I've lived in Arizona for nine years, and it took me two and half years of styling to finally do a cowboy shoot...or shall I say cowgirl. For some reason, I have finally fallen in love with the desert this year. I've already done three shoots using the Sonoran backdrop. I think that might be enough for the year though.

Several months ago a NYC makeup artist, Tonya Noland, contacted me about doing a test shoot with her. In New York City she is constantly working in a studio, so it's really hard to add photos using natural light to her portfolio. She arranged a special shoot in sunny Arizona, and reserved time on a dude ranch. Yep, we got to use LIVE horses!!!

She sent me some inspiration and then I added my own twist to it. I didn't want it to be too literal. I wanted to make sure fashion trends were present, so obviously a bit of rock 'n roll and glam came out.

Eric Cassee was the photographer on the project and did a wonderful job using the light and the scenery. It was actually high Noon when we were shooting, which can pose a lot of problems for a photographer. Harsh light and shadows are rarely your friends, but he managed to work around it.

Because it was a test shoot there were only four looks, but I love every one of them. Rachel Yampolsky from Agency Arizona was the beautiful model and rocked everything. You need to watch out for this girl. She has the gift!

You may have noticed my blog posts have been a bit inconsistent over the past two weeks. It's not because I don't have anything to share or say, but rather I have SO much to share and I just haven't had a moment to sit down and write it all out. So here's peek as to what all has been happening in the realm of AVE Styles... 1. Rory Brinker - I had the chance to pull some simple wardrobe for a look book shoot with scarf company, Rory Brinker. Kym Ventola Photographed the GORGEOUS scarves. You can see more of a sneak peek on her blog, click here. I can't wait to see how the look book and shop comes together. I will definitely be buying one of these scarves!

2. I worked on a fun style bridal shoot with Melissa Jill Photography that has been in the works since 2011. It looked MAGICAL!!! Here's a pic of me in action taken by MJ.

3. Went out to a dude ranch to do some testing with an Agency Arizona model, New York Makeup Artist Tonya Cameron and photographer Eric Cassee. Here's an awesome beauty shot!

4. FINALLY got a change to collaborate with Miss Andria Lindquist - a photographer from the Seattle area. We put together a desert fashion shoot. Sadly, I forgot to take some pictures with my cell phone. I've seen a couple images, and they are GORGE to say the least!

5. I've been styled 5 different engaged couples this month, and I can't wait to see how all of the photos turn out. Hopefully, I'll get to share some this week! EEK!

6. I tackled my first children's fashion photo shoot with Kym Ventola. WOW! WOW! It is definitely rewarding, but it is a totally different process than anything else I've worked on. I can't wait to share more. Here's a peek at the wardrobe...

7. Wrote an article for Wonderfully Made about quality vs. quantity when shopping. Click here to check it out!

Additionally, with growing a baby, working for Promise Tangeman, four fashion shows and some other AVE Styles gigs I am pretty darn exhausted but sooooo happy to see all of the hard work paying off. I think April is going to look very similar. Whoa baby!

Keep checking the blog to see releases of all of these projects and of course MORE style trends!