Archives for April 2016

Our Runaway Desert Elopement

04/30/2016 By Sarah Leave a Comment

One golden evening, a nomad and his gypsy escaped to Joshua Tree to elope in the desert…

Some of you were wondering if this was our real elopement…. I have to be honest and say that it wasn’t, sadly! But the great part was that they made some really amazing faux wedding photos, as when we actually got married in 2011, we didn’t have a professional photographer to capture the special day like I had dreamed of. I also didn’t have the developed bohemian style that I do today, so when the photographer Katherine Dalton reached out to me, I couldn’t say no to her concept of two bandits, running away to elope in the desert. How much does that sound like us?! I’ve wanted to redo our wedding/renew our vows for the chance to have some exciting photos like this, so it meant a lot to me to get the chance to model for this. And it was really the first time in ages that Josh and I modeled together for another photographer. IT was a great experience and fun evening of shooting until the sun set!

Katherine was a great, chill gal to work with. She chased us around through Joshua Tree to capture our antics as we danced and played guitar in the setting sun. And the creative team that included Spark & Sparkle Events was a match made in bohemian heaven. The decor of our “faux wedding” was straight out of my dreams, with design elements I wholly approved of. I wanted to stay there and enjoy the “wedding”, once I laid eyes on the scene set up amongst the giant boulders and joshua trees. It was beautifully put together, and I congratulate the team on creating a shoot that has been featured on the huge wedding blog, Green Wedding Shoes!

Afterwards, we all sat around a bonfire and ate the wedding cake, talked about movies we loved, and burnt fresh sage on the fire. It was one of those great experiences we get to have thanks to the creative industry we chose to be a part of. And getting to support other creatives who are starting out on their independent journey, makes it all the better! I’m always a big puppy when it comes to these things, and I excitedly give advice and support anyone who shares their story with me. There’s nothing I believe in more than chasing after your dreams and encouraging others to do the same. Life is short, and we don’t often have time to start these journeys later in life (which is why I’m always telling kids to develop their skills in their passions early), so I’m always cheering on those who take the leap and start their own business. It’s not an easy thing to do, trust me I know. But it is ALWAYS worth it to push through and go your own way. There’s really nothing I’ve regretted from the hardships and failings we’ve gone through to achieve this lifestyle, and people really should support more often, those who take the less travelled road.

Well, enjoy the photos! You’ll finally get a glimpse of what Josh and I are like together, and not with a camera always between us, hehe!

[Read more…]

Coachella Diaries 2016 | Day 3

04/28/2016 By Sarah 2 Comments

Coachella Day 3 was one for the festival books! Friends we made from last year at Coachella, and Instagram friends, old and new, all together at last for what I think is the best way to enjoy Coachella- surrounded by friends. It was extremely hard to get everyone together at the same time and place, but that’s what made the reunion even more epic, finally allowing us to skip around the fields together, or dance the night away.

I had been dreaming up my all white everything outfit for months and was so excited that it came out so perfectly. I wanted to keep the accessories a little simpler for day 3, and not pile on the jewelry as I normally do. So I instead donned the gorgeous white body paint inspired temporary tattoos designed by my friend Corina of Wild & Free Jewelry. These couldn’t be any more gorgeous, and make such bohemian statement!

Speaking of friends, you may have seen Chessi and Victoria in my Day 2 post and instagram sneak peeks, they are also fellow bloggers I’m happy to call real life friends now. I met Chessi this year at chill, and Victoria last year during our Florida road trip. One of the things I love about social media!

Well, it was hard to be missed with our girl gang in the middle of the field with Josh and other accumulated photographers snapping away at our antics. It had to be one of the most photographed moments at Coachella this year, with a small audience wanting to capture the energy of all our excitement. Some fans recognized us, which was really awesome! One of these days I’ll do a real meet up at Coachella, so we can all party together! I love to meet people and get to see your faces in person!

After us social butterflies had our moment in the spotlight, we floated over to Edward Sharpe with some of the friends we made last year at this very festival. I think we unintentionally started what became the best dance party in the audience, and as the sun set, the vibes were so so good. We bounced around each other with huge grins, not afraid to let loose at the end of this crazy festival weekend. And everybody slowly joined in the magic of the moment, and I know we apparently caught a little attention as some of you recognized us from photos later, haha! If any of you are in the background of our photos, let me know!

PS- when you get to those photos below, put on “Janglin” by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, for the full experience!

After that madness, we rushed over to get dinner before Sia. I sprung for the grilled cheese, which is now all I can think about! And then we rushed like mad over to see Sia preform one of the most jaw-dropping shows of the whole weekend. It was definitely the “art” part of the festival, with dance and conceptual acts by surprise guests and the ever inspiring Maddie Ziegler, who carried us through an array of emotions as she danced across the stage. I wished for a little more interaction from Sia with the audience, but I definitely don’t regret seeing such an amazing show!

After Sia, we pushed to the front of the stage for Calvin Harris up next. Which I should remark, was probably not the best idea, haha! Like I mentioned in my Day 2 post, I think it’s best to stay back a little by the sound booth, otherwise you are jammed in with hundreds of people and negative space to move or dance. As much as I wanted to LOVE the Calvin Harris show, it went too long for my aching feet and sore back, and didn’t provide much of a “ride” for the audience- mostly one build and drop after the other for about 2 hours. Even after keeping the audience waiting for an hour. But enter 2 surprises- Taylor Swift who happened to be standing right in front of us for the show, and Rhianna on the surprise stage right behind us amidst the audience. The excitement in the audience was real, and the light show was pretty much insanity! I always enjoy a good light show, even if it is about to give everyone a stroke. Just throw them sunglasses on and dance your face off till it’s all over, and you collapse in the grass and drink the last smoothies of Coachella like we did.

Wow, what a ride. This year was even more crazy than last, with over 90,000 people, and the craziness of the outside parties we attended. The only thing I would have changed about this year? More art installations! Can’t compete with the festival butterfly of 2015.

We crashed so hard after, I’m still getting over my Coachella Cold. As always, I leave with post Coachella blues, flash backs, and full on festival dreams. It’s a world all its own, and an experience I think everyone should get to have while they’re young. If you do it right, with friends by your side, you can never go wrong… dancing under the technicolor palm trees to the music of the night.

Until next year, Coachella! xx

PS- stay tuned for our Coachella 2016 video, coming soon!

[Read more…]

Coachella Diaries 2016 | Day 2

04/26/2016 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Coachella Day 2 started with more wind and dust, tossing my feathery hair and kimono about in an exciting frenzy. We crossed the green carpet to the first show we wanted to see, arriving just in time to hear the sweet voice of Zella Day above the crowd. While she sang some of my favorite songs, I danced freely in the back of the crowd, and Josh captured it on camera.

I was only photobombed about 10 times, which is one of the things everyone taking photos at the festival probably experiences. It has sort of become like an iconic “high five” of Coachella, to have random strangers jump into photos with you (see the photo on Josh’s instagram). But in the spirit of fun, I find it sort of hilarious to look at the photos later.

We made our way around the grounds shooting between shows, and found ourselves at the Ferris Wheel for the traditional sunset photos. Though the dust made it pretty hazy and less colorful than last year. It happened to be a lucky spot, because I ran into two other sets of friends then, and that is a rare thing! I always say to stay with your buddy at Coachella, because once you’re separated, it’s near impossible to find each other again between the spotty cell service and the huge crowd. Plus everything is a big distraction, and one can easily get taken off on some adventure with new friends, new music, or the smell of food from the amazing food vendors.

Eating at Coachella is one of my favorite things, because they always have such great options and I never have enough time to try it all. We went with pizza for plenty of meals, tried the pad thai, but my favorite had to be the grilled cheese and rib sandwich. I may have waited about 35 mins in line for that baby, but it hit the spot like nothing else and I was happy to stuff my face while dancing around to the music. I was so into the moment I don’t even remember who was playing on stage, but we were dancing with friends and that’s all the mattered.

That night we saw Zedd, and somehow I wandered our way to THE perfect spot in the crowd- I’m literally so proud of myself for that. It is actually really important to find the perfect spot. If you’re too far in close to the stage, you’ll be shoulder to shoulder in a tight crowd and it’s absolutely no fun at all not being able to move or sit or sometimes even talk to your friends. I aim to be on the house right of the stage, next to the sound booth (little stand with guys running the show). This is close enough to the action to see everyone on stage, get a view of the whole show including all the amazing lights, and be in the prime spot for when they drop the confetti.

I was with Chessi and Victoria, two other fellow bloggers, and we danced so much I thought I would keel over. It was probably my absolute favorite show of Coachella 2016, the vibes were just spot on and I commend Zedd for a performance that was nothing but uplifting energy and fun to sing and dance along with. I say this because when I was at Calvin Harris the next night, it was a never ending ride of flashing lights and builds and drops and it just went on for two hours. Or at least it felt like it, and as amazing as it was, I just didn’t feel the same energy and, almost love, in the show. We did, however, end up standing behind taylor Swift, which was pretty hilarious watching hair bleached bob haircut bounce around as she danced like a freak. No judgement, haha. If you look at her Coachella photo on her instagram, you can see my hands holding my iPhone sideways, snap chatting the light show, hahaha! (But this was on day 3, so back to day 2…)

Overall, Day 2 brought the Coachella excitement back like I remembered it from last year, and I was super beat from all the dancing and running around with friends. And stay tuned for my Day 3 diaries, coming up next!

[Read more…]

Coachella Diaries 2016 | Day 1

04/24/2016 By Sarah 2 Comments

So excited to bring you my Coachella Diaries Day 1 post from this year! It was such a blast to get to return to this magical place, and I was amazed to see how many more people showed up this year, and with equally amazing outfits! One of my favorite times of year is festival season, with all the hustle and bustle in preparation for the season of festivities, and of course, getting to style my Coachella looks.

I find festivals so vibrant and alive- a tradition that has been going on for centuries where people come together in celebration of creativity, arts, culture, and more. I love getting to express myself outwardly in my own unique outfit, which I do on a daily basis anyway, but during festivals you can be as eccentric as you want. The more so, the better, in my opinion!

I started off my Coachella adventures in this outfit which I just love, and am looking for an excuse to wear it again everyday. You’ve probably seen my instagram being taken over by my festival pictures so far, fluttering about in Spell & the Gypsy Collective garb, which is my perfect example of festival attire. And I show a little versatility with each outfit, as I can hardly ever narrow down my chella outfits to just one. This year I managed to keep it a little simpler, while still keeping what I feel is my personal touch on festival flair.

We got there a little late on Day 1, having been out and about in Palm Springs for some pool parties (stay tuned for the roundup of party photos on the blog!), but arrived to a dust-ridden wind tunnel of a festival just in time for my favorite time- golden hour! We hit up two shows day 1, sadly missing Borns who I was so excited to see live. But at least we made it to Of Monsters and Men and Ellie Goulding to get our festival vibes going strong. (I’ve got 3 full days of Snapshot stories covering my entire chill experience, and I’ll be uploading it as a sort of “vlog”on Youtube, along with our Coachella Recap video coming soon!)

It was so cool getting to run into some fans out there, who by some great stroke of luck picked me out from the insanely large crowd! Nothing inspires me more than getting to put real faces to those who always support my adventures, I aim to inspire you and you inspire me in return! Some of the people I’ve gotten to meet through Instagram, and even Coachella, have become good friends, and I think that getting to form those relationships is the best part of what I do! I never take those moment for granted.

So, cheers to another year of music, people, dancing, and magic! I hope you have fast wifi so you can enjoy this mass dump of Day 1 photos! I don’t even know how I took so many!

[Read more…]

On the Road to Coachella – Part 2

04/15/2016 By Sarah 5 Comments

Part 2 of our “On the Run” campaign for Sea Gypsies Summer 2016 is here! Including some of my favorite photos from our Joshua Tree look book. We camped in our airstream while shooting and filming for 3 straight days, marking the beginning of our official full time life on the road. In Joshua Tree we had campfires under the moonlight, moscow mules in copper mugs in our hands, and spent the nights with the windows open and coyotes howling and dancing outside.

This series is a bit special to me, and it was only fitting that we created it while taking the first leap into living the “on the run” lifestyle ourselves. And getting to create an entire shoot based around festival inspired/Coachella style outfits was right up my alley. Not only do I model and direct our photography/video, but I also style and edit all our photos. And this was the next huge campaign we did after our Spell “Sunset Road” campaign, which both have the desert wanderlust vibe I love so much. And there’s many more campaigns to come with each new season, so stay tuned if you loved this series!

–

I’m currently sitting in our airstream over coffee and breakfast, at Vestal Village. It’s quiet in the little desert canyon alcove we are camped in, and we are about to head out to the ensuing festival madness for the next three days. Be sure to follow our adventures on Instagram, and my Snapchat (username: sarahloven) will have exclusive content and full behind the scenes you won’t want to miss!

[Read more…]