Are you going GREEN in 2017?! Meet the Pantone color of the year. I've never been the biggest fan of green (no offense, bud), but the shades making a big Spring splash are...swoon! From army green, to emerald green, to chartreuse, to that weird pea green color that's somehow entirely fascinating and enticingly beautiful...I'm finding it hard to stay away.

Collaborating with friends is a regular way of life in my world--specifically with music and songwriting, and art and photography--but styling a shooting was all new territory for me! Even though Ruthie and I did loads of planning in advance, we'd still never met in person until the day of our shoot. There's so many variables and unknowns in play when coordinating colors, looks, and locations when you're approximately 1725 miles away from one another...

★ I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things. -Mother Teresa ★

As creatives, many days are comprised solely of diligence and sacrifice. About 1,005,734 administrative tasks need to be checked off the to-do list before the general public can ever enjoy the result of the creative process...ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but barely. The bottom line is...the creative process isn't always so "creative." If you love someone's art in any medium on any platform, it's probably because they've simply worked hard in every way, shape and form. (If you want it, you better get busy.) We often enjoy the fruit of the hard work, but may not take into consideration what it took to make it happen. Now I'm drifting into another post it seems.

Back to how perfect this collab day was. Right, so as I was saying...it was perfect. As you can imagine, creatives live for the days when it's as if everything and everyone has already been given the script. You show up, play the part, the pieces know where to land and everything falls perfectly into place.

★ We delight in the beauty of a butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. -Maya Angelou ★

This team effort is truly a look inside Ruthie's and my heads (what a scary thought)...from lighting, to outfit coordinating, to the color scheme...this shoot jumped off of our Pinterest board and into reality. We were especially inspired by Sheryl of walkinwonderland.com (pictured below).

I reached out to Sheryl in 2011 (when blogging was only a blip on my back-burner brainstorming) asking if she had any advice on how to get started. I just stumbled onto those email exchanges last week while cleaning out one of my inboxes! (iPhone users: if you're OCD about the red notifications on the apps, I might drive you crazy!) It might've taken me 5 years to pull the trigger, but here I am referencing her as a source for style inspiration.

If you have a dream in your heart, go after it! Take the necessary time to invest in the work that most people will never see, but all will enjoy in the end...including you.

[photo credit - left: walkinwonderland.com / right: patterncurator.org]

Now get going! Ruthie and I are giving you the green light on your dreams AND your spring wardrobe. See what we're wearing and shop the post:

Jessica's look - Trench coat: ASOS (similar here) | Cami dress: ASOS | Booties: Dolce Vita (similar here) | Lip color: Sephora

Ruthie's look - Sweater dress: similar here and here | Booties: H&M ($17.99!)| Handbag: similar here | Pom pom keychain: ASOS

Much love,

Jess