writing my goals and plans into existence I always feel the need to go back and look at what I wrote down. For me its like I'm writing my history. If you look at my sketch books they tell stories of different times in my life. I was recently looking in my sketchbook from 2015 and it felt amazing. It was great to see ideas, sketches, and the things I came up with. Sometimes I feel like I can be a better artist, or be the artist I was before. But now my sketchbook is filled with clients names and work for my graphic design business vs just art ideas. I'm not complaining because I never thought that I would start and own a business. If you asked me back in 2015 what I see myself doing 2 years from now I would have said showcasing my art in galleries and writing proposals. In 2017 I re-branded my business; creating logos and trying to become a fashion blogger. Its funny how life works itself out. My dream of being a famous installation artist is still there. I may have not used those talents in a while but they are still with me. Sometimes I think I want to do too much but I have to remind myself that I wasn't placed on this earth to be mediocre or "normal". I can be anything I want to be even if its an Artist, Graphic Designer, and a Fashion Blogger all in one.
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