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Shabby Apple Color Blocks – The Block Collection

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Shabby Apple recently debuted a new line of color blocking basic items called The Block. What a great collection of pieces you could dress up or down and wear everyday this spring.

Shabby Apple Headliner Dress

Can’t get enough of this dress! It would be so much fun to dress up and down.

Shabby Apple Taxicab skirt

Shabby Apple Metropolitan Blouse

This skirt looks so much like my Forever 21 pleated orange skirt.

Shabby Apple Promenade Blouse

Have you been color blocking this season? Are you inspired to start? For more ideas, check our post on Red and Pink Colorblocking.

Posted in designers, fashion trends | Tagged colorblocking fashion trend, shabby apple | 5 Comments

Can’t Fight the Flip

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Sarah Ward

When you have hair with a natural wave, sometimes it just does what it wants to, with or without your permission. Exhibit A. My hair air dried and formulated this fabulous little flip.

I used to try to keep the flip under control by straightening it, but a funny thing happened one day when I was too lazy to do anything about it. Everyone loved it!

Sometimes I think we inherently have style present within ourselves and we just have to get out of the way and stop overthinking things to allow that style to be made manifest. Because sometimes my hair just knows what to do. What do you think?

Posted in grooming, hair, personal style | Tagged pictures of short hair, short hair, ways to style short hair | 2 Comments

The Clothes We Wear Have an Impact On Us

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Sarah Ward

When I received my formal image management consulting training, one of the biggest takeaways I received from my mentor, Judith Rasband, CIM, is this:

We talk all the time about the first impressions we make when meeting other people for the first time. But before that can happen, the first impression we make is on ourselves when we get dressed in the morning. Long before you can impact anyone else, the clothes you wear will impact you first.

I would challenge you to become more aware of the impact your clothing has on the way you think, the way you feel, and the way you act.

If you’re having a down day, the quickest way you can turn it around is to put on some nice clothes — something that inspires you. Put on some makeup, do your hair. You’ll be amazed at what a big difference your appearance has on how you feel.

Have you seen the effect that clothing has on the way you think, feel, act, and how others react to you?

Posted in fashion tips, image consulting, professional image | Tagged first impression, judith rasband | 4 Comments

Daily Outfit: Flamenco Flavor

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Before I even became a flamenco dancer, I had this skirt. It makes me wanna dance.

Outfit Breakdown

Chandelier earrings – Le Chateau
Suede jacket – thrifted
Taupe top – Jacob
Multi-strand necklace – Forever 21
Denim ruffle skirt – Le Chateau
Handbag – Momentum Handbag (made locally!)
Stacked heel boots – Famous Footwear

Posted in what i wore | Tagged daily outfit blog seattle, flamenco fashion, momentum handbag | 10 Comments

Classy Career Girl Interview: Cultivating Professional Personal Style

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Classy Career Girl, Anna Runyan, on cultivating a professional personal style. We had a great chat and I shared some valuable fashion tips for professional women. Here’s the video clip and you can read the entire transcript over at Classy Career Girl.

If you’re a young professional woman, I highly recommend checking out Classy Career Girl! She shares sound advice for young women in the workplace and is a wealth of information!

Posted in career, fashion tips, personal style, professional image, video | Tagged classy career girl | Leave a comment

Short Hair Cut 180 Degree View by Sophia Simone

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Recently I was at our local YMCA when I was approached by Sophia Simone, my future hairstylist extraordinaire, to see if I would be her hair model in an upcoming fashion show for her hair salon. So flattered! Of course, I agreed.

short hair 180 with sophia simone vertical. copyright cable car couture

Short haircut and style by Sophia Simone

Didn’t the haircut turn out a-mazing? Turns out Sophia has had short hair for the last seven years (no two of her haircuts have ever been alike!) and is a bonafide expert at cutting and styling short hair. Since I was looking for a new hairstylist and modeling ops in Seattle, and Sophia was looking for a model with short hair, the law of attraction was definitely working in our favor!

backstage at indochine show w/stacy barrow, sophia simone, sarah ward, cecilia danielle

Behind the scenes at the Fashion Show with Stacy, Simone, me and Cecilia

If you live in the Seattle area and want someone you can entrust your short hair to, I highly recommend Sophia Simone! You can find her at The Hair Lounge at 1626 S 310th in Federal Way, WA at 253-941-3680. To sweeten the deal, I have a referral card to save you $20 off your first haircut with Sophia!

Would you ever go short? What’s stopping you?

Posted in beauty, hair | Tagged pictures of short hair, short hair, short haircut, sophia simone, ways to style short hair | 6 Comments

25 Items Every Woman Should Have in Her Closet

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Today we debut 25 Items Every Woman Should Have in Her Closet, a free report that gives you a breakdown of great classics to cultivate in your closet. Want it? We’re giving it away for free when you opt in to our newsletter! Here’s a sneak peek of some of the items on the list…

When you join our mailing list, you receive 25 Items Every Woman Should Have in Her Closet, along with free style tips twice a month!

Posted in fashion tips | Tagged 25 items every woman should have in her closet | 1 Comment

Daily Outfit: Windy Day

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Outfit Breakdown

Chambray shirt – F21 (see our One Piece Five Ways chambray shirt segment here)
Faux leather bomber – Target
Necklace – Francesca’s
Watch – Fossil
Skirt – modbod
Boots – Famous Footwear

Every so often I love styling gravity-defying hair.

Posted in hair, what i wore | Tagged chambray shirt, pictures of short hair, short hair, ways to style short hair | 6 Comments

The Best Scone Recipe Ever – Grand Central Bakery

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Sarah Ward

I’ve never been much of a scone person, but this week I went to Grand Central Bakery in town, went out on a limb and tried their cranberry nut scone. I was stopped in my tracks. Who knew scones could be so decadent?

Once I had one, I had to have more. So I googled “Grand Central Bakery scone recipe” and lo and behold, I found their recipe on Serious Eats. So I made a batch. And was tempted to make another. They were unbelievable. (So good we didn’t share) But karma being what it is, I’m sharing the recipe with you so you can have mouth-watering scones for breakfast, too. It’s up to you whether you share.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (4 ounces, or 1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) buttermilk
Egg wash
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) turbinado sugar
Egg Wash
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Pinch of salt

Procedures

Prepare to bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the dry ingredients: Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl with high sides or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
Cut in the butter, then add the fruit and nuts: Dice the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Use your hands or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are the size of almonds. Add the dried fruit and nuts.
Add the eggs and buttermilk: Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together, then add two-thirds of the mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently mix the dough just until it comes together, then add the remaining buttermilk mixture; the dough will look rough. Scrape the dough from the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again to incorporate any floury scraps. The majority of the dough will have come together, on the paddle if using a stand mixer. Stop mixing while there are still visible chunks of butter and floury patches. The dough should come out of the bowl in one piece, leaving only some small scraps and flour on the sides.
Form and cut the dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather it and pat just a few times to get it to come together. The top won’t be smooth, but the rough surface creates a crunch that is part of a scone’s charm. Gently form dough into a 7- to 8-inch disk (or, for smaller scones, into two 4- to 5-inch disks), brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut the disk into 6 wedges, like a pie.
Bake: Place the scones on the prepared pan, in a grid with 3 by 2 for large scones and 4 by 3 for small scones. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (20 to 25 minutes for small scones), rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The scones should be golden brown.

Posted in life, lifestyle | Tagged best scone recipe | Leave a comment

Daily Outfit: Stripes and Circles

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Sarah Ward

Recently I’ve been inspired by looks of layering a collared shirt underneath a striped pullover.

So I decided to give it a go and loved the results!

I’m on a committee for a regional dance festival for youth in the greater Seattle area and I wore this to one of the dance rehearsals to measure the girls for their costumes. Several teenagers told me how much they loved my outfit which totally made my night!